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Trial to get underway in case of Staten Island doctor accused in steroid probe
[SIZE=-1]SILive.com[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]A brilliant physician who saved lives, or just a drug pusher, whose greed lead to the death of one of his patients?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]That's for a jury to decide, as the trial begins in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn today of a Staten Island doctor charged with contributing to the death of an Island body builder, and selling prescriptions in a national steroid ring that included police officers and athletes.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Dr. Richard Lucente, 38, faces 5 ½ years on each of the 76 counts of criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance. He was also charged with 76 public health violations and one count of reckless endangerment for his alleged responsibility in the death of 39-year-old Westerleigh man Joseph Baglio.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Those counts are likely to be reduced by the time the trial is concluded, said Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos, who is trying the case.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]He pleaded not guilty in February 2009.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Dr. Lucente's attorney, John Meringolo, believes it is the first case in which a doctor has been charged in the death of a patient for prescribing steroids.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Meringolo said the evidence against his client is not even strong enough to merit a defense.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]"They have no case," he said.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Prosecutors believe otherwise.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Dr. Lucente began treating Baglio in his Dongan Hills office in June 2005, just months after Baglio received a heart transplant. His own heart had failed due to steroid abuse -- and he was taking several medications, including one to control high blood pressure, according to a medical document included in the court papers.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]For about $500 per month, Dr. Lucente put Baglio in his "wellness program," treating him with more anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (HGH).[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Baglio died of heart failure less than two years later.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Dr. Lucente's connection to a national illegal steroids ring was first reported in the Advance in October 2007, shortly after federal authorities raided Lowen's Drug Store in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The authorities seized $8 million worth of human growth hormone and anabolic steroids and hundreds of records of prescriptions written by Dr. Lucente, sources told the Advance.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Lowen's co-owner John Rossi, who was named in former Sen. George Mitchell's report on drug use in baseball, killed himself three months later.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]All told, Dr. Lucente netted $530,000 from 220 clients between 2005 and 2007, prosecutors allege.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]...[/SIZE]
More...
[SIZE=-1]SILive.com[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]A brilliant physician who saved lives, or just a drug pusher, whose greed lead to the death of one of his patients?[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]That's for a jury to decide, as the trial begins in State Supreme Court in Brooklyn today of a Staten Island doctor charged with contributing to the death of an Island body builder, and selling prescriptions in a national steroid ring that included police officers and athletes.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Dr. Richard Lucente, 38, faces 5 ½ years on each of the 76 counts of criminal sale of a prescription for a controlled substance. He was also charged with 76 public health violations and one count of reckless endangerment for his alleged responsibility in the death of 39-year-old Westerleigh man Joseph Baglio.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Those counts are likely to be reduced by the time the trial is concluded, said Brooklyn Assistant District Attorney Michel Spanakos, who is trying the case.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]He pleaded not guilty in February 2009.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Dr. Lucente's attorney, John Meringolo, believes it is the first case in which a doctor has been charged in the death of a patient for prescribing steroids.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Meringolo said the evidence against his client is not even strong enough to merit a defense.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]"They have no case," he said.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Prosecutors believe otherwise.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Dr. Lucente began treating Baglio in his Dongan Hills office in June 2005, just months after Baglio received a heart transplant. His own heart had failed due to steroid abuse -- and he was taking several medications, including one to control high blood pressure, according to a medical document included in the court papers.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]For about $500 per month, Dr. Lucente put Baglio in his "wellness program," treating him with more anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (HGH).[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Baglio died of heart failure less than two years later.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Dr. Lucente's connection to a national illegal steroids ring was first reported in the Advance in October 2007, shortly after federal authorities raided Lowen's Drug Store in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. The authorities seized $8 million worth of human growth hormone and anabolic steroids and hundreds of records of prescriptions written by Dr. Lucente, sources told the Advance.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]Lowen's co-owner John Rossi, who was named in former Sen. George Mitchell's report on drug use in baseball, killed himself three months later.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]All told, Dr. Lucente netted $530,000 from 220 clients between 2005 and 2007, prosecutors allege.[/SIZE]
[SIZE=-1]...[/SIZE]
More...
