Bored 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2003 This is a few days old but figured I'd post it: Home of Bonds' trainer searched -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ESPN.com news services BURLINGAME, Calif. -- A federal grand jury in San Francisco is investigating a Burlingame nutritional supplement company that boasts of its ties to star athletes. The Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO, is the object of an investigation led by the Internal Revenue Service, according to a Tuesday report from The San Francisco Chronicle. The newspaper reports that the IRS is being assisted by the Food and Drug Administration, the San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force and Olympics drug-testing officials. The company's offices were raided on September 3rd. Two days later, agents searched the home of Greg Anderson, one of Barry Bonds' personal trainers. Bonds is the company's most noted endorser, though he's not the only athlete whose name it advertises. Anderson, once a regular in the Giants' clubhouse, was last seen around the team a few days before the early-September raids, the Chronicle reported. BALCO owner Victor Conte has said that he serves as Bonds' nutritionist and that Anderson is the Giants star's weight trainer. Bonds' agent, Scott Boras, said last week that the BALCO case "really doesn't involve'' Bonds and that he had no knowledge of any request for the outfielder to testify before a grand jury. BALCO claims that it helps athletes by determining mineral and trace element deficiencies through blood and urine analysis and then providing them with various supplements. According to Conte and company Web sites, the client lists of BALCO and its supplement wing Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning (SNAC) include several Olympic athletes past and present, tennis stars, body builders and professional football players. But there is only one baseball star -- Bonds. The 39-year-old slugger's picture adorns the company Web site, biceps glistening from the page, a hat bearing the name of the business' signature product atop his head. Bonds has worked with BALCO since the winter of 2000. Since he began his association with Conte, Bonds, who also follows a rigorous exercise and weight-training program, has produced a staggering three-season stretch: .345 batting average, 164 home runs -- including the single-season record of 73 in 2001 -- and 337 RBI. Not all the athletes listed as BALCO clients recalled an association with the firm. In an interview published in the September 1999 issue of Muscular Development magazine, Conte said BALCO had "provided testing and consultation for over 250 NFL players, including the entire Denver Broncos Super Bowl championship team, as well the entire Miami Dolphins team." A Broncos spokesman told the Chronicle that the team was never a client of BALCO's and that any players who used the company did so on their own. Dolphins strength and conditioning coach John Gamble said that in 1998 Conte tested all of the Dolphins players for mineral deficiencies and that he subsequently sent supplements to counteract those deficiencies. Gamble said, though, that he did not believe Conte was paid for his services. Former Olympic hurdler and wide receiver Renaldo Nehemiah said he was sent to BALCO by the San Francisco 49ers in the early 1980s for testing because he was lethargic and it was thought he had some sort of nutritional deficiency. Nehemiah told the Chronicle that Conte had contacted him, and the two talked about foods the wideout should avoid. "That's my involvement," said Nehemiah. "Unfortunately for Victor, he can't take credit for working with me in any supplemental capacity.'' The former NFL player said he has never taken supplements. Lance Deal, a four-time Olympian and 1996 Olympic silver medalist in the hammer throw, said that BALCO's listing him as a client is a "gross exaggeration.'' Deal, now coaching at the University of Oregon, told the paper that he had a brief association with BALCO in the mid-1980s, when the company did some testing of U.S. hammer throwers. Deal did say, though, that the business seemed legitimate at the time, that he and others had their blood tested and that supplements were then suggested. He couldn't recall acting on the recommendations. Conte told the Chronicle that he has neither been told that he is a target of the grand jury investigation nor has been asked to testify before the panel. The agencies have not indicated what they're looking into. The IRS said it cannot comment on the investigation because it is ongoing, and the FDA referred calls to the IRS as the lead agency. But one source, who spoke to the Chronicle on condition of anonymity, said he has been subpoenaed to testify in November before the grand jury in San Francisco, and a second source said he was contacted by another person subpoenaed to testify later in October. All documents relating to the investigation are sealed, and none of the agencies has commented publicly other than to acknowledge the searches. The Chronicle further reported that the source called to testify as a witness next month said he was told by agents of the U.S. Department of Treasury -- which oversees the IRS -- that the investigation centered around BALCO and Anderson. Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. One of the other clients of this company is Bill Romanowski. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
