 
|
|||||||||
              
|
Ex-city officer Pleads guilty Federal charges alleged role in drug distribution Saturday, July 03, 1999 By Ann Belser, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
A former city police officer pleaded guilty to federal charges of distributing drugs and conspiring to distribute them.
Robert A. Stowman Jr., 33, of Brookline, still faces trial, scheduled to begin Tuesday, on a gun charge.
In court yesterday before U.S. District Judge William L. Standish, Assistant U.S. Attorney Margaret Picking described how Stowman, while working with Dr. Roxanne Rick and Dr. Milo Paradis, provided Didrex, an amphetamine, and two narcotics, Percocet and Vicodin, to people who came to weigh-loss clinics in Brookline and Belle Vernon, but had no medical need for the drugs.
Paradis has already pleaded to two counts of drug distribution and faces sentencing on Aug. 12. No charges are on record against Rick.
Stowman was a five-year veteran of the Pittsburgh police and had earned commendations for bravery. He resigned from the department on March 22, 10 days after his arrest in the drug conspiracy case.
Picking said as part of Stowman's guilty plea, he agreed to forfeit $22,808, two pieces of property, one in Baldwin Township, the other in Belle Vernon, computer equipment and 20 firearms, including eight handguns and two assault rifles that Drug Enforcement Administration agents and Pittsburgh Police officers found when they searched his home.
Tuesday's trial will focus on the remaining count against Stowman concerning an incident in which Stowman was speaking with Mark Simala, a 28-year-old DEA agent who had been purchasing drugs from Stowman at the clinic.
During their last encounter Stowman is accused of pulling out a .40-caliber Glock semiautomatic pistol, cocking it and stating to Simala, "You know, if you were DEA, I would Glock you," according to testimony from his preliminary hearing.
That conversation was transmitted to other DEA agents nearby, but not recorded, Picking said.
Even then, Stowman provided Simala with Didrex tablets. He was then lured out of the clinic, where he was arrested, Picking said. He has been in custody since then.
Standish scheduled Stowman to be sentenced Sept. 29.
|
||||||||
