A federal judge here last week sentenced a pharmacist to six months in prison for identity theft in a health care fraud case but agreed to let him serve it at the same time he serves a 6½-year sentence on a steroids conspiracy charge.
U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade already had sentenced Jodi Carl Silvio to 6½ years in prison for the steroids conviction and for health care fraud in the other case.
Silvio pleaded guilty to the health care fraud charge but was prepared to go to trial on a charge of aggravated identity theft, which would have triggered a mandatory, consecutive two-year sentence if he was convicted.
After Granade handed down the 6½-year sentence on the steroids charge, though, prosecutors agreed to let the defendant plead guilty to unlawful use of identification, which does not carry a mandatory-minimum sentence.
“No real impact,” declared defense attorney Bradley Murray.
Silvio admitted that as owner of Medicap Pharmacy in Bay Minette, he transferred 34 brand-name prescriptions to his store from CVS and Winn-Dixie, using his ex-wife’s name and insurance information.
Silvio was one of the owners of Applied Pharmacy Services, which was at the center of a Mobile-based steroids conspiracy. Silvio also served as chief pharmacist at one time for the compounding pharmacy.
Italian female mountain biker banned for high testosterone levels.
Elena Gaddoni has been given an 18-month suspension after testing positive for testosterone earlier this year. The Italian Olympic Committee (CONI) announced the ban on Thursday, according to Italian media sources.
The 30-year-old showed an unacceptably high testosterone value in an out-of-competition test done at a training camp in Garda on April 24.
The 30-year-old showed an unacceptably high testosterone value in an out-of-competition test done at a training camp in Garda on April 24.
Correction officer to stand trial next year in steroid case.
A new trial date has been scheduled to begin early next year against an Oneida County correction officer accused of possessing and selling illegal steroids last summer.
Peter DiNardo, 42, of Deerfield, is now due to begin trial in Oneida County Court on Monday, Jan. 24.
Judge Barry M. Donalty scheduled the trial date Wednesday. The trial was initially set to begin in July, but the proceedings were postponed for nearly six months after DiNardo’s attorney, Michael Vavonese, was injured in a serious car accident.
DiNardo’s co-defendant, Zachary Lazore, 23, of Yorkville, already pleaded guilty to two counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced in July to five years of probation.
According to prosecutors, both men were involved in the illegal sale of steroids by Lazore, who also was a county correction officer at the time, to a confidential informant in North Utica on July 22, 2009.
Although DiNardo is not accused of being present for the drug sale, investigators have said they watched Lazore stop at DiNardo’s residence shortly before heading to Delmonico’s Italian Steakhouse in North Utica for the pre-arranged sale.
Lazore was terminated as a correction officer once the allegations surfaced, while DiNardo was suspended without pay.
Peter DiNardo, 42, of Deerfield, is now due to begin trial in Oneida County Court on Monday, Jan. 24.
Judge Barry M. Donalty scheduled the trial date Wednesday. The trial was initially set to begin in July, but the proceedings were postponed for nearly six months after DiNardo’s attorney, Michael Vavonese, was injured in a serious car accident.
DiNardo’s co-defendant, Zachary Lazore, 23, of Yorkville, already pleaded guilty to two counts of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance and was sentenced in July to five years of probation.
According to prosecutors, both men were involved in the illegal sale of steroids by Lazore, who also was a county correction officer at the time, to a confidential informant in North Utica on July 22, 2009.
Although DiNardo is not accused of being present for the drug sale, investigators have said they watched Lazore stop at DiNardo’s residence shortly before heading to Delmonico’s Italian Steakhouse in North Utica for the pre-arranged sale.
Lazore was terminated as a correction officer once the allegations surfaced, while DiNardo was suspended without pay.
CAS imposes 2-year ban on German swimmer Schoeber.
German swimmer Sonja Schoeber has had her ban for testing positive for testosterone doubled to two years by sport's highest court.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport imposed the ban Thursday in upholding an appeal from Germany's national anti-doping agency after the country's national swimming federation had suspended Schoeber for only a year.
Schoeber says her two positive tests, in August and October 2009, came from tainted food supplements. But NADA argued that the former German 100-meter breaststroke champion could not prove her unintentional negligence.
The Court of Arbitration for Sport imposed the ban Thursday in upholding an appeal from Germany's national anti-doping agency after the country's national swimming federation had suspended Schoeber for only a year.
Schoeber says her two positive tests, in August and October 2009, came from tainted food supplements. But NADA argued that the former German 100-meter breaststroke champion could not prove her unintentional negligence.
Testosterone underam spray gets FDA approval.
Biotech company Acrux is on its way to sharing in milestone and royalty payments which could hit $1 billion thanks to a growing market of middle-aged men who still want to be able to have sex.
Acrux received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration yesterday for its Axiron testosterone supplement therapy, which it hopes to be selling by next April.
Mr Treagus said Axiron's point of difference was its unique delivery system - an underarm spray. Acrux is also seeking to patent that method, which would extend its copyright protection until 2026.
Acrux received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration yesterday for its Axiron testosterone supplement therapy, which it hopes to be selling by next April.
Mr Treagus said Axiron's point of difference was its unique delivery system - an underarm spray. Acrux is also seeking to patent that method, which would extend its copyright protection until 2026.
Androxal has predicted cost of $2000 per year !
Assuming a conservative addressable market of just 350,000 men for Androxal for the treatment of secondary hypogonadism, the potential market size could be in excess of $700 million annually based on an annual treatment cost of $2,000 per patient. Meanwhile, the company anticipates capturing a large portion of the market given its oral treatment with no black box warnings, no partner risk, and no controlled substances.
Former El Paso Ex-Deputy constable accused of delivering steroids.
A former El Paso volunteer reserve deputy constable was arrested and charged with two counts of delivery of a controlled substance.
Former Volunteer Reserve Deputy constable with El Paso County Constable’s Office Precinct 7, Horacio Garcia, was arrested at his home Monday afternoon a months-long investigation conducted by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
An arrest warrant was issued for Garcia, 38, on suspicion of delivering steroids.
Garcia was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility under bonds totaling $55,000. Garcia was fired from his job, according to Constable Angie Sommers.
"I want the community to know that I take these situations very seriously, my deputies will be rofessional at all times. If you can't be professional you can't be here. The citizens deserve better than this and out of Precinct 7 that's what they'll get," said Sommers.
Former Volunteer Reserve Deputy constable with El Paso County Constable’s Office Precinct 7, Horacio Garcia, was arrested at his home Monday afternoon a months-long investigation conducted by the El Paso County Sheriff's Office.
An arrest warrant was issued for Garcia, 38, on suspicion of delivering steroids.
Garcia was booked into the El Paso County Detention Facility under bonds totaling $55,000. Garcia was fired from his job, according to Constable Angie Sommers.
"I want the community to know that I take these situations very seriously, my deputies will be rofessional at all times. If you can't be professional you can't be here. The citizens deserve better than this and out of Precinct 7 that's what they'll get," said Sommers.
Creutzfeldt-Jakob infected HGH case finally reaches court after twenty year legal battle.
Prosecutors have called for a three-year prison sentence for a biochemist accused of causing the wrongful death of 119 people to whom he administered tainted growth hormones in the 1980s. The months-long appeals trial ends Wednesday against Fernand Dray and other medical staff involved in administering the hormones.
"Professor Dray’s specific fault is an accumulation of imprudence and negligence," said prosecutor Bruno Sturlese, who asked for the maximum sentence for Dray.
The 88-year-old is the former head of a laboratory at the prestigious Pasteur Institute, which manufactured the growth hormone. Dray’s lawyers have called for a dismissal of the charges.
Prosecutors are also calling for six to nine months of prison for paediatrician Elisabeth Mugnier, 61, for involuntary homicide.
The hormone, which was manufactured from the glands from unregulated cadavers, turned out to transmit Creutzfeldt-Jakob (MCJ) disease. It was administered to 1,698 children between 1980 and 1988.
Victims have already received some 31 million euros in damages from the government.
Families of those who took the hormones have been involved in court cases against the manufacturers and administrators for almost 20 years to prove that they acted with the knowledge that the drug was infected.
The judge in the first case against Dray determined there was not enough evidence that he acted knowingly, and he was acquitted in January 2009.
The appeals case ends Wednesday, and a verdict is not expected before the spring.
"Professor Dray’s specific fault is an accumulation of imprudence and negligence," said prosecutor Bruno Sturlese, who asked for the maximum sentence for Dray.
The 88-year-old is the former head of a laboratory at the prestigious Pasteur Institute, which manufactured the growth hormone. Dray’s lawyers have called for a dismissal of the charges.
Prosecutors are also calling for six to nine months of prison for paediatrician Elisabeth Mugnier, 61, for involuntary homicide.
The hormone, which was manufactured from the glands from unregulated cadavers, turned out to transmit Creutzfeldt-Jakob (MCJ) disease. It was administered to 1,698 children between 1980 and 1988.
Victims have already received some 31 million euros in damages from the government.
Families of those who took the hormones have been involved in court cases against the manufacturers and administrators for almost 20 years to prove that they acted with the knowledge that the drug was infected.
The judge in the first case against Dray determined there was not enough evidence that he acted knowingly, and he was acquitted in January 2009.
The appeals case ends Wednesday, and a verdict is not expected before the spring.
British bodybuilders dies ten years after Doctor's warning him to quit using steroids.
A coroner has issued a warning about the dangers of taking unprescribed steroids, following the death of a Wigan dad.
