Ex-officer charged with steroid sales, By: Paige Akin Mudd
Petersburg officials say that other officers bought the illegal drugs
July 29, 2006
A former Petersburg police officer made steroids and sold them to other officers on the force, including one convicted of beating a man unconscious, according to a federal complaint.
Calvin Felder, 35, of Richmond is charged with making and selling anabolic steroids to fellow Petersburg officers from late 2001 through 2003. He did not return several calls for comment yesterday.
One of his alleged clients was Michael Tweedy, a former Petersburg police officer who repeatedly stomped Petersburg resident Lamont Koonce's head during an arrest. Tweedy is serving nine years in prison for the attack, which federal officials say was caused by a steroid-induced rage.
But authorities say Tweedy wasn't the only Petersburg officer buying drugs from Felder.
A yearlong investigation turned up six current and former Petersburg officers who claim to have used steroids, or "juice," supplied by Felder to improve their strength and stamina. Four of the officers have been dismissed, and two were sanctioned. Interim Police Chief Col. Lee Crowell declined to comment on the sanctions.
Felder, who worked as a Petersburg officer from September 2000 through April 2004, turned himself in to federal authorities yesterday and was released pending a preliminary hearing next Friday before U.S. District Judge Henry Hudson. After that, a grand jury will decide whether to indict Felder. For each incident of manufacturing or distributing steroids named in an indictment, he faces up to five years in prison.
The complaint against Felder was announced yesterday afternoon in Richmond during a news conference of the FBI, U.S. Attorney's Office and the Petersburg Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian R. Hood will prosecute.
Donald W. Thompson Jr., special agent in charge of the FBI's Richmond office, said he recognized that police officers are faced with dangerous situations each day, but that doesn't excuse them from following the law.
"It's unacceptable for police officers to use anabolic steroids," he said.
Felder allegedly purchased the steroids from Web sites based in the U.S. and abroad, officials said. He is also accused of manufacturing steroids by converting pills into liquid form for injection.
One former officer told FBI special agent Judy Sykes that he purchased drugs from Felder, who showed him how to inject himself and sold him needles.
The officers told authorities they paid between $200 and $300 for each six-week cycle of steroids. All said they were using a combination of several testosterone types, called "Test 250," that was mixed by Felder. Mixing steroids is often referred to as "stacking." Several also used Finaplex, which can cause erectile dysfunction and lower testosterone.
The officers who used the steroids reported an increase in strength and energy but complained of unpleasant side effects, such as headaches, nausea, heart racing, sexual dysfunction and breast growth.
Felder's PayPal account online "revealed multiple Internet transactions with companies that advertise or promote the sales of illegal anabolic steroids," the complaint states.
In December 2002, U.S. Customs officials seized a package shipped to Felder containing steroids, but one of his fellow former officers said he doesn't believe Felder called to retrieve the drugs.
The complaint also says Felder's wife, Heather Felder, allegedly stole boxes of 100 syringes at a time from a medical supply company where she worked. She has not been charged.
Ken Melson, first assistant U.S. attorney for eastern Virginia, said he's disappointed in the Petersburg officers, who should serve as role models.
"Such use is not only against the law, it can cause significant harm to the public," he said.
Crowell, who oversees 95 officers, cooperated with the investigation.
"If they are committing crimes," Crowell said, "we don't want them as police officers."
