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Man accused of selling steroids
Authorities say that high school students in Pequannock Township purchased
the drugs
Saturday, March 19, 2005
BY LAWRENCE RAGONESE AND BILL SWAYZE
The Star-Ledger
www.nj.com
Police arrested a Pequannock man who allegedly sold anabolic steroids to
local high school students in the township, authorities said yesterday.
Eric Makatics, 21, was arrested March 1 after a two-year probe with help
from the U.S. Postal Service, police Lt. Daniel Dooley said. Makatics was
charged with possession of steroids with intent to distribute and
possession of prescription drugs, hypodermic needles and other drug
paraphernalia, police said.
An unknown number of teens provided Makatics -- who does not have a
driver's license -- rides to pick up packages of steroids shipped through
the mail. Their reward was cash, prescription drugs and steroids, Dooley
said.
Students and parents are being questioned and additional charges against
Makatics and others are possible, police said.
"We know he was selling to juveniles in Pequannock Township, high school
students," said Dooley, who did not know if steroids were sold on high
school grounds or provided to high school athletes.
Makatics pleaded not guilty in municipal court on March 1, police said.
Bail was set at $10,000 and the matter referred to the Morris County
Prosecutor's Office.
Also arrested were Vincent Pignatiello, 19, of Pequannock, on steroid
possession charges, and a male Pequannock High School student charged with
conspiracy and steroid possession, police said.
Neither Makatics nor Pignatiello, both Pequannock High School graduates,
could be reached for comment. The student, whose name was withheld by
authorities because he is a juvenile, was released to his family.
Police said they alerted school officials to the situation. But Pequannock
School Superintendent Jacqueline Cusack and high school Principal Richard
Garibell said last night they knew nothing about the case.
Makatics ordered steroids through the Internet, according to police.
Packages were mailed to a post office box in Pequannock until he became
suspicious and last year moved the deliveries to the Cedar Grove Post
Office, Dooley said.
He dropped off the police radar screen until two months ago, when his name
showed up in records seized in a Boston drug bust, authorities said. The
U.S. Postal Inspection Service identified Makatics' Cedar Grove operation,
authorities said.
On March 1, with assistance from postal inspectors and Lincoln Park
police, Makatics was caught in the act, Dooley said. He was arrested in
possession of a parcel that contained 100 vials of steroids, according to
police.
A subsequent court-approved search of his Pompton Plains home yielded
steroids, prescription drugs, paraphernalia and drug lists. Police also
seized the suspect's personal computer, Dooley said.
Police were contacted last year by two parents who said their children had
been approached by Makatic's juvenile accomplice about buying steroids,
Dooley said. Also last year, a local high school student was arrested for
steroid possession, he said.
He said police are following up leads and reaching out to parents but have
found them reluctant to cooperate for fear of implicating their children.
Pequannock High School football coach Ted Loeffler said he became more
vigilant about steroids last year after rumors surfaced that they were
being distributed to local teens. In the past two years, when concerns
were raised, two athletes were tested and the results were negative.
"In every high school, steroid use is a concern, especially with what's
going on in professional sports," said Loeffler. "It's something I have
been concerned with and talk to the kids about."
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Pequannock man charged with new counts in steroids case
Friday, March 25, 2005
BY BILL SWAYZE
The
Star-Ledger
A Pequannock Township man accused of recruiting a Pequannock High School
teenager to help him sell anabolic steroids also was charged yesterday
with enlisting two other high school teens for his illicit business,
police said.
Eric Makatics, 21, faces two additional counts of employing a juvenile in
a drug distribution network, and was charged with criminal attempt to
possess anabolic steroids with intent to distribute the drugs and
distributing drug paraphernalia to minors, authorities said.
Investigators also seized another package sent to the Cedar Grove Post
Office box that Makatics allegedly used to receive steroids and
prescription drugs, police said, noting the new package had a street value
of about $3,000.
The two male teenagers, ages 16 and 17, drove Makatics, who does not have
a driver's license, to pick up packages of steroids and prescription drugs
shipped through the mail, according to authorities. They were rewarded
with cash, prescription drugs and steroids, said Pequannock police
Detective Sgt. Mike Fairweather.
The teens are cooperating with authorities and have not been charged, said
Lt. Dan Dooley. The case remains under investigation.
Makatics allegedly sold the steroids and prescription painkillers to
several adults and local juveniles at his parents' home in the township's
Pompton Plains section, according to authorities. Police also are
investigating whether high school athletes are using the drugs,
Fairweather said.
Makatics turned himself in to police yesterday and was released in lieu of
$10,000 bail, authorities said. He could not be reached for comment.
After a two-year probe involving the U.S. Postal Service, authorities last
week announced Makatics was charged with employing a juvenile in a drug
distribution network, possession of steroids with intent to distribute and
possession of prescription drugs, hypodermic needles and other drug
paraphernalia, police said.
Also charged were former Pequannock football player Vincent Pignatiello,
19, and a male juvenile.
Makatics has pleaded not guilty to the charges, police said. The matter
was referred to the Morris County Prosecutor's Office.
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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
