The 1992 landmark steroids in sports investigation codenamed Operation Equine by the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) resulted in the convictions of Curtis Wenzlaff and over seventy individuals for steroid distribution and trafficking and the seizure of more than 10 million anabolic steroid dosage units. FBI Special Agents Bill Randall and Greg Stejskal uncovered evidence linking steroids to Major League Baseball (MLB) players including Jose Canseco and Mark McGwire; they even obtained details of steroid cycles purported used by McGwire. The steroid-using athletes were ignored at a time when the federal government targeted steroid dealers (”Discovery’s ‘Undercover: Double Life’ features ‘Operation Equine’,” March 30).
“It’s amazing to see the snowball effect all these years later. I believed in (Operation Equine) and I think it’s come full circle,” Randall told the Daily News on Sunday while grilling steaks outdoors at his suburban Michigan home. “The thrust of Equine was to get traffickers, which is kind of unfortunate. I think we could have gone further, but the problem was the mind-set then. It was like, ‘It’s just steroids.’”
The federal government has taken the opposite approach with the recent BALCO steroid investigation. Fewer than a handful of individuals were convicted of steroid distribution and professional athletes like Barry Bonds, Marion Jones, and Tammy Thomas have clearly been targeted by the government. IRS Special Agent Jeff Novitzky has become a media superstar and bonafide anti-steroid crusader. Operation Equine Agents Bill Randall and Greg Stejskal did not receive any such celebrity treatment and had become somewhat obscure characters in the war on steroids. But that is changing now that hunting steroid-using athletes has become a priority for the federal government. Now, the Discovery Channel is paying tribute Agents Randall and Stejskal in the series Undercover: Double Life “Bill Randall: Operation Equine” on the cable network Discovery Investigations Read more
The Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) Portland Office launched a public-corruption investigation involving the role of the Canby Police Department in a steroid distribution network according to an investigative report by Maxine Bernstein of the Oregonian. Federal investigators allege that Canby police officer Jason Deason openly purchased anabolic steroids and growth hormone from local steroid sources and tipped off his suppliers to any police inquiries; furthermore, Canby Police Chief Greg Kroeplin was aware of his housemate Deason’s involvement with local steroid sources and not only failed to act upon it but may have actively covered it up. Officer Deason even submitted purchases for anabolic steroids and growth hormone on official Canby Police stationary (”Canby cop bought steroids on the job, FBI says,” November 15).
Federal agents this year launched a public-corruption investigation, revealing a cozy relationship between Kroeplin and Deason in the 24-member force that allowed the officer to brazenly buy steroids while on duty and in uniform and tip off his suppliers to police inquiries, according to multiple search warrant affidavits filed in U.S. District Court.
Canby police supervisors either failed to address the problem or concealed it, federal authorities allege in the court documents. The investigation also uncovered a steroid distribution network that operated in Oregon, Washington and Arizona.
No charges have been filed in an ongoing investigation by the FBI Portland Office. The Oregonian reports that Canby officer Deason purchased anabolic steroids and human growth hormone from local steroid sources William Traverso, of Canby Landscape Supply, and Brian Jackson, the former strength and conditioning coach for the Oregon City High School girls basketball team. All three worked out at Nelson’s Nautilus gym in Oregon City.
