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Thread started 06/05/08 7:29pm

Graycap23

NFL:Convicted steroids dealer who gave names to NFL found dead

Convicted steroids dealer who gave names to NFL found dead
ESPN.com news services

Updated: June 5, 2008, 2:34 PM ET
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PLANO, Texas -- A convicted steroids dealer who recently met with NFL security officials and gave them names of players he said bought steroids from him has been found dead in his home.


[+] EnlargeAP Photo/Tony Gutierrez

David Jacobs, seen after pleading guilty to steroid charges in 2007, recently met with NFL officials -- and according to his lawyer, gave them the names of players who had received drugs he had made. He was found dead on Thursday.
Just after midnight on Thursday, Plano police made a welfare check and found 35-year-old David Jacobs and 30-year-old Amanda Jo Earhart-Savell dead. Both had been shot.


Officer Rick McDonald, a police spokesman, said the officers were making a welfare check after relatives of Earhart-Savell expressed concern about her whereabouts.



He says Plano detectives aren't releasing information about whether the deaths were a double homicide or a murder-suicide, whether a weapon was found near the bodies, or any other details.



Jacobs was sentenced to three years probation and fined $25,000 on May 1 after pleading guilty last year in federal court in Dallas to conspiring to possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids.

Men in ski masks and jackets marked "police" were seen entering the home late Thursday morning, according to the Dallas Morning News.



The newspaper reported it had spoken with Jacobs frequently and exchanged e-mails with him as recently as last weekend. Jacobs had sought to rebuild his nutritional supplement business, but he was experiencing financial problems and having trouble getting his old client base to work with him, according to the report.



On May 21, Jacobs met with NFL security officials in the Dallas area and gave them names of players he said bought steroids from him, according to Hank Hockeimer, his lawyer.



Hockeimer told the newspaper on Thursday he had not yet been briefed about the situation at Jacobs' house.



The league requested the meeting after Jacobs was sentenced to three years of probation on May 1 for a single count of conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids. He had cooperated with federal authorities since his arrest last year.



By his own account, Jacobs was a prolific salesman, moving 1,000 bottles of anabolic steroids a month and an equal number of growth hormone kits that he obtained illicitly from China.



Hockeimer had said that league officials seemed "genuinely interested" in what Jacobs had to say, as well as in canceled checks and e-mails that he provided.



Jacobs has publicly acknowledged that he dealt primarily with two NFL players, and earlier identified one of them as offensive lineman Matt Lehr. Last month, Jacobs told the Dallas Morning News that Lehr purchased tens of thousands of dollars of steroids and growth hormone from the spring of 2006 to the spring of 2007. He also told the paper that Lehr agreed to have boxes of raw steroid powder from China shipped directly to his Georgia home.



Lehr served a four-game suspension while a member of the Atlanta Falcons in October 2006 after he tested positive for a banned substance. He spent last season with Tampa Bay and was acquired by the Saints in the offseason.



Lehr's attorney, Paul Coggins, has said the player hasn't used banned substances since he was suspended and has since passed NFL drug tests. The attorney has also said Jacobs' allegations are retaliation because Lehr wouldn't pay Jacobs' legal fees.

After his sentencing, Jacobs told The New York Times that he hoped to tell league officials about "loopholes in their program." He also said he'd advised about 10 players to use finasteride, a drug to treat balding, because it masks steroid use.



Information from Shaun Assael and The Associated Press was used in this report.
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Reply #1 posted 06/05/08 7:31pm

horatio

kewl
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Reply #2 posted 06/05/08 7:32pm

SCNDLS

avatar

eek Why is Plano literally one mile from where I live? This is a hot mess.
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Reply #3 posted 06/05/08 7:34pm

Graycap23

SCNDLS said:

eek Why is Plano literally one mile from where I live? This is a hot mess.

