The Steroid Doctor is Going to Prison after Prescribing Steroids to Bodybuilders and NFL Players

The man known as “The Steroid Doctor”, James Shortt, has drawn international fame for prescribing steroids to NFL players and bodybuilders. Now his sentencing has finally come and there are several malpractice suits that are being waged against him as well.

Steroid dealers have to watch their back more than ever nowadays as they are constantly being hunted by the DEA, police, and FBI. It almost seems fashionable for the authorities to chase after suppliers and dealers as huge steroid busts often draw big-time media attention. Everyone from personal trainers to bodybuilding gurus are being nabbed for selling roids in this revamped effort to keep professional sports clean.

What’s strange though is that we hardly ever see any medical doctors going down for being involved with illegal performance enhancing drugs. After all, doctors have the power to legally prescribe steroids and Human Growth Hormone (HGH) to anyone that they deem in need of such substances. Doctors will give steroids to men who have low testosterone levels and HIV patients who experience muscle wasting as well as HGH to children who aren’t growing at a normal rate.

But some doctors tend to try and seek out greater financial rewards with the power that they possess to prescribe drugs that fall into the steroid and HGH category. It is a known fact that bodybuilders and other athletes will approach medical doctors with the proposition of sizable sums of money in exchange for what they need. And it is for this very reason why it’s surprising that we don’t see more doctors getting busted for illegally prescribing steroids and HGH to people without the appropriate medical conditions.

However, one doctor that did get entangled with the authorities (and in a big way) has made national and international headlines for his involvement in helping athletes get the stuff that they need. James Shortt, a.k.a. “The Steroid Doctor” was all across the news after he was arrested for conspiring to illegally prescribe steroids and HGH to several NFL players from the Carolina Panthers.

The story broke not long after the Panthers competed in Super Bowl 38 and involved a few key players from the game which included offensive linemen Todd Steussie and Jeff Mitchell as well as the man who is arguably the NFL’s best punter, Todd Sauerbrun. Agents from the Drug Enforcement Agency claimed to have incriminating audio tapes that connected an alternative medicine physician from West Columbia, South Carolina named James Shortt to illegal steroid prescriptions for nine Carolina Panthers.

These nine players would go on to testify against Shortt and this, along with the audio tapes, would eventually lead to his undoing. And for James Shortt, that undoing came just recently as he received his sentencing for attempting to prescribe steroids and HGH to NFL players in addition to other athletes such as bodybuilders.

Barring any successful appeals, Shortt will be spending one year and one day in a federal prison and will also spend two years on supervised release. He was also ordered by the judge in the case to pay a somewhat light $500 fine. Shortt’s sentence comes as the result of a guilty plea that helped him avoid the maximum penalty of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The guilty plea also called for the prosecution to drop some 42 other charges that were pending against him.

James Shortt’s recent court activity didn’t end here though as he also had one of his malpractice suits recently come to a close. The family of Michael Bate, a man who died shortly after undertaking some unorthodox treatments from Shortt, has been awarded $200,000. This will be paid to his family through James’ malpractice insurance because Shortt doesn’t have enough assets to cover this amount.

The 66 year-old Michael Bate had come to Dr. Shortt in 2003 seeking medical treatment for his prostate cancer. Shortt prescribed him with intravenous peroxide, a testosterone cream, and advised him to get a hold of and use Laetrile (a banned treatment for cancer that includes side effects similar to that of cyanide poisoning). A coroner ruled that Mr. Bate’s death came as a result of cancer but the family was able to prove that the combination of drugs that Shortt prescribed for him rapidly advanced the cancer and caused Bate to die much earlier.

What’s interesting is that Shortt’s troubles still haven’t ended despite the fact that his malpractice and illegal prescription cases are over. He faces a state criminal investigation for the 2004 death of a Minnesota woman that has been ruled a homicide. After coming to Shortt in need of help for her multiple sclerosis, Katherine Bibeau was administered the same intravenous peroxide treatments that were given to Michael Bate.

The results were disastrous as Katherine Bibeau died from what the doctor who did her autopsy, Clay Nichols, ruled as death by infusion of hydrogen peroxide. Dr. Nichols went on to say that there is no proven use for intravenous peroxide and that it’s not a legitimate cure for any disease. This in turn, led the Richland County coroner to rule her death a homicide.

