The scandals brought by anabolic steroids use is not only confined in the field of sports. Current headlines in Illinois exposed the involvement of the Lt Governor nominee Scott Lee Cohen to steroids use. The businessman politician was forced to step down from the race due to the issue. The media gathered the information about his steroid use from the court records in 2005 where he was accused by his ex-wife for domestic violence and roid rage as a result of anabolic steroids use.

Cohen, who allegedly spent $2 million for his campaign just to win the primaries, denied hurting his wife but admitted that he used steroids for a short period of time. “I did, for a short time in my life. I never went into a rage…I never ever touched anyone in my family, ever,” said Cohen. The nominee said that he already disclosed to the public in 2009 the cases about his ex girlfriend and his wife.

Based on the court records, his ex-wife testified that her life was pretty unbearable while still living with Cohen. She said that his husband took injectable anabolic steroids which caused his erratic behavior. Some of the anabolic steroids he used were Winstrol, Cretine, and Steen. The accusation prompted the Cook County Circuit court to require Cohen to undergo steroid testing.

His ex-wife also detailed how Cohen becomes violent during that period. “On or about May 1st 2005, Scott came home in a fit of rage. Scott began swearing and cussing and an altercation began to ensue between Scott and our son. During this altercation the other kids were upstairs hysterically crying.” It was also mentioned in the divorce paper how Cohen forced his wife to have sex with him. “Despite my refusals, he tried to force himself on me until I pushed him away and emphatically told him no,” said his wife. She also told the court that she asked family members to stay with her for several weeks because she was afraid to be home alone with him. The court awarded the wife with a temporary order of protection against Scott Lee Cohen.

Another court record showed that Scott Lee Cohen once held his ex girlfriend, Amanda Eneman,  by knife-point after throwing her into a wall. The case did not proceed since the woman did not appear in court and was later charged with prostitution. Cohen said in an interview that he met the woman at massage therapy place and believed she was a masseuse. He denied hitting the woman.

Debbie York-Cohen came to the rescue of his ex-husband. “It was a short period of time and it’s certainly not something that the people of Illinois need to be concerned with,” said Debbie. However, the media noticed that it was a little bit different to what she said 5 years ago. Based on the divorce documents Debbie states, “Over the past year my husband has been taking injectable anabolic steroids. As a result he has an erratic and explosive temper.”

He was firm in previous statement that he is not stepping down from the race. “I have no intention of stepping down or stepping aside,” Cohen said. However, with too much pressure from his party and other supporters, Cohen decided to withdraw from the race. He held a press conference at a tavern called Far North Side and announced his decision during the Super Bowl’s half-time performance. “For the good of the people … I will resign,” a tearful Cohen told the press.

Two companies, BRAIN AG and Bayer Schering Pharma AG, have announced a partnership in the sustainable fermentative and energy-efficient production of steroid compounds using optimized microbial production strains; as a starting material, they will use raw materials derived from plants. BRAIN AG is the European leader in white biotechnology while Bayer Schering Pharma is a global top 10 pharmaceutical corporation. Their aim is to achieve a higher yield with reduced energy input through the processing of highly developed micro-organisms called “designer bugs,” and thus lead to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.

Improved process

Dr. Simone Kardinahl, head of microbiological production and development in the Bergkamen plant of Bayer Schering Pharma AG, said that the industrial use of the biotechnologically optimized micro-organisms will help improve the process of steroidal intermediates conversion and help save resources. He also stated that the collaboration with BRAIN AG accelerates and supports their company’s own development regarding these activities. Plants, which contain steroidal components, are sustainable and economical sources of pharmaceutical raw materials and intermediates. Today, besides chemical methods, more and more microbial processes are being used as whole cell biocatalyst reactors for further optimization of the steroidal intermediates in plants.

