Cops on steroids
Hundreds of law enforcement officers, firefighters and corrections officers in New Jersey improperly obtained anabolic steroids and human growth hormone from a Jersey City physician before his death.
A seven-month investigation by The Star-Ledger of Newark found Joseph Colao frequently broke the law and his own oath by faking medical diagnoses to justify his prescriptions for the drugs.
The newspaper found at least 248 officers and firefighters from 53 agencies obtained muscle-building drugs from Colao, including some that have been linked to increased aggression, confusion and reckless behavior.
Six of those patients were named in lawsuits alleging excessive force or civil rights violations around the time they received drugs from him or shortly afterward.
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