starvenger 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2003 Other names you may have heard of with ties to BALCO: Tim Montgomery, Kelli White and Marion Jones.... ...and it's ironic that Nehemiah went to BALCO _after_ he was done with his track career... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kkktookmybabyaway 0 Report post Posted October 17, 2003 But it's none of our business if Bonds hits the roids -- Barry said so... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bored 0 Report post Posted October 18, 2003 The plot thickens...Bonds has been one of 40 athletes subpoenaed by the grand jury to testify in this case. From today's San Francisco Chronicle: Bonds subpoenaed in probe of lab Burlingame firm tied to sports steroids scandal Giants star Barry Bonds is among 40 "elite" athletes who have been subpoenaed to testify as witnesses before a federal grand jury investigating a Burlingame nutritional supplement laboratory, according to the man who runs the company. Victor Conte, whose Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO) was named Wednesday in connection with what Olympic drug-testing officials called an international sports drug scandal, wrote in e-mails to The Chronicle Friday that Bonds was on a list of professional and Olympic athletes summoned to testify in the federal investigation. A source familiar with the subpoenas confirmed that the home-run king had been summoned to testify before the grand jury in San Francisco. The source asked not to be quoted by name. Another source who is knowledgeable about aspects of the case told The Chronicle that the grand jury was investigating Conte and his firm for suspected tax violations. Conte markets nutritional supplements and sophisticated blood-testing services to star athletes. Athletes are not the focus of the probe, said this source, who also requested anonymity, but the grand jury wants to question them about payments to Conte to see whether they are reflected in tax returns. Bonds' agent, Scott Boras, declined to comment Friday, citing attorney- client privilege. The Giants have declined comment. Bonds, a client of Conte's since the winter of 2000, has touted the firm's nutritional supplements in interviews and on Conte's company Web site. Conte disclosed the subpoena to Bonds in response to a query from The Chronicle. "I do know that Barry has received a subpoena," he wrote. "There are at least seven NFL players that I know of, plus at least four professional baseball players that have received a subpoena. Most of the other athletes are from track and field." In another e-mail, Conte wrote: "My understanding is that 40 elite Olympic and professional athletes have been subpoenaed to appear before a grand jury." Conte's firm has been under federal scrutiny for months. In March, the U.S. Attorney's Office sued BALCO, charging it with Medicare fraud in connection with billings for blood tests. In September, Internal Revenue Service agents, accompanied by representatives of the Food and Drug Administration, the San Mateo County Narcotics Task Force and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency raided its offices. Later, another search was conducted at the Burlingame home of Greg Anderson, one of Bonds' personal trainers. The agencies haven't commented on the reason for the raid or the grand jury probe. Conte and BALCO were enmeshed in more controversy earlier this week when the nonprofit agency that oversees drug testing for U.S. Olympic teams publicly charged that Conte had distributed a so-called "designer steroid" created to allow athletes to beat drug tests. Terry Madden, chief executive officer of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, contended that BALCO was at the center of a burgeoning scandal, saying, "I know of no other bust that involved anabolic steroids with this number" of athletes involved. Conte contended in e-mails that he himself has not been subpoenaed to testify before the grand jury, and he said he has not been notified that he is a target of the federal probe. He hasn't said why he thinks he is under investigation, and he didn't name other athletes who have been subpoenaed. Union City sprinter Kelli White, another client of Conte, told The Chronicle on Thursday that she also had been subpoenaed to testify in the case. She said she had been cooperating with authorities but declined to discuss details. Conte is a former bass guitarist for the '70s rock group Tower of Power who for more than a decade has marketed nutritional products targeted to athletes. According to company Web sites, the client lists of BALCO and its supplement wing Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning (SNAC) include several Olympic athletes past and present, tennis stars, bodybuilders and professional football players. The biggest star is Bonds. His picture adorns the company Website. The Website also links to an article in last June's Muscle & Fitness magazine in which Bonds praises the company's services. The story says he "spouts like an evangelist at a revival meeting" about the value of having one's blood analyzed by BALCO for mineral and trace element