Ex-Employee Pleads Guilty In Orlando Steroid Probe
March 29, 2007
A former manager of a Florida-based business admitted selling illicit prescription drugs Wednesday and agreed to help prosecutors in upstate New York pursue a multistate investigation into the illegal sale of steroids.
Aaron J. Peterson, 30, of Delray Beach, Fla., pleaded guilty to criminal diversion of prescription medication. Under a plea agreement, he will be sentenced May 16 to five years' probation, and pay $320 in fees, for the single reduced felony charge, Albany County Court Judge Stephen Herrick said.
Another 18 defendants, most from Florida and New York, have pleaded not guilty. A number of professional athletes have reportedly shown up on client lists. Prosecutors say they are going after suppliers, not customers, but relevant client names will be shared with sports leagues that ban steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs.
Peterson obtained physician signatures for drugs, mostly steroids, for clients of the Delray Beach, Fla.-based Oasis Longevity and Rejuvenation, Assistant District Attorney Christopher Baynes said.
"He was basically the guy working the phones and managing the office," Baynes said.
When asked in court whether Oasis President Elaine Sorrells approved of what he was doing, Peterson said she did. He also acknowledged that, for $10,000, Orlando, Fla.-based Signature Pharmacy sold him access to a doctor who wrote prescriptions when Oasis was without one.
He admitted selling prescriptions in November signed by an undercover investigator in Albany posing as a physician.
Peterson and his attorney declined to comment afterward. Sorrells and five owners and employees of Signature have pleaded not guilty to drug charges. All are free on bail.
"Like any case you take the lower rung defendants and build toward a larger target," Baynes said.
District Attorney David Soares, in a statement, said Peterson was the second defendant to plead guilty in his investigation, but won't be the last.
Last week, Ana Santi, 68, a former physician from Queens, pleaded guilty to a single felony count. She was accused of writing prescriptions for Oasis.
In New York, it's illegal for a doctor to prescribe drugs without examining the patient in person, and illegal for a pharmacy to dispense prescription drugs without a valid prescription.
