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Signature Pharmacy Turns Tables After "Drug Dealing" Acquittal

For nearly two years, charges that an Orlando-based pharmacy was the hub of a nationwide drug ring involving the supply of steroids and human-growth hormone brought intense media scrutiny to Central Florida.

On Sept. 11, Judge Stephen W. Herrick dismissed more than two dozen counts against the primary operators of Signature Compounding Pharmacy, a $30 million-per-year family-run business established in 2000. In 2006, with the help of 49 employees, Signature filled 300,000 prescriptions.

Herrick threw out the charges after pointing out procedural missteps by the Albany County District Attorney's Office. In the ruling, he barred prosecutors from seeking further charges with a new grand jury against Signature operators CEO Naomi Loomis, her husband, COO Robert "Stan" Loomis, top compounding pharmacist Kenneth "Mike" Loomis and business development director Kirk Calvert. They were arrested Feb. 27, 2007, after a raid on the company's two Orlando offices following a two-year investigation into a multi-state online drug trafficking ring. They were charged with 20 identical criminal counts, including illegally dispensing controlled substances and insurance fraud. Account manager Tony Palladino was later added to the indictment list.

Responding to the "drug dealing" charges, the Loomis family issued a statement on March 9, 2007, emphasizing "physicians must be accountable for their prescriptions."

Witch Hunt

Before the charges were dropped, nearly two dozen doctors and wellness center operators from Florida, New York and Texas had also been indicted and pleaded guilty to charges stemming from the investigation, dubbed Operation Which Doctor. Many had agreed to testify against Signature officers.

In March 2007, Signature attorney Amy Tingley said: "We're confident that our clients will be found not guilty because, as stated by Naomi during the Albany County District Attorney's perp walk: we have done nothing wrong. An indictment is only an accusation and a person is presumed innocent unless and until that person is proven guilty. We intend to aggressively and vigorously defend against the baseless accusations and to restore our clients' reputations as hardworking and upstanding citizens."

After the charges were dropped, Tingley said her clients were happy about "the end of this ordeal," adding that Albany County District Attorney David Soares "spent an uncountable number of taxpayer dollars to 'out' professional athletes and instead damaged these people's reputations. Now they have to pick up the pieces and rebuild their company."

In his decision, Herrick wrote: "The court finds that the amorphous quality of the evolving indictments, coupled with the cursory and inadequate instructions in the fourth presentment, have impaired the integrity of the grand jury proceedings to such a degree that dismissal is warranted."

Soares, who said his office would appeal Herrick's ruling, called Operation Which Doctor a success and indicated the setback would not end his steroid investigation, which includes Florida anti-aging clinics and Palm Beach Rejuvenation Center.

"As a result of the hard work by all agencies involved, we've been able to disrupt a multimillion-dollar criminal enterprise trafficking illegal steroids to thousands of people across the country," he stated. "My office will continue to investigate and prosecute large drug networks that flow through Albany County and destroy families' lives."

Soares' investigation into a multi-state online drug trafficking ring began soon after he was elected to the post in 2004.

Turnabout

Last month, Signature officers turned the tables by filing a lawsuit against Soares and the lead prosecutor and investigators on the case in Orange County. The suit charges that prosecutors misinformed the public and used delay tactics while presenting the case before a New York grand jury. They claim prosecutors' actions tarnished the pharmacy's reputation and stymied its revenue stream, particularly when Soares consistently referenced Signature throughout the investigation as the steroid network hub.

The Loomis family also claims Soares and other prosecutors sought publicity by casting Signature in an unfavorable light during interviews with the media, even bringing an Albany newspaper reporter to Orlando before the raids.

During the investigation, Soares' office referenced BALCO, the headline-grabbing California doping scandal, to Signature.

"This case is not an 'East Coast BALCO," Tingley said in 2007. "BALCO was a business dedicated to improving sports performance in athletes. That was its mission. Signature Pharmacy is a pharmacy dedicated to providing quality medicines pursuant to the valid and lawful prescriptions of medical professionals.

"Signature Pharmacy doesn't cater to athletes. In fact, if there are any elite athletes who've ever been dispensed a prescription drug from Signature Pharmacy, they're in a miniscule minority–a possible handful among thousands and thousands of prescriptions. BALCO was all about athletes by design.

"The reference to BALCO as applied to Signature Pharmacy is a cheap effort to trade on the public notoriety of that scandal. BALCO was a sad chapter in sports integrity, and Signature Pharmacy does not condone sports cheating in any respect."

Regarding Signature's suit against the New York prosecutors, Tingley said: "The allegations of wrongdoing speak for themselves. These professionals and this company have suffered greatly. They trust the judicial system will work again as it did in Albany when the criminal charges were dismissed."

Ripple Effects

The "drug dealing" case linked numerous athletes to Signature, including St. Louis Cardinals Rick Ankeil, who acquired eight shipments of human growth hormone from the compounding pharmacy in 2004. Other athletes identified as Signature customers include professional baseball players Paul Byrd, Troy Glaus, Gary Matthews Jr., and Scott Schoeneweis; New England Patriots safety Rodney Harrison; and boxer Evander Holyfield. Because Soares had said the athletes were not targets of prosecution, Herrick's ruling does not affect them.

On another matter, Signature attorneys requested a hearing before Osceola Circuit Court Judge John Marshall Kest about the pharmacy's clients. The state, which plans to examine prescriptions filled by the compounding pharmacy, sent letters to several thousand clients.

According to the motion filed, the letters were undated, yet informed clients they had 30 days to respond. Signature attorneys filed an objection, saying the action violates the patients' due-process rights.

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