Officer indicted in hormone sales

By David Waite
Advertiser Courts Writer

A Honolulu police officer who was arrested last week on suspicion of illegally distributing drugs containing human growth hormone has been indicted by a federal grand jury on five criminal counts.

The indictment was returned Thursday against Eddie Belluomini, 32, alleging that he distributed the hormone-containing drug five times from November to May 8.

If convicted, Belluomini would face as much as five years in prison on each of the counts.

According to an FBI agent's statement filed in federal court, at least some of the sales took place when Belluomini was in uniform and driving his police-subsidized vehicle. The statement said a confidential informant told law enforcement officials that he had arranged to buy two boxes of the drug Serostim from Belluomini.

Serostim, which contains human growth hormone, is legally available by prescription only and is approved for use only by AIDS patients to combat "wasting conditions" or for treating dwarfism in infants, according to the agent's statement.

The drug, however, is much sought after by some bodybuilders because its use promotes development of muscle mass and it cannot be detected in the body 48 hours after it was administered. Belluomini was active in bodybuilding.

According to the agent's statement, Belluomini provided the informant with two boxes of Serostim in November and was involved in three more transactions in April and May.

Belluomini was released from custody Wednesday after posting a $50,000 signature bond.

He has been placed on leave without pay by the Police Department pending the outcome of his case.