How did he rat on?
Two sentenced for roles in steroids ring run by Plano bodybuilder David JacobBy JASON TRAHAN / The Dallas Morning News September 5, 2008
SHERMAN – A federal judge sentenced two amateur bodybuilders involved in the Plano steroids trafficking conspiracy to three years probation today and postponed final judgment on the third and final defendant until next month.
Brandon Mark Smith, who lives in the Dallas area, and Jamie Mongeau, of Wichita, Kan., both received three years probation and $2,000 fines for their roles in the steroid network run by David Jacobs.
Mr. Jacobs killed himself and his former girlfriend in early June shortly after the same judge – U.S. District Judge Richard Schell – sentenced him to three years probation.
After he was arrested last year, Mr. Jacobs cooperated both with federal investigators and the National Football League in answering questions about his network – which spanned to China – and his dealings with two ex-Dallas Cowboys.
After meeting before court this morning with Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrew Williams and defense attorney Kent Schaffer, Judge Schell announced that he was postponing sentencing for the final defendant, Houston bodybuilder and personal trainer Juan Carlos Ballivian, until Oct. 15. No explanation was given.
During their sentencing hearings, both Mr. Smith and Mr. Mongeau told Judge Schell that their time spent on the amateur bodybuilding circuit led to their steroid use.
"I felt like I did what I had to do," Mr. Smith said. "Any person you see on stage in those competitions, even [California] governor [Arnold] Schwarzenegger, you can’t get to that size naturally. There’s not one of those people up there who doesn’t take performance enhancing drugs. I got wrapped up in the sport."
"You need to find something else to do," Judge Schell told him. Mr. Smith agreed.
Mr. Mongeau told Judge Schell that steroids caused him to develop high blood pressure and high cholesterol.
"I had to do it to be competitive in the sport," he told the judge. "I've taken responsibility for what I've done. I'll never go that way again."
Six defendants have pleaded guilty to conspiring with Mr. Jacobs, a Plano personal trainer and bodybuilder, to distribute steroids in what has been described as one of the largest steroid and human growth hormone operations in the country.
Mr. Jacobs pleaded guilty to conspiracy to possess with intent to distribute and dispense anabolic steroids, a controlled substance. He was sentenced in May to three years probation for importing raw steroid powder from China and manufacturing substances that then went to NFL players, professional bodybuilders and police officers.
Earlier this year, Judge Schell sentenced co-defendants Amber Jarrell, Andrew William Schenck, and Matthew Blake Williams each to three years probation and imposed fines on all of them.
The network unraveled when a leaking package of steroids sent from Mr. Jacobs to Mr. Mongeau was intercepted in March 2007. Authorities arrested Mr. Mongeau, who admitted Mr. Jacobs was his supplier.
According to a federal court affidavit, investigators in May 2007 were tipped that Mr. Smith was involved in the network and found empty steroid vials when going through his trash. They served a search warrant at his house and found more steroids and nearly $3,000 in cash.
Mr. Smith admitted dealing steroids with Art Atwood, a professional bodybuilder in Plano who was charged in a separate case. Mr. Atwood and Mr. Jacobs were longtime friends and previously made and sold steroids together. Mr. Atwood has pleaded guilty to trafficking steroids and is awaiting sentencing.
Mr. Ballivian was a Houston connection for Mr. Jacobs network.
Mr. Jacobs made headlines when he publicly named ex-Dallas Cowboys Matt Lehr and Ryan Fowler as his former clients. Both football players have denied any wrongdoing and neither is facing criminal charges.
Soon after Mr. Jacobs and his former girlfriend Amanda Jo Earhart-Savell were found dead in Plano on June 5, the NFL sent a letter to Mr. Fowler telling him he faces suspension for violation of the league's anabolic steroid policy. According to his attorney, the letter said there was credible evidence that Mr. Fowler "purchased, used or supplied" banned substances.
Three weeks ago, Mr. Fowler told reporters in Tennessee that he assumes the inquiry is over, as he has heard no more from the league.
Mr. Lehr’s attorney, Paul Coggins, has said his client has not been contacted by the league. Mr. Coggins has said Mr. Lehr has remained clean since testing positive for banned substances in 2006. Mr. Lehr plays for the New Orleans Saints.
Officials with the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of Criminal Investigations, which led the Plano steroids inquiry, declined to discuss the case this week. The case is still ongoing, officials said.
