ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Friday, October 25, 1996 TAG: 9610250087
SECTION: VIRGINIA PAGE: C-3 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: JAN VERTEFEUILLE STAFF WRITER
A personal trainer who supplied several Radford-area bodybuilders with anabolic steroids pleaded guilty in Roanoke federal court this week.
Lisa Radcliffe, 33, of California pleaded guilty to six counts - each carrying a maximum five-year prison sentence - involving the importation of steroids from England in 1993.
Radcliffe and her husband, Edward - a former "gladiator" on the syndicated television show "American Gladiators" - traveled the bodybuilding circuit, including the Jan Tana Classic in Roanoke. In 1992, they met a Pulaski bodybuilder, Rhonda Fuller, who later asked them about getting anabolic steroids to improve her performance, according to a federal indictment.
In May 1993, U.S. Customs agents seized about $5,000 worth of anabolic steroids from a package mailed to a Radford University student, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Joe Mott.
The steroids had been mailed from England by an internationally ranked bodybuilder who knew the Radcliffes, the indictment said.
Edward Radcliffe, 29, pleaded guilty in April to five counts of importing anabolic steroids and one count of conspiracy to import and distribute them, the same charges his wife pleaded to Wednesday. He was placed on probation.
Known as "Tank," Edward Radcliffe appeared briefly on "American Gladiators," which pits amateur contestants against professional "gladiators" in an obstacle course, games and other challenges.
Anabolic steroids enhance muscle growth, allowing bodybuilders to bulk up quickly. They are supposed to be available in the United States by prescription only. The shipment confiscated by Customs included steroids in both tablet and liquid form, which must be injected.
The English friend named in the indictment, Paula Bircumshaw, is an internationally ranked competitor who took 12th place in the top contest for women, Ms. Olympia, in 1993. She also has placed in the Jan Tana Classic and the Ms. International competition, according to the International Federation of Body Builders.
Mott said he does not plan to seek Bircumshaw's extradition.
After U.S. Customs found the steroids in the package, the investigation came to a standstill because of a lack of evidence tying the steroids to the defendants, Mott said. A break in the case came when British customs agents told U.S. authorities they had intercepted a letter to Bircumshaw containing an order for steroids. Experts concluded that it was Lisa Radcliffe's handwriting, providing law enforcement with evidence connecting her to the sale.
Fuller, who lives in California, faces the same charges and is expected to plead guilty, Mott said. Lisa Radcliffe will be sentenced in January.
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