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Lab Owner to Plead Guilty in Steroid Scandal
By REUTERS
Filed at 11:21 a.m. ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The owner of the BALCO lab at the center of a global steroid scandal has agreed to plead guilty to two criminal counts that could lead to four months in prison and another four months home confinement, his lawyer said on Friday.
Victor Conte has already admitted in public that he distributed steroids to top athletes in track and field and other sports. He is expected to appear in a federal courtroom in San Francisco with three other men charged in the case at 11 a.m. on Friday.
``Mr. Conte has always accepted responsibility for the conduct reflected in this plea agreement and is looking forward to putting the case behind him,'' Conte lawyer Mary McNamara said in a statement.
Under the agreement, Conte, a talkative former professional bass guitar player turned nutritionist, will admit to one count of conspiracy to distribute steroids and another count charging he laundered part of a check, his lawyers said. Other charges will be dropped under the deal.
``We are pleased with the terms of the agreement and believe it represents a fair result in this case,'' said Ed Swanson, another Conte lawyer.
A spokesman for the prosecution did not immediately return telephone calls for comment.
The BALCO scandal has badly damaged the reputations of top international track and field stars such as Marion Jones and former 100-meter world record holder Tim Montgomery. It has also raised questions about achievements in others sports, such as remarkable home run results by muscular players in baseball over the past decade.
STEROID CONFESSION
Late last year, Conte presented his lawyers a difficult task by confessing on television to giving a steroids he called the cream and the clear to Jones and a long list of other elite track and field athletes. Conte's irritated first lawyer left the case shortly thereafter.
Nor was the interview an inadvertent slip. The BALCO founder repeated his comments in an article he published at the same time.
Jones has repeatedly denied taking steroids and has filed a defamation suit against Conte. That case has been postponed pending the outcome of the criminal case against him.
The three others charged in the BALCO case are Conte's deputy, a Soviet-born track and field coach and Greg Anderson, the personal trainer to baseball slugger Barry Bonds.
A lawyer for Bonds, who is injured and has not played this season, said the single-season home run champion took BALCO creams and oils that could have contained steroids, but did so unknowingly out of blind faith in Anderson, who is also a friend.
Anderson's lawyer has said in the past that he hopes to reach a deal with prosecutors as well. She did not return calls on Thursday and Friday for comment.
According to papers filed earlier in the 2-year-old case, federal investigators had at one point sought Conte's help in finding others linked to steroids. His lawyers said that under the plea deal he will not be required to help in the prosecution of others.
By REUTERS
Filed at 11:21 a.m. ET
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - The owner of the BALCO lab at the center of a global steroid scandal has agreed to plead guilty to two criminal counts that could lead to four months in prison and another four months home confinement, his lawyer said on Friday.
Victor Conte has already admitted in public that he distributed steroids to top athletes in track and field and other sports. He is expected to appear in a federal courtroom in San Francisco with three other men charged in the case at 11 a.m. on Friday.
``Mr. Conte has always accepted responsibility for the conduct reflected in this plea agreement and is looking forward to putting the case behind him,'' Conte lawyer Mary McNamara said in a statement.
Under the agreement, Conte, a talkative former professional bass guitar player turned nutritionist, will admit to one count of conspiracy to distribute steroids and another count charging he laundered part of a check, his lawyers said. Other charges will be dropped under the deal.
``We are pleased with the terms of the agreement and believe it represents a fair result in this case,'' said Ed Swanson, another Conte lawyer.
A spokesman for the prosecution did not immediately return telephone calls for comment.
The BALCO scandal has badly damaged the reputations of top international track and field stars such as Marion Jones and former 100-meter world record holder Tim Montgomery. It has also raised questions about achievements in others sports, such as remarkable home run results by muscular players in baseball over the past decade.
STEROID CONFESSION
Late last year, Conte presented his lawyers a difficult task by confessing on television to giving a steroids he called the cream and the clear to Jones and a long list of other elite track and field athletes. Conte's irritated first lawyer left the case shortly thereafter.
Nor was the interview an inadvertent slip. The BALCO founder repeated his comments in an article he published at the same time.
Jones has repeatedly denied taking steroids and has filed a defamation suit against Conte. That case has been postponed pending the outcome of the criminal case against him.
The three others charged in the BALCO case are Conte's deputy, a Soviet-born track and field coach and Greg Anderson, the personal trainer to baseball slugger Barry Bonds.
A lawyer for Bonds, who is injured and has not played this season, said the single-season home run champion took BALCO creams and oils that could have contained steroids, but did so unknowingly out of blind faith in Anderson, who is also a friend.
Anderson's lawyer has said in the past that he hopes to reach a deal with prosecutors as well. She did not return calls on Thursday and Friday for comment.
According to papers filed earlier in the 2-year-old case, federal investigators had at one point sought Conte's help in finding others linked to steroids. His lawyers said that under the plea deal he will not be required to help in the prosecution of others.