This has the potential 2 get very messy.
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Reply #4 posted 06/05/08 7:35pm

butterfli25

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must have been some cowboy names on that list, you know how texas is about them 'boys.


neutral
butterfly
We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.
Maya Angelou
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Reply #5 posted 06/05/08 7:36pm

SCNDLS

avatar

butterfli25 said:

must have been some cowboy names on that list, you know how texas is about them 'boys.


neutral

Shut IT! lol

He implicated players throughout the league. I don't think there were any Cowboys mentioned.
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Reply #6 posted 06/05/08 7:39pm

butterfli25

avatar

you know i ain't lyin lol

hmmm flower mound?
butterfly
We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.
Maya Angelou
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Reply #7 posted 06/05/08 7:40pm

SCNDLS

avatar

butterfli25 said:

you know i ain't lyin lol

hmmm flower mound?

giggle Yeah, they running all up in your backyard. lol
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Reply #8 posted 06/05/08 7:54pm

butterfli25

avatar

giggle

not in my backyard falloff
butterfly
We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.
Maya Angelou
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Reply #9 posted 06/05/08 9:26pm

XxAxX

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hmmmmm hmm
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Reply #10 posted 06/05/08 9:51pm

daPrettyman

avatar

SCNDLS said:

eek Why is Plano literally one mile from where I live? This is a hot mess.

Yes it is. Plano is known for having drugs everywhere. Remember when the high school students were dying like crazy a few years ago?
**--••--**--••**--••--**--••**--••--**--••**--••-
U 'gon make me shake my doo loose!
http://www.twitter.com/nivlekbrad
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Reply #11 posted 06/05/08 9:53pm

SCNDLS

avatar

daPrettyman said:

SCNDLS said:

eek Why is Plano literally one mile from where I live? This is a hot mess.

Yes it is. Plano is known for having drugs everywhere. Remember when the high school students were dying like crazy a few years ago?

Yeah, from all the black tar heroin now it's from some shit called cheese. Wasn't one of the Dallas Cowboys found dead some years ago in Plano from a drug overdose. I forgot his name but I think he was a lineman. I can see his face and everything but can't remember his name. And Michael Irving was arrested in a Plano apartment too. That was funny as hell.
[Edited 6/5/08 14:54pm]
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Reply #12 posted 06/05/08 10:03pm

uPtoWnNY

butterfli25 said:

must have been some cowboy names on that list, you know how texas is about them 'boys.


neutral


Of course, Dallas Cowboys & drugs go together, going back to the days of 'Hollywood Henderson'. They were nicknamed the 'Drugstore Cowboys' for a reason. biggrin biggrin

GO GIANTS!!!!!
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Reply #13 posted 06/05/08 11:10pm

daPrettyman

avatar

SCNDLS said:

daPrettyman said:


Yes it is. Plano is known for having drugs everywhere. Remember when the high school students were dying like crazy a few years ago?

Yeah, from all the black tar heroin now it's from some shit called cheese. Wasn't one of the Dallas Cowboys found dead some years ago in Plano from a drug overdose. I forgot his name but I think he was a lineman. I can see his face and everything but can't remember his name. And Michael Irving was arrested in a Plano apartment too. That was funny as hell.
[Edited 6/5/08 14:54pm]

I think you are correct. I don't remember his name either.
**--••--**--••**--••--**--••**--••--**--••**--••-
U 'gon make me shake my doo loose!
http://www.twitter.com/nivlekbrad
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Reply #14 posted 06/05/08 11:30pm

weused2luvhim

uPtoWnNY said:

butterfli25 said:

must have been some cowboy names on that list, you know how texas is about them 'boys.


neutral


Of course, Dallas Cowboys & drugs go together, going back to the days of 'Hollywood Henderson'. They were nicknamed the 'Drugstore Cowboys' for a reason. biggrin biggrin

GO GIANTS!!!!!



Sure, no other teams in the league has anyone who would use drugs. blunt




I love how people who don't like the Cowboys like to take shots at them whenever possible. All I can say is, 5 Superbowl rings. What's your team got. loser
If you're not doing the fucking, then you're taking one.
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Reply #15 posted 06/05/08 11:50pm

uPtoWnNY

weused2luvhim said:

I love how people who don't like the Cowboys like to take shots at them whenever possible. All I can say is, 5 Superbowl rings. What's your team got. loser


Three is alright, plus who did the Cowgirls LOSE to in the playoffs? Nothing was sweeter than watching Jerry Jones' face on that last play - YEAH!! F--k Dallas and their front-running fans, I'll bash them every chance I get. I'll even root for the hated Eagles over Dallas. GO BIG BLUE!!!!
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Reply #16 posted 06/05/08 11:52pm

SCNDLS

avatar

weused2luvhim said:

uPtoWnNY said:



Of course, Dallas Cowboys & drugs go together, going back to the days of 'Hollywood Henderson'. They were nicknamed the 'Drugstore Cowboys' for a reason. biggrin biggrin

GO GIANTS!!!!!



