motiv8er
Well-known member
Raid on pharmacy could implicate athletes
A raid on an Orlando pharmacy Tuesday — part of an ongoing New York state grand jury investigation — could expose widespread steroid use by professional and college athletes.
A report in the Albany, N.Y., Times Union said that more than two dozen doctors, pharmacists, and business owners have been or will be arrested in connection with the investigation of Signature Pharmacy, which has revealed pharmacies and Web sites that have made millions of dollars in profit by allegedly exploiting prescription laws. Investigators uncovered evidence that current MLB, NFL, college, and high school athletes may have been fradulently prescribed performance-enhancing drugs over the Internet.
No specific names have been officially mentioned, but the Times Union reported that Los Angeles Angels center fielder Gary Matthews Jr. is a target, according to "sources with knowledge of the investigation."
Sources also told the paper that investigators recently questioned a physician with the Pittsburgh Steelers about an alleged purchase of around $150,000 of testosterone and human growth hormone.
"This is a criminal investigation, not an administative investigation," Lt. Carl Metzger, commander of the Orlando Metropolitan Bureau of Enforcement, said, according to the Times Union.
"I think that some of their business was legitimate," he said, adding that "much of it was illegal."
Signature Pharmacy last year did an estimated $10 million in business in New York, according to Albany County District Attorney David Soares.
"We're arresting young men on street corners every day for selling drugs," he said. "Signature did $30 million last year ... $250,000 in Albany County."
Internet-based pharmacies have become the new drug delivery system for thousands of customers, and Tuesday's raid of Signature Pharmacy — a business that did an estimated $36 million in business in 2006 — could expose a long list of sports figures, celebrities and others who have gone to the Internet for illegal drugs.
While surveilling the story last year, authorities claim to have seen a player from both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins entering the facility, though it was unclear why they were there.
The store is located in the heart of Orlando and contains a small retail shop that sells primarily bodybuilding supplements, a drug-manufacturing laboratory, and executive offices.
TOP STORIES
A raid on an Orlando pharmacy Tuesday — part of an ongoing New York state grand jury investigation — could expose widespread steroid use by professional and college athletes.
A report in the Albany, N.Y., Times Union said that more than two dozen doctors, pharmacists, and business owners have been or will be arrested in connection with the investigation of Signature Pharmacy, which has revealed pharmacies and Web sites that have made millions of dollars in profit by allegedly exploiting prescription laws. Investigators uncovered evidence that current MLB, NFL, college, and high school athletes may have been fradulently prescribed performance-enhancing drugs over the Internet.
No specific names have been officially mentioned, but the Times Union reported that Los Angeles Angels center fielder Gary Matthews Jr. is a target, according to "sources with knowledge of the investigation."
Sources also told the paper that investigators recently questioned a physician with the Pittsburgh Steelers about an alleged purchase of around $150,000 of testosterone and human growth hormone.
"This is a criminal investigation, not an administative investigation," Lt. Carl Metzger, commander of the Orlando Metropolitan Bureau of Enforcement, said, according to the Times Union.
"I think that some of their business was legitimate," he said, adding that "much of it was illegal."
Signature Pharmacy last year did an estimated $10 million in business in New York, according to Albany County District Attorney David Soares.
"We're arresting young men on street corners every day for selling drugs," he said. "Signature did $30 million last year ... $250,000 in Albany County."
Internet-based pharmacies have become the new drug delivery system for thousands of customers, and Tuesday's raid of Signature Pharmacy — a business that did an estimated $36 million in business in 2006 — could expose a long list of sports figures, celebrities and others who have gone to the Internet for illegal drugs.
While surveilling the story last year, authorities claim to have seen a player from both the Philadelphia Eagles and the Washington Redskins entering the facility, though it was unclear why they were there.
The store is located in the heart of Orlando and contains a small retail shop that sells primarily bodybuilding supplements, a drug-manufacturing laboratory, and executive offices.
TOP STORIES
