Two Jersey Shore residents have been charged by a federal grand jury with conspiracy to misbrand and sell drugs illegally, and failure to register a drug manufacturing facility.
Named as defendants in a 15-count indictment unsealed Friday were X, 27, of Brielle and Y, 24, of Toms River.
The two advertised on internet websites and message boards, whose audience is primarily body builders and athletes, the benefits and dosage of different performance-enhancing drugs, according to a prepared release from U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Zane David Memeger.
They offered for sale GHRP-6, or Growth Hormone Releasing Agent Protein, and IGF, or Insulin Growth Factor, both of which were peptide or protein-based drugs popular with body builders for increasing strength and muscle mass but which were never approved by the Food and Drug Administration, Memeger said.
X also offered prescription drugs for sale without asking for a prescription from a licensed medical practitioner, including Cialis, Viagra and a drug named "Superman," which Parker identified as a combination of Cialis and Viagra, Memeger said.
Further, the indictment stated that although X advertised brand-name prescription drugs he provided imitations of those drugs manufactured in his basement, and never tried to get approval from FDA to distribute the drugs he manufactured, and he never registered his facility with FDA.
The defendants would then manufacture the drugs by converting bulk active and inactive ingredients into capsules or tablets, creating labels bearing false or misleading information for the misbranded drugs, and would then ship the drugs to customers throughout the country, between Aug. 15, 2009, and October 2010, the indictment said.
X accepted orders for prescription drugs through email using the pseudonym Dedicated1 and the email address 1@cyber-rights.net, the U.S. Attorney's Office said. When accepting orders, he instructed customers to write messages in their drug orders in an attempt to conceal the true purpose of the transactions, it said.
For example, one customer was instructed to send $75 via PayPal and include only the phrase "** Web U-G Service Windows 7 Install Help **" in the subject line, the indictment said.
If convicted, X and Y face a maximum sentence of 42 years in prison,a $3.75 million fine, a $1,500 special assessment and three years supervised release, the release said.
Australian army base raided over steroid claims.
Police and defence force investigators have raided a north Queensland army base following allegations of drug abuse by soldiers.
In a statement, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has confirmed it's begun an investigation into the alleged use of illicit substance by soldiers at Townsville's Lavarack Barracks.
The ADF declined to comment further on the raids as the investigation, carried out with Queensland Police, was continuing.
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However, it is believed the barracks and a number of soldiers' homes have been raided.
The allegations were raised by a soldier's former partner, the Townsville Bulletin reported.
The woman, who has not been named, told the paper she raised the allegations after discovering her partner had been using steroids in their home.
She said she had moved interstate after becoming the target of abuse from soldiers.
"When I reported this, because, obviously, they found out I've been talking to somebody, I was intimidated into leaving my home," she told the paper.
She claimed it was common practice for some soldiers to buy steroids and other drugs cheaply while deployed overseas, in places like Afghanistan, and then sell them for a higher price at home.
"They're importing these drugs, they're coming directly into the country from Afghanistan and then they're on-selling them with no repercussions. The army doesn't care," she said.
The ADF said all personnel were educated, annually, in the dangers of substance abuse.
It said the investigation was not linked to previous raids at defence bases in Cairns and Sydney.
In a statement, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) has confirmed it's begun an investigation into the alleged use of illicit substance by soldiers at Townsville's Lavarack Barracks.
The ADF declined to comment further on the raids as the investigation, carried out with Queensland Police, was continuing.
Advertisement: Story continues below
However, it is believed the barracks and a number of soldiers' homes have been raided.
The allegations were raised by a soldier's former partner, the Townsville Bulletin reported.
The woman, who has not been named, told the paper she raised the allegations after discovering her partner had been using steroids in their home.
She said she had moved interstate after becoming the target of abuse from soldiers.
"When I reported this, because, obviously, they found out I've been talking to somebody, I was intimidated into leaving my home," she told the paper.
She claimed it was common practice for some soldiers to buy steroids and other drugs cheaply while deployed overseas, in places like Afghanistan, and then sell them for a higher price at home.
"They're importing these drugs, they're coming directly into the country from Afghanistan and then they're on-selling them with no repercussions. The army doesn't care," she said.
The ADF said all personnel were educated, annually, in the dangers of substance abuse.
It said the investigation was not linked to previous raids at defence bases in Cairns and Sydney.
Irish seizure statistics for 2010.
The number of weight loss drugs detained by the authorities after being bought online by Irish consumers increased by almost 500 per cent last year, the Irish Medicines Board (IMB) has said.
It said there had been a 66 per cent increase in the amount of illegal medicinal products detained during 2010 with steroids, sedatives, drugs claiming to aid weight loss and drugs aimed at combating erectile dysfunction being the most commonly impounded.
All told, the IMB’s enforcement section confiscated 822,484 dosage units of counterfeit and illegal medicines last year compared with 494,502 units in 2009. Its enforcement officers, in conjunction with Revenue and Garda officials, detained 680,958 tablets/capsules; 1,665 packs of liquids; 933 packs of creams and 138,928 dosage units of assorted products deemed to be illegal medicinal products.
The IMB said it was particularly concerned the increase in the number of illegal weight loss products detected. It said that some of which when tested were found to contain the no longer permitted active substance sibutramine which can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.
Chief executive Pat O’Mahony said the majority of illegal unauthorised medicinal products coming into Ireland were found to have originated in India and he emphasised the dangers of buying medicines online and urged consumers not to risk their health by using unapproved or unauthorised medicines.
Mr O’Mahony said there was “absolutely no way for people to establish whether medicines available on the internet contain what they claim to or if they are in any way effective in treating the illness or condition in question”.
He said some of the medicines impounded had been shown to contain too little or too much of the active ingredient while others contain the wrong active ingredient altogether. “At best people are wasting their money but more seriously; at worst counterfeit and illegal medicines can pose a serious health risk. The supply of prescription only medicines via the internet is illegal and no online pharmacy is authorised to operate in Ireland.”
It said there had been a 66 per cent increase in the amount of illegal medicinal products detained during 2010 with steroids, sedatives, drugs claiming to aid weight loss and drugs aimed at combating erectile dysfunction being the most commonly impounded.
All told, the IMB’s enforcement section confiscated 822,484 dosage units of counterfeit and illegal medicines last year compared with 494,502 units in 2009. Its enforcement officers, in conjunction with Revenue and Garda officials, detained 680,958 tablets/capsules; 1,665 packs of liquids; 933 packs of creams and 138,928 dosage units of assorted products deemed to be illegal medicinal products.
The IMB said it was particularly concerned the increase in the number of illegal weight loss products detected. It said that some of which when tested were found to contain the no longer permitted active substance sibutramine which can increase the risk of heart attack or stroke.
Chief executive Pat O’Mahony said the majority of illegal unauthorised medicinal products coming into Ireland were found to have originated in India and he emphasised the dangers of buying medicines online and urged consumers not to risk their health by using unapproved or unauthorised medicines.
Mr O’Mahony said there was “absolutely no way for people to establish whether medicines available on the internet contain what they claim to or if they are in any way effective in treating the illness or condition in question”.
He said some of the medicines impounded had been shown to contain too little or too much of the active ingredient while others contain the wrong active ingredient altogether. “At best people are wasting their money but more seriously; at worst counterfeit and illegal medicines can pose a serious health risk. The supply of prescription only medicines via the internet is illegal and no online pharmacy is authorised to operate in Ireland.”
15 arrested in Polish steroids crackdown.
( machine translated from Polish language Police website )
It has run about illegal commerce in (to) hand 15 persons suspicious <> anabolikami kujawsko - pomeranian policeman, by officers of custom (relevant) services aided. Share (action) prepared lasted by policemen of departments for battle with economic dilinquency with (from) in bydgosch three days KWP. Among others, objections have heard held laundering of dirty money. Piled allows to assume evidentiary material in this case, that they have bought suspicious <>, but center (means) have sold on amount over 5 next million zloty <> anaboliczne. Officers of departments have been notified for battle with economic dilinquency from provincial command of police in bydgosch about suspicion of committing of crime. It resulted from information transfer by general inspector of financial information, that you will say can come in (to) for trade „ launder dirty money ” wąbrzeskim. Policemen for (after) several weeks of work person wytypowali, which (who) could have relationship (association) with illegal turn. In (to) exactly prepare and it has taken participation (quota) some tens (any tens) policeman from criminal vertical in bydgosch plan share (action) KWP, commands from torun and department of (squad of) prevention of police. Officers of custom (relevant) services helped (aid) in a uniform also. Officers have entered for 14 apartments early early <> and in the area of administrative district houses wąbrzeskiego. There 15 persons held <>, in century (age) from 29 for 59 lat (summer; year), inhabitants of administrative districts. Policemen have indemnified center (means) in (to) their apartments anaboliczne, it is possible to acquire which (who) legally in pharmacies, however, on recipe exclusively, but they are required appropriate permission on their introduction of for turn. As they have established investigating, illegal turn proceeded through auction portals it specyfikami or in direct sale. Piled allows to assume evidentiary material in this case, that they have bought suspicious <>, but center (means) have sold on amount over 5 next million zloty <> anaboliczne. Policemen have indemnified at 10 thousand dollars suspicious <> and four cars BMW7, BMW X5, citroen C3 and renault lagoon. Objections of illegal turns have heard all held remedial products, pharmaceutical have broken that right <> and objections of laundering of dirty money from this commerce dating. Punishment threatens for 8 lat of (summer of; year of) prison memorial <>. District public prosecutor has obliged six from torun for colocation in command of police three cases (together; times) suspicious <> on week-days, supervision in accordance with they applying (use) and prohibition of leaving of country.
Barry Bonds complained that steroids made his "butt sore" :-)
A key government witness in the Barry Bonds perjury trial testified Wednesday that he saw the home run king's personal trainer leave Bonds' spring training bedroom with a syringe in 2000 - and once griped that the injections made "his butt sore."
