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La Cooperativa de Laboratorios del Área de la Bahía ( BALCO ) (1984-2003) fue una empresa estadounidense dirigida por el fundador y propietario Victor Conte . En 2003, los periodistas Lance Williams y Mark Fainaru-Wada investigaron el papel de la empresa en un escándalo de deportes de drogas al que más tarde se aludió como el asunto BALCO . BALCO comercializó tetrahidrogestrinona ("the Clear"), un esteroide que mejora el rendimiento y que no se detectaba en ese momento, desarrollado por el químico Patrick Arnold . Conte, el vicepresidente de BALCO James Valente, el entrenador de pesas Greg Anderson y el entrenador Remi Korchemnyhabía suministrado a varias estrellas deportivas de alto perfil de los Estados Unidos y Europa "The Clear" y la hormona del crecimiento humano durante varios años.

Historia [ editar ]

Con sede en Burlingame, California , BALCO se fundó en 1984. Oficialmente, BALCO era una empresa de servicios para análisis de sangre y orina y complementos alimenticios. En 1988, Victor Conte ofreció análisis de sangre y orina gratuitos a un grupo de atletas conocidos como los Olímpicos de BALCO . Luego se le permitió asistir a los Juegos Olímpicos de Verano en Seúl , Corea del Sur. Desde 1996, Conte trabajó con la reconocida estrella del fútbol americano Bill Romanowski , quien demostró ser útil para establecer nuevas conexiones con atletas y entrenadores como Korchemny. Conte y Korchemny poco después fundaron el ZMA Track Club con fines de marketing, siendo miembros reconocidos velocistas.Marion Jones y Tim Montgomery . En 2000, Conte logró ponerse en contacto con la estrella del béisbol estadounidense Barry Bonds a través de Greg Anderson , un entrenador que trabajaba en un gimnasio cercano. Luego, Bonds entregó contactos a otros profesionales del béisbol. [1]

Escándalo [ editar ]

Artículo principal: Escándalo BALCO

En 2003, el Fiscal de los Estados Unidos para el Distrito Norte de California comenzó a investigar a BALCO. El entrenador de velocidad estadounidense Trevor Graham había realizado una llamada telefónica anónima a la Agencia Antidopaje de los Estados Unidos (USADA) en junio de 2003 acusando a varios atletas de estar involucrados en el dopaje con un esteroide que no era detectable en ese momento. También nombró a Victor Conte como la fuente del esteroide. Como prueba, Graham entregó una jeringa que contenía trazas de tetrahidrogestrinona , apodada "the Clear".

Poco después, Don Catlin , MD, fundador del Laboratorio Analítico Olímpico de UCLA, desarrolló un proceso de prueba para tetrahidrogestrinona (THG). Ahora capaz de detectar la nueva sustancia, analizó 550 muestras existentes de atletas, de las cuales 20 resultaron ser positivas para THG.

El 3 de septiembre de 2003, agentes del Servicio de Impuestos Internos , la Administración de Alimentos y Medicamentos , el Grupo de Trabajo sobre Narcóticos de San Mateo y la Agencia Antidopaje de los Estados Unidos realizaron un registro domiciliario en las instalaciones de BALCO. Además de las listas de clientes de BALCO en un almacén de campo de BALCO, encontraron contenedores cuyas etiquetas indicaban esteroides y hormonas de crecimiento. En una búsqueda en la casa de Anderson dos días después, se encontraron esteroides, $ 60,000 en efectivo, listas de nombres y planes de dosis.

Entre los deportistas que figuran en el registro de clientes de BALCO se encuentran:

  • Jugadores de MLB: Barry Bonds , Benito Santiago , Jeremy Giambi , Bobby Estalella , Armando Rios
  • Atletas: lanzador de martillo John McEwen , lanzadores de peso Kevin Toth y CJ Hunter , velocistas Dwain Chambers , Marion Jones , Tim Montgomery , Zhanna Block y Kelli White , corredora de media distancia Regina Jacobs .
  • Boxeador Shane Mosley .
  • Ciclismo: Tammy Thomas .
  • Jugadores de la NFL: varios de los Oakland Raiders , incluidos Bill Romanowski , Tyrone Wheatley , Barret Robbins , Chris Cooper y Dana Stubblefield .
  • Judo: Conte was also connected with supplying "vitamin supplements" to the 1988 U.S. Olympic judo team coached by Willy Cahill of San Bruno, California.[2]
  • Christos Tzekos and his athletes were initially connected to BALCO but later cleared.[3]

Patrick Arnold, BALCO's chemist, alleges that Bonds and Sheffield were given "the Clear," though the athletes deny knowing about it and Arnold does not claim to have witnessed it.[4]

In April 2005, Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada were honored with the journalist prize of the White House Correspondents' Association. In 2006, they published the book Game of Shadows, which consists of a summary of about 200 interviews and 1,000 documents they collected for their research.

