Menino vows to push for police steroid tests

Mayor Thomas M. Menino vowed yesterday to try to make testing for steroids a requirement for Boston police officers after steroid abuse and trafficking emerged as one strand of a broadening corruption investigation of the department.

The suspected ringleader among the three officers charged with guarding massive shipments of cocaine, Roberto Pulido, is accused of trafficking in steroids, which he allegedly imported from a drug dealer in Greece. A regular customer for the steroids was a second officer, Carlos A. Pizarro, according to an affidavit filed by an FBI agent in the case.

A fourth officer implicated in the federal investigation was placed on administrative duty and had his gun confiscated last week after he was implicated in the distribution of steroids and suspected steroid use, a law enforcement official with knowledge of the investigation has told the Globe. Because the department does not test officers for steroids, Edgardo Rodriguez probably would not have come to the attention of department officials if it weren't for the federal probe.

``The mayor supports steroids testing, and he will negotiate with the union regarding this matter," Menino spokeswoman Rebecca Frisch said. The mayor declined to be interviewed.

Thomas J. Nee, Boston Police Patrolmen's Association president, yesterday said he is open to steroids testing, but wants to make sure testing would be fair to officers. Some officers have complained that a hair test used by the department can lead to false positive results for illegal drugs.

``I'd be more than happy to sit down and bargain with them," Nee said in an interview. ``My obligation is not to protect people [who are] using illicit drugs; my job is to protect people from a bad test."

Nee said the city had asked for steroids to be included in drug screening for officers a few years ago but dropped the matter. The union and city are negotiating a new contract.

Some community leaders, who are warier of officers because of the explosive allegations aired last week after a 2 1/2-year undercover FBI probe, said they were concerned that steroid use will make officers more aggressive on the beat.

``Guns and steroids just don't go together," said Christopher Sumner, executive director of the Boston Ten Point Coalition and a frequent partner of the police on public safety initiatives.

``It's common sense," he said yesterday. ``I know those guys swear to an oath of transparency, integrity, and honesty, and if you're taking steroids that's one of those drugs their superiors would want to know about. . . . It intensifies your metabolism, your emotion, and your physical strength, and I'm not sure why you would need that to point a gun or help govern community safety."

Jorge Martinez -- executive director of Project RIGHT, a Grove Hall nonprofit community organization -- expressed surprise that Boston police are not tested for steroids.

``The less police officers we have on any kind of drugs, the better," he said. ``I am surprised, because sports teams get tested for steroids and a whole host of other folks get tested for steroids, so I took it for granted the Boston Police Department tested for steroids."

But specialists say that it is unusual for employers to test for steroids, largely because of the expense.

``It isn't something that comes up on a routine test," said Halle Weingarten, codirector of Independent Toxicology Services, a California company that oversees workplace drug testing for employers across the country.

``It's difficult to do steroid testing, although it's getting more common and routine. But it tends to be pretty expensive, and you have to use a specialty lab."

The standard workplace drug test is the so-called NIDA five, a reference to the National Institute on Drug Abuse recommendations for a drug test that checks for cocaine, heroin, amphetamines, PCP, and marijuana. Weingarten said airline pilots, truck drivers, and other transportation workers generally are given this type of test.

She said some private employers also test for barbiturates, Valium, methadone, and other prescription drugs, but she said that generally more extensive testing is limited to pharmacists or nurses who have access to a large amount of drugs at work.

Boston police officers are tested only for the NIDA five drugs, said Officer Michael McCarthy, a department spokesman. Officers are tested before they join the force, again while on probationary duty, then annually within 30 days of their birthday. They also are tested if they get a promotion or are assigned to a special unit such as narcotics or organized crime.

But McCarthy said that if department officials have reason to suspect an employee is using steroids, they will test the officer.

Under the current contract, a positive test for any illegal drug leads to a 45-day unpaid suspension and mandatory rehabilitation. After the suspension, an officer is put on desk duty until the treatment center says the officer has recovered enough to carry a weapon. Subsequent positive tests lead to the officer's dismissal.

The New York Police Department, like Boston's, tests officers for steroids only when there is reason to believe the officer is using them, a spokesman said yesterday.

It is illegal in Massachusetts to possess or distribute steroids without a prescription. Judges have wide discretion in sentencing defendants convicted of trafficking steroids. A first offense for possession with intent to distribute steroids can bring a sentence of up to nine months in prison or a fine ranging from $250 to $2,500.

After announcing the arrests of the three officers last week, law enforcement officials said they would investigate whether the case reached deeper into the department. According to the affidavit filed by an FBI agent, while investigators said that Pulido was unable to recruit more officers to protect drug shipments, other officers attended illegal after-hours parties with drugs and prostitutes.

Boston police, whose anticorruption unit joined in the undercover investigation, have said they will seek to identify any miscreant officers, who could face department discipline, if not criminal charges.

``We will continue to work aggressively to uncover any form of criminal activity that may be conducted by members of this department, sworn or civilian," Albert Goslin, acting police commissioner, said in a statement posted on the department's website. ``We will not stand for anyone who does not uphold their oath of office."

Suzanne Smalley can be reached at ssmalley@globe.com