A constable with the Niagara Regional Police was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Richard J. Arcara to a year in prison for smuggling steroids across the border.
Geoffrey Purdie, a 13-year veteran of the department, was arrested last April by a Border Enforcement Security Task Force of U.S. Homeland Security in Buffalo and eventually pleaded guilty to exporting anabolic steroids from Buffalo into Canada.
“I’ve hurt and betrayed a lot of people," Purdie told Arcara. “I did great work as a police officer but when it came time to say no, I didn’t say no. It was a moral failing on my part."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten asked the judge to sentence Purdie to prison and said the government’s prosecution was motivated in part by the fact that he was a police officer.
Federal agents seized a large quantity of steroids when Purdie was arrested and claimed he often used his badge as a means of identification while crossing the border.
Herbert L. Greenman, Purdie’s lawyer, said his client has “left the police department in disgrace” and has paid a deep price for his criminal activity.
Purdie’s arrest led to a Niagara Regional Police investigation into allegations of steroid use and drug smuggling by rank-and-file members of the department. Police officials said the investigation would not be completed until after Purdie’s case is resolved.
email: pfairbanks@buffnews.com
Geoffrey Purdie, a 13-year veteran of the department, was arrested last April by a Border Enforcement Security Task Force of U.S. Homeland Security in Buffalo and eventually pleaded guilty to exporting anabolic steroids from Buffalo into Canada.
“I’ve hurt and betrayed a lot of people," Purdie told Arcara. “I did great work as a police officer but when it came time to say no, I didn’t say no. It was a moral failing on my part."
Assistant U.S. Attorney Mary Catherine Baumgarten asked the judge to sentence Purdie to prison and said the government’s prosecution was motivated in part by the fact that he was a police officer.
Federal agents seized a large quantity of steroids when Purdie was arrested and claimed he often used his badge as a means of identification while crossing the border.
Herbert L. Greenman, Purdie’s lawyer, said his client has “left the police department in disgrace” and has paid a deep price for his criminal activity.
Purdie’s arrest led to a Niagara Regional Police investigation into allegations of steroid use and drug smuggling by rank-and-file members of the department. Police officials said the investigation would not be completed until after Purdie’s case is resolved.
email: pfairbanks@buffnews.com