The Region - News from April 24, 1985

A Marina del Rey man who admitted his involvement in a scheme to market an unproven cancer treatment called ADS was placed on unsupervised probation for three years. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Gordon Ringer noted from the bench that the defendant, Alfred Dix, 59, became involved in the sale of ADS, a murky herbal tea, only after the product appeared to improve the health of his cancer-stricken wife. Ringer also said that Dix did not personally profit from the sale of the substance, which authorities have branded as worthless in the treatment of cancer. Dix’s wife subsequently died. A Colton physician is awaiting trial on felony charges in the same case. Authorities are looking for the alleged mastermind of the scheme, an Australian named Garry David Middleton, who fled after he was granted bail following his arrest last year in Orange County.