Watertown Man Pleads Guilty to Federal Drug and Firearms Charges

 Daniel J. Borg Admits to Possessing Heroin/Fentanyl and Sawed-Off Shotgun

SYRACUSE, NEW YORK – Daniel J. Borg, 43, of Watertown, New York, pled guilty yesterday to possession of controlled substances (heroin/fentanyl and eutylone) with intent to distribute, possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, possession of a sawed-off shotgun, and possession of a firearm by a convicted felon, announced Acting United States Attorney Antoinette T. Bacon,  John B. DeVito, Special Agent in Charge of the New York Field Division of the United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF), and Jefferson County District Attorney Kristyna Mills.

As part of his guilty plea, Daniel J. Borg admitted that on January 21, 2021 he was in possession of 305 grams of eutylone as well as 30 separate bags of a heroin/fentanyl mixture in an Audi automobile that he parked at a self-storage area in Watertown where he leased a unit. Detectives from the Metro-Jefferson Drug Task Force (Met-Jeff) surveilled Borg as he was about to enter his locked storage unit. After taking Borg into custody and recovering the drugs from the Audi, Met-Jeff Detectives obtained Borg’s consent to search his locked storage unit. Inside the storage unit Met-Jeff Detectives located a safe containing 500 separate small plastic bags, each holding a small quantity of a heroin/fentanyl mixture. Also recovered from the storage unit was a sawed-off .410-gauge shotgun illegally possessed by Borg, who was previously convicted of five (5) prior felony offenses.    

Sentencing is scheduled October 19, 2021, at which time Borg faces a maximum sentence of up to 20-years imprisonment, and a fine of up to $1,000,000.00, and a minimum term of supervised release of 5 years and up to life for his conviction for possession with intent to distribute controlled substances. He faces a mandatory consecutive sentence of 5-years,  and up to life for his conviction for possession of a firearm in furtherance of a drug trafficking crime, and up to 10-years imprisonment for possession of a sawed-off shotgun, and possession of a firearm by a previously convicted felon. A defendant’s sentence is imposed by a judge based on the particular statute the defendant is charged with violating, the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other factors.

This case is being investigated by United States Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), and the Metro-Jefferson Drug Task Force, consisting of Detectives from the City of Watertown Police Department, Detectives from the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office, Investigators from the Jefferson County District Attorney’s Office, and Special Agents from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Richard Southwick.