A bodybuilder told the court that he was not involved in any conspiracy to sell or distribute anabolic steroids in a local gym. But his co-accused already pleaded guilty on the charges. The case of a bodybuilder, who is also a law enforcement officer in the Northumbria Police Department, is still being heard by the court. The trial of police officer Darren Towers, 41 of Fellgate, Jarrow continues in the Newcastle Crown Court.

The police officer who is also a competitive bodybuilder was charged together with two others for selling steroids to friends and other users in a local gym. According to the report of Chronicle Live UK, there are evidences that will link the illegal activities of Towers with the other accused. Prosecutors said that a trace in the cellphone records of the respondents revealed that steroid transactions were really happening.

“All three are linked by their involvement in professional bodybuilding and use of anabolic steroids,” said prosecutor Alex Menary. He also told the court that the three conspired together to supply steroids amongst themselves and others. “This is not standing on a street corner, this is on a low- level basis amongst users of these drugs, friends and associates in the gym where they trained,” the prosecutor added.

Martin Flett, 27, of Jarrow, and Martin Fannan, 34, of Horden, County Durham already admitted supplying a class c drug. Possession of steroids is not illegal in the UK but distribution and selling them is illegal. The 3 allegedly made the illegal transactions from April 1 2009 to April 1 2010.

Tower’s home was raided by the authorities last March 31 and 15 vials and tablets of anabolic steroids were seized. They also found legal protein powders and drinks which are common supplements for a bodybuilder.

Steroid Transactions through Text

According to the prosecutor, most of the transactions of the group were done through text. In fact, an analysis of the phone of Towers revealed that he sent 900 text messages to Martin Flett in just a two-month period. Further, Flett also texted Fannan almost 500 messages in the same period based on the report of Sunderland Echo news. “The prosecution say that it was these text messages that were used for the organization and the selling and distribution of the anabolic steroids,” said Menary.

The prosecution also argued that Towers knows what he is doing. One of the messages of Towers to Flett is to delete the messages in his cell phone, an indication that Towers is aware that the steroid transactions were illegal.

Faces Misconduct Charges

Towers is also facing a misconduct charges for failure to report the illegal transactions allegedly committed by his two friends. “He also misconducted himself by failing to report the activities of Flett and Fannan. He knew these two were dealing steroids and failed to report and investigate that,” Prosecutor Menary told the court.

Towers admitted that he had been using steroids since 2006 but argued that he only bought steroids for personal use. Most of the purchases were made online and from the United States, A local supplier in Norfolk was also mentioned by Towers. The bodybuilder never claimed that he was selling steroids to others and including his friends. Towers said Flett only got legal protein powders from him.

A spokeswoman from the Justice Department announced Friday that they will not contest anymore the ruling of the appeals court. In September, the federal appeals court in San Francisco ruled in favor of the MLB Players Union about the confidentiality of the list and the seizure of the federal agents of the records was unconstitutional.

104 major league players were tested for performance enhancing drugs in 2004 but an agreement with the league states that it should remain confidential. The purpose of the steroid testing is to determine if the league really needs to implement mandatory and comprehensive drug testing of its players.

According to Tracy Schmaler, spokeswoman of the Justice Department, the solicitor general’s office will not ask the Supreme Court to review the ruling of the appeals Court. This is a good news for the players union since the players involved in that list will be free from any future investigation that may be initiated by the government in its efforts to pin down doping professional athletes. However, there are already some names of players whose names were leaked to the media. Some of these players were Alex Rodriguez and Sammy Sosa.

Illegal Seizure of Urine Samples and Drug Results

In April 2004, federal investigators raided two laboratories where the samples and records of the 104 MLB players were stored. The agents were investigating some professional athletes allegedly involved in doping but during the raid, they seized the entire records. The raids were conducted at Comprehensive Drug Testing Inc. and Quest Diagnostics Inc.

The players union went to court and ask for the return of the samples and records from the laboratories. The union got a favorable decision but it was contested by the government and the decision was revered in 2006. The case was brought to the appeals court where an 11-judge panel ruled in favor of the union. In September, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit in San Francisco ruled that the government was wrong in confiscating the entire list. They were barred from using that list to further their investigation of athletes who have a positive test results for steroids.

