Canadian doctor charged with drug violations

Anthony Galea, the Toronto-based sports medicine specialist who has treated Tiger Woods, Alex Rodriguez, Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran, was charged Tuesday in federal court with illegally distributing drugs - including human growth hormone - to professional athletes.

In the complaint filed in U.S. District Court in Buffalo, Galea also was charged with smuggling illegal drugs across the border and conspiring to lie to federal agents. He faces up to 30 years in prison.

No athlete is identified by name in the court documents, but Galea's dealings with two current NFL players and one former player are described in detail in the affidavit filed by Justin Burnham, a special agent of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The NFL, in a statement, said it has "a very strong interest in learning who these players are and about their involvement with any prohibited substances so that we can enforce our policies."

A former team physician for the Toronto Argonauts of the Canadian Football League, Galea is described in court papers as a doctor-on-call for professional baseball and football players, traveling around the country to meet with these players in their homes or at hotel rooms for private medical treatments.

The procedures Galea performed on players, according to the affidavit, include "plasma rich platelet injection; injections of drug mixtures or 'cocktails' in athletes' knees; IV drips; and ultrasounds and injections of drug mixtures into the sites of muscle tears." The complaint also accuses Galea of injecting athletes with an unapproved drug called Actovegin, a derivative of calf's blood.

Galea became the focus of a federal investigation after his assistant, Mary Anne Catalano, was stopped last September at the U.S. border with human growth hormone in her car. According to previous court filings, Catalano told authorities that day that she was transporting the drugs on behalf of Galea.

As part of the authorities' eight-month investigation into Galea, FBI agents reached out to professional athletes who were connected to Galea. Reyes and teammate Carlos Beltran spoke separately with agents early in spring training. Both have said they did not receive human growth hormone from Galea.

Rodriguez and Woods have also confirmed they were contacted regarding their relationship with Galea. Rodriguez has continually refused to comment on whether he gave an interview. Federal authorities refuse to comment on potential witnesses while a case is ongoing.

Woods had the platelet procedure performed by Galea to help him recover from knee surgery. Rodriguez has refused to comment on the treatments he received from Galea. But Galea told The Associated Press earlier this year that he prescribed him anti-inflammatories to help the Yankees third baseman recover from hip surgery.

Galea's Toronto-based defense attorney, Brian Greenspan, said in an e-mail that yesterday's developments were "obviously disappointing." Added Greenspan, "It is regrettable that Dr. Galea, a world renowned and respected sports medicine physician now faces these further charges."