Steve Hoskins said that when he saw Bonds and his personal trainer, Greg Anderson, coming out of the master bedroom he assumed Anderson had injected the star player with steroids. He testified that he saw the two disappear into that room "once or twice" at each spring training over three consecutive years beginning in 2000.
Hoskins told the jury that once Bonds got mad when Anderson refused to provide an injection and another time complained steroid injections were "making his butt sore," reports CBS Radio News correspondent Barry Bagnato.
He also told the jury of eight women and four men that, a year earlier, Bonds had ordered him to research the benefits and side effects of a steroid after the slugger had undergone elbow surgery.
Hoskins was a childhood friend of Bonds' and traveled with him as an assistant until 2003. Hoskins testified that Bonds' significant weight gain began to concern him so much that he secretly recorded a conversation with Anderson about steroids so he could convince Bonds' father, Bobby Bonds, that his son was using the drugs.
Bobby Bonds, a former baseball star himself, was suffering from cancer in 2003. Hoskins said he made the recording in front of Barry Bonds' locker in March 2003 "to show Bobby actually what really was going on."
"That was the only way to prove it to him," Hoskins said.
Portions of that recording were to be played for the jury in federal court Wednesday afternoon.
In the morning, Hoskins said he initially served as a kind of valet when Bonds began playing with the San Francisco Giants in 1993, lugging equipment to the ballpark and running personal errands for the slugger.
Under questioning from federal prosecutor Matt Parrella, a jittery Hoskins testified that in 1999 Bonds ordered him to look at the pros and cons of the steroid Winstrol.
"He said 'find out what this steroid does and what the side effects are and is it good or bad,"' Hoskins said. Bonds told him to consult with Dr. Arthur Ting, Bonds' personal surgeon who is also scheduled to testify for the government.
The order came after Bonds had elbow surgery early that season, which caused him to miss seven weeks.
Bonds, the all-time major league leader in home runs with 762, is accused of four counts of lying to a federal grand jury and one of obstructing justice for testifying in 2003 that never knowingly took performance-enhancing drugs.
In opening statements Tuesday, Bonds' lead attorney acknowledged that Bonds did indeed take steroids but claimed that Anderson misled him about what the substances were.
Earlier, Hoskins testified that he occasionally gave cash payments in the thousands of dollars to two women Bonds was dating during his playing days with the Giants.
Hoskins also testified he paid Anderson on behalf of the player. Prosecutors allege that the trainer supplied Bonds with performance-enhancing drugs.
Hoskins was called after the government's lead sports doping investigator, Jeff Novitzky, finished testifying on the third day of trial.
Steve Hoskins said that when he saw Bonds and his personal trainer, Greg Anderson, coming out of the master bedroom he assumed Anderson had injected the star player with steroids. He testified that he saw the two disappear into that room "once or twice" at each spring training over three consecutive years beginning in 2000.
Hoskins told the jury that once Bonds got mad when Anderson refused to provide an injection and another time complained steroid injections were "making his butt sore," reports CBS Radio News correspondent Barry Bagnato.
He also told the jury of eight women and four men that, a year earlier, Bonds had ordered him to research the benefits and side effects of a steroid after the slugger had undergone elbow surgery.
Hoskins was a childhood friend of Bonds' and traveled with him as an assistant until 2003. Hoskins testified that Bonds' significant weight gain began to concern him so much that he secretly recorded a conversation with Anderson about steroids so he could convince Bonds' father, Bobby Bonds, that his son was using the drugs.
Bobby Bonds, a former baseball star himself, was suffering from cancer in 2003. Hoskins said he made the recording in front of Barry Bonds' locker in March 2003 "to show Bobby actually what really was going on."
"That was the only way to prove it to him," Hoskins said.
Portions of that recording were to be played for the jury in federal court Wednesday afternoon.
In the morning, Hoskins said he initially served as a kind of valet when Bonds began playing with the San Francisco Giants in 1993, lugging equipment to the ballpark and running personal errands for the slugger.
Under questioning from federal prosecutor Matt Parrella, a jittery Hoskins testified that in 1999 Bonds ordered him to look at the pros and cons of the steroid Winstrol.
"He said 'find out what this steroid does and what the side effects are and is it good or bad,"' Hoskins said. Bonds told him to consult with Dr. Arthur Ting, Bonds' personal surgeon who is also scheduled to testify for the government.
The order came after Bonds had elbow surgery early that season, which caused him to miss seven weeks.
Bonds, the all-time major league leader in home runs with 762, is accused of four counts of lying to a federal grand jury and one of obstructing justice for testifying in 2003 that never knowingly took performance-enhancing drugs.
In opening statements Tuesday, Bonds' lead attorney acknowledged that Bonds did indeed take steroids but claimed that Anderson misled him about what the substances were.
Earlier, Hoskins testified that he occasionally gave cash payments in the thousands of dollars to two women Bonds was dating during his playing days with the Giants.
Hoskins also testified he paid Anderson on behalf of the player. Prosecutors allege that the trainer supplied Bonds with performance-enhancing drugs.
Hoskins was called after the government's lead sports doping investigator, Jeff Novitzky, finished testifying on the third day of trial.
Victor Conte of BALCO scandal fame playing clean and getting rich.
The notorious architect of BALCO is showing off a new car. It's a white, sand-colored 2011 Bentley convertible that is one of only 80 made worldwide.
"About $250,000 out the door," Victor Conte says.
That's how the man who engineered the biggest sports drug scandal in U.S. history rolls these days.
The Barry Bonds perjury trial, scheduled to begin Monday in San Francisco, will provide an explosive culmination to the nearly decadelong investigation of BALCO -- the infamous Burlingame facility where Conte helped celebrated athletes reach peak performances with a regimen of illegal drug use.
But in the tradition of fellow convicted felon Martha Stewart, and five years after completing his own prison sentence, Conte is putting the stigma of the sordid affair in his Bentley's rearview mirror.
"There are always going to be people who say I'm the devil, who hate me and think I'm the guy who destroyed the national pastime," Conte said. "I understand I made some bad decisions and harmed a lot of people. But I'm not going to give up living my life."
And life is good.
His legal supplement business is booming. Conte, 60, has begun working with a few elite-level athletes again and now presents himself as an anti-doping crusader who wants to solve the cheating mess he once helped perpetuate.
The author F. Scott Fitzgerald claimed that there are no second acts in American life. He never met Conte, the one-time Tower of Power
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bass player who transformed himself into a self-taught nutritionist.
'Owning' his shady past
After the fall of BALCO, Conte's company, Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning, or SNAC, provided him an entrepreneurial avenue to rebuild his net worth. He claims 100,000 bottles alone of his over-the-counter sleeping enhancer ZMA are sold each month under various product labels.
SNAC's headquarters, located in a San Carlos industrial office park, are decorated with photos and memorabilia from athletes Conte has worked with during his high-flying BALCO days -- many of them now disgraced.
A framed Mercury News front page from May 26, 2004, features the headline: "How BALCO Built the World's Fastest Man." Tim Montgomery, once the 100-meter record-holder, later was stripped of that title and now sits in an Alabama prison for money-laundering and heroin dealing.
Conte describes the SNAC offices as either a "Hall of Shame or Hall of Fame," depending on your perspective.
"Initially, I tried to run from who I am," he said. "Products wouldn't have my picture. I didn't really want people to know that it was me."
But he reconsidered and decided to "own" his shady past. So, a company brochure announces: "Balco Mastermind Victor Conte Introduces The SNAC System!"
Conte, who once flexed his biceps for cameras in front of the San Francisco court building, doesn't do chagrined. He even has a dog named Balco.
Make no mistake, though, Conte is well-aware that he ruined lives and reputations.
The BALCO scandal led to the United States giving up Olympic track medals, the erasing of world records and world titles, and numerous convictions. One-time golden girl Marion Jones was exposed as a fraud.
Truly reformed?
Bonds, the investigation's other signature athlete, finally has his day in court over whether he lied about his alleged illegal drug use.
The two were introduced through their mutual friend, Greg Anderson, the slugger's personal trainer. But while Conte speaks willingly about the cheating of former track clients such as Jones, he has claimed to have no knowledge of the baseball star ever using illegal drugs.
Conte maintains that his association with Bonds was much more transient -- he gave his father, Bobby Bonds, who was then dying of cancer, concoctions to help ease his suffering. Bonds and Conte have not talked since BALCO was raided on Sept. 3, 2003, by authorities that included IRS agents.
Whatever the outcome of the trial, a large segment of baseball fans always will view Bonds' home run records as tainted.
And Conte will be regarded as the puppet-master who led the stars astray. He served four months in a minimum-security prison and four months under house arrest after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids and money laundering.
Five years later, the San Mateo man seemingly is everywhere. One recent day, his voice was raspy from doing nonstop interviews. He contends that elite-level sport, as a whole, is dirtier than ever. The NFL, Conte said, "is a complete joke with their testing."
Peter Keane, a former dean at Golden Gate University Law School who has followed the BALCO case closely from the start, gives Conte this: "He does not make things dull."
But the law professor also said Conte's high profile since leaving prison does him a disservice.
"Anybody else who had been through something like this would at a minimum keep their head down, not draw attention," Keane said. "The last thing you would want to be doing is popping off. He seems to have a self-destructive streak."
Frequent targets of Conte's criticism are the world and U.S. anti-doping agencies, which he believes are not serious about ridding sport of performance-enhancers.
Travis Tygart, head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, counters that the man who figured out how to circumvent the drug-testing system by providing athletes with undetectable steroids hasn't come clean on everything he did during the BALCO years.
"You can't have it both ways," Tygart said. "Victor Conte will not be truthful about Barry Bonds or other athletes. If Bernie Madoff gets out of prison and wants to go work at the Fed while there's billions of dollars yet to be repaid, I think there would be an outcry."
Redemption, Tygart added, "just doesn't come for free."
That hasn't stopped Conte from planning to create a drug-testing program for boxing and mixed-martial arts. He sees himself much like a reformed computer hacker who now wants to design better security systems.
"I realize I may be the only person in the world who can do this thing," he said.
