An undercover informant working on behalf of the federal Drug Enforcement Administration made contact with Naugatuck resident Christopher Cretella in early February to arrange a purchase of 50 oxycodone pills, federal officials said.
But before the transaction could occur, Cretella, 21, told the informant during the Feb. 9 conversation that he had to get all of the 30mg pills from one of his sources — his grandfather, 67-year-old Franklin Rose.
A warrant affidavit obtained from Waterbury Superior Court Thursday detailed the sale that . The two men were arraigned in Waterbury on Thursday morning.
Cretella is facing charges of both possession and sale of narcotics, while Rose is facing one charge of a conspiracy to sell narcotics. Both remain in state custody after they were ordered held in lieu of a $60,000 bond.
According to the warrant, an unnamed informant told DEA officials that Cretella was selling illegal drugs "in and around the city of Naugatuck." The DEA then formulated plans for a controlled purchase of oxycodone between the suspect and the informant.
The informant contacted Cretella by cell phone, and Cretella arranged to meet up with the informant on Feb. 26 at Rose’s 66 Carroll St. home, located directly across from Central Avenue School, the warrant stated.
When the informant arrived, Cretella came out of the front door, got into the informant’s car and, while they drove around the block, they talked about an acceptable payment for the 50 pills.
They settled on $1,150, and the informant paid up, using allocated funds provided by the DEA, the warrant stated.
During the car ride, officials said Cretella made statements such as he was tired that day because he had been “up all morning selling drugs.”
The Grandfather's Role
Rose is not directly quoted in the warrant, however police reference him often in Cretella's statements.
Also, the warrant notes that a state of Connecticut patient prescription history report showed Rose had been "receiving prescriptions for 240 dosages units of 30mg of oxycodone on a monthly basis."
Cretella also indicated that Rose had to “front” some painkillers to his “source” for an unspecified reason, and that Rose was still waiting to get those painkillers back. The warrant states that Cretella needed those fronted painkillers in order to include them in the 50-pill package he wanted to sell to the informant.
In the Feb. 9 conversation, officials said Cretella told the informant that it would be “some time before he met with his source of supply to obtain the pills,” the warrant stated, because "his grandfather would have to receive the pills owed to him before he could complete the transaction with the (informant)."
“Cretella also stated that there were further problems, using specific language referencing his grandfather, due to the fact that his grandfather had ‘fronted’ pills to the source on a previous date,” the warrant stated.
He also told the informant that one time, a buyer called him up hoping to buy eight oxycodone pills.
“I was like ‘alright I gotta wait for my grandfather to get up, ‘cause he’s not up yet,’” the warrant stated.
Federal officials said the conversations were all recorded using an audio device the informant brought with him, and DEA officials were observing the car ride locations near Rose’s home.
After the transaction finished, the two parted ways, and the informant brought the 50 pills back to the DEA to be analyzed and tested positive as oxycodone, the warrant said.
