Busted - Largest Steroid Lab in America
By George Spellwin,
Elitefitness
When police arrested EliteFitness.com member Bruce Kneller, they uncovered America’s largest underground steroid lab, but they now think he may be only a part of one of the largest illegal steroid rings ever
As much as it saddens me to say this, it comes as no surprise to see a person get busted for steroids these days as law enforcement agents seem to be waging a "war on steroids" and are using every trick in the book to catch both buyers and sellers. It does, however, come as a surprise, more like a shock, when a bust turns up over 100,000 suspected steroid pills, 10 guns, and a bank account with a balance of over $360,000. But such was the case in Canton, Massachusetts when EliteFitness.com member Bruce Kneller was arrested on drug and gun charges.
Bruce Kneller, also called the "Steroid Guru" by many, was busted in late February on several charges including possession with intent to distribute steroids, ten counts of unlawful possession of firearms, and violating a drug free school zone. After his arrest, federal and local investigators searched his apartment and uncovered lots of incriminating evidence. Aside from the 10 guns and 100,000 pills, investigators found syringes, liquids, and powders that were supposedly used in the making of low-grade steroids. They also took the liberty of freezing the $363,000 in his bank account.
Investigators believe that Kneller, who's a registered nurse and import-export businessman, made all of the steroid pills in his kitchen, packaged them, and then sent them to different locations across the country. The pills, which included Polysteron, Anadrol, and Masteron, typically ranged from $75 to $100 per bottle and were sent to customers under the name "Red Star Laboratories."
Those wishing to purchase steroids from Red Star were directed to an e-mail account which offered the pills in exchange for cash payments that were to be wrapped in aluminum foil and sent to one of six different locations in San Diego. A copy of Red Star’s last newsletter (sent out on February 14th) refers to the purchasing of pills as a "game." Here's an excerpt:
"By playing our game, you 100% *AGREE* to follow the *ALL* the Enclosed instructions to the *LETTER*. Failure to do so may delay your "participation" or prevent your participation. Your order will be delayed or possibly voided if you don 't follow directions *EXACTLY*."The Red Star Laboratories company (the name that Kneller allegedly operated under) could be found by consumers through an online website which bragged that in its seven years of operation, none of its 15,000 shipments had been intercepted. The Red Star newsletter boasted, the following:
"We've been at this almost 7 years now and if you follow our instructions, as requested, we 100% guarantee you will have a positive experience with *our game*."While this is quite an impressive feat, it definitely seems that Red Star's winning streak has come to an abrupt end. An end that came as the result of a long investigation by the U.S. Postal Inspectors, Massachusetts state police, the FDA, and the Canton police department.
The investigation began way back in 1998, when authorities caught wind of Red Star Laboratories’ success in marketing their products in gyms and on bodybuilding websites. Looking to build a case, authorities ordered some steroids through the Internet from Kneller's e-mail address, token@keptprivate.com. After receiving the pills through the mail, investigators obtained more evidence in their case against Bruce Kneller. But it was the 15 packages that were intercepted by investigators at the Randolph post office that enabled them to obtain a search warrant.
Norfolk County District Attorney William R. Keating (pictured right) claims that Kneller used the Red Star Laboratories name in order to bring a sense of legitimacy to his operation. He said, "That’s how they work, they had a veneer of respectability." He went on to add, "This whole veneer of respectability, calling themselves a lab, marketing themselves to bodybuilders and using the Internet... that poses the greatest danger."
Keating feels any legitimacy that Red Star had went out the window when investigators seized expired hormones intended for cattle. These expired cow drugs are thought to have come from China, where Kneller often visited. In light of this, Keating expressed fear for those who purchase steroids online.
He stated, "People don’t know what they’re getting, (sellers) create an aura of being safe but they're using ingredients that aren't even meant for human beings." Keating believes that the arrest of Kneller will warn people of the dangers of online steroid purchasing. "This is an unusual opportunity that tells people the danger of buying these inherently unsafe and unfair products online," he said.