Scrutiny welcome
Conte's interest in boxing begins with his latest project, Nonito Donaire, a 28-year-old bantamweight world champion from San Lorenzo. Donaire started working with Conte after a chance meeting at a bank, even though the boxer's friends and family warned him about the nutritionist.
Bring on any testing, Donaire said.
"I have my vein, you have a needle," the boxer said. "Check it out."
Conte recruited banned BALCO track coach Remi Korchemny, of Castro Valley, to help train the boxer. In a past life, they promoted recovery through the use of such exotic drugs as the blood-booster EPO and human growth hormone. Today, Conte contends the secret formula is old-fashioned rest to help a fighter who previously was overtraining.
Another client is Chicago Cubs outfielder Marlon Byrd, who, in a recent "HBO Real Sports" interview, said there is nothing improper about his training, although he understands why people would question his ties to Conte.
For his part, Conte knows that many will continue to suspect something nefarious about his methods.
"There will always be doubters," he said. "But the basis of Christianity is forgiveness and there are a lot of people associated with sports who have forgotten that. There are a lot of haters who don't believe enough is enough."
He might include the IRS in that group. Since emerging from prison, Conte and his company have been audited repeatedly.
"I guarantee you," Conte said with a smile, "that we're clean."
"About $250,000 out the door," Victor Conte says.
That's how the man who engineered the biggest sports drug scandal in U.S. history rolls these days.
The Barry Bonds perjury trial, scheduled to begin Monday in San Francisco, will provide an explosive culmination to the nearly decadelong investigation of BALCO -- the infamous Burlingame facility where Conte helped celebrated athletes reach peak performances with a regimen of illegal drug use.
But in the tradition of fellow convicted felon Martha Stewart, and five years after completing his own prison sentence, Conte is putting the stigma of the sordid affair in his Bentley's rearview mirror.
"There are always going to be people who say I'm the devil, who hate me and think I'm the guy who destroyed the national pastime," Conte said. "I understand I made some bad decisions and harmed a lot of people. But I'm not going to give up living my life."
And life is good.
His legal supplement business is booming. Conte, 60, has begun working with a few elite-level athletes again and now presents himself as an anti-doping crusader who wants to solve the cheating mess he once helped perpetuate.
The author F. Scott Fitzgerald claimed that there are no second acts in American life. He never met Conte, the one-time Tower of Power
Advertisement
bass player who transformed himself into a self-taught nutritionist.
'Owning' his shady past
After the fall of BALCO, Conte's company, Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning, or SNAC, provided him an entrepreneurial avenue to rebuild his net worth. He claims 100,000 bottles alone of his over-the-counter sleeping enhancer ZMA are sold each month under various product labels.
SNAC's headquarters, located in a San Carlos industrial office park, are decorated with photos and memorabilia from athletes Conte has worked with during his high-flying BALCO days -- many of them now disgraced.
A framed Mercury News front page from May 26, 2004, features the headline: "How BALCO Built the World's Fastest Man." Tim Montgomery, once the 100-meter record-holder, later was stripped of that title and now sits in an Alabama prison for money-laundering and heroin dealing.
Conte describes the SNAC offices as either a "Hall of Shame or Hall of Fame," depending on your perspective.
"Initially, I tried to run from who I am," he said. "Products wouldn't have my picture. I didn't really want people to know that it was me."
But he reconsidered and decided to "own" his shady past. So, a company brochure announces: "Balco Mastermind Victor Conte Introduces The SNAC System!"
Conte, who once flexed his biceps for cameras in front of the San Francisco court building, doesn't do chagrined. He even has a dog named Balco.
Make no mistake, though, Conte is well-aware that he ruined lives and reputations.
The BALCO scandal led to the United States giving up Olympic track medals, the erasing of world records and world titles, and numerous convictions. One-time golden girl Marion Jones was exposed as a fraud.
Truly reformed?
Bonds, the investigation's other signature athlete, finally has his day in court over whether he lied about his alleged illegal drug use.
The two were introduced through their mutual friend, Greg Anderson, the slugger's personal trainer. But while Conte speaks willingly about the cheating of former track clients such as Jones, he has claimed to have no knowledge of the baseball star ever using illegal drugs.
Conte maintains that his association with Bonds was much more transient -- he gave his father, Bobby Bonds, who was then dying of cancer, concoctions to help ease his suffering. Bonds and Conte have not talked since BALCO was raided on Sept. 3, 2003, by authorities that included IRS agents.
Whatever the outcome of the trial, a large segment of baseball fans always will view Bonds' home run records as tainted.
And Conte will be regarded as the puppet-master who led the stars astray. He served four months in a minimum-security prison and four months under house arrest after pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute steroids and money laundering.
Five years later, the San Mateo man seemingly is everywhere. One recent day, his voice was raspy from doing nonstop interviews. He contends that elite-level sport, as a whole, is dirtier than ever. The NFL, Conte said, "is a complete joke with their testing."
Peter Keane, a former dean at Golden Gate University Law School who has followed the BALCO case closely from the start, gives Conte this: "He does not make things dull."
But the law professor also said Conte's high profile since leaving prison does him a disservice.
"Anybody else who had been through something like this would at a minimum keep their head down, not draw attention," Keane said. "The last thing you would want to be doing is popping off. He seems to have a self-destructive streak."
Frequent targets of Conte's criticism are the world and U.S. anti-doping agencies, which he believes are not serious about ridding sport of performance-enhancers.
Travis Tygart, head of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, counters that the man who figured out how to circumvent the drug-testing system by providing athletes with undetectable steroids hasn't come clean on everything he did during the BALCO years.
"You can't have it both ways," Tygart said. "Victor Conte will not be truthful about Barry Bonds or other athletes. If Bernie Madoff gets out of prison and wants to go work at the Fed while there's billions of dollars yet to be repaid, I think there would be an outcry."
Redemption, Tygart added, "just doesn't come for free."
That hasn't stopped Conte from planning to create a drug-testing program for boxing and mixed-martial arts. He sees himself much like a reformed computer hacker who now wants to design better security systems.
"I realize I may be the only person in the world who can do this thing," he said.
Scrutiny welcome
Conte's interest in boxing begins with his latest project, Nonito Donaire, a 28-year-old bantamweight world champion from San Lorenzo. Donaire started working with Conte after a chance meeting at a bank, even though the boxer's friends and family warned him about the nutritionist.
Bring on any testing, Donaire said.
"I have my vein, you have a needle," the boxer said. "Check it out."
Conte recruited banned BALCO track coach Remi Korchemny, of Castro Valley, to help train the boxer. In a past life, they promoted recovery through the use of such exotic drugs as the blood-booster EPO and human growth hormone. Today, Conte contends the secret formula is old-fashioned rest to help a fighter who previously was overtraining.
Another client is Chicago Cubs outfielder Marlon Byrd, who, in a recent "HBO Real Sports" interview, said there is nothing improper about his training, although he understands why people would question his ties to Conte.
For his part, Conte knows that many will continue to suspect something nefarious about his methods.
"There will always be doubters," he said. "But the basis of Christianity is forgiveness and there are a lot of people associated with sports who have forgotten that. There are a lot of haters who don't believe enough is enough."
He might include the IRS in that group. Since emerging from prison, Conte and his company have been audited repeatedly.
"I guarantee you," Conte said with a smile, "that we're clean."
Corrections Officer cleared of selling steroids.
Oneida County Corrections Officer Peter DiNardo hugged several fellow corrections officers after Oneida County Court Judge Barry Donalty dismissed the case against him on Monday.
DiNardo had been charged with selling illegal steroids to a police informant.
In court on Monday, New York State Police Trooper Michael Benedetto testified that while he was with the State Police Community Narcotics Enforcement Team in 2009, he took part in an undercover sting to try and catch two Oneida County Corrections officers in the act of selling illegal steroids.
Benedetto testified that he couldn't say for sure that DiNardo actually passed steroid pills to fellow corrections officer Zachary Lazore from hand to hand during surveillance back in July of 2009, outside of DiNardo's Deerfield home.
"I was able to see them exchange some sort of object," Benedetto said. "I have an idea of what it was, I can't be certain of what it was."
Benedetto, now a trooper with the State Police out of Herkimer says he and another undercover officer followed Lazore to Delmonico's on North Genesee Street in Utica, where two other officers involved in the sting operation witnessed Lazore selling the 60 pills of steroids to a police informant named Jason Schultz for $160.
Lazore pleaded guilty last year to selling the drugs to the informant Schultz. In exchange for his guilty plea, Lazore received five years probation, but lost his job with the sheriff's department.
Prosecutors on Monday however, did not call Lazore as a witness.
When Oneida County Court Judge Barry Donalty brought that point up at the end of the four hour trial, Assistant District Attorney Grant Garramone told Donalty regarding Lazore:
"I don't feel that his accounting of how he got the steroids is truthful, and I really don't want to call someone to the witness stand whose testimony I believe isn't going to be true."
"Are you asking me to assume, or presume, or be pretty sure that that transaction like that was a transfer of drugs between Mr. DiNardo and Mr. Lazore. Is that what you're asking me to do?" Donalty asked Garramone after both sides wrapped up their cases.
Garramone asked the judge to take all of the testimony and evidence into consideration, including phone records of the conversations Benedetto said took place between DiNardo and Lazore and Lazore and the informant Schultz.
In the end, Judge Donalty ruled the prosecution did not present enough evidence to convict DiNardo and thus dismissed the case.
DiNardo refused to comment for us after Monday's proceedings were over, but one of his two attorneys from Syracuse did.
Defense Attorney Emil Rossi said his team was confident the dismissal would be the final ruling all along.
"Mr. DiNardo was always insistent that this was the only route we could take, and I'm glad that he was insistent," Rossi said.
When Rossi was asked if there was any explanation by DiNardo as to what the phone conversations between DiNardo and Lazore were about Rossi said, "we just concentrated on what was admissible here in court."
After Judge Donalty's ruling, DiNardo hugged a number of fellow Oneida County Corrections Officers who were in the courtroom.
