Marine NCO, Wife Charged With Steroid Sale on Base

A Marine sergeant and his wife were indicted Wednesday in San Diego County on federal charges of running a steroid distribution center out of their home at the El Toro Marine Corps Air Station.

In a four-count grand jury indictment, Gunnery Sgt. Matthew J. Sigloch, 37, and his wife, Rene M. Sigloch, were accused of conspiring to distribute and sell anabolic steroids with an estimated street value of as much as $400,000.

The indictment charges that the couple sold their wares from a “menu” of available steroids, offered samples and even gave special rates for bulk sales.

In a statement released Wednesday by San Diego U. S. Atty. William Braniff, Sigloch is accused of distributing the illegal body-building chemicals from his office at the air station and using an office telephone to negotiate thousands of dollars in sales. The couple allegedly stored the steroids at their home on Hannibal Street inside the base.

Sigloch is assigned to Marine Aircraft Group 46, which performs aircraft maintenance. His wife is also employed on the military base, prosecutors said.

Maj. Jim McLain, an air station spokesman, said Wednesday evening that the base had not heard about the indictment or the alleged crime.

According to the indictment, the gunnery sergeant solicited steroid sales of as much as $100,000--bearing an estimated street value of $400,000. The indictment also charges the couple with arranging the steroids to be smuggled into the United States from across the Mexican border, at times transporting shipments through express mail.

Anabolic steroids are synthetic derivatives of the male hormone testosterone, which stimulates the buildup of muscles’ mass tissue and protein in the body. They are illegal without a doctor’s prescription because they can cause damage to the liver. The steroids cannot be legally imported and brought into the United States, Braniff said, so the drugs are often smuggled over the Mexican border.

Law enforcement officials have said in the past that Orange County is considered a prime area for steroid use because of the high concentration of health clubs and the abundance of money.