An inquest at Bolton Coroner’s Court heard former body-building enthusiast John Cowell had taken anabolic steroids around 10 years ago to help develop his physique.
In 1999, a CT scan revealed Mr Cowell had an enlarged heart, making it weak. This irreversible damage was put down to the use of the steroids.
Deputy Coroner Alan Walsh urged people who take steroids to be more aware of the dangers they can cause.
He said: “I am sure there are many people out there who take steroids which are available without a prescription, but it’s important that people know they are very dangerous.”
Dad-of-two Mr Cowell was found on his living room by his friend, John Jones, on the day of May 25.
Mr Jones told the inquest that they had agreed to meet that morning.
But when Mr Cowell did not show up, Mr Jones became worried and arranged to be taken to Mr Cowell’s house.
Having looked through the window, Mr Jones could see Mr Cowell was on the couch and was not breathing.
Two days earlier, Mr Cowell had been on a trip to Blackpool with his wife and son and had felt well.
His wife Catherine told the court they had walked further than usual, and there had been no sign he was ill.
Consultant cardiologist Dr Sanjay Arya, who had treated Mr Cowell, told the inquest he had advised Mr Cowell in 1999 to stop taking the steroids and drinking – although his alcohol intake was not excessively high.
Mr Cowell’s heart was only pumping around 20% of blood around his body, compared to the normal 60%.
He had developed cardiomyopathy, a condition in which sudden death is common.
Mr Arya said: “Mr Cowell’s death would have been down to an electrical disturbance in the heart.
“From my experience of dealing with patients who had suffered with this problem, they die a sudden and quick death, without any pain and discomfort.
“But the anabolic steroids can cause thickening of the heart.
“Although Mr Cowell had stopped taking the drugs, they had already caused irreversible damage to the heart.”
Pathologist Stephen Mills had found Mr Cowell to have an enlarged heart and suffering cardiomyopathy.
A verdict of death as a consequence from the use of anabolic steroids was recorded.
An inquest at Bolton Coroner’s Court heard former body-building enthusiast John Cowell had taken anabolic steroids around 10 years ago to help develop his physique.
In 1999, a CT scan revealed Mr Cowell had an enlarged heart, making it weak. This irreversible damage was put down to the use of the steroids.
Deputy Coroner Alan Walsh urged people who take steroids to be more aware of the dangers they can cause.
He said: “I am sure there are many people out there who take steroids which are available without a prescription, but it’s important that people know they are very dangerous.”
Dad-of-two Mr Cowell was found on his living room by his friend, John Jones, on the day of May 25.
Mr Jones told the inquest that they had agreed to meet that morning.
But when Mr Cowell did not show up, Mr Jones became worried and arranged to be taken to Mr Cowell’s house.
Having looked through the window, Mr Jones could see Mr Cowell was on the couch and was not breathing.
Two days earlier, Mr Cowell had been on a trip to Blackpool with his wife and son and had felt well.
His wife Catherine told the court they had walked further than usual, and there had been no sign he was ill.
Consultant cardiologist Dr Sanjay Arya, who had treated Mr Cowell, told the inquest he had advised Mr Cowell in 1999 to stop taking the steroids and drinking – although his alcohol intake was not excessively high.
Mr Cowell’s heart was only pumping around 20% of blood around his body, compared to the normal 60%.
He had developed cardiomyopathy, a condition in which sudden death is common.
Mr Arya said: “Mr Cowell’s death would have been down to an electrical disturbance in the heart.
“From my experience of dealing with patients who had suffered with this problem, they die a sudden and quick death, without any pain and discomfort.
“But the anabolic steroids can cause thickening of the heart.
“Although Mr Cowell had stopped taking the drugs, they had already caused irreversible damage to the heart.”
Pathologist Stephen Mills had found Mr Cowell to have an enlarged heart and suffering cardiomyopathy.
A verdict of death as a consequence from the use of anabolic steroids was recorded.
Soldiers admit steroids use to bulk up for war.
Just weeks before his battalion of some 700 soldiers departed for Afghanistan in summer 2009, Lt. Col. Burton Shields had a disconcerting visit from an Army investigator.
The agent said several soldiers under Shields’ command at Joint Base Lewis-McChord had admitted to illegal use of steroids. One of the suspected users was a battalion captain.
Shields, who led the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, was skeptical.
But in the days that followed, the captain, as well as a lieutenant, first sergeant and nine other soldiers, admitted using steroids, according to investigative documents that offer a rare look at illegal use of those drugs in the military.
Steroid use in the Army has been on the rise amid a prolonged period of warfare. To prepare for – and perform – on combat tours of duty, some soldiers told investigators they turned to steroids to boost their brawn.
The latest Defense Department survey, conducted in 2008, found that 2.5 percent of Army personnel had illegally used steroids within the past 12 months, a jump from three years earlier, when 1.5 percent said they had used these drugs illegally.
Several soldiers from the 4/23 Battalion who confessed to using steroids estimated that more than half the unit of some 700 soldiers had sampled steroids, according to investigative documents obtained by the Seattle Times under the federal Freedom of Information Act. One soldier had a scheme for continuing steroid use in Afghanistan through the receipt of mail-order packages that would disguise the drugs in lotion packets.
Anabolic steroids can increase muscle mass and strength.
But these drugs can raise the risk of high blood pressure, heart and liver disease, and side effects can include mood swings, irritability and increased aggression, which can be a volatile attribute for soldiers headed off to battle.
“The use of steroids is a short-term gain for long-term problems that individuals are going to have, and we cannot tolerate them in any way, shape or form,” said Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army’s vice chief of staff, who has taken a leadership role in Army efforts to reduce drug use among soldiers.
Seattle police tip
At Joint Base Lewis-McChord, steroid use in Shields’ battalion might have gone undetected if not for a tip in June 2009 from the Seattle Police Department. While investigating illegal gambling, a Seattle undercover detective encountered a battalion soldier who talked about steroid use and distribution. The Seattle police tipped off the Army Criminal Investigative Command, which had agents interview soldiers.
In the documents released to the Seattle Times, the names of battalion soldiers who admitted to using steroids were blacked out because none of the soldiers was convicted of any crimes. The soldiers were subject to other disciplinary actions, including an Article 15 punishment slapped on the captain, who was subject to pay forfeiture and up to 30-day confinement to his quarters.
Shields, the battalion commander, declined to be interviewed for this story.
But Maj. Kathleen Turner, a Joint Base Lewis-McChord spokeswoman, said the captain, first lieutenant and first sergeant who used steroids were subject to disciplinary actions and did not deploy to Afghanistan.
Usage an open secret
“No one really hid this,” said Seth Manzel, an Army veteran who served from 2004-’05 in Mosul, Iraq, with the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. “I walked into a squad leader’s room one time, and he was with another soldier who had his pants down around his ankle. He had a needle and was injecting that soldier.”
Manzel said about a half-dozen soldiers in his 35-man platoon used steroids. His roommate and several other soldiers took steroids purchased from American contractors who worked at the Mosul base, and they injected themselves with needles provided by medics, he said.
Officers, he added, weren’t eager to investigate steroid use.
“If a captain sees his soldiers getting stronger at a quicker rate, that’s not necessarily a bad thing,” said Manzel, who now operates Coffee Strong, a Lakewood, Pierce County, coffee shop, and has been active in the anti-war movement.
Some soldiers report steroid use among Army Rangers, who repeatedly cycle through war zones for months of difficult duty.
One Ranger veteran told the Seattle Times that several members of his unit were “juicing” while in Iraq in 2005, including a squad leader. The Ranger veteran said he also intended to take steroids but forgot his doses back at Lewis-McChord, so he took them upon his return.
“While I was doing them, I doubled in (muscular) size,” the veteran said.
But there were side effects.
He was angry much of the time, quick to snap at his girlfriend, and he found himself on an emotional roller coaster while coming off the steroids. But he sees value in steroids for soldiers heading off to combat.
“There is a broad spectrum of things that could kill you in a war zone. You need to be aggressive and quick. I would do them again in a heartbeat.”
Rush ‘to get stronger’
In early 2009, the 4/23 Battalion learned that instead of going to Iraq that summer, the soldiers would head to southern Afghanistan to battle the Taliban insurgency.
“I wanted to get stronger. I knew we were deploying,” one soldier, who used an injectable steroid as he trained for Afghanistan, told investigators. “We had this road march through the woods (during training), and I almost fell out, and they had to take my weapon … I wanted to make sure that didn’t happen over there.”
The steroids were purchased easily online and delivered to off-base houses. One soldier said he then would distribute the drugs at a gathering point in front of a barrack.
After Seattle police tipped them off, Army investigators sought to conduct steroid urinalysis on the entire battalion of some 700 soldiers. That request was rejected by Army legal officials because there was a lack of evidence to justify it, according to investigative documents.
But the Army investigators did conduct more-limited testing, along with interviews of soldiers and officers. Some battalion officers, when interviewed by investigators, expressed surprise at the steroid use.
But another battalion captain admitted to taking steroids twice at his apartment in DuPont. He felt comfortable enough to inject the drug even as a first sergeant in the unit was visiting his home.
“At first I disagreed with him and told him not to mess with it,” the first sergeant told investigators.
Then the first sergeant had a change of heart. Offered steroids by the captain, he injected the drugs during a two-month period.
The agent said several soldiers under Shields’ command at Joint Base Lewis-McChord had admitted to illegal use of steroids. One of the suspected users was a battalion captain.
Shields, who led the 4th Battalion, 23rd Infantry Regiment, was skeptical.