No word yet from Oneida County Sheriff Rob Maciol on whether DiNardo will now be reinstated and be paid for backpay he lost while on suspension.
DiNardo had been charged with selling illegal steroids to a police informant.
In court on Monday, New York State Police Trooper Michael Benedetto testified that while he was with the State Police Community Narcotics Enforcement Team in 2009, he took part in an undercover sting to try and catch two Oneida County Corrections officers in the act of selling illegal steroids.
Benedetto testified that he couldn't say for sure that DiNardo actually passed steroid pills to fellow corrections officer Zachary Lazore from hand to hand during surveillance back in July of 2009, outside of DiNardo's Deerfield home.
"I was able to see them exchange some sort of object," Benedetto said. "I have an idea of what it was, I can't be certain of what it was."
Benedetto, now a trooper with the State Police out of Herkimer says he and another undercover officer followed Lazore to Delmonico's on North Genesee Street in Utica, where two other officers involved in the sting operation witnessed Lazore selling the 60 pills of steroids to a police informant named Jason Schultz for $160.
Lazore pleaded guilty last year to selling the drugs to the informant Schultz. In exchange for his guilty plea, Lazore received five years probation, but lost his job with the sheriff's department.
Prosecutors on Monday however, did not call Lazore as a witness.
When Oneida County Court Judge Barry Donalty brought that point up at the end of the four hour trial, Assistant District Attorney Grant Garramone told Donalty regarding Lazore:
"I don't feel that his accounting of how he got the steroids is truthful, and I really don't want to call someone to the witness stand whose testimony I believe isn't going to be true."
"Are you asking me to assume, or presume, or be pretty sure that that transaction like that was a transfer of drugs between Mr. DiNardo and Mr. Lazore. Is that what you're asking me to do?" Donalty asked Garramone after both sides wrapped up their cases.
Garramone asked the judge to take all of the testimony and evidence into consideration, including phone records of the conversations Benedetto said took place between DiNardo and Lazore and Lazore and the informant Schultz.
In the end, Judge Donalty ruled the prosecution did not present enough evidence to convict DiNardo and thus dismissed the case.
DiNardo refused to comment for us after Monday's proceedings were over, but one of his two attorneys from Syracuse did.
Defense Attorney Emil Rossi said his team was confident the dismissal would be the final ruling all along.
"Mr. DiNardo was always insistent that this was the only route we could take, and I'm glad that he was insistent," Rossi said.
When Rossi was asked if there was any explanation by DiNardo as to what the phone conversations between DiNardo and Lazore were about Rossi said, "we just concentrated on what was admissible here in court."
After Judge Donalty's ruling, DiNardo hugged a number of fellow Oneida County Corrections Officers who were in the courtroom.
No word yet from Oneida County Sheriff Rob Maciol on whether DiNardo will now be reinstated and be paid for backpay he lost while on suspension.
Breakthrough in prostate research.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer could be the result a previously unrecognized route of free testosterone flow from the testes to the prostate, according to investigators.
The underlying cause, they say, is varicocele, which in turn is the result of a malfunction of one-way valves in the testicular venous drainage system, a phenomenon that exists only in humans.
“The evolution of prostate diseases is a long-standing enigma in medicine,” said lead investigator Yigal Gat, MSc, MD, PhD, Head of Andrology & Interventional Radiology at the Maayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak, Israel, and a research consultant in Condensed Matter Physics, Sub-Micron Research, Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. “Our research group has been working together for several years and via physical understanding we have come to the conclusion that did not surprise us - prostatic enlargement is actually a secondary symptom of a hitherto disregarded clinical problem—varicocele – namely, malfunction of those valves.”
Dr. Gat and his colleagues demonstrated that testosterone at a concentration of about 130 times that of physiologic levels reaches the prostate via the testicular and prostate venous drainage systems, causing accelerated proliferation of prostate cells.
At the 26th Annual Congress of the European Association of Urology, Dr. Gat reported on a study of 63 BPH patients with prostatic symptoms and bilateral varicocele who underwent super-selective venography and sclerotherapy of the network of impaired testicular venous system, thereby eliminating the flow of free testosterone from the testes to the prostate.
The mean follow-up was about two years. The treatment resulted in a significant reduction of some 50% of the pathologic volume (the enlargement beyond the normal prostate volume) over six to nine months and a parallel decrease in prostate symptoms, although 5% of men experienced recurrent varicocele.
The researchers concluded that their findings may explain the mechanism underlying development of BPH and possibly prostate cancer and may resolve several mysteries associated with these diseases during the last 70 years.
The underlying cause, they say, is varicocele, which in turn is the result of a malfunction of one-way valves in the testicular venous drainage system, a phenomenon that exists only in humans.
“The evolution of prostate diseases is a long-standing enigma in medicine,” said lead investigator Yigal Gat, MSc, MD, PhD, Head of Andrology & Interventional Radiology at the Maayanei Hayeshua Medical Center in Bnei Brak, Israel, and a research consultant in Condensed Matter Physics, Sub-Micron Research, Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel. “Our research group has been working together for several years and via physical understanding we have come to the conclusion that did not surprise us - prostatic enlargement is actually a secondary symptom of a hitherto disregarded clinical problem—varicocele – namely, malfunction of those valves.”
Dr. Gat and his colleagues demonstrated that testosterone at a concentration of about 130 times that of physiologic levels reaches the prostate via the testicular and prostate venous drainage systems, causing accelerated proliferation of prostate cells.
At the 26th Annual Congress of the European Association of Urology, Dr. Gat reported on a study of 63 BPH patients with prostatic symptoms and bilateral varicocele who underwent super-selective venography and sclerotherapy of the network of impaired testicular venous system, thereby eliminating the flow of free testosterone from the testes to the prostate.
The mean follow-up was about two years. The treatment resulted in a significant reduction of some 50% of the pathologic volume (the enlargement beyond the normal prostate volume) over six to nine months and a parallel decrease in prostate symptoms, although 5% of men experienced recurrent varicocele.
The researchers concluded that their findings may explain the mechanism underlying development of BPH and possibly prostate cancer and may resolve several mysteries associated with these diseases during the last 70 years.
Small domestic UG lab busted.
Arundel County Police arrested and charged a 29-year-old Glen Burnie man with manufacturing and selling steroids from his home.
On March 17 officers went to the home of Leonard Phelps in the 7200-block of Mockingbird Circle.
With a warrant, the officers search Phelps' home. Inside they found the following items :-
125 pills believed to be an anabolic steroid
321 liquid vials of suspected steroids
A cardboard flat containing new glass vials used to package the liquid steroids
Numerous bags of vial lids and two crimping tools used to secure the lids to the vials once filled.
Numerous small "zip lock" bags
Two cell phones
A sharps container
Phelps was arrested and charged accordingly.
On March 17 officers went to the home of Leonard Phelps in the 7200-block of Mockingbird Circle.
With a warrant, the officers search Phelps' home. Inside they found the following items :-
125 pills believed to be an anabolic steroid
321 liquid vials of suspected steroids
A cardboard flat containing new glass vials used to package the liquid steroids
Numerous bags of vial lids and two crimping tools used to secure the lids to the vials once filled.
Numerous small "zip lock" bags
Two cell phones
A sharps container
Phelps was arrested and charged accordingly.
NY Detention Facility steroid ring broken up.
Three Buffalo Federal Detention Facility employees were indicted on Thursday for allegedly distributing anabolic steroids.
39-year-old Richard Lazzaro and 48-year-old Michael Trautmann, both of Cheektowaga, and 35-year-old Richard Eldridge of West Seneca, were all working at the facility in Batavia, N.Y. Lazzaro and Trautmann were working as federal contract employees and Eldridge is an Immigration Enforcement Agent with the Department of Homeland Security. The U.S. Attorney's office says convicted, the charges carry a maximum penalty of ten years in prison.
Three workers at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia are accused of distributing anabolic steroids.
A federal grand jury this week indicted Richard Lazzaro, 39, and Michael Trautmann, 48, both of Cheektowaga, Erie County, and Richard Eldridge, 35, of West Seneca, Erie County, on charges of steroid distribution.
Eldrige is an immigration enforcement agent with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations. Trautmann and Lazzaro were detention officers working as federal contract employees, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
39-year-old Richard Lazzaro and 48-year-old Michael Trautmann, both of Cheektowaga, and 35-year-old Richard Eldridge of West Seneca, were all working at the facility in Batavia, N.Y. Lazzaro and Trautmann were working as federal contract employees and Eldridge is an Immigration Enforcement Agent with the Department of Homeland Security. The U.S. Attorney's office says convicted, the charges carry a maximum penalty of ten years in prison.
Three workers at the Buffalo Federal Detention Facility in Batavia are accused of distributing anabolic steroids.
A federal grand jury this week indicted Richard Lazzaro, 39, and Michael Trautmann, 48, both of Cheektowaga, Erie County, and Richard Eldridge, 35, of West Seneca, Erie County, on charges of steroid distribution.
Eldrige is an immigration enforcement agent with the Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations. Trautmann and Lazzaro were detention officers working as federal contract employees, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Juice driving ends in steroid arrest.
Arizona authorities say they've arrested an Oklahoma man for steroids possession and a Texas man on drug charges.
Yavapai County Sheriff's deputies stopped a car for a traffic violation Tuesday on Interstate 17 north of Cordes Junction.
They say 28-year-old David Johnson Jr. was the driver and 28-year-old Raul Alcala, from Texas, was a passenger.
Deputies say a safe in the car's trunk contained four vials of the testosterone each labeled at 10 milligrams plus items that allegedly link Johnson to the contents.They also found a plastic bag of marijuana and two pipes that allegedly belong to Alcala.
Authorities say Johnson remains jailed on $50,000 bond on charges of possession and transportation of dangerous drugs. Alcala is being held on $2,500 bond on possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
Yavapai County Sheriff's deputies stopped a car for a traffic violation Tuesday on Interstate 17 north of Cordes Junction.
