The Muscle Men

"Enterprise corruption means they're saying there was never even any intention of a legal business," Holland says. "That's just totally false."

Holland says that the PBRC case, which could go to trial by this summer, is an issue of technology and that laws haven't kept up. "What this case is really about is telemedicine," he says. "A new age of technology and doctor-patient relationships. Technology allows doctors to meet with patients over things like teleconference. This could be a landmark case in the field."

There is no evidence to suggest Carlson — or any other doctor charged in relation to Signature — met with patients via teleconference. Surveillance tapes of Signature do show that during one 60-day period in 2006, Carlson approved 3,100 prescriptions sent to the pharmacy, all of which came from PBRC. They were almost all for testosterone or HGH.

The fact that patient blood work was done for at least some patients — it's not clear what percentage — constitutes at least some relationship, the defense contends. "New York, as a state, has shown that they care about issues like telemedicine and that they are in favor of advancing the field. It's just that the laws might not have caught up to the technology," Holland claims.

Besides, Holland says, the law in New York isn't as clear as the prosecution has made it out to be. "The reputation is that New York has much stricter prescription laws, but nobody has shown us the law that specifically states a doctor must see a patient in person, face to face, every time." When asked about the specific code or what the exact wording of the law in New York is, the D.A.'s spokeswoman said she would get back to New Times but did not by presstime.

The clientele were also not the bodybuilders and pro athletes the prosecution makes them out to be, Holland says. Rather, most were men in their late 40s and 50s, often with erectile dysfunction. They were seeking confidential treatments for personal issues. (Dallas Cowboys quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson has said he purchased HGH from PBRC for this reason. The NFL suspended him for five games.) And while the prosecution has suggested that upward of 10 percent of PBRC's customers were residents of New York, Holland says he thinks the number is less than 1 percent. He says prosecutors have not been forthcoming with evidence.

It's also odd, the defense says, that in a criminal enterprise case, the PBRC corporation was not indicted. And during the raids, four search warrants were issued, but only three were served. Holland says that's because authorities reported seeing what looked like "legitimate medical practices" at the fourth location, a PBRC clinic on Military Trail in Palm Beach Gardens. That facility, which is still open and operating, provides Botox cosmetics, laser hair removal, microdermabrasion, and other anti-aging treatments. Holland says as far as he knows, neither PBRC location (the clinic on Military Trail or the offices that were raided) were ever the call centers Soares likes to depict. "The Albany D.A. is raiding offices in Florida," Holland said. "He had reporters and camera crews with him. He certainly doesn't shy away from publicity."

Soares is not commenting on Operation Which Doctor right now because it is an ongoing investigation, Orth says. In September, Soares told the Times Union: "Our intention from the beginning was not to delve into this professional sports realm. It's distracting us. We want to keep the focus on the dangers presented by these internet pharmacies. We're not just talking about steroids; we're talking about other prescribed and controlled medications.

"The idea that an individual no longer has to travel to neighborhoods to purchase narcotics and can get them delivered to their door because of the computer that sits in their office or bedroom is a frightening thought."

No story was more emotional for fans than that of Rick Ankiel. In 1997, while still at Port St. Lucie High School, Ankiel was USA Today's High School Player of the Year. A hard pitcher with a deadly curveball, he was a minor-league all-star in his first season. At 20 years old, he was a big-league starter with St. Louis. He was second in the league in strikeouts per nine innings.

But in the 2000 playoffs, Ankiel lost control. He started the first game of the National League Division Series against the Atlanta Braves. The Cardinals scored six runs in the first inning, but Ankiel struggled. He escaped bad situations in the first and second innings but in the third didn't fare as well.

It was as bad as it gets in the pros: He allowed four runs on two hits, walking four batters and throwing five wild pitches before being removed with two outs. There were no physical ailments; Ankiel just couldn't throw the ball straight anymore. He was the first person since 1890 to have five wild pitches in an inning. In game two, Ankiel was pulled after only 20 pitches, five of which went past the catcher. It was an unprecedented mental breakdown.

Ankiel refused to answer questions about his problem. He slipped down the ranks of baseball until he got to the Rookie League. Eventually, he seemed to regain his control, working back up through the minors as a relief pitcher. In 2004, he was called back up to the Cardinals, where he seemed to have everything together. But that offseason, Ankiel's troubles returned. Before the 2005 season, he announced he was retiring as a pitcher and would try to make it as an outfielder.

The switch beckoned comparisons to Babe Ruth, who also began his career as a pitcher. Through that year, Ankiel batted his way up the ranks of the minors for a third time. In August 2007, like a baseball fairytale, Ankiel got another call-up to the Cardinals.

In his first at bat, he received a standing ovation from the St. Louis crowd. In the seventh inning, Ankiel hit a three-run home run that helped seal the win. Over the next month, he batted .358, with nine home runs and 29 RBI. On the night before the New York Daily News reported Ankiel was linked to a rejuvenation center in Palm Beach Gardens and had received HGH from Signature, he hit two home runs and had seven RBI. It was the single best hitting day of his career.

The report detailed HGH purchases from 2004. He told reporters at the time: "All and any medications that I have received in my career has [sic] always been under a doctor's care, a licensed physician."

The Mitchell Report chronicles the revelations. It was game seven of the American League Championship Series when news broke that Cleveland Indians pitcher (and possible starter that night) Paul Byrd purchased $25,000 worth of HGH from PBRC. Byrd had played for several teams at that point. He later told reporters he had been prescribed the drug for a pituitary tumor. Baltimore Orioles outfielder Jay Gibbons received six shipments of HGH from Signature between October 2003 and July 2005. His prescriptions were signed by "A. Almarashi." Journeyman pitcher Ismael Valdez ordered $2,500 worth of HGH and had it shipped to the Texas Rangers ballpark in Arlington.

Back at the spring training fields in Jupiter, fans were discussing New York Yankees pitcher Andy Pettitte, whose news conference to discuss his use of HGH had been playing around the clock on ESPN. "Do I think I'm a cheater? I don't," Pettitte told a swarm of cameras and media members. "Because from the bottom of my heart, and God knows my heart, I know why I was doing this. Was it stupid? Yeah, it was stupid. Was I desperate? Yeah, I was probably desperate."

A warm breeze blew across the practice field as a man in the bleachers mumbled, "So many of 'em are on juice. You can't even think about it when you watch 'em."

"There should be a designated steroids-free player like they have the designated hitter," joked a man who'd brought his son to see spring training.