So. Bruns. bodybuilder faces steroid charges
BY CHRIS GAETANO
Staff Writer

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - Professional bodybuilder and Kendall Park resident Jason Arntz has been charged for his alleged involvement in the manufacture and distribution of anabolic steroids.

Arntz is one of 16 individuals arrested at the conclusion of a two-month undercover drug investigation by the Morris County Prosecutor's Office. The probe also uncovered Viagra, Cialis, heroin, marijuana, cocaine, ecstacy and GHB being manufactured and sold at various residences in the Morris county area, though Arntz himself was only allegedly found in possession of steroids. The total value of all goods seized was more than $300,000.

Police executed a search warrant at his Finnegan's Lane home on March 9. More than $10,000 worth of the drug was found in addition to $7,600 in cash, suspected to be proceeds from sales, according to authorities.

He was charged with conspiracy to manufacture a controlled dangerous substance. According to Deputy Chief Paul Kalleberg of the prosecutor's office, a date for his arraignment has yet to be set.

Other people arrested in the sweep included an East Hanover pair who were manufacturing the steroids and other drugs out of ingredients shipped from overseas. Anthony Cuppari, 24, worked as a personal trainer and volunteer football coach for the local high school and Michael Dente, 24, owned the pill press and laboratory used in the operation.

Arntz, 35, has been competing in body building competitions since he was a teenager in 1991, winning first place in the light heavyweight division in the Teenage Mr. New Jersey and in the Musclemania competition in Philadelphia. Until about 1998, he placed in the top three in nine out of the 13 competitions he had been in at that point. After starting his pro career in 1999, his highest rank was fifth place during the Toronto Pro Invitational, with rankings of 10th, 11th or 12th becoming more common.

According to Arntz's Web site, his nickname is "Baby Jay" and he is a licensed mortgage broker as well as a professional bodybuilder. He described himself as "honest, straight-forward, trustworthy, dedicated, hardworking, overachiever, likable, non-judgmental." During an August 2005 interview with the magazine "Flex," he said, "What makes a sport is guidelines and rules."

According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a part of the National Institute of Health, anabolic steroids are synthetic substances that simulate testosterone and other male sex hormones. While used medicinally to help people with various afflictions, people who abuse them consume between 10 to 100 times the amount given to patients. In men, abuse can lead to the shrinking of the testicles, reduced sperm count, baldness, development of breasts and increased risk of prostate cancer. In women, it can cause growth of facial hair, baldness, changes in or cessation of menstruation, a deepened voice and an enlarged clitoris. Research also shows that abuse can lead to an increase in aggressive behavior and depression when the drugs are stopped.