But in the days that followed, the captain, as well as a lieutenant, first sergeant and nine other soldiers, admitted using steroids, according to investigative documents that offer a rare look at illegal use of those drugs in the military.
Steroid use in the Army has been on the rise amid a prolonged period of warfare. To prepare for – and perform – on combat tours of duty, some soldiers told investigators they turned to steroids to boost their brawn.
The latest Defense Department survey, conducted in 2008, found that 2.5 percent of Army personnel had illegally used steroids within the past 12 months, a jump from three years earlier, when 1.5 percent said they had used these drugs illegally.
Several soldiers from the 4/23 Battalion who confessed to using steroids estimated that more than half the unit of some 700 soldiers had sampled steroids, according to investigative documents obtained by the Seattle Times under the federal Freedom of Information Act. One soldier had a scheme for continuing steroid use in Afghanistan through the receipt of mail-order packages that would disguise the drugs in lotion packets.
Anabolic steroids can increase muscle mass and strength.
But these drugs can raise the risk of high blood pressure, heart and liver disease, and side effects can include mood swings, irritability and increased aggression, which can be a volatile attribute for soldiers headed off to battle.
“The use of steroids is a short-term gain for long-term problems that individuals are going to have, and we cannot tolerate them in any way, shape or form,” said Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army’s vice chief of staff, who has taken a leadership role in Army efforts to reduce drug use among soldiers.
Seattle police tip
At Joint Base Lewis-McChord, steroid use in Shields’ battalion might have gone undetected if not for a tip in June 2009 from the Seattle Police Department. While investigating illegal gambling, a Seattle undercover detective encountered a battalion soldier who talked about steroid use and distribution. The Seattle police tipped off the Army Criminal Investigative Command, which had agents interview soldiers.
In the documents released to the Seattle Times, the names of battalion soldiers who admitted to using steroids were blacked out because none of the soldiers was convicted of any crimes. The soldiers were subject to other disciplinary actions, including an Article 15 punishment slapped on the captain, who was subject to pay forfeiture and up to 30-day confinement to his quarters.
Shields, the battalion commander, declined to be interviewed for this story.
But Maj. Kathleen Turner, a Joint Base Lewis-McChord spokeswoman, said the captain, first lieutenant and first sergeant who used steroids were subject to disciplinary actions and did not deploy to Afghanistan.
Usage an open secret
“No one really hid this,” said Seth Manzel, an Army veteran who served from 2004-’05 in Mosul, Iraq, with the 1st Brigade, 25th Infantry Division. “I walked into a squad leader’s room one time, and he was with another soldier who had his pants down around his ankle. He had a needle and was injecting that soldier.”
Manzel said about a half-dozen soldiers in his 35-man platoon used steroids. His roommate and several other soldiers took steroids purchased from American contractors who worked at the Mosul base, and they injected themselves with needles provided by medics, he said.
Officers, he added, weren’t eager to investigate steroid use.
“If a captain sees his soldiers getting stronger at a quicker rate, that’s not necessarily a bad thing,” said Manzel, who now operates Coffee Strong, a Lakewood, Pierce County, coffee shop, and has been active in the anti-war movement.
Some soldiers report steroid use among Army Rangers, who repeatedly cycle through war zones for months of difficult duty.
One Ranger veteran told the Seattle Times that several members of his unit were “juicing” while in Iraq in 2005, including a squad leader. The Ranger veteran said he also intended to take steroids but forgot his doses back at Lewis-McChord, so he took them upon his return.
“While I was doing them, I doubled in (muscular) size,” the veteran said.
But there were side effects.
He was angry much of the time, quick to snap at his girlfriend, and he found himself on an emotional roller coaster while coming off the steroids. But he sees value in steroids for soldiers heading off to combat.
“There is a broad spectrum of things that could kill you in a war zone. You need to be aggressive and quick. I would do them again in a heartbeat.”
Rush ‘to get stronger’
In early 2009, the 4/23 Battalion learned that instead of going to Iraq that summer, the soldiers would head to southern Afghanistan to battle the Taliban insurgency.
“I wanted to get stronger. I knew we were deploying,” one soldier, who used an injectable steroid as he trained for Afghanistan, told investigators. “We had this road march through the woods (during training), and I almost fell out, and they had to take my weapon … I wanted to make sure that didn’t happen over there.”
The steroids were purchased easily online and delivered to off-base houses. One soldier said he then would distribute the drugs at a gathering point in front of a barrack.
After Seattle police tipped them off, Army investigators sought to conduct steroid urinalysis on the entire battalion of some 700 soldiers. That request was rejected by Army legal officials because there was a lack of evidence to justify it, according to investigative documents.
But the Army investigators did conduct more-limited testing, along with interviews of soldiers and officers. Some battalion officers, when interviewed by investigators, expressed surprise at the steroid use.
But another battalion captain admitted to taking steroids twice at his apartment in DuPont. He felt comfortable enough to inject the drug even as a first sergeant in the unit was visiting his home.
“At first I disagreed with him and told him not to mess with it,” the first sergeant told investigators.
Then the first sergeant had a change of heart. Offered steroids by the captain, he injected the drugs during a two-month period.
DHT may not be to blame for men's prostate problems.
The use of dihydrotestosterone (DHT) in older men doesn't appear to have an effect on prostate growth, though it does decrease spinal bone mineral density, according to research published in the Nov. 16 issue of the Annals of Internal Medicine.
Amanda Idan, of the University of Sydney in Australia, and colleagues analyzed data from 114 men older than 50 without known prostate disease who were randomized to receive daily transdermal DHT or placebo gel for two years. The primary efficacy end point was total prostate volume measured by ultrasonography every six months.
The researchers found that subjects' total and central prostate volume increased, but DHT had no beneficial or adverse effect on prostate growth. DHT treatment was associated with decreased bone mineral density in the spine (by 1.4 percent) but not the hip. There were no serious adverse effects caused by DHT.
"Idan and colleagues argue that their findings provide insight about the potential efficacy of future synthetic androgen receptor modulators that will likely share (with DHT) the anabolic effects on muscle and fat, as well as the sparing effects on the prostate. However, we caution that each synthetic androgen-receptor modulator could have a different target organ profile. We conclude that DHT acts as a hormone in tissues without high concentrations of 5α-reductase enzymes but mainly in an autocrine-paracrine manner in tissues like the prostate, in which 5α-reductase is abundant," write the authors of an accompanying editorial.
Amanda Idan, of the University of Sydney in Australia, and colleagues analyzed data from 114 men older than 50 without known prostate disease who were randomized to receive daily transdermal DHT or placebo gel for two years. The primary efficacy end point was total prostate volume measured by ultrasonography every six months.
The researchers found that subjects' total and central prostate volume increased, but DHT had no beneficial or adverse effect on prostate growth. DHT treatment was associated with decreased bone mineral density in the spine (by 1.4 percent) but not the hip. There were no serious adverse effects caused by DHT.
"Idan and colleagues argue that their findings provide insight about the potential efficacy of future synthetic androgen receptor modulators that will likely share (with DHT) the anabolic effects on muscle and fat, as well as the sparing effects on the prostate. However, we caution that each synthetic androgen-receptor modulator could have a different target organ profile. We conclude that DHT acts as a hormone in tissues without high concentrations of 5α-reductase enzymes but mainly in an autocrine-paracrine manner in tissues like the prostate, in which 5α-reductase is abundant," write the authors of an accompanying editorial.
Shane Mosley drops $12M defamation suit against BALCO founder Victor Conte.
The $12 million defamation suit Shane Mosley filed against BALCO founder Victor Conte was quietly dismissed last week, ending a contentious 2-1/2 year battle that played out in newspaper and Internet accounts, on courthouse steps and even on YouTube.
The case was "voluntarily dismissed with prejudice and without costs, disbursements or attorney's fees to any party against another," according to a document filed on Friday in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan. No further terms were made public. A case dismissed with prejudice cannot be re-filed.
Golden Gate University law professor Peter Keane, who has followed the case since it was filed in 2008, said he doesn't know whether money changed hands, but said it "wouldn't make sense" for Conte to have paid Mosley to settle.
The case was "voluntarily dismissed with prejudice and without costs, disbursements or attorney's fees to any party against another," according to a document filed on Friday in New York State Supreme Court in Manhattan. No further terms were made public. A case dismissed with prejudice cannot be re-filed.
Golden Gate University law professor Peter Keane, who has followed the case since it was filed in 2008, said he doesn't know whether money changed hands, but said it "wouldn't make sense" for Conte to have paid Mosley to settle.
Australian caught with small stash of EuroChem steroids and injectable andrenaline ?
Police say information from the public led to the seizure of drugs worth more than $10,000 in Canberra's south.
Drug Team Detectives executed a search warrant at a house at Gowrie Street in Fadden.
They allegedly found steroids and other illicit drugs in the bedroom and kitchen.
Police say they expect to charge a 27-year-old man with possession of illicit drugs.
Steroids case against Signature Pharmacy dismissed by New York Judge.
In a sharp rebuke of the Albany County district attorney, a state judge on Monday dismissed a criminal case against the operators of a pharmacy in Florida at the center of a national steroid scandal that implicated major sports figures.
The judge, Stephen Herrick of Albany County Court, noted in dismissing the case that the operators of the company, Signature Pharmacy, were pursuing a civil lawsuit against the district attorney, P. David Soares, in which they accused him and his office of committing federal civil rights violations stemming from the criminal case.
