It should have been one of the biggest steroid distribution ring busted by the authorities in the country. But it turned out that the federal agents and prosecutors who spearheaded the arrests of those involved in the illicit steroid distribution acted beyond their legal jurisdiction. The NY prosecutor who initiated a wide media coverage of the raids in 2007 at a pharmacy in Florida is now facing legal troubles for his actions.

The owners of the Signature Pharmacy, who according to the investigation of Albany County District Attorney David Soares, were involved in multi-state distribution of anabolic steroids by conniving with doctors mostly from New York. Several doctors were charged and some of them already pleaded guilty for illegally prescribing steroids without the necessary requirements as mandated by law. Before a doctor can prescribe a controlled substance, an actual examination of the patient must be performed.

$75M Suit

But Prosecutor Soares is now in great trouble because he is being sued together with his deputy, Christopher Baynes for false arrests and defamation. According to the report of AP, the owners file a civil lawsuit asking for $75 million as damages. The owners of the pharmacy claimed that they lost their business as a result of the raid. Based on court records, the estimated damages inflicted on the pharmacy amounted to $27.2 million and they suffered $48.5 million loss in profits.

The business remain open after the raid but it did not recovered as a result of the investigation and forced to close its operation in late 2008. According to the lawyer of the defendants, her clients were innocent of any wrongdoing. Attorney Amy Tingley, who represented the pharmacy owners, the arrests were done publicly and spent time in jail before they were able to post bail. She said despite of this, her clients were never convicted of anything.

Just recently, Albany County Judge Stephen Herrick removed Soares from the case because of conflict of interest. The judge cited the civil lawsuit filed by the defendants. The indictments were also dismissed but Judge Herrick appointed a private lawyer as special prosecutor to review the case of Signature Pharmacy. The task was offered to another district attorney but the latter declined to accept the job.

Soares Appealed for Dismissal

The prosecutor already appealed for the dismissal of the civil lawsuit. A judge in Orlando, Fl refused to consider the immunity granted to the prosecutors citing the group violated laws in apprehending the suspects. U.S. District Judge Gregory Presnell questioned the legality of the arrest warrants and the jurisdiction of the prosecutors. “They were a thousand miles from their jurisdiction and were participating in — indeed, Soares was purportedly ‘commanding’ — a law enforcement raid on Signature’s premises,” Judge Presnell wrote in his decision. “Even assuming that they had some authority to execute or participate in the execution of Florida search warrants, Soares and Baynes had no judicial business in Florida,” the judge added.

Prosecutor Soares alleged that the Pharmacy and doctors making illegal prescriptions have clients from professional leagues. Soares told the media in 2008 that they were able to disrupt a multimillion-dollar criminal enterprise trafficking illegal steroids. They alleged that the pharmacy have thousand of clients from across the country.

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