Learn how a small-time steroid dealer in Louisiana became the target of a 5-year federal law enforcement action.
Brad Milligan set up a small makeshift laboratory in his home where he home brewed anabolic steroids from raw powder that he imported from China. He regularly sold several of the finished mult-dose steroid vials to customers from his home. But it wasn’t his involvement with steroids that attracted the attention of the feds. It was his side business of making consumer firecrackers.
The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF) pays attention when it finds out about citizens who are dabbling with explosive precursor chemicals in the manufacture of illegal fireworks.
The ATF started its investigation in 2013 when Mulligan attempted to import potassium perchlorate and aluminum powder from internet-based chemical suppliers. The two ingredients are used to manufacture “flash powder”. Flash powder is the main ingredient used in several types of pyrotechnics.
Steroid dealer got caught because he was selling firecrackers like “cherry bombs” and “M-80s”.
Steroid dealer got caught because he was selling firecrackers like “cherry bombs”.
Federal prosecutors suspected that Mulligan was making “M-type illegal explosive devices”. Such an allegation may sound very ominous and evoke fears of terrorist-related activity. In reality, M-type devices are nothing more than a type of firecracker. They may be powerful and potential dangerous firecrackers but they are still just a device created to make a loud bang (aka salutes).
The category of firecrackers that Mulligan was making included salutes such as “cherry bombs”, “M-80s”, “Super M-100s” and “barrel bombs”. These contain anywhere from 1 gram to 20 grams to flash powder.
The Child Protection Act of 1966 and the Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) criminalized the possession, manufacture and distribution of all ground salutes that contained over 50 milligrams of flash powder. The firecrackers were banned largely due to the risk of bodily harm they posed.
The ATF did not take any action against Mulligan until the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office (JPSO) receive an anonymous CrimeStoppers tip in August 2015. The narc revealed that Mulligan was selling steroids and firecrackers from his home.
ATF investigators and the Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office (JPSO) executed a search warrant on Milligan’s house in December 2015. They seized 157 illegal firecrackers and only 4 ten-milliliter vials of injectable steroids. There was one vial of Masteron, one vial of Deca Durabolin, one vial of trenbolone acetate and one vial of testosterone propionate.
The four steroid vials hardly seemed sufficient evidence to support a steroid trafficking charge. Unfortunately, Mulligan didn’t do himself any favors.
Against the legal advice one would expect from just about every defense attorney in the country, Mulligan waived his Miranda rights against self incrimination when the feds raided his home.
Mulligan did not just admit to illegally selling steroids and firecrackers from his home. He admitted selling them for a “lengthy” period of time.
Furthermore, Mulligan provided the feds with a detailed explanation of his entire process of manufacturing steroids from the ordering of the raw materials to the importation of the powder from China to the home-brewing to the customer sales. Mulligan even agreed to allow the feds to record the entire tutorial on tape.
So when it came time to enter a plea in March 2018, Mulligan didn’t have much choice other than to enter a guilty plea. Fortunately, U.S. District Judge Nannette Jolivette Brown agreed that such a small-scale operation, with regards to both steroids and firecrackers, did not deserve any further jail time than time served. Judge Brown just added a 2-year supervised release provision during the sentencing hearing on November 13, 2018.
The lenient sentence for Mulligan shouldn’t be very controversial. Perhaps the fact that the feds spent 5 years and untold amounts of taxpayer dollars pursuing the case should raise more questions.
Metairie Man Sentenced for Manufacturing and Selling Explosive Devices and Possessing Anabolic Steroids in Federal Case https://t.co/bqpAMD52fo
— U.S. Attorney EDLA (@EDLAnews) November 13, 2018