There are three kinds of confidential informants, people who provide information to law enforcement about illegal activities, for monetary compensation.
Sadly, due to terrific police work or just plain bad luck, many steroid dealers and users are caught. To avoid being prosecuted and receiving a criminal record, many people will spill the proverbial beans on every business partner they’ve ever had, and give law enforcement a great deal of information on past or ongoing crimes. This type is known as the suspect informant. This person has been caught for a crime. To avoid incarceration or even probation, this person will give police information and sometimes even wear a wire to record you admitting to a crime or engaging in buying or selling.
The second kind of steroid informant is the mercenary informant, or “money snitch”. He doesn’t report your crimes because he’s in a legal jam. He reports you to the police because he likes the money that they pay for information on crimes. He has a Crimestoppers number and picks up a check each week at a local bank. He will exaggerate the truth, snoop in places where police have no jurisdiction, and generally do anything he can to manipulate the system for money, at your expense.
The third kind of informant is the “good guy” informant. This man is a self-appointed enforcer of sports and societal ethics. He feels steroid use is a crime, placing our children at risk. So, he will snoop in lockers, listen into conversations, ask around, and generally do his own vigilante police work to find out who in his gym is using or selling steroids. Once he connects the dots, he will call the authorities and proudly deliver you on a platter to them. This type of informant is the most dangerous, as he really believes in what he is doing.
To avoid being the subject of investigation by any of these informant classes, keep your words and contacts to a minimum. If only five people in the gym know you have steroids, and they are five loyal lifetime customers, they’re not going to turn you in for money or morals – they lose you, and they lose their connection. The only danger would come from them being caught for another crime and using you and your side business as leverage to avoid the charge. Keep a very small-knit circle of friends, and avoid all three types of informants at all costs.
