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Wrestlers Tied To Steroid Case

Posted: Sep 21st 2007 By: mikeiles

TAMPA - For two years, a squat, yellow, storefront clinic on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard attracted steady business, promising patients enhanced sex drive, increased energy and an improved sense of well-being.

Proprietor John Todd Miller, known to some as "Dr. Todd," was no doctor. But he says in court papers that his Physician's Wellness Institute illegally dispensed more than $150,000 worth of steroids at a rate of $300 to $2,800 a cycle.

Among the clinic's patients, according to records, were a professional baseball player and a number of professional wrestlers, including Eduardo "Eddie" Guerrero, who died in 2005 at age 38, two years after the clinic was shuttered by investigators.

Investigation reports obtained by The Tampa Tribune say another professional wrestler, Pete Gruner, known as Billy Kidman, told Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies that he was referred to the clinic by Brian "Crush" Adams, who died last month at age 43.

Adams' autopsy results from the Hillsborough Medical Examiner's Office are pending. According to media reports, pain medication and steroids may have been contributing factors in Guerrero's death.

Professional wrestlers Paul "The Big Show" Wight and Hector Guerrero, Eddie's brother, as well as Dan Spivey, also patronized the clinic, according to investigation reports.

None of the wrestlers could be reached for comment. After being contacted Wednesday about the investigation, World Wrestling Entertainment spokeswoman Jennifer McIntosh would not comment on the specific wrestlers but said her organization "finds the abuse of drugs and steroids by its performers to be unacceptable."

'Dr. Todd' Gets 18 Months
Miller was sentenced Wednesday to 18 months in federal prison for conspiring to dispense steroids to teen-age champion in-line skater Corey Gahan, who was suspended from competition in 2005 and stripped of numerous titles and records, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Anthony Porcelli.

The use of steroids has been an issue of concern in baseball, wrestling, cycling and other sports for the past several years, tarnishing individual accomplishments. Baseball's steroid controversy was enflamed by former player Jose Canseco's book "Juiced" and by "Game of Shadows," a book dealing with how nutrition center BALCO was accused of distributing steroids to star outfielder Barry Bonds and other athletes. Bonds became baseball's all-time home run king.

Pro wrestler Chris Benoit had steroids and other drugs in his system when he killed his wife and young son and hanged himself this June in the family's Georgiahome, investigators said.

Benoit's friend Eddie Guerrero told investigators in 2003 that he saw Miller for two years and received testosterone and human growth hormone at the clinic. He said he began seeing Miller for depression and sore joints. Using cash and credit cards, Guerrero paid Miller $100 a week for testosterone shots and between $200 and $300 a week for the growth hormone, investigation reports state.

According to multiple media outlets, a medical examiner's report concluded that Guerrero died of natural causes relating to heart disease and that pain medication and steroids may have been contributing factors in his death. He had an enlarged heart and other organs related to a history of anabolic steroid use, the assistant chief medical examiner for Hennepin County in Minnesota told the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal. Citing a lack of family consent, Minnesota authorities would not release Guerrero's autopsy report to The Tampa Tribune.

Guerrero's death led World Wrestling Entertainment to strengthen its drug-testing policies.

Miller's clinic was shut down after Corey Gahan's father, James, had a business dispute with Miller and informed authorities that Miller had given steroids to Corey . James Gahan has since pleaded guilty, acknowledging he participated in dispensing steroids to his son and lying about it to investigators.

In-line skater Corey Gahan, who held world speed records, was stripped of awards and honors and suspended from competition for two years in 2005, according to Porcelli, the assistant U.S. attorney who prosecuted Miller, James Gahan and Corey Gahan's trainer, Phillip C. Pavicic.

Pitcher Bought From Clinic
Former major-league pitcher Anthony Telford told investigators he paid $100 cash for testosterone injections from Miller for three months, according to investigation reports. The ballplayer said he had a low testosterone level and his wife was trying to become pregnant, reports stated.

Telford, who could not be reached Wednesday for comment, also told detectives he asked Miller whether he needed human growth hormone but was told it was not needed. Telford said he received testosterone through the mail about three times, once while he was in spring training, once while on vacation and one time at Telford's residence, according to the report on his Nov. 18, 2003, interview with detectives.

Telford's final season as a professional player was in 2002, after pitching for nine years.

Before he was sentenced Wednesday, Miller told U.S. District Judge James Moody that he wanted the judge to know "how sorry I am" for his actions. He added, "It was never my intention to hurt anyone."