Alex Rodriguez and Selena Roberts, Accusations, Police Reports, Subpoenas

Once again in the Steroid Era, a reporter has become part of the story.

During his interview with Peter Gammons, Alex Rodriguez said he was "upset" that Selena Roberts, who broke the story (along with David Epstien) about Rodriguez’s positive drug test in 2003, was paid by Sports Illustrated to “stalk” him.

Rodriguez claimed that Roberts had been thrown out of his apartment in New York City, thrown out of the University of Miami for trespassing, and cited for attempting to break into his home in Miami. Roberts has denied the claims, as have police.

After the interview, Roberts issued a statement that included the following.

"The allegations made by Alex Rodriguez are absurd… I've never set foot in the lobby of Alex's New York apartment building, never spoken to the University of Miami police, and never set foot on his home property or been cited by the Miami Police for doing so."

The New York Daily News did some digging about Rodriguez’s allegations.

But police departments from New York and Hoboken to Miami and Coral Gables say A-Rod never reported Selena Roberts' alleged crimes to them.

"I haven't been able to find anything to corroborate that she has tried to break into his home," Detective Juan Sanchez of the Miami Beach police said. "I haven't been able to find anything that corroborates the statement Alex Rodriguez made to ESPN."

"She was trying to gain access onto the island, and they had no right to stop her," Sanchez said. "It's a public right of way. She can stand in front of his house and do whatever she has to do as long as she doesn't step on his property. There's no follow-up. She was not arrested. She was not cited. It doesn't go on her record. It's not even entered into our system."

Because the information about the positive test was leaked from government evidence in the BALCO case, Roberts may be subpoenaed in an effort to find out who leaked the information. Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada were almost jailed in 2007 for refusing to divulge their source of the BALCO court documents they used to write their book, Game of Shadows.

In an interview with Dan Patrick, Roberts addressed the possibility of being subpoenaed.

Roberts: It’s always possible and certainly you understand that possibility as a reporter, but, you know, our job is to protect the people that we talk to and I think at the end of the day I think that’s our role.

Patrick: But, just, you got four people that broke the law though.

Roberts: Well Dan as we’ve talked before, I don’t want to get into the process because as you just mentioned I could be subpoenaed, but I think its fair to say that as a journalist you do what you do to get to the truth, and you talk to the people that have credibility, and you talk to the people you believe in and that also their stories jive, that there’s no discrepancies and I think that’s why like I said, you know, we went to Alex at the end and said “Hey, this is what we have is there any explanation for it.”

Patrick: How far do you have to go though to protect those sources, Selena? How far are you willing to?

Roberts: You know as a journalist, you go all the way. I mean, you do what you have to do to protect the people you talked to. I mean I think that’s just what you do, it’s part of the job description in a way.

It seems inevitable that the government will at least look into who supplied Roberts with her information.

Reporters as part of the story in the Steroid Era

• In 1998, Associated Press reporter Steve Wilstein reported that he had seen a bottle of Androstenedione in Mark McGwire’s locker. His story, "Drug OK in Baseball, Not Olympics," was mostly dismissed. McGwire and his manager, Tony Larussa, accused Wilstein of snooping, and MLB’s chief medical advisor, Robert Millman said, "There is no evidence andro does anything bad or good."
• San Francisco Chronicle reporters, Williams and Fainaru-Wada faced 18 months in prison for refusing to reveal the source of the information that led to their book, Game of Shadows. Victor Conte’s former lawyer, Troy Ellerman eventually admitted being the source.
• Selena Roberts was accused by Alex Rodriguez of “stalking” him. Roberts may yet face a subpoena as the information was part of the governments evidence gathered in the BALCO case.

Sources

• A-Rod strikes out: Cops say no record of trouble with Selena RobertsNY Daily News
• SI's Selena Roberts tells her side of the A-Rod storySports Illustrated
• Selena Roberts Q&A on A-RodSports Illustrated
• A-Rod admits, regrets use of PEDsESPN

Related Content
• Alex Rodriguez Admits Using Performance Enhancing Drugs from 2001 to 2003
• Alex Rodriguez Tested Positive for Steroids in 2003

Miguel Tejada Charged With Lying to Congressional Investigators, Pleads Guilty

Miguel Tejada has been charged with lying to congressional investigators. According to the Washington Post, Tejada is charged with making false statements to congressional investigators about conversations he had with other players about performance enhancing drugs. Tejada will reportedly plead guilty.

