What Does the Barry Bonds' Conviction Mean for Roger Clemens?

Posted on April 18, 2011 by Chris Fusco
 
It means the Rocket is big trouble.
 
As aptly pointed out by Jon Paul Morosi of Fox Sports, the prosecution in the Bonds case was able to get a conviction of obstruction of justice and had the jury 11-1 to convict on another felony count WITHOUT the aid of Bonds' trainer and alleged steroid supplier, Greg Anderson. Remember, Anderson refused to testify against the former "home run king."
 
However, in the case against Clemens, the prosecution will not have this severe disadvantage. The government will have the full cooperation and testimony of Brian McNamee. It appears that McNamee will provide direct testimony concerning Clemens' alleged steroid use. In the Bonds case, the prosecution had to use mostly circumstantial proof including the changes in Bonds' body.
 
With weaker case, the government turned Bonds into a convicted felon. With a true star witness in McNamee (assuming his testimony is believed), why should Clemens' outcome be any different? 
Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

Bonds Trial Update: The Prosecution's Big Gamble

Posted on April 4, 2011 by Chris Fusco
When I was a young prosecutor, I was told never to over-try a criminal case. Sometimes less is more and overkill can lead to a shaky witness getting crushed on cross-exam.

Last week, the prosecution decided to shorten it's case against Bonds by more than a 7 days. There can be several reasons for this decision. While courtroom observers can disagree whether the case against Bonds is going well, the prosecution must believe their case can't get any better. This doesn't mean the government is overconfident, it only could mean that they are less comfortable with their other witnesses (who could blow up).

The other benefit of shortening the case for the prosecution is that it puts immediate pressure on the defense. Bonds' attorneys will have much less time to prepare their case and will be forced to make difficult decisions on how much of a defense presentation to give the jury.

 

Once the defense case starts, for the first time, the prosecution can take the gloves off and come out swinging at the slugger's own witnesses. 

 

Tags: , , , , ,

Jose Guillen Misses Out on Postseason Roster Due to Steroid Investigation

Posted on October 29, 2010 by Antonio Irizarry

With the San Francisco Giants leading the World Series 2-0, rumors have begun to fly regarding one of the members of their team and his failure to make the post season roster.  According to San Francisco Giants manager Bruce Bochy, Jose Guillen has been excluded from the post season roster due to neck injuries.  On the other hand, speculation has swirled about the Giants holding Guillen from the post season roster due to an ongoing investigation linking Guillen to HGH shipments.  

The whole story is fairly ironic due to the fact that the Giants were the team that was plagued by performance enhancing drug rumors, accusations, and the dark cloud of Barry Bonds.  With the team on the brink of capturing its first World Series victory since 1954, performance enhancing drugs can stealing the spotlight.  According to reports, federal authorities informed Major League Baseball there is an ongoing investigation involving Jose Guillen.  Major League Baseball has also opened an investigation regarding Guillen and the shipments.  Look for more details to emerge in the coming days. Guillen, a career .270 hitter with 214 HRS and 887 RBI's, has had an injury plagued career and anger management issues.  At this point it is pure speculation, but so far in the age of performance enhancing drugs and HGH in baseball, where there is smoke, there is fire.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Roger Clemens Pleads Not Guilty. Now what?

Posted on August 31, 2010 by Chris Fusco

Yesterday, former Red Sox and Yankee star pitcher entered a plea of not guilty to federal perjury and obstruction of Congress charges. This story was widely reported but little was mentioned about what happens with Clemens' case between now and the April 5, 2011 trial date.

Well, it may not be front page news but the defense now gets to conduct document discovery from the prosecution. Until this moment, the defense likely possessed very few official reports held by the government, but this is about to radically change.

Clemens' defensive team is basically entitled to a copy of the prosecutor's file. This means the defense will now have access to investigative reports, police reports, witness statements, and grand jury testimony. This information is critical for the defense lawyers to develop their plan of attack against the government's case. However, these documents should also go a long way in showing how strong the prosecution's case against the Rocket may be.

We know Clemens has turned down a plea bargain that didn't carry jail time. After Roger reviews the "care package" he is about to get from the Feds, I wonder if he will have any second thoughts. 

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Roger Clemens, His Ego, His Indictment, and the Chance of a Called Strike Three

Posted on August 21, 2010 by Chris Fusco

With all the fast and furious news about former Red Sox, Astro, Blue Jay and Yankee star pitcher Roger Clemens being indicted on perjury charges, we wanted to take a moment to calm down and reflect. Once again, let's repeat that Clemens has been found guilty of nothing and maintains his innocence of all of the federal felony charges against him. But, upon some thinking, we wonder if he knows that the count against him is 0 and 2. Let's go to the instant legal replay.

