FORT LAUDERDALE — Three more people have been convicted and sentenced in an illegal steroid distribution case that also ensnared numerous law enforcement officers, including over a dozen Broward Sheriff’s Office (BSO) deputies.
The case involves PowerMedica, a now closed Deerfield Beach pharmaceutical company.
Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies and federal agents with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration raided PowerMedica in 2005. They seized drugs, computers, and medical records.
After years of subsequent investigations , a federal grand jury seated in West Palm Beach began returning indictments in the case last summer.
According to a press release issued by Annette Castillo, spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Miami, U.S. District Court Judge James I. Cohn sentenced James D’Amico in April to 51 months’ imprisonment.
Cohn also sentenced Daniel L. Dailey and Manuel Sanguily last August to 46 months and 30 months, respectively.
U.S. District Court Judge Marcia G. Cooke sentenced William L. Dailey on March 2 to 18 months’ imprisonment.
Beach was CEO of PowerMedica. His father, William L. Dailey, 72, of Boca Raton, was president.
Sanguily, 78, is a doctor from Milwood, N.Y., and D’Amico, 58, is a former dentist from Cape Coral. Both worked for PowerMedica and pleaded guilty to conspiring to illegally distribute human growth hormones and steroids. D’Amico also pleaded guilty to lying to the grand jury.
The men admitted they knew they were distributing the drug to be illegally used for bodybuilding, athletic performance, and anti-aging. The Daileys admitted they were aware that PowerMedica used untrained or licensed staff to consult with customers. They also admitted that staff signed orders without meeting, talking to or reviewing customers’ medical records.
Sanguily signed more than 2,000 orders, which earned him more than $50,000. D’Amico signed more than 300 orders, which netted him over a $100,000.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office has not disclosed the status of the grand jury deliberations or the PowerMedica investigations. However, according to federal court records, the men who were sentenced are cooperating with federal authorities.
BSO INVESTIGATIONS
That development could affect several Broward Sheriff’s Office deputies who were found to be steroid customers of PowerMedica and other local pharmacies. In a related investigation, BSO Sgt. Lisa McElhaney found over a dozen BSO deputies obtained steroids with fraudulent prescriptions. Without explanation, her findings have been under an internal review for more than three years.
John Hanlon, a former FBI agent and public corruption prosecutor with the Broward State Attorney’s Office, also served as BSO’s Inspector General from October 2006 through February 2008.
“Lisa McElhaney is a very aggressive investigator and she wanted to have the case pursued criminally but it was closed, with no investigation, based on a memo from [Capt. Robert] Schnakenberg,” Hanlon said in an interview this week.
“There was never any internal affairs case or investigation conducted prior to Schnakenberg’s memo that I am, was aware of.”
Hanlon said BSO attorneys told him they couldn’t proceed with an investigation due to the time that had lapsed since the date the internal affairs case was opened.
He said he wrote a memo which cited an opinion from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement refuting that position but the case was closed anyway.
“We were very much concerned about the health of these guys and the civil liability of the agency if they were overly aggressive because of consuming this stuff,” Hanlon said.
“We were also concerned about possible criminal violations by law enforcement. To ignore this is the same as sanctioning it, by being aware and not doing anything.”
EJones@SFLTimes.com
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