The charge came in "a criminal information," a document that can be filed only with the defendant's consent and usually signals a plea deal is near. Tejada, who now plays for the Houston Astros, is scheduled to appear at 11 a.m. (Feb. 11) in U.S. District Court in Washington, court officials said.

The charge stems from an interview that took place in a Baltimore hotel room on August 26, 2005. During that interview, Tejada reportedly denied using any performance enhancing drugs. He also said he was not aware of any other players using steroids.

In the interview with congressional staffers in 2005, Tejada was asked: "Has there been discussions among other players about steroids?"

"No, I never heard," Tejada said, speaking through a Spanish interpreter.

Later, the investigator asked whether he knew of "any other player using steroids."

"No," Tejada answered. "I didn't know any player."

In the Mitchell Report, Adam Piatt said that he talked with Tejada about performance enhancing drugs and purchased human growth hormone and testosterone for Tejada (presumably from Kirk Radomski) in 2003. While the filing didn’t name Piatt specifically, he’s known to have spoken to federal investigators as well as George Mitchell.

That player, who was not named in court papers, is identifiable as Adam Piatt. They played together on the Oakland Athletics in 2003, and prosecutors allege that Tejada purchased human growth hormone from him that year. They do not accuse Tejada of using the substance or lying about his use of it, however.

Miguel Tejada’s Links to Performance Enhancing Drugs

• In his book, Juiced (published in Feb. 2005), Jose Canseco said he educated Tejada about steroids.
• Tejada appeared before congress along with Jose Canseco, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro and others in 2005.
• When Palmeiro tested positive for Stanozolol in 2005, he suggested it may have been caused a tainted vitamin B12 shot he had received from Tejada.
• In a search warrant for Jason Grimsley’s Arizona home (executed in May 2006), Jeff Novitzky says Grimsley described a conversation he had with Tejada and Palmeiro about amphetamines.
• Piatt told Mitchell and Federal investigators that he had conversations about steroids with Tejada. Piatt also said he purchased HGH and testosterone for Tejada, providing the government with copies of checks from Tejada. The information was released as part of the Mitchell Report.

UPDATE (Feb. 11, 2009): Tejada appeared in court pleaded guilty to making "misrepresentations to congress. " He admitted having conversations about steroids with a teammate (Piatt) and also purchasing human growth hormone, though he still denies ever using any performance enhancing drugs.

"I just want to apologize," Tejada said as he fought back tears hours later at a Houston news conference, where he did not take questions. "I made a mistake, and now I know how serious of a mistake that I made for not answering a question about another teammate."

The charge is a misdemeanor and carries a maximum penalty of one year in jail. "Federal guidelines" call for a lesser penalty. The sentencing hearing is scheduled for March 26.

Sources

• Tejada Charged With Lying to InvestigatorsWashington Post
• Miguel Tejada "Criminal Information"PDF via ESPN
• Tejada pleads guilty to charge of lyingESPN

Related Content
• MLB Congressional Hearings 2008, George Mitchell, Bud Selig, Donald Fehr Testify
• The Mitchell Report Released: Summary

Alex Rodriguez Admits Using Performance Enhancing Drugs from 2001 to 2003

Alex Rodriguez admitted using a "banned substance" from 2001 to 2003 while playing for the Texas Rangers. Just 48 hours after Sports Illustrated’s Selena Roberts and David Epstein reported that Rodriguez had tested positive for two anabolic steroids, testosterone and Primobolan, in 2003’s MLB “survey” testing, Rodriguez was interviewed by ESPN’s Peter Gammons.

"When I arrived in Texas in 2001, I felt an enormous amount of pressure. I felt like I had all the weight of the world on top of me and I needed to perform, and perform at a high level every day. Back then, [baseball] was a different culture. It was very loose. I was young. I was stupid. I was naive. And I wanted to prove to everyone that I was worth being one of the greatest players of all time. I did take a banned substance. And for that, I am very sorry and deeply regretful."

