Dallas man pleads guilty in steroid scheme
A Dallas man pleaded guilty today to possessing steroids with the intent to distribute them, announced DEA Dallas Division Special Agent in Charge Clyde E. Shelley, Jr., and U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Erin Nealy Cox.
Christopher Crotty, 34, is the second of two defendants to plead guilty for their role in a scheme that involved importing anabolic steroids from Asia, repackaging them, and distributing them to customers in north Texas and across the country through the U.S. mail.
Crotty’s co-conspirator, Ryan Conor Savage, 36, began distributing steroids in 2015, and Crotty joined him around April 2017. The pair collected payment via wire transfers.
In February 2018, Savage and Crotty were in possession of nearly 40,000 doses of steroids.
As part of a plea agreement, Savage agreed to forfeit property purchased with proceeds of the steroids distribution, including a McLaren coupe, a Cargo Mate trailer, a Ford truck and about $15,000 in cash.
“The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is committed to enforcing the drug laws across the full spectrum of illegal narcotics, and to protecting the public from illegal trafficking of all kinds,” said Special Agent in Charge Shelley. “The investigation and prosecution of Savage’s and Crotty’s imported steroids distribution scheme will provide a deterrent to others looking to follow a similar path.”
“Illicit steroids come with serious health risks, from infection to depression to many other negative side-effects,” said U.S. Attorney Nealy Cox. “The Northern District of Texas is committed to working with the DEA and our other partners to hold dealers accountable for facilitating doping.”
Savage is slated to be sentenced on April 22, 2019, and Crotty is scheduled to be sentenced on Aug. 8, 2019. Each faces a maximum of 10 years in prison and a $500,000 fine.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration conducted the investigation with the assistance of the U.S. Postal Inspection Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Boudreau is prosecuting the case.
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