Steroid charges perplex LI neighborhood

Steroid charges perplex LI neighborhood, By: Daniel Wagner April 29, 2007 As word of Kirk J. Radomski's guilty plea on steroid-related charges in a federal probe spread through his quiet Manorville neighborhood Saturday, friends and neighbors described him as a friendly man who kept mostly to himself and said they had no idea he was running a steroid distribution center from his home. One former associate described as generous the man who had parlayed his decade-long career in the Mets clubhouse, where he started as a bat boy when he was 15, into a business that threatens to affect many current and former Major League Baseball players. "I grew up with him," said Vincent Greco, a former Mets assistant equipment manager who co-owns a St. James car wash, Professional Touch Detail Center, with Radomski. "He's a great guy. He'll do anything in the world for you." Greco said he had no knowledge of the steroid operation. Some neighbors said Radomski, 37, worked long hours while his wife, Christine, 34, stayed home and took care of their elementary school-aged daughter. None recalled the Dec. 14, 2005, raid of his house, which netted thousands of doses of steroids in pill and injectable form, court papers said. Radomski had moved there in 2002, taking a $260,000 mortgage on his $325,500 house, records show. "They were nice, but we really didn't see him that much," said Janet de Blasi, who lives across from Radomski in the Country Pointe development. Radomski's next-door neighbor, Jim McKenna Jr., 44, said Radomski was "a great guy. I can't tell you enough about that, from the day he moved in." McKenna said Radomski identified himself as a personal trainer when he moved in, but did not know what his current business was. Among neighbors who declined to be named, some mentioned tense interactions with Radomski. Others said he was known as Murdock -- a nickname that has stuck since his early days in the Mets clubhouse, according to sources familiar with the investigation. Some sources suggest the name came from a character on the television series "The A-Team." Sources said Radomski had moved into steroid distribution by happenstance. During the years, his business evolved into the distribution machine federal officials said they discovered in the 2005 raid. Radomski, who court documents allege took the place of the notorious BALCO lab as a distributor after the same investigation shut the lab down in 2003, has been cooperating with federal investigators, leading to questions about which professional athletes might be implicate. His lawyer did not return phone calls. Family members and his wife's family also declined to comment. Neighbor McKenna said he was reserving judgment. "Whatever might have happened might have happened, but here in this community, he's a good guy," McKenna said. Staff writer Robert Kessler contributed to this story.

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Steroid charges perplex LI neighborhood