Dr. Tony Galea is a respected healer, “one of the good guys,” says his ex-lawyer, who claims the embattled doctor is a respected physician caught up in Tiger Woods’ sex scandal.

“First, let me say, with all this talk about Tiger Woods, Dr. Tony Galea is in no way responsible for (Woods’) voracious sexual appetite,” Christophe Preobrezanski told the Daily News Thursday.

Preobrezanski represented Galea after the doctor’s assistant was busted with drugs at the U.S.-Canadian border and his office was raided by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

“This doctor is not one of the characters associated with Michael Jackson or Barry Bonds or any of the other athletes that got Congress up in arms. You really need to make a differentiation between performance-enhancing substances and substances that accelerate healing,” Preobrezanski said.

The burgeoning constroversy has led someone close to Galea to say the doctor “is one of the good guys, but because of Tiger Woods’ d—, now he’s in trouble.”

Galea faces four drug charges in Canada and his current lawyer, Brian Greenspan, will appear at a Toronto courtroom tomorrow. The FBI’s field office in Buffalo is investigating him too.

Preobrezanski said he is no longer on the case because Galea’s insurance provider requested its own lawyer. He remains a staunch defender of Galea’s methods, however, and says Galea is respected by his peers as well as his patients.

“This doctor is recognized by his peers, he is a healer.” Preobrezanski said. “He says we have to stop athletes from using performance-enhancing drugs because No. 1, they are cheating, and No. 2, they are not healthy. He is a healer.”

After her Sept. 14 arrest Galea’s assistant, MaryAnne Catalano, told federal officials that her boss had no medical licenses in the U.S., according to a criminal complaint. According to a Florida Department of Health spokesman, the agency has referred the matter to investigators in its Unlicensed Activity department, since Galea has claimed he made house calls to treat Woods in Florida.

When Catalano was stopped at the border, her vehicle was found contain 111 syringes and 96 vials of various drugs, including human growth hormone and “foreign-labeled homeopathic drugs.” Actovegin, a derivative of calves’ blood, was found in Galea’s offices.

“I can tell you one thing, when the police visited the clinic in Toronto, there were several doctors from Harvard University there, observing his work,” Preobrezanski said. “It is part of ongoing research with Harvard, to evaluate Tony’s procedures.”

On the day that Galea’s offices were raided by officers from the RCMP armed with a search warrant, according to an October report in the Toronto Globe and Mail, researchers from Harvard were visiting his clinic to learn of the methods that made the 51-year-old specialist one of the top practitioners in sports medicine. The Mounties left with Actovegin, which Galea said he had arranged to have brought in from Germany and was taken in for questioning. Actovegin is produced by the Swiss company Nycomed, which doesn’t distribute it in Canada.

“Nycomed does not ship Actovegin to countries where it is not approved, for example to Canada and the United States,” said Biatrix Benz, a Nycomed spokesperson.

“There was a distributor in Canada.” Preobrezanski said, adding that doctors can use it in Canada as long as they notify patients about its non-approved status. “You have to remember, it is not a prohiited substance in Canada. It is not prohibited but it is also not approved.”

According to Preobrezanski, Galea’s possession of Actovegin is “more of a customs issue.”

“At the end of the day, all of this is about nothing,” he said. “You are dealing with a good guy who got caught in the overflow of Tiger Woods. There is is nothing nefarious regarding performance-enhancing drugs or HGH. There have been no travel restrictions placed on him, he’s free to come and go as he pleases. He was just in Europe. There have been no restrictions on his medical practice. People have forgotten about the presumption of innocence.”

Whether your ideal Christmas is about snow and magical lights or a beach and a seasonal cocktail, travel website travelandleisure.com has come up with a list of 10 of the best places to spend Christmas.

This list was compiled by editors at travelandleisure (www.travelandleisure.com). It is not endorsed by Reuters:

1. Taos, New Mexico, United States

This remote village on a high desert plain is especially magical at Christmas due its rich mix of cultural traditions. Don’t miss historic Ledoux Street all lit up with luminarias or paper lanterns, the ceremonial re-enactments of Mary and Joseph’s search for shelter, and the dramatic American Indian Christmas Eve celebration that takes over the main square in Taos Pueblo. Plus, you can ski all day on Christmas Day at Taos Ski Resort.

2. San Miguel de Allende, Mexico

The Spanish colonial gem and cultural hot spot in central Mexico is electric at Christmas, with theatrical processions around town, numerous nativity re-enactments, and fireworks, live music, and dancing in the main square, El Jardin. Don’t miss a taste of ponche, a kind of Mexican hot toddy made of fruits and brandy, or the sweet bread rosca de reyes, both Christmas specialties.

3. Tromso, Norway

The snowy city island of Tromso offers unparalleled views of the Northern Lights and a chance to say you’ve been to the North Pole — well, the Arctic Circle, anyway — for Christmas. Plus, there’s dogsledding, great food, and a mountaintop cable car.

4. Key West, Florida, United States

Good cheer and warm temperatures are typically Key West’s winning attributes, and Christmas is no exception. The trimmed palm trees, done-up historic inns and four festooned blocks of boats along the historic waterfront amplify the town’s merriment.

5. Chicago, United States

The Windy City embraces yuletide cheer to the max, with a million holiday lights along bustling Magnificent Mile, Christkindlmarket, a huge outdoor German crafts market with beer and fare like sausages to stoke your fire, a towering handmade Christmas tree, and Navy Pier’s Winter WonderFest, a holiday-themed amusement park and indoor skating rink.

6. Vienna, Austria

An old-fashioned warmth envelops Vienna at Christmas, softening the hard edges of imperial architecture with twinkling decorations and three outdoor Christkindlmarkets, which are best visited at night. Vendors sell crafts and ornaments, while visitors fuel their shopping with finger food and a glass of spiced mulled wine, or gluhwein.

7. Quebec City, Canada

Lit-up cobblestone streets, 16th- and 17th-century stone houses, and lots of snow make Quebec’s 400-year-old walled city an atmospheric and European-like place to be at Christmas.

8. Paraty, Brazil

It may not look a lot like Christmas, but Paraty, a half-day’s drive from Rio, is a hidden gem of a town with astonishingly well-preserved Portuguese colonial architecture, a vibrant cultural scene, and easy access to verdant rainforest and some of the world’s most perfect beaches.

9.Castleton, England

A tiny stone English village dotted with cheerfully lit Christmas trees would be enough of an allure, but caroling by candlelight inside caves seals this southern town’s place on a list of special yuletide travel destinations.

10. Kaikoura, New Zealand

The Kaikoura peninsula may not have reindeer, but it is teeming with sperm whales, fur seals, dusky dolphins, pilot whales, and albatross in Kaikoura Bay. Since it’ll be summertime when you visit, you can encounter almost all of them by boat or kayak, then catch some yuletide rays on the beach.