BUFFALO, N.Y. | A Canadian doctor who has treated Tiger Woods, Alex Rodriguez and other high-profile athletes was charged Tuesday with smuggling, unlawful distribution of human growth hormone and conspiring to lie to federal agents.
Dr. Anthony Galea of Toronto was named in a federal criminal complaint after an eight-month investigation by the FBI, Immigration and Customs Enforcement and the Food and Drug Administration.
A former doctor for the Canadian Football League’s Toronto Argonauts, Dr. Galea is known for using a blood-spinning technique, called platelet-rich plasma therapy, designed to speed recovery from injuries.
But he is not authorized to work in the United States, U.S. Attorney William Hochul said, and is accused of repeatedly entering the country from 2007 to 2009 to treat professional athletes from Major League Baseball, the National Football League and the Professional Golfers’ Association.
During that time, he billed three football players about $200,000, Mr. Hochul said.
The criminal complaint also accuses Dr. Galea of introducing the unapproved drug Actovegin, a derivative of calf’s blood used to speed healing, into interstate commerce and conspiracy to defraud the U.S.
“Today’s complaint reveals that those responsible for the flow of illegal drugs into our country can come from all walks of life,” Mr. Hochul said.
No athletes are identified by name in the government’s criminal complaint or supporting affidavit, which describes Dr. Galea, 50, traveling to various U.S. cities to meet with athletes in hotel rooms and their homes.
The affidavit refers to three unidentified NFL players as witnesses, including one who allegedly received human growth hormone (HGH) from Dr. Galea after his playing days were over. The two other players said that while they were treated by the doctor, they carefully avoided receiving HGH or other performance-enhancing substances banned by the league.
Besides the blood-spinning treatments, Dr. Galea administered ultrasounds, intravenous drips and “injections of drug mixtures into the sites of muscle tears,” said the ICE agent’s affidavit, basing the accusation on a witness statement.
“Dr. Galea would at times inject a cocktail containing HGH into an athlete,” the affidavit said.
Dr. Galea became the focus of authorities’ attention in September when his assistant, Mary Anne Catalano, was stopped at the border in Buffalo with a small quantity of HGH and vials of “foreign homeopathic drugs.”
The doctor was arrested in Canada on Oct. 15 after a search warrant was executed at the Institute of Sports Medicine Health and Wellness Center in Toronto and charged with selling Actovegin, conspiracy to import an unapproved drug, conspiracy to export a drug and smuggling goods into Canada.
Calls to Dr. Galea’s Buffalo attorney, Mark Mahoney, and attorney Brian Greenspan in Canada were not returned.
If convicted of the U.S. smuggling charge, Dr. Galea could face up to 20 years in prison. The other charges carry maximum sentences of three and five years.
Mr. Woods has said Dr. Galea treated him, while the doctor has said he prescribed anti-inflammatories to Mr. Rodriguez as the Yankee slugger recovered from hip surgery last year. Both superstar athletes deny receiving performance-enhancing drugs from Dr. Galea.
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