A judge dismissed the criminal indictments against the principals in the Signature Pharmacy steroid distribution case citing the incompetence of Albany County District Attorney David Soares. Soares is the lead prosecutor for a small county in New York who had taken it upon himself to spend possibly millions of dollars of Albany residents taxpayer money to carry on a nationwide steroid witch hunt dubbed “Operation Which Doctor“. Critics of the steroid witch hunt, opponents of anti-steroid legislation and voices in Albany law enforcement have long been critical of David Soare’s incompetence.
The ruling means that prosecutor David Soares can no longer seek charges against Stan and Naomi Loomis, the Signature Pharmacy owners, pharmacist Michael Loomis or Signature Pharmacy employees Kirk Calvert and Anthony Palladino.
Albany County Court Judge Stephen W. Herrick cites David Soares’ incompetence.
“The court finds that the amorphous quality of the evolving indictments, coupled with the cursory and inadequate instructions in the fourth presentment have impaired the integrity of the Grand Jury proceedings to such a degree that dismissal is warranted,” Herrick wrote.
The New York Times reports on David Soares’ incompetence.
But in a bitingly worded decision, Judge Herrick described the case against Signature as complex and unwieldy, noting that prosecutors had presented four succeeding indictments to two grand juries over 15 months, often changing the specific counts charged against the Signature owners and employees and bringing new facts to bear against them.
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But during the presentation of the fourth and final indictment, the judge wrote, a prosecutor had misled the grand jury by failing to inform them that he had previously dismissed several of the counts being presented. Nor did the prosecutor offer sufficient instruction to the jury, Judge Herrick wrote.
The grand jury was not advised as to which counts charged which particular crimes and, apparently were left to sift through the voluminous amount of materials and exhibits introduced, along with the new version of the indictment to figure it out for themselves, he wrote.
USA Today reports on David Soares’ incompetence.
Albany County Judge Stephen Herrick rapped county prosecutors for their handling of “the complex and unwieldy case” against Orlando-based Signature Pharmacy.
Herrick wrote that prosecutors gave such incomplete information and insufficient instructions to grand jurors that they “have impaired the integrity of the grand jury proceedings to such a degree that a dismissal is warranted.”
Herrick added that the charges ” presented to two different grand juries a total of four times ” were not well defined. The defendants faced a combined 31 felony and two misdemeanor counts.
The lawyers for Signature Pharmacy also comment on David Soares’ incompetence criticizing him as a political opportunist.
“The game’s over,” says Amy Tingley, the lawyer for Signature Pharmacy. “My clients are relieved that they can put this behind them and move on with their lives. After 20 months, (prosecutors) failed to put up a case that could even proceed to trial. We were always confident that we could prevail once it got to a jury, but the judge found there weren’t even grounds to continue the case.”
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Tingley says Soares, who is running for another four-year term this November, has been “going after what’s going to get the most publicity.”
David Soares, desperately trying to win re-election in November 2008, is trying to spin the Signature Pharmacy witch hunt as a success!
As a result of the hard work by all agencies involved, we have been able to disrupt a multimillion-dollar criminal enterprise trafficking illegal steroids to thousands of people across the country, Mr. Soares said. This office, our partners in law enforcement and those who have been harmed from the use of these illegal narcotics wholeheartedly believe in the strength of this case, and we will be appealing today’s decision in the very near future.
Unfortunately, the union for Albany County’s largest body of law enforcement officers does NOT support David Soares. They are supporting an opponent of David Soares in the November 4, 2008 election.
About the author
Millard writes about anabolic steroids and performance enhancing drugs and their use and impact in sport and society. He discusses the medical and non-medical uses of anabolic-androgenic steroids while advocating a harm reduction approach to steroid education.
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