Physician convicted in steroid distribution - George T. Zahorian, III

FDA Consumer, Nov, 1991 by Dori Stehlin

In the first conviction of a physician for steroid trafficking under the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988, a federal jury recently found a Harrisburg, Pa., urologist guilty of 11 felony counts of illegally distributing ananbolic steroids and controlled substances.

Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of testosterone, a male sex hormone. They are approved for limited use in treating some debilitating diseases. Steroids are being misused, however, by athletes and body builders who hope to develop stronger, more muscular bodies. The Anti-Drug Abuse Act prohibits distributing anabolic steroids for any use other than the treatment of a disease in accordance with a physician's orders.

Last June, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania, a jury convicted George T. Zahorian III of four counts of distributing anabolic steroids to a weight-lifting coach who was working as an undercover government informant, three counts of distributing large quantities of Schedule III and IV controlled substances (drugs of abuse subject to FDA and Drug Enforcement Administration regulations) to the same informant, and four counts of distributing anabolic steroids to four professional wrestlers.

The jury also found Zahorian's multimillion-dollar office-condominium subject to forfeiture to the United States. The terms of the forfeiture are pending further judicial review.

Zahorian faces a maximum of 44 years in prison and a $3 million fine. He is appealing the anabolic steroid conviction on the grounds that the Anti-Drug Abuse Act interferes with his ability to practice medicine as he sees fit.

Law enforcement officials first learned of Zahorian's activities form a weight-lifting coach in Virginia. Virginia state police had arrested the coach in August 1987 for falsifying codeine prescription, and, as part of an informal arrangement with Virginia authorities, he agreed to work as an undercover informant for the Dauphin County (Pa.) Drug Task Force. (Zahorian's medical office is located in Dauphin County.)

Four times between October 1989 and March 1990 the informant purchased thousands of dollars worth of anabolic steroids and controlled substances, including Valium and Tylenol with Codeine, from Zahorian.

After the final buy, on March 27, 1990, which took place at Zahorian's office, Dennis Degan, FDA's national drug diversion coordinator, and investigators from the FBI. Dauphin County Drug Task Force, and Postal Inspection Service entered the doctor's office, armed with a federal search warrant. They seized additional quantities of anabolic steroids and controlled substances, as well as records and other documents relating to the doctor's distribution of drugs.

Included among the seized records were Federal Express receipts indicating that Zahorian had sold steroids and controlled substances on several occasions between November 1988 and March 1990 to professional wrestlers, including Roderick Toombs, who goes by the stage name of Rowdy Roddy Piper, and Richard Vigneault, also known as Rick Martel.

To further develop evidence against Zahorian, FDA investigators Karles Jones of FDA's Wilmington resident post and Michael Rashti of the agency's Philadelphia district office spent eight days combing the doctor's patient files for steriod prescriptions.

They turned over their findings to Dave Kaszubski, FDA's assistant national drug diversion coordinator. Kaszubski tallied up the results of Jones' and Rashti's search and compared those numbers to shipping records that had been subpoenaed from drug wholesalers Moore Medical Corp., New Britain, Conn., and Shery-Wolins Co., Long Island, N.Y. He found that although Zahorian had purchased 49,700 tablets and 8,800 intravenous doses during the two years covered in the indictment, he wrote prescriptions that added up to only 700 tablets and 532 doses.

At the four-day trial, which began on June 24, Piper, Martel, and three other professional wrestlers. Brian Blair, Daniel Spivey, and Billy Graham, all testified that they had purchased steroids and controlled drugs from Zahorian.

While Zahorian admitted that the wretlers were telling the truth, his attorney argued that the doctor was simply treating patients who wanted a competitive edge. In the case of the informat, Zahorian's attorney argued that the informant intimidated Zahorian into selling him steroids. The informant denied the allegation.

The wrestlers were not charged because during the time covered in Zahorian's conviction, using steroids was not a federal crime. A recent change in the law makes possession and use a federal crime with penalties of up to one year in prison and a $100,000 fine.

Dori Stechlin is a staff writer for FDA Consumer.