Galea doping hearing set for Wednesday

BUFFALO, New York — Anthony Galea, a Canadian physician charged with smuggling unauthorized drugs into the United States for US athletes, has an arraignment and plea deal hearing before a judge on Wednesday.The session before US District Judge Richard Arcara, listed as a plea agreement hearing and arraignment on the court docket, could bring an end to a long-running saga that has resulted in five charges against the Toronto doctor.Tiger Woods, a 14-time major golf champion, and several Major League Baseball and National Football League players have confirmed they were treated by Galea, who is not authorized to practice in the United States.Galea is accused of smuggling human growth hormones and other substances over the US-Canadian border, lying to guards in order to avoid discovery and treating athletes at homes and hotels for a two-year span ending in September of 2009.A plea deal would avoid a trial that figured to provide exact details of just which sports figures he visited and when.Woods admitted being treated by Galea when his injured left knee was not healing as fast as he wished after a 2008 injury, but said he only used Galea's "blood spinning" technique to create platelet-rich plasma, which is reinjected into an injured area to enhance and speed healing.Jose Reyes and Carlos Beltran of the New York Mets have also said they have spoken with federal investigators regarding Galea.The Galea probe began when his assistant, Mary Anne Catalano, was arrested in September of 2009 as she tried to enter the United States from Canada at Buffalo.Catalano is set to be sentenced later in July after pleading guilty to one charge of lying to border agents. She cooperated with investigators as part of a plea deal. Copyright © 2011 AFP. All rights reserved. More »

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