MUSCLEMAG INTERNATIONAL, May 2011 issue
On April 7, 2011, IFBB Pro Silvio Samuel was arrested and charged with numerous counts of battery, assault, and domestic violence. Silvio was missing in action last season, and was planning a return to the stage later in 2011; however, I suspect that won't be happening now. I was not able to reach Silvio since he's still in jail, nor was I able to reach his girlfriend. Therefore, I'll be doing my best to lay out the two conflicting stories that are currently circulating around the bodybuilding community.
Let's start with why Silvio missed all of the 2010 season. Some people speculated that Silvio had a heart attack; some people thought it had to do with drugs; still others thought it had to do with lack of sponsorship money. In reality, only the last of those three suppositions might have had any bearing, but the real reason was that Silvio was being slowly poisoned by someone he knew very well.
In 2007 Spain's Silvio Samuel competed in nine contests, in 2008, four and in 2009, five. He was bodybuilding's version of the Energizer Bunny. Then in 2010 he was completely absent from the competitive stage and rumors began to circulate that he was ill: His condition was brought on by the extremes of being a pro bodybuilder in the 21st century. In fact, he fell ill and was hospitalized last summer by what he thought was a respiratory infection and which the rumor mill interpreted as imminent liver and kidney failure. Stories spread that his bodyweight had been reduced to that of a marathon runner, despite there being no discernible streamlining of the physique that had won four pro contests.
The scaremongers were unanimous: The former Olympic lifter's career was over. But it seems the truth of Samuel's illness is even more bizarre than what the rumors hinted at. In a recent telephone conversation, Silvio revealed that the cause of his illness, which had hitherto been a mystery to him, had been ascertained. He explained that someone (formerly close to him) had deliberately poisoned him. Certain factors restrain us from going into more detail at this point but the LAPD is dealing with the matter. We'll bring you future developments as they occur.
The person who Silvio was referring to in the above Musclemag article was his wife. Apparently, she had been putting strychnine (a very toxic colorless crystalline alkaloid used as a pesticide, particularly for killing small vertebrates such as birds and rodents) in his food. Since she was doing all his cooking and prepping all his meals, she had ample opportunity to dose Silvio up pretty good. I was also told that when Silvio married his wife, he was under the impression that she didn't have children.
When he returned home from solving some minor visa issues he had back in Spain, he found three children living with them (evidently her from previous relationships). Some people believe Silvio's unhappiness with his newfound situation caused his wife to begin poisoning him. Once Silvio was hospitalized, his wife cleared out his residence of all his valuables... then she used her power of attorney (since Silvio was incapacitated) to clear out his bank account, as well.
As Peter McGough wrote in the above blurb, the police were contacted concerning the poisoning, but Silvio feared for his safety after his wife's family threatened him. It's rumored that his wife's family is connected to the Mexican Mafia in some way.
All this drama with his wife taking his money and possessions went down around a year ago. Fast forward to last month; Silvio was back in Gold's Gym Venice training with Charles Glass, and talking about making a comeback at the New York Pro on May 28th.
