BY PERRY LEFKO
sportsnet.ca

A Toronto doctor who has treated high-profile athletes, including Tiger Woods and Donovan Bailey, and who is under investigation in the United States and Canada, has resigned as the Toronto Argonauts’ team doctor.

Dr. Anthony Galea is under investigation for allegedly selling an unapproved drug, conspiracy to import an unapproved drug and conspiracy to extort a drug and smuggling goods into Canada.

He resigned from his role with the Argonauts in February after working with the team for six years.

He had been hired by the team's previous owners, David Cynamon and Howard Sokolowski, shortly after they bought the team after the end of the 2003 CFL season.

"Dr. Galea resigned as our team doctor in early February and we accepted his resignation," an Argo spokesperson said. "He did not offer a reason for his resignation."

Galea and his former assistant, Mary Anne Catalano, face charges of smuggling and administering a banned drug, Actovegin, in Canada and the U.S.

New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez has been contacted by U.S. federal investigators regarding the case and New York Mets shortstop Jose Reyes recently said he met with federal investigators last week.

Galea was found with human growth hormone and Actovegin in his bag at the U.S-Canada border in late September, 2009.

He was arrested in Toronto on Oct. 15 after a search warrant was executed at the Institute of Sports Medicine Health and Wellness Centre in Toronto, of which he is the director.

He appeared briefly in a Toronto court last December, and his lawyer, Brian Greenspan, has publicly stated his client has done nothing wrong in the use of drugs to treat patients and Galea is looking forward to being vindicated.

None of the charges against Galea and Catalano have been proven in court.

Catalano was stopped and had her vehicle searched last September, and according to documents U.S. authorities found 20 vials, 101 syringes and 76 ampoules of unknown, misbranded drugs including Nutropin, a medical centrifuge and an ultrasound computer.

Catalano is currently co-operating with officials.

The Royal Canadian Mounted Police is conducting its own investigation, in particular with the drug Actovegin, an extract of calf's blood that is not approved for sale in Canada or the U.S.