Rodriguez described some of the reasons he began using steroids, from the pressure of his massive $252 million contract to the draining heat of Texas.

"I felt a tremendous pressure to play, and play really well. I had just signed this enormous contract ... I felt like I needed something, a push, without over-investigating what I was taking, to get me to the next level."

Rodriguez did not did not mince words when he spoke of Sports Illustrated writer, Selena Roberts.

"I know this lady from Sports Illustrated, Selena Roberts, is trying to throw things out there, that in high school I tried steroids. I mean that’s the biggest bunch of baloney I’ve ever heard in my life. What makes me upset me is that Sports Illustrated pays this lady, Selena Roberts, to stalk me. I mean this lady’s been thrown out of my apartment in New York City. This lady has, five days ago just, been thrown out of the University of Miami City Police for trespassing. Four days ago, she tried to break into my house where my girls are up there sleeping and got cited by the Miami Beach Police, I have the paper here. This lady’s coming out with all these allegations, all these lies because she’s writing an article for Sports Illustrated, and she’s coming out with a book in May. Really respectable journalists are following this lady off the cliff, and following her lead. And that to me is unfortunate."

Roberts responded to Rodriguez’s claims.

"The allegations made by Alex Rodriguez are absurd," said Roberts, in the statement. "I've never set foot in the lobby of Alex's New York apartment building, never spoken to the University of Miami police, and never set foot on his home property or been cited by the Miami Police for doing so."

Rodriguez’s former and current teams have now commented on the situation. Texas Rangers’ owner, Tom Hicks, said the following in a conference call, according to The Associated Press.

"I feel personally betrayed. I feel deceived by Alex. He assured me that he had far too much respect for his own body to ever do that to himself. ... I certainly don't believe that if he's now admitting that he started using when he came to the Texas Rangers, why should I believe that it didn't start before he came to the Texas Rangers?"

The New York Yankees issued a statement.

"We urged Alex to be completely open, honest and forthcoming in addressing his use of performance-enhancing drugs," it read. "We take him at his word that he was. Although we are disappointed in the mistake he spoke to today, we realize that Alex -- like all of us --is a human being not immune to fault.

Watch the entire Alex Rodriguez interview with Peter Gammons below.

Video: Complete Alex Rodriguez Interview with Peter Gammons

Sources

• A-Rod admits, regrets use of PEDsESPN
• Union Official Says He Did Not Tip Off RodriguezNew York Times

Related Content
• Alex Rodriguez Tested Positive for Steroids in 2003
• The Mitchell Report Reaction: Clemens, Pettitte, Canseco, Rodriguez, Donnelly, Cabrera

Alex Rodriguez Tested Positive for Steroids in 2003

According to a Sports Illustrated report, Alex Rodriguez tested positive for two steroids in 2003. The report, by Selena Roberts and David Epstein, says “four sources have independently told Sports Illustrated” that Rodriguez was one of 104 players that tested positive as part of Major League Baseball’s “survey testing” that year. Those results were supposed to be anonymous but were seized by the government in April 2004 as part of the BALCO investigation.

The list of the 104 players whose urine samples tested positive is under seal in California. However, two sources familiar with the evidence that the government has gathered in its investigation of steroid use in baseball and two other sources with knowledge of the testing results have told Sports Illustrated that Rodriguez is one of the 104 players identified as having tested positive, in his case for testosterone and an anabolic steroid known by the brand name Primobolan. All four sources spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the evidence.

Primobolan, or methenolone enanthate, is an anabolic steroid that can be injected or taken orally. It is believed that athletes like Primoblan because it doesn’t stay in your system as long as other steroids such as deca durabolin, and has fewer side effets.

Rodriguez had little to say about the 2003 test results when approached by a Sports Illustrated reporter on February 5th.

"You'll have to talk to the union," said Rodriguez, the Yankees' third baseman since his trade to New York in February 2004. When asked if there was an explanation for his positive test, he said, "I'm not saying anything."

Also according to the SI report, Rodriguez was warned by MLB Players Association COO, Gene Orza, about an upcoming test in September 2004. SI reportedly spoke to three MLB players who all said Rodriguez had been told about the test.

