Feds want more time to probe assistant to Tiger Woods doc Tony Galea, MaryAnne Catalano
By Nathaniel Vinton
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER
Tuesday, January 12th 2010, 7:42 PM
A federal prosecutor in Buffalo has asked a judge for two more months to investigate the case of MaryAnne Catalano, a former assistant to Tony Galea, the controversial Canadian doctor who treated Tiger Woods and many other pro athletes.
On Monday, assistant U.S. Attorney Paul J. Campana submitted a sealed affidavit in the federal court in the Western District of New York, seeking an extended deadline in the case involving Catalano, who was arrested on smuggling charges on Sept. 14.
Border agents at the U.S.-Canada border stopped Catalano that day, searched her car, and found human growth hormone, syringes and medical equipment she said belonged to Galea. The next month, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police raided Galea's clinic and later charged him with four drug crimes. The charges involve Galea's supply of HGH, which is banned in sports, and Actovegin, a derivative of calf's blood that is not approved for use in Canada.
Catalano, a former kinesiology student at the University of Waterloo, was expecting to meet with federal agents and prosecutors in Buffalo this week, but that meeting is off said Calvin Barry, her attorney in Toronto.
“She has found new employment, and she is continuing to cooperate with the authorities,” Barry told the Daily News.
Barry said he believes law enforcement officers on both sides of the border are working together on parallel investigations. He said he did not know of any grand jury investigations into Catalano or Galea.
Brian Greenspan, Galea's attorney, has strenuously denied his client was involved in providing performance-enhancing substances to athletes.
A criminal complaint filed in September by a special agent of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement says Catalano told agents she knew administering the medications she carried was illegal in the United States, and that her employer told her that if she was questioned about the purpose of her trip, "she should say that they were coming to the United States for a conference with other medical professionals and that none of the equipment she was bringing into the United States was for treating patients."
Galea is known to have treated Woods with platelet-rich plasma therapy, a technique that is not illegal, although the treatments took place in Florida, where Galea has never been licensed to practice medicine. Florida's state's Department of Health is investigating reports on Galea.
On Tuesday, the Journal of the American Medical Association published a study concluding that the technique – which typically involves injecting a patient's own plasma into the vicinity of an inflamed tendon – is not an effective method of increasing mobility or reducing pain.
Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/more_sports/2010/01/12/2010-01-12_feds_want_more_time_to_probe_tiger_doc.html#ixzz0qSj8Cmlh
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.