Strike One: Clemens, under no obligation (and no subpoena) chose to testify in front of Congress where he story fell apart after his former trainer, Brian McNamee swore that no only did he inject Clemens with steroids, he even kept the needles. Making it worse for Clemens, two-time Astro and Yankee pitcher Andy Pettite (another admitted PED user) confirmed McNamee's account and also said Clemens admitted to him that he used PED's.

Strike Two: Clemens sues McNamee for defamination. The Rocket's case quickly backfires when a judge decided that it had no merit and was dismissed faster then you can say "no Hall of Fame."

And the Wind-Up: Clemens, throwing caution to the wind, calls a Boston radio station to give an interview (besides his tweets) and says that he will have "his day" in court. That is Clemens' right but their is a chance he will lose. Given, Clemens recent history in legal proceedings and the proof the government may have, a called Strike Three could mean that he will be the best player on the federal prison's softball team (for at leat 15 to 21 months).  

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Philadelphia Phillies Prospect Tyson Gillies Arrested For Felony Cocaine Possession

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Antonio Irizarry

Philadelphia Phillies prospect Tyson Gillies was arrested in Clearwater, Florida this morning and charged with felony cocaine possession.  The arrest stems from an incident that occurred this past June.  

The incident that led to the arrest involved Gillies waving down motorists outside of his car on the shoulder of U.S. 19 in Clearwater, being picked up by a passing officer for a courtesy ride to his hotel, and forgetting his stash of "white powder" on the officer's seat when he left the vehicle.  The "white powder' tested positive for cocaine on August 19th and the arrest was made today, August 20th. 

Gillies was a part of this past season's Cliff Lee trade between the Seattle Mariners and the Philadelphia Phillies.  Gillies was released on a $2,000 bond. 

With the continuous talk about HGH and Performance Enhancing Drug testing in minor league baseball, it looks like these athletes are engaging in the use of more common drugs still.  Let's see how the Phillies and Major League Baseball handle this one.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Less than 24 hours after Clemens' Indictment, We Need to Clear Up the Legal Nonsense

Posted on August 20, 2010 by Chris Fusco

Well, its been less then a day since former New York Yankee and Boston Red Sox star pitcher, Roger Clemens, was indicted on 15 different counts of perjury, obstructing the Congress of the United States and interfering with a Congressional investigation and already Clemens' defense team is putting out a lot of questionable information (an some usual nonsense). So let's do a little legal housekeeping.

First, although every criminal defense attorney says it (and the Clemens team is no exception), an indictment is not "meaningless" and not "proof of nothing." A felony indictment is proof that a grand jury found "reasonable cause" to believe that a crime was committed and Clemens is the one who did it. While this is not the "proof beyond a reasonable doubt" needed for a conviction, it is all the proof required to bring Clemens to trial. An indictment is not "meaningless" because it becomes the "charging instrument" to which Clemens must enter a plea of guilty or not guilty.

Second, Clemens' lawyers are suggesting that this prosecution is on something of a "witch hunt" or saga against their client. Whether Clemens is guilty or not will not be decided for a long time, but make no mistake, the Democratic AND Republican Congressman who heard Clemens' testimony and his former trainer, Brian McNamee's testimony believed Clemens had lied. In a era when the political parties can't agree on the day of the week, the Congressional request for the US Attorney to investigate Clemens for perjury came for BOTH parties.

Lastly, Clemens is tweeting about his innocence. In my opinion, this is beyond reckless and shows that Clemens is out of control. The government is collecting everything he is writing and will try to use any mistake he may make against him.

Roger, this is what you have lawyers for, stop tweeting, facebooking and talking and start getting ready for the fight of your life.  

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Breaking News: Former Yankee Roger Clemens Indicted

Posted on August 19, 2010 by Chris Fusco

Earlier this afternoon a grand jury returned an indictment against Roger Clemens for lying to Congress during his disastrous testimony. It appears that Clemens may face 15 to 21 months and additional fines if convicted. We expect Clemens through his lawyers will enter a plea of not guilty to the charges.

During his testimony before Congress, Clemens seemed like an out of control client who didn't or wouldn't listen to his lawyers. Unfortunately for Clemens, his former trainer (Brian McNamee) told a more believable story and brought some physical evidence to show Clemens' steroid use.

Maybe he will listen now and find a way not to misremember the truth. We will have much more on this case and we will follow it closely.

Tags: , , , , , , , ,

Can Floyd Landis Tell the Truth About Lance Armstrong and Cheating?

Posted on May 22, 2010 by Chris Fusco

After Floyd Landis won the Tour de France, in 2006, he tested positive for using performance enhancing drugs (PED’s) to win the race. Once he was caught by race officials, he lied about his guilt.

Landis then appealed his positive PED test to the Court of Arbitration for Sport and there he lied. Not to be outdone, after losing in the Court of Arbitration for Sport, Landis wrote a book to proclaim his innocence from the use of PED’s and appeared on talk shows. Now we know, the only thing his book contained was lies. Lies, lies, lies.

Days ago, Landis sent some emails out admitting his guilt and declaring that he “did not want to be part of the problem” anymore. Well, Floyd, you still are.

In his emails, Landis accused Lance Armstrong and the US Cycling team of doping and covering up a positive test concerning Armstrong. More importantly, Landis now claims that not only did Armstrong use PED’s, Armstrong showed other riders how to dope their blood to avoid positive tests.

If Landis truly wants to remove himself from being “part of the problem” there is only one thing he can do. Landis must supply Cycling officials (and maybe the DEA) with razor sharp specific evidence. Since Landis has no credibility on his own, he must provide investigators with specific names, dates, times, place and methods of blood doping. Anything less with only show the Landis the same as he ever was – a liar.
 

Tags: , , , , , ,

In the Federal HGH Investigation, Time is Running Out For ARod to Step Up to the Plate

Posted on April 19, 2010 by Chris Fusco

Alex Rodriguez, the third-baseman of the New York Yankees, was supposed to speak with federal agents and prosecutors on Friday, March 26, 2010, in Buffalo. Apparently, ARod couldn’t make it.

While there has been rampant speculation of the reasons why the Feds want to question ARod, the media pundits need to do a much better job reading the “tea leaves” of this investigation. We know that the FBI is investigating Dr. Anthony Galea, a Canadian doctor, for allegedly violating US law by illegally distributing controlled drugs like HGH. Alex RodriguezGiven the constant scandal in sports involving performance enhancing drugs (“PED”), no one can be shocked by this development. It is also important to keep in mind that Dr. Galea is also known for performing blood platelet therapies (aimed at speeding the healing process) that are both legal and fairly routine.

We know that federal investigators have met with Carlos Beltran, Jose Reyes (both of the NY Mets) and a host of other athletes in the course of this investigation. In the case of Beltran and Reyes (who were both recovering from surgeries) the interviews appear to be fairly routine in nature. It is also critical to note that the Mets doctors knew that their players were going to see Dr. Galea as part of their treatment.

So why all the stink about ARod?

The difference with Rodriguez is that the Yankees and their doctors were not in the loop about ARod’s treatment with Galea. It appears that ARod, in consultation with his crack advisors, treated with Dr. Galea as a “free agent.” The question is why? Given ARod’s admission of using steroids (after lying about it on national television), the Yankees might not want to know the answer.

As this investigation plays out, keep in mind that no one in media knows (or should know) the cards that the Feds are holding. We do not know what others witnesses have told the FBI about Dr. Galea and his potentially illegal practices. We don’t know if there is a critical piece of evidence against Dr. Galea that the Feds believe ARod can give them and he is failing to do so. We don’t know if paper trial exists and to whom it may lead to in the end.

In my experience as a former narcotics prosecutor, in New York City, I can state that the “end user” of a illegal drug (like HGH) is not normally a big target criminal defendant. Unless, of course, the end user has been implicated in a narcotics investigation and refuses to play ball (see Greg Anderson of Barry Bonds mess). Eventually, the Fed’s collective patience will run out with ARod. While I am certain ARod doesn’t want another PED scandal, the Feds have more options then he does in this situation. If ARod doesn’t “shuffle off to Buffalo” soon, he may receive a more formal invitation in the form of a grand jury subpoena. This will compel him to tell the truth under oath or be subject to his own criminal prosecution (see Roger Clemens).

Finally, if ARod really antagonizes the Feds and if the FBI has proof of ARod using HGH provided by Dr. Galea, the government can always use the nuclear option and simply indict them both. Batter Up!

UPDATE: ARod apparently met with MLB official in early April. He denied using HGH and this information was transmitted to federal prosecutors for their review. Whether it’s enough or a convincing story remains to be seen. It looks like another case of a star athlete getting special treatment instead of being “inconvenienced” by cooperating in a criminal investigation. 
Tags: , , , ,