By Dan Herbeck
News Staff Reporter
Published: July 25, 2011, 1:16 PM
Aide to sports doctor likely to get probation
Sports doctor admits drug smuggling role
Physician expected to accept plea deal
Updated: July 25, 2011, 1:16 PM
A former employee who helped federal agents break open a smuggling case involving a Toronto doctor who treated world-class athletes was spared from a prison term this afternoon by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara.
Arcara told Mary Anne Catalano, 33, of Toronto, that he did not sentence her to prison time because of the extensive assistance she gave to the FBI and other agencies who investigated her ex-boss, Dr. Anthony Galea.
Arcara sentenced her to one year on probation. He could have sent her to prison for as long as five years.
"This is one of the easiest sentences I ever had to impose," said Arcara, who told Catalano he was impressed by the honest cooperation she gave to federal agents.
"I take full responsibility," a sobbing Catalano told the judge. "I knew what I was doing was illegal, and I'm deeply regretful."
Catalano was arrested on a drug-smuggling charge in September 2009. Last year, she pleaded guilty to a felony charge of making a false statement to investigators.
The Toronto woman was an assistant hired by Galea to smuggle banned substances, including human growth hormone drugs, into the United States so her boss could use them to treat professional athletes.
Federal agents arrested her at Buffalo's Peace Bridge in September 2009, finding Nutropin and other banned substances in her car. She was arrested on smuggling charges. She took a guilty plea to making false statements at the border.
According to the U.S. Attorney's office, Catalano's cooperation enabled prosecutors to build a case against Galea, who pleaded guilty to a felony drug smuggling charge July 6.
Because of her cooperation, prosecutor Paul J. Campana asked Arcara to give her probation, and Arcara agreed.
Catalano has cooperated with the feds since the day of her arrest, said Rodney O. Personius, a Buffalo defense attorney who represented Catalano with Calvin Barry, a co-counsel from Toronto.
"She made a grave, grave mistake," Personius said. "She's now a convicted felon and will be for the rest of her life."
Galea's patients included some of America's most famous and successful athletes, including golfer Tiger Woods, baseball star Alex Rodriguez, and National Football League stars Takeo Spikes and Jamal Lewis.
None of the athletes has been charged criminally in the probe, and U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul Jr. has characterized them as "witnesses, not targets" of the investigation.
Donald Fuhrman, a retired state police investigator who now works for the NFL, sat in the courtroom taking notes during the proceedings. He declined to comment afterward, as did Catalano.
Galea's attorneys have said he treated his patients with human growth hormones, but only with the intent of helping them to heal from injuries. He is scheduled for sentencing Oct. 19.
Buffalo agents from U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement worked on the case with the FBI, U.S. Customs & Border Protection and the Food & Drug Administration.
The probe is continuing, Campana told the judge.
dherbeck@buffnews.com
http://www.buffalonews.com/city/police-courts/courts/article500316.ece
