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.
The manufacturers of the Whizzinator, a male prosthetic urinary device used to pass anti-doping steroid testing and employer drug testing, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to sell drug paraphernalia. United States Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan prosecuted Gerald Wills and Robert D. Catalano of Puck Technology as part of Operation True Test that targeted companies who manufacturer products intended to “mask” illegal drug use and/or anabolic steroid use in athletes (”Men who sold ‘Whizzinator’ admit to federal charges,” November 26).
Mary Beth Buchanan is the “porn and bongs” prosecutor who spent $12 million to put Tommy Chong in prison for nine months for selling pipes and bongs as part of Operation Pipe Dreams and Operation Head Hunter, has turned her attention to anti-doping detection devices even though federal law does not explicitly prohibit the use of such “masking products.”
The federal anti-doping law entitled Drug Testing Integrity Act of 2005 was introduced in response to Minnesota Vikings running back Onterrio Smith’s detention by airport police due to the discovery of the Whizzinator. The bill specifically criminalized the use of such items but failed to gather momentum (”Whitfield, Engel Introduce National Drug Testing Integrity Act,” May 9, 2006).
The devastating effects of drug and steroid use are well known and we should not allow companies to sell products like the Whizzinator to falsify their tests with impunity. These devices should not be sold legally in the United States and this legislation will make our nation a safer place to live.
Even though the legislation did not pass, Mary Beth Buchanan, the aggressive obscenity prosecutor and vice hunter, nonetheless decided to pursue Puck Technology and Whizzinator under the rarely enforced federal drug paraphernalia laws much as she did with the case against Tomy Chong and Nice Dream Enterprises; many critics (and federal prosecutors) regard the pursuit of obscenity and paraphernalia cases as a waste of money that diverts significant resources away from other more serious crimes. Read more
Byron Parker, owner of ResearchLabSupply.com, entered a plea agreement in U.S. District Court in Providence, Rhode Island on December 27, 2007. He has agreed to plea guilty to distribution of drug paraphernalia “which were primarily designed and intended to be used in the converting, preparing, injecting, and ingesting of anabolic steroids, Schedule III controlled substances” at his arraignment on January 10, 2008.
ResearchLabSupply.com was a very popular “conversion kit” provider discussed on many bodybuilding forums. The last day of operation for the website was on August 21, 2007 after which customers were notified of the store closure. The Food and Drug Administration’s (FDA) Office of Criminal Investigations charges only involved the sale of “drug paraphernalia” identified as kits used to convert anabolic steroid powders into injectable liquids (e.g. benzyl alcohol, cottonseed oil, sesame seed oil, syringe filters, syringes, sterile empty glass vials, etc.). Byron Parker was operating under the business name of Classical Insights, LLC dba Research Services, LLC of West Palm Beach, Florida. A review of the plea agreement reveals that Mr. Parker was NOT charged with distribution of any type of anabolic steroids and/or other bodybuilding drug – only paraphernalia.