Sure, no other teams in the league has anyone who would use drugs. blunt




I love how people who don't like the Cowboys like to take shots at them whenever possible. All I can say is, 5 Superbowl rings. What's your team got. loser

giggle And although I'm not saying they didn't earn the reputation, they're NO different than any other professional team but because they're billed as "America's Team" they're under greater scrutiny and subject to more criticism. Plus people love to tear others (especially winners) down so there ya go.
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Reply #17 posted 06/06/08 12:01am

SCNDLS

avatar

daPrettyman said:

SCNDLS said:


Yeah, from all the black tar heroin now it's from some shit called cheese. Wasn't one of the Dallas Cowboys found dead some years ago in Plano from a drug overdose. I forgot his name but I think he was a lineman. I can see his face and everything but can't remember his name. And Michael Irving was arrested in a Plano apartment too. That was funny as hell.
[Edited 6/5/08 14:54pm]

I think you are correct. I don't remember his name either.


It was Mark Tuinei, I knew he was Hawaiian.

PLANO, Texas (AP) — Mark Tuinei, a former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman who helped them win three Super Bowl titles and was considered the team's toughest player during his 15 seasons, was found dead in his car Thursday morning. He was 39.

Plano police chief Bruce Glasscock said an unidentified friend who had been told to go to Tuinei's house to check on him found Tuinei unconscious in a vehicle. Efforts to revive him failed, and he was pronounced dead upon arriving at Medical Center of Plano, a north Dallas suburb.
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Reply #18 posted 06/06/08 12:03am

weused2luvhim

uPtoWnNY said:[quote]

weused2luvhim said:

I love how people who don't like the Cowboys like to take shots at them whenever possible. All I can say is, 5 Superbowl rings. What's your team got. loser


Three is alright.




But 5 is great.
hijacked

Alright back to the topic.
If you're not doing the fucking, then you're taking one.
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Reply #19 posted 06/06/08 12:25am

daPrettyman

avatar

SCNDLS said:[quote]

daPrettyman said:



It was Mark Tuinei, I knew he was Hawaiian.

PLANO, Texas (AP) — Mark Tuinei, a former Dallas Cowboys offensive lineman who helped them win three Super Bowl titles and was considered the team's toughest player during his 15 seasons, was found dead in his car Thursday morning. He was 39.

Plano police chief Bruce Glasscock said an unidentified friend who had been told to go to Tuinei's house to check on him found Tuinei unconscious in a vehicle. Efforts to revive him failed, and he was pronounced dead upon arriving at Medical Center of Plano, a north Dallas suburb.

Sure was...man I had forgotten about him. Man, Plano needs to revamp.
**--••--**--••**--••--**--••**--••--**--••**--••-
U 'gon make me shake my doo loose!
http://www.twitter.com/nivlekbrad
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Reply #20 posted 06/06/08 1:37pm

butterfli25

avatar

weused2luvhim said:


I love how people who don't like the Cowboys like to take shots at them whenever possible. All I can say is, 5 Superbowl rings.

What's your team got. loser


5 superbowl rings same as yours
nod
butterfly
We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.
Maya Angelou
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Reply #21 posted 06/06/08 1:43pm

CarrieLee

This is awful.

Hey didn't a Patriot's player get busted for OC's recently? I heard something about it last night but didn't catch the whole story. He was wearing a wire or something and the DEA wouldn't back him up...pretty much said FU and arrested him.

Also a former Celtics player was found slouched over the steering wheel of his car from an apparent heroin overdose. It's so sad that these talented players can't control this. But addictions are addictions...whether they are athletes or not. It's all very sad.
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Reply #22 posted 06/06/08 1:45pm

butterfli25

avatar

CarrieLee said:

This is awful.

Hey didn't a Patriot's player get busted for OC's recently? I heard something about it last night but didn't catch the whole story. He was wearing a wire or something and the DEA wouldn't back him up...pretty much said FU and arrested him.

