4 arrested in steroids raid still behind bars in Florida, By: Brendan J. Lyons

Judge declines to set bond; attorney indicates they had tried to turn themselves in

March 2, 2007

ORLANDO, Fla. -- Four people arrested earlier this week as part of a sprawling investigation into the illegal distribution of steroids and human growth hormone will remain in police custody.

A Florida judge declined to set bond Thursday for Naomi Loomis, 33, Robert "Stan" Loomis, 54, and Kenneth "Mike" Loomis, 59, all pharmacists at their family-owned Signature Pharmacy in Orlando, which was raided Tuesday. Signature's marketing director, Kirk Calvert, 37, also was arrested and will remain jailed.

The four will remain in custody at least until Monday, when they are scheduled to appear in Albany County Court charged with felony crimes, Albany County District Attorney David Soares said Thursday.

"It's the beginning of a long journey into the courts," he said. Up to two dozen arrests could be made in coming weeks, he said.

Amy Tingley, the Loomises' attorney, told Murphy the defendants tried to turn themselves in last month after learning of the investigation, but Albany County prosecutors declined to allow that.

Authorities have said a smattering of professional athletes are customers of Signature Pharmacy, one of several companies under investigation. Additional arrests were being made Thursday across Florida, authorities said.

Another company under criminal scrutiny, Applied Pharmacy in Mobile, Ala., also has allegedly supplied steroids or human growth hormone to certain high-profile athletes, including boxer Evander Holyfield and Los Angeles Angels outfielder Gary Matthews Jr., a source briefed on the investigation confirmed Thursday.

Two other people, whose names have not been disclosed by police, were arrested this week during a raid at Palm Beach Rejuvenation, an Internet-based wellness center in Jupiter, Fla., that has funneled a substantial amount of business to Signature Pharmacy, officials said.

Murphy said if New York authorities do not transport the Orlando defendants back to New York by March 8, he would set bond and allow them to surrender on their own in Albany.

Brian Devane, an Albany attorney retained by the Loomis family, said he would not comment until after his clients have been arraigned in Albany, which may take place next week.

Tingley also declined comment. In court Thursday, she accused police of making the arrests "with a camera crew in tow" to sensationalize the case. The Times Union, which first exposed the investigation Tuesday, had learned recently there may be a raid at Signature Pharmacy and had staked out the business for two days leading up to the raid.

The newspaper began tracking the case last fall after one of the first arrests in the case was made in Colonie.

More than a dozen relatives and supporters of the the Loomises and Calvert were in the courtroom during the brief proceeding. Two young women cried when the judge said he would not set bond.

Stan and Naomi Loomis, who own Signature Pharmacy and are married, have been touted as an Orlando success story. Their business revenues have grown from $500,000 in 2002 to more than $35 million last year, authorities said.

The couple have traveled the country touting their pharmaceutical products at trade shows, specializing in dispensing human growth hormone to people with health problems. But police contend the company was complicitous in marketing and distributing steroids and other drugs illegally to people who had no approved medical reason to obtain them.

Federal agents have tracked money that belongs to the couple to overseas' bank accounts and are expected to try to seize those assets as part of the investigation, an official close to the case said.

Soares said his office would receive a large percentage of the seized funds if the government's seizures and prosecutions are successful.

Meanwhile, Tingley, an Orlando criminal defense attorney, challenged the integrity of the investigation.

"We believe there's defects in what went on in Albany County," she told the judge, without elaborating. The indictments outlining charges from this week's arrests remain sealed but are expected to be opened next week.