- Jan 17, 2006
- 12
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This is the guy from Mass I was telling you about:
CANTON -- In the kitchen of his nondescript Canton apartment, Bruce Kneller
packaged tens of thousands of illegal steroid pills he then shipped to
Internet customers around the country, Norfolk County prosecutors said
yesterday.
Breaking News Alerts Federal and local authorities say they seized 100,000
suspected steroid tablets and 10 firearms from Kneller's home after his
arrest on Friday -- the first raid in a two-year investigation into what
authorities say is a nationwide steroid manufacturing and distributing ring
that advertised discreetly on the Internet.
Yesterday, Kneller, 37, stood quietly in a Stoughton District courtroom in a
suit and black overcoat as a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf to
charges including drug possession with intent to distribute and 10 counts of
unlawful possession of a firearm.
Kneller, described by authorities as a former registered nurse and a
self-employed import-export businessman, is accused of distributing the
drugs to consumers who ordered them via e-mail and sent cash payments
wrapped in aluminum foil to addresses in California. Authorities said the
ring has made hundreds of thousands of dollars by marketing the drugs in
gyms and on legitimate websites for bodybuilders.
To build their case, federal authorities said, they ordered illegal steroids
over the Internet from e-mail addresses linked to Kneller. Authorities said
they are continuing to investigate.
Officials said they do not know of any well-known athletes among customers.
Two customers who were listed in court documents declined to talk about
Kneller or his company.
''We do think there is a tremendous public safety issue attached to this,"
Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating said yesterday. ''This case
will provide, I think, a very rare opportunity to see just how these kinds
of illegal Internet steroid distribution businesses work."
Illegal steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs have made
international headlines in big-time sports with baseball stars, including
slugger Mark McGwire, testifying before Congress last year. Professional
sports leagues have since instituted stricter drug testing policies. The
investigation that led to Kneller's arrest also involves US postal
inspectors, the federal Food and Drug Administration, and the Canton police.
Kneller's lawyer denied the allegations, calling his client a family man
with solid roots in the Canton area.
''He's born and raised here," said lawyer Edward Sharkansky. ''He's got
family here. This is his home."
Kneller's parents and his wife, June, sat in the courtroom yesterday during
the arraignment. They declined to speak to reporters afterward. In the
basement of the courthouse, near the detention room, Kneller's mother
comforted her daughter-in-law, her head against hers, one arm draped around
her shoulder.
Authorities said Kneller had not registered the weapons in Massachusetts.
Keating said he does not believe the guns are connected to the alleged drug
operation. Kneller is also charged with unlawful possession of ammunition,
and drug possession near a school. Page 2 of 2 --Asked why thousands of
suspected steroid pills were found in his client's home, Sharkansky said the
answer would be fleshed out during trial.
Kneller is accused of working for a drug operation that advertised itself as
Red Star Laboratories, which customers could find by searching on the
Internet.
Customers were directed to an e-mail address that offered them price lists
and products, typically $75 for a bottle of pills. To order, they used a
second address. They were instructed to send money to one of six addresses
in the San Diego area.
Prosecutors said Kneller received steroid pills, including some growth
hormones designed for farm animals, from as far away as China and possibly
as close as New Jersey. He then repackaged the pills that included Anadrol,
Polysteron, and Masteron; wrapped them in labels that advertised them as Red
Star Laboratories products; and sent them to customers by mail, prosecutors
said. They said it is possible that Kneller mixed compounds to make some of
the steroid pills.
Kneller, who was sometimes described as a chemist in online publications,
has been a frequent, opinionated contributor to bodybuilding websites,
including Testosterone Nation and MuscleMag International, often discussing
in technical detail the pros and cons of various steroids and diet
supplements. He wrote colorfully, sometimes with abundant expletives,
describing his passion for Harley-Davidson motorcycles, high-performance
cars, bull mastiffs, and sex.
But at Blue Hills Village, the quiet apartment complex on Randolph Street in
Canton where Kneller lives, neighbors said he was a friendly, polite man who
never bothered anyone and lived peacefully with his wife. Several were
shocked to learn of the allegations against Kneller.
''My jaw just kind of dropped," said Lisa Miller, 34, who lives below
Kneller's second floor apartment. ''It's scary. . . . I don't think it's
really hit me yet."
Kneller, who is not a bodybuilder but wrote once about his struggle to lose
25 pounds quickly, often used the pen name ''Brock Strasser" in online
magazines. Those who know him from the world of bodybuilding supplements
describe him as an intelligent writer who liked to provoke controversy.
In a 1998 column for Testosterone Nation, the credit line described him as
holding a degree in nursing and working at a biopharmaceutical company in
Cambridge. The article said he had researched diet supplements for more than
10 years and worked in drug development for more than four years.
Stephen Schmitz of Bedford met Kneller years ago when both worked at a
biotech company. Yesterday, he said he was surprised to hear about the
charges.
''I don't believe that the charges are true," he said. ''Bruce is a very
bright guy."
In October, the Washington Post paid a researcher to test diet supplements,
including two made by Applied Lifescience Research Industries Inc., a Las
Vegas company linked to another supplement company, Gaspari Nutrition in
Neptune, N.J., for which Kneller was a consultant. After the Post reported
that the researcher found steroids in the ALRI supplements, Kneller and an
ALRI official responded in an open letter to the Post.
''None of the compounds we have developed and currently market are in
current violation of any controlled substance act at either the federal or
state level," they wrote.
The company, however, stopped making the supplements.
CANTON -- In the kitchen of his nondescript Canton apartment, Bruce Kneller
packaged tens of thousands of illegal steroid pills he then shipped to
Internet customers around the country, Norfolk County prosecutors said
yesterday.
Breaking News Alerts Federal and local authorities say they seized 100,000
suspected steroid tablets and 10 firearms from Kneller's home after his
arrest on Friday -- the first raid in a two-year investigation into what
authorities say is a nationwide steroid manufacturing and distributing ring
that advertised discreetly on the Internet.
Yesterday, Kneller, 37, stood quietly in a Stoughton District courtroom in a
suit and black overcoat as a plea of not guilty was entered on his behalf to
charges including drug possession with intent to distribute and 10 counts of
unlawful possession of a firearm.
Kneller, described by authorities as a former registered nurse and a
self-employed import-export businessman, is accused of distributing the
drugs to consumers who ordered them via e-mail and sent cash payments
wrapped in aluminum foil to addresses in California. Authorities said the
ring has made hundreds of thousands of dollars by marketing the drugs in
gyms and on legitimate websites for bodybuilders.
To build their case, federal authorities said, they ordered illegal steroids
over the Internet from e-mail addresses linked to Kneller. Authorities said
they are continuing to investigate.
Officials said they do not know of any well-known athletes among customers.
Two customers who were listed in court documents declined to talk about
Kneller or his company.
''We do think there is a tremendous public safety issue attached to this,"
Norfolk District Attorney William R. Keating said yesterday. ''This case
will provide, I think, a very rare opportunity to see just how these kinds
of illegal Internet steroid distribution businesses work."
Illegal steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs have made
international headlines in big-time sports with baseball stars, including
slugger Mark McGwire, testifying before Congress last year. Professional
sports leagues have since instituted stricter drug testing policies. The
investigation that led to Kneller's arrest also involves US postal
inspectors, the federal Food and Drug Administration, and the Canton police.
Kneller's lawyer denied the allegations, calling his client a family man
with solid roots in the Canton area.
''He's born and raised here," said lawyer Edward Sharkansky. ''He's got
family here. This is his home."
Kneller's parents and his wife, June, sat in the courtroom yesterday during
the arraignment. They declined to speak to reporters afterward. In the
basement of the courthouse, near the detention room, Kneller's mother
comforted her daughter-in-law, her head against hers, one arm draped around
her shoulder.
Authorities said Kneller had not registered the weapons in Massachusetts.
Keating said he does not believe the guns are connected to the alleged drug
operation. Kneller is also charged with unlawful possession of ammunition,
and drug possession near a school. Page 2 of 2 --Asked why thousands of
suspected steroid pills were found in his client's home, Sharkansky said the
answer would be fleshed out during trial.
Kneller is accused of working for a drug operation that advertised itself as
Red Star Laboratories, which customers could find by searching on the
Internet.
Customers were directed to an e-mail address that offered them price lists
and products, typically $75 for a bottle of pills. To order, they used a
second address. They were instructed to send money to one of six addresses
in the San Diego area.
Prosecutors said Kneller received steroid pills, including some growth
hormones designed for farm animals, from as far away as China and possibly
as close as New Jersey. He then repackaged the pills that included Anadrol,
Polysteron, and Masteron; wrapped them in labels that advertised them as Red
Star Laboratories products; and sent them to customers by mail, prosecutors
said. They said it is possible that Kneller mixed compounds to make some of
the steroid pills.
Kneller, who was sometimes described as a chemist in online publications,
has been a frequent, opinionated contributor to bodybuilding websites,
including Testosterone Nation and MuscleMag International, often discussing
in technical detail the pros and cons of various steroids and diet
supplements. He wrote colorfully, sometimes with abundant expletives,
describing his passion for Harley-Davidson motorcycles, high-performance
cars, bull mastiffs, and sex.
But at Blue Hills Village, the quiet apartment complex on Randolph Street in
Canton where Kneller lives, neighbors said he was a friendly, polite man who
never bothered anyone and lived peacefully with his wife. Several were
shocked to learn of the allegations against Kneller.
''My jaw just kind of dropped," said Lisa Miller, 34, who lives below
Kneller's second floor apartment. ''It's scary. . . . I don't think it's
really hit me yet."
Kneller, who is not a bodybuilder but wrote once about his struggle to lose
25 pounds quickly, often used the pen name ''Brock Strasser" in online
magazines. Those who know him from the world of bodybuilding supplements
describe him as an intelligent writer who liked to provoke controversy.
In a 1998 column for Testosterone Nation, the credit line described him as
holding a degree in nursing and working at a biopharmaceutical company in
Cambridge. The article said he had researched diet supplements for more than
10 years and worked in drug development for more than four years.
Stephen Schmitz of Bedford met Kneller years ago when both worked at a
biotech company. Yesterday, he said he was surprised to hear about the
charges.
''I don't believe that the charges are true," he said. ''Bruce is a very
bright guy."
In October, the Washington Post paid a researcher to test diet supplements,
including two made by Applied Lifescience Research Industries Inc., a Las
Vegas company linked to another supplement company, Gaspari Nutrition in
Neptune, N.J., for which Kneller was a consultant. After the Post reported
that the researcher found steroids in the ALRI supplements, Kneller and an
ALRI official responded in an open letter to the Post.
''None of the compounds we have developed and currently market are in
current violation of any controlled substance act at either the federal or
state level," they wrote.
The company, however, stopped making the supplements.