Doctor indicted on giving steroids to NFL players
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2168627
Doctor indicted on giving steroids to NFL players
Associated Press
COLUMBIA, S.C. -- A doctor who was accused in a television report of writing illegal steroid prescriptions for three former Carolina Panthers players has been indicted on federal charges.
James M. Shortt was charged with 29 counts of distributing steroids and human growth hormones as well as a conspiracy charge, U.S. Attorney Johnny Gasser said Wednesday. The indictment did not specify who received the drugs.
But a person familiar with the indictment said they were current and former members of the Carolina Panthers, bodybuilders and at least one police officer. The source spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity because the investigation is ongoing, and did not name players.
A CBS News report in March identified center Jeff Mitchell, tackle Todd Steussie and punter Todd Sauerbrun as having filled steroid prescriptions written by Shortt. Several other former Panthers have also been named as Shortt's patients in subsequent media reports.
The NFL is nearing the conclusion of an investigation it began after that report, NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue said late last month. The players involved probably won't be suspended, he said.
Of the players identified in the initial CBS report, only Mitchell, the Panthers' starting center, remains with the team. Steussie is with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Sauerbrun was traded to the Denver Broncos.
Shortt's attorney Ward Bradley said he had not seen the indictment but would defend his client.
"I had a feeling an indictment was coming," said Bradley, who wouldn't comment on the specifics within the indictment.
Shortt, 58, also faces a state investigation in the death of a woman given intravenous hydrogen peroxide to treat her multiple sclerosis.
The indictment said the conspiracy began in 1998 and the prescriptions, which included testosterone, nandrolone and stanozolol, occurred from February 2001 to June 2004.
"Shortt knowingly and intentionally did conspire with others ... to knowingly, intentionally, and unlawfully possess with intent to distribute and dispense" the illegal steroids, according to the indictment.
The South Carolina Board of Medical Examiners suspended Shortt's medical license in April. According to the board's suspension order, Shortt prescribed the steroid testosterone to four unnamed male patients "in doses and frequencies that were extremely unlikely to have been prescribed with any legitimate medical justification."