In line with society and ecology

Speaking for Bayer AG, Dr. Wolfgang Plischke commented that the company can only be successful in the long term if their economic action is in line with man’s social interest and the period’s ecological needs. Dr Plischke is responsible for innovation, technology and environment within the managing board of Bayer AG. He further commented that the focus of their research and development activities is the optimization of their production processes to gain better energy efficiency. With the said process made possible by the collaboration, both parties are expecting about a 10 percent reduction of green house gas emissions.

Strategic business cooperation

Dr. Jürgen Eck, CTO of BRAIN AG, stated that technologies of modern molecular biology that is within the field of Systems Biology allows them to take selective action on the genomes of production strains. Genes with limited product yield will be modulated or substituted. Dr. Eck also added that one of the goals that this collaboration wishes to achieve is to enable the use of designer micro-organisms in the efficient production process of steroidal intermediate conversions. “For BRAIN the expansion of the collaboration with the leading industrial partner Bayer Schering Pharma AG is a continuation of the strategic co-operation business with globally successful partners,“ Dr. Eck concluded.

About the companies

BRAIN, short for Biotechnology Research and Information Network, discovers and develops novel bioactive natural compounds and proprietary enzymes for pharmaceutical industries, as well as cosmetics and food industries. The company harnesses nature’s untapped biodiversity to achieve creative solutions. Bayer Schering Pharma is a research-centric pharmaceutical company that was formed by the merger of Bayer and Schering in 2006. Perhaps best known in public for their product line of combined oral contraceptive pills, Bayer is also known in the areas of gynecology, oncology, andrology, diagnostic devices, special therapeutics, and nuclear medicine.

Former operator and owner of College Pharmacy in Colorado Springs and licensed pharmacist, Thomas Bader, was convicted in a federal court in Denver last week on thirty-one counts related to the distribution and importation of anabolic steroids and human growth hormone manufactured in China. The conviction was announced by United States Attorney David M. Gaouette, concluding the trial against the pharmacist that began on January 4, 2010. The jury deliberated the case for three days and found Bader guilty of two counts of conspiracy and twenty-seven counts of distribution of human growth hormones.

Evidence presented
At the trial, evidence was presented showing that Bader used the College Pharmacy to receive human growth hormone that had been smuggled into the US from China and distributed these, as well as anabolic steroids (testosterone), to customers from around the country. Evidence was further established that the anabolic steroids often went to bodybuilders without a legitimate prescription from a physician, thereby making these transactions illegal. The jury disagreed with Bader in his contention that the illegal drugs he distributed were not subject to FDA approval due to the lax restrictions on particular compounded drugs. Bader managed to distribute the illegal drugs to physicians in Florida, Illinois, Indiana and Georgia between April 2004 and February 2007.

Two counts of conspiracy
Bader was found guilty of two counts of conspiracy; one of these counts stated that Bader (and company) conspired to facilitate the sale and distribution of misbranded human growth hormone made in China, which was not approved by the Food and Drug Administration, and with the knowledge that the importation of the drugs was in violation of the law in the United States. The other count stated that Bader engaged in a conspiracy “to manufacture, distribute, dispense and possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids.”

Twenty-seven counts of HGH distribution
Of the twenty-seven counts charged against Bader for the distribution of human growth hormones, twenty-three of these charges were about the human growth hormones distributed by Bader went to minors. The jury also found Bader guilty of one count of the facilitation of the sale of smuggled human growth hormone as well as guilty of one count of possession with intent to distribute HGH. Bader was found ‘not guilty’ of the charge against him that he received smuggled goods directly.

Assets forfeited
In addition to the verdict, the jury also found it right that the state should forfeit Bader’s assets, including the 4.8 million land where his pharmacy is located (at 3505 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs).

