NJ Football Coach, Student Charged In Steroid Ring

March 13, 2007

(CBS) EAST HANOVER, N.J. A Morris County high school football coach is in police custody Tuesday after he was busted for selling steroids in part of a wide-ranging sting operation that led to 14 other arrests, including a 17-year-old student at Hanover Park High School, where the coach worked.
Word spread quickly at the school, but students were just as quick to say the news doesn't reflect the school's reputation as a whole.
"I wouldn't say it reflects on the high school as a whole. It's a pretty unfortunate thing to happen and I'm sorry it had to happen here," one student told CBS 2.
"Everyone's focusing on the one bad thing to happen and not on the 90 percent of good kids at our school," another added.
On Monday, police arrested volunteer football coach Anthony Cuppari as part of the four-month investigation. The 17-year-old in custody allegedly purchased drugs from the coach.
Police tell CBS 2 they found anabolic steroids and cocaine inside Cuppari's home, along with cash they believe came from sales of the drug. The homes of other suspects in the case were also raided and police say many of them were turned into drug labs, with other drugs such as GHB and prescription medications turning up.
The school's principal referred us to the superintendent, who didn't immediately return calls to CBS 2 seeking comment, leaving it unclear as to what position the school is taking.
The news comes just weeks after New Jersey became the first state to randomly test student athletes for steroids. The teen in question in the case, however, apparently wasn't on any teams and therefore wouldn't have been subjected to testing. The student's name has not been released.
Cuppari was expected to post $100,000 bail Tuesday evening.