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2 4 - 0 6 - 2 0 0 5 Police Arrest 3 In What May Be National Steroid Ring
Investigators Say Athletes, Body Builders Were Customers
June 23, 2005
LINCOLN, Neb. -- Three men were arrested in Lincoln Wednesday as police broke up what they describe as a steroid distribution ring. The Nebraska State Patrol said the arrests came after a six-month investigation that could have nationwide implications. The steroids were being shipped to Lincoln from New York, investigators said.
Investigators believe Chad Case, 30, Kenneth Thompson, 23, and Levi Lewis, 24, were the ring's top local operatives. They have been arrested and charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. They will be arraigned Thursday afternoon in Lancaster County Court. Elwell said steroids and human growth hormone were distributed in the Lincoln area. Some went to body builders, some to athletes. "We believe that it did deal with the college level for sure, and we're not sure yet whether it went down to the high school level," Elwell said. Elwell wouldn't name the athletes believed to be involved or their schools. A joint investigation with postal inspectors revealed that the men were sending steroids to customers across the country. "We locked in on the packages that were coming into the Nebraska area," said Sgt. Glenn Elwell, of the Nebraska State Patrol. Case owns a Lincoln supplement store. Investigators don't believe Case actually sold the illegal substances through the store, but they did arrest him there Wednesday afternoon. A manager at Case's store declined comment. Calls to the suspects' homes weren't returned. Men Accused In Steroid Ring Appear In Court
Documents Show Details Of Case
June 23, 2005
Investigators believe Chad Case, 30; Kenneth Thompson, 23; and Levi Lewis, 24, were the ring's top local operatives. They were arrested Wednesday and each charged with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver. The Nebraska State Patrol said the arrests came after a six-month investigation that could have nationwide implications. The steroids were being shipped to Lincoln from New York, investigators said, and some may have been sold to college athletes in Nebraska. Documents show the investigation first centered around Lewis. In November, investigators tracked a package to him sent from New York. It contained anabolic steroids and human growth hormones. Documents also allege Thompson and Case delivered the drugs over a 15-month period. Case owns a nutritional supplement store in south Lincoln. Investigators do not believe he used the store to sell steroids. According to an arrest warrant, investigators detailed a recorded conversation in which Thompson attempted to influence a witness to lie to law enforcement about his involvement. State patrol investigators said they have not questioned any current athletes or administrators at any Lincoln-area colleges, but have talked with some former athletes. They said they're still trying to get a feel for how widespread the alleged distribution ring may have been. All three men remain in the Lancaster County Jail. Bond for Thompson and Case was set at $10,000 each. Lewis faces not only conspiracy charges, but two possession counts. A judge set his bond at $15,000. 3 charged in steroid distribution
By BUTCH MABIN
A Nebraska State Patrol investigator said three men who allegedly ran a local steroid distribution ring in Lincoln are suspected of selling the drug to college athletes, among others.
Sgt. Glenn Elwell declined to say Thursday whether the suspects' clients included University of Nebraska-Lincoln athletes. "They were (allegedly) distributing … fairly locally to athletes," Elwell said. "Some went to bodybuilders, some going to athletes on the college level."
Charged Thursday with felony conspiracy to distribute, deliver, dispense or possess with intent to distribute, deliver or dispense were Chad Case, 30; Levi D. Lewis, 24; and Kenneth Thompson, 23. All three live in the Lincoln area.
If convicted, the men could receive up to 20 years in prison and $25,000 fines each.
The Lancaster County attorney's office also charged Lewis with possession of a controlled substance and with possession of illicit drug money. Both charges are punishable by up to five years in prison and $10,000 fines.
Lewis already was facing a related drug charge. Prosecutors charged him last year with possession of a controlled substance with intent to deliver.
A suppression hearing on that charge was scheduled for today in Lancaster County District Court.
Lewis is a former Grand Island-area high school football player. Case was a member of the Nebraska Wesleyan University football team in the late 1990s.
Elwell said investigators believe the three men were part of a nationwide steroid and muscle-growth drug-distribution ring based in New York City.
He said the defendants were suspected of selling to "numerous" people in the Lincoln area, but he said there was no evidence yet that high school students purchased drugs from the men.
"It's still an ongoing investigation involving numerous people," he said. "Locally, we consider it quite significant."
A Lancaster County judge at the hearing Thursday entered not guilty pleas for the men, who were scheduled to appear in court again July 20.
Case and Thompson were released from Lancaster County Jail after posting $1,000 bonds. Lewis — who earlier posted bond on last year's charge — was released after posting a $500 bond.
