Nurse working for domestic steroid pill mill outfit gets probation.

A western Pennsylvania nurse has been sentenced to two years of probation after pleading guilty to helping others run a criminal steroids operation. Authorities say 51-year-old John F. Gavin of Valencia cooperated with prosecutors in the case against the Pittsburgh-based ANEWrx pharmacy. Former ANEWrx pharmacist William Sadowski was sentenced to 2 1/2 years in federal prison last month, and former Pittsburgh Steelers team doctor Dr. Richard Rydze is also facing related charges. Rydze has denied wrongdoing and is awaiting trial. The Steelers cut him from their medical staff in 2007 after more than two decades. Stephen Stallings, Gavin's lawyer, says his client made a horrible mistake but believed the steroids were helping people. Prosecutors say ANEWrx improperly sold 40,000 units of the drugs.

Pharmacist and nurse expected to plead guilty in Steelers doping doctor case.

A pharmacist and a registered nurse are scheduled to plead guilty next month to charges that they helped a former Pittsburgh Steelers team doctor illegally distribute anabolic steroids. An attorney for the pharmacist, William Sadowski, 46, of Pittsburgh, declined to comment on court filings that show he'll plead guilty on Nov. 5 before a federal judge in Pittsburgh along with John Gavin, 51, a nurse who worked for Sadowski's city-based pharmacy, ANEWrx. Gavin didn't respond to a message left on his home phone. Both men have been charged with helping Dr. Richard Rydze obtain the steroids he allegedly distributed illegally from September 2007 until March 2011. Rydze, 62, was arrested last week and charged with conspiring to distribute the body-building substances as well as certain kinds of painkillers. The alleged conspiracy began a few months after the Steelers cut Rydze from their medical staff in June 2007, and the team and Rydze have previously said he didn't supply steroids to Steelers players. Court records show Sadowski and Gavin have agreed to waive indictment and plead guilty to a single count of conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids. A nine-page criminal information filed by federal prosecutors in Pittsburgh said Sadowski's pharmacy was licensed to dispense prescription drugs in at least 44 states and that he hired Gavin to, among other things, "research the status of criminal prosecutions across the county for illegal distribution of anabolic steroids and HGH." HGH stands for human growth hormone, another substance Rydze is charged with illegally prescribing. Sadowski's pharmacy allegedly developed drug combinations, or "stacks," that included steroids, HGH and other substances , many used to legitimately treat breast cancer and other maladies , that, when taken with the steroids, were meant to prevent their undesirable side effects. Among other things, Sadowski marked up the drugs that Rydze would prescribe to his patients and then kick back the extra profit to Rydze, investigators said. Rydze personally received $301,000 in kickbacks, before he started having ANEWrx make the payments to his downtown Pittsburgh practice, which received at least $146,000 more, according to court documents. Rydze's patient base was so broad in Pittsburgh that federal authorities took the unusual step of having FBI agents from Ohio investigate. Among other things, Rydze had a contract to perform physicals for the agents who worked at the Pittsburgh FBI office, according to FBI officials and Michael Tobin, a spokesman for the U.S. attorney in Cleveland. Two people familiar with the investigation told The Associated Press that at least one staffer in the U.S. attorney's office in Pittsburgh was a patient of Rydze's. The two spoke on condition of anonymity because the information had not been made public. A spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh federal prosecutor's office declined to comment, citing federal medical privacy laws. No FBI agents or federal prosecutors are suspected of getting steroids or other drugs illegally from him. Prosecutors from Cleveland will try the case before a federal judge in Pittsburgh. Rydze pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Monday and is free on bond. Rydze and his attorney have declined comment.

Ex-Steelers doctor pleads not guilty in steroid case .

A former Pittsburgh Steelers team doctor accused of trafficking in steroids allegedly issued painkiller prescriptions in the name of his deceased father to feed his own addiction. Federal prosecutors say Dr. Richard Rydze was "nothing but obstructive" and continued to issue prescriptions for narcotics even after his license to prescribe drugs had been suspended. Rydze was released Monday to home confinement after pleading not guilty to charges in a 185-count indictment. He's accused of conspiracy to illegally distribute steroids, human growth hormone and painkillers including oxycodone. Rydze was a Steelers team physician for more than 20 years but federal authorities don't list any players as having received drugs illegally from him. Investigators say Rydze falsely diagnosed more than 90 patients with pituitary dwarfism so they could receive unneeded drugs.

Tulsa pill mill steroid doc gets probation.

A Nebraska doctor was sentenced Wednesday in Tulsa to probation in connection with a cross-country steroids conspiracy.

Dr. Raymond Heller of Omaha will spend the first eight months of his five-year probation under house arrest and will be expected to perform 100 hours of community service, U.S. Chief District Judge Claire Eagan ruled. She said Heller would face as much as 10 years in prison if his probation is revoked.

Heller also will be partially responsible for a $685,741 judgment along with Edward Franklin Ward, 52, of Harvest, Ala. The penalty represents the proceeds the court found that were generated by the conspiracy.

Heller, 50, pleaded guilty in June, admitting that from Oct. 1, 2008, until April 8, 2010, he participated in a plot to dispense androgenic anabolic steroids outside the usual course of professional medical practice.

He said in plea documents that he signed prescriptions forwarded to him by Ward, primarily for testosterone, to clients of Ward's "anti-aging" business without having conducted any physical examinations or even having any direct contact with the clients.

He said in his plea agreement that he was paid $50 for each prescription he signed.

Ward pleaded guilty June 10 to a conspiracy charge and is scheduled to be sentenced April 10.

Both men were charged in March by the U.S. Attorney's Office in Tulsa.

The conspiracy reportedly involved the distribution of more than 40,000 doses to dozens of customers across the country, including in Oklahoma, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Joel-lyn McCormick.

McCormick said the steroids were distributed to people in various professions and mostly came from a pharmacy in Florida.

Heller's attorney, Keith Ward, who is not related to Edward Ward, stated in his sentencing memorandum that Heller's intention was to make "anti-aging drugs available to persons whose medical profiles were indicative of a hormone deficiency."

Eagan mentioned Heller's otherwise law-abiding life among the reasons for sentencing him to probation instead of prison.

Heller told the court he is not practicing medicine and said he will soon have a hearing before a Nebraska review board that will decide whether to revoke his license.