They say 28-year-old David Johnson Jr. was the driver and 28-year-old Raul Alcala, from Texas, was a passenger.
Deputies say a safe in the car's trunk contained four vials of the testosterone each labeled at 10 milligrams plus items that allegedly link Johnson to the contents.They also found a plastic bag of marijuana and two pipes that allegedly belong to Alcala.
Authorities say Johnson remains jailed on $50,000 bond on charges of possession and transportation of dangerous drugs. Alcala is being held on $2,500 bond on possession of marijuana and drug paraphernalia.
WADA claims the criminal underworld controls world sport and the steroids trade.
The criminal underworld now controls a large proportion of world sport, World Anti-Doping Agency director general David Howman said Wednesday.
He told a doping conference convened by the World Sports Law Report at Twickenham rugby stadium that the criminal elements in illegal betting were also involved in steroid trafficking.
"My information is we now know the criminal underworld controls a significant proportion of world sport," he said.
He added that there was more money made in trafficking illegal performance-enhancing drugs than in dealing heroin.
Howman later told reporters his information came from law enforcement people "far more experienced and knowledgeable than any one of us."
"They say the underworld is involved in betting, in distributing steroids and it's the same jokers, it's not anybody new," he said.
"I have been saying this for five or six years and now INTERPOL are justifying it. They now have the numbers and the information and they are really worried about it."
Howman also told the conference there was evidence that there had been attempts to bribe doping control officers.
He told reporters the amounts involved were "thousands of dollars."
He told a doping conference convened by the World Sports Law Report at Twickenham rugby stadium that the criminal elements in illegal betting were also involved in steroid trafficking.
"My information is we now know the criminal underworld controls a significant proportion of world sport," he said.
He added that there was more money made in trafficking illegal performance-enhancing drugs than in dealing heroin.
Howman later told reporters his information came from law enforcement people "far more experienced and knowledgeable than any one of us."
"They say the underworld is involved in betting, in distributing steroids and it's the same jokers, it's not anybody new," he said.
"I have been saying this for five or six years and now INTERPOL are justifying it. They now have the numbers and the information and they are really worried about it."
Howman also told the conference there was evidence that there had been attempts to bribe doping control officers.
He told reporters the amounts involved were "thousands of dollars."
Steroid ring busted in Danbury, Connecticut.
Federal investigators have busted a drug ring that authorities say distributed steroids to high school athletes and others in the Danbury area and was run by a Bethel businessman, according to prosecutors.
Under arrest are Mark Mansa, 46, who had worked for a credit card payment processing company; Richard Sciaccetano, of Stuart, Fla., who investigators say has ties to the Bonnano crime family; Kevin Lubic, 48, of Salem, N.Y., who investigators say is associated with the Hells Angels motorcycle club, and Glenn Wagner, of Brookfield, whose home was raided by federal drug agents late last month.
Investigators claim Mansa sold roughly 70 bottles holding 200 milliliters of steroids every month at a price of up to $90 each. Some of his customers included high school student athletes in the Danbury area, according to federal investigators.
The indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Hartford this month accuses Mansa of conspiring to distribute the steroids for more than seven years, from January 2004 to February 2011.
It accuses Mansa of distributing anabolic steroids to a cooperating witness on four occasions in March and June, 2010. As a result, he faces six federal charges.
Details of Mansa's criminal activity including the steroid sales are contained in an affidavit compiled by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, lawyers involved in the case said. The affidavit remains sealed from public view.
Under arrest are Mark Mansa, 46, who had worked for a credit card payment processing company; Richard Sciaccetano, of Stuart, Fla., who investigators say has ties to the Bonnano crime family; Kevin Lubic, 48, of Salem, N.Y., who investigators say is associated with the Hells Angels motorcycle club, and Glenn Wagner, of Brookfield, whose home was raided by federal drug agents late last month.
Investigators claim Mansa sold roughly 70 bottles holding 200 milliliters of steroids every month at a price of up to $90 each. Some of his customers included high school student athletes in the Danbury area, according to federal investigators.
The indictment returned by a federal grand jury in Hartford this month accuses Mansa of conspiring to distribute the steroids for more than seven years, from January 2004 to February 2011.
It accuses Mansa of distributing anabolic steroids to a cooperating witness on four occasions in March and June, 2010. As a result, he faces six federal charges.
Details of Mansa's criminal activity including the steroid sales are contained in an affidavit compiled by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, lawyers involved in the case said. The affidavit remains sealed from public view.
Researchers find Vitamin D raises Testosterone levels in men.
Researchers at the Medical University of Graz in Austria found that levels of testosterone, the male sex hormone, in men's blood rise accordingly with doses of Vitamin D. The vital nutrient is produced in the body after exposure to sunlight and is also contained in oily fish and meat.
A spokesman for the Sunlight Research Forum in Veldhoven, in the Netherlands, said: "Men who ensure their body is at least sufficiently supplied with Vitamin D are doing good for their testosterone levels and their libido among other things."
A spokesman for the Sunlight Research Forum in Veldhoven, in the Netherlands, said: "Men who ensure their body is at least sufficiently supplied with Vitamin D are doing good for their testosterone levels and their libido among other things."
Thai online steroid source busted.
( If anyone knows which websites she runs please comment. )The drug dealer, who normally sold her drugs online, was caught red-handed on her first time distributing drugs in person, selling 10 boxes of illegal steroids – all worth approximately 31,000 Baht.
Tourist Police Division (located at Supachalasai Stadium), Police Captain Peerapat Paromwut Deputy Investigating Officer stated that the arrest of 29-year-old Ms. Penprakai Tieng-ngok has occurred at Ekkamai Bus Station. The police discovered that this bus stop was a meeting point of a drug suspect, who has been distributing Steroids to Thai and foreign clients via the Internet. The police carried out a sting operation accordingly.
After interrogation, the suspect confessed that this was her first time dealing the drugs in person. She worked for Mrs. Ya – owner of a drug store in South Pattaya. The suspect’s delivery payment was 2,000 Baht.
The suspect was a former winner of 2010 Asian body builder and fitness competition, under 164 cm category, in Singapore.
The suspect was charged with distribution of illegal drugs – sentenced to 5 years and fined 10,000 Baht. Police continued their questioning.
Personal trainer charged in fake steroid prescription plot.
A 36-year-old personal trainer has been charged with conspiring with a Quick Chek employee to illegally obtain prescription steroids, police said yesterday.
Ahmen Attia, 36, of Newkirk Avenue in the township, was arrested after he turned himself in at police headquarters at about 8 a.m. yesterday, Lt. Frank Cannella said.
Attia's arrest comes after the Feb. 15 arrest of Romina Lozano, 25, of 68th Street in Guttenberg, a pharmacy employee at the Quick Chek at 7201 Bergenline Ave. who was charged with theft and obtaining prescription medicine without a prescription, Cannella said.
On Jan. 19, employees at the Quick Chek noticed Lozano ordering injectable steroids from the store's pharmacy department without permission, Cannella said.
Lozano, who posted bail shortly after being arrested, confessed to the crime but did not identify any other persons involved, Cannella said. But through surveillance footage, police identified Attia as the person she was passing the steroids to, Cannella said, noting she was not seen charging Attia for the illegally obtained steroids.
Attia's bail was set at $10,000.
Ahmen Attia, 36, of Newkirk Avenue in the township, was arrested after he turned himself in at police headquarters at about 8 a.m. yesterday, Lt. Frank Cannella said.
Attia's arrest comes after the Feb. 15 arrest of Romina Lozano, 25, of 68th Street in Guttenberg, a pharmacy employee at the Quick Chek at 7201 Bergenline Ave. who was charged with theft and obtaining prescription medicine without a prescription, Cannella said.
On Jan. 19, employees at the Quick Chek noticed Lozano ordering injectable steroids from the store's pharmacy department without permission, Cannella said.
Lozano, who posted bail shortly after being arrested, confessed to the crime but did not identify any other persons involved, Cannella said. But through surveillance footage, police identified Attia as the person she was passing the steroids to, Cannella said, noting she was not seen charging Attia for the illegally obtained steroids.
Attia's bail was set at $10,000.
Indian grandmother caught smuggling Thai steroids.
A case of attempted duty evasion by a senior citizen at the Chhatrapati Shivaji International Airport has put both Customs as well as the Air Intelligence Unit in a dilemma.
A 62-year-old woman who was allegedly carrying banned steroids was stopped by the authorities on Wednesday morning.
Considering that she is a senior citizen the agencies are finding it difficult to decide what action can be taken against her. The steroids she was carrying are banned drugs, used for body building purposes.
The authorities had not arrested the woman till late on Wednesday evening. Seemingly a first time carrier and from a sound background, the lady reportedly claimed that she was carrying the steroids for her children who indulge in body building, a version that the agencies refuse to believe.
According to sources, the woman was intercepted in the green channel and searched under the supervision of assistant commissioner (Customs) Sameer Wankhede after she alighted from a Jet Airways flight from Bangkok.
The Customs officers found over 500 tablets as well as injections of andrelon and testosterone in her possession.
However, all these were veterinary drugs and their packets specifically mentioned ‘only for animal consumption’.
While it clearly indicates what harm the drugs could cause to the human body, the woman claimed that she had brought them because she was told it’s good for health.
The sources added that the woman was accompanied by her son-in-law and he could be the person behind transporting the steroids.
“It seems likely that it was her son-in-law’s plot but all the bags were tagged in her name and she owned up the responsibility. That’s why the panchnama has been filed in her name,” said a source.
The market price of a single injection carried by woman is anywhere between $100 to $200, the sources claimed. However, the exact value of the seized steroids could not be decided.
A 62-year-old woman who was allegedly carrying banned steroids was stopped by the authorities on Wednesday morning.
Considering that she is a senior citizen the agencies are finding it difficult to decide what action can be taken against her. The steroids she was carrying are banned drugs, used for body building purposes.