Sentence hearing
After all the verdicts have been returned, U.S. District Judge Marcia Krieger increased the bond for Bader and scheduled a hearing for his sentencing, which was to be held at 1:00 p.m. on April 29, 2010. The case was prosecuted by the Assistant United States Attorneys Gregory Rhodes and Jaime Peña and was investigated by the Office of Criminal Investigations of the Food and Drug Administration. Gregory Rhodes is the deputy chief of Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force while Jaime Peña is the health care and fraud coordinator at the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Manny Pacquiao firmly claims that he is drug-free and that he feels bad and really disappointed about the steroids allegations against him. He adds that he sacrificed and trained hard for what he has achieved in boxing and feels hurt about these malicious insinuations. He further says that he doesn’t even know and has no idea what a steroid is in the first place.

Pacquiao, who is rated by Ring Magazine as the number 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world, is currently training at the Wild Card gym, owned by his trainer, Freddie Roach, and will be fighting against Joshua Clottey at the Cowboys stadium on March 13. Initially, Pacquiao was supposed to go against Floyd Mayweather Jr. for this fight but after Mayweather’s camp demanded that both boxers undergo Olympic-style steroids testing before the fight, Pacquiao’s camp retaliated. This kind of testing includes random urine and blood tests and Pacquiao stated that he did not want to take blood tests close to a fight (as this weakens him).

The Pacquiao steroid rumor started when Floyd Mayweather Sr. commented in public that Pacquiao must be “on something,” to be so unbeatable, insinuating that he must be on steroids. Pacquiao answered back that he understands if Mayweather Jr. can’t say out right that he doesn’t want and isn’t ready to fight, and has to make these alibis just to cancel the fight. When asked whether Pacquiao was angry with Mayweather, Pacquiao said that he wasn’t necessarily angry, only that he felt bad that Mayweather did not want to fight him and had to make a lot of alibis and allegations that can ruin his name. Because of this, Pacquiao filed a lawsuit against the Mayweathers, as well as their promoter Richard Schaefer and Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions. Pacquiao further said that if Mayweather is everything that he says he is, then he wouldn’t have come up with these demands in the first place. “If you are a true champion,” Pacquiao said, “no alibis, just fight.”

The Boxing Writers Association of America recently chose Pacquiao as Fighter of the Year and Fighter of the Decade. Pacquiao said that when he heard this, he was happy that there are a lot of people who believed in his capabilities and achievements in boxing. For him, he said, it is boxing and God. He further said that he believes that what he has done in boxing is because of his sacrifices and his faith in God.

Pacquiao is still open to fight with Mayweather, saying that this remains a possibility. Although he said that the fight won’t push through if Mayweather sticks to his Olympic-style testing provisions. Pacquiao said that he agrees to blood testing one month before the fight and another right after the fight. He also agrees to random urinalysis. Coach Freddie Roach says that he feels Mayweather is doing all these to make the fight bigger, because he is that crazy. He further noted that they will not give in to Mayweather’s demands unless it is under the orders of the commission.

James Alexander Lockyear, an Essex based veterinarian, was charged by the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons for two charges related to a steroid drugs offence and a misconduct. A locum at the St. Runwald’s Surgery in Colchester, Lockyear is a graduate of Pretoria University in South Africa. He was to be tried by the disciplinary committee last Wednesday for trying to obtain steroids dishonestly. He tried to obtain steroids from a pharmacist saying that the drug, which can be used for bodybuilding, was going to be used for surgery when in fact, the procedure did not require the drugs and was not even appropriate for vet practice. Lockyear did not attend the hearing. The London committee said that his absence “did not draw any adverse inference.”

Inappropriate conduct

Lockyear was also charged for “inappropriate and unprofessional behavior.” The committee heard that Lockyear allegedly placed the testicle of a castrated dog inside his mouth and had shown an offensive picture stored on his mobile phone to another staff member. A witness also testified that Lockyear misused an endotracheal tube, which is used for inserting into the trachea to ensure that the windpipe is not closed off and air can freely reach the lungs. All the aforementioned incidents took place between April 2008 and September 2009; at that time James Lockyear was a practicing temp at the Colchester surgery.

