USA - Suspended Phillies reliever J.C. Romero suing supplement makers Ergopharm

[chillinwill]

Suspended Phillies reliever J.C. Romero is suing the makers and distributors of nutritional supplements that he says are responsible for his positive steroid test last August.

The 27-page lawsuit, filed Monday in New Jersey Superior Court in Camden County, blames the product 6-OXO Extreme for traces of androstenedione found in the pitcher's urine on Aug. 26, 2008.

The numerous counts in the lawsuit include negligence, intentional misrepresentation and consumer fraud. The four defendants named are GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, Ergopharm and Proviant Technologies.

The latter two companies are owned and operated by Patrick Arnold, an Illinois-based chemist who did time in federal prison for his role in the BALCO affair. Arnold did not immediately have a comment on the lawsuit.

"I purchased an over-the-counter supplement that I was told and believed would not cause me to test positive," Romero said in a statement released by his legal team Monday. "These events have hurt me deeply and placed a cloud over my career, accomplishments and family. It is my hope that I can finally start to put this event behind me and protect the interests of others who rely on manufacturers and retailers to be honest about their products."

Romero tested positive for androstenedione on Aug. 26, 2008, just six weeks before he helped win two games to lead the Phillies to a World Series championship, but his 50-game ban was not made public until January of this year.

In September, even before the World Series, Romero was notified of the positive test and demanded an arbitration hearing. At the end of that month, the baseball players' union sent the product he used to a Tennessee laboratory that reported back on Oct. 3 that the product was indeed contaminated.

That doesn't surprise Gary Wadler, a New York internist affiliated with the World Anti-Doping Agency who said the Romero situation highlighted a well-known problem with the under-regulated supplement industry.

"We have made it clear that athletes are at great risk when they take supplements," Wadler said. "They have little to gain and a lot to lose. The cost-benefit ratio is costly. Supplements do little for you. You're playing Russian roulette with supplements."

Major League Baseball announced the suspension in January. Banned for the first 50 games of the season, Romero has been allowed to work out with the Phillies in spring training and in pregame practices, but is not being paid.

By Michael O'Keeffe and Nathaniel Vinton
April 27, 2009
NY Daily News
http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/ba...romero_su.html

[chillinwill]

Patrick Arnold & co. being sued by J.C. Romero

According to MLB.com and The New York Daily News, Phillies reliever J.C. Romero is suing the makers and distributors of 6-OXO Extreme, which he says was responsible for his positive steroid test in August. At the end of last September, the baseball players’ union sent the product he had used to a Tennessee laboratory, that reported that the product was contaminated.

The numerous counts in the 27 page lawsuit, filed in the Superior Court of New Jersey, include negligence, intentional misrepresentation, and consumer fraud. The four defendants currently named in the lawsuit are GNC, Vitamin Shoppe, Ergopharm, and Proviant Technologies.

In a surprise ruling by the Superior Court of New Jersey, Patrick Arnold will be allowed to use Karma points obtained on Bodybuilding.com to pay his share of the over $1.4 million dollars J.C. Romero is suing for.

Posted by Anthony Roberts
April 27, 2009
Anthony Roberts Online Blog
http://blog.anthonyrobertsonline.com...-by-jc-romero/

[chillinwill]

Feds raid lab of ex-BALCO chemist

Federal agents raided a company led by the chemist who was at the center of the BALCO steroids scandal and linked to a recent positive drug test by a major-league pitcher, Yahoo! Sports has learned.

Patrick Arnold, who created “The Clear” – a drug distributed through the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative to disgraced sprint queen Marion Jones and other high-profile athletes – leads ErgoPharm Inc., the company raided Wednesday in Champaign, Ill.

Agents for the Drug Enforcement Administration executed a document warrant at the company. No arrests were made, officials familiar with the action said.

DEA agents from the Chicago headquarters carried out the raid with assistance from the Champaign police department, spokesmen from both agencies confirmed. The case originated with the DEA offices in Boston, spokesmen from the other agencies said.

“Anything to do with that is under seal, so I’m not going to be able to talk about it,” said Tony Pettigrew, public information officer for the DEA headquarters in Boston. Pettigrew referred all questions to U.S. Attorney’s office in New Hampshire.

Requests for comment from the U.S. Attorney’s office in New Hampshire were not immediately returned. A spokesman for the DEA headquarters in Washington, also declined comment.

Attempts to reach officials at ErgoPharm were unsuccessful.

J.C. Romero, a relief pitcher for the Philadelphia Phillies, was suspended earlier this month for the first 50 games of next season after testing positive for androstenedione – better known as andro – used by Mark McGwire in the 1990s. Federal law classifies andro as an anabolic steroid that is believed to increase testosterone levels.

Arnold was the first to manufacture androstenedione and bring it to the market.

Romero blamed his positive test on 6-OXO, a supplement developed by Arnold’s company and touted by ErgoPharm’s website as “the new gold standard for testosterone elevation.”

Arnold pleaded guilty in 2006 to one count of conspiracy to distribute steroids as part of the federal prosecution of BALCO. He was sentenced to three months in prison and three months’ home confinement.

By Josh Peter
Yahoo! Sports
January 15, 2009
http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slu...yhoo&type=lgns

[Alfa]

Originally Posted by chillinwill

In a surprise ruling by the Superior Court of New Jersey, Patrick Arnold will be allowed to use Karma points obtained on Bodybuilding.com to pay his share of the over $1.4 million dollars J.C. Romero is suing for.

Mind that Karma points are the same as reputation points.

[chillinwill]

Originally Posted by Alfa

Mind that Karma points are the same as reputation points.

So they are saying he can use Karma points that he earned online to pay off his share of the lawsuit?

[Alfa]

It seems that way yes.

[nibble]

^ Wow, that is incredible. I have never heard of anything remotely like that, it seems most strange.

[snapper]

The karma points angle is fascinating. SWIM wonders how much each point is worth in $ ?