Judge Herrick said that in light of the civil lawsuit brought by the pharmacy’s operators, Mr. Soares and his office had a professional and financial stake in the outcome of the criminal case against the operators.
“In the present matter, the court has found a conflict of interest sufficient to warrant dismissal of the indictment,” the judge wrote in the six-page decision. “Likewise, the court finds that this demonstrated conflict of interest warrants the disqualification of the Albany County district attorney’s office from further prosecution of this matter.”
The district attorney’s office condemned the judge’s decision, saying it established a dangerous precedent that undermined the legal system.
“Judge Herrick’s decision is a get-out-of-jail-free card for every criminal defendant in New York State,” said Heather Orth, a spokeswoman for Mr. Soares. “His message to defendants is, ‘If your D.A. is being too tough on you, sue him, and you can get a new one.’ ”
Mr. Soares’s statewide profile has grown as a result of his investigations of top New York public officials, most recently on the question of whether to prosecute Gov. David A. Paterson on perjury charges.
The criminal case dismissed on Monday and the subsequent civil lawsuit centered on an investigation that Mr. Soares opened several years ago that resulted in a highly publicized raid on Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, Fla., which prosecutors had accused of being the supplier of at least $10 million of controlled substances sold to customers in New York.
The raid, in February 2007, led to the arrests of five people associated with Signature: Naomi and Robert Loomis, the couple that owns the pharmacy; Kenneth Michael Loomis, Mr. Loomis’s brother and a pharmacist at the company; and two former employees, Kirk Calvert and Tony Palladino.
Over the summer, a federal judge in Florida denied Mr. Soares’s motion to dismiss the civil suit, a fact noted in the ruling on Monday. The judge, Gregory A. Presnell, said Mr. Soares led a criminal case riddled with flaws, including arrests that potentially were illegal. The judge also accused Mr. Soares of taking steps to attract the maximum amount of attention from the media.
Judge Presnell also said he did not understand why Mr. Soares believed he had a legal basis to pursue the investigation, noting that Signature had no offices in New York and that the people charged had never set foot in the state.
In 2008, Judge Herrick threw out criminal indictments against the five Signature defendants, citing a series of blunders and missteps by Albany County prosecutors that he said had prejudiced the case. But Mr. Soares charged the five again over the summer.
Mr. Soares has said that Signature was at the center of a nationwide ring of shady Web sites and unethical doctors who had made steroids and other controlled substances easy to obtain over the Internet.
Prosecutors charged that the Web sites enabled doctors to provide prescriptions to numerous people, including professional baseball and football players seeking to improve performance, whom they had neither met nor diagnosed. Signature Pharmacy, prosecutors said, filled the prescriptions.
Mr. Soares has been at the center of several high-profile cases involving New York political figures in the last few years.
Most recently, Judith S. Kaye, the former chief judge of the State Court of Appeals, issued a report saying Governor Paterson misled state ethics regulators while testifying under oath about tickets he had obtained to a Yankees World Series game last year. But she left it to Mr. Soares to decide whether to pursue perjury charges against the governor; he has not yet made that decision.
Mr. Soares also led an investigation into the way former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s administration handled the politically sensitive travel records of a Republican rival, Joseph L. Bruno during Mr. Bruno’s time as the Senate majority leader.
Mr. Soares drew criticism for his handling of that investigation after issuing conflicting assessments of the case and after interviewing Mr. Spitzer and other officials informally, rather than under oath. He ultimately filed no charges.
The judge, Stephen Herrick of Albany County Court, noted in dismissing the case that the operators of the company, Signature Pharmacy, were pursuing a civil lawsuit against the district attorney, P. David Soares, in which they accused him and his office of committing federal civil rights violations stemming from the criminal case.
Judge Herrick said that in light of the civil lawsuit brought by the pharmacy’s operators, Mr. Soares and his office had a professional and financial stake in the outcome of the criminal case against the operators.
“In the present matter, the court has found a conflict of interest sufficient to warrant dismissal of the indictment,” the judge wrote in the six-page decision. “Likewise, the court finds that this demonstrated conflict of interest warrants the disqualification of the Albany County district attorney’s office from further prosecution of this matter.”
The district attorney’s office condemned the judge’s decision, saying it established a dangerous precedent that undermined the legal system.
“Judge Herrick’s decision is a get-out-of-jail-free card for every criminal defendant in New York State,” said Heather Orth, a spokeswoman for Mr. Soares. “His message to defendants is, ‘If your D.A. is being too tough on you, sue him, and you can get a new one.’ ”
Mr. Soares’s statewide profile has grown as a result of his investigations of top New York public officials, most recently on the question of whether to prosecute Gov. David A. Paterson on perjury charges.
The criminal case dismissed on Monday and the subsequent civil lawsuit centered on an investigation that Mr. Soares opened several years ago that resulted in a highly publicized raid on Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, Fla., which prosecutors had accused of being the supplier of at least $10 million of controlled substances sold to customers in New York.
The raid, in February 2007, led to the arrests of five people associated with Signature: Naomi and Robert Loomis, the couple that owns the pharmacy; Kenneth Michael Loomis, Mr. Loomis’s brother and a pharmacist at the company; and two former employees, Kirk Calvert and Tony Palladino.
Over the summer, a federal judge in Florida denied Mr. Soares’s motion to dismiss the civil suit, a fact noted in the ruling on Monday. The judge, Gregory A. Presnell, said Mr. Soares led a criminal case riddled with flaws, including arrests that potentially were illegal. The judge also accused Mr. Soares of taking steps to attract the maximum amount of attention from the media.
Judge Presnell also said he did not understand why Mr. Soares believed he had a legal basis to pursue the investigation, noting that Signature had no offices in New York and that the people charged had never set foot in the state.
In 2008, Judge Herrick threw out criminal indictments against the five Signature defendants, citing a series of blunders and missteps by Albany County prosecutors that he said had prejudiced the case. But Mr. Soares charged the five again over the summer.
Mr. Soares has said that Signature was at the center of a nationwide ring of shady Web sites and unethical doctors who had made steroids and other controlled substances easy to obtain over the Internet.
Prosecutors charged that the Web sites enabled doctors to provide prescriptions to numerous people, including professional baseball and football players seeking to improve performance, whom they had neither met nor diagnosed. Signature Pharmacy, prosecutors said, filled the prescriptions.
Mr. Soares has been at the center of several high-profile cases involving New York political figures in the last few years.
Most recently, Judith S. Kaye, the former chief judge of the State Court of Appeals, issued a report saying Governor Paterson misled state ethics regulators while testifying under oath about tickets he had obtained to a Yankees World Series game last year. But she left it to Mr. Soares to decide whether to pursue perjury charges against the governor; he has not yet made that decision.
Mr. Soares also led an investigation into the way former Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s administration handled the politically sensitive travel records of a Republican rival, Joseph L. Bruno during Mr. Bruno’s time as the Senate majority leader.
Mr. Soares drew criticism for his handling of that investigation after issuing conflicting assessments of the case and after interviewing Mr. Spitzer and other officials informally, rather than under oath. He ultimately filed no charges.
Australian soldiers sent home for steroid use.
Three soldiers have been sent home from Afghanistan after being caught using anabolic steroids. Earlier this year, four elite special forces soldiers were also found to be using steroids.
One defence commentator says the problem is worrying because although soldiers know they can be routinely tested for drug use, they are persisting with their risky behaviour.
The Defence Department says of the three men recently caught with steroids, one has been discharged and the other two are in the process of being sacked from the Army.
The executive director of the Australia Defence Association, Neil James, says the low number of cases indicate this is not a major issue for the Army.
"We don't see this as being a widespread problem at all, considering the number of people that serve in Afghanistan each year, that's about one in 600, which is a remarkably low percentage," he said.
Drug testing soldiers has moved from random to routine in the past couple of years, and Mr James says it is surprising troops thought they could avoid detection.
"Well the only thing that's a little bit disquieting about this is now the testing of the troops overseas is near 100 per cent, you wonder how anyone thought they could get away with it," he said.
"But steroid use tends to be a sign of boredom and it tends to be a little bit of a competitive thing among young, fit Australians.
"So if you've got the problem in the wider society then you're eventually going to have it in your military. But how they thought they could get away with it is a bit puzzling."
Commentators argue taking steroids does not provide a physical edge in combat, and Mr James says, if anything, the cases have uncovered a vain streak among Defence personnel.
"What you need in combat is physical fitness and endurance fitness and steroids have more to do with muscle tone," he said.
It has been well documented that steroids can sometimes carry the side effect of what is known as 'roid rage'.
But Mr James says he doubts the soldiers would be suffering from those side effects.
"Well you would, wouldn't you, but steroid use that produces rage is generally severe steroid use and without knowing what the random or the 100 per cent testing has uncovered, I suspect that is probably hasn't been major overuse, it's just been to a lesser level," he said.
"So I don't really think the rage would have been too much of a problem and there's lots of ways that would have been uncovered anyway, just in the way that soldiers look after each other and their general behaviour."
Mr James says drug use tends to be more common in general units and not among special forces or commandos.
He says they are busier and more disciplined than an average soldier.
One defence commentator says the problem is worrying because although soldiers know they can be routinely tested for drug use, they are persisting with their risky behaviour.
The Defence Department says of the three men recently caught with steroids, one has been discharged and the other two are in the process of being sacked from the Army.
The executive director of the Australia Defence Association, Neil James, says the low number of cases indicate this is not a major issue for the Army.
"We don't see this as being a widespread problem at all, considering the number of people that serve in Afghanistan each year, that's about one in 600, which is a remarkably low percentage," he said.
