Muscle-bound Hollywood superstar Sylvester Stallone was fined yesterday for bringing illegal human growth hormones

SYDNEY: Muscle-bound Hollywood superstar Sylvester Stallone was fined yesterday for bringing illegal human growth hormones that he said made him “feel and look good” into Australia.The 60-year-old star of the blockbuster Rocky boxing movies had faced a maximum fine of A$22,000, but the magistrate ordered him to pay just A$2,975 (US$2,452) because the actor had shown remorse.But Deputy Chief Magistrate Paul Cloran also ordered Stallone, who was not in the Sydney court where he was sentenced, to pay the prosecution costs of A$10,000, taking his total bill to just under A$13,000.Stallone last week apologised to the court for bringing 52 vials of a banned human growth hormone and testosterone, a male hormone used to improve muscle mass, into Australia when he came here to promote his latest Rocky movie.“There is no suggestion that the substances were being used for anything other than cosmetic or therapeutic purposes,” Cloran said.“Mr Stallone made an error of judgment and he has now done all he can to remedy the situation. He has shown contrition. He has expressed his remorse.”But Stallone, in an interview recorded in Hollywood at the weekend, suggested he had only pleaded guilty and accepted a conviction last week in order to make the case go away.“I didn’t do anything illegally but they have rules down there,” Stallone said in an interview with Australia’s Channel Nine. “Literally, I didn’t want to sit around and fight it so sometimes you just go, ‘fine, whatever you say’.”The one-time ‘Italian Stallion’ said earlier in documents he had been taking the substances under medical supervision for years to treat a medical condition, which was not revealed in court, and did not know they were illegal.But the magistrate said Stallone had failed to prove he had a valid prescription for the human growth hormone, Jintropin, which was found in his luggage at Sydney airport.Jintropin is not legally available for retail use in the US and therefore could not have been prescribed, the magistrate said, also referring to an interview the actor had with Australian customs officers.During that encounter, Stallone told officers that as one got older, the pituitary gland slowed, making one feel older. “This stuff gives your body a boost and you feel and look good,” Stallone said. “Doing Rambo is hard work and I am going to be in Burma (Myanmar) for a while. Where do you think I am going to get this stuff in Burma?”“I will not be without these. I cannot be without these.” Human growth hormone occurs naturally but can also be made in synthetic form to boost muscle mass.Stallone last week pleaded guilty to importing the banned growth hormone, but said in a written statement he had made a “terrible mistake.”“Never ever was it my intention to breach the laws and I realise that I should have properly informed myself about your customs,” Stallone said.His lawyer said Stallone, who shot to global fame in the 1976 movie Rocky, had been ignorant of Australian law and was “extremely mortified” over the incident that overshadowed the launch of his latest film here.But prosecutor John Agius told the court that the Hollywood icon had tried to “cover up” the fact that he had not declared four vials of testosterone by throwing them out of his hotel window as police arrived to search his room.Cloran said while Stallone had tried to deceive customs officers about the hormone, he had shown contrition.Stallone was just 29 when he made Rocky, which took in nearly US$450mn at the worldwide box office, but was twice that age last year when he made Rocky Balboa, the sixth film in the series.“Just because people get older doesn’t mean they abandon their dream or their ability to want to do something, so Rocky is symbolic of still wanting to participate,” Stallone told reporters recently. – AFP