Elwell said the defendants are suspected of distributing the drugs from July 2003 to November 2004.
He said the investigation began when U.S. Postal workers noticed a package mailed from New York addressed to one of the men — apparently Lewis — that fit the Postal Inspection Service's profile for contraband.
Investigators obtained a search warrant, opened the package and found anabolic steroids and human growth hormones, according to court records.
Investigators then tracked a number of packages received by Lewis and Thompson from New York or mailed by them to the city, according to court records.
In addition, according to the records, witnesses told investigators they received packages of steroids and muscle-growth drugs at their addresses at the request of Lewis and Thompson.
Other witnesses told investigators Case purchased the drugs from Lewis and Thompson while Case was an employee of a natural foods and supplements store, according to the documents.
The store is not named in the documents.
Nebraska State Patrol investigators arrested Lewis Nov. 18 in Lincoln.
At the time of his arrest, Lewis allegedly had steroids in his car and was in possession of $2,850 in cash, according to the records.
2 1 - 0 7 - 2 0 0 5 Network of steroid users, distributors revealed
By JOSH SWARTZLANDER Levi Lewis and Kenneth Thompson, both arrested on drug conspiracy charges last month, sat atop a network of steroid users and distributors in Lincoln, a Nebraska State Patrol investigator testified Wednesday at Lewis' preliminary hearing. Lewis and Thompson both used steroids — sent in packages from New York — and sold them to friends and buyers they met at bars and gyms, investigator Matt Brodecky said in court Wednesday. Some people who bought from Lewis and Thompson not only used the steroids but sold them to other users, Brodecky said. He based his testimony, in part, on interviews with people who bought the drugs from Lewis and Thompson or received mailed packages for them, he said. Investigators were helped in the case by Matthew Ochsner of Waverly, who had bought steroids from Thompson and who later recorded their conversations. Ochsner received two packages for Thompson, whom he knew from the military, and bought at least $1,700 in drugs from him, Brodecky said. Later, at the request of officers, Ochsner wore a wire during a conversation with Thompson, during which Thompson said he was worried authorities were closing in. Ochsner met Lewis at Gold's Gym through Thompson, he told authorities. Ochsner told the Journal Star earlier this month Husker football players "definitely" bought and used steroids from the ring. Lewis, who shared a dorm room with former Nebraska football player Sandro DeAngelis in 2001 and 2002, approached at least one Nebraska football player and offered to sell him steroids, Brodecky said. Former Husker Alex Shada declined to buy the drugs, Brodecky said. The former football player told authorities Lewis approached him after he injured his shoulder and told him the drugs would help him recover. DeAngelis told authorities he never used steroids but knew Lewis had them. Rick Fitzgerald, arrested more than a year ago for steroid possession, told authorities he got drugs from Lewis and sold them to others, Brodecky said. Chad Case, arrested last month at the same time as Lewis and Thompson, paid Fitzgerald $1,400 cash for steroids, Brodecky said. Case, who met Fitzgerald at a gym, then got Fitzgerald and Lewis jobs at a nutrition store, where he already worked. Fitzgerald also overheard conversations between Lewis and Thompson about receiving packages of steroids and sending payments for them to New York, Brodecky said. Thompson, Case and Lewis each face a charge of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance. Lewis is also charged with possession of a controlled substance and possession of illicit drug money. Thompson will appear in court Aug. 9. Lewis was bound to district court; his next hearing is Aug. 10. Case's preliminary hearing was continued Wednesday. His next appearance is Sept. 21. All three have pleaded not guilty and have been released on bond. 2 1 - 0 7 - 2 0 0 5 Steroid bust in works for months
By NATE JENKINS The alleged web of cross-country steroid traffic that includes Lincoln began unraveling last year in a New York post office, according to court documents. On Nov. 16 at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Station on Third Avenue, U.S. Postal Inspector Charles Schriver watched a man believed to be Vladimir Ribartchouk mail several packages, according to a search warrant issued late last year to Lincoln-area investigators. One was addressed to 24-year-old L. (Levi) Lewis, 5635 Elkcrest Drive in Lincoln. Lewis and two others — Chad Case, 30, and Kenneth Thompson, 23, both Lincoln — are facing felony drug charges stemming from the investigation officials describe as significant and ongoing. Although Ribartchouk was believed to have sent the package, the name on the return address was Jason Newman. Omaha-based Postal Inspector Paul Beekhuizen checked the listed address with his colleagues in New York. "Postal personnel told me the Bahamas Commonwealth