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BALCO owner to file for dismissal
ESPN
October 7, 2004
BALCO owner Victor Conte, the man at the center of the government's
investigation into the sale and distribution of illegal steroids, says
that he was held at gunpoint and not read his rights when the IRS raided
his office on Sept. 3, 2003, according to a motion that will be filed in
federal court Friday.
A source who has seen the motion told ESPN that these allegations and
others will be included in a motion to dismiss the case against Conte and
BALCO vice president James Valente that will be filed Friday morning in
federal court in San Francisco.
The source says the motion will claim that IRS agents did not show Conte a
search warrant until their eight-hour search was completed. Further, Conte
says IRS agents told him if he cooperated that day he would avoid jail
time. The motion will also claim that statements Conte made that day were
used against him and the other three men who have been indicted: Valente,
track coach Remi Korchemny and Greg Anderson, Barry Bond's personal
trainer.
The source says the IRS investigators told Conte that he had been under
investigation for 18 months. The IRS seized thousands of files and
computer discs from the BALCO headquarters in Burlingame, a suburb of San
Francisco.
The raid led to a grand jury, which subpoenaed a host of sports stars,
including Bonds, Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi, track stars Tim
Montgomery and Marion Jones, and boxer Sugar Shane Mosley.
Earlier this week, Yankees outfield Gary Sheffield confirmed that he had
told the grand jury that he had used a cream substance that he said
contained a designer steroid produced by BALCO.
[Link]
BALCO Defendants Want Steroid Case Dropped
Adam Tanner
Reuters
Oct 8, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO - Defendants at the center of the BALCO steroid
scandal asked a court to drop charges against them Friday, claiming
misconduct by prosecutors in a case which has tarnished several top
sporting names.
The attorney for BALCO head Victor Conte said he was filing a motion to
dismiss the steroid distribution case because of "outrageous government
conduct." "There are lots of issues on how the search warrant was served,"
lawyer Robert Holley told Reuters. "The outrageous manner in which they
came in with 26 agents and helicopters and guns drawn and all that."
A U.S. grand jury charged Conte, his top deputy Jim Valente, baseball
slugger Barry Bonds's personal trainer Greg Anderson, and track and field
coach Remi Korchemny earlier this year on steroid-related issues.
The scandal around the San Francisco-area nutritional laboratory BALCO has
tarnished the reputations of several leading track and field athletes,
including world 100 meters record holder Tim Montgomery, football and
baseball players.
Holley said another motion, filed to meet a Friday court deadline, sought
to suppress the evidence obtained through search warrants because of
violations of Conte's rights.
Anderson also filed motions to exclude evidence seized in a search, saying
a demanding Internal Revenue investigator never informed him of his right
to remain silent.
"I was interrogated for approximately one and a half hours, and at no time
was advised of my Miranda rights," Anderson said in a statement submitted
Friday. "I never admitted to distributing steroids to body builders, but
stated that during my body building days, I had used steroids."
SEARCH WARRANT
Another motion argued that a government investigator relied on an
informant who did not know Anderson and whose information was outdated to
justify a search warrant.
The U.S. Attorney's office would not comment on the case.
Holley said despite considerable negative publicity over the past year,
BALCO head Conte continued to operate a business marketing a zinc
magnesium supplement called ZMA, although BALCO has closed down.
"He has a very going nutritional business. They sell ZMA and he promotes
it. He's promoting a liquid form of ZMA," said Holley. "He goes to various
athletic events and promotes his products. Some of the vendors are
concerned about the fact that he has these problems."
Earlier this week, Sports Illustrated quoted New York Yankees slugger Gary
Sheffield as saying he unknowingly used an illegal steroid obtained from
BALCO during the 2002 season.
In the article, Sheffield said San Francisco Giants slugger Bonds
introduced him to Conte. "He didn't provide any illegal substances,"
Holley said when asked about the report.
A U.S. federal court is scheduled to discuss the latest motions December
1.
Bonds Trainer Says He Was Coerced, Threatened
Andrea Orr
Reuters
Oct 9, 2004
SAN FRANCISCO - The personal trainer to baseball slugger Barry
Bonds says investigators searched his home without showing a warrant last
year and made threatening comments to him, his girlfriend and his young
son.
Greg Anderson, a key figure in the Balco steroid scandal, made the claims
Friday in court papers describing the events of September 3, 2003, when
"several uniformed and armed law enforcement agents" approached him at
work at a Northern California fitness club and escorted him off the
premises.
He said the agents drove him and his son to his home, where he was
interrogated for about an hour and a half, without being advised of his
rights. Anderson said he was not allowed to make phone calls without an
agent's supervision.
When he needed to take his son to the bathroom, he was followed by a
police officer who would not let him close the door. When his girlfriend
went to use the bathroom, agents followed her.
Anderson and other defendants in the Balco case, including Balco head
Victor Conte, are seeking to have charges against them dropped, claiming
misconduct by prosecutors in the investigation that has tarnished the
reputations of top track and field athletes.
Their papers were filed Friday in U.S. District Court in San Francisco.
The U.S. Attorney's Office declined to comment on Anderson's claims.
Anderson said IRS Agent Novitzky and others questioned him about vitamins
and supplements he provided to clients like Bond, and repeatedly accused
him of lying when he provided truthful answers.
"Novitzky then became very agitated and told me, 'That's it. You're lying.
You gave them steroids."' Anderson said in court papers. "I have reviewed
the report created by Agent Novitzky and almost the entirety of the
statements alleged to me are inaccurate or false," he said in the court
papers. "I never admitted to distributing steroids to body builders, but
stated that during my body building days, I had used steroids."
He also said Novitzky made remarks he found threatening by telling him,
"'If you get death threats, give me a call. We'll protect you."' "I
interpreted this statement to be a threat to me," Anderson said
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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
