This three-part series by Mark Mueller and Amy Brittain showed how hundreds of New Jersey police officers and firefighters obtained illegally prescribed steroids and human growth hormone from a Jersey City doctor. The stories resulted in changes to state law, saved millions in tax dollars and pushed forward implementation of a statewide prescription drug monitoring system.
STRONG AT ANY COST
PART 1: Prescription for Danger (Dec. 12, 2010) (PDF)
Legal cases linked to police who received steroids
PART 2: Bulking up at the public’s expense (Dec. 13, 2010) (PDF)
Ex-Harrison firefighter on disability works full-time for N.C. fire department
Lawmaker calls for attorney general to investigate steroid, HGH use by law enforcement
PART 3: A risky road to the fountain of youth (Dec. 14, 2010) (PDF)
State to investigate illegal steroid use by law enforcement officers (Dec. 15, 2010)
State suspends disability benefits for ex-Harrison firefighter (Dec. 15, 2010)
ADDITIONAL COVERAGE
Heads of largest N.J. police unions support random steroid testing for officers (Dec. 19, 2010)
Magazine for N.J. law enforcement contains ads for anabolic steroid providers (Dec. 23, 2010)
Two bills address steroid use among law enforcement officers, firefighters (Jan. 10, 2011)
Pension board members denounce former Harrison firefighter as cheat, fraud (Jan. 11, 2011)
Assembly panel approves stricter rules on growth hormone use (Feb. 14, 2011)
Star-Ledger series on steroid use wins George Polk Award (Feb. 22, 2011)
Assembly approves bill aimed at restricting abuse of human growth hormone (March 14, 2011)
N.J. enacts safeguards in prescription plan to combat steroid abuse by police, firefighters (March 20, 2011)
Federal prosecutors seek names of cops, firefighters who took steroids from Jersey City doctor (May 8, 2011)
Attorney general unveils reforms to stop steroid abuse by law enforcement officers (July 7, 2011)
Sheriff’s officer suspended after arrest for alleged harassment, threats (Nov. 24, 2011)
Mark Mueller Journalism 