Suspect in Florida Steroids Bust Implicates Capitals and Nationals

Late on Tuesday night in Florida, law enforcement authorities announced the arrest of a suburban Tampa couple on multiple counts of possession with intent to distribute illegal steroids. But the news that's going to reverberate around the country, and especially in the nation's capital, is that one of the suspects in the bust is crowing that he's supplied steroids to athletes across a number of professional sports, including to members of the NHL's Washington Capitals and MLB's Washington Nationals.

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The story, which was just posted over at Tampa Bay Online (click here for the video from WFLA-TV in Tampa), is short on details. What we know now is that Richard Thomas and his wife, Sandra, both of Lakeland, Florida, were arrested yesterday after local authorities acted on a tip provided by the Philadelphia office of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

When the pair were arrested, they were found with an estimated $200,000 worth of steroids (click here for pics of the haul). But much to the surprise of the Polk County Sheriff, rather than clam up, Thomas started bragging that he had supplied steroids to athletes all over the country. When pressed further, Thomas would only say that he had supplied steroids to members of the Capitals and Nationals, though he refused to name any individual players.

During the press conference, Sheriff Grady Judd went to pains to point out that he was simply passing on what Thomas had told him, not that he had uncovered any evidence that any member of either team had either purchased or used steroids. Said Judd, "I can tell you this, there will be a whole lot of people puckered up after the morning news."

Indeed. Stay tuned for more details.