Thursday, June 4, 2009

NPC Texas Chairman Lee Thompson Indicted on Federal Steroid Conspiracy Charges

NPC Texas Chairman and IFBB Judge Lee Thompson was indicted on anabolic steroid conspiracy charges by a federal grand jury on April 30, 2009 in United States District Court for the South District of Texas. Court documents confirm the rumors that Timothy Lee Thompson aka Lee Thompson was one of the individuals facing federal charges in the Operation Farmacia de Juicy Phruit drug bust led by the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Department and the DEA. Lee Thompson was charged with one count of “conspiracy to manufacture and possess with the intent to distribute a mixture or substance containing a detectable amount of anabolic steroids, a Schedule III controlled substance (21 USC 841(a)(1); 841(b)(1)(D); and 846)”. *

Lee Thompson, the owner of One-2-One Training Centers in the Houston area, was previously publicly identified only as the “gym owner” arrested in the steroid bust. His identity was “unsealed” following his arrest. Lee Thompson is one of 22 co-defendants named along with Charles Brock Falkenhagen, the primary suspect in the investigation, in a superseding federal indictment. The superseding indictment included 46 counts involving the distribution of anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, hydrocodone, MDMA and money laundering. It is important to note that Thompson ONLY faces a single steroid conspiracy charge while Falkenhagen was named on each of the 46 counts.

Thompson was the third person arrested in the federal case; he appeared in court and was released on $50,000 unsecured bond the day prior to the highly-publicized execution of several dozen state and federal arrest warrants in steroid raids in the Houston area on May 27, 2009. Brock Falkenhagen and Richard Troy Daniell Jr. were arrested the previous week on May 20, 2009. Thompson’s arraignment was set for June 1, 2009 at 10:00am.

Lee Thompson’s indictment regardless of his guilt or innocence, is troubling news for competitive bodybuilding organizations including NPC Texas, NPC and the IFBB given his high-profile position within the organizations. The National Physique Committee (NPC) and International Federation of BodyBuilders (IFBB) may have hoped to have this information suppressed in their own self-interest. However, full disclosure is clearly in the best interests of personal trainers, fitness professionals, gym owners, contest promoters and others involved in the network of competitive bodybuilding . After all, they are most likely to be affected by the increasing attention by law enforcement to steroids in bodybuilding (especially in Texas).

The immediate concern for the NPC and IFBB is the impact that Thompson’s legal problems will have on his promotion of the NPC Texas State Naturals Bodybuilding Championship (Jul. 18), NPC Texas State Bodybuilding Championships (Oct. 24) and IFBB Houston Pro Fitness/Figure/Bikini contest (Aug. 29). Thompson’s legal issues could also potentially bring increased attention by law enforcement upon the the bodybuilders competing at these contests especially since the aforementioned contests are all held in Fort Bend County.

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