On July 15, 2005, Conte and Anderson cut plea bargains, pleaded guilty to illegal steroid distribution and money laundering and avoided an embarrassing trial. Conte spent four months in prison.[5] Anderson was incarcerated for 13½ months. He was released on November 15, 2007, the same day Bonds was indicted by a federal grand jury on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice.[6]

On June 6, 2006 the house of Arizona Diamondbacks player Jason Grimsley was searched as part of the ongoing BALCO probe. Grimsley later said that federal investigators wanted him to wear a wire in order to obtain information against Barry Bonds. He told people which players used performance-enhancing drugs. The final result was that the Diamondbacks released Grimsley, and he was given a 50-game suspension by Major League Baseball.

In October 2006, investigations against Fainaru-Wada and Williams were started. The reporters were served with subpoenas to appear before a grand jury to identify the individual who leaked Bonds' name to them. They refused to do so and federal prosecutors asked that they be jailed for up to 18 months (the typical term of a grand jury).[7][8][9] However, in February 2007, federal prosecutors dropped charges against the reporters after a Colorado attorney, Troy Ellerman, who once represented Conte and another executive of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, admitted to leaking the testimony and pleaded guilty to federal charges of unauthorized disclosure of grand jury testimony.[10]

In an interview with Editor & Publisher, Lance Williams revealed that he would never testify in court, even if it did not involve confidential sources. "I have no interest in becoming anybody's witness."[11]

On November 15, 2007, former San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice based on his grand jury testimony in this investigation. The trial began March 21, 2011,[12] and he was convicted on April 13, 2011 on the obstruction of justice charge.[13][14] The conviction was overturned upon appeal.[15]

On April 4, 2008, Tammy Thomas was convicted by a federal jury on three counts of making false statements to a federal grand jury in November 2003, and on one count of obstructing justice. She was acquitted of two perjury charges. Sentencing was set for July 18, 2008.[16] She was sentenced to six months' house arrest and five years' probation on October 10, 2008.[17]

On May 29, 2008, Trevor Graham was convicted by a federal jury on one count of lying to federal investigators about his relationship to an admitted steroids dealer, and the jury deadlocked on two other charges. Sentencing was set for September 5, 2008.[18] He was sentenced to one year of house arrest on October 21, 2008.[19]

See also[edit]

  • Don Catlin
  • Doping in sport
  • Marion Jones
  • Tetrahydrogestrinone

References[edit]

  1. ^ Fainaru-Wada, Mark; Williams, Lance (December 25, 2003). "Barry Bonds: Anatomy of a scandal". Seattle Post-Intelligencer (Seattle PI). San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  2. ^ Harrington, Mark (November 1, 2003). "Success a Bitter Pill / College dropout moved BALCO into big leagues before charges". Newsday. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  3. ^ "Lawyers for former track coach Christos Tzekos say investigations show no ties to BALCO". IHT. AP. October 30, 2007. Retrieved January 12, 2008.
  4. ^ Schmidt, Michael S. (July 25, 2007). "Chemist Says Sheffield and Bonds Used Drugs". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  5. ^ "Conte released from prison, calls book 'full of lies'". ESPN.com. AP Press. March 30, 2006. Retrieved June 29, 2017.
  6. ^ Bonds indicted on perjury, obstruction of justice charges, Lance Williams, Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle, November 15, 2007
  7. ^ Maik Grossekathöfer: Leck im System., Der Spiegel, 40/2006, S. 140, (German)
  8. ^ Reporters in BALCO Case Sentenced to Jail, ESPN, September 22, 2006
  9. ^ Reporters Must Testify Over Bonds Leak, USA Today, August 15, 2006
  10. ^ Egelko, Bob (February 14, 2007). "Attorney pleads guilty to leaking BALCO testimony". The San Francisco Chronicle.
  11. ^ Williams: I Never Thought Bonds Indictment Would Occur Archived December 17, 2007, at the Wayback Machine By: Strupp, Joe Editor and Publisher November 17, 2007
  12. ^ Elias, Paul (March 21, 2011). "Barry Bonds perjury trial gets under way". Associated Press. Retrieved March 21, 2011.[permanent dead link]
  13. ^ "Barry Bonds convicted of obstruction of justice in performance-enhancing-drugs case". Los Angeles Times. April 13, 2011. Archived from the original on April 28, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
  14. ^ "Barry Bonds found guilty of obstruction". ESPN. April 14, 2011. Archived from the original on April 29, 2011. Retrieved April 16, 2011.
  15. ^ http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Appeals-court-overturns-Barry-Bonds-6217365.php
  16. ^ Mintz, Howard (April 4, 2008). "Cyclist convicted of perjury in Balco case". San Jose Mercury News. Retrieved May 30, 2008.
  17. ^ Pogash, Carol; Schmidt, Michael S. (October 11, 2008). "Cyclist Avoids Prison Time, Which May Benefit Bonds". The New York Times. Retrieved April 26, 2010.
  18. ^ Dubow, Josh; Paul Elias; Raf Casert (May 30, 2008). "Track coach Graham convicted in BALCO probe". Tampa Bay Online. Archived from the original on February 15, 2009. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  19. ^ Pogash, Carol; Michael Schmidt (October 21, 2008). "Graham Sentenced to Year's House Arrest in Balco Case". New York Times.

Coordinates: 37°35′45″N 122°22′08″W / 37.595833°N 122.368889°W / 37.595833; -122.368889