Roman Reigns Alleged To Have Been Client Of Jailed Steroid Dealer
Richard Rodriguez, former owner of the Iron Addicts Gym in Miami, has implicated WWE Intercontinental Champion Roman Reigns as a client in a steroid distribution ring. Rodriguez has also named actors Mark Wahlberg and Josh Duhamel as other customers in the ring.
The DEA raided the Iron Addicts gym in February 2017 and arrested Rodriguez, accusing him of being involved in a distribution chain that imported goods from China, then manufactured illegal steroids in Arizona and then distributed them out of the Miami area.
Reigns was suspended in June 2016 for violating the WWE Wellness Policy, but it was reported at the time that he tested positive for Adderall.
Jon Bravo has been working on a special to uncover the mystery behind the Iron Addicts Gym and released a clip of an interview he did with Rodriguez. In the video below at the 4:30 mark, Rodriguez starts talking about how he was introduced to Reigns by one of the informants on the case, noting that Reigns is a very down-to-earth person.
"At the end I'm just trying to clear my name and just make people well aware, there's a lot more people out there that were involved and are associated with my company that many individuals did not know," Rodriguez said. "One of them in particular is a very famous wrestler by the name of Roman Reigns. He was originally introduced to me by one of the informants [laughs]. I've probably heard his name in the past due to numerous videos that Jonny Bravo has done, and also some including myself on my own channel.
"He [Reigns] is a very down to earth person, however, a situation involved in which? often times when you're brought to trials – which I was not, I decided to take a plea – however, they disclose discovery. Discovery is basically the proof that they have against you. One thing, one part of the discovery is what's called tried and true statements, which is basically disclosing everybody whom the investigators or people that were investigating you have spoken to with regards to your company, with regards to you, with regards to any other co-defendants that are associated with the indictment. So, that's one of the reasons why I disclosed him."
Peter Bahi and Jake Fischer contributed to this article.