At the pool, police seized 513 Ecstasy tablets hidden in ceramic figurines that were to be mailed to the U.S.

Three other men were arrested and detained along with Mr. Russell as part of an alleged smuggling ring that had sent 6,000 Ecstasy pills to New York State and 3,000 pills to Illinois through Dutch and Spanish postal services.

Mr. Russell's arrest came as no surprise to those familiar with his past.

"You don't want him on a pool deck coaching young athletes," said Nick Thierry, editor of the Canadian Swim News magazine based in Toronto.

In early 1997, the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport slapped Mr. Russell with a lifetime ban for distributing anabolic steroids.

Mr. Russell had earlier masterminded and operated a steroid trafficking ring in which drugs were smuggled in from Spain and Northern Ireland and then distributed throughout Canada and the United States.

Among the recipients were National Football League and Canadian Football League teams, police officers, firefighters, bodybuilders and amateur athletes. He received a suspended sentence after being convicted of conspiring to traffic in a controlled drug between Feb. 1, 1993 and Sept. 6, 1995.

In 1997, Mr. Russell moved south and, in May, began coaching the prestigious Fort Lauderdale Swim Club in Florida. He failed to tell U.S. officials of his ban in Canada when he was hired by 1976 Olympic women's coach Jack Nelson to coach the Florida team.

In 1998, after being informed of Mr. Russell's tainted record, the U.S. Swimming Federation honoured the Canadian ruling and banned Mr. Russell for life. He was deported from the U.S. in April 1999.

"I don't know what to say," Mr. Nelson told the Citizen yesterday. "We briefly knew Cecil and unfortunately for him, he's again in some trouble which he brought upon himself. I feel sorry for his family."

Mr. Russell's wife, Erin Corcoran, a swimmer he coached at the University of Ottawa, and their five children currently live in Spain.

In February, Mr. Russell applied to the Canadian Centre for Ethics in Sport for reinstatement. His application was rejected after a two-day hearing in Ottawa.

Mr. Russell was born in Northern Ireland and represented the country as a competitive swimmer five times, including at the Commonwealth Games in 1970. He immigrated to Canada in December 1974.

From 1977 to 1981, Mr. Russell coached the Gloucester-Ottawa Kingfish Swim Club, which quickly became one of the best teams in the country. His swimmers set 28 provincial and 20 national records.

During those years, he also coached the men's and women's swim teams at the University of Ottawa. He coached at the Oshawa Aquatics Club from 1981-1984.

Mr. Russell set up the steroid smuggling and distribution ring to pay off a mountain of debt. He was living in Oshawa, where he owned a failing kitchen cabinet supply business.

The RCMP arrested Mr. Russell in September 1995. He spent 201 days in jail before pleading guilty and receiving a suspended sentence.

One member of Mr. Russell's steroid ring was Leo Pilotte, who was convicted of murdering 41-year-old Gerald Leveille in February 1995.

Mr. Pilotte burned Mr. Leveille's remains in a corn silo next to Mr. Russell's Oshawa-area ranch. At the trial, Mr. Russell testified that he witnessed the burning and discarding of the body.

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Jeff

Don't look back, life is too short

quote:

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Originally posted by ontariowrestler:

One member of Mr. Russell's steroid ring was Leo Pilotte, who was convicted of murdering 41-year-old Gerald Leveille in February 1995.

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This murder was no doubt the result of "steroid-induced rage" from juice supplied by Mr. Russell as well!

(What was the reporter's point in adding this "tid-bit" to the story? Obviously an ignorant reference to the horrid dangers associated with steroids to further the anti-drug agenda.)

Interesting read.

Later,