WATERBURY, Conn. (AP) – A well-known Waterbury businessman faces drug and gun charges, accused of repeatedly selling cocaine to a customer at his eponymous car wash.

Peter Ciarlo, 51, of Middlebury, was arrested last month on charges of selling cocaine to the man, leaving the drugs on a bathroom shelf at Ciarlo’s Car Emporium for the customer to pick up when he stopped by for car washes.

The Republican-American of Waterbury reported Sunday that the customer, who paid $500 for each of the half-ounce containers of cocaine, turned out to be an confidential police informant.

Police say they seized a half-pound of cocaine, seven handguns and 12 rifles during searches in February of Ciarlo’s home and business, a week before they arrested him on warrants charging him with the drug sales.

Prosecutors are discussing whether to transfer Ciarlo’s weapons charges from Waterbury Superior Court to federal court, where the penalties are stiffer.

Ciarlo is prohibited from owning firearms because of a felony conviction in Florida for falsifying a loan application, and a prior misdemeanor conviction for possession of marijuana, records indicate.

He is free on bonds totaling $1.6 million and returns to court on April 3. His attorney, Martin Minnella of Waterbury, said Friday he had not yet reviewed the arrest and search warrants.