This story broke today in Dallas:
Plano steroids trafficker publicly alleges selling to former Dallas Cowboys player
By JASON TRAHAN and GARY JACOBSON / The Dallas Morning News
Convicted Plano steroids trafficker David Jacobs said publicly for the first time this weekend that he sold large amounts of illegal performance-enhancing drugs to ex-Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman Matt Lehr.
He also said that in 2006, Mr. Lehr used a hair-loss-prevention drug that can also act as a masking agent for steroid use. Mr. Jacobs said federal investigators confiscated a bottle of that medicine from Mr. Jacobs – a bottle he says Mr. Lehr gave to him. The label bore an NFL team logo, along with Mr. Lehr's name, Mr. Jacobs said.
Mr. Lehr played four seasons with the Cowboys, leaving after 2004. Since then, he has played with the Atlanta Falcons and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and he recently signed with the New Orleans Saints.
Mr. Lehr tested positive for a banned substance while with Atlanta in October 2006 and was suspended for four games. Authorities in Mr. Jacobs' case are investigating Mr. Lehr on allegations that he distributed steroids, possibly to other players, but he has not been charged with any crime.
Mr. Lehr's lawyer says that his client has not used banned substances since his suspension and has passed NFL drug tests.
"Mr. Jacobs has peddled these tales to the government unsuccessfully," said Paul Coggins, Mr. Lehr's attorney.
"He is a confessed felon awaiting sentencing, and is desperate to implicate others to shorten his sentence," Mr. Coggins said. "He has also told many individuals that he would end Matt's career because Matt would not pay Mr. Jacobs' attorneys' fees. The clock on Mr. Jacobs' 15 minutes of infamy has long since run out."
Legal in NFL
The use of finasteride, sold under the trade names Propecia and Proscar, has been reviewed by the National Football League, a spokesman said Saturday, but its use has not been banned. It is prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which oversees international competition such as the Olympics.
In a telephone interview Saturday, Gary Wadler, head of WADA's prohibited list subcommittee, said research has proved that finasteride is a "significant" masking agent for some steroids. WADA has banned the drug since 2005.
The NFL "should adopt the prohibited list of WADA," Dr. Wadler said.
In an e-mail Saturday, NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said the league's "independent scientific and medical advisors reviewed finasteride several years ago and did not recommend its addition to the prohibited list. It was reviewed again in 2005 when the World Anti-Doping Agency decided to ban it, but the advisors' recommendation was unchanged. Consistent with our normal practice, however, we review our policy each off season and consider potential additions to the Prohibited List." The NFL, Mr. Aiello pointed out, does ban some substances that WADA does not.
Mr. Jacobs, 35, said, "I sold steroids and a significant amount of growth hormone to Matt Lehr." He said Mr. Lehr's purchases totaled tens of thousands of dollars from spring 2006 to spring 2007, significantly larger quantities than could be for personal use.
At one point, Mr. Jacobs said, Mr. Lehr agreed to have boxes of raw steroid powder from China shipped to Mr. Lehr's house in Georgia. Mr. Jacobs said he asked his former friend to do this because too many packages headed to his Plano house were being seized by U.S. Customs.
On the radar
Mr. Jacobs said that when his operation was shut down by a government raid a year ago, authorities seized evidence of transactions with Mr. Lehr. Mr. Jacobs said that when federal agents questioned him, they already knew about Mr. Lehr, saying they had been monitoring his operation for some time.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers spokesman Jeff Kamis said: "Internally, we were told that the investigation against Matt had been closed. That came directly from Matt's lawyer."
"We have no response," Falcons spokesman Reggie Roberts said about Mr. Jacobs' allegations. "I know nothing about any of this."
Mr. Jacobs, a bodybuilder and personal trainer, said he passed along the masking trick to Mr. Lehr before the 2006 season. Mr. Jacobs said that Mr. Lehr told him he passed the advice about finasteride to other NFL players.
Mr. Jacobs said that when Mr. Lehr took him to visit other NFL players, they thanked him for his help. He declined to publicly name those players.
Mr. Jacobs said Mr. Lehr obtained finasteride from an NFL team doctor. The bottle had a team logo on it, he said.
"When I was at Lehr's house, we were going through his prescriptions and he showed me a bottle and he said, 'Look, here, I got it,' " Mr. Jacobs said.
Mr. Lehr gave Mr. Jacobs a bottle of the medicine to use, Mr. Jacobs said. He said that's the bottle that wound up with investigators.
Among bodybuilders and pro athletes, finasteride is a well-known masking agent for steroids. It also helps prevent acne, a common side effect of steroid use.
Mr. Jacobs said Mr. Lehr and other football players got their prescriptions by telling their doctors they were "losing their hair because of pulling their helmets on and off."
Mr. Aiello said there is no league requirement for players to go through team doctors for their prescriptions. Some do, some don't, he said.
Large operation
Mr. Jacobs is at the center of what investigators say was one of the largest steroid distribution operations in the U.S. He sold his concoctions to professional and amateur bodybuilders, and allegedly to NFL players and some police officers.
Authorities also are pursuing possible links between Mr. Jacobs' network and some of the pharmacies and anti-aging clinics in New York and Florida that serviced professional baseball players and other athletes. And one of Mr. Jacobs' co-defendants told The Dallas Morning News that he sold small amounts of performance-enhancing drugs to the owner of a Houston weight-loss clinic linked to baseball great Roger Clemens.
Mr. Jacobs said he was speaking out now because he was angry about Mr. Coggins' statements last week to The News.
"We have been told by the prosecutors that they do not intend to bring charges against Matt Lehr in connection with their ongoing steroid investigation," Mr. Coggins said Wednesday.
"It's an issue of right and wrong," Mr. Jacobs said. "I'm taking responsibility for my actions. And I'm not blaming people for my mistakes. I'm not going to lay down while other people attack my character and my integrity and accuse me of extortion and lies and making up information. It's time for Matt to be a man."
U.S. Attorney John Ratcliffe, whose office is leading the Jacobs inquiry, said Friday that "our investigation into the trafficking of illegal steroids and human growth hormone remains ongoing, and all credible information that may identify additional defendants is being pursued."
He has declined to talk about the status of Mr. Lehr or any others being investigated in the case.
Mr. Jacobs has pleaded guilty and is expected to receive three years' probation Thursday. Six other co-defendants also await sentencing.
jtrahan@dallasnews.com; gjacobson@dallasnews.com
