PIN-UP FIREMAN PUMPED UP THE WRONG WAY: COPS
By PHILIP MESSING and AMIT SRIVASTAVA
**broken link removed**
March 25, 2004 -- Next month, his rippling muscles will bulge out of the official FDNY calendar, but now, Mr. April 2004 is striking a much less glamorous pose - for a police mug shot.
Pin-up firefighter Rodney St. Cloud, who moonlights as a stripper under the name "Hot Rod," was arrested yesterday afternoon at Fire Department headquarters in Downtown Brooklyn for possession of "controlled substances," cops said.
Law-enforcement sources told The Post a 5-pound package containing $347,000 worth of anabolic steroids had been seized upon delivery under St. Cloud's name to a Midtown photo lab where his wife, Stacy, works. She was not arrested.
U.S. Customs officials had alerted city cops to the shipment from China, which sources said contained some 20,000 Dianabol pills - a popular but potentially dangerous steroid known as "D-bols" in weightlifter parlance - and 60 vials of liquid human growth hormone.
They said the bulky bodybuilder had been the subject of a major investigation involving the NYPD, Fire Department, U.S. Customs, state Special Narcotics prosecutors and the city Department of Investigation.
He is expected to be arraigned on the charges today in Manhattan Criminal Court.
Last May, criminal charges against St. Cloud for steroid possession were dropped because there was no proof of intent to supply. But the Bravest beefcake was still banished to desk duty when he tested positive for the drugs.
The FDNY would not comment, saying only that St. Cloud had been suspended from duty.
"He's one bad apple and it shouldn't take away from the good work the calendar does to support fire-safety education, which, in turn, saves firefighters' lives," said an FDNY official.
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Bust FDNY hunk for 'roids
By MICHELE McPHEE
DAILY NEWS POLICE BUREAU CHIEF
http://nydailynews.com/front/story/177116p-154062c.html
A Bronx firefighter who sizzles in his off hours as an exotic dancer was busted yesterday at FDNY headquarters on drug charges - his second arrest in less than a year.
Rodney St. Cloud, 30, who heats up nightclubs and naughty parties in leather G-strings, was arrested at Brooklyn Metrotech for having $350,000 worth of steroids mailed to his wife's office in midtown, police said.
His wife, photocopy worker Stacey St. Cloud, also was arrested. The couple was charged with felony drug possession by Manhattan Special Narcotics Prosecutor Bridget Brennan.
Police sources said St. Cloud, a professional bodybuilder, received a shipment from China containing 20,000 units of steroids and 60 units of human growth hormone. Investigators believe he was selling the illegal supplements.
"This was not an amount for personal use," said one high-ranking police official.
The beefcake firefighter, who is Mr. April in the FDNY's 2004 hunky heroes calendar, has been working at the headquarters on modified duty since May, after he was charged with receiving steroids at his home while assigned to Engine 43 in the Bronx.
That bust prompted the FDNY to test St. Cloud for drugs, and he was awaiting department charges for testing positive when he was arrested again yesterday. He could not be reached for comment.
"He will be suspended pending the outcome of the investigation into this recent incident," FDNY spokesman David Billig said.
Last month, the Daily News reported that St. Cloud, who uses the name "Hot Rod," was charging $150 for a half-hour of private dancing, as well as gyrating on stage at the New Savoy, a Bronx strip club. The racy side job was not approved by FDNY officials - but St. Cloud insisted he would keep dancing while fighting fires.
"I have a superhero's body. I like saving people. I want to use my body for good," St. Cloud told The News then.
Fire Commissioner Nicholas Scoppetta has implemented a "zero tolerance" policy on drugs, Billig said.
Originally published on March 25, 2004