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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
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2 9 - 0 7 - 2 0 0 6 Man Charged in Steroid Sales to Officers
By Jamie Stockwell A former Petersburg, Va., police officer has been charged with selling illegal steroids to several fellow officers for two years while on the force, officials said yesterday. According to a criminal complaint filed yesterday in U.S. District Court in Richmond, Calvin Felder, 35, manufactured the drug and sold it to six of his colleagues, three of whom have left the Petersburg Police Department. Felder surrendered to federal authorities and was later released on his own recognizance. Felder, a Richmond resident who left the Petersburg department in 2003, was charged with the intentional manufacture and distribution of anabolic steroids, said First Assistant U.S. Attorney Kenneth E. Melson. He said a grand jury soon will hear evidence in the case and decide how many counts Felder should face, each punishable by up to five years in prison. Felder's Richmond-based attorney, Todd Stone, said his client has "denied what they've accused him of" since the investigation was launched last year. "He's maintained his innocence," Stone said. "There's going to be a different story when it all comes out in court." According to the complaint, Felder sold various forms of the drug to his co-workers, who at the time were in their late twenties and early thirties.
Using steroids and conversion kits he ordered through the Internet, Felder created an injectable form of the substance that he sold for about $200 for a six-week supply, the complaint said.
The drug -- identified in the complaint as Finaplex and described as much stronger than another steroid he was accused of selling to the officers -- was created for cattle in pellet form. Felder told the officers that he would crush the pellet into a powder and mix it with an oil-based additive, transforming it into a liquid that could be injected, according to the complaint. Melson said the investigation came about after another Petersburg officer, Michael Tweedy, was sentenced to nine years in prison for beating a city resident. During his sentencing, Tweedy said in open court that his attack on the resident occurred in part because of his use of steroids while employed as an officer in Petersburg, about 25 miles south of Richmond.
Like the other officers, identified only as sources in the complaint, Tweedy experienced increased aggression and physical strength after taking the steroids. According to the complaint, the officers quickly underwent major transformations: Their bodies bulked up; they were able to lift more and work out for longer periods. But they also experienced shortness in temper, aggressiveness, heart palpitations, difficulty sleeping, erectile dysfunction and blood in their urine. "An important point to make is that police officers are confronted with a lot of dangers on the streets. There are a lot of violent people out there, and it often places them in situations where they have to face those who might be stronger or bigger than they are," said Don Thompson, special agent in charge of the FBI's Richmond office. "A lot of officers are looking for an edge, a way to enhance their performance and protect themselves." But steroids are not the answer, he said. "It is against the law, it is unhealthy and it promotes unsavory behavior," Thompson said. |
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