Pharmacist’s testimony

A pharmacist testified against Lockyear and was heard by the committee. He said that Lockyear presented an incomplete veterinary prescription for 12 ampoules of Sustanon, an injectable oil-based blend of esterized testosterone compounds: 30 mg Testosterone Propionate, 60mg testosterone Phenylpropionate, 60mg Testosteron Isocaproate, and 100 mg Testosterone Decanoate. Sustanon is a prescription-only anabolic steroids intended for use by humans. A second pharmacist suspected (and was also heard by the committee) that the steroids were for Lockyear’s personal use.

“Disgusting and offensive”

The committee was gravely concerned about the incident regarding the second charge. They said that Lockyear’s behavior of playing with the dog’s testicles offended against his duty to treat all animals, which were his patients, with respect. The committee further described his behavior to be “unprofessional, juvenile, inappropriate, disgusting and offensive.” However, the committee felt that the incident was not done maliciously and because it was not done in the presence of a client or member of the public, it did not amount to disgraceful conduct in professional terms.

Abuse of authority

While this was a one-off incident, committee chair Alison Bruce contended that Lockyear’s behavior and conduct “falls far short of that which is expected of a member of the profession.” She also said that what Lockyear did involved serious dishonesty and that it represented an abuse of a vet surgeon’s authority to prescribe medicines. Even though Lockyear did not attend the hearing, the committee found him guilty of attempting to obtain prescription drugs dishonestly. His name was consequently removed from the register of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

The 5-time bodybuilding champion of Australia was recently sentenced by the magistrate court for selling illegal anabolic steroids. Angelo Galati who is also popular as “Mr. Bench” was charged with trafficking anabolic steroids, possessing a drug of dependance and receiving and possessing the proceeds of a crime. He pleaded guilty for the offenses. The bodybuilder received a 12-month intensive corrections order for all the charges. Aside from the jail term, he will also undergo regular test for drugs and alcohol. Confiscated steroids and other drugs including the cash found in his home were also forfeited.

Many people were surprised on his involvement in the illegal trade of steroids. He was known for his clean image in the bodybuilding world. He is working as a hairdresser and as a personal trainer. Even at the age of 40, he is still active in bodybuilding competitions. His moniker as “Mr Bench” was due to his bench-pressing world records which he broke several times. The age did not limit the bodybuilder champ to lift weights more than what younger bodybuilders can do. In 2008, Galati won the title of Mr. Australia when he competed in the International Federation of Bodybuilding competition. He won the title for the fifth time. He is also active in organizing competitions and trainings for the inmates of the Hobart’s Risdon Prison.

Based on the report of Adrian Ballantyne of WhereILive.com.au, authorities searched his home in North Rd in Bentleigh East where several anabolic steroids and cash were found. There were at least 6500 anabolic steroid tablets, 16 vials of liquid and $16,835 in cash were seized during the raid on September 2008. Court records showed that the steroids were hidden in the different locations at his home. Some were found in the bedrooms while other drugs and cash were found in the kitchen. According to prosecutor Stephen McGinness, a further search at the bodybuilder’s home helped the authorities to located a metal tin which contained $16,335 in cash and various papers listing amounts sold and received.

Meanwhile, Curtis Wenzlaff, the controversial bodybuilder and trainer of most professional athletes in the MLB and NFL said that he is looking for a publisher of his steroid tell-all book. There is no timetable yet as to when it will be published. Wenzlaff was convicted for his illegal distribution of steroids in California thru Operation Equine by the FBI. He recently confirmed to the media that he gave Mark McGwire cocktails of steroids to enhance his performance. “It must be understood. I was a professional trainer, I was not a drug dealer. I sold my services. My clients were professional athletes and actors,” Wenzlaff said in an interview. As a professional trainer and bodybuilder, Wenzlaff uses high-intensity weightlifting routines, including the use of cattle prods and sensory deprivation tanks. Part of his training regimen on professional athletes was giving different combination of steroids.