Cortland man charged with corruption, steroid sales


March 21, 2014 at 4:54p.m.

Joseph A. Stiver, 22, of Bazetta is charged with corruption and selling anabolic steroids.

Staff report

WARREN

Joseph A. Stiver, 22, of Cadwallader Sonk Road in Bazetta Township is in the Trumbull County jail in lieu of $250,000 bond, charged with corruption and selling anabolic steroids.

He was arrested Friday following an investigation by the Trumbull Ashtabula Group Law Enforcement Task Force, the county’s primary drug investigative unit.

A prosecutor’s complaint alleges Stiver participated in an enterprise involving a pattern of corrupt activity in Bazetta Township from December 2012 to February 2014.

Chuck Morrow, an assistant Trumbull County prosecutor, declined to discuss the nature of the enterprise.

The complaint also alleges that on Jan. 20, 2014, Stiver offered anabolic steroids for sale in Bazetta Township.

Morrow asked Judge Ronald Rice of Trumbull County Common Pleas Court to set bond at $250,000 because investigators found $250,000 in the attic of Stiver’s parents’ home on Cadwallader Sonk Road where he was living, because he has several out-of-state contacts, has been deceptive with law enforcement, and investigators believe he has cash in other undisclosed locations.

For those reasons, Stiver poses a high risk of fleeing from the area if he’s able to get out on bond, Morrow said. Judge Rice said bond can be discussed again at Stiver’s next hearing March 31.

Atty. Dan Keating, who is representing Stiver, told Judge Rice Stiver has no previous criminal record.

Anabolic steroids are a controlled substance uses to treat some hormone problems in men, delayed puberty and muscle loss from some diseases.

Its use is also associated with bodybuilders and athletes to improve athletic performance.

Abuse of anabolic steroids has been linked with health problems such as acne, breast growth an shrinking of testicles in men, high blood pressure, heart problems, liver disease, cancer, kidney damage and aggressive behavior, according to the National Institutes of Health.