Toronto doctor's charges not linked to Tiger Woods: Lawyer
Laura Stone and Jordana Huber, Canwest News Service
Published: Friday, December 18, 2009
TORONTO - Criminal charges faced by Toronto sports medicine doctor Anthony Galea are not related to golfer Tiger Woods, a lawyer for the doctor said Friday.
"Any suggestion of any linkage to Tiger Woods is non-existent," Brian Greenspan said outside a Toronto courthouse after a brief appearance on behalf of his client who is facing four charges related to the unapproved drug Actovegin.
Actovegin, a drug extracted from calf's blood, is illegal for sale in Canada and is banned by the World Anti-Doping Agency if used intravenously, but is widely available elsewhere.
Greenspan said his client did not supply any athletes with performance enhancing drugs and any media reports suggesting otherwise "have been created by speculative journalists who simply would like a wish-fulfilment of a relationship between performance enhancing drugs and Dr. Galea."
"(Actovegin) is part of a cocktail that a lot of sports medicine physicians throughout the world use to accelerate the healing process after an injury. There is nothing performance-related, or performance-enhancement related, to the allegations," said Greenspan.
A spokesman for the World Anti-Doping Agency said they have tested Actovegin and it does not contain growth hormone or prohibited hormones.
However, the agency "closely monitors Actovegin since we are aware of its use in some sports, possibly in conjunction with other substances that may be prohibited," said WADA spokesman Frederic Donze.
Greenspan said Galea's past treatment of Woods is "irrelevant to why I'm here and to why Dr. Galea is before the court."
On Wednesday, the doctor - who has worked with sports figures from Woods to Canadian skater Patrick Chan to the Toronto Argonauts - was officially charged with four offences following his arrest on Oct. 15 at his sports clinic in Etobicoke, Ont.
Greenspan suggested that the charges relate to an incident in September when Galea's assistant, 32-year-old Mary Anne Catalano, was apprehended at the Canada-U.S. border with Actovegin and human growth hormone. The assistant was also found to have other unlabelled vials that are being tested in labs, according to the RCMP.
The seizure prompted the Canadian investigation, leading to a search of the doctor's lab where authorities found what they believed to be Actovegin.
Galea is due back in court at the end of January, when the contents of the search documents are expected to be revealed. Catalona may be called as a witness, said her Toronto lawyer Calvin Barry. She has her own court date in January in New York State.
Calvin Barry is a Toronto-based criminal lawyer with over 16 years experience as a senior crown attorney at Calvin Barry Professional Corporation - Criminal Lawyers. Calvin Barry Lawyer Toronto has practiced in the area of Criminal Law and Regulatory Offenses since October of 2004, accruing over 30 years experience in criminal law.
