Submitted by admin on Sun, 2007-03-25 08:00. ::
A group of South Florida doctors and entrepreneurs provided much of the marketing muscle for a central dispensary in Orlando, according to court documents and interviews. At least some of the powerful drugs it formulated may have been manufactured in China, one source said.
Signature Pharmacy shipped prescriptions throughout the nation for the Internet businesses, based in Jupiter, Delray Beach, Boca Raton, Deerfield Beach, Cooper City, Davie, Miami and possibly more, investigators said.
An attorney for Signature denied the allegations, saying it is a brick-and-mortar compounding pharmacy that handles only legal drugs, catering primarily to Baby Boomers combating aging, women seeking custom blends for estrogen replacement, dialysis patients and children with dwarfism.
To cover themselves, the clinics insisted that their patients obtain blood work. The clinics sent in signed prescriptions bearing the names of legitimate physicians.
The Internet-based firms had names evoking luxury day spas: "Palm Beach Rejuvenation," "Palm Beach Life Extension," "Oasis Longevity and Rejuvenation" and "Infinity Rejuvenation." Their Web sites promised better workouts, more muscles, more energy and better sex.
So lucrative was the trade that, in 2006, Signature's estimated revenues hit $40 million, said Heather Orth, a spokeswoman for Albany County District Attorney P. David Soares.
A New York engineer said he had been an avid body builder since his college days. Even after he developed diabetes, he kept juicing. He needed it to maintain a healthy lifestyle and libido, he said.
A sergeant with the New York State Department of Corrections took HGH, testosterone and Clomid after speaking with Dr. Gary Brandwein, an osteopathic physician who lives in Boca Raton. The two never met, he told police. Brandwein, charged with six counts of the criminal sale of a controlled substance, has pleaded not guilty.
And there was Ronnie Coleman, eight-time "Mr. Olympia" body-building champion. He had taken anabolic steroids for a decade, he admitted to investigators. The drugs found at his Arlington, Texas, home were dispensed by Signature Pharmacy, according to court records.
A New York doctor who had lost her license, Anna Marie Santi, made $7,500 a week for signing prescriptions at $25 a pop, Orth said. She lost her license, then allegedly forged another doctor's name 300 times a week. On Tuesday, Santi became the first person to plead guilty - to one count.
With bogus credentials supplied by the Florida Department of Health, New York narcotics investigator Mark Haskins said in court documents that he negotiated pay of $50 per prescription from Oasis Rejuvenation of Boca Raton and Delray Beach.
Oasis was launched with the help of a retired Fort Lauderdale surgeon, Dr. James Raffa. Raffa, who has not been charged, said he was running a pain clinic in Fort Lauderdale when Oasis' owners sought him out, with a proposal.
Prosecutors believe that he did write prescriptions for out-of-state customers, sight unseen. Asked whether he had examined a California patient involved in the case, Raffa hung up.
Lawyers for some of those involved believed they stayed on the right side of the law by following that advice: asking customers to see physicians and have blood work done where they lived.
Dr. Robert Carlson, a Sarasota heart surgeon who wrote prescriptions for Jupiter-based Palm Beach Rejuvenation, did so because he received bad advice from a New York attorney Rick Collins, argued Carlson's defense attorney, Charles R. Holloman.
If they insist, he says, "treat your loved ones at home with respect," so that police on a domestic abuse call don't find drug gear.
Carlson has pleaded not guilty to seven counts of criminal sale and diversion of controlled substances. He became involved with Palm Beach Rejuvenation at the request of Joseph L. Raich, Carlson's brother in law, Holloman said. Raich, who has not been charged, is a vice president and director of Palm Beach Rejuvenation according to state records. He's been a longtime booster of Jupiter Christian wrestling. High school wrestling coach Robin Ruh's son, Chris, 28, had been an employee of Palm Beach Rejuvenation. A Florida High School Athletic Association spokesperson said they're now looking into the question of steroids at the school.
Like Carlson, two others have been charged in connection with the operation of Palm Beach Rejuvenation: Glenn and George Stefanos. They have pleaded not guilty to charges of criminal sale and diversion of controlled substances.
Also pleading not guilty are the president and vice president of Oasis in Delray Beach and Boca Raton, Elaine Sorrells, 37, of Boynton Beach, and Courtney Sorrells-Loceff, 30, of Port St. Lucie. They were charged with five counts of attempted criminal sale and diversion of a prescription for a controlled substance and conspiracy.
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