Steroid probe of Orlando pharmacy widens, By: Jim Leusner
Signature Compounding Pharmacy fights allegations of illegal drug distribution.
September 8, 2007
For nearly seven months, Signature Compounding Pharmacy in Orlando has been battling allegations from New York prosecutors that it is at the center of an illicit steroids and Internet drug-distribution network.
The company has laid off two dozen people and closed its former headquarters because of the fallout. But this week, the bad publicity just wouldn't stop:
Troy Glaus, a third baseman with the Toronto Blue Jays, received steroids from the pharmacy between September 2003 and May 2004, when he played with the Anaheim Angels, according to Sports Illustrated's Web site.
Rick Ankiel, an outfielder with the St. Louis Cardinals, received a 12-month supply of human growth hormone, or HGH, from Signature in 2004, New York's Daily News reported.
Rodney Harrison, a safety with the New England Patriots, admitted buying HGH with an illegal prescription from a South Florida clinic regularly supplied by Signature, the Boston Globe said.
The steady stream of allegations -- many by unnamed sources or by the office of Albany County, N.Y., District Attorney David Soares -- has outraged Signature's lawyers. They contend it has caused great damage to a legitimate, special-order pharmacy whose business is misunderstood.
"Signature Pharmacy was not and is not an underground distribution channel for professional athletes to get performance-enhancing drugs," said Amy Tingley, Signature's Orlando attorney. "We do not and have not distributed prescriptions over the Internet."
Signature contends like other pharmacies, it received prescriptions from doctors stating a valid medical need for patients, and state and federal licensing numbers identifying physicians. Prosecutors, however, have charged that many prescriptions were issued by doctors who never examined the patients.
For months, Tingley has vowed that four top company officials arrested in Orlando during a Feb. 27 raid by New York and Florida authorities will be exonerated. Charged were company Chief Executive Officer Naomi Loomis; her husband and Chief Operating Officer Robert "Stan" Loomis; his brother and head compounding pharmacist Kenneth "Mike" Loomis; and business-development director Kirk Calvert.
All have pleaded not guilty to 20 charges of illegally dispensing a controlled substance and insurance fraud in an investigation dubbed "Operation Which Doctor."
Tingley says the 8-year-old pharmacy specializes in female hormone-replacement therapies using androgenic-anabolic steroids and does not overtly cater to athletes. She said it has filled millions of prescriptions from more than 9,000 doctors nationwide who faxed records to them for everything from anabolic steroids and HGH -- to help dialysis, burn and AIDS patients combat muscle loss -- to Viagra -- for sexual dysfunction.
"If a physician writes a prescription based on a medical need, that prescription is valid," Tingley said. "Signature Pharmacy is not responsible for a patient who violates a professional league's drug policy."
For instance, HGH is legitimately used for various medical conditions, including recovering from injuries and surgery. Dispensing it to Major League Baseball players is not illegal -- although the sport banned it in 2005 and will punish players found using it.
The allegations and publicity about Signature led to a downsizing of staff and closure of its Orlando headquarters. Signature is now based out of its Winter Park pharmacy, Tingley said.
And disclosure of alleged patient names also has violated federal medical-privacy laws and an Osceola Circuit judge's order to keep them secret -- which also has hampered Signature from responding to some allegations, she said.
Tingley cited the death of professional wrestler Chris Benoit, who killed his wife, son and himself during a three-day period in June, as an example. She complained that Soares identified Benoit as a customer of Signature and another South Florida clinic supplied by Signature, implying steroids led to the killings. The next day, Soares clarified his statements and identified Viagra as a drug Benoit was known to have received from Signature, she said.
In court papers filed in Albany on Aug. 31, Signature attorneys launched a broad legal attack to have the charges thrown out or evidence dismissed in the two-year probe.
They contend Signature officials were wrongly charged with distributing Anastrozole, a breast-cancer drug which is not a controlled substance. Lawyers also argued that evidence gathered from a secret wiretap by Orlando's Metropolitan Bureau of Investigation should be excluded because it was released to New York authorities without approval of a Florida judge.
MBI Lt. Carl Metzger said its Signature probe was ongoing, but he would not elaborate.
Soares and his office remains confident in their case. They charge that Signature, which grossed $30 million last year, was the hub of a network which referred customers to physicians at "anti-aging" clinics across Florida. They, in turn, wrote prescriptions filled by Signature.
Heather Orth, a spokeswoman for Soares, said six clinic employees and three doctors -- including Longwood physician Claire Godfrey -- have entered guilty pleas in the case and will testify against Signature defendants. Orth also said her agency disclosed only two names of professional athletes -- Harrison and Dallas Cowboys quarterback coach Wade Wilson -- to any league.
"The athletes are not our primary focus," Orth said. "Our primary focus is the prosecution of Signature Pharmacy."
