On Wednesday, federal authorities said that ten people have been charged with operating the $10 million steroid ring allegedly overseen by a Miami man who co-owns a popular bodybuilding gym called Iron Addicts.
The prosecutors in Brooklyn, New York, announced steroid distribution and money laundering charges against the 37 years old Richard Rodriguez of Miami and nine others, seven of them live in the South Florida and have been arrested. Two were arrested in the Phoenix, Arizona, and one suspect remained at large.
The court records show Rodriguez runs a company called Wellness Fitness Nutrition LLC and the Iron Addicts Gym at the same Miami location, which was raided on early Wednesday by the Drug Enforcement Administration agents and U.S. Marshals. The case is being investigated chiefly by a DEA task force based out of its office in the Newark, New Jersey.
Charles Kotowski, DEA chief in the Newark, said in a statement that, the results of this investigation send a clear message to the public, it does not matter if you are peddling heroin, cocaine or steroids. If you break the law, we will dedicate all the necessary resources to put an end to this type of distribution.
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Authorities also said that, the company obtained steroid raw materials from China and had them sent to the lab in Phoenix called Desert Formulations. There, steroid pills and liquid were manufactured, then sent to Miami and shipped from there to various customers in the U.S. and foreign countries, according to the DEA affidavit.
The affidavit says that the company records show WFN made at least $10 million over a two-year period through the steroid sales. It added that the investigation included purchases of more than $30,000 in illicit steroids by the undercover U.S. agents and involved a confidential informant who formerly worked at the company.
According to the DEA, the other evidence includes recordings from telephone wiretaps and steroid materials retrieved from trash bins outside the Arizona lab.
Court records in the Miami did not immediately list an attorney for Rodriguez, who was arrested on early Wednesday and was scheduled later that day to have an initial court appearance. Eventually, he and the other Miami and Arizona suspects would go to Brooklyn for trial or for other court proceedings.
A Marshals "no trespassing" sign was posted on Wednesday on the gym's front door. It has long been known for attracting bodybuilders from all around the world.
Mrudula Duddempudi.
