Prosecutors push to reopen records in steroid probe

April 7, 2007

ORLANDO, Fla. - Prosecutors plan to ask a judge to reverse an order that sealed medical records seized from Florida pharmacies as part of a national investigation into illegal steroid sales.

A spokeswoman for the Florida Office of Statewide Prosecution said Friday that the state plans to file a motion next week asking Circuit Judge John Marshall Kest to reconsider his decision Wednesday to seal records that police seized Feb. 27 at Signature pharmacies in Orlando and Winter Park.

Kest ordered that the records be used only for getting names and addresses to notify people that their private records were the government's possession. The patients must be told that, if they object to Florida's prosecutors reviewing their records, they must request a court hearing within 30 days.

Anne Wedge-McMillen of the statewide prosecutor's office agreed to keep the records out of the hands of non-law enforcement agencies, but argued before Wednesday's decision that investigators should be allowed to follow leads that stem from the search warrants.

But Amy Tingley, an Orlando lawyer who represents Signature founders Naomi and Stan Loomis, urged the judge to seal the medical records to protect patients' privacy.

Many of the records - and drugs seized, such as a generic version of Viagra - had nothing to do with the steroid sales investigation specified in the search warrants Kest approved, Tingley said.

Authorities allege Signature operated a multi-million dollar steroid production and distribution center. Signature allegedly filled online prescriptions and shipped the steroids and human growth hormones to New York and elsewhere around the country. The case is part of a vast Albany County (N.Y.) district attorney's probe that has identified top athletes as potential steroid customers.

Authorities have made it clear they're concerned only with prosecuting distributors at this point, not users. Some professional athletes linked to the scandal, include baseball's Jose Canseco and John Rocker, former heavyweight champion Evander Holyfield, and 1996 Olympic wrestling gold medalist Kurt Angle.

A total of 14 people from Florida have been indicted by the Albany, N.Y., district attorney's office. Florida and federal law enforcement agencies also have been cooperating in investigations and pursuing related cases.