Canadian doctor Anthony Galea pleads guilty to smuggling HGH
By Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY
Anthony Galea's patient list includes 2011 All-Stars Alex Rodriguez, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran, as well as non-baseball luminaries like Tiger Woods, swimmer Dara Torres, sprinter Donovan Bailey and a number of NFL players.
Federal authorities may learn of many more prominent athletes who came under his care now that the Canadian doctor has pleaded guilty in federal court in Buffalo, N.Y., to bringing unapproved drugs into the United States, including human growth hormone.
As part of his plea deal, Galea agreed to cooperate with investigators and reveal the identities and treatments of his patients, the Associated Press reports.
Pro athletes linked to Galea have repeatedly maintained he did not give them any performance-enhancing drugs, even though he's an outspoken advocate of HGH and has said he takes it himself.
Galea is also known for treating athletes with platelet-rich plasma, an approved procedure that involves injecting the patient's own blood into an injury after spinning it in a centrifuge to separate the healing agents.
Galea was indicted by a grand jury in October on charges that he smuggled HGH and other substances into the U.S. and lied about it to border agents. He was accused of treating 20 pro athletes without a U.S. license between October 2007 and September 2009.
Galea, who is also facing charges in Canada, may get a sentence of 12-18 months in jail.
See photos of: Tiger Woods, Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes
By Jorge L. Ortiz, USA TODAY
Anthony Galea's patient list includes 2011 All-Stars Alex Rodriguez, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran, as well as non-baseball luminaries like Tiger Woods, swimmer Dara Torres, sprinter Donovan Bailey and a number of NFL players.
Federal authorities may learn of many more prominent athletes who came under his care now that the Canadian doctor has pleaded guilty in federal court in Buffalo, N.Y., to bringing unapproved drugs into the United States, including human growth hormone.
As part of his plea deal, Galea agreed to cooperate with investigators and reveal the identities and treatments of his patients, the Associated Press reports.
Pro athletes linked to Galea have repeatedly maintained he did not give them any performance-enhancing drugs, even though he's an outspoken advocate of HGH and has said he takes it himself.
Galea is also known for treating athletes with platelet-rich plasma, an approved procedure that involves injecting the patient's own blood into an injury after spinning it in a centrifuge to separate the healing agents.
Galea was indicted by a grand jury in October on charges that he smuggled HGH and other substances into the U.S. and lied about it to border agents. He was accused of treating 20 pro athletes without a U.S. license between October 2007 and September 2009.
Galea, who is also facing charges in Canada, may get a sentence of 12-18 months in jail.
See photos of: Tiger Woods, Alex Rodriguez, Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes
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