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First witness testifies in trial of former Steelers doctor

One of the Steelers' doctors today testified against a former partner who is accused of drug distribution, as prosecutors started one of the region's biggest health care cases with a story of a father, a son and lots of Vicodin.

The federal government's cases against Richard A. Rydze, 66, who was the Steelers' doctor and a UPMC internist until 2007, include nearly 200 counts largely focused on prescriptions for steroids, human growth hormones and painkillers which prosecutors say were without medical merit. None of the allegations relate to his two decades of work for the Steelers.

The first witness, Anthony P.