Also a former Celtics player was found slouched over the steering wheel of his car from an apparent heroin overdose. It's so sad that these talented players can't control this. But addictions are addictions...whether they are athletes or not. It's all very sad.

true dat carrie true dat
butterfly
We all should know that diversity makes for a rich tapestry, and we must understand that all the threads of the tapestry are equal in value no matter what their color.
Maya Angelou
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Reply #23 posted 06/06/08 4:54pm

SCNDLS

avatar

I'm starting to think this was a murder-suicide considering the fact that he was obviously roided up and irrational, suspicious, violent behavior is trademark behavior of men on 'roids. I think that's why domestic violence is so common among athletes. She was a bad ass fitness model though. rose

Here's video of him working out with her.

http://mdtv.musculardevel.../1031/204/


Amanda Jo Earhart-Savell stuck with convicted steroids trafficker David Jacobs when no one else would. It may have gotten her killed.

Convicted steroids dealer found dead in Plano home (Video/editing: Richard
Police found the bodies of Ms. Earhart-Savell, 30, a professional fitness competitor, and Mr. Jacobs, 35, a former amateur bodybuilder, shot to death inside his home on Honey Creek Lane in Plano on Thursday morning.

Police received a missing-person call shortly after midnight Wednesday from Ms. Earhart-Savell's family, said Plano police spokesman Rick McDonald. The family said that they had not heard from her and that she might be at Mr. Jacobs' house.

Autopsies by the Dallas County medical examiner's office are pending.

Investigators would not say if it was a murder-suicide, but people who knew the pair say Mr. Jacobs was jealous and possessive of Ms. Earhart-Savell, a fitness magazine cover girl described by friends as bubbly, attractive and outgoing. Mr. Jacobs had previously told The Dallas Morning News that their almost yearlong relationship was marked by at least two breakups and reconciliations, centered on allegations of cheating on both sides.

"He was by all accounts a controlling person," said John Romano, senior editor for Muscular Development magazine who knew Mr. Jacobs. "Close friends told her to stay away from him."
In February, she was not invited to the Arnold Classic, one of the world's most prestigious events of its kind. Bodybuilding enthusiasts decried the move online, saying it was because of her connection to Mr. Jacobs.

"She took second in the Arnold Classic last year and wasn't invited back this year. That's an incredible hypocrisy," said Mr. Romano, who believes steroids use is rampant in the bodybuilding community. "The guy who does the steroids can compete, but the person who dates the steroids dealer can't."

Mr. Jacobs drew criticism among online bloggers for recently sitting down with NFL investigators and giving them names of players to whom he said he sold performance-enhancing drugs, including ex-Cowboys lineman Matt Lehr. Mr. Jacobs also supplied the league with canceled checks, e-mails, text messages and other evidence, saying he wanted to "clean up" the sport.

Mr. Lehr's attorney has called Mr. Jacobs' information unreliable and said his client would not be indicted. Federal investigators will only say that their investigation continues.

Mr. Jacobs also said he sold steroids and growth hormone to other NFL players, but never named them publicly.

On the Web site for his now-defunct nutrition store in Plano, Mr. Jacobs described himself as a trainer who "offers guidance to many top athletes across the United States," including "Dallas Cowboys and Atlanta Falcons football players."

After his arrest, Mr. Jacobs freely told investigators about his Chinese connections for raw steroid powder, which he imported and used to cook steroids. One of his top middlemen sold about $30,000 a month of the drugs.

NFL investigation

Mr. Jacobs maintained until his death that federal authorities already had names of middlemen and NFL players as a result of their two-year investigation into his network. He said he confirmed names, but he did not willingly give up any names.

One of the areas of interest to the NFL was Mr. Jacobs' allegation that players use a hair-loss-prevention drug that can also act as a masking agent for steroid use.

He said that in 2006, Mr. Lehr used such a medication, and Mr. Jacobs said federal investigators confiscated a bottle of that medicine given to Mr. Jacobs by Mr. Lehr.

The label bore an NFL team logo, along with Mr. Lehr's name, Mr. Jacobs said.

The use of finasteride, sold under the trade names Propecia and Proscar, has been reviewed by the National Football League, but has not been banned. It is prohibited by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which oversees international competition such as the Olympics.

It's unclear what the league will do with Mr. Jacobs' revelations.

"We are reviewing the information to determine if there is documented evidence establishing any violations of our program and will follow up on any other information that is provided," NFL spokesman Greg Aiello said Thursday. "It is premature to comment on any specific player at this time."

He said anyone found to have violated league policies would be disciplined. He also said Mr. Jacobs was never paid for his assistance.

