Editor of Rx Muscle magazine enters guilty plea

San Diego Business Journal, Oct 18, 2004 by Marion Webb

Editor Of Rx Muscle Magazine Enters Guilty Plea: U.S. Attorney Carol C. Lam said on Oct. 5 that David Palumbo, bodybuilder and editor in chief of Rx Muscle magazine, pleaded guilty in federal court in San Diego to charges of unlawful distribution of a human growth hormone.

Palumbo admitted to obtaining counterfeit Serostim, a prescription drug that has an active ingredient, "somatropin," that is a form of a human growth hormone, from a man named Bill Young in San Diego, according to Lam.

Palumbo admitted to selling 90 boxes of counterfeit Serostim between June and September 2002 for about $63,000 to individuals who couldn't provide a valid prescription.

Serostim is approved by the Food and Drug Administration to treat wasting syndrome, an AIDS-related illness defined as a loss of more than 10 percent of body weight, along with more than 30 days of either diarrhea or weakness and fever.

Contact Marion Webb at mwebb@sdbj.com or call her at (858) 277-6359, Ext. 3108.