NYPD big hit in steroids sting

The New York Daily News by ALISON GENDAR - June 5, 2008

An NYPD deputy chief was hit with internal charges for allegedly buying human growth hormone ata Brooklyn pharmacy raided in a steroid sting last year, sources said Wednesday. Deputy Chief Michael Marino's name was among 27 NYPD customers discovered after investigators seized records and $8 million worth of steroids and HGH from Lowen's Compounding Pharmacy in Bay Ridge in October. After his name surfaced, Marino took and passed a drug test and initially was cleared by top brass, a move the president of the Patrolmen's Benevolent Association said smacked of favoritism. An ongoing investigation, however, found Marino had been issued a prescription for HGH even though it wasn't medically necessary, sources said. Marino, executive officer of patrol borough Brooklyn North, was charged with conduct prejudicial to the department for possession and use of steroids and/or HGH outside standard medical care, sources said. The NYPD will begin random drug testing for steroids July 1.