Looking forward

The Dallas Morning News spoke to Mr. Jacobs frequently and exchanged e-mails with him as recently as last weekend. He was interested in getting on with his life after accepting a plea deal for three years of probation on charges related to his steroids trafficking.

Mr. Jacobs said he wanted to rebuild his nutritional supplement business, but was having trouble getting his old client base to work with him. He also was having financial problems, but the former Marine seemed to be in good spirits.

On May 21, he said he was moving forward with plans to speak to school students about the risks of steroids use. "They are being scheduled now, everyone is really supportive!" he wrote in an e-mail.

A few weeks ago, attempting to turn things around after his legal troubles ended, Mr. Jacobs was thrilled at the positive response to an online audio interview he gave. "God I really do need to write a book ..."

Reached at his home near Atlanta, Mr. Jacobs' father, David Arthur Jacobs, said he feared something bad would happen to his son in the wake of his steroids case.

"I've been waiting on this call," he said. "Any time you are involved with what he was involved in, there's a fear factor that someone will be so upset that they will do bodily harm."

He added that police did not tell him what they think happened.

Mr. Jacobs' father said he didn't talk to his son about his relationships, but in text messages he traded with him this week, he said nothing sounded amiss.

"He didn't sound suicidal," his father said. "He's a good kid, a smart kid, but he made some bad choices."

Art Atwood, a nationally noted bodybuilder and former close friend of Mr. Jacobs, is himself awaiting sentencing on charges related to steroids trafficking. He said Thursday that such stresses and pressures are "a recipe for disaster."

He described Mr. Jacobs as a passionate man. "Whatever he did it was 100 percent. Full blaze on."

He said that after he and Mr. Jacobs were busted for making and selling steroids a year ago, he avoided Mr. Jacobs, as did most people in the close-knit bodybuilding community. He said he regrets that.

"I forgave him," Mr. Atwood said. "I didn't think anything bad about David. But everyone just kind of disowned him. The first thing you think is what you could have done to prevent this. If I was a better person, I would have answered his phone calls."

Mr. Atwood said he believes that Mr. Jacobs' being publicly branded a criminal, losing his supplement business, having all his money go toward legal bills and his rocky relationship with Ms. Earhart-Savell was just too much pressure.

"If it is a murder-suicide, there was a whole bunch of things going on: anger, jealousy. It's a cocktail, an intensity, an obsession. It's a whole bunch of emotions packed into one act. If you put all the wrong emotions together, that's how something like this happens."

He said the couple met shortly after Mr. Jacobs was arrested in spring 2007. Mr. Atwood ran across Mr. Jacobs at a bodybuilding show and saw his former friend and business partner beaming about his nascent relationship.

"They had only been going out four weeks, and he had her name tattooed on his left wrist," Mr. Atwood said. "It's in Chinese. He said that 'if we ever break up, I'll just say it means honor, respect,' something like that. When I saw that, I thought, 'Whoa, she's in for a ride.'

"He was talking about having children with her. I didn't think Amanda would give up her career to date him and start a family, just like that. It didn't seem to add up right."

Mr. Jacobs and Ms. Earhart-Savell frequently blogged on bodybuilding sites and peppered their MySpace pages with notes and quotes. His MySpace profile features some lyrics from rapper 50 Cent's "Many Men (Wish Death)":

"Sunny days wouldn't be special, if it wasn't for rain. Joy wouldn't feel good if it wasn't for pain. Death has to be easy 'cause life is hard. It will leave you physically mentally and emotionally scarred."

[Edited 6/6/08 9:54am]
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Reply #24 posted 06/06/08 5:03pm

uPtoWnNY

CarrieLee said:

Hey didn't a Patriot's player get busted for OC's recently? I heard something about it last night but didn't catch the whole story. He was wearing a wire or something and the DEA wouldn't back him up...pretty much said FU and arrested him.



I believe the dude's name was Nick Kazur.
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Reply #25 posted 06/06/08 6:02pm

CarrieLee

uPtoWnNY said:

CarrieLee said:

Hey didn't a Patriot's player get busted for OC's recently? I heard something about it last night but didn't catch the whole story. He was wearing a wire or something and the DEA wouldn't back him up...pretty much said FU and arrested him.



I believe the dude's name was Nick Kazur.


Ya I found it on yahoo. I've never heard of him before so he must not be an important player! wink
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