The New York Times-20080129-Co-Owner of Store in Steroid Raids Is Found Shot to Death in Office

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Co-Owner of Store in Steroid Raids Is Found Shot to Death in Office

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The part-owner of a Brooklyn pharmacy that the authorities have raided twice in recent months, seizing millions of dollars' worth of steroids in an investigation of illicit drug use, was found shot to death in an office above the pharmacy on Monday evening, the police said. The death was apparently a suicide.

The dead man, John Rossi, 56, had gunshot wounds to the chest and head, the police said. But in view of a note left at the scene and the recovery of a handgun, they said they did not suspect criminality. The medical examiner planned to perform an autopsy on Tuesday.

Mr. Rossi's store, Lowen's Pharmacy, at 6902 Third Avenue, in Bay Ridge, is an old-fashioned neighborhood drugstore that investigators said had expanded into major transactions of steroids and growth hormone.

A continuing multistate drug investigation conducted by the Albany County district attorney, P. David Soares, resulted in a raid of Lowen's by the State Bureau of Narcotic Enforcement last May. More than $100,000 in steroids shipped from China was seized.

A bigger raid in September seized nearly $8 million worth of human growth hormone and anabolic steroids. In that raid, the authorities arrested Lowen's vice president, Edward Letendre, but he was later released without being charged. Lowen's also turned up as a source of steroids prescribed to several New York City police officers.

It is legal to dispense, buy and use steroids that are properly prescribed by a physician, but the authorities are focusing on doctors who write prescriptions without examining patients.

After seeing Mr. Rossi earlier on Monday, employees noticed that he was missing late in the day. They found his body in an office on the second floor, above the pharmacy.

Neighbors were sympathetic to Mr. Rossi. A tenant on the third floor, Awilda Gonzalez, 58, said that over the years he had helped her and a lot of people.

A resident across the street, Barbara Rosentreter, 37, said that Mr. Rossi was a family man who was popular among older patrons of the store. They all loved him, she said. But lately, she added, he had seemed quiet, withdrawn and worried.

[Illustration]PHOTO: The body of John Rossi was removed from his office on Monday. His store was a Bay Ridge neighborhood fixture. (PHOTOGRAPH BY ROBERT STOLARIK FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES)