Fifteen people, including a Philadelphia Police detective and two officers, have been indicted on federal charges of running an illegal steroid-distribution ring, authorities announced today.
The detective, Keith Gidelson, is accused of receiving monthly shipments of anabolic steroids and human growth hormones from suppliers in California, according to the indictment. Gidelson and his wife, Kirsten, then sold the drugs to others, the indictment states, including people he met in online weightlifting-themed chat rooms, as well as the owner of a vitamin shop. The indictment also alleges that Gidelson sometimes ordered steroids directly from foreign suppliers, and shipped them to customers in other states.
Police officers Joseph McIntyre and George Sambuca are also charged in the indictment.
"Police officers swear an oath to uphold the law," U.S. Attorney Zane David Memeger said in a statement. "When an officer breaks the law, no matter the infraction, he not only violates his oath, he violates the public's trust. In this case, a person who holds the public's trust is alleged to have placed these very harmful substances in the very same hands he was entrusted to protect."
Contact Allison Steele at 215-854-2641 or [email protected]
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