Doctor in BALCO steroids scandal could lose license
SAN FRANCISCO -- The former medical director of the clinic at the center of a massive sports-doping scandal could lose his license for allegedly prescribing a stimulant to a track-and-field athlete without examining her.
The state medical board is seeking to revoke or suspend the medical license of Fairfield psychiatrist Dr. Brian Halevie-Goldman, who was medical director for the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative that peddled steroids to top athletes.
Halevie-Goldman was accused of gross negligence for allegedly providing the drug modafinil to the unnamed athlete at the request of BALCO founder Victor Conte, who served four months in federal prison for dealing steroids.
The doctor, who now specializes in childhood autism at two San Francisco Bay area clinics, did not immediately return calls Friday seeking comment.
The athlete in the case was identified by her initials, K.W., to protect her privacy.
The report indicates the initials could be those of elite sprinter Kelli White, a BALCO client who tested positive for modafinil after winning gold medals in the 100- and 200-meter races at the World Championships in Paris in August 2003.
White was stripped of her gold medals and suspended for two years after admitting in 2004 to using the banned stimulant.
The medical board's accusation, filed in May, said K.W. tested positive for modafinil at an international track meet in August 2003 and accepted a two-year suspension for admitting to its use in 2004.
White provided information to the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency on Conte and her former coach Remi Korchemny.
The medical board said investigators examined medical charts kept by Halevie-Goldman that showed he diagnosed K.W. with narcolepsy in January 2003 without examining her, basing his analysis solely on a description of symptoms provided by Conte.
In June 2003, the charts indicate Halevie-Goldman gave K.W. prescriptions for the painkiller Motrin, the sedative Ambien and two medications to treat a rash, though he had never seen or examined her, the medical board said.
After K.W. tested positive for modafinil in August 2003, Halevie-Goldman sent a letter to her agents saying he had dispensed modafinil samples to treat her narcolepsy, though he had never met her as a patient, according to the board's accusation.
Halevie-Goldman's records show he examined K.W. in October 2003, after she tested positive for the stimulant, the medical board said. He later wrote a memo blaming Conte, the athlete and her mother for deceiving him about K.W.'s condition.
The medical board has scheduled a hearing on the allegations Nov. 13, said spokeswoman Candis Cohen.
BALCO peddled performance-enhancing drugs designed to avoid detection by the USADA and professional sporting leagues, including Major League Baseball and the National Football League.
The names of several prominent athletes have surfaced in the federal probe, including other track stars and baseball players, such as Giants slugger Barry Bonds.
The BALCO probe brought guilty pleas in U.S. District Court from Conte, Bonds' trainer Greg Anderson, BALCO vice president James Valente, Korchemny and Patrick Arnold, the chemist who designed a previously undetectable steroid.
Copyright 2006 by The Associated Press
This story is from ESPN.com's automated news wire. Wire index
SPONSORED HEADLINES
ESPN TOP HEADLINES
- Sources: Howard felt marginalized by D'Antoni
- Boeheim: Melo needs better supporting cast
- Golf bans anchor putting, cites 'free swing'
- Durant to donate $1M to OKC tornado relief