Currently declared inadmissible to the United States, the renowned Toronto sports doctor Anthony Galea was refused entry into the country when he was found to be lying to guards at the border. The doctor, whose patients include many famous sports personalities like PGA golfer Tiger Woods and Canadian sports personalities Patrick Chan and Donvovan Bailey, is accused of prescribing human growth hormone (HGH) along with other illegal sports drugs including Actovegin to some of his athlete patients. HGH is banned in almost all sports and Actovegin, which speeds up the healing process, is banned in the United States. Galea has earned thousands of dollars prescribing drugs banned in most sports to his star patients in both the US and Canada with around $200,000 has been paid by three NFL athletes alone.
An indictment against the doctor and his assistant Mary Anne Catalano has been filed claiming his inadmissibility to the United States on the basis that he failed to declare his true purpose for travelling there and failed to declare the illegal drugs he was carrying with him. It is not clear whether the drugs were used to heal injuries faster or to enhance performance.
Mary Anne Catalano has waived her right to receive legal counsel in favour of co-operating with US investigator. She is likely to receive a minor charge because of her co-operation with US law enforcement.
Dr. Galea may be able to defend his reasons for treating his US clients, but one allegation he will not be able to defend is the fact that he lied to US border guards. In the US, this is classed as a serious crime on a par with deceiving the government.
Persons who are declared inadmissible to the US are unable to legally enter the country. In some cases the ban on entry is indefinite for others it lasts for 10 years. The only way to combat inadmissibility is to apply for a US waiver; a process that takes anything from 6 to 18 months depending on the severity of the crime.
