A Florida man awaiting sentencing on a steroids conviction told authorities that a Virginia chiropractor he sold steroids to boasted of supplying steroids to professional athletes in D.C.
Polk County (Fla.) Sheriff's Office detectives and U.S. Marshals Service agents arrested Dr. Douglas Owen Nagel, 50, at his Reston home Tuesday morning, according to the sheriff's office.
Richard "Andy" Thomas, who bragged about being the largest steroid dealer in central Florida, led authorities to Nagel, according to the sheriff's office. Thomas, who awaits sentencing on steroids charges, told investigators that he sold steroids to Nagel. Thomas said Nagel had boasted of supplying steroids to professional athletes he worked with in the D.C. area.
Nagel claimed ties to the Washington Capitals and the Washington Nationals, TheLedger.com reported.
Nagel is listed a chiropractic consultant to both the Capitals and the Nationals on a list of doctors speaking at a January 2009 event called the Annual Baseball Team Medicine Conference.
According to Nagel's Complete Health & Fitness Center Web site as of March 2, Nagel is the team chiropractor for the Capitals. The team said Tuesday that is not the case.
There is no conclusive proof that Nagel provided steroids to any pro athletes, according to the Polk County Sheriff's Office.
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Thomas told investigators he sold steroids to pro athletes, including members of the Capitals, according to arrest reports. In November, Caps spokesman Nate Ewell said the NHL investigated those claims and no players were found to have used steroids, TheLedger.com reported.
"This has been a thorough investigation, and we are satisfied that law enforcement, the NHL and our own internal investigation have not led to any link of steroid use by Capitals players," the team said in a statement released Tuesday.
Thomas was busted after Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents recovered a package containing illegal steroids -- nandrolone decanoate, human growth hormone, and other performance-enhancing drugs -- in Philadelphia last May, authorities said. The package was to be delivered to Thomas's Lakeland, Fla., home. A search of the home yielded the largest collection of illegal steroids seized in Polk County history, sheriff's officials said.
Thomas told detectives he'd sold steroids to Nagel, authorities said. They found a shipping label in his home addressed to Nagel in Sterling.
Detectives subpoenaed the U.S. Postal Service and Federal Express for shipping labels and found that Nagel sent seven packages to Thomas via FedEx from April 4, 2008, to May 4, 2009. Nagel and Thomas confirmed that the packages contained money and that after Thomas received the money, he sent anabolic steroids to Nagel, according to the sheriff's office.
Detectives recovered two labels of packages Thomas sent to Nagel, and both men confirmed the packages contained illegal steroids, according to the sheriff's office.
Authorities charged Nagel with seven counts of solicitation to deliver a controlled substance -- steroids -- and one count of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance.