The authorities had not arrested the woman till late on Wednesday evening. Seemingly a first time carrier and from a sound background, the lady reportedly claimed that she was carrying the steroids for her children who indulge in body building, a version that the agencies refuse to believe.
According to sources, the woman was intercepted in the green channel and searched under the supervision of assistant commissioner (Customs) Sameer Wankhede after she alighted from a Jet Airways flight from Bangkok.
The Customs officers found over 500 tablets as well as injections of andrelon and testosterone in her possession.
However, all these were veterinary drugs and their packets specifically mentioned ‘only for animal consumption’.
While it clearly indicates what harm the drugs could cause to the human body, the woman claimed that she had brought them because she was told it’s good for health.
The sources added that the woman was accompanied by her son-in-law and he could be the person behind transporting the steroids.
“It seems likely that it was her son-in-law’s plot but all the bags were tagged in her name and she owned up the responsibility. That’s why the panchnama has been filed in her name,” said a source.
The market price of a single injection carried by woman is anywhere between $100 to $200, the sources claimed. However, the exact value of the seized steroids could not be decided.
Ex-police officer pleads no contest in steroids case.
A former Paw Paw police officer pleaded no contest Friday to possession of a non-narcotic controlled substance.
Robert P. Kusmack was charged with one count of possession of anabolic steroid Fluoxymesterone, a two-year felony.
Kusmack is to be sentenced April 18 by Van Buren County Circuit Judge Paul E. Hamre.
The case is being handled by a special prosecutor from Kalamazoo County because it involves a former Paw Paw police officer.
Kusmack was arrested March 11, 2010, after police learned that Aaron DiPrima, owner of Strength Beyond gym in Paw Paw, planned to deliver the pills to Kusmack, according to testimony at Kusmack’s preliminary examination hearing in October.
The relationship became known because a third man, Tom Radke, was working with the West Michigan Enforcement Team, a Michigan State Police drug unit, and the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team, which had taken steroids and other items from his Vicksburg home earlier that week.
Radke also led investigators to Fred Milton Jr., who was a Kalamazoo Public Safety officer at the time. Milton resigned on May 4 when he was scheduled to be disciplined.
DiPrima in June pleaded guilty to possession of an analogue, a two-year felony, and was sentenced Aug. 23 to one year of probation, 60 hours of community service, state fees and court costs under 7411 of the Michigan Public Health Code. He also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and testify against Kusmack.
Under terms of the agreement, the felony charge will be removed from public criminal files if DiPrima successfully completes probation.
Kusmack was terminated from the Paw Paw Police Department in May.
Robert P. Kusmack was charged with one count of possession of anabolic steroid Fluoxymesterone, a two-year felony.
Kusmack is to be sentenced April 18 by Van Buren County Circuit Judge Paul E. Hamre.
The case is being handled by a special prosecutor from Kalamazoo County because it involves a former Paw Paw police officer.
Kusmack was arrested March 11, 2010, after police learned that Aaron DiPrima, owner of Strength Beyond gym in Paw Paw, planned to deliver the pills to Kusmack, according to testimony at Kusmack’s preliminary examination hearing in October.
The relationship became known because a third man, Tom Radke, was working with the West Michigan Enforcement Team, a Michigan State Police drug unit, and the Kalamazoo Valley Enforcement Team, which had taken steroids and other items from his Vicksburg home earlier that week.
Radke also led investigators to Fred Milton Jr., who was a Kalamazoo Public Safety officer at the time. Milton resigned on May 4 when he was scheduled to be disciplined.
DiPrima in June pleaded guilty to possession of an analogue, a two-year felony, and was sentenced Aug. 23 to one year of probation, 60 hours of community service, state fees and court costs under 7411 of the Michigan Public Health Code. He also agreed to cooperate with prosecutors and testify against Kusmack.
Under terms of the agreement, the felony charge will be removed from public criminal files if DiPrima successfully completes probation.
Kusmack was terminated from the Paw Paw Police Department in May.
Dutch chemist jailed for London based fake Cialis lab.
A university worker from west London has been jailed for planning to flood the market with fake sex-enhancing drugs.
Chemist Chistiaan Winkel imported a machine from China and chemicals to make £1.6 million worth of fake Cialis C20 pills.
He pressed some samples using white powder to show a "potential dealer" - but trial runs to make the C20 copies were "sabotaged" by undercover police officers.
Winkel, 32, also offered to produce Ecstasy tablets before being arrested after a police sting, the Old Bailey heard.
Winkel, of Fulham, west London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud pharmaceutical firm Lilly UK and conspiracy to manufacture Ecstasy. He was jailed for three years and four months.
The judge, Recorder Douglas Day, QC, told him: "You are a highly-intelligent man with great talent. It is a tragedy to find you here."
Dutch national Winkel had quit his job as an organic chemistry lecturer at University College London (UCL) to set up his own chemical import business. Soon after, in November 2009, he made contact with an undercover investigator for Lilly through a website and offered to make the pills for erectile dysfunction.
Richard Milne, prosecuting, said the Cialis drugs were only available on prescription but some people were risking their lives to buy fake ones on the internet for around £1 each.
Legitimate chemicals used in Winkel's business, along with illegal Ecstasy ingredients, were found at the home of Winkel's runner Safa Ba Seidi at a hostel in the grounds of a mosque in Tottenham.
Ba Seidi, 36, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to supply Ecstasy and was jailed for 21 months. Winkel's girlfriend, Yuly Sandoval Mora, 33, of Holloway, north London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and was given an eight-month sentence suspended for a year.
Chemist Chistiaan Winkel imported a machine from China and chemicals to make £1.6 million worth of fake Cialis C20 pills.
He pressed some samples using white powder to show a "potential dealer" - but trial runs to make the C20 copies were "sabotaged" by undercover police officers.
Winkel, 32, also offered to produce Ecstasy tablets before being arrested after a police sting, the Old Bailey heard.
Winkel, of Fulham, west London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud pharmaceutical firm Lilly UK and conspiracy to manufacture Ecstasy. He was jailed for three years and four months.
The judge, Recorder Douglas Day, QC, told him: "You are a highly-intelligent man with great talent. It is a tragedy to find you here."
Dutch national Winkel had quit his job as an organic chemistry lecturer at University College London (UCL) to set up his own chemical import business. Soon after, in November 2009, he made contact with an undercover investigator for Lilly through a website and offered to make the pills for erectile dysfunction.
Richard Milne, prosecuting, said the Cialis drugs were only available on prescription but some people were risking their lives to buy fake ones on the internet for around £1 each.
Legitimate chemicals used in Winkel's business, along with illegal Ecstasy ingredients, were found at the home of Winkel's runner Safa Ba Seidi at a hostel in the grounds of a mosque in Tottenham.
Ba Seidi, 36, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and conspiracy to supply Ecstasy and was jailed for 21 months. Winkel's girlfriend, Yuly Sandoval Mora, 33, of Holloway, north London, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to defraud and was given an eight-month sentence suspended for a year.
Florida begins it's own juicing cop scandal.
More than a dozen Broward Sheriff’s deputies allegedly obtained steroids, growth hormones and other drugs through fraudulent prescriptions between 2005 and 2008, a BSO investigation has found.
BSO Sgt. Lisa McElhaney, an expert prescription drug investigator, wrote in her report, that “there is evidence to support numerous violations” of Florida law regarding obtaining a controlled substance by fraud.
The report does not indicate if the deputies involved were aware that their prescriptions were fraudulent.
McElhaney said in the report, which was finalized on Jan. 9, 2009, that the case was forwarded to BSO Internal Affairs for further review at the direction of BSO top brass. McElhaney was reassigned shortly after submitting her findings and is no longer involved in the case. The reason for her transfer has not been made clear.
The investigation found that 15 deputies and one civilian obtained muscle-building drugs such as Nandralone, Stanozolol and Testosterone Cypionate and the erectile dysfunction drugs Viagra and Cialis, using prescriptions that had not been authorized.
Without explanation, those findings have been under review by the Internal Affairs Division for the past two years, even though two doctors whose names are on the prescriptions authorizing the drugs gave statements saying the prescriptions were bogus.
“I think it’s is still open, but I’ll check,” BSO Media Relations Jim Leljedal said. He did not respond further prior to publishing deadlines.
The probe was conducted by the Drug Diversion Unit of BSO’s Strategic Investigations Division. The case was presented to the Broward State Attorney’s Office (SAO) but BSO opened an Internal Affairs review. Ron Ishoy, Broward State Attorney’s Office spokesman, said as a result the office did not open a file over the matter.
Ishoy said in an e-mail response to questions from South Florida Times that he checked with Tim Donnelly, director of the SAO’s Special Investigations Division. Donnelly, he, recalled that the SAO had been asked “for some guidance” about PowerMedica, a Deerfield Beach pharmaceutical company that had been raided by BSO and the Food and Drug Administration in 2005. He said the Sheriff’s Office, then headed by Ken Jenne, had decided to handle the matter administratively.
THOROUGH INVESTIGATION
McElhaney’s investigation was a follow up to the raid on PowerMedica. The items seized included dozens of prescriptions and invoices indicating BSO deputies were customers. PowerMedica distributed steroids, anti-aging drugs and medications to combat impotence. The company shut down eight months after the raid and founder Daniel L. Daily transferred his operations to another Deerfield Beach company he founded called Metragen.
Asked to comment, the FDA referred calls from South Florida Times to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to federal court records, Daily, 50, pleaded guilty in 2010 to conspiring to distribute human growth hormones and steroids. He has not been transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons but remains in federal custody as inmate 91427-004 at an undisclosed location.
The BSO deputies being mentioned in the case range in rank from supervisors to sergeants and lieutenants and some are females. The investigation found that deputies obtained the medications from local drug stores and anti-aging clinics without seeing or being examined by a doctor.
The drug stores and medical facilities named in the report include Medical Arts Pharmacy Services, Lifestyle Rejuvenation Center and Medical Arts Therapy all located in Coral Springs as well as Custom Compounding Pharmacy and Central Express Pharmacy located in Pembroke Pines.
