A California-based anti-aging doctor, who was accused in the Mitchell Report of supplying Major League players of steroids and human growth hormones, pleaded guilty to two federal criminal charges on Monday, according to a newspaper report. According to the Daily News report, Scruggs appeared in a U.S District Court in San Jose California to plead guilty to one count of conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids and HGH and one count of money laundering. His sentencing is slated on September 14.

Scruggs was once the owner of a profitable clinic called the New Hope Health Center located in Costa Mesa, Calif. He however is not apologetic on the players’ use of steroids as he believes that these performance-enhancing drugs could improve the quality of life for his patients, some of whom he never saw personally. “These players benefited from restoration, not performance enhancement.” “Steroids don’t make someone a good athlete or a bad athlete; they may make you stronger, but they don’t make you a better athlete,” Scruggs said in the Times report dated April 11.

Among the patients of Scruggs were former Mets pitcher Scott Shoeneweis and Cardinals third baseman Troy Glaus. On September 2007, SI.com reported that the doctor prescribed Nandrolone and testosterone to Glaus. And the following month, ESPN.com reported that he prescribed steroids to Schoeneweis. Both players admitted that they continued using steroids even when the drug had been banned in baseball since 1991. Glaus said that he was “willing to take the risk” because of the pressure in the game. The statement was done in the interview with a federal agent. Meanwhile, Schoeneweis said that he knew when players were tested because he was the union representative of their team.

The statements of Glaus, Schoeneweis, catcher Todd Greene and pitcher Ismael Valdez were put into record by federal agents who interviewed the players. Scruggs also prescribed steroids and human growth hormones to business executives, police officers and others. Also, Scruggs used to work with bodybuilders. He also claims that the best way for a physician to effectively supervise the health of a bodybuilder who uses steroids was to medically monitor their steroid use and make sure that bodybuilders do not purchase these drugs to the black market sources.

In an interview with Jason Mauller, he said that before he prescribes steroids to bodybuilders, “they have to do extensive blood work, they have to fill out a very detailed questionnaire, and they have to have a 40-minute to one hour interview with me. That’s basically where we decide if someone can do this. Now, I’ll admit to you that as I do this, my criteria have relaxed. Before I would only do this with athletes or with ordinary citizens if they had a limitation, if they were hypogonadal, if they were on the low side of normal on their blood work. I’ve gradually relaxed that to include people who would be quote unquote normal. You’ve got to realize that virtually everything hormonal is considered normal by the establishment. They have virtually no ability to look at, let’s say the estrogen/progesterone levels for a woman, and testosterone for men and women, and say anything much about them at all because everybody from age 12 to age 90 is considered normal.”

Two of Scruggs’ former employees, Allen Danto and Heidi McPherson, were also indicted in the case. Earlier this month, Danto already pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids and HGH. McPherson pleaded not guilty and is set for a trial on September 21.

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