Barry Bonds’ Case Will Continue

One of the MLB players who were investigated by the government is former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds. The prosecutors have already tried to present to the court alleged urine samples and positive steroid test of Bonds from the MLB. However, the judge handling the case barred some of the evidences because of its authenticity. Bonds’ former trainer also refused to testify against the slugger. The trial is scheduled on March 21.

Barry Bonds was charged for lying to federal inquiry about his use of anabolic steroids. The slugger denies that he knowingly used steroids to enhance his performance.

The Taylor Hooton Foundation does not stop in reaching out to young teens who are prone to abusing performance enhancing drugs. Early this month, the foundation talked in front of Fulton students in Missouri in the hopes that these young students will not try or engage in anything that would put their life at risk.

Again the center of the discussion is on the dangers of taking anabolic steroids. The guest speaker, Clint Faught from the Taylor Hooton Foundation, warned the students about the consequences of taking these drugs. Present in the seminar are Fulton high school students and eight graders who, according to the speaker, are likely to become involved in appearance and performance enhancing drugs or APEDS. “We never thought about the consequences,” said Faught. He also admitted that during his younger years he never thought that taking these drugs could result to serious health risks.

Message from Anti-Steroid Crusader

A short video from Don Hooton, the founder of the foundation, was also presented to the students. Don narrated how his son became involved in the use of anabolic steroids at the age of 17. The young athlete whose dream is to become part of the majors was pressured to take performance enhancing drug because of the people around him. “Fall of his junior year, his JV coach told him he needed to get bigger if he wanted to make the varsity team. He wanted to be the No. 1 pitcher,” said Don.

Don admitted that they never knew that their son was taking something until they observed a change in the behavior of his son. They let Taylor to undergo counseling and they were able to convince Taylor to divulge his problem. Don told the students that his son was taking 2 kinds of hardcore steroids and his withdrawal from the drugs caused him too much depression. “We never knew to equate this abnormal behavior back with steroids,” Don said. After 6 weeks, Taylor committed suicide which they blamed on steroids.

“I wish we had had a resource like that and taken time to educate ourselves on the subject, because if we had, Taylor might still be here,” he said. During the presentation, students were referred to the foundation’s website to know more about the signs, symptoms and causes of steroid abuse.

Some testimonials were also shown to the students according to the report of Fulton Sun. A case of a high school cheerleader who lost her singing ability because of steroid use was also featured in the video. She said that she already finished a five weeks of a six-week steroid cycle but decided to stop because of the side effects. “Looking back, if I had finished that cycle and started another one, I would be dead. I think I would have definitely done harm to myself,” the girl said.

Taking Supplements Could be Risky

Faught revealed that most of the supplements out there are not safe. There are at least 25 percent of supplements that are spiked with anabolic steroids or stimulants which are all banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency. The IOC, who also tests supplements, found out that at least 22 percent of creatine and protein powders results to positive test for steroids.

The speaker told the students that based on their estimates, there are 65% of creatine sold in the market that are contaminated with steroids. The biggest danger to the students is they never know the ingredients included in the supplements. Most of these may have ingredients that were not listed on the label. Several studies conducted on the chemical make up of anabolic steroids being sold in the market were usually mislabeled. At least 30% of these products did not contain the ingredient listed on the packaging while 40% contains wrong dosages. Faught told the students to visit NSF website to be sure that what they are taking are safe.

Some students wondered on the current statistics on teen steroid use. According to Faught, 50% of 1 million students who admitted to taking anabolic steroids were not athletes. And the increasing number of users were not males but young girls aged 14 and 15.

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.

A few months ago, the court told the prosecutors and the 7-time Cy Young Awardee defendant that the start of the perjury trial will be on April next year. Both parties have already presented their documents and list of possible witnesses that may be called by the court to testify in the case. Roger Clemens was indicted for 3 counts of making false statements, 1 count of obstruction of justice and 2 counts of perjury but the baseball star pleaded not guilty on these offenses.

On Wednesday, Clemens and his lawyers ask the court to give them more time in studying the documents presented by the prosecution. The lead lawyer of Clemens, Rusty Hardin told Judge Reggie Walton that they need more time to review the materials provided by the prosecution which was the result of an investigation that already spanned for more than two years. The lawyers argued that the 54,000 pages of documents should be examined by their own scientific expert.