Drug testing soldiers has moved from random to routine in the past couple of years, and Mr James says it is surprising troops thought they could avoid detection.
"Well the only thing that's a little bit disquieting about this is now the testing of the troops overseas is near 100 per cent, you wonder how anyone thought they could get away with it," he said.
"But steroid use tends to be a sign of boredom and it tends to be a little bit of a competitive thing among young, fit Australians.
"So if you've got the problem in the wider society then you're eventually going to have it in your military. But how they thought they could get away with it is a bit puzzling."
Commentators argue taking steroids does not provide a physical edge in combat, and Mr James says, if anything, the cases have uncovered a vain streak among Defence personnel.
"What you need in combat is physical fitness and endurance fitness and steroids have more to do with muscle tone," he said.
It has been well documented that steroids can sometimes carry the side effect of what is known as 'roid rage'.
But Mr James says he doubts the soldiers would be suffering from those side effects.
"Well you would, wouldn't you, but steroid use that produces rage is generally severe steroid use and without knowing what the random or the 100 per cent testing has uncovered, I suspect that is probably hasn't been major overuse, it's just been to a lesser level," he said.
"So I don't really think the rage would have been too much of a problem and there's lots of ways that would have been uncovered anyway, just in the way that soldiers look after each other and their general behaviour."
Mr James says drug use tends to be more common in general units and not among special forces or commandos.
He says they are busier and more disciplined than an average soldier.
British sports science graduate gets 250 hours of community service for steroids and coke.
A sports science graduate was found in possession of anabolic steroids and cocaine when police raided his Leeds home. Police found more than £1,000 of drugs, including steroids contained in glass vials and bags of cocaine, after executing a search warrant at David Stache's home in Churwell.
Stache, 30, has a masters degree in sports, health and nutrition, and was popular for giving people the benefit of his expertise.
Those who benefited from his help included an RAF pilot who was able to prepare for his training with his help.
But Leeds Crown Court heard how he "lost perspective" and strayed into illegal drugs, becoming a heavy user of steroids.
A judge, who spared Stache jail, said his offending was made worse
because of his qualifications, as he would know only too well the devastating impact the drugs could have.
His convictions also cost him the opportunity of his "dream job" working in marketing for a sports nutrition company in London.
Police found 17 glass vials of testosterone, 13 of trenbolone and five of nandrolone, along with a small amount of cocaine which was for his own use.
Officers also seized a whiskey jar from the property which contained £3,381.
Stache, of Granny Avenue, Churwell, pleaded guilty to three charges of possession of a class C drug with intent to supply and one of possessing a class A drug.
Jonathan Duffy, mitigating, said Stache was an occasional user of cocaine at parties.
He said he was mortified to be appearing in court and had transformed his life since his arrest.
The lawyer said he was hoping to obtain a grant from the Prince's Trust to set up his own business.
Mr Duffy said Stache accepted responsibility for his actions and accepted they passed the custody threshold but urged Judge Penelope Belcher to impose a community punishment.
Stache was given a community order which included 250 hours unpaid.
The judge told Stache: "Of all the people who should know the utter stupidity of being involved in class C anabolic steroids it is you.
"It makes it more serious that you knew exactly what you were dealing with."
Stache, 30, has a masters degree in sports, health and nutrition, and was popular for giving people the benefit of his expertise.
Those who benefited from his help included an RAF pilot who was able to prepare for his training with his help.
But Leeds Crown Court heard how he "lost perspective" and strayed into illegal drugs, becoming a heavy user of steroids.
A judge, who spared Stache jail, said his offending was made worse
because of his qualifications, as he would know only too well the devastating impact the drugs could have.
His convictions also cost him the opportunity of his "dream job" working in marketing for a sports nutrition company in London.
Police found 17 glass vials of testosterone, 13 of trenbolone and five of nandrolone, along with a small amount of cocaine which was for his own use.
Officers also seized a whiskey jar from the property which contained £3,381.
Stache, of Granny Avenue, Churwell, pleaded guilty to three charges of possession of a class C drug with intent to supply and one of possessing a class A drug.
Jonathan Duffy, mitigating, said Stache was an occasional user of cocaine at parties.
He said he was mortified to be appearing in court and had transformed his life since his arrest.
The lawyer said he was hoping to obtain a grant from the Prince's Trust to set up his own business.
Mr Duffy said Stache accepted responsibility for his actions and accepted they passed the custody threshold but urged Judge Penelope Belcher to impose a community punishment.
Stache was given a community order which included 250 hours unpaid.
The judge told Stache: "Of all the people who should know the utter stupidity of being involved in class C anabolic steroids it is you.
"It makes it more serious that you knew exactly what you were dealing with."
DEA makes controlled delivery of HGH to Baseball player Jose Guillen's home.
Maybe the 34-year-old journeyman player was looking for a quick fix to a neck injury that had hobbled him during the San Francisco Giants' playoff run, a postseason that ultimately saw him dropped from Giants manager Bruce Bochy's roster.
But Jose Guillen only put himself and his wife in a world of legal hurt when the Giants' outfielder allegedly arranged for a shipment of nearly 50 pre-loaded syringes of human growth hormone to be sent to his San Francisco address in September, while his team was clawing its way to a playoff berth.
According to a source close to a federal investigation of Guillen, Drug Enforcement Administration agents, who were monitoring the activities of the suspected supplier, intercepted the package when it was sent to the Giants' outfielder to the attention of Yamel Guillen - Jose Guillen's wife, who also goes by Yamel Acevedo.
Federal agents contacted Major League Baseball's Department of Investigation about the shipment and the DOI, according to sources, continues to investigate the matter and whether anyone else in baseball might have been involved, especially since Guillen has a history of acquiring HGH and steroids: Prior to the release of the Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drug use in baseball, Guillen was set to be suspended 15 games to start the 2008 season after he reportedly purchased HGH, testosterone and other steroids through the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center in multiple transactions between 2002-2005. One of those shipments, which included HGH, testosterone proprionate, stanozolol and syringes, was sent to the Oakland Coliseum. The commissioner's office slapped Guillen with a 15-day suspension days before the release of the Mitchell Report, and the outfielder was to have served that ban at the start of the 2008 season when he was with the Royals. But in April of 2008, Bud Selig announced that Guillen and other players mentioned in the report would receive amnesty for "past acts" and Guillen did not serve the suspension. (One of the recommendations in the Mitchell Report was that packages sent to players at major-league ballparks should be logged, with the sender's address and phone number, the recipient's name and the date of delivery recorded.)
Under baseball's drug policy, a second offense against Guillen would possibly lead to discipline, and according to sources, baseball is actively pursuing information about the shipment or shipments. After the DEA tracked the September package, believed to have been sent from Miami through the San Francisco Airport, agents then arranged a controlled delivery to the home of Guillen, where Yamel Guillen signed for the package. Once she penned her signature, DEA agents identified themselves and Yamel Guillen consented to a search. She is believed to have left the country in recent weeks, returning to the Dominican Republic.
Jay Reisinger, Jose Guillen's attorney, declined to comment on the case.
The DEA may also be looking at a second incident in which HGH was also shipped to a San Francisco apartment or hotel address registered under Jose Guillen's name, according to sources, who say the shipments are linked to suppliers in the Dominican Republic. Steroids and HGH are legal in the D.R. and easily obtainable without a prescription, which has been a persistent problem for MLB's anti-doping efforts. When Alex Rodriguez admitted his past steroid use, he claimed that a cousin would go to the D.R. and secure the steroid Primobolan and then bring it to A-Rod in the U.S. when the star player was with the Rangers.
But Jose Guillen only put himself and his wife in a world of legal hurt when the Giants' outfielder allegedly arranged for a shipment of nearly 50 pre-loaded syringes of human growth hormone to be sent to his San Francisco address in September, while his team was clawing its way to a playoff berth.
According to a source close to a federal investigation of Guillen, Drug Enforcement Administration agents, who were monitoring the activities of the suspected supplier, intercepted the package when it was sent to the Giants' outfielder to the attention of Yamel Guillen - Jose Guillen's wife, who also goes by Yamel Acevedo.
Federal agents contacted Major League Baseball's Department of Investigation about the shipment and the DOI, according to sources, continues to investigate the matter and whether anyone else in baseball might have been involved, especially since Guillen has a history of acquiring HGH and steroids: Prior to the release of the Mitchell Report on performance-enhancing drug use in baseball, Guillen was set to be suspended 15 games to start the 2008 season after he reportedly purchased HGH, testosterone and other steroids through the Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center in multiple transactions between 2002-2005. One of those shipments, which included HGH, testosterone proprionate, stanozolol and syringes, was sent to the Oakland Coliseum. The commissioner's office slapped Guillen with a 15-day suspension days before the release of the Mitchell Report, and the outfielder was to have served that ban at the start of the 2008 season when he was with the Royals. But in April of 2008, Bud Selig announced that Guillen and other players mentioned in the report would receive amnesty for "past acts" and Guillen did not serve the suspension. (One of the recommendations in the Mitchell Report was that packages sent to players at major-league ballparks should be logged, with the sender's address and phone number, the recipient's name and the date of delivery recorded.)
Under baseball's drug policy, a second offense against Guillen would possibly lead to discipline, and according to sources, baseball is actively pursuing information about the shipment or shipments. After the DEA tracked the September package, believed to have been sent from Miami through the San Francisco Airport, agents then arranged a controlled delivery to the home of Guillen, where Yamel Guillen signed for the package. Once she penned her signature, DEA agents identified themselves and Yamel Guillen consented to a search. She is believed to have left the country in recent weeks, returning to the Dominican Republic.
