Dateline DEA, Washington, DC Retired Special Agent Jack Robertson received the Taylor Hooton Foundation’s prestigious 2017 Legacy Award at an “All-Star Gala” event in Dallas on March 25. Several family members, friends and DEA colleagues attended the event. “Each year we recognize individuals who have made a significant contribution to the fight against appearance and performance enhancing drug use,” said Don Hooton, who founded the organization following his 17-year-old son Taylor’s death in 2003 from depression caused by anabolic steroids. Previous award winners are Jeff Idelson, president of the National Baseball Hall of Fame (2016) and Major League Baseball Commissioner Emeritus Bud Selig (2015). Jack Robertson’s career at DEA is legendary, according to the many current Special Agents who worked with him over the years. Through much of his career with DEA, he was based in the San Diego area, where he and his family live now.  One of his many DEA successes was serving as lead investigator in Operation Raw Deal, the largest crackdown on illegal steroid labs and suppliers in U.S. history. Robertson was instrumental in orchestrating the takedown of more than 70 underground steroid labs in the U.S. and scores more globally. Operation Raw Deal received the DEA Administrator’s Award and many national awards.   In 2005’s Operation Gear Grinder, a team of agents under Robertson’s leadership successfully took down the world’s largest anabolic steroid maker and eight companies that manufactured the substances. The operation was part of an effort to curb the then-new problem of internet drug trafficking. The following year, Robertson officially opened the DEA’s case targeting the infamous Arellano brothers.  The Arellano-Felix drug trafficking organization (AFO) was one of Mexico’s most powerful and violent criminal enterprises for over two decades. The Tijuana-based AFO cartel imported tons of cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine, and marijuana into the United States and was also responsible for numerous kidnappings and more than 100 drug-related murders in the United States and Mexico. SA Robertson also worked on Operation TKO (Mexico: Ketamine & Steroids), Operation Counter Curse (USA, Canada & Global: Synthetic drugs) and Operation Motley Crew (Mexico: Tijuana Cartel).  In 2005, Robertson was selected as DEA Special Agent of the Year, the highest DEA award. In 2008, he was named Association of Former Federal Narcotics Agents (AFFNA) Special Agent of the Year (San Diego Division). Since retiring from DEA in August 2011, Robertson has channeled his love for sports and his law enforcement expertise to combat the spread of Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs).  As Chief Investigative Officer of the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) from 2011 to 2016, he collaborated with global law enforcement agencies to target and dismantle PED trafficking organizations.  He also served on a U.S. Olympic Committee panel discussing the fight against doping in sports. Despite some significant health challenges in recent years, he’s just a real positive guy, said San Diego Division SAC Bill Sherman. “Jack was a tireless worker and completely selfless. He was able to build world-wide law enforcement coalitions which helped him successfully complete Operations Gear Grinder and Raw Deal, the largest steroid distribution and manufacturing cases in DEA history. Jack was one of the finest investigators I’ve worked with in my 30 years.”