Because more than 5% of big leaguers had tested positive in 2003, baseball instituted a mandatory random-testing program, with penalties, in '04. According to the 2007 Mitchell Report on steroid use in baseball, in September 2004, Gene Orza, the chief operating officer of the players' union, violated an agreement with MLB by tipping off a player (not named in the report) about an upcoming, supposedly unannounced drug test. Three major league players who spoke to SI said that Rodriguez was also tipped by Orza in early September 2004 that he would be tested later that month.

Orza declined to comment about the allegations telling one reporter:

"I'm not interested in discussing this information with you."

SI reporter, Selena Roberts, is the author of Hit and Run: The Many Lives of Alex Rodriguezwhich is set to be released May 19 2009. Roberts wrote extensively about Rodriguez for the New York Times before joining Sports Illustrated.

Sources

• Sources tell SI Alex Rodriguez tested positive for steroids in 2003Sports Illustrated

Related Content
• Jose Canseco’s Vindicated – Summary, Excerpts, Quotes
• The Mitchell Report Reaction: Clemens, Pettitte, Canseco, Rodriguez, Donnelly, Cabrera

Mike Bogdan is FBI Informant that Led to Kirk Radomski, Brian McNamee, Mitchell Report

The Smoking Gun has reported that the FBI informant that led IRS Special Agent, Jeff Novitzky, to Kirk Radomski is former landlord, Andrew Michael Bogdan.

Essentially all the new information in the Mitchell Report derived from Bogdan fingering Radomski. Of course from Radomski, came his numerous customers, including Brian McNamee which led to Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte. A 2005 search warrant for Radomski’s home described an FBI informant, but failed to name Bogdan specifically.

According to the Smoking Gun, in 2001 Bogdan “pleaded guilty to conspiracy to make false statements and commit wire fraud” as part of a real estate scheme.

Mike Bogdan agreed to become an FBI informant in early-2001, immediately after being nabbed for his role in a massive property flipping scam that relied on inflated appraisals and phony documents to illegally obtain about $3 million in government-insured loans.

After Bogdan had befriended Baltimore Orioles player, Larry Bigbie in 2003, Bogdan reportedly offered up information about performance enhancing drug use in MLB to investigators who set up an interview with Novitzky. Bogdan had previously only been providing information about the real estate scheme.

That is when Bigbie made the mistake of telling Bogdan about his use of performance-enhancing drugs, which Bigbie said he obtained from a source in New York… In response, Bogdan went right to the FBI and prosecutor Barbara Sale with the information (along with heading the criminal division in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Baltimore, Sale is the office's Confidential Human Source Coordinator). In turn, Bogdan's FBI handlers contacted Novitzky with details of what their source had reported. Within days, Novitzky and fellow IRS Agent Erwin Rogers were in Baltimore for a February 18 meeting with Bogdan and his FBI handlers.

The New York Times report included a response from Bogdan.

Reached by telephone Wednesday, Bogdan said many aspects of the (The Smoking Gun’s) story were either incorrect or taken out of context. He would not say whether he helped federal agents in their investigation into the use of performance-enhancing drugs by baseball players but later said: “I know nothing about that, that’s the funny thing. I know nothing about the steroids stuff.”

In 2006, Bogdan was convicted of real estate fraud and sentenced to 5 years probation and ordered to pay $277 000 in restitution.

Sources

• Major League SnitchThe Smoking Gun
• Steroids Informant Previously Convicted of FraudNew York Times

Related Content
• Kirk Radomski 2005 Affidavit Excerpts
• The Mitchell Report Released: Summary

Barry Bonds Evidence Unsealed

As promised, Judge Susan Illston unsealed more than 200 pages of evidence the prosecution intends to use in its case against Barry Bonds. While most of the evidence has been leaked to some degree, seeing it all in one place was staggering. The Associated Press and the New York Times raced though the evidence (separately) adding to their stories as the day went on.

The evidence contained the results of 26 blood or urine tests, five of which the government says Bonds tested positive for performance enhancing drugs. Three of the positive tests came from BALCO, the other two from Major League Baseball. One of the tests referred to by prosecutors is a positive test for amphetamines from 2006. The amphetamine test was first reported by the New York Daily News in early 2007.

