Connecticut church pastor accused of selling meth out of rectory

WOODBURY, Conn.– A Connecticut pastor has been arrested on charges that he sold crystal meth from the parsonage of his church, police said.

The pastor of a United Methodist Church in Woodbury was taken into custody Friday after police received a tip about the drugs, authorities said.

The pastor was charged with possession of narcotics with intent to sell, possession of a controlled substance and use of drug paraphernalia, among other charges.

The pastor was released on $10,000 bail and was scheduled to appear in Waterbury Superior Court on February 23.

Phone and email messages were left for the pastor and the church on Monday.

State police said in a news release that the pastor was found in possession of crystal methamphetamine in both rock form and liquefied into a hypodermic needle.

Police said they arrested the pastor at the scene of an alleged drug deal set up by a cooperating witness who tipped them off, the Waterbury Republican-American reported.