Jay Reisinger, Jose Guillen's attorney, declined to comment on the case.
The DEA may also be looking at a second incident in which HGH was also shipped to a San Francisco apartment or hotel address registered under Jose Guillen's name, according to sources, who say the shipments are linked to suppliers in the Dominican Republic. Steroids and HGH are legal in the D.R. and easily obtainable without a prescription, which has been a persistent problem for MLB's anti-doping efforts. When Alex Rodriguez admitted his past steroid use, he claimed that a cousin would go to the D.R. and secure the steroid Primobolan and then bring it to A-Rod in the U.S. when the star player was with the Rangers.
Buysteroidsintheuk . com gang convicted :-(
Estranged wife of a confessed illegal steroids supplier, who lived a luxurious lifestyle on the profits, has been convicted of conspiracy to supply drugs and money laundering.
Mother-of-two Hyacinth Hyland, 56, of Wheelers Hill, Little Waltham – described as the financial brains behind the operation – had denied four charges connected to the £1 million commercial enterprise which involved her husband Patrick and four other men.
But a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday ended almost four days of deliberation by delivering a guilty verdict on the money laundering charge.
On Monday, Hyland was convicted of conspiracy to acquire criminal property, namely the proceeds of criminal conduct, and of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by arranging to sanitise an audit trail and destroy records belonging to her husband.
And on Tuesday the jury returned a guilty verdict on the charge of conspiracy to supply class C controlled drugs. Hyland will be sentenced with the five co-defendants next month and was released on bail.
A fourth charge of conspiracy to acquire criminal property was left on the court file.
Mother-of-two Hyacinth Hyland, 56, of Wheelers Hill, Little Waltham – described as the financial brains behind the operation – had denied four charges connected to the £1 million commercial enterprise which involved her husband Patrick and four other men.
But a jury at Chelmsford Crown Court on Tuesday ended almost four days of deliberation by delivering a guilty verdict on the money laundering charge.
On Monday, Hyland was convicted of conspiracy to acquire criminal property, namely the proceeds of criminal conduct, and of conspiracy to pervert the course of justice by arranging to sanitise an audit trail and destroy records belonging to her husband.
And on Tuesday the jury returned a guilty verdict on the charge of conspiracy to supply class C controlled drugs. Hyland will be sentenced with the five co-defendants next month and was released on bail.
A fourth charge of conspiracy to acquire criminal property was left on the court file.
Abandoned (?) UG steroid lab raided in Texas.
Montgomery County Sheriff’s deputies found laboratory equipment and several containers of growth hormone at a residence in the 29000 block of West Pecos River Court.
The Special Investigations Unit received info regarding illicit drugs being manufactured and trafficked from the suspected residence, according to a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office statement. The unit served a narcotics search warrant against the residence around 10 a.m. on Monday.
Deputies found an electronic pill press and other lab equipment including glass ware, electronic scale, heating elements, recipes and a vacuum pump. Several pounds of powdered chemicals and liquids used in the manufacturing process were also seized.
No arrests have been made.
The Special Investigations Unit received info regarding illicit drugs being manufactured and trafficked from the suspected residence, according to a Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office statement. The unit served a narcotics search warrant against the residence around 10 a.m. on Monday.
Deputies found an electronic pill press and other lab equipment including glass ware, electronic scale, heating elements, recipes and a vacuum pump. Several pounds of powdered chemicals and liquids used in the manufacturing process were also seized.
No arrests have been made.
Former marathon World Champion given two year suspension and 87500 Euro fine.
The case of former Marathon World Champion, Roel Paulissen, took a turn for the distinct worse today when the Belgian Cycling Federation's prosecutors recommended a 24 month suspension and 87,500 euro fine for the mountain biker following two separate positive tests for clomiphene in June.
In Paulissen's opinion, the idea of doping with clomiphene is ridiculous, even with the knowledge that clomiphene has often been used in the past as a masking agent for steroids. Masking agent or not, Paulissen contends that the easy detection and the long half-life of the female hormone would make it a silly risk.
"Clomiphene is detectable. For me, it was found for the first time on June 6th, and then again, nearly two weeks later. If I wanted to dope, wouldn't I take a product that stays in my body for a much shorter period of time?"
The rider, who retired immediately upon notification of his two positives, has still gone to great lengths to prove his innocence.
"I spent a lot of effort building up my defense. I know what I'm talking about. I also know that I would be foolish to dope with clomiphene, even in the famous micro-doses the media is now so full of."
Paulissen now has a tense two week wait to find out what the ultimate ruling on his fate will be.
"I have enough evidence to prove that I did not knowingly dope. There is no reason to suspend me."
In Paulissen's opinion, the idea of doping with clomiphene is ridiculous, even with the knowledge that clomiphene has often been used in the past as a masking agent for steroids. Masking agent or not, Paulissen contends that the easy detection and the long half-life of the female hormone would make it a silly risk.
"Clomiphene is detectable. For me, it was found for the first time on June 6th, and then again, nearly two weeks later. If I wanted to dope, wouldn't I take a product that stays in my body for a much shorter period of time?"
The rider, who retired immediately upon notification of his two positives, has still gone to great lengths to prove his innocence.
"I spent a lot of effort building up my defense. I know what I'm talking about. I also know that I would be foolish to dope with clomiphene, even in the famous micro-doses the media is now so full of."
Paulissen now has a tense two week wait to find out what the ultimate ruling on his fate will be.
"I have enough evidence to prove that I did not knowingly dope. There is no reason to suspend me."
Weightlifter from Iran gets lifetime ban for doping.
An Iranian weightlifter was banned from his sport for life Monday after failing a second doping test.
Saeid Ali-Hosseini was disciplined by the International Weightlifting Federation. Iranian media reported that the 22-year-old heavyweight accused his country's weightlifting federation of fabricating the case against him.
"This was a plot and I wish the traitors pay for it," Ali-Hosseini told the Shargh newspaper.
Ali-Hosseini tested positive for steroids on Oct. 24, 2009. He also failed a test in September 2006 that resulted in a two-year ban, IWF legal counsel Monika Ungar said. The penalty for a second doping offense is a life ban.
Ungar said the ban was not announced until now because the IWF needed time to complete the process. He said the IWF increased the ban for a first positive doping test to four years from two years in March 2008, but cases have piled up.
The IWF lists 24 athletes who have been banned so far in 2010, including one lifetime ban. Ali-Hosseini's ban is listed under 2009 cases, along with 43 others.
Ali-Hosseini still holds three junior men's world records in the over-105 kilogram category, set at the Asian Weightlifting Championship in South Korea in 2008.
Saeid Ali-Hosseini was disciplined by the International Weightlifting Federation. Iranian media reported that the 22-year-old heavyweight accused his country's weightlifting federation of fabricating the case against him.
"This was a plot and I wish the traitors pay for it," Ali-Hosseini told the Shargh newspaper.
Ali-Hosseini tested positive for steroids on Oct. 24, 2009. He also failed a test in September 2006 that resulted in a two-year ban, IWF legal counsel Monika Ungar said. The penalty for a second doping offense is a life ban.
Ungar said the ban was not announced until now because the IWF needed time to complete the process. He said the IWF increased the ban for a first positive doping test to four years from two years in March 2008, but cases have piled up.
The IWF lists 24 athletes who have been banned so far in 2010, including one lifetime ban. Ali-Hosseini's ban is listed under 2009 cases, along with 43 others.
Ali-Hosseini still holds three junior men's world records in the over-105 kilogram category, set at the Asian Weightlifting Championship in South Korea in 2008.
Prosecutors to dismiss part of FBI steroids case.
U.S. prosecutors moved on Friday to dismiss charges against two of four FBI employees accused of lying about use of performance-enhancing drugs, including steroids and human growth hormones.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ronald Machen filed to dismiss the false statement charges against FBI agents Matthew and Katia Litton, a married couple, but he sought permission to refile charges if necessary.
A spokesman for Machen declined to comment on the reason for the dismissal because he said it remains an ongoing investigation. Prosecutors had said they spent $17,000 on the drugs since 2006.
A lawyer for Matthew Litton declined to comment while an attorney for Katia Litton could not be immediately reached. The dismissals were filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
In September, U.S. prosecutors charged the Littons and two other agency employees with lying on forms used to assess fitness for duty by omitting that they had conditions requiring the drugs and that they had taken them.
FBI policy prohibits the use of anabolic steroids, and while they are not illegal, they are banned from many sports although many athletes have used them to build muscle quickly to enhance performance.
The U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia Ronald Machen filed to dismiss the false statement charges against FBI agents Matthew and Katia Litton, a married couple, but he sought permission to refile charges if necessary.
A spokesman for Machen declined to comment on the reason for the dismissal because he said it remains an ongoing investigation. Prosecutors had said they spent $17,000 on the drugs since 2006.
A lawyer for Matthew Litton declined to comment while an attorney for Katia Litton could not be immediately reached. The dismissals were filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
In September, U.S. prosecutors charged the Littons and two other agency employees with lying on forms used to assess fitness for duty by omitting that they had conditions requiring the drugs and that they had taken them.
FBI policy prohibits the use of anabolic steroids, and while they are not illegal, they are banned from many sports although many athletes have used them to build muscle quickly to enhance performance.
UGL operator charged with manufacturing and selling anabolic steroids from his home waived his right to a jury trial Friday.
