Soares defends steroid investigation, By: Jola Szubielski
 
3/1/07

District Attorney David Soares said, "Some members of our local law enforcement can continue doing what they have been doing, street level rip and never focusing on anything other than picking up the guy they can make $500 overtime with. But, that is not my pledge."

Local law enforcement and some elected leaders continue to question Soares' motives and priorities. The four pharmacy owners arrested in the steroid bust are not local, so they wondered what impact, if any, it will have in Albany.

Soares said, "Steroids as a schedule two drug, the same schedule you'll find crack cocaine. As for his assertion that steroids do not cause harm to people, I would also ask him to go onto a computer and do some research on the issue."

Soares said $250,000 in illegal Internet sales were conducted in Albany County alone, and he expects to net more than just the four Florida arrests in the coming months.

As for his far-reaching jurisdiction, Soares said it was crucial to cracking the case--something the defense attorney in Orlando disputed. She said her clients knew about the investigation and wanted to turn themselves in.

Defense attorney Amy Tingley said, "We had been talking for weeks, and we asked, 'please let us process them,' and he always declined because he wanted to come down with a camera crew."

Soares responded, "What you do not do is return phone calls for the targets of those investigations, and what you do not do is allow for those targets to even walk away with an idea that you're onto them."

And when asked about the cost of the investigation...

"A certain portion of our expenses were paid for, brought to you by the drug dealers of Albany County," Soares said.

That means the district attorney's office used money confiscated in previous drug arrests to pay for their trip. Soares also confirmed that the pharmacy owners will be extradited to New York on Monday.