NAUGATUCK — A 38-year-old felon suspected of dealing large amounts of crack cocaine pleaded guilty Friday in federal court.
Adam “Pauly” Strong, of Naugatuck, was arrested in May as part of an investigation of a crack cocaine ring that sold in Waterbury and Naugatuck.
The Drug Enforcement Administration joined in the case, lending resources to borough officers that included air surveillance and agents.
The investigation revealed that between March 2017 and May 2018, Strong conspired to distribute more than 250 grams of crack, a press release stated. At the time, Strong was on supervised release following a 2016 federal conviction for trafficking cocaine and crack.
Police were told that Strong was “back in the game” and dealing from a stash house in Naugatuck. Based on that, they said they carried out undercover drug sales with Strong and Miguel Torres, of Waterbury, who was also arrested as part of the investigation.
Police recorded each interaction in some way, including a hidden camera worn during the swaps. As part of the investigation, authorities searched a home at 90 Aetna St. in Naugatuck, intercepted data from Strong’s phone and used a surveillance camera attached to an aircraft to follow Torres’ car during one of the deals on Alder Street in Waterbury earlier this year.
Strong pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with the intent to distribute, and to distribute crack cocaine, and he admitted he violated his probation. He faces up to 33 years in prison when he’s sentenced later this year.
