No Huskers charged as steroid case ends

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By BUTCH MABIN / Lincoln Journal Star

A Lancaster County jury this week convicted the last defendant in a steroids distribution ring, closing out a case that had raised questions about Nebraska athletes’ possible use of the drugs.

The district court jury took just under two hours Tuesday to return a guilty verdict against Kenneth Thompson, 24, of Lincoln on a charge of felony conspiracy to distribute, deliver or dispense a controlled substance. The trial began Feb. 22.

District Judge John Colborn scheduled Thompson for sentencing April 27. He could receive up to 20 years in prison.

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Authorities last year charged Thompson, Levi Lewis and Chad Case with conspiring to distribute the performance-enhancing drugs. Lewis, Case and Vladimir Ribartchouk, a New York man who supplied the steroids, have been sentenced.

Lewis in 2002 was a roommate of a former Nebraska football player, and Case is a former Nebraska Wesleyan football player.

Prosecutors never presented any evidence to the court that local college players got steroids from the men, however.

“In a case where there are allegations of conspiracy, a number of names will come up,” said deputy Lancaster County Attorney Bruce Prenda, who prosecuted the Thompson case.

“There was not sufficient evidence to charge (others) with a crime,” he said. “There was no indication that they (college athletes) were involved to the extent that criminal charges should be filed.”

Thompson’s attorney, Brad Roth of Lincoln, said Wednesday a state’s witness testified at the trial he had only indirect knowledge Husker football players bought some of the steroids.

Matthew Ochsner told reporters in July that Husker players “definitely” used the drugs. Ochsner, formerly of Waverly, was suspected of receiving packages containing steroids.

Ochsner now lives in California, and he could not be reached for comment.

“As I recall his testimony, he said he had just hearsay, just heard through the grapevine” that football players were involved, Roth said.

Hastings attorney Art Langvardt, who represented Lewis, said he expected no links would be established between college athletes  and the steroids ring.

In preparing a defense for Lewis, Langvardt reviewed a number of Nebraska State Patrol investigatory reports.

“There was nothing there,” he said. “The whole thing about Nebraska athletes, there was nothing there.”

Colborn sentenced Lewis in November to one to two years in prison, a sentence Langvardt maintained stemmed from the publicity generated by the possible involvement of Husker players. Langvardt had sought probation for his client.

“A big factor in all this was the publicity,” he said. “I’m still irritated by the sentence. I’m still irritated by the whole thing.”

Case, in a deal with prosecutors, agreed to plead to a reduced misdemeanor drug charge in exchange for dismissal of the felony count. He was fined in Lancaster County Court last month.

Colborn in December sentenced Vladimir Ribartchouk of New York to up to three years in prison for his role in the conspiracy. Prosecutors alleged Ribartchouk between July 2003 and November 2004 sold steroids to local contacts who in turn sold the drugs in the Lincoln area.

Reach Butch Mabin at 473-7234 or bmabin@journalstar.com.

Cases closed

The conviction of Kenneth Thompson for his role in a steroids distribution conspiracy brings to a close prosecutors’ case against the four men involved in the conspiracy.

Thompson, convicted by a Lancaster County District jury Tuesday, will be sentenced April 27.

The other defendants and their dispositions:

* Levi Lewis, sentenced in November to one to two years in prison.

* Chad Case, ordered to pay a $500 fine last month on a reduced misdemeanor drug charge.

* Vladimir Ribartchouk of New York, sentenced in December to up to three years in prison for his role in the conspiracy.