Published: 2010-07-08 00:24:54
Author: Amy Shipley and Tarik El-Bashir | Washington Post | March 25, 2010
BARTOW, FLA. -- Two Polk County detectives flew home from Virginia on Wednesday with no evidence that any member of the Washington Capitals had been involved in performance-enhancing drug use, but the steroid investigation that led to Tuesday's arrest of a Reston chiropractor with ties to the team is far from over, the sheriff heading the investigation said.
After interviewing three Capitals players, Coach Bruce Boudreau, assistant coach Dean Evason and trainer Greg Smith at the team's training facility, Polk County investigators "had no reason not to believe them" when all said they had no connection to or knowledge of the alleged steroid dealings of the chiropractor, Douglas Owen Nagel, Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said.
Players Eric Fehr, Matt Bradley and Shaone Morrisonn described the interviews as brief, cordial and focused on Nagel rather than the players themselves.
The detectives asked "if we'd seen Dr. Nagel for treatment, and if he tried to give us anything, offer us any substances, and that was basically it," Morrisonn said.
Said Boudreau: "There's nothing to be found there [and] we cooperated fully. So hopefully it's done."
Nagel, 50, who treated several current and former Capitals players, was arrested at his home Tuesday morning and charged with seven counts of solicitation to deliver a controlled substance and one count of conspiracy to deliver a controlled substance.
Polk County law enforcement officials allege that Nagel obtained at least seven shipments of steroids and other drugs from Richard "Andy" Thomas of Lakeland, Fla., between April 2008 and May 2009. Thomas, who was arrested last May after more than $200,000 worth of drugs were found in his home, faces a host of federal drug charges.
Noting that his office had not reached even the halfway point of the investigation, Judd said detectives had not found any conclusive evidence that any professional athletes obtained illicit drugs from either Thomas or Nagel.
"Our communication yesterday from the Capitals players was very cooperative and forthright," Judd said. "They didn't relate anything to us we didn't expect to hear. Having said that, we'd have been shocked if one of them said, 'Oh yeah, we all did steroids.' "
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