Bonds indicted for repeatedly lying under oath
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The cloud of suspicion hovering over Barry Bonds has darkened considerably.
Bonds, baseball's home run king, faces prison time after being indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice that stem from his denials under oath that he used anabolic steroids and that his personal trainer injected him with performance-enhancing drugs.
The indictment alleges that Bonds lied to a federal grand jury 19 times. He is scheduled to appear in U.S. District Court in San Francisco on Dec. 7.
The indictment was unsealed Thursday, more than five years after a federal agent started digging through trash outside the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) near San Francisco and collected evidence that would lead to the biggest steroids scandal in the history of sport and, ultimately, lead to the charges against Bonds. The indictment includes a reference to Bonds testing positive for steroids in November 2000 – and that could prove to be the most controversial piece of the government's impending case against the controversial slugger.
Major League Baseball did not begin drug testing until 2003, meaning the results of the drug test referenced in the indictment probably were seized during the government's raid of BALCO, which happened to be that same year.
Victor Conte, the founder of BALCO who served four months in prison after pleading guilty to steroid-related charges, said the drug test likely took place when Bonds joined an assortment of world-class athletes working with Conte. But Conte said the case against Bonds could crumble if the positive drug test is the government's "smoking gun."
Conte said the protocol used to assure the integrity of a drug test – typically known as the chain of custody because it tracks the sample of urine or blood from the point of collection to the lab where it's tested – was not in place. Second, Conte pointed out that the indictment does not say what the positive drug test showed. But if a high level of testosterone was detected, according to Conte, the positive test could have resulted from a contaminated nutritional supplement or pro-hormones that were sold legally until 2005.
It also is possible the positive drug test belongs to Bonds and could have resulted from Bonds' taking anabolic steroids, according to Conte.
"But is it beyond a reasonable doubt? I don't think it is," Conte said. "That's why I didn't think they would bring the indictment. But they did, so now it's war."
CAREER IN JEOPARDY
The charges against Bonds, who denied using steroids when he appeared before a grand jury in 2003 and maintained his innocence on his way to breaking one of the most cherished records in American sports, carry a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison if he is convicted on all four counts of perjury and the one count of obstruction of justice.
The indictment marks the beginning of what figures to be a tortuous offseason not only for Bonds, who is a free agent and could be forced into retirement because of the controversy, but also for baseball. A commission led by former Senator George Mitchell is expected to issue a report on steroid use in baseball before the end of the year, and the report could include the names of prominent players.
Though dozens of players linked to steroids could be named in Mitchell's report, none could match the stature of Bonds, who broke Hank Aaron's career home run record last season and now has 762. Bonds also holds the single-season home run record of 73, set in 2001, and wants to play at least one more season. He is a free agent, and the San Francisco Giants – his employer since 1993 – have made it clear they will not re-sign him.
Greg Anderson, Bonds' personal trainer who spent most of the last year in jail for refusing to testify against his longtime friend, was released from prison when the indictment was made public. He refused comment, but his attorney, Mark Geragos, said his client did not cooperate with the grand jury.
"This indictment came out of left field," Geragos said. "Frankly, I'm aghast. It looks like the government misled me and Greg as well, saying this case couldn't go forward without him."
The investigation began in 2002 when IRS agent Jeff Novitzky retrieved evidence from BALCO trash bins, leading to the biggest steroids scandal in the history of sport and, ultimately, to the charges against Bonds. The charges also come less than four months after Bonds walloped a 435-foot home run on a cool night in San Francisco on Aug. 7 to break Aaron's record of 755 home runs.
But the news Thursday renewed debate about Bonds' rightful place in baseball history, raised questions about the future of the 43-year-old slugger and served notice about the legal battle ahead.
Robert Weisberg, a professor of law at Stanford University who closely has followed the case, said a trial could be derailed if Bonds' attorneys present evidence that undermines the government's case. Michael Rains, one of Bonds' attorneys, already has accused federal investigators of improprieties and threatened to disclose the information publicly if Bonds was indicted.
"Every American should worry about a Justice Department that doesn't know if waterboarding is torture and can't tell the difference between prosecution on the one hand and persecution on the other," Rains said.
Another of Bonds' attorneys questioned why it took so long for charges to be filed. Bonds testified nearly four years ago. "I'm surprised," attorney John Burris said. "But there's been an effort to get Barry for a long time. I'm curious what evidence they have now they didn't have before."
LEGAL POSTURING
The prosecution may have obtained new evidence that strengthened the charges against Bonds, or U.S. Attorney Scott Schools, who took over Northern California jurisdiction on an interim basis when Kevin Ryan was forced out in January, may have felt emboldened when he was granted an extended term, according to Weisberg. But the delay also might have been part of a strategy.
Letting the cloud of suspicion and prospect of criminal charges hover over Bonds could have served as a tactic to pressure other defendants into cooperating before the charges were filed.
The charges also may raise questions about the government's case, said Weisberg, who said charging Bonds with lying about a crime rather than charging him with the crime he allegedly committed – the unlawful use of steroids – strike some as "kind of a cheap and easy way out for the government." Bonds is the second high-profile athlete to be charged in the BALCO case for lying rather than for a drug offense. Disgraced track star Marion Jones pleaded guilty in October to lying to a federal agent about her steroids use.
And lying, apparently, was the only way Bonds could have faced legal trouble. When Bonds appeared before the grand jury Dec. 4, 2003, prosecutors explained that his testimony or any information derived from his testimony could not be used against him in a criminal case "except a prosecution for perjury, false declaration, or otherwise failing to comply with the court's order."
Considering Bonds became a central figure in the BALCO case and allegedly obstructed efforts to investigate the illegal distribution of steroids and concealing of the proceeds, Weisberg said, the charges of perjury and obstruction of justice look more robust than they might under other circumstances.
IS MLB DOING ENOUGH?
Bud Selig, commissioner of baseball, issued a statement saying he had not yet read the indictment but took the opportunity to hail the success of Major League Baseball's efforts to curb the use of performance-enhancing drugs.
"We currently have a testing program that is as good as any in professional sports, and the program is working," he said.
Dr. Gary Wadler, a highly regarded anti-doping expert, took issue with Selig's appraisal. He said if Major League Baseball is serious about eliminating the abuse of steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, Selig and team owners will adopt tougher sanctions. Players who test positive for any substance on baseball's list of banned drugs face a 50-game suspension. But Wadler and other anti-doping experts have urged baseball to adopt the sanctions used by the World Anti-Doping Agency, which suspends first-time offenders for two years and bans second-time offenders for life.
"If they really want to bite the bullet, they've got to take the hard steps that are necessary," Wadler said. "They know what needs to be done.''
Wadler pointed out that it took a government investigation to expose several players who allegedly received steroids or human growth hormone, leading to the charges against Bonds and Jones.
When it comes to tackling steroid abuse in sports, Wadler said he advocates "a two-pronged approach. One is science in terms of technology and drug testing, and the other is the criminal justice system and related entities that are looking at this issue from a whole other perspective."
Despite the troubling development for Bonds and the specter of worse news when the Mitchell report is released, baseball should withstand the blow. On Thursday, Selig announced MLB raked in more than $6 billion of revenue in 2007 and attendance continues to climb.
"There are times, honestly, when I have to pinch myself to make sure this is all happening," he said.
But Charles Yesalis, a professor emeritus at Penn State and longtime critic of doping in sports, was less enthusiastic about baseball's financial windfall coinciding with steroid scandals.
"The men and women in law enforcement take this issue seriously," Yesalis said. "But the customers don't care.
"You don't see any protest on the steps of the Capitol in D.C. on doping in sport."
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