According to the report, Lancelot James of Parkland is the principal owner of those businesses and it also states that Nathan Moy of Miramar is the “Owner and operator of Custom Compounding Pharmacy, partners with Lancelot James.”
Efforts to reach James and Moy were unsuccessful. Several calls made to the businesses found some of the numbers disconnected and others were unanswered.
McElhaney, who headed the investigation, serves as vice-president of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators. The non-profit group collaborates with law enforcement, doctors and pharmaceutical companies to combat prescription drug abuse and trafficking.
Her investigation into BSO deputies’ involvement in steroids included interviews with current and former employees of the pharmacies, as well as the doctors whose names are on the prescriptions. Video surveillance was conducted and credit card payments, bank statements and pharmacy invoices were linked to the 16 deputies named in McElhaney’s report. The dates and amount of drugs the deputies allegedly obtained, along with their costs, were also documented in the report.
The bulk of the questionable prescriptions bore the names of Dr. William Lucky of Miami and Dr. Leroy Smith of Fort Lauderdale. Several calls from South Florida Times to their offices went unanswered and neither responded to messages left seeking comment.
The doctors did give sworn statements denying ever seeing the deputies as patients.
Lucky said he had been promised $2,000 per week but never received any money. He left Lifestyle Rejuvenation Center after three months and said any prescriptions bearing his name after December 2005 were “fraudulently manufactured.”
Smith said James offered him $1,500 a week, plus cash bonuses for prescriptions he signed, but he turned the offer down after checking with state medical regulators.
“Dr. Smith advised that he never treated any patients but he got conned into signing 40-50 prescriptions a Dr. Lucky [sic]; he advised that Dr. Lucky had seen the patients and that he was unavailable and they needed to FedEx out the medications to customers,” the report states. “Dr. Smith went on to state that, “And I knew that was wrong” and he advised the Board of Medicine of his actions and he was advised to cease and desist any further activity.”
“I did not see these patients and I did not authorize prescriptions,” Smith told investigators when they showed him the prescription forms, according to the report.
BSO Sgt. Lisa McElhaney, an expert prescription drug investigator, wrote in her report, that “there is evidence to support numerous violations” of Florida law regarding obtaining a controlled substance by fraud.
The report does not indicate if the deputies involved were aware that their prescriptions were fraudulent.
McElhaney said in the report, which was finalized on Jan. 9, 2009, that the case was forwarded to BSO Internal Affairs for further review at the direction of BSO top brass. McElhaney was reassigned shortly after submitting her findings and is no longer involved in the case. The reason for her transfer has not been made clear.
The investigation found that 15 deputies and one civilian obtained muscle-building drugs such as Nandralone, Stanozolol and Testosterone Cypionate and the erectile dysfunction drugs Viagra and Cialis, using prescriptions that had not been authorized.
Without explanation, those findings have been under review by the Internal Affairs Division for the past two years, even though two doctors whose names are on the prescriptions authorizing the drugs gave statements saying the prescriptions were bogus.
“I think it’s is still open, but I’ll check,” BSO Media Relations Jim Leljedal said. He did not respond further prior to publishing deadlines.
The probe was conducted by the Drug Diversion Unit of BSO’s Strategic Investigations Division. The case was presented to the Broward State Attorney’s Office (SAO) but BSO opened an Internal Affairs review. Ron Ishoy, Broward State Attorney’s Office spokesman, said as a result the office did not open a file over the matter.
Ishoy said in an e-mail response to questions from South Florida Times that he checked with Tim Donnelly, director of the SAO’s Special Investigations Division. Donnelly, he, recalled that the SAO had been asked “for some guidance” about PowerMedica, a Deerfield Beach pharmaceutical company that had been raided by BSO and the Food and Drug Administration in 2005. He said the Sheriff’s Office, then headed by Ken Jenne, had decided to handle the matter administratively.
THOROUGH INVESTIGATION
McElhaney’s investigation was a follow up to the raid on PowerMedica. The items seized included dozens of prescriptions and invoices indicating BSO deputies were customers. PowerMedica distributed steroids, anti-aging drugs and medications to combat impotence. The company shut down eight months after the raid and founder Daniel L. Daily transferred his operations to another Deerfield Beach company he founded called Metragen.
Asked to comment, the FDA referred calls from South Florida Times to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
According to federal court records, Daily, 50, pleaded guilty in 2010 to conspiring to distribute human growth hormones and steroids. He has not been transferred to the Federal Bureau of Prisons but remains in federal custody as inmate 91427-004 at an undisclosed location.
The BSO deputies being mentioned in the case range in rank from supervisors to sergeants and lieutenants and some are females. The investigation found that deputies obtained the medications from local drug stores and anti-aging clinics without seeing or being examined by a doctor.
The drug stores and medical facilities named in the report include Medical Arts Pharmacy Services, Lifestyle Rejuvenation Center and Medical Arts Therapy all located in Coral Springs as well as Custom Compounding Pharmacy and Central Express Pharmacy located in Pembroke Pines.
According to the report, Lancelot James of Parkland is the principal owner of those businesses and it also states that Nathan Moy of Miramar is the “Owner and operator of Custom Compounding Pharmacy, partners with Lancelot James.”
Efforts to reach James and Moy were unsuccessful. Several calls made to the businesses found some of the numbers disconnected and others were unanswered.
McElhaney, who headed the investigation, serves as vice-president of the National Association of Drug Diversion Investigators. The non-profit group collaborates with law enforcement, doctors and pharmaceutical companies to combat prescription drug abuse and trafficking.
Her investigation into BSO deputies’ involvement in steroids included interviews with current and former employees of the pharmacies, as well as the doctors whose names are on the prescriptions. Video surveillance was conducted and credit card payments, bank statements and pharmacy invoices were linked to the 16 deputies named in McElhaney’s report. The dates and amount of drugs the deputies allegedly obtained, along with their costs, were also documented in the report.
The bulk of the questionable prescriptions bore the names of Dr. William Lucky of Miami and Dr. Leroy Smith of Fort Lauderdale. Several calls from South Florida Times to their offices went unanswered and neither responded to messages left seeking comment.
The doctors did give sworn statements denying ever seeing the deputies as patients.
Lucky said he had been promised $2,000 per week but never received any money. He left Lifestyle Rejuvenation Center after three months and said any prescriptions bearing his name after December 2005 were “fraudulently manufactured.”
Smith said James offered him $1,500 a week, plus cash bonuses for prescriptions he signed, but he turned the offer down after checking with state medical regulators.
“Dr. Smith advised that he never treated any patients but he got conned into signing 40-50 prescriptions a Dr. Lucky [sic]; he advised that Dr. Lucky had seen the patients and that he was unavailable and they needed to FedEx out the medications to customers,” the report states. “Dr. Smith went on to state that, “And I knew that was wrong” and he advised the Board of Medicine of his actions and he was advised to cease and desist any further activity.”
“I did not see these patients and I did not authorize prescriptions,” Smith told investigators when they showed him the prescription forms, according to the report.
Rodent study appears to show link between fatty liver and the activity of growth hormone.
Scientists at the UCSF Cardiovascular Research Institute have discovered how a change in growth hormone activity in mice leads to fatty liver disease, a condition whose human counterpart is of rising concern worldwide.
Disruption of a key protein in the pathway that responds to growth hormone could explain how fatty liver disease develops, the researchers said, but may also offer insights into how our bodies regulate fat in general.
Until recently, the growth of fat deposits in the liver that characterizes fatty-liver disease was mainly considered a result of alcoholism. Over the last decade, though, scientists have been baffled by the rising incidence of the non-alcoholic version of the disease, which now affects as many as one in four people worldwide, according to UCSF cardiologist Ethan Weiss, MD, senior author of the paper.
Known risk factors for the condition include obesity, diabetes and malnutrition, among many others, but its precise mechanism had eluded researchers.
"Fatty liver disease is an increasingly prevalent condition that is poorly understood," Weiss said. "We knew that growth hormone had been linked to fatty liver, but previous reports showed that it both causes and cures the condition. We set out to figure out why that happens."
Disruption of a key protein in the pathway that responds to growth hormone could explain how fatty liver disease develops, the researchers said, but may also offer insights into how our bodies regulate fat in general.
Until recently, the growth of fat deposits in the liver that characterizes fatty-liver disease was mainly considered a result of alcoholism. Over the last decade, though, scientists have been baffled by the rising incidence of the non-alcoholic version of the disease, which now affects as many as one in four people worldwide, according to UCSF cardiologist Ethan Weiss, MD, senior author of the paper.
Known risk factors for the condition include obesity, diabetes and malnutrition, among many others, but its precise mechanism had eluded researchers.
"Fatty liver disease is an increasingly prevalent condition that is poorly understood," Weiss said. "We knew that growth hormone had been linked to fatty liver, but previous reports showed that it both causes and cures the condition. We set out to figure out why that happens."
New study on Egrifta ( tesamorelin ) compared to Serostim (HGH) in HIV + men.
Appleby discussed the differences between EGRIFTA and Serostim, a synthetic version of Human Growth Hormone that is FDA approved for the treatment of HIV-related wasting and weight loss. In its trials, Serostim also reversed the effects of lipodystrophy, but the FDA was not convinced that the risks associated with Serastim outweighed its benefits with lipodystrophy, and did not approve it for that purpose.
The differences between Serostim and EGRIFTA are significant. Serostim (generic name: somatropin) is a daily injection of a synthetic hormone that often comes with severe side effects including joint and muscle pain, swelling, and an increase in glucose levels in the bloodstream that can increase the risk of diabetes. The desired effects of Serostim begin to be visible after a few weeks on the drug, and the monthly cost is a staggering $10,000. EGRIFTA (generic name: tesamorelin) is a daily injection of a drug that causes the body to produce its own growth hormone. The possible side effects, including fluid retention, pain, rash and glucose intolerance, are mild in comparison to Serostim. The good results begin to be visible in three months, and the monthly cost of treatment is a less staggering $2,900.