Mission of the United Nations is located at this address and the names Jason Newman and Jason Muller are not known at this address," Beekhuizen said in an affidavit contained in the search warrant. The apparent attempt at deception emerges in court documents as a pattern sustained for about a year. The investigation revealed that from Feb. 25, 2004, until early November, 22 packages weighing between 1 and 3 pounds with return addresses containing the names Newman and Muller were sent to Lincoln and Waverly residences — most of them to Thompson. Postal inspectors were ready to pounce in November, partially because of information they gathered on Ribartchouk. On Nov. 5, the Omaha inspector learned the New York inspector intercepted a package containing steroids in 2003 addressed to Ribartchouk. And just four days after that, a Rhode Island postal inspector told Beekhuizen a bodybuilder arrested on charges related to steroids had received several packages from "Newman" and "Muller." The bodybuilder told the inspector the steroids actually came from Ribartchouk. That information helped set up the mid-November sting on Lewis. On Nov. 16, the New York inspector told Beekhuizen to watch for the package dropped in the mail by a man he believed to be Ribartchouk. Beekhuizen recovered the package a day later from the Omaha Air Mail Facility. After obtaining a search warrant, he found what is alleged to be steroids inside the package. The next day, law enforcement officials arrested Lewis after he picked up the package at a Lincoln post office. They later searched his car, finding more steroids and $2,850. Officers were led to Thompson and Case by mail labels issued in 2004, interviews with witnesses who allegedly received steroids at their addresses at the request of Thompson and Lewis, a recorded conversation and other evidence. Case and Lewis said their attorneys advised them not to speak about the matter. Thompson could not be reached. Ribartchouk has said no law enforcement officials have contacted him on the matter and that he was not aware of accusations he dealt steroids. Ribartchouk described himself as a chef. "I don't even exercise," he said. "Is this a joke?" he said after portions of the Nebraska search warrant were read to him. "Is this a practical joke?" Wednesday, State Patrol Investigator Matt Brodecky described Newman as an alias for Ribartchouk. 2 2 - 0 7 - 2 0 0 5 Investigator outlines steroid network
Sioux City Journal LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Steroids sent from New York were sold by two Lincoln men to friends and to people they met at bars and gyms, a state investigator said Wednesday as he testified about the network of users and distributors. Some customers of Levi D. Lewis, 24, and Kenneth Thompson, 23, also sold the steroids to other users, said State Patrol investigator Matt Brodecky at Lewis' preliminary hearing. Lewis has been charged with conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. Thompson and Chad Case, 30, also of Lincoln, face similar charges. Lewis also was charged with possession of a controlled substance. All three men have pleaded not guilty and have been released on bond. Attempts to reach Lewis and Thompson Thursday were unsuccessful. Case denied the accusations. "I feel secure in my innocence," he said, and referred further questions to his attorney.
A search warrant was obtained for the package and investigators
found anabolic steroids and human growth hormones, court records
said.
Brodecky said he had talked to people who bought steroids from Lewis
and Thompson or received packages for them.
One, he said, was Matthew Ochsner of Waverly, who knew Thompson from
their military service together.
Ochsner, at the request of investigators, later wore recording gear
during a conversation with Thompson, who said he was worried that
authorities were getting close.
Lewis shared a dorm room with former Nebraska football player Sandro
DeAngelis in 2001 and 2002, Brodecky said. DeAngelis said he didn't
use steroids but knew that Lewis was selling them.
DeAngelis said Lewis tried to sell them to at least one Nebraska
football player, Alex Shada.
Shada turned down the offer, Brodecky said.
DeAngelis is a kicker for the Calgary Stampeders of the Canadian
Football League. Attempts to reach him Thursday through the team's
offices were unsuccessful.
Attempts to reach Shada, who joined the Cornhuskers in 2000 after
graduating from high school in Wahoo and has since graduated, also
were unsuccessful.
Brodecky also testified about Rick Fitzgerald, who was arrested for
steroid possession. He also said he obtained steroids from Lewis and
sold them to others, Brodecky said.
Case, who was arrested last month, paid $1,400 to Fitzgerald for
steroids, Brodecky said.
Fitzgerald said he overheard Lewis and Thompson talk about sending
money to New York for packages of steroids, Brodecky said.
Court documents say 22 packages weighing up to 3 pounds were sent to
Lincoln and Waverly addresses -- most of them to Thompson.
Thompson is due in court Aug. 9. Lewis' next hearing is in district
court on Aug. 10. Case's preliminary hearing was delayed Wednesday.
