Hub officers investigated on steroid use
Up to 12 will face grand jury
As many as a dozen officers have been summoned to appear before a federal grand jury investigating steroid use and after-hours parties in the Boston Police Department - an offshoot of a probe that led to the convictions of three patrolmen last year, according to three law enforcement officials familiar with the case.
The steroid investigation is the latest fallout from one of the most embarrassing episodes in the department's recent history, a scandal that involved officers scheming to guard truckloads of cocaine, and using steroids. The ringleader, former officer Roberto "Kiko" Pulido, also guarded parties hosted by a convicted drug dealer, where nude dancers and prostitutes mingled with police officers.
For at least three months, the grand jury has been questioning officers whose names were mentioned in hours of videotape and wiretapped cellphone conversations recorded by the FBI during its investigation of Pulido, who pleaded guilty in November to charges that he conspired to traffic cocaine and heroin from Western Massachusetts to Jamaica Plain. An FBI agent wrote in a 2006 affidavit that Pulido "unwittingly provided extensive information about the illegal conduct of other Boston officers."
"They're hauling in people who may have once used steroids," said one of the law enforcement officials, speaking on the condition he not be named. "They're following up on every lead that came out of those wiretaps." The officials all spoke separately and requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the probe and because grand jury proceedings are secret.
The law enforcement officials said the grand jury also wants to know what police officers knew about parties that took place in the Boom-Boom Room above a Hyde Park auto body shop.
The Police Department is assisting in the grand jury probe, according to the three law enforcement officials. Investigators in the department's anticorruption unit are questioning officers whose names came up in the probe.
"They said, 'Tell us everything you know,' " one of the officials said, describing the process. " 'If you don't tell us and invoke the Fifth Amendment, we're going to bring you in front of the grand jury.' "
One officer, Kevin Guy, a narcotics detective, was tested for steroid use after he spoke with investigators, according to one of the law enforcement officials and, separately, a fourth source with direct knowledge of the investigation who asked not to be named. Guy, an 18-year veteran, was suspended for 45 days last month after he tested positive for steroids, police have said.
Some of the officers who have spoken to anticorruption investigators have also been subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury, the law enforcement officials said.
Some officers have been granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony to the grand jury, according to one of the three law enforcement officials and the fourth source familiar with the probe. As long as they do not commit perjury, the officers will not be charged for any crimes they admit to the grand jury.
Pulido, Nelson Carrasquillo, and Carlos Pizarro - all members of the department's motorcycle unit - were arrested in a 2006 sting for guarding shipments of cocaine for FBI agents posing as drug dealers. After the arrests, Commissioner Edward F. Davis vowed to crack down on corruption within the department and root out other officers who may have been involved.
At the time, the department was on edge after a litany of embarrassing revelations came out in federal affidavits.
But only one other officer was implicated in the scandal: Edgardo Rodriguez, who was sentenced to a year and a day in prison last month for distributing steroids, committing perjury, and obstructing justice. The FBI had recorded conversations between him and Pulido in which the men discussed buying and selling steroids. The investigation showed that Rodriguez sold steroids to another police officer in 2003, though Rodriguez said he obtained drugs only for himself.
Through a spokeswoman, Davis declined to comment on the federal grand jury probe. The spokeswoman also declined to say whether the department is conducting its own probe.
Christina DiIorio Sterling, a spokeswoman for the US Attorney's office, declined to comment.
Davis has said he plans to change the department's drug policy and start checking for steroid use in annual drug exams.
Officers are currently checked for nearly every narcotic and controlled medication, including cocaine, opiates, and OxyContin. Tests for steroids are conducted only if an officer is suspected of using them.
Pulido, who will be sentenced May 19 and faces up to 30 years in federal prison, blamed his actions on steroid abuse. Carrasquillo was sentenced on Monday to 18 years in federal prison. Pizarro, who pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 13 years in December.
Maria Cramer can be reached at mcramer@globe.com; Shelley Murphy can be reached at shmurphy@globe.com. 