April 28, 2009
MLB baseball player J.C. Romero has filed a civil lawsuit against the manufacturers and distributors of the 6-OXO Extreme. 6-OXO Extreme is sold as a dietary supplement and marketed as an aromatase inhibitor. Romero blames androstenedione contamination in the supplement for his positive anabolic steroid test results administered on August 26, 2008 under the Major League Baseball (MLB) drug policy. Romero of the Philadelphia Philles was suspended for 50 games as a result (”Suspended Phillie Romero files suit,” April 28).
The lawsuit names Ergopharm, Proviant Technologies, GNC and Vitamin Shoppe as the four defendants accused of negligence, intentional misrepresentation and consumer fraud. Chemist Patrick Arnold formulated and manufactured the supplement 6-OXO Extreme for his companies Erogpharm and Proviant. J.C. Romero’s lawyers have defended numerous athletes accused of doping after failing drug tests like Floyd Landis, Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery, Jessica Hardy and Deuce McAllister (”Suspended Phillies reliever J.C. Romero suing supplement makers over positive steroid test,” April 28).
The lawsuit against Ergopharm, Proviant, GNC and Vitamin Shoppe is surprisingly frivolous [misdirected] given the expertise of Romero’s lawyers which include Howard Jacobs and David Cornwell. The main issue in the case is the claim that the failure to disclose androstenedione contamination in 6-OXO Extreme by the defendents was THE REASON that J.C. Romero tested positive for anabolic steroids; this subsequently resulted in his suspension and the forfeiture of $1,245,902 in salary.
The fact is that J.C. Romero would have tested positive for anabolic steroids and received a suspension IN THE ABSENCE of ANY androstenedione contamination. The supplement 6-OXO itself would have triggered a false positive for androstenedione since it is metabolized into 6a-OH-androstenedione; this is the same urinary metabolite produced by androstenedione. The issue of androstenedione contamination is nothing more than a red herring. Read more
April 28, 2009
Teenage bodybuilder Matthew Dear died on April 20, 2009 reportedly from an overdose of anabolic steroids. The parents of Matthew Dear were the first to attribute their son’s death to anabolic steroids. The news of Matthew Dear’s “steroid death” was initially reported by “The Daily Mirror”, a British tabloid but was soon picked up and legitimized by mainstream UK media outlets such as BBC News, the Daily Mail, and the Sunday Times. Could the steroid-attributed death of Matt Dear spread steroid hysteria throughout the United Kingdom much like the death of Taylor Hooton affected the steroid discussion in the United States?
The assertions that anabolic steroids were responsible for causing enlarged pupils, blindness, intoxication, severe abdominal pains, convulsions, brain swelling and kidney failure are pretty outrageous. These side effects are not medically substantiated adverse effects of anabolic steroids. Matthew Dear’s doctor even told the parents that he never witness any such reaction to anabolic steroids. The parents of Matthew Dear nonethless felt compelled to blame anabolic steroids. Read more
April 17, 2009
IFBB professional bodybuilder Guy Ducasse has been indicted on federal steroid distribution and possession charges by a federal grand jury in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Oklahoma. Guy Marc “Duke” Ducasse was arrested and charged with one count of “possession with intent to distribute anabolic steroids”; four counts of “distribution of anabolic steroids”; and one count of “attempting to corrupt persuade another person with intent to hinder, delay, and prevent the communication to a law enforcement officer of information relating to the commission of a federal offense” (”Steroid inquiry nets at least 7 arrests,” April 17).
“This has been a far-reaching, complex investigation,” Woodward said in a release. “We have identified individuals from Oklahoma, as well as several other states involved in bringing steroids or components of the drug into the United States. The drugs are being manufactured and distributed within a growing circle of individuals tied to competitive body building.”
Federal prosecutors David O’Meilia and Janet Reincke alleges that IFBB pro Guy Ducasse made at least $18,014 between 2006 and April 8, 2008 from the sale of boldenone (Equipoise), dromostanolone (Masteron), methandrostenolone (Dianabol), nandrolone decanoate (Deca Durabolin), oxymetholone (Anadrol), oxandrolone (Anavar), Proviron, testosterone, testosterone enanthate and testosterone propionate. Read more
April 17, 2009
Oklahoma law enforcement have sent a clear message that they are targeting competitive bodybuilders who use anabolic steroids by issuing 10 arrest warrant, mostly for bodybuilders. The Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Tulsa Police have been investigating the anabolic steroid and competitive bodybuilding scene for about two years. Law Enforcement purposely targeted middle- and upper-class competitive bodybuilders who used steroids solely for personal use (”Warrants Issued In Oklahoma Steroid Bust,” April 17).