His next court date is Sept. 21.
2 9 - 0 7 - 2 0 0 5 New York man arrested in suspected steroid ring
By BUTCH MABIN A New York man suspected of distributing steroids and growth hormones to alleged Lincoln dealers was arrested by federal authorities this week, Lancaster County Attorney Gary Lacey said Thursday. Drug Enforcement Administration agents arrested Vladimir Ribartchouk in New York City Wednesday on a warrant issued by Lacey's office, Lacey said. Lacey's office has indicated it would extradite Ribartchouk, 37, on charges of conspiring to distribute a controlled substance. Authorities said earlier New York suppliers distributed the drugs to suppliers in a number of cities, including Lincoln. The Nebraska State Patrol is spearheading the local investigation, which Lacey said was ongoing. Asked if more arrests were likely, Lacey said: "The Nebraska State Patrol has been working on this case very hard, following up every lead. I don't know if the (investigation) will take them to other cities (but) it probably will." Ribartchouk is suspected of mailing steroids and growth hormones to Levi Lewis and Kenny Thompson in Lincoln at least from February to November of 2004. Lewis, Thompson and Chad Case were charged in Lancaster County Court last month with conspiring to deliver, dispense and distribute the drugs in the Lincoln area. Patrol investigators said Lewis and Thompson ran a network of steriod users and distributors in Lincoln. Both allegedly used steroids and sold them to friends and buyers they met in gyms or at bars, investigators said. Patrol investigator Sgt. Glenn Elwell said last month the men are suspected of selling steroids to area college athletes, although he declined to specify schools. Elwell was out of his office Thursday and unavailable for comment. The U.S. Postal Inspector's office was also involved in the investigation. 1 0 - 0 8 - 2 0 0 5 Steroid case involves Huskers
Two current, 11 former players on witness list
AP LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) -- Two current University of Nebraska football players and 11 former players are among 132 potential witnesses named by prosecutors in a steroid trafficking case, court documents show.
The players' inclusion on the witness list does not mean they were part of the distribution ring or drug users. Deputy Lancaster County Attorney Bruce Prenda told the Omaha World-Herald on Tuesday that the list provides names that could be called during the felony trial, but not every person will be called. The current NU football players named are Grant Miller, a third-year fullback who has yet to play in a game, and Wali Muhammad, a senior defensive end who played in all 11 games last season. The former players are Sandro DeAngelis, Benard Thomas, Brian Nunns, Nick Povendo, Richie Incognito, Josh Brown, Alex Shada, Ross Pilkington, Ryon Bingham, Tim Green and Jack O'Holleran. Keith Mann, sports information director at Nebraska, said Wednesday that the current players would have no comment and the athletic department had no comment. Nunns, a former Nebraska offensive lineman, told the Lincoln Journal Star that he didn't know anything about serving as a potential witness against Levi Lewis, who faces charges of possession of a controlled substance, possession of illicit drug money and conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance on or between July 21, 2003, and Nov. 18, 2004. Nunns said the three men arrested in June for alleged involvement in a steroid ring -- Lewis, Chad Case and Kenneth Thompson, all of Lincoln -- had been "in and out" of his gym. Also on the witness list is Vladimir Ribartchouk, who is accused of sending the steroids from New York. Ribartchouk was arrested last month in New York and was booked into Lancaster County Jail on Tuesday on charges of conspiring to distribute a controlled substance. At Lewis' July preliminary hearing, State Patrol Investigator Matt Brodecky testified that Lewis tried to sell steroids to Shada, who declined to buy them. Brodecky has also testified that Sandro DeAngelis, who shared a dorm with Lewis in 2001 and 2002, knew Lewis had steroids. Lewis, 24, was scheduled to be arraigned Wednesday in Lancaster County District Court. Lewis and Thompson distributed steroids sent in packages from New York to friends and people they met at gyms and bars, Brodecky testified. Some of the people they sold to not only used the drugs but also sold them to others, Brodecky said. Investigators have said that "college-level athletes" may have received the steroids, but have declined to say whether any Nebraska players received the drugs. 3 0 - 0 8 - 2 0 0 5 Steroid ring suspect pleads not guilty
Lincoln Journal Star Kenneth Thompson, one of four men charged in connection with a steroid distribution ring, pleaded not guilty to a drug conspiracy charge Wednesday in Lancaster County District Court. Thompson, 23, Levi D. Lewis, 24, Chad Case, 30, and Vladimir Ribartchouk, 37, all face charges of conspiracy to distribute, deliver and dispense the drugs. Lewis faces additional drug charges. Lewis, Case and Thompson all live in the Lincoln area. Ribartchouk, who was arrested in New York City, is accused of mailing the drugs to Lincoln. 3 1 - 0 8 - 2 0 0 5 Steroids suspect in court today
