While this decision did not affect the potential penalties faced by Bonds, it reflected the perception that many of the original charges would be too difficult to prove in the expected absence of testimony by Bonds's personal trainer Greg Anderson, who had refused to provide evidence at the grand jury level and did time in jail for his actions. Two weeks later, the federal side showed they would bring out the heavy artillery in attempting to secure a conviction against Bonds: they indicated that they planned to interview as witnesses Bonds' former mistress, Kimberly Bell, and his personal doctor, as well as childhood friend and former business partner Steve Hoskins, to testify against Bonds and try to establish that Bonds had displayed a pattern of abusive behavior and physiological changes consistent with the documented side-effects of steroid use.
That tactic was immediately decried by Bonds's lawyers as an attempt at character assassination. Federal Judge Susan Illston did turn down the prosecution's attempt to introduce as evidence recordings of Bonds from Bell's voice mail, which would have been used to demonstrate supposed instances of so-called "'roid rage".
On March 1st , Bonds re-entered a plea of "not guilty", a move necessitated by the changes to the charges he faced. Bonds's trial for perjury and obstruction of justice began on March 21 , , under the name "USA vs. Speculation was that he was unlikely to face prison time if convicted, as a former pro cyclist who was facing similar charges in the BALCO scandal received house arrest and probation instead.
To go around this, Judge Illston agreed to have a number of Bonds's former teammates and other players testify about their relationship with Anderson, and the fact that they knew he was supplying illegal drugs.
Bonds's lawyers argued unsuccessfully that calling on players to testify was tantamount to attempting to prove guilt by mere association, but the judge rejected these arguments. The judge also allowed the introduction as evidence of the recording of a potentially incriminating conversation between Bonds and former business partner Hoskins, taped in in front of Bonds's locker, in which they discuss his use of PEDs; Bonds's lawyers argued unsuccessfully to have the recording excluded from the trial.
In his testimony, Steve Hoskins stated that Bonds had become interested in steroids when recovering from his elbow injury and had asked him to obtain more information on the subject from his personal surgeon, Dr. Arthur Ting. He claimed that he obtained the information, and then talked a number of times with Dr.
Ting after that about the effects of steroids. He added that Bonds had begun to receive injections before the start of the season and that he had noticed important physical changes in his friend starting from that time. Former girlfriend Kimberly Bell's deposition was similar to Hoskins', detailing how Bonds began to use steroids in , administered by personal trainer Anderson.
She described the physiological and behavioral changes that she claims ensued, including hair loss, acne, impotence, and increasingly violent and threatening behavior. Giants trainer Stan Conte said that he opposed the presence of Anderson and Harvey Shields, Bonds's personal trainers, in the team's clubhouse but did not receive support from GM Brian Sabean and manager Dusty Baker to kick them out.
He also testified to changes in appearance in Bonds and described him as "an uncooperative patient" who refused to be weighed or to give information about his recovery from various injuries. Colorado Rockies 1B Jason Giambi , the first player to testify, stated that he had received performance-enhancing drugs and instructions on their use from Anderson.
His brother Jeremy , who followed him on the witness stand, said that he had received the so-called "cream" and "clear" made by BALCO from Anderson, as did former Bonds teammate Marvin Benard who also testified. The younger Giambi added that it had been made very clear to him that the products were steroids designed to be undetectable by tests. Benard and Randy Velarde stated that they had bought PEDs directly from Anderson and that he had made the injections himself.
After those first testimonies from former players, the prosecution decided to drop plans to also call on Bobby Estalella , Armando Rios and Benito Santiago , judging that the first four players called had already provided ample and unambiguous accounts in support of their theory. The prosecution then provided evidence in the form of two positive urine samples seized from a test facility in Las Vegas, NV in On April 22, however, the Ninth U.
In a decision, the judges found there was not enough evidence to support the charge that he had impeded the prosecution, and the conviction was tossed. Still, many fans believe the time All-Star was a cheat and is getting off easy. The fact remains, many say, that Bonds tested positive for steroids, according to the U. The government dismissed those counts in August , and the 9th Circuit barred a retrial on the obstruction charge, citing double jeopardy.
I am relieved, humbled and thankful for what this means for me and my family moving forward. Major League Baseball had no immediate comment. The U. Attorney's office in San Francisco didn't immediately respond to a phone call seeking comment. Bonds' legal victory is unlikely to win over critics who concluded he cheated by using performance-enhancing drugs, or help him with Hall of Fame voters. In his third year on the Hall ballot in , Bonds received votes for A player must garner at least 75 percent of the vote to be elected.
But it brings to a close one of the most high-profile prosecutions to emerge from an investigation of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative that began in and saw the convictions of Olympic track gold medalist Marion Jones, elite sprint cyclist Tammy Thomas and former NFL defensive lineman Dana Stubblefield along with coaches, distributors, a trainer, a chemist and a lawyer.
The Bonds case was simply a trophy-hunting expedition by these federal agents and prosecutors and I believe they need to be held accountable for this waste of federal funds. You know, I am sorry, but that — you know, that — I was a celebrity child, not just in baseball by my own instincts.
I became a celebrity child with a famous father. What still remains to be decided for Bonds is his standing a in the court of public opinion and b with professional baseball writers, the latter of which hold the power to deny him entry into the National Baseball Hall of Fame. Bonds probably never needed to be rehabilitated in the eyes of Giants fans. He became the dominant power hitter of baseball's Steroid Era, ending with career home runs, and was welcomed to the team's spring training this year as a hitting coach.
But his reputation elsewhere is controversial. And here's a reminder of the suspicions Bonds must still overcome: When prosecutors questioned him in front of that grand jury, they detailed a long list of pharmaceuticals they alleged Bonds had taken. Here's how the San Francisco Chronicle summarized that laundry list -- and Bonds' partial response, when the panel's transcripts were released in The unsealed transcript gives a detailed account of Bonds' Dec.
In sworn testimony, Bonds acknowledged receiving clear and cream substances from Anderson but said his trainer described them as flaxseed oil and a rubbing balm for arthritis.
During Bonds' three hours on the witness stand, prosecutors confronted the slugger with what they said were incriminating documents seized in raids on BALCO and on Anderson's home in Burlingame in September Prosecutors said the documents detailed Bonds' use of a long list of drugs: human growth hormone, Depo-Testosterone, "the cream" and "the clear," insulin and even Clomid, a female fertility drug. The documents, many with Bonds' name or initials on them, are dated from through
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