Steroid Charges Filed Against 7 by Orange County
The Orange County District Attorney’s office filed criminal conspiracy charges Thursday against seven men allegedly involved with the illegal manufacture and distribution of anabolic steroids, a body-building drug thought to have dangerous side effects.
The charges filed in Westminster Municipal Court followed an investigation begun in September when a Fullerton College football coach suffered an adverse reaction to steroids, allegedly obtained from Jeffrey A. Feliciano. Authorities confiscated 188 viles of the drug at Feliciano’s Fountain Valley laboratory.
Last week, the FBI and the Food and Drug Administration announced a nationwide crackdown on the $100-million-a-year black market in illegal steroids, believed to be widely used by amateur and professional athletes to build muscles and increase strength.
Three felony conspiracy counts each were filed Thursday against Feliciano, of Fountain Valley; Michael Lee Pycior, 19, of Fountain Valley; physician Val Max Warhaft, 35, of Irvine; James Guy Joseph, 20, of Fountain Valley; Shayne Iler Ganz, 29, of Irvine; Kevin Lawrence Stensby, 33, of Newport Beach, and Christopher Mark Mott, 29, of Anaheim.
The maximum penalty is three years in state prison and a $10,000 fine.
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