While Keating's worries may hold some weight, due to the expired cattle drugs found, he later displayed signs of stupidity when he stated that he had "concerns of ignorance" for anyone who purchases steroids online. Any knowledgeable person on the subject knows the difficulty people in America face when trying to obtain steroids. In most cases, they're forced to rely on Internet sources to provide them with what they need.
This can lead to buyers getting scammed, arrested, or even worse, getting seriously injured from using bogus roids. But still, they must trust their online source as many times, it’s the only option that they have since in the US, it is illegal for athletes to work with a doctor. While the decriminalization of steroids could certainly remedy this, it unfortunately doesn't seem to be in the cards right now with the recent actions by those on Capitol Hill. So, for now, we still have to listen to the ridiculous comments made by people like William Keating who use one instance to chastise people that purchase steroids online.
But what worries me even more than the lack of intelligence shown by Keating is the fact that authorities may be out to hunt down more buyers and sellers because they believe Bruce Kneller is only a part of something a whole lot bigger. A nationwide steroid manufacturing and distribution ring to be exact that may have extended from New York all the way to California. Officials have even gone as far as to say that this could be the biggest steroid ring discovered since 1998.
Although police think that they have already uncovered America's largest underground steroid lab, they say that Kneller's arrest may only be the first in a long line of arrests to come regarding those involved with the ring. Authorities already suspect that he had an accomplice in California and two of Bruce Kneller's customers have been mentioned in court documents that deal with his arrest.
This is why I fear that others will go down in connection with the ring. When law enforcement agents claim that this is only the first arrest, it means that there could be trouble ahead for anyone who has or had anything to do with Kneller. But as of right now, nothing has been proven yet. Even Bruce Kneller himself has yet to be convicted of anything and that's why it's important to realize that there may be another side to the story. And despite the fact that he faces charges that could put him in prison for a maximum of 25 years, there is plenty of optimism surrounding him and his case.
The optimism starts with his attorney Ed Sharkansky, who balks at the charges facing Kneller by saying, "This is what this case is about, it's about misdemeanor steroid charges and firearms paperwork that are not up to date." He also spoke of Kneller's background in the Canton area by stating, "He's born and raised here. He's got family here, this is his home." And while these comments could simply be dismissed as Bruce's lawyer just doing his job, there are others who seem to express favorable views of him as well.
A man named Stephen Schmitz, who worked with Kneller at the Biotech company, said, "I don’t believe that the charges are true. Bruce is a very bright guy." Others who know him as a writer in the field of bodybuilding supplements echo these sentiments by describing him as an extremely intelligent man. It is his work in the supplement field that earned him the steroid guru reputation.
Many of his writings are available online in forums and website columns throughout the Internet. He has posted his writings on the EliteFitness.com forums under the names BKneller and BK. Some names that he used on other sites were BruceK, HelperBK, HelpingH, and, most notably, Brock Strasser. Oftentimes, Bruce would post extremely useful information for those seeking answers to their steroid and bodybuilding needs.
An excerpt from one of his Brock Strasser posts that was intended to further educate steroid users reads:
"This tells me that the effects I can see from using 500 mg of Testosterone enanthate per week probably won’t be the same as using 500 mg of Testosterone propionate or even Testosterone suspension per week. I’m going to see better results with the propionate and even better results with the suspension. Sure, I may need to inject the propionate and suspension more often, but in the long run it’ll pay off for me." It would be quite a tragedy to see an intelligent man like Bruce Kneller, who is so knowledgeable about the subjects of bodybuilding, supplements and steroids, be convicted of the charges he faces. Hopefully, this is just another case of authorities jumping the gun in a pathetic attempt to bring down a suspected steroid perpetrator. Because I would hate to see him go to prison for this and I would especially hate to see anymore people go down in connection with this case.