Investigators say when they began the investigation two years ago; they vastly underestimated how bad the problem of anabolic steroid abuse was in Oklahoma. The bust doesn’t involve your average drug user. The accused are middle and upper class professionals. Some are accused of using steroids, others of selling or giving them away and agents say one man even ordered the raw ingredients from China to make his own.
National level NPC bodybuilders Trudy Ireland-Kline and Darrell Terrell and IFBB pro bodybuilder Sherry Smith (an Oklahoma City firefighter) are among the bodybuilders facing charges for personal use of steroids. Other bodybuilders who allegedly obtained steroids for personal use include Dr. Brad Stahlheber and Tom Burke were arrested.
Derrick Davis was busted for operating an underground lab that imported raw steroid powders from China and prepared oral and injectable anabolic steroids. Read more
April 16, 2009
Glenn Donald England pleaded guilty to possession of steroids for the purpose of trafficking in Canadian Provincial Court on April 15, 2009. England admitted conspiring with GenXXL and Axio Labs founder Brian Wainstein to distribute significant quantities of steroid tablets and steroid injectable products in 2006. (”Edmonton cops bust steroid trafficker,” April 16).
According to agreed facts, England was busted after an eight-month undercover operation by city police and the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) that ended with an Oct. 10, 2006, raid at his west Edmonton apartment. [...]
There was also evidence found linking England to Irish steroid king Brian Wainstein, including itemized steroid orders on Wainstein’s website, names and addresses of customers, courier delivery receipts, phone records, money transfer receipts and computer text messages.
According to the agreed facts, between Feb. 7, 2006, and Oct. 30, 2006, England was in possession of 640,000 steroid tablets and 37.7 litres of steroid oil, valued at from $1.6 million to $2.3 million, that were sent by Wainstein.
The Edmonton Police cooperated with Irish police in a joint investigation after the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) intercepted a package from Wainstein containing anabolic steroids. Law enforcement monitored telephone conversations between England and Wainstein over the ensuing eight months. Canadian authorities arranged 17 controlled deliveries of steroid powders and steroid injectables shipped by Wainstein from Moldova, Hong Kong and China. Read more
April 6, 2009
Christian Navoy was sentenced to 27 months in prison, 3 years probation and ordered to forfeit assets worth almost $2 million dollars by U.S. District Judge B. Avant Edenfield on March 31, 2009. Navoy operated a research chemical company that sold bodybuilding ancillary products. Navoy pleaded guilty to a single count of “conspiracy to introduce misbranded drugs into interstate commerce, to sell drug paraphernalia [anabolic steroid accessories], and to commit mail fraud”. Navoy’s guilty plea and forfeiture reportedly assured the freedom of wife Jennifer Navoy who had faced similar charges. The government has dropped all charges against Jennifer Navoy; she will walk away with no criminal history after the completion of one year of pre-trial diversion. A review of the case provides insight into how the government is cracking down on steroid and ancillary drug use in bodybuilding community.
Chris Navoy and Jennifer Navoy owned and operated ResearchChemist.com which sold various ancillary drugs and bodybuilding products such as Clomiphene, Sildenafil, Finasteride, Letrozole, Tamoxifen, and Vardenafil as well steroid conversion kits. Navoy did NOT sell anabolic steroids or controlled substances nor did authorities seize any illegal steroids during the execution of search warrants contrary to news stories, police statements, and government court documents. The case solely involved “research chemicals” and “conversion kits”. Many individuals in the bodybuilding community have closely followed this potentially precedent-setting case for the legality of “research chemical” sales.
Chris Navoy’s plea agreement kept the case from going to trial and providing definitive rulings on the legality of bodybuilding research chemicals. The judgment in the case of the United States of America vs. Christian J. Navoy does not necessarily make the sale of research chemicals illegal in the United States. What we do know for certain is that the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has started investigating research chemicals which are not normally under their jurisdiction.
April 2, 2009
Detective Sergeant Lisa McElhaney was identified as the whistleblower in the most recent “cops and steroids” scandal involving the Broward County Sheriff’s Office (BSO) according to the Broward-Palm Beach New Times. Sgt. McElhaney led the investigation of the Lifestyle Rejuvenation Center in 2007 that uncovered suspicions of illegal steroid use by law enforcement in South Florida. McElhaney reported officers to their supervisors at the Plantation Police Department and the Broward Sheriff’s Office Read more
