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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
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2 7 - 1 0 - 2 0 0 6 Six charged with selling drugs illegally on Web
Multimillion dollar PMeds.com was operating out of Tinley Park
By Kim Janssen A multimillion-dollar business operating out of a Tinley Park house illegally sold anabolic steroids and other prescription drugs over the Internet, federal authorities charged Thursday. Operation Cyber-Roid, billed by prosecutors as a major blow against the growing online "virtual medicine cabinet," led to two Tinley Park men and four others being charged in connection with a Web site called PMeds.com. Larry Calow, 44, and Randy Soderlund, 41, are each charged with conspiracy to distribute controlled substances. Drugs sold by the business included familiar brand names such as Xanax and Valium as well as Clenbuterol, a steroid misused by body builders and only legal in the United States for treating horses, authorities said. Calow; his twin brother, Gary Calow, of Metepec, Mexico; and Ricky Boros, who's also known as Vince Kwiatkowski, 67, of Oak Brook, set up the company in January 2003 and smuggled the drugs into the U.S. from Mexico, according to the charges. Their smuggling ruses allegedly included stuffing drugs in women's shoes and electronics equipment. Sergio Oliveira, 46, of Hoschton, Ga., supplied steroids and drugs from his business in Belize, the government alleges. [Is dat deze meneer Oliveira? - red.] Soderlund and Calow's daughter, Beth Calow, 20, of Hobart, Ind., processed an average of 50 Internet and 800-number telephone orders a day from across the U.S. at the company's headquarters in the 17200 block of Oriole Avenue in Tinley Park, prosecutors said. They said other customers came to the house direct from a nearby gym to purchase steroids. The drugs were stashed in closets, refrigerators and cabinets throughout the house, and were sent in plain packages with no markings or advice on how they should be taken, the government says. An angry Massachusetts man sparked the federal inquiry in 2005 when he contacted government agencies to complain that his son had used his credit card without permission to purchase drugs from PMeds.com, according to the government. Federal agents later developed an informant who worked at the Tinley Park home for six months in 2003 and who assisted the investigation, prosecutors said. Intercepted e-mails and trash removed from outside the house showed Larry Calow discussing and making orders for hundreds of thousands of doses of drugs, according to the charges. Bank accounts linked to the Tinley Park address recorded deposits of at least $198,000, with Boros writing in a Jan. 4, 2004 e-mail to the Calow brothers, "Congratulations to us all -- we have passed the $MILLION Mark on sales!!!! This is great!" In another e-mail, Calow wrote on Apr. 29, 2003 to Boros that "PMeds.com is doing great with illegal drugs, that scares me." And a courier stopped at the Mexican border in August 2005 had 11,000 doses of anabolic steroids intended for PMeds and other prescription drugs, including Ritalin, prosecutors said. Soderlund, Beth Calow and Boros appeared briefly in federal court in Chicago on Thursday. Beth Calow wiped away tears as she waited for her case to be heard. Her attorney asked her to speak up as U.S. Magistrate Nan Nolan allowed her, Soderlund and Boros to be released without having to post a cash bond. Noting that Beth Calow had a drug problem, Nolan told her not to smoke marijuana and ordered her to accept whatever counseling court-appointed social workers suggested. Boros, bearded and wheelchair-bound, smiled at the judge and laughed with his attorney during the hearing. Soderlund stood silently and looked at the floor. Larry Calow was too sick to attend and will appear today, his attorney said. All are due to appear in court on Nov. 15. The Web site had been taken down as of Thursday afternoon. |
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