EGRIFTA will not reverse facial wasting and will not increase arm or leg width. It does not address the kind of fat that is acquired through overeating and not exercising. It specifically targets fat surrounding the internal organs in the abdomen.
Appleby described the trials that led to the FDA approval of EGRIFTA. No one with an active malignancy was allowed to participate, and all participants had to be off Serostim for at least 6 months. Those in the study were also asked to follow a healthy diet and exercise routine. The critical results were calculated not in weight but in fat distribution measurements. Steve was one of the participants in those trials who experienced a satisfying reduction of his lipohypertrophy, and then its unfortunate return after the treatments ended.
Despite the fact that the FDA has approved EGRIFTA as a treatment for a syndrome that can be damaging to the cardio-vascular system, the biggest marketing hurdle is the refusal of many insurance companies to consider it anything more than a cosmetic treatment. Those insurers are also shortsighted in their refusal to see that erasing the scarlet letter of HIV infection will have a restorative impact on the daily lives of HIV-positive men, with an overall betterment of their health and a consequential lowering of other costly HIV-related treatments and medications covered by most health insurance providers. During the question and answer portion of the EGRIFTA seminar, some spoke about the unclear possibility of a patient assistance program and about current monthly co-pays that vary drastically from a few dollars to a reported high of $600. In the USA, EGRIFTA is distributed by Serono Laboratories and is not currently available at some of the national drug store chains. Many HIV doctors are still unfamiliar with EGRIFTA, and their patients are driving their continued education with requests for the treatment.
After the seminar, Steve reported that the attendees were satisfied that EGRIFTA’s benefits are clear, as was the fact that there is little that can be done but wait for the drug’s developer and marketer to battle successfully with health insurance companies that consider it an unnecessary cosmetic intervention, similar to liposuction.
At the POZitive Attitudes meeting, Appleby was preaching to the choir when he concluded his seminar by saying “The bottom line is that EGRIFTA is a good drug with few side effects.”
The differences between Serostim and EGRIFTA are significant. Serostim (generic name: somatropin) is a daily injection of a synthetic hormone that often comes with severe side effects including joint and muscle pain, swelling, and an increase in glucose levels in the bloodstream that can increase the risk of diabetes. The desired effects of Serostim begin to be visible after a few weeks on the drug, and the monthly cost is a staggering $10,000. EGRIFTA (generic name: tesamorelin) is a daily injection of a drug that causes the body to produce its own growth hormone. The possible side effects, including fluid retention, pain, rash and glucose intolerance, are mild in comparison to Serostim. The good results begin to be visible in three months, and the monthly cost of treatment is a less staggering $2,900.
EGRIFTA will not reverse facial wasting and will not increase arm or leg width. It does not address the kind of fat that is acquired through overeating and not exercising. It specifically targets fat surrounding the internal organs in the abdomen.
Appleby described the trials that led to the FDA approval of EGRIFTA. No one with an active malignancy was allowed to participate, and all participants had to be off Serostim for at least 6 months. Those in the study were also asked to follow a healthy diet and exercise routine. The critical results were calculated not in weight but in fat distribution measurements. Steve was one of the participants in those trials who experienced a satisfying reduction of his lipohypertrophy, and then its unfortunate return after the treatments ended.
Despite the fact that the FDA has approved EGRIFTA as a treatment for a syndrome that can be damaging to the cardio-vascular system, the biggest marketing hurdle is the refusal of many insurance companies to consider it anything more than a cosmetic treatment. Those insurers are also shortsighted in their refusal to see that erasing the scarlet letter of HIV infection will have a restorative impact on the daily lives of HIV-positive men, with an overall betterment of their health and a consequential lowering of other costly HIV-related treatments and medications covered by most health insurance providers. During the question and answer portion of the EGRIFTA seminar, some spoke about the unclear possibility of a patient assistance program and about current monthly co-pays that vary drastically from a few dollars to a reported high of $600. In the USA, EGRIFTA is distributed by Serono Laboratories and is not currently available at some of the national drug store chains. Many HIV doctors are still unfamiliar with EGRIFTA, and their patients are driving their continued education with requests for the treatment.
After the seminar, Steve reported that the attendees were satisfied that EGRIFTA’s benefits are clear, as was the fact that there is little that can be done but wait for the drug’s developer and marketer to battle successfully with health insurance companies that consider it an unnecessary cosmetic intervention, similar to liposuction.
At the POZitive Attitudes meeting, Appleby was preaching to the choir when he concluded his seminar by saying “The bottom line is that EGRIFTA is a good drug with few side effects.”
Testopel ( testosterone implant ) manufacturer to sponsor professional golfer wrongly accused of doping.
Testopel®, an FDA-approved testosterone replacement therapy product marketed by Slate Pharmaceuticals, Inc. of Durham, North Carolina, announced today that it has entered into a sponsorship agreement with professional golfer Doug Barron.
Barron, a long-time PGA Tour veteran from Memphis, Tennessee, is perhaps best known for being the first and only player in professional golf to be suspended for doping under the PGA Tour's "Anti-Doping" policy.
Barron's offense was taking a testosterone replacement medication prescribed to him by his medical doctors after blood tests revealed that he suffers from hypogonadism, a common but little understood medical condition informally called Low T. Caused by a reduction in circulating levels of the hormone testosterone, Low T is treatable with testosterone replacement medication designed to restore the individual's testosterone to a level within the range normally found in men who do not suffer from Low T.
Barron filed a lawsuit charging that the PGA Tour had dishonestly labeled him as a doper and a cheater for doing nothing more than "taking medications prescribed for him by his medical doctors for perfectly normal and legitimate medical reasons." His suit charged that the PGA Tour made knowingly false, misleading and defamatory statements about him "with reckless disregard for the entire truth of the subject matter."
The PGA Tour subsequently granted Barron the Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for testosterone replacement therapy that it previously had denied to him. Neither side will comment about the lawsuit.
"Suspending Doug Barron for doping is dopey," Robert S. Whitehead, President & CEO of Slate Pharmaceuticals, Inc., said at the time of Barron's suspension. "The PGA Tour is creating the totally erroneous impression that Doug Barron is to golf what Mark McGwire is to baseball -- it's totally irresponsible."
In coming to Barron's defense at the time of his wrongful suspension, Slate Pharmaceuticals and its CEO Whitehead made it clear that they had no connection with Barron, had never met him or spoken with him or his doctors, and that Barron had never even used the company's testosterone replacement therapy product, Testopel®.
"The reason that I spoke out on this matter at the time, and the reason we are taking this unusual step of sponsoring a professional athlete who has had such a label unjustly hanged upon him," said CEO Whitehead, "is that by its ill-advised action the PGA Tour made an unfortunate contribution to medical ignorance and harmed efforts to improve men's health. There are many misconceptions about testosterone replacement therapy that have no scientific basis. Perpetuating these misconceptions keeps men who might need treatment from seeking the medical care that they need."
"Doug Barron's only offense was being the innocent victim of other people's ignorance," said Whitehead. "We look forward to this relationship with him."
No details of Testopel®'s sponsorship of Doug Barron were made public.
"I appreciate the fact that the people who market Testopel® saw my suspension as an injustice and stood up and spoke out about it, even though their product was not even the one I was using," said Doug Barron. "I look forward to working closely with Testopel® to help educate the public about just how common Low T is and how easily treatable it is. I believe that together we are going to make an important contribution to the cause of men's health. I intend to make this a cause."
Barron, a long-time PGA Tour veteran from Memphis, Tennessee, is perhaps best known for being the first and only player in professional golf to be suspended for doping under the PGA Tour's "Anti-Doping" policy.
Barron's offense was taking a testosterone replacement medication prescribed to him by his medical doctors after blood tests revealed that he suffers from hypogonadism, a common but little understood medical condition informally called Low T. Caused by a reduction in circulating levels of the hormone testosterone, Low T is treatable with testosterone replacement medication designed to restore the individual's testosterone to a level within the range normally found in men who do not suffer from Low T.
Barron filed a lawsuit charging that the PGA Tour had dishonestly labeled him as a doper and a cheater for doing nothing more than "taking medications prescribed for him by his medical doctors for perfectly normal and legitimate medical reasons." His suit charged that the PGA Tour made knowingly false, misleading and defamatory statements about him "with reckless disregard for the entire truth of the subject matter."
The PGA Tour subsequently granted Barron the Therapeutic Use Exemption (TUE) for testosterone replacement therapy that it previously had denied to him. Neither side will comment about the lawsuit.
"Suspending Doug Barron for doping is dopey," Robert S. Whitehead, President & CEO of Slate Pharmaceuticals, Inc., said at the time of Barron's suspension. "The PGA Tour is creating the totally erroneous impression that Doug Barron is to golf what Mark McGwire is to baseball -- it's totally irresponsible."
In coming to Barron's defense at the time of his wrongful suspension, Slate Pharmaceuticals and its CEO Whitehead made it clear that they had no connection with Barron, had never met him or spoken with him or his doctors, and that Barron had never even used the company's testosterone replacement therapy product, Testopel®.
"The reason that I spoke out on this matter at the time, and the reason we are taking this unusual step of sponsoring a professional athlete who has had such a label unjustly hanged upon him," said CEO Whitehead, "is that by its ill-advised action the PGA Tour made an unfortunate contribution to medical ignorance and harmed efforts to improve men's health. There are many misconceptions about testosterone replacement therapy that have no scientific basis. Perpetuating these misconceptions keeps men who might need treatment from seeking the medical care that they need."
"Doug Barron's only offense was being the innocent victim of other people's ignorance," said Whitehead. "We look forward to this relationship with him."
No details of Testopel®'s sponsorship of Doug Barron were made public.
"I appreciate the fact that the people who market Testopel® saw my suspension as an injustice and stood up and spoke out about it, even though their product was not even the one I was using," said Doug Barron. "I look forward to working closely with Testopel® to help educate the public about just how common Low T is and how easily treatable it is. I believe that together we are going to make an important contribution to the cause of men's health. I intend to make this a cause."
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