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Kirk Radomski at center of Mitchell steroid report

BY LUIS PEREZ | luis.perez@newsday.com

December 14, 2007

Kirk Radomski, the Long Island man at the center of the explosive probe of steroid use in baseball, was curious himself yesterday about the report that blasted his name into American sports history.

At the St. James automobile detailing business he co-owns, Radomski sat quietly on a swivel office chair watching a live afternoon news conference featuring George Mitchell, who authored the report that implicated well-known players such as Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte in the scandal.

In the report, Radomski, of Manorville, is featured prominently. The former New York Mets clubhouse attendant pleaded guilty to illegal steroid distribution earlier this year, agreeing to participate with Mitchell as part of his plea bargain.

Now, he was being described as a drug dealer.

"Radomski met with many players while they were in New York, where he lives," wrote Mitchell, who interviewed Radomski four times, mostly in the presence of federal agents and Mitchell's lawyer.

"Most of his business, however, was conducted by telephone and mail or overnight delivery. He sent drugs to their homes, to hotels and in some cases to major league clubhouses. He was paid by check, by money order or in cash."

Radomski, who worked for the Mets from 1985 to 1995, began using the muscle-enhancing drugs himself before he began selling, and he was an erudite salesman who understood his product, the report said.

To obtain human growth hormone, Radomski was also industrious, the report noted. He approached patients as they were leaving pharmacies and offered to purchase a portion of their just-filled prescriptions, the report said.

Radomski provided steroids to Clemens through a trainer with the Yankees who injected the pitcher with the drugs during the 2000 and 2001 seasons, according to the report. Clemens denied the allegations.

Some key evidence - including a customer address book - was confiscated during a federal raid this summer on Radomski's home on Manor View Way, in a quiet, secluded cul-de-sac.

At Radomski's business on Middle Country Road, reporters from several media outlets who came in to chat were all told the same thing: "No comment."

"I can't talk until Feb. 8," he explained to Newsday. "That's the day I get sentenced."

Radomski pleaded guilty in April to distributing steroids to major league players from 1995 to 2005 and laundering money. The maximum penalty is 25 years in prison.

Staff writer Mitchell Freedman contributed to this report.