Another piece of evidence is the recorded conversation from 2003 between Greg Anderson and Bonds’ former business partner, Steve Hoskins. Parts of the conversation were reported by the San Francisco Chronicle in 2004, and then in Game of Shadows, though not the identity of Hoskins.

Anderson: No, what happens is, they put too much in one area, and ... actually ball up and puddle. And what happens is, it actually will eat away and make an indentation. And it's a cyst. It makes a big [expletive] cyst. And you have to drain it. Oh yeah, it's gnarly. ... Hi Benito. ... Oh it's gnarly.

Hoskins: ... Is that why Barry's didn't do it in one spot, and you didn't just let him do it one time?

Anderson: Oh no. I never. I never just go there. I move it all over the place.

According to the documents, Hoskins said he recorded the conversation with Anderson to try to prove to Bonds’ father, Bobby Bonds, that his sun was using steroids.

The government intends to call not only Bobby Estalella (reported earlier this week) and the Giambi brothers, but also Benito Santiago and Marvin Benard. Estalella, Santiago and Benard are all said to have had doping calendars similar to those attributed to Bonds, as well as having been supplied drugs by Anderson.

The documents contained a transcript of the questioning of BALCO vice president, James Valente, about drug tests done through BALCO.

Valente: "He said, 'Do me a favor. Can you switch my name for Barry's?' and I said, 'if that's what you want me to do,' Valente testified.

Prosecutor: "… was there a concern stated by Mr. Anderson that Mr. Bonds wanted some privacy or was concerned about it for some reason?"

Valente: "Yes. He just said -- he said Barry wanted, you know, some privacy, so he didn't want his name on it."

Prosecutor: "So did that suggest to you that Mr. Bonds was aware this was happening?"

Valente: "I believe so. Yes."

The government also plans to use messages that Bonds left on his former mistress, Kimberly Bell’s phone. These are presumably the same, sometimes threatening, messages detailed in Game of Shadows.

Judge Illston will hear arguments tomorrow about whether or not some of this evidence will be admissible in the March 2nd trial.

“While it may seem damning now, the judge may exclude a lot of the evidence and it may never make it before the jury,” said Carl Tobias, a professor of law at the University of Richmond, in assessing the new information about the case. “But with all the attention being given to the case, the judge is going to have to be extra careful that the jury she seats has not been prejudiced by this information.”

Sources

• Positive Drug Tests in Bonds CaseNew York Times
• Judge unseals evidence in Bonds caseAssociated Press via ESPN

Related Content
• Barry Bonds Indicted for Perjury and Obstruction of Justice
• Government to Prove Barry Bonds Tested Positive for Steroids in 2000

Barry Bonds Grand Jury News, Positive tests, Bobby Estellela, Jason Giambi, Jeremy Giambi, Greg Anderson

Barry Bonds is set to go on trial for perjury and obstruction of justice March 2. Preliminary proceedings are under way.

The New York Times reported that a urine sample Barry Bonds had provided during Major League Baseball’s anonymous “survey” testing in 2003 had tested positive for “performance-enhancing substances.” The samples were seized in a raid in 2004.

According to the report, the samples did not test positive in 2003, but were tested again as part of the current investigation. It is not known if the urine samples tested positive for designer BALCO drugs or others.

On February 5th, United States District Judge Susan Illston will hear arguments about the admissibility of evidence including “those samples and other evidence, including doping calendars and handwritten notes.”

Bonds’ attorneys are certain to question the chain of custody of any blood or urine sample.

ESPN also reported this week that Bonds’ former teammate, Bobby Estalella, has been subpoenaed to testify in the March 2 trial. Estalella reportedly will “provide significant testimony to support the government's contention that former San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds knowingly took steroids.” During the BALCO investigation, Estalella admitted using THG, “The Cream” and human growth hormone provided by Greg Anderson.

According to ESPN’s TJ Quinn and Mark Fainaru-Wada, Estalella is just “one of several of Bonds' former teammates expected to be subpoenaed for the trial.”

Jason and Jeremy Giambi are also expected to testify, as first reported by the New York Times. The Giambis are not expected to say anything that hasn’t already been made public.

