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Balco seeking proof of political conspiracy in steroids case
BY SEAN WEBBY
KRT Wire
Wed, Sep. 01, 2004
SAN JOSE, Calif. - (KRT) - Defense lawyers in the Balco Laboratories
case cannot get internal government e-mails or documents in a quest
to see if the case is a political conspiracy, a judge has ruled.
Lawyers for Greg Anderson, Barry Bonds' personal trainer, had asked
U.S. District Court Judge Susan Illston to order the government to
hand over communication that might bolster the theory that the
prosecution may have been motivated to help re-elect President Bush.
The government called the motion "a fishing expedition."
Anna Ling, who along with J. Tony Serra represents Anderson, said
the ruling was disappointing but that the defense would question
witnesses at the trial to uncover political forces in the case.
"We do feel this case has an ulterior motive," she said. Assistant
U.S. Attorney Jeff Nedrow declined to comment.
Illston also deferred a decision on Serra's motion to obtain any
negative drug-test results of professional baseball players
connected with Balco.
The motion could not be acted upon until the fate of the samples was
determined in three courts - in San Francisco, Los Angeles and
Nevada, the judge ruled. The Major League Baseball Players
Association has asked for the samples back, saying the government
unlawfully seized them, the judge said in her ruling - one of the
first times the sealed battle over the urine samples has been
publicly acknowledged.
In April, Internal Revenue Service agents seized the samples and
test results from the Quest Diagnostics laboratory in Las Vegas. The
identities of the seized samples have not been disclosed.
Major League Baseball announced last fall that between 5 percent and
7 percent of its players tested positive for steroids in 2003. The
anonymous tests were intended to gather information to measure the
scope of the problem, with no disciplinary consequences. However,
the results triggered mandatory testing that began this year.
But none of the ballplayers was tested for the designer drug THG,
the steroid at the center of the Balco case. Anderson, Balco owner
Victor Conte Jr., Balco vice president James Valente and East Bay
track coach Remi Korchemny have been indicted on charges of
supplying elite athletes with illegal performance-enhancing
substances. All have pleaded not guilty.
No trial date has been set in the criminal case.
The next hearing is scheduled for Dec.1.
Prosecutors Deny Misconduct in BALCO Case
AP
10/30/2004
SAN FRANCISCO - Federal prosecutors deny any misconduct during the investigation of a personal
trainer charged with distributing illegal steroids to some top athletes, according to court
documents filed Friday.
Prosecutors filed the documents, which contained potentially damaging evidence against San
Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds, in response to defendants' attorneys accusations of
misconduct and other allegations.
Personal trainer Greg Anderson, Victor Conte, founder of Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative,
and two other men, BALCO vice president James Valente and track coach Remi Korchemny, are
charged with distributing steroids, including the previously undetectable THG, to top athletes.
Charges also include possession of human growth hormone, misbranding drugs with intent to
defraud and money laundering.
All have pleaded not guilty, and their attorneys have said they would seek to have charges dismissed.
Also revealed Friday in the court documents was Conte's alleged statements to Internal Revenue Service agent Jeff Novitzky in 2003 that Bonds regularly visited his lab for steroids, according to reports on ESPN.com and the San Francisco Chronicle's web site.
They cite a memorandum of Novitsky's interview with Conte submitted by the U.S. Attorney's office in San Francisco along with the other documents.
Conte has denied the allegations, and Bonds has denied ever having used steroids. The slugger has not been charged.
Attorneys for the four defendants have claimed their clients were subjected to illegal searches and coerced by federal investigators.
An attorney for Anderson claims leaks by government officials and misconduct by the lead investigator are sufficient grounds for dismissal.
Anderson was the trainer for Bonds, who was among dozens of athletes called to testify before the grand jury in November and December of 2003.
Anderson's attorney, Anna Ling, is seeking to suppress evidence and statements investigators said her client made. Ling alleged in a motion filed earlier this month that Anderson was detained illegally in his house and was not advised of his right to have an attorney present.
According to an investigator's report made public Friday, Anderson told agents "he didn't think he should be talking anymore because he didn't want to go to jail" after they confronted him with a file containing Bonds' name.
The federal agents also stated in their reports they seized calendars and other documents detailing the use of steroids by professional baseball players during the search of Anderson's home.
"Included among these files with apparent steroid distribution details was a folder for Barry Bonds," Novitzky wrote.
Anderson's attorney has also cited alleged misconduct by Novitzky in filing the search warrant affidavits, questioning of defendants and other matters related to the case.
Federal prosecutors countered Friday, calling the arguments "meritless," adding that "Anderson's statements are outright falsehoods."
In an accompanying declaration from Novitzky, the agent states that upon serving the search warrant, he told Anderson "that he was not under arrest, nor did we plan to arrest him that day, and was free to leave."
Novitzky denies any wrongdoing.
A hearing in the case is set for Dec. 1.
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[Definitie:] "An ergogenic aid is any substance or phenomenon that enhances performance."
(Wilmore and Costill) 