Before they were given a gag order by Judge Walton, defense lawyers already hinted that these “scientific evidences”, as called by the prosecution, were flawed and full of loopholes. Part of the evidences that will be used in court were needles and drug paraphernalia used by Brian McNamee in injecting Clemens with human growth hormones.

Judge Walton approved the request and decided to move the trial date on July 6. The prosecution, headed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steve Durham, estimated that the presentation of their case would take about 4 weeks while the defense lawyers of Clemens needs at least 2 weeks to refute the prosecution’s arguments. If there will be no more delaying tactics that will be employed in the hearing, the court could come up with a decision in less than two months.

According to Rusty Hardin they will also ask the court to issue subpoena on some documents and testimonies given in the Mitchell Commission. They would want to take hold of the testimony of Brian McNamee to congressional investigators. However, the commission claimed that the materials are protected under attorney-client privilege. But Judge Walton already indicated that a subpoena will be issued if the negotiation failed between the two camps. He would make a decision on the matter in March.

Roger Clemens, who will become eligible in the Hall of Fame in a few more years, maintained his position that he never used steroids or human growth hormone. His former trainer Brian McNamee, however, told a congressional inquiry that he personally inject Clemens with human growth hormone or HGH several times. Another teammate also alleged that Clemens disclosed to him his use of steroids in 1999 or 2000. All of these allegations were disputed by “The Rocket“. He said that he only took vitamin B 12 and the painkiller Lidocaine while Andy Pettite may just “misremember” their conversation years ago.

The maximum penalty that could be given to Roger Clemens is 30 years in prison and a fine of $1.5 million. The defendant is confident that they will win the case.

The former track and field gold medalist in the Sydney Olympics claimed that she can still win the gold medal even without the help of steroids. Sprinter Marion Jones won 3 gold medals in the 2000 Sydney Olympics. However, in 2007 she admitted to taking steroids before the competition and caused her to lose all her gold. Her achievement was also erased from the Olympic records.

In the recent interview of BBC Inside Sports, Jones is still firm that she never knew that she was taking banned substances. “In 2000, I had no idea that I had been given something illegal. At that point, I knew that I had just worked hard and I was blessed with an enormous amount of talent,” she said.

Winning Gold is Possible Even Without Steroids

As a hardworking athlete, she knew that winning the gold in the Sydney Olympics is not impossible even if she was not into performance enhancing drugs. The athlete claimed that she already beat records as a budding Olympian. “Even before I was given the drugs, in 1998 I set my personal bests and my success as a junior gets overshadowed by what happened subsequently. I’m sure that if I hadn’t been given anything my chances of winning in Sydney would still have been pretty strong because I’m a hard worker,” Jones said.

Marion Jones, who recently released her autobiography “On The Right Track”, claimed that she was never into steroids during her college years and after college. “I know that when I first got out of college I wasn’t given anything and even before I entered college I made the Olympic team at 15,” she said. The only problem, she claimed, she was too trusting. She never asks details on the supplements that were being given to her.

However, former BALCO founder did not agree with Jones. “Marion Jones is not being truthful about her past use of drugs. She knowingly used performance-enhancing drugs.” Victor Conte said that it is sad that Jones was not willing to come completely clean about her drug use.

Jail Term Too Much Penalty for Her Offense

After her admission to steroid use, Jones was jailed for six months. She was charged with perjury because of lying to a congressional inquiry in 2003 about her use of performance enhancing drug. She was also implicated in check fraud involving her former boyfriend Tim Montgomery. Those six months in jail was the most crucial part in her life said Jones in an interview. She said that it made her realized many things and change her outlook in life. Jones is now active in educating the youth about steroids and teaches these young kids how to make good decisions.

But for the disgraced Olympian, the six months prison term is too harsh as a punishment for her offense. She detailed in the book her experience in jail especially her solitary confinement for several days. “I know I broke the law and committed a crime by lying. My reputation, fame and fortune was lost. Learning that lesson would have benefited society more than putting me away for six months,” Jones told BBC.