Pasco County Man Pleads Guilty To Conspiracy To Distribute Steroids And Possession Of An Unregistered Firearm

Tampa, Florida - United States Attorney Roger B. Handberg announces that Mitchell Bunkowske (32, Land O Lakes) has pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute and to possess with intent to distribute anabolic steroids and possession of an unregistered firearm. Bunkowske faces a maximum penalty of 10 years in federal prison on each count. A sentencing date has not yet been set.

According to the plea agreement, between January 2019 and June 2021, Bunkowske was a source of supply who sold quantities of anabolic steroids, a Schedule III controlled substance, to customers across the United States. He used the United States Postal Service to mail vials containing different types of steroids to customers, including testosterone propionate and drostanolone propionate. Bunkowske also sold anabolic steroids to middlemen who, in turn, supplied them to other customers, including members of the United States Navy. When federal agents executed a search warrant at Bunkowske's home in June 2021, they found a large quantity of steroids in a variety of different forms. Bunkowske later admitted that he distributed steroids, that he did not have a medical license to do so, and that he was not a medical provider.

In addition to seizing the controlled substances, federal agents also recovered from Bunkowske's home an FN Herstal PS90 5.7x28 caliber rifle with a magazine containing 50 rounds of ammunition. The barrel of the rifle had been replaced with a shortened barrel such that the rifle's overall length was about 20 inches, including a barrel length of about 12 inches. Under federal law, the nature and measurements of that rifle necessitate registration with the National Firearms Registration and

This case was investigated by the United States Naval Criminal Investigative Service and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, with assistance from the United States Postal Inspection Service. It is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jay L. Hoffer.