YourKock'sReallyGreat 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2009 News just broke on WFan 660 out of NYC. Miguel Tejada has been charged with lying to congress about using steroids. Sounds like Tejada has cut a deal. The penalty is up to 1 year in jail. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2009 Oh for the love of Christ... Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Cheech Tremendous 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2009 It wasn't a B12 shot? I'm shocked. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2009 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...ml?hpid=topnews Former Baltimore Orioles shortstop Miguel Tejada was charged today with lying to congressional investigators about the use of performance-enhancing drugs in baseball. Federal prosecutors accused Tejada of making misrepresentations to congressional staffers during an interview in a Baltimore hotel room focusing on the prevalence of steroids in the game. 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. tomorrow in U.S. District Court in Washington, court officials said. Prosecutors did not charge Tejada with lying about allegations concerning his own steroids use. Instead, they accuse Tejada of giving false statements to congressional staffers about his conversations with another player about steroids and human growth hormone. ad_icon 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. Tejada faces a maximum penalty of a year in jail, but advisory sentencing guidelines call for a sentence of probation to six months behind bars. His attorney, Mark Tuohey, declined to comment last night about the possibility of his client entering a plea deal. He was not available to comment this morning, an assistant said. The charges are just the latest blemish for baseball and its players about their ties to performance-enhancing drugs. Just yesterday, Alex Rodriguez, arguably the league's biggest star, admitted that he had lied about taking steroids during a three-year stretch that ended in 2003. The charges also signal that prosecutors are serious about holding athletes accountable for their statements to Congress. Pitcher Roger Clemens is being investigated by a federal grand jury on allegations he lied to Congress during a hearing last year when he denied ever taking steroids or human growth hormone. His former personal trainer has said he injected Clemens nearly 40 times with those substances from 1998 through 2001. Tejada's legal troubles began in 2005 when former Orioles teammate Rafael Palmeiro, under investigation by the House Committee on Government Reform for allegedly lying under oath about performance-enhancing drug use, blamed a positive steroid test on an injected dose of vitamin B-12 allegedly given to him by Tejada. In a later interview with committee staffers at a Baltimore hotel Aug. 26, 2005, Tejada denied having used steroids or performance-enhancing drugs. He also said he was not aware of steroid use by others in baseball, records show. In early 2008, after reviewing former senator George J. Mitchell's lengthy report on steroids in baseball, members of Congress referred Tejada's testimony for investigation to the Justice Department. The Mitchell report contained allegations about Tejada's purchase of HGH and testosterone from Piatt in 2003. Piatt cooperated with Mitchell's investigators and with federal authorities. 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 court documents filed this morning, prosecutors said those statements contradicted evidence gathered from Piatt. Piatt told investigators that he spoke to Tejada in the Oakland A's locker room in the spring of 2003. Tejada told Piatt that "he looked in great shape physically and asked [Piatt] what he was doing to help him be in such good physical shape," prosecutor Steven J. Durham, the chief of the U.S. Attorney's Office's public corruption unit, wrote in court documents. ad_icon They had several more conversations about Piatt "using steroids and HGH," Durham wrote. Tejada then gave Piatt two checks for more than $3,000 each for the purchase of HGH, prosecutors wrote. Piatt told investigators that he did not know whether Tejada took the substances. Prosecutors do not say where Piatt obtained the HGH. Tejada, the American League's most valuable player in 2002 as a member of the Oakland Athletics, was once considered one of the top players in baseball, and the six-year, $72 million contract he signed with the Orioles before the 2003 season remains the largest in the history of the Baltimore franchise. However, the Orioles traded him to the Astros for five players in December 2007, the day before the release of a Major League Baseball report on steroids in baseball. His 2007 and 2008 seasons were, statistically, his worst since his rookie season of 1998. And in April 2008 it was revealed Tejada had lied about his age as a teenager and was actually two years older than previously believed. He is 34. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2009 Hopefully people will start getting it through their heads that YOU DON'T LIE TO CONGRESS. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Bored 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2009 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 court documents filed this morning, prosecutors said those statements contradicted evidence gathered from Piatt. Just so everyone is clear that it's not because he lied about his own usage, it's because he lied about other player's usage. Seriously, WHO...THE...FUCK...CARES?????????? Jesus fucking Christ it's steroids, not murder! A total fucking waste of tax payer dollars. And once again this proves Mark McGwire was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for, PR nightmare be damned. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2009 This all really sickens me on some level. What if Congress started dragging us in, asking us if we knew of any drug use of our friends? Or any other crimes. And then when you don't up and confess, they send you to jail for perjury. This is some seriously draconian shit. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2009 Just so everyone is clear that it's not because he lied about his own usage, it's because he lied about other player's usage. Seriously, WHO...THE...FUCK...CARES?????????? Jesus fucking Christ it's steroids, not murder! A total fucking waste of tax payer dollars. Seems pretty frivolous, but the feds have always had zero tolerance about being lied to about anything. I think it's a necessary deterrant. What wasn't necessary was Congress spending all this time chasing after ballplayers. And once again this proves Mark McGwire was a lot smarter than people gave him credit for, PR nightmare be damned. He did keep himself out of a lot of trouble, I'll give him that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2009 I certainly wish Congress had this same kind of zero tolerance when they were told about Iraq. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
naiwf 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2009 Are we really trying to say that lying to the feds was an acceptable thing to do? You can argue that it's incredibly wasteful to go after these guys, but if you didn't lie to the feds in the first place you don't have to worry about anything happening from a legal standpoint. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
CanadianChris 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2009 I certainly wish Congress had this same kind of zero tolerance when they were told about Iraq. Maybe Tejada should have joined the Republican party. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
EVIL~! alkeiper 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2009 Are we really trying to say that lying to the feds was an acceptable thing to do? You can argue that it's incredibly wasteful to go after these guys, but if you didn't lie to the feds in the first place you don't have to worry about anything happening from a legal standpoint. I would say that the questions never should have been asked in the first place. If you think a person used steroids, charge them properly in accordance with their fifth amendment rights. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Edwin MacPhisto 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2009 The House That Ruth Built Un-American Activities Committee Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
YourKock'sReallyGreat 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2009 The rumor is that Congress is going to go after Palmeiro and Clemens next. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Brett Favre 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2009 WHATCHU GONNA DO Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Prophet of Mike Zagurski 0 Report post Posted February 10, 2009 The rumor is that Congress is going to go after Palmeiro and Clemens next. Woo Hoo! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
bob_barron 0 Report post Posted February 11, 2009 I certainly wish Congress had this same kind of zero tolerance when they were told about Iraq. One has nothing to do with the other. When in doubt, baseball players should remember: They're not here to talk about the past Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
