The Muscle Men

The idea, prosecutors allege, was to create a profitable pipeline for steroids and human growth hormone. Carlson could take advantage of his good name and stamp the prescriptions, for which he would be paid $5,000 a week. Signature could take advantage of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling and make the drugs themselves, often from raw ingredients originating in China and not approved by the FDA. Then Raich and the Stephanos brothers needed only to drum up potential HGH consumers, taking advantage of the most powerful (black-)marketing tool ever: the cavernous anonymity of the world wide web.

Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center started advertising by the end of 2002, not long after Signature Pharmacy went into business. Earlier that year, the Supreme Court ruled that it was legal for compounding pharmacies to advertise. Compounding pharmacies manufacture prescription drugs from raw ingredients in their own labs instead of reselling FDA-approved substances. The ruling legalized businesses like Signature and created what is now an estimated $2 billion industry. As the court saw it, compounding pharmacies were necessary to fill specific prescriptions larger pharmacies couldn't, for patients with particular allergies, for example.

The Mitchell Report mentions that Signature owned a lypholizer, a vacuum freeze dryer that can convert a single gram of raw HGH into thousands of doses — the way an internet business can turn a few drug purchasers into thousands or a few dollars into millions. In 2002, Signature did about $500,000 worth of business. In 2006, prosecutors say, the pharmacy made an estimated $40 million.

The Stephanos brothers grew up in Beverly, Massachusetts. Glenn, 52, married and moved to Palm Beach when he was young. George, 59, lived in New York and New Jersey much of his adult life. According to the Gloucester Times, George was on Beverly High's undefeated football team in 1964, and Glenn was captain of the basketball team when he graduated in 1974.

Glenn married the daughter of Otto DiVosta, a wealthy home builder. George ran a nightclub in Manhattan called Rascals. In 1992, he was sued by an insurance company after they accused him of beating a man at the club. Both brothers are tall, with Tarzan builds, strong chins, and long, flowing hair.

Joseph Raich, a muscular 45-year-old, is from a family that has lived in Palm Beach for several generations. He is known as a youth wrestling booster who has donated tens of thousands of dollars to the sport.

They went into business in office space on Indiantown Road in Jupiter, a mile or so from the beach. All three men own property near the light-green building. It was this space that, authorities say, became the call center that dealt with customers like J.

PBRC began canvassing the internet and placing ads in bodybuilding publications. Like thousands of other new businesses storming the internet in the early part of the decade, they advertised the wonders of hormones. Broad-shouldered spokesmen appeared on television singing the praises of the drugs. The real-life fountain of youth, they called it: lean looks, happy feelings, and they never failed to mention the potential for better sex. The implication was clear: The drugs make everything grow. They called themselves anti-aging clinics, and, prosecutors say, they existed solely as an online marketplace.

A single HGH dose might cost a consumer $150 or more. That same dose, investigators say, cost PBRC about $18 and cost Signature about $4.

They were successful businessmen, all with large houses within minutes of the office. Glenn lives in a country club community, between the ocean and a golf course. Raich owns a peach-colored mansion down the road, with wide double doors in the front and an immaculate balcony overlooking a large pool. Raich has another property in Palm Beach, with a professional chef and an indoor gym.

In 2004, the U.S. Olympic wrestling team stayed at Raich's house. They reportedly threw down mats and practiced in his gym. The U.S. Olympic Committee did not return phone calls regarding Raich, but last year, Gary Abbott, director of communications for USA Wrestling, told the New York Times, "We only know him as a wrestling leader in Florida, and we are not aware of his business dealings." Raich also did not return calls.

When the Jupiter office was raided, Raich's wrestling connections became a problem. The Florida High School Athletic Association began investigating Jupiter Christian's wrestling program, which in 2006 became the smallest school to win a state wrestling championship. Raich had been a longtime booster of Jupiter Christian's and reportedly had wrestlers living at his house at some point. Chris Ruh, son of Jupiter Christian wrestling coach Robin Ruh, was an employee of PBRC. Agents found HGH and steroids in Chris Ruh's desk as well as Raich's. Robin Ruh resigned four months later.

Raich told the Palm Beach Post, "Absolutely, positively, never, ever was any student at Jupiter Christian or any other high school anywhere given any performance-enhancing substance by me or anyone associated with me."

The FHSAA did not find evidence of students using HGH or steroids from PBRC. Jupiter Christian agreed to distance itself from Raich. Raich also sold his portion of PBRC to Glenn Stephanos, a deal the Stephanos defense teams says was in the works before the raid.

In July, a woman named Sara Jiminez of Palm Beach Gardens filed a sexual-harassment suit against Raich and Glenn Stephanos. The suit alleges that both men made unwanted sexual advances while she worked at PBRC and that when Jiminez questioned the legality of PBRC's business, she was fired.

Less than a week after the suit was filed, Raich pleaded guilty in Albany to one count of conspiracy in the fourth degree, a class E felony. He was ordered to pay $200,000 to the Albany County D.A. and agreed to testify against the Stephanos brothers and the Signature owners. He was also sentenced to four years of probation.

A source close to Raich's family says he was dealing with personal problems at the time of the plea and didn't want to deal with the Albany case hanging over his head any longer. Three weeks after Raich pleaded, Carlson, his brother-in-law, followed suit.

When Carlson was arraigned in Albany the week of the raids, his attorney, Charles R. Holloman of Ocala, began the defense in the media by telling anyone who would listen that his client received bad legal advice. Carlson had been led astray, they said, and they even had the name of the culprit — Rick Collins, a New York attorney, former amateur bodybuilder, and author of a book about steroids called Legal Muscle. His client was shocked by the charges, Holloman told the Palm Beach Post. "It was like walking down a street and a safe falls out of the third floor of a building on your head," he said after Carlson was charged with seven felony counts. "It's a screw-up of galactic proportions. By greed or neglect or sloppy record-keeping or all of those."

Carlson and the owners of Signature had been told, defense attorneys claimed, that if patients had blood work done and sent to the approving doctor, the prescriptions would be legal, even without the face-to-face meeting.

Collins then sent an open letter to the editor of the Times Union defending himself and his legal advice. "My firm has always made clear to our clients that the current law does not permit anabolic steroids to be prescribed for other than a legitimate medical purpose and within the usual course of professional practice in a valid physician-patient relationship," he wrote. "My stance has been critical of certain laws regarding anabolic steroid use by mature adults under the supervision of knowledgeable physicians. I have condemned steroid abuse by teenagers... [and] by cheating competitive athletes."

Signature defense attorneys in Florida and New York told the press that it was not the responsibility of the pharmacy to make sure the doctor had the required proper relationship with the patients.

In August, Carlson pleaded guilty to one count of insurance fraud, a class E felony. He agreed to testify against Signature owners and anyone involved with PBRC who doesn't plead guilty. Under the agreement, Carlson must pay $300,000 to the District Attorney's Office and will probably be able to continue practicing in Florida.