By the Lincoln Journal Star A New York man who allegedly sent steroids to Lincoln for distribution was scheduled to appear in Lancaster County court Wednesday. Vladimir Ribartchouk, 37, allegedly mailed steroids to a local distribution ring that in turn sold the drug around Lincoln. Ribartchouk is lodged in Lancaster County Jail on a charge of conspiring to commit a Class III felony in connection with the alleged distribution ring. He was scheduled for a preliminary hearing today but is expected to waive the hearing. Investigators suspect Ribartchouk mailed steroids and growth hormones to Levi Lewis and Kenneth Thompson in Lincoln at least from February to November of 2004. The Lancaster County Attorney’s Office has already filed charges against Lewis, Thompson and Chad Case in the investigation. 0 2 - 0 9 - 2 0 0 5 Steroids suspect set for hearing
Friday Sept. 2, 2005 A New York man who allegedly sent steroids to Lincoln waived his preliminary hearing this week and was scheduled for an arraignment in the case. Vladimir Ribartchouk, 37, is charged with felony conspiracy to distribute a controlled substance. He waived his right to a preliminary hearing in Lancaster County Court Wednesday. He is scheduled for arraignment on the charge in Lancaster County District Court Sept. 14. 0 5 - 1 0 - 2 0 0 5 Man pleads no contest in steroid ring case
By the Lincoln Journal Star A Lincoln man has pleaded no contest to a conspiracy charge in a suspected steroid and growth hormone ring. Levi Lewis entered the plea to conspiracy with intent to deliver a controlled substance in Lancaster County District Court on Tuesday. Lewis, 24, faces up to five years in prison and a $10,000 fine when he is sentenced Nov. 17. Lewis is one of four men charged in connection with the ring. Kenneth Thompson, 23, also of Lincoln, pleaded not guilty in September. A third Lincoln man, Chad Case, 30, and Vladimir Ribartchouk, 37, of New York, also face charges of conspiracy to distribute, deliver and dispense the drugs in the Lincoln area. Ribartchouk was arrested in late July in New York after being accused of mailing the drugs to Lincoln. Investigators have said that “college-level athletes” may have received the steroids, but have declined to say whether any University of Nebraska players received the drugs. Former football player Sandro DeAngelis shared a dorm with Lewis in 2001 and 2002. In August it was learned that two current Nebraska football players and 11 former players were among 132 potential witnesses named by prosecutors in the case, according to court documents. 1 8 - 1 1 - 2 0 0 5 Lewis sentenced in steroid case
BY BUTCH MABIN A judge Thursday refused to give a Lincoln man probation in a steroids distribution case and instead sentenced him to 1 to 2 years in prison. Lancaster County District Judge John A. Colborn said Levi Lewis had committed a “very serious offense.
“I can not ignore the surrounding facts of this offense,” the judge said. The sentence elicited a dramatic response from Lewis, 24, who tearfully begged the judge to reconsider. “Please,” a weeping Lewis said. “Can I get work release? I’ve got a wife to take care.” Lewis, standing at the defense table, continued to implore Colborn as the judge left the courtroom through a door behind the bench. “Please, your honor,” he said, as his wife, parents and sister looked on from the gallery. “I promise. I just don’t want to get away from my wife.” Lewis’ attorney, Art Langvardt of Hastings, in an interview after the sentencing said he was stunned by the judge’s decision. Langvardt had asked Colborn to sentence Lewis to probation. “That’s a terrible shock,” a clearly angered Langvardt said. “He (Lewis) was a bodybuilder, that’s all ... That (Lewis’s offense) is pretty much mandatory probation in federal court.” Authorities arrested Lewis and two other men last year on charges they had conspired to distribute steroids in the Lincoln area. Investigators said the men’s customers may have included area college athletes, but no other arrests have been made. Lewis pled no contest last month to an reduced charge of attempting to distribute the drug, purchased from a New York dealer. Prosecutions are still pending against co-defendants Kenneth Thompson, 23, and Chad Case, 30. Vladimir Ribartchouk of New York City pled no contest last month to charges he sent the drugs to Lincoln. He is scheduled to be sentenced by Colborn Dec. 8. At the sentencing Thursday, Langvardt urged the judge to impose probation on his client. The attorney said Lewis only purchased the drugs for himself and a few friends. Also, he said, Lewis did not have a significant criminal history, was not addicted to drugs, was recently married and is gainfully employed. “I can’t imagine who would be a better candidate for probation,” Langvardt said. Colborn, in denying probation, said a lesser sentence would depreciate the seriousness of Lewis’s crime. A disgusted Langvardt, in comments after the hearing, blamed the news media in part for Lewis’ sentence. He said investigators hyped the possible involvement of Nebraska football players, and the news media went along. “I’m still waiting for all the football players that this case” is about, he said. “You (news media) played right into (prosecutors’) hands.” Court documents list two current and 11 former Nebraska football players as potential witnesses. Former Nebraska kicker Sandro DeAngelis shared a dorm with Lewis in 2001 and 2002. 0 4 - 0 2 - 2 0 0 6 Man in steroids case to pay fine
Lincoln Journal Star Chad W. Case, 30, of Lincoln was ordered Friday to pay a $500 fine for misdemeanor attempted possession of a controlled substance.