The newspaper (New York Times) said prosecutors want to use testimony from the Giambis, teammates in Oakland in 2000 and 2001, to show that Anderson developed doping calendars for them. Then the prosecutors could argue that Anderson made similar calendars for Bonds, the Times said, citing an unidentified person briefed on the government's evidence.

On February 2 Judge Illston, upon rejecting a motion to file a series of documents under seal, issued an order saying that she would unseal “some” of the evidence that the government intends to use against Bonds. The evidence was released February 4.

The defense had argued that making the material public now could hinder Bonds' ability to get a fair trial. However, Illston said she received a letter from media representatives on Jan. 30 requesting that the sealing order be lifted, and she ruled Monday that releasing the documents would not impair Bonds' Sixth Amendment right to a fair trial.

Again according to the New York Times, the government is continuing to pressure Anderson to testify. On January 28, 20 federal agents raided Anderson’s mother-in-law’s home.

Bonds was indicted in November 2007, and the authorities have since targeted Anderson’s mother-in-law, Madeline Gestas, and Anderson’s wife, Nicole Gestas, in an effort to put more pressure on Anderson to testify. The authorities have focused on the finances of Madeline Gestas, a California businesswoman who has been the subject of tax liens. Nicole Gestas is also under investigation in connection with her own finances.

Sources

• Bonds’s Urine Retested, and Result Is a PositiveNew York Times
• Estalella to support case vs. BondsESPN
• Giambis Are Likely to Testify at Bonds’s TrialNew York Times
• Urine Samples Said to Link Bonds to SteroidsNew York Times
• Judge to release Bonds evidenceESPN

Related Content
• Barry Bonds Indicted for Perjury and Obstruction of Justice
• Government to Prove Barry Bonds Tested Positive for Steroids in 2000

Roger Clemens Grand Jury News, DNA Tests, CJ Nitkowski

News from the Washington DC grand jury hearing evidence about potential perjury charges against Roger Clemens continues to come out.

The Associated Press reported that the syringes, gauze pads etc. that Brian McNamee turned over to investigators were being examined at the UCLA Olympic doping lab to see if they contain Clemens’ DNA.

According to a report in the Washington Post, the lab has indeed found Clemens’ DNA in syringes turned over by McNamee.

Scientific tests have linked Roger Clemens's DNA to blood in syringes that a personal trainer says he used to inject the former star pitcher with performance-enhancing drugs, according to two sources familiar with the investigation.

According to the Post, the DNA tests are preliminary and “subject to verification tests,” citing two sources. Those sources also told the Post that Clemens had voluntarily given a DNA sample to federal authorities.

One major question still to be answered is whether or not the syringes ever contained anabolic steroids or human growth hormone. Clemens has said that he received many vitamin B12 shots and at least one anti-inflammatory shot.

Still, the DNA results are only part of the equation. Scientists at the Anti-Doping Research Institute in Los Angeles, who were brought onto the case by authorities, are trying to determine whether the syringes ever contained steroids and human growth hormone, the sources said.

It was also reported this week that CJ Nitkowski was interviewed by federal authorities in mid January. Nitkowski has defended McNamee in the past, even telling agents that McNamee dissuaded him from using steroids in 2001. Nitkowski had trained with McNamee and on occasion along side Clemens and Andy Pettitte among others. Nitkowski has always claimed no knowledge of Clemens’ (or anyone else’s) use of steroids or human growth hormone.

"I have never seen Roger or Andy take any illegal performance-enhancing drugs," Nitkowski told the AP. "I have never talked to either of them about PEDs, nor do I have any firsthand knowledge of them taking any PEDs… My role has always been and continues to be someone who knew Mac well, trained with him and could speak to his character as a trainer."

Sources

• Report: Syringes from trainer testedAssociated Press via ESPN
• Clemens's DNA Is Linked to SyringesWashington Post
• Nitkowski questioned in Clemens caseAssociated Press via ESPN

Related Content
• Roger Clemens Grand Jury Convenes, Kirk Radomski, Brian McNamee Testify
• Congress Asks DOJ to Investigate Whether Roger Clemens Committed Perjury, Memo States Seven Contradictory Assertions