Yankees' Alex Rodriguez refuses to pay Anthony Bosch,
who then cuts deal to help MLB
http://tinyurl.com/mcamh76
The owner of the South Florida anti-aging clinic at the center of
baseball’s latest doping scandal asked embattled Yankee star Alex
Rodriguez for financial help after Major League Baseball filed a lawsuit
that alleged he had sold performance-enhancing drugs to Major League
Baseball players.
When Rodriguez rebuffed Anthony Bosch’s request for money, believed to be in
the hundreds of thousands, the self-styled “biochemist” turned to a strange
bedfellow — MLB.
“A-Rod refused to pay him what he wanted,” said a source. “Baseball was
worried about that.”
MLB reached an agreement this week for Bosch’s cooperation in its
long-running investigation into one of the biggest drug scandals in
baseball history and plans to meet with him on Friday.
The Daily News reported Wednesday that baseball was concerned Bosch might
turn to players for financial help if MLB didn’t lock him into an agreement
to testify.
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“They were afraid someone else would pay him,” said the source. “Bosch is
the only guy that can provide them with what they need.”
Bosch is expected to provide MLB with enough dirt to suspend Rodriguez and
nearly two dozen other players, sources familiar with the Biogenesis case
have told The News, including Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, who
has had a target on his back since he successfully appealed a positive drug
test last year.
According to one source familiar with the investigation, Bosch and his
lawyer, Susy Ribero-Ayala, told MLB that Bosch will provide them with
damaging information about his past dealings with A-Rod