The Oil for Drugs case is an Italian doping case against doctor Carlo Santuccione and a number of accomplices, started in 2003. He is accused of administering prohibited doping products to professional and amateur

athlete An athlete (also sportsman or sportswoman) is a person who competes in one or more sports that involve physical strength, speed, or endurance. Athletes may be professionals or amateurs. Most professional athletes have particularly well-devel ...

s, to enhance their performance as well as being involved in doping network across

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

Timeline

Death of amateur cyclist

The catalyst to start the investigation was the death of an amateur cyclist in Italy that was suspicious. The death of this unnamed cyclist, which occurred around December 2002, led to an investigation by the Italian authorities. The State Prosecutor started and coordinated the investigation.

Police action

Italy's Anti-Narcotic Group (NAS) began an investigation, this included tapping the phones of Doctor Santuccione and installing a hidden camera in his office. On March 3, 2004, they recorded a phone call in which Santuccione advised the professional cyclist

Danilo Di Luca Danilo Di Luca (born 2 January 1976) is a former Italian professional road racing cyclist, best known for winning the 2007 Giro d'Italia, but also for several positive doping tests, the last of which resulting in a lifetime ban from the sport. ...

to inject EPO before

Milan–San Remo Milan–San Remo (in Italian ''Milano-Sanremo''), also called "''The Spring classic''" or "''La Classicissima''", is an annual road cycling race between Milan and Sanremo, in Northwest Italy. With a distance of 298 km (~185.2 miles) it is t ...

. Di Luca said that he would visit the Doctor that evening with teammate Alessandro Spezialetti. Later that evening the video surveillance of Santuccione's office showed Santuccione preparing two disposable syringes with EPO and exiting his office to where Di Luca and Spezialetti were waiting outside. A teammate of Di Luca and Spezialetti,

Eddy Mazzoleni Eddy Mazzoleni (born 29 July 1973) is a former Italian professional road bicycle racer who most recently rode for UCI ProTour Astana Team. Biography He currently lives in Almenno San Bartolomeo, Italy. Mazzoleni is a talented climber and was a h ...

also sent

SMS Short Message/Messaging Service, commonly abbreviated as SMS, is a text messaging service component of most telephone, Internet and mobile device systems. It uses standardized communication protocols that let mobile devices exchange short text ...

messages to Santuccione at this time mentioning Di Luca and hormone use. Following this surveillance the NAS squad conducted coordinated surprise raids at team hotels as well as at certain riders' homes on the night of May 24, 2004. Eight riders (all clients of Santuccione) from six different teams were involved. These were: * Alessio Galletti and

Mario Scirea Mario Scirea (; born 7 August 1964) is an Italian former racing cyclist. Career Scirea was a professional for 15 years, riding with six different teams throughout his career. He rode in 29 Grand Tours between 1989 and 2004. He also rode in the ...

from Domina Vacanze *

Fabio Sacchi Fabio Sacchi (born 23 May 1974 in Milan) is an Italian former professional road bicycle racer who raced for the , , , and teams. His name was on the list of doping tests published by the French Senate on 24 July 2013 that were collected during ...

from *

and Alessandro Spezialetti from *

Ruggero Marzoli Ruggero Marzoli (born 2 April 1976, in Spoltore) is an Italian professional road bicycle racer. After a previous four-month ban in 1999, Marzoli was banned for six months in 2008, after being considered guilty for the attempted use of prohibited ...

from

Acqua & Sapone Acqua & Sapone () was a professional continental cycling team based in Italy and participated in UCI Europe Tour and when selected as a wildcard to UCI ProTour events. They were managed by Palmiro Masciarelli, assisted by directeur sportifs Lor ...

* Giuseppe Muraglia from Formaggi Pinzolo Fiava *

Simone Masciarelli Simone Masciarelli (born 2 January 1980 in Pescara) is a former Italian cyclist. Major results ;2001 :2nd Gran Premio Nobili Rubinetterie :7th Trofeo Matteotti ;2002 :2nd Trofeo Città di Castelfidardo :5th GP Industria & Artigianato Larciano : ...

from No illegal substances were found. The NAS raid was part of a much larger raid carried out in 28 Italian cities involving 138 professional and amateur athletes, doctors and others who were under suspicion of dealing or using doping in several sports. However, by May 2004, only two arrests had been made. One of these involved a pharmacist.

Suspensions and bans

was given a three-month suspension due to his involvement in the case. On December 18, 2007, Doctor Santuccione was given a lifetime ban by the

Italian National Olympic Committee The Italian National Olympic Committee ( it, Comitato Olimpico Nazionale Italiano, CONI), founded in 1914 and a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), is responsible for the development and management of sports activity in Italy. ...

(CONI) due to his involvement in the Oil for Drugs case and after having already serving a lengthy ban for a previous doping offense. On October 26, 2007, the Italian

pole vault Pole vaulting, also known as pole jumping, is a track and field event in which an athlete uses a long and flexible pole, usually made from fiberglass or carbon fiber, as an aid to jump over a bar. Pole jumping competitions were known to the Myc ...

er Giuseppe Gibilisco was given a two-year ban for his involvement. On April 8, 2008, Mazzoleni was given a two-year suspension due to his involvement in the case.

References

{{Reflist Doping cases in cycling Oils for Drugs doping case