James Shortt defended his actions by claiming that he’s seen over 2000 people benefit from hydrogen peroxide treatments without incident. He even went as far as to tell the Bibeaus that people who had been in wheelchairs and received hydrogen peroxide treatments were now walking. Shortt also professed his innocence in this case by saying, “I didn\'t hurt that woman. I didn\'t kill her. I think it was an unfortunate interaction between her condition and certain medications.”

Whether Shortt is speaking the truth or not, it’s almost certain that his legal troubles won’t be ending anytime soon. Troubles that began in 2004 when a Columbia bodybuilder confessed to a DEA agent that Dr. Shortt was known for prescribing steroids to patients who would agree to pay him $1000.

The unidentified bodybuilder said that when he came to Shortt, he weighed about 215 pounds. After meeting with Shortt three times during a nine month span, the bodybuilder had put on 30 pounds of muscle. The bodybuilder said that Shortt had set him up with a Deca Durabolin prescription that allowed him to get the steroids legally. The DEA had been investigating Shortt ever since their meeting with this man.

All of the recent troubles for James Shortt have culminated in him accepting that his days as a doctor are over. He expressed this sentiment when speaking of his illegal prescriptions case by saying, “I have accepted the fact that my career is over. I certainly have no intention of ever doing it again.” He won’t re-apply for his suspended medical license either which pretty much means that “The Steroid Doctor” is out of business for good.

Here\'s more on Dr. James Shortt, the NFL, BALCO and I.V. Hydrogen Peroxide:

• Dr. James Shortt & Getting steroids from your doctor, plus NFL & BALCO updates & I.V. Hydrogen Peroxide
• NFL players on anabolic steroids, Dr. James Shortt, and more important issues
• Discuss this article on the EliteFitness.com Forums!

Check this out from our sponsors - then find all this weeks EliteFitness.com News below.

It\'s a fact: You\'ve been screwed ... by the con artists and supplement scammers within the bodybuilding world! If you really knew how to build the ultimate body in less than six months time, would you keep paying for more? More supplements? More personal training? More courses? More magazines? What if you knew the truth? What if someone were to blow the whistle on the con artists and at the same time, share with you the secrets for packing on thick, dense muscle - fast! And burning off every last ounce of your bodyfat! Sounds unthinkable right? Well, the unthinkable has just happened. Here\'s a link where you will learn the truth!

Bodybuilder burned by unsterile gear! But this will NOT be You!

PS: It never ceases to amaze me the small amount of importance that many people who take steroids give to the quality of the gear they use. Steroid use in itself can be risky, unless you use intelligence, but simply failing to recognize the importance of using real, quality gear from a proven and reliable source is downright stupidity (as the pictures below clearly indicate).

One of the most common emails our team receives daily goes pretty much like this... "Why should I pay for a source list when I can get the same info for free on the Net?" -- A picture\'s worth a thousand words and below, you\'ll see why!

The following pictures were posted on our member\'s board recently and show an abscess which developed in a member\'s tricep as a result of using non-sterile gear.

However, finding a trustworthy supplier is not impossible. Below are two links to the top two proven and tested supplier lists on the Net. By ordering your gear from the suppliers found on the two lists below, your risk of purchasing gear of questionable quality is virtually NIL.

All of this means that the quality of the gear you buy is pharmaceutical grade. Also the suppliers section alone can save you hundreds or maybe thousands of dollars because it means you won\'t get ripped off. Do you know that there are nowadays literally hundreds of sites selling steroids over the Internet - and most of them are just waiting to scam the hell out of you? You\'ll never see your order and you\'ll be out your cold hard cash! And where do you go to complain if this happens... nowhere my friend -- you are up the creek without a paddle.

Ordering from a proven and reliable source means you avoid these risks. These are the top three steroid supplier lists available ANYWHERE. If you want to be assured of receiving what you order and guarantee its quality, take the time to review the following three supplier lists right now.

Secure, Trusted Supplier List #1: member rating:

Secure, Trusted Supplier List #2: member rating:

Author: George Spellwin