Kenneth Hebert and his common-law wife Leticia Zamora, owners of TexStar Labs and Phalco Labs, faced United States District Judge David Hittner for sentencing on January 28, 2009. Hebert was senteced to four years imprisonment (or double the term of imprisonment advocated by prosecutors) whereas Zamora withdrew her guilty plea after Judge Hittner denied her probation deal with the government (”Pearland man gets prison for at-home steroid factory,” January 28).
A Pearland man who ran a major anabolic steroid factory in his house was sentenced to four years in federal prison on Wednesday, but his wife withdrew her guilty plea and opted to go to trial.
U.S. District Judge David Hittner sentenced Kenneth Hebert to about twice what prosecutor Peter Mason had suggested for distributing the performance-enhancing drug, made of ingredients from China.
Hebert and Zamora both pleaded guilty to their respective roles in the illegal operation of a large-scale underground anabolic steroid laboratory out of their Houston-area home. The couple manufactured raw steroid powder into oral and injectable steroid products that were distributed under the TexStar Labs and Phalco Labs label. The steroid case represented one of the largest UGL steroid busts resulting from Operation Raw Deal.
The couple decided to spend their available funds to hire an attorney from the Montalvo Law Firm to represent Leticia Zamora and provide her with the best opportunity to avoid prison time so that she could raise the couple’s two young children, ages five and seven; Kenneth Hebert was represented by a federal public defender.
President Barrack Obama may think the federal investigations into anabolic steroids should not be a top priority for the government, but the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) strongly disagrees. The DEA emphasized that steroids are “extremely dangerous” and respresent a significant threat to public health during a recent press briefing involving the sentencing of Operation Raw Deal defendants (”Pearland couple to be sentenced for operating major steroid pill mill,” January 27).
“It’s not just a drug that can be taken lightly,” explained DEA Special Agent Violet Szeleczky. “It’s something that we still consider extremely dangerous to the public and we’re going to investigate it to its fullest, just as if it were heroin, cocaine or marijuana.”
DEA Special Agent Violet Szeleczky promised to treat anabolic steroid cases no differently than cocaine or heroin cases when it comes to allocating agency investigative resources. Agent Szeleczky made these comments in relation to the sentencing of one of the largest underground labs (UGLs) busted during Operation Raw Deal.
Kenneth Herbert, one of the principals behind the anabolic steroid underground labs TexStar Labs, Phalco Labs and Nassau Pharmaceuticals, has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids and has agreed to cooperate with federal authorities. In exchange, prosecutors will drop 28 other counts listed in the federal indictment including money laundering and conspiracy to commit money laundering.
Kenneth Herbert and his common law wife were arrested in September 2007 as part of Operation Raw Deal. Another steroid distributor who was arrested on March 28, 2007 in a related investigation provided information to the DEA that led to crackdown on the UGL.
Authorities claim they operated one of the largest underground labs (UGL) in the country. Court records show the following items were seized from Herbert’s residence:
Four pill/tablet presses, approximately eight kilograms of raw steroid powders, over 100,000 steroid pill/tablets, a clandestine steroids laboratory, and a large volume of glassware, vials, and bottling supplies. The items seized were consistent with a large scal steroids laboratory capable of producing at least 50,000 tablets per hour.
Kenneth Herbert is scheduled for sentencing on May 1, 2008. He faces up to 5 years in prison and/or a fine of up to $250,000. Prosecutors will recommend sentencing at the low end of federal guidelines assuming the Herbert provides “substantial assistance” in agreeing to “cooperate, debrief and, if necessary, testify.”