deficiencies and then taking the firm's supplements to counter those shortages. The anti-doping agency began investigating BALCO in June, after an unnamed "high profile track and field coach" contacted the anti-doping agency, Madden said at a news conference Thursday. Madden said the coach gave investigators a used syringe partially filled with what he called an "undetectable" steroid that had recently come into use to beat athletic drug tests. According to Madden, the coach said the drug was being supplied to athletes by Conte. Madden said investigators took the syringe to Don Catlin, a scientist at UCLA, who by "reverse engineering" was able to determine the chemical structure of the new drug. Madden called the substance "tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), a "designer steroid" that he said was similar to other banned steroids. Madden said his agency had not attempted to contact Conte, but based on what the unnamed coach said he was "fairly certain that the substance came from Victor Conte." He said that retesting of urine samples from the USA Outdoor Track and Field Championships at Stanford University indicated "several" athletes had tested positive. He declined to name the athletes or say how many had tested positive. In e-mails to The Chronicle, Conte denied wrongdoing and criticized the anti-doping agency for targeting him at the news conference. He said that the substance that the anti-doping agency traced to BALCO was not a steroid and was not illegal. He complained that it was wrong for the anti-doping agency to "make up things as they go along" and denounce him in public. "My opinion is that this case is more about politics than science," Conte wrote. "There is absolutely zero evidence that this substance has any anabolic effects. I can guarantee you that it is not a controlled substance or illegal." Catlin, in a phone interview, declined to discuss the issue, saying, "I have more important things to do" than respond to Conte's scientific claims. Chronicle staff writer John Crumpacker contributed to this report. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted October 18, 2003 What plot? I don't see how Bonds is really involved in this investigation. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bored 0 Report post Posted October 18, 2003 What plot? I don't see how Bonds is really involved in this investigation. Let's see the company may have made a designer steroid that isn't currently being tested and Bonds homeruns suddenly increased and breaks the homerun record the year after he joins the company. Bonds also happens to be the only baseball player involved with the company. He might not be involved directly in the investigation but his ties to the company really put into question the sudden massive amount of body mass that he put on in recent years and his sudden increase in homeruns. I don't think anything will happen to Bonds in all of this but he better start a P.R. campaign after the World Series because the national media is going to jump all over this story. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brush with Greatness 0 Report post Posted October 18, 2003 I find names like Tim Montgomery and Marion Jones being thrown around here a lot more meaningful than Bonds. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big McLargeHuge 0 Report post Posted October 19, 2003 Who didn't see this coming? Not Bond's on roids, but Bored posting this story. Course, I thought it would've been posted weeks ago. You dissapoint me Bored. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bored 0 Report post Posted October 19, 2003 Who didn't see this coming? Not Bond's on roids, but Bored posting this story. Course, I thought it would've been posted weeks ago. You dissapoint me Bored. Bah I refrained from posting it originally because I don't think setriods is even close to the only reason why a player might hit more homeruns and the delution of pitching talent and smaller stadiums have contributed to homerun increase more than steroid use. I probably would have never posted it if the timing of Bonds joining this company and breaking the homerun record didn't coincide with each other so well. What you think he isn't on roids? Take off the black and orange colored glasses. I don't even know why Barry ever got involved with this company because his place in history as an all-time great was already set without the homerun records. Oh and I agree with the post about Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery's names being more significant than Bonds in all of this but hey got to go with the biggest name out there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Big McLargeHuge 0 Report post Posted October 19, 2003 My post was 100% unserious. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bored 0 Report post Posted October 19, 2003 My post was 100% unserious. God damnit my Sarcasmotron is on the fritz. Maybe if you didn't have the Giants avatar I would picked up on it so figure you were serious...ahhh oh well. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bored 0 Report post Posted October 20, 2003 Jason Giambi has also been subpoenaed. http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/news?slug=ap-y...ov=ap&type=lgns Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
