05.11.07
-
Dial 911 for 'roids - Bust L.I. ER Boss as Drug
Supplier to Top-Jock Gym
The director of a Long Island emergency room surrendered to
police yesterday on charges that he supplied steroids to friends
- making him the latest potential casualty in the ongoing
Albany steroids investigation.
Dr. Oreste Joseph Bruni, 51, director of the emergency
department at New Island Hospital in Bethpage, L.I., allegedly
ordered steroids for the owners of Bev's Fitness in Syosset,
L.I.
The walls of the gym rat's paradise are covered with photos
of the gym's famous clients.
But no one at the gym - which touts itself as a favorite
workout spot for professional athletes, including NFL stars
Keyshawn Johnson, Jumbo Elliott and Joe Klecko - has been
named as a target of the probe.
Bruni, who refused to speak to the Daily News after he
was released on his own recognizance, allegedly ordered
steroids for gym co-owner Steve Weinberger, the husband
of women's bobybuilding legend Bev Francis.
Bruni pleaded not guilty to felony diversion of a prescription
drug in Nassau County District Court. His attorney Nancy
Bartling called the charges "ridiculous" and said
she expected them to be dismissed."
Weinberger and Francis could not be reached for comment.
The ongoing probe, which originated with the Department
of Health and the Albany District Attorney's office, has
led to 21 indictments and seven guilty pleas related to
an alleged Internet steroid scheme in which doctors wrote
prescriptions for patients they had never examined.
Customers seeking steroids were able to access the Web
sites of "anti-aging" centers, which would then
pay the doctors to write prescriptions for the drugs, including
human growth hormone and hardcore steroids.
Pharmacies all over the country that allegedly were part
of the conspiracy would then fill those prescriptions.
Bruni has not been accused of participating in the scam,
but according to records he ordered the steroids for Weinberger
and Francis from Applied Pharmacy in Mobile, Ala., one of
several pharmacies being probed. DEA agents served a search
warrant on Applied last year.
The Nassau district attorney's office is prosecuting Bruni.
But the Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement agents who sought
charges - Mark Haskins and Rick Boettcher - are the same
investigators who led raids on several Florida pharmacies
and "anti-aging" clinics in February.
Professional baseball players Gary Matthews Jr., John Rocker,
Jose Canseco and former heavyweight boxing champion Evander
Holyfield were among the athletes who allegedly received
drugs in the scam.
The investigators also seized about $200,000 in steroids
and human growth hormone from a Brooklyn pharmacy Wednesday.
Photos on the Web site of Bev's Fitness show Weinberger
and Francis with many famous athletes, including several
who have connections to the BALCO steroid investigation.
Bodybuilding champions Lee Haney and Ronnie Coleman were
both BALCO clients, although neither was accused of receiving
steroids from the San Francisco lab.
Another photo shows Weinberger and Francis with bodybuilder
and fitness guru Milos Sarcev, who was part of the BALCO
braintrust that developed a plan to make sprinter Tim Montgomery
the fastest man in the world.
- Teri Thompson and T.J. Quinn: New
York Daily News Staff Writer
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