05/19/2010 // West Palm Beach, FL, USA // Tara Monks // Tara Monks
Buffalo, NY – A Canadian sports doctor who has treated high-profile athletes, including Tiger Woods and Alex Rodriguez, was charged Tuesday, May 18, 2010, with several drug-related offenses, including smuggling, as reported by The Vancouver Sun.
Sports physician Dr. Anthony Galea is accused of entering the states with illegal drugs and unlawfully treating pro athletes.
The criminal complaint was filed in U.S. District Court in Buffalo, and charges Galea with smuggling, unlawful distribution of HGH, introducing an unapproved drug into interstate commerce, making false statement to federal agents and conspiracy to defraud the U.S.
The unapproved drug is known as Actovegin, which is a performance enhancement drug extracted from calf’s blood. It supposedly promotes healing and potentially increases stamina. Actovegin is not approved for sale in the United States or Canada.
The affidavit lists three unidentified NFL players as witnesses to the case. One witness claims to have received the human growth hormone from Galea after his playing days ended. The other two players, who are currently in the NFL, said that they avoided receiving HGH or other performance-enhancing substances, but did receive treatment from the doctor.
An NFL spokesman reported that league officials had not been given the players’ names from the witness list, but are in contact with investigators and cooperating.
If convicted of the charges, the prison sentence could be over 20 years. None of the charges have yet to be proven, though.
Authorities began their investigation into Galea after his assistant was stopped crossing the border into Buffalo. Police conducted a search of her car and found medical supplies and drugs, including Actovegin and another human growth hormone, Nutropin.
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