The owners of the MedXLife anti-aging website were the lucky recipients of a get-out-of-jail-free card from Albany County Judge Stephen W. Herrick. In 2007, Greg Trotta and Brian Schafler had pleaded guilty to felony third-degree diversion of prescription medications and prescriptions, primarily involving anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (hGH). Fast forward five years to 2012 and they still had not been sentenced.
Judge Herrick dismissed the cases after Schafler’s attorney filed a motion for dismissal. Defense attorney Michael Katzer argued that the delayed sentencing was due to prosecutorial incompetence. Judge Herrick agreed and threw out their convictions.
Trotta and Schafler were expected to receive probation after making a plea agreement with prosecutors. They promised to cooperate with prosecutor’s in the case against the owners of Signature Compounding Pharmacy. However, sentencing was delayed until the conclusion of their cooperation. Judge Herrick suggested that the pair should have already been sentenced with their cooperation included as a condition of probation instead.
MedXLife.com was one of Signature Pharmacy’s largest clients. The anti-aging clinic was responsible for millions of dollars worth of steroid orders sent to Signature. In fact, MedXLife was Signature’s second largest source of customers. As such, the owners were expected to provide strong evidence against Signature.
Judge Herrick has not been a fan of Albany District Attorney David Soares steroid witch-hunt. In 2007, Herrick dismissed Soares’ lawsuit against Signature. When the District Attorney’s Office reinstated the lawsuit in 2010, Herrick dismissed the case a second time.
Soares’ pursuit of steroid pharmacies in Florida has turned out to be an unqualified disaster. He is currently running for re-election against opponent Lee Kindlon. Kindlon has been highly critical of Soare’s obsession with steroid prosecutions arising out of Florida. It appears unlikely that the witch-hunt would continue if he replaces Soares.
Source:
Lyons, B. (August 31, 2012).Steroids case convictions tossed. Retrieved from http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Steroids-case-convictions-tossed-3831084.php
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