Friday, August 31, 2007

WWE discusses steroids investigation with N.Y. prosecutors

Officials from World Wrestling Entertainment met this week with New York prosecutors investigating illegal steroid sales.

WWE Vice President Jennifer McIntosh confirmed the Tuesday meeting but declined to comment on what was discussed. Calls to Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares' office were not immediately returned Thursday.

The day before the meeting, former pro wrestler Brian "Crush" Adams, 44, was found dead of undetermined causes in his Florida home. Authorities said tissue and toxicology tests are due in six to eight weeks.

Adams had not been a wrestler for WWE since 2001, McIntosh said. His death came less than two months after pro wrestler Chris Benoit killed his wife and son before hanging himself on the cable of a weight machine in his Georgia home. Prescription anabolic steroids were found in the home, raising questions about whether the drugs played a role in the killings.

Soares' office has said Benoit had been a client of Signature Pharmacy of Orlando, Fla., which is at the center of the investigation.

Nine people, including three current or former physicians, have pleaded guilty, most affiliated with Internet and phone-order companies that filled orders for anabolic steroids and growth hormones through Signature and sent drugs to customers around the country, including Albany County.

Signature's owners have pleaded not guilty.

In New York, it is illegal for a doctor to prescribe drugs without examining the patient in person, and illegal for a pharmacy to dispense prescription drugs without a valid prescription.

National Football League officials met with Soares and other investigators in March. An NFL spokesman said they had asked the prosecutors' office for any information relevant to the league.

No comments: