Reno doctor acquitted in drug case

RENO -- A federal jury acquitted a Reno doctor on Thursday of charges he trafficked in a human growth hormone.

Dr. James Forsythe said the charges had robbed him of his practice and he was eager to return to his work.

His attorneys said that while he was the target of an undercover sting operation in 2004 he twice prescribed the drug to a Food and Drug Administration agent to treat a legitimate health condition.

"I'm ecstatic," attorney Kevin Mirch said. "I'm glad we persuaded the jury that the doctor is innocent."

Federal prosecutors argued that Forsythe -- with a patient list that includes top casino executives and Nevada first lady Dawn Gibbons -- sold the drugs illegally for anti-aging purposes, falsifying the diagnosis of a growth hormone deficiency to cover his tracks.

The 12-member jury deliberated for about two hours in U.S. District Court in Reno Wednesday afternoon and returned its verdict at midmorning on Thursday after listening again to secret tape recordings the undercover agent made of Forsythe, who is married to former Nevada Republican Party Chairwoman Earlene Forsythe.

Senior Judge Howard McKibben on Tuesday dismissed one of two counts the Justice Department brought against Forsythe, saying there was no evidence he introduced the drugs into interstate commerce from Israel without required approval.

The remaining charge accused him of distributing Bio-Tropin as an unapproved anti-aging treatment.

Mirch said FDA agents launched the investigation based on the mistaken understanding the drug had not been approved by the federal agency.

Mirch said when they learned it was simply a new name for a previously approved growth hormone, prosecutors changed their strategy to argue that the drug could be prescribed for adults only in special circumstances, including treatment of hormone deficiency and AIDs wasting.

Mirch said the agency exerted "too much power" in a rush to indict Forsythe in 2005.

"He is a good man," Mirch said. "He has lived since 2004 with absolutely the most horrible cloud over his head, his family's head and his colleagues' heads.

"They wanted to get him. They wanted to embarrass the people on this (patient) list and they did. They should have apologized and let this man who is 69 years old attend to his patients like he has for 40 years."

Assistant U.S. Attorney James Keller said Forsythe didn't do many of the tests experts said are necessary to determine whether someone suffers from a hormone deficiency.

Keller left the courtroom on Thursday, ignoring a reporter's request for comment.