Feb 15 2009
Arrests, Charged, Banned on Illegal Steroids
Most of the leading news agencies’ headlines include the controversial confession of Alex Rodriguez on his steroid use for 3 years. Readers would always think of baseball or football when the topic on the use of performance enhancing drugs is mentioned. However, other stories on steroids and other related banned substances are also making headlines in other field or profession aside from sports.
Even ordinary employees are also involved in steroid use. Recently, an employee in the Martin County Sheriff’s Office has been arrested for illegal possession of anabolic steroids. Brent Smith, 35, who is a computer technician, was charged with possession of a controlled substance. He was caught having three 10 ml. vials of steroids when detectives executed a search warrant at his home last Thursday.
Smith was taken to the Martin County Jail but was released after posting $5,000 bond. According to the spokeswoman of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office, Smith is non-sworn, civilian employee and has been placed on administrative leave with pay while the investigation is still on going.
In Australia, master cyclist Andrew Burne has received a 2 year ban from Cycling Australia after he was tested positive for steroids. Australian Sports Anti-Doping Authority tested Burne at the World Track Masters Championships in Sydney last October. The test returned a positive result for nandrolone and drostanolone.
Aside from the sanction, Burne will also lose the medals and prizes he received from the competition and this would even include succeeding competitions that he participated in. Burne will return 3 golds and his best record in the 2008 Masters event will be forfeited. He will be ineligible to participate in any professional Australian sport as an athlete or support another until December 17, 2010 which is the end of his ban.
A doctor was also arrested for illegal prescription of steroids and human growth hormones. Dr. Richard Lucente, 37, of Staten Island, was indicted by Brooklyn grand jury and charged him with 153 counts for illegal prescription. It also includes one charge of reckless endangerment in the death of a bodybuilder who died from the effects of steroids.
Investigation by the New York Police on cops using performance enhancement drugs leads to Dr. Lucente’s arrest. The steroid investigations implicated 6 officers and were already given various forms of discipline by the department. A Bay Ridge pharmacy, Lowen’s Pharmacy, who filled prescriptions written by Lucente for bodybuilders and weightlifters using steroids and human growth hormones, was also indicted. One of the owners of the pharmacy committed suicide last year when they were implicated in the investigation.
According to Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes, Lucente would steer users from various gyms to Lowen’s Pharmacy in exchange for $30,000 in kickbacks. Although Hynes did not directly named Lucente prescribing performance enhancing drugs to police officers but other law enforcement official confirms that some cops were clients of the doctor. Lucente owns the New York Anti-Aging and Wellness Center on Staten Island.
A bodybuilder who had a previous steroid abuse died in 2007 from the effects of taking steroids and human growth hormone prescribed by Dr. Lucente. The death of Joe Baglio was blamed to Lucente since he already knew the condition of the bodybuilder but still made the prescriptions.
Dr. Lucente posted $20,000 bail for his release and he pleaded not guilty in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn. If convicted, he will face a maximum of 7 years imprisonment.