A Perrysburg man charged with manufacturing and selling anabolic steroids from his home waived his right to a jury trial Friday.
Greg A. Kreuz, 39, of 1903 Coe Ct., is to go on trial in Wood County Common Pleas Court before Judge Alan Mayberry Jan. 5. His case had been scheduled for a jury trial next week.
Mr. Kreuz, who is free on bond, is charged with three counts of aggravated possession of drugs and one count each of possession of drugs, trafficking in drugs, and illegal manufacture of drugs. Prosecutors allege that he made “his own brand” of anabolic steroids.
Greg A. Kreuz, 39, of 1903 Coe Ct., is to go on trial in Wood County Common Pleas Court before Judge Alan Mayberry Jan. 5. His case had been scheduled for a jury trial next week.
Mr. Kreuz, who is free on bond, is charged with three counts of aggravated possession of drugs and one count each of possession of drugs, trafficking in drugs, and illegal manufacture of drugs. Prosecutors allege that he made “his own brand” of anabolic steroids.
Man sentenced for distributing steroids.
A Vian man was sentenced to federal prison on two of three of the charges against him, according to a media release from the United States Attorney’s Office.
Bobby Brown, 38, was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, followed by 48 months of supervised release after having been found guilty by a federal jury.
Brown also had been indicted on a count of distributing or manufacturing in or near schools, but the jury was unable to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The evidence included proof that the defendant distributed anabolic steroids to two persons under age 21 and others.
The trial testimony established that several steroid recipients were Vian High School football players. The time frame for the steroid felony distribution was from about March 2006 through about June 2008.
Bobby Brown, 38, was sentenced to 24 months imprisonment, followed by 48 months of supervised release after having been found guilty by a federal jury.
Brown also had been indicted on a count of distributing or manufacturing in or near schools, but the jury was unable to find him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The evidence included proof that the defendant distributed anabolic steroids to two persons under age 21 and others.
The trial testimony established that several steroid recipients were Vian High School football players. The time frame for the steroid felony distribution was from about March 2006 through about June 2008.
Mastermind of Applied Pharmacy Services steroids scheme gets 7 year sentence.
Rejecting the defendant’s pleas for leniency, a federal judge in Mobile on Wednesday sentenced the owner of a Colorado anti-aging clinic to more than 7 years in prison for his role in a nationwide steroids conspiracy.
A jury in February convicted Brett W. Branch on steroids and money-laundering charges. Jurors found that he served as a middleman between hundreds of healthy customers and Applied Pharmacy Services, a compounding pharmacy in Mobile that made anabolic steroids.
In testimony, Branch’s ex-wife, Tracey Branch, said he injected steroids into his 13-year-old daughter to help her grow taller for volleyball and his 11-year-old son because he was “chubby.”
U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade accepted the recommendation of prosecutors and sentenced Branch to 7 years and 3 months in prison -- the maximum under advisory guidelines.
“Your sentence still is not nearly as high as the owners of the pharmacy who I have sentenced,” she said.
Granade earlier gave 10-year terms to A. Samuel Kelley, president of Applied Pharmacy, and Jason R. Kelley, who ran its day-to-day operations.
Branch, 42, tearfully apologized for his conduct. He said he did not realize that he was breaking the law until his trial.
Branch said that he accepted responsibility for his actions and, to reinforce the point, said he would not appeal his conviction or sentence.
“If they hadn’t stopped what we were doing, hundreds if not thousands of people would be on this medication that didn’t even have a label,” he said.
According to trial testimony, Branch worked as a salesman for Applied Pharmacy and later started Infinite Health in Colorado. He marketed steroids — including veterinary drugs not approved for human use — at gyms and workout facilities. He also is alleged to have recruited 3 doctors to sign off on pre-written prescriptions.
Branch earned a 25-percent commission on each sale, according to testimony.
His customers, according to testimony, included Shane Carwin, a bodybuilder who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, former professional wrestler Ron Waterman and Rick Montero, who participates in rodeos.
A jury in February convicted Brett W. Branch on steroids and money-laundering charges. Jurors found that he served as a middleman between hundreds of healthy customers and Applied Pharmacy Services, a compounding pharmacy in Mobile that made anabolic steroids.
In testimony, Branch’s ex-wife, Tracey Branch, said he injected steroids into his 13-year-old daughter to help her grow taller for volleyball and his 11-year-old son because he was “chubby.”
U.S. District Judge Ginny Granade accepted the recommendation of prosecutors and sentenced Branch to 7 years and 3 months in prison -- the maximum under advisory guidelines.
“Your sentence still is not nearly as high as the owners of the pharmacy who I have sentenced,” she said.
Granade earlier gave 10-year terms to A. Samuel Kelley, president of Applied Pharmacy, and Jason R. Kelley, who ran its day-to-day operations.
Branch, 42, tearfully apologized for his conduct. He said he did not realize that he was breaking the law until his trial.
Branch said that he accepted responsibility for his actions and, to reinforce the point, said he would not appeal his conviction or sentence.
“If they hadn’t stopped what we were doing, hundreds if not thousands of people would be on this medication that didn’t even have a label,” he said.
According to trial testimony, Branch worked as a salesman for Applied Pharmacy and later started Infinite Health in Colorado. He marketed steroids — including veterinary drugs not approved for human use — at gyms and workout facilities. He also is alleged to have recruited 3 doctors to sign off on pre-written prescriptions.
Branch earned a 25-percent commission on each sale, according to testimony.
His customers, according to testimony, included Shane Carwin, a bodybuilder who competes in the Ultimate Fighting Championship, former professional wrestler Ron Waterman and Rick Montero, who participates in rodeos.
Ed Hardy bag full of steroids found during juice driving bust in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Cambridge Police arrested a Saugus man and recovered a stash of steroids in a drug bust Tuesday.
Stephen Rauseo, 47, of Saugus was arrested Tuesday on Mooney Street after a search of his vehicle revealed 23 different drugs in various quantities, as a result of a three-month joint investigation between the Special Investigations Unit and the U.S. Postal Services Office of the Inspector General.
The drugs were a variety of controlled substances consisting of eight bottles of liquid steroids, nearly 600 pills, and various bottles of other controlled substances. Cambridge detectives also seized $1,093 in cash, various packaging materials and five hypodermic needles.
Rauseo was charged with six counts of possession to distribute a Class B drug, four counts of possession of a Class B drug and 13 counts of possession of a Class E drug.
New study shows Clomiphene raises Testosterone levels in obese men.
Within 1 month of receiving clomiphene citrate, overweight men experienced a significant increase in total testosterone, from 306 ng/dL to 663 ng/dL (P<.001), and in bioavailable testosterone, from 187 ng/dL to 486 ng/dL (P<.002). Increases were also substantial among obese men, deemed as those having a BMI greater than 30; total testosterone increased from 237 ng/dL to 577 ng/dL and bioavailable testosterone from 155 ng/dL to 371 ng/dL (P<.001 for both). The improved testosterone levels remained significantly elevated for the duration of the study, the researchers said.
The prospective, observational, cohort study included 20 overweight and obese men (mean age, 33 years). All hypogonadal men were started on clomiphene citrate. Total testosterone, bioavailable testosterone and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels were recorded at baseline and measured at 1, 3 and 5 months during therapy.
Results also showed no significant increase in PSA levels after 3 months of clomiphene citrate therapy (P=.17).
“Subfertile men who are overweight or obese can benefit from treatment with clomiphene citrate in order to increase testosterone levels and potentially improve semen parameters,” the researchers concluded.
The prospective, observational, cohort study included 20 overweight and obese men (mean age, 33 years). All hypogonadal men were started on clomiphene citrate. Total testosterone, bioavailable testosterone and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels were recorded at baseline and measured at 1, 3 and 5 months during therapy.
Results also showed no significant increase in PSA levels after 3 months of clomiphene citrate therapy (P=.17).
“Subfertile men who are overweight or obese can benefit from treatment with clomiphene citrate in order to increase testosterone levels and potentially improve semen parameters,” the researchers concluded.
Lithuanian runner blames her gynecologist for elevated Testosterone levels.
European marathon champion Zivile Balciunaite of Lithuania has denied allegations by the IAAF that she took performance-enhancing drugs.
The International Association of Athletics Federations last week informed Lithuania's athletics association that a urine sample taken from the 31-year-old runner after her victory at the European Championships in Barcelona contained excessive levels of testosterone and epitestosterone.
Balciunaite said in a radio interview Tuesday that she's never engaged in doping and that the test may have been influenced by a prescription drug from her gynecologist.
The runner has been suspended during the investigation, which is expected to end in December. She faces a two-year ban if found guilty.
Ex-customs agent gets probation for import of steroids and hgh from China.
A former agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Blaine was sentenced Monday morning to two years of probation for importing steroids from China.
Sean Patrick Ganley, 38, of Federal Way, pleaded guilty in June. He was also a former Tacoma police officer.
Ganley faced up to 10 years in prison. The sentence was part of a plea agreement between the prosecution and defense. U.S. District County Judge James L. Robart was unhappy with the agreement, saying he didn't think it sent a strong enough message.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Rice defended the plea agreement. "It's a felony conviction. It required his resignation from ICE and the presumed banishment from law enforcement jobs," he said.
The investigation began in April 2008 by the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations after customs agents at JFK International Airport in New York discovered human-growth hormone in a package arriving by mail from Beijing. The investigation revealed that Ganley had "surreptitiously sent three wire transfers to China and ordered the steroids using a false telephone number and fictitious address," according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
"We expect the utmost honesty and integrity of our federal law-enforcement officers," James McDevitt, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington in Spokane, said in June. "It will not be tolerated when they break the very laws they are sworn to uphold."
McDevitt's office handled the case to avoid a potential conflict of interest because Ganley had worked with federal prosecutors in Seattle.
Ganley resigned from ICE earlier this year.
In a letter delivered to Judge Robart before Monday's sentencing, Ganley wrote that he thought getting himself into peak physical shape would keep him safe while working as a cop in Tacoma, which he called "the most violent city in the Pacific Northwest."
"Steroid use was very common within my own police department, as well as neighboring police agencies, so I again mistakenly felt it was 'no big deal' to use them," Ganley wrote.
A former Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent caught importing steroids into the country won't serve any prison time.
Federal Way resident Sean Patrick Ganley was still with ICE in April 2008 when customs inspectors found he was buying Chinese steroids, according to a Justice Department statement issued Monday.
In a plea agreement, an assistant U.S. attorney handling the case noted that Ganley began importing steroids in 2004 while he was employed as a Tacoma police officer. Ganley continued buying steroids after he went to work for ICE as a special agent, a position he resigned from earlier this year.
According to court documents, Ganley had the steroids -- chiefly human growth hormone -- sent to the Chehalis home of a friend. He also used a false name on money orders in an effort to avoid detection.
On Monday, Ganley was sentenced to a two-year term on probation. Federal prosecutors had agreed to request such a sentence.
Announcing the sentence, Michael Ormsby, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, noted that "federal law enforcement officers are held to the highest standards of integrity and honesty."
Ormsby went on to contend Ganley's sentence "will vindicate the federal interest" by insuring Ganley no longer works as a law officer.
In a letter to the court, Ganley, 38, expressed regret that his 15-year career in law enforcement was at an end.
Ganley told the court he began taking steroids while employed at the Tacoma Police Department after a King County deputy sheriff and Federal Way police officer were killed.
"Steroid use was very common within my own police department, as well as neighboring agencies, so I again mistakenly felt it was 'no big deal' to use them," Ganley said in a letter to the court. "I was obviously sorely mistaken."
Ganley had previously pleaded guilty to importing a controlled substance. He was jailed briefly after charges were filed, but has since been released.
After he was beaten up while working as a cop in Tacoma, Sean Patrick Ganley searched the Internet for something to help him feel better and quickly get back on his feet again.
Ganley says he found the answer in an online advertisement for steroids from China with precise steps for U.S. residents to order the illegal drug. He started taking steroids, which he claimed was quite common among fellow law enforcement officers, and continued even after being hired as an agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Blaine.
On Monday, Ganley, 38, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle to two years of probation for importing human-growth hormone from China.
"I made a big mistake, there's no sugarcoating it," Ganley said in court. "I felt that was what I could do to increase my strength. I wish I would have never done it."
U.S. District Court Judge James L. Robart criticized the sentence recommended for Ganley for failing to send a sufficiently strong message to other police officers who might be taking illegal steroids. The judge said he followed the sentence because it was agreed upon by the prosecution, probation officials and the defense
Tom Rice, assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, said that Ganley not only pleaded guilty, but also resigned from his job with ICE and will be "banished from other law enforcement jobs" because of his felony conviction.
Ganley retired from ICE earlier this year.
John Crowley, Ganley's attorney, said he has since moved to the Tri-Cities to live with his father, a retired police officer. The father and son are starting a private security company, Crowley said.
Had Ganley not pleaded guilty, he would have faced up to 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The investigation into Ganley began in April 2008 by the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations after customs agents at JFK International Airport in New York discovered human-growth hormone in a package arriving by mail from Beijing. The investigation revealed that Ganley had "surreptitiously sent three wire transfers to China and ordered the steroids using a false telephone number and fictitious address," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
In a letter delivered to Judge Robart before his sentencing, Ganley wrote that he believed steroids would allow him to get into peak physical shape and keep him safe while working in Tacoma, which he called "the most violent city in the Pacific Northwest."
"Steroid use was very common within my own police department, as well as neighboring police agencies, so I again mistakenly felt it was 'no big deal' to use them," Ganley wrote.
The prosecution of Ganley was handled by the U.S. Attorneys Office for Eastern Washington to avoid a potential conflict of interest because Ganley had worked with federal prosecutors in the Seattle-based Western District of Washington.
Sean Patrick Ganley, 38, of Federal Way, pleaded guilty in June. He was also a former Tacoma police officer.
Ganley faced up to 10 years in prison. The sentence was part of a plea agreement between the prosecution and defense. U.S. District County Judge James L. Robart was unhappy with the agreement, saying he didn't think it sent a strong enough message.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tom Rice defended the plea agreement. "It's a felony conviction. It required his resignation from ICE and the presumed banishment from law enforcement jobs," he said.
The investigation began in April 2008 by the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations after customs agents at JFK International Airport in New York discovered human-growth hormone in a package arriving by mail from Beijing. The investigation revealed that Ganley had "surreptitiously sent three wire transfers to China and ordered the steroids using a false telephone number and fictitious address," according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.
"We expect the utmost honesty and integrity of our federal law-enforcement officers," James McDevitt, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington in Spokane, said in June. "It will not be tolerated when they break the very laws they are sworn to uphold."
McDevitt's office handled the case to avoid a potential conflict of interest because Ganley had worked with federal prosecutors in Seattle.
Ganley resigned from ICE earlier this year.
In a letter delivered to Judge Robart before Monday's sentencing, Ganley wrote that he thought getting himself into peak physical shape would keep him safe while working as a cop in Tacoma, which he called "the most violent city in the Pacific Northwest."
"Steroid use was very common within my own police department, as well as neighboring police agencies, so I again mistakenly felt it was 'no big deal' to use them," Ganley wrote.
A former Immigration and Customs Enforcement special agent caught importing steroids into the country won't serve any prison time.
Federal Way resident Sean Patrick Ganley was still with ICE in April 2008 when customs inspectors found he was buying Chinese steroids, according to a Justice Department statement issued Monday.
In a plea agreement, an assistant U.S. attorney handling the case noted that Ganley began importing steroids in 2004 while he was employed as a Tacoma police officer. Ganley continued buying steroids after he went to work for ICE as a special agent, a position he resigned from earlier this year.
According to court documents, Ganley had the steroids -- chiefly human growth hormone -- sent to the Chehalis home of a friend. He also used a false name on money orders in an effort to avoid detection.
On Monday, Ganley was sentenced to a two-year term on probation. Federal prosecutors had agreed to request such a sentence.
Announcing the sentence, Michael Ormsby, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, noted that "federal law enforcement officers are held to the highest standards of integrity and honesty."
Ormsby went on to contend Ganley's sentence "will vindicate the federal interest" by insuring Ganley no longer works as a law officer.
In a letter to the court, Ganley, 38, expressed regret that his 15-year career in law enforcement was at an end.
Ganley told the court he began taking steroids while employed at the Tacoma Police Department after a King County deputy sheriff and Federal Way police officer were killed.
"Steroid use was very common within my own police department, as well as neighboring agencies, so I again mistakenly felt it was 'no big deal' to use them," Ganley said in a letter to the court. "I was obviously sorely mistaken."
Ganley had previously pleaded guilty to importing a controlled substance. He was jailed briefly after charges were filed, but has since been released.
After he was beaten up while working as a cop in Tacoma, Sean Patrick Ganley searched the Internet for something to help him feel better and quickly get back on his feet again.
Ganley says he found the answer in an online advertisement for steroids from China with precise steps for U.S. residents to order the illegal drug. He started taking steroids, which he claimed was quite common among fellow law enforcement officers, and continued even after being hired as an agent for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Blaine.
On Monday, Ganley, 38, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Seattle to two years of probation for importing human-growth hormone from China.
"I made a big mistake, there's no sugarcoating it," Ganley said in court. "I felt that was what I could do to increase my strength. I wish I would have never done it."
U.S. District Court Judge James L. Robart criticized the sentence recommended for Ganley for failing to send a sufficiently strong message to other police officers who might be taking illegal steroids. The judge said he followed the sentence because it was agreed upon by the prosecution, probation officials and the defense
Tom Rice, assistant U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Washington, said that Ganley not only pleaded guilty, but also resigned from his job with ICE and will be "banished from other law enforcement jobs" because of his felony conviction.
Ganley retired from ICE earlier this year.
John Crowley, Ganley's attorney, said he has since moved to the Tri-Cities to live with his father, a retired police officer. The father and son are starting a private security company, Crowley said.
Had Ganley not pleaded guilty, he would have faced up to 10 years in prison, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The investigation into Ganley began in April 2008 by the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigations after customs agents at JFK International Airport in New York discovered human-growth hormone in a package arriving by mail from Beijing. The investigation revealed that Ganley had "surreptitiously sent three wire transfers to China and ordered the steroids using a false telephone number and fictitious address," according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
In a letter delivered to Judge Robart before his sentencing, Ganley wrote that he believed steroids would allow him to get into peak physical shape and keep him safe while working in Tacoma, which he called "the most violent city in the Pacific Northwest."
"Steroid use was very common within my own police department, as well as neighboring police agencies, so I again mistakenly felt it was 'no big deal' to use them," Ganley wrote.
The prosecution of Ganley was handled by the U.S. Attorneys Office for Eastern Washington to avoid a potential conflict of interest because Ganley had worked with federal prosecutors in the Seattle-based Western District of Washington.
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