Drug ring suspect accused of steroid use, By: Milton J. Valencia

OxyContin use is also alleged

March 15, 2006

WORCESTER— A Maine man charged in federal court in connection with a local drug ring could be jailed until trial after testing positive for steroids. Authorities believe the man also used OxyContin, after workers at a rehabilitation center suspected he had been using the addictive painkiller.

Matthew McLaughlin, 33, a former bodybuilder from Kittery Point, Maine, was arrested Feb. 15 in Maine after testing positive for steroids.

He had been free on $10,000 unsecured bond after he was charged last summer with three other people, including two Worcester police officers, with conspiring to sell GHB, an illegal muscle enhancer that’s also been used as a date rape drug. It is commonly used as a rave drug, and has been known on the streets as Liquid G.

Thomas J. Vigliatura, 36, of Worcester, the alleged leader of the ring, was charged with several counts of distributing the drug, and has been held without bail awaiting trial. The two police officers were also released on $10,000 unsecured bond.

As part of his release on bond, Mr. McLaughlin was ordered to participate in drug tests and to provide progress reports from outpatient drug treatment providers.

However, pretrial service officers in Maine who were monitoring Mr. McLaughlin’s conditions allege he was not providing progress reports on his drug treatment, and that he was frequently late to report to pretrial services and drug testing.

In February, the results of a drug test from the previous month came back positive, and a warrant was issued for Mr. McLaughlin’s arrest.

At a Feb. 28 hearing, U.S. Magistrate Judge Timothy S. Hillman ordered a hearing on suspicion that Mr. McLaughlin violated his pretrial conditions. He also ordered Mr. McLaughlin to be transferred to Spectrum House, a rehabilitation center, for inpatient drug assessment.

But the visit to the rehabilitation center resulted in new allegations. According to federal officials, workers at Spectrum House suspected Mr. McLaughlin had been taking the addictive painkiller OxyContin after noticing him in an altered mental state.

At a court hearing yesterday, Mr. McLaughlin’s lawyer challenged the OxyContin allegations, saying her client had been taking Suboxin, a prescribed medication that could have been confused with OxyContin use.

Janice Bassil, the lawyer, said Mr. McLaughlin suffered brain damage when he was 21 years old, and that he takes a series of prescribed medications. Mr. McLaughlin had taken medications when he went to Spectrum House, which could have violated the center’s policy. Ms. Bassil stressed the incident was a mix-up, that Mr. McLaughlin’s mother thought she could include the medications when she dropped his belongings at the center. Mr. McLaughlin had been transported to the center from jail, after he was arrested.

Mr. McLaughlin found the prescriptions in his bags, which went through a screening process, and assumed he was allowed to take the medications, Ms. Bassil said.

Judge Hillman said he had questions about the amount of medications Mr. McLaughlin had, and that the medications were able to pass the screening process. Nevertheless, a pretrial services officer said a drug test Mr. McLaughlin took after Spectrum raised suspicions will be able to differentiate between Suboxin and OxyContin, a drug that was not prescribed.

“They are two separate drugs and one does not test positive for the other,” said Vangie Cuascut, a pretrial services officer for the federal court.

Judge Hillman postponed the hearing that will determine if Mr. McLaughlin should remain jailed until March 27, until test results for the OxyContin use are completed. In the meantime, he has been ordered jailed.

Ms. Bassil also requested a new test for the steroid use. She said she has learned that the form of steroid that showed positive results could stay within the human system for as long as 18 months, and opined that results were from past use.

According to court records, the February results were the first time Mr. McLaughlin tested positive, raising questions as to why Mr. McLaughlin never tested positive before if it is believed it was past use. Nevertheless, Judge Hillman left Ms. Bassil’s request for a new test to pretrial services, but stressed he would like to see all test results completed by the March 27 hearing.