Officer pleads innocent
to illegal sales of drugs
A Honolulu police officer accused of illegally selling a prescription drug pleaded innocent to the charges in federal court yesterday.
Eddie Belluomini, 32, was arrested last month and charged with selling Serostim, a human growth hormone popular among bodybuilders.
Federal public defender Alexander Silvert entered a "not guilty" plea on the officer's behalf. Belluomini did not speak in court except to answer "yes, sir" when asked if he understood the charges against him.
Neither Silvert nor Belluomini spoke to reporters after court.
Belluomini has been suspended without pay and remains free on $50,000 bond pending trial, which was scheduled for July 29 before U.S. District Judge David Ezra.
A federal grand jury indicted Belluomini on five criminal counts, alleging the officer distributed the drug five times between November and May 8.
According to a criminal complaint, Belluomini sold two boxes of Serostim worth $1,200 to an informant on two separate occasions last November. Since then, Belluomini -- who has competed in local bodybuilding competitions -- was witnessed three more times conducting similar deals both on and off the job, the complaint said.
If convicted, Belluomini faces a maximum of five years in prison and could lose his job.
Serostim is used for treating patients suffering from AIDS and infant dwarfism but also is popular among competitive bodybuilders because of its steroidlike qualities, the FBI said in court documents.