Case was linked to an alleged conspiracy to distribute steroids in the Lincoln area in 2004. He had been charged with a felony drug charge in the case, but agreed in a deal with prosecutors to plead to the amended charge. “I’m just truly sorry for the poor judgment I showed in 2004,” he told Lancaster County Judge Gale Pokorny on Friday. Levi Lewis was sentenced in Lancaster County District Court in November to one to two years in prison for his role in the conspiracy. A third man, Kenneth Thompson, is scheduled to appear in district court next week to possibly plead. Vladimir Ribartchouk of New York was sentenced in December to up to three years in prison for shipping the drugs to Lincoln. 0 2 - 0 3 - 2 0 0 6 No Huskers charged as steroid case ends
By BUTCH MABIN A Lancaster County jury this week convicted the last defendant in a steroids distribution ring, closing out a case that had raised questions about Nebraska athletes’ possible use of the drugs. The district court jury took just under two hours Tuesday to return a guilty verdict against Kenneth Thompson, 24, of Lincoln on a charge of felony conspiracy to distribute, deliver or dispense a controlled substance. The trial began Feb. 22. District Judge John Colborn scheduled Thompson for sentencing April 27. He could receive up to 20 years in prison. Authorities last year charged Thompson, Levi Lewis and Chad Case with conspiring to distribute the performance-enhancing drugs. Lewis, Case and Vladimir Ribartchouk, a New York man who supplied the steroids, have been sentenced. Lewis in 2002 was a roommate of a former Nebraska football player, and Case is a former Nebraska Wesleyan football player. Prosecutors never presented any evidence to the court that local college players got steroids from the men, however. “In a case where there are allegations of conspiracy, a number of names will come up,” said deputy Lancaster County Attorney Bruce Prenda, who prosecuted the Thompson case. “There was not sufficient evidence to charge (others) with a crime,” he said. “There was no indication that they (college athletes) were involved to the extent that criminal charges should be filed.” Thompson’s attorney, Brad Roth of Lincoln, said Wednesday a state’s witness testified at the trial he had only indirect knowledge Husker football players bought some of the steroids. Matthew Ochsner told reporters in July that Husker players “definitely” used the drugs. Ochsner, formerly of Waverly, was suspected of receiving packages containing steroids. Ochsner now lives in California, and he could not be reached for comment. “As I recall his testimony, he said he had just hearsay, just heard through the grapevine” that football players were involved, Roth said. Hastings attorney Art Langvardt, who represented Lewis, said he expected no links would be established between college athletes and the steroids ring. In preparing a defense for Lewis, Langvardt reviewed a number of Nebraska State Patrol investigatory reports. “There was nothing there,” he said. “The whole thing about Nebraska athletes, there was nothing there.” Colborn sentenced Lewis in November to one to two years in prison, a sentence Langvardt maintained stemmed from the publicity generated by the possible involvement of Husker players. Langvardt had sought probation for his client. “A big factor in all this was the publicity,” he said. “I’m still irritated by the sentence. I’m still irritated by the whole thing.” Case, in a deal with prosecutors, agreed to plead to a reduced misdemeanor drug charge in exchange for dismissal of the felony count. He was fined in Lancaster County Court last month. Colborn in December sentenced Vladimir Ribartchouk of New York to up to three years in prison for his role in the conspiracy. Prosecutors alleged Ribartchouk between July 2003 and November 2004 sold steroids to local contacts who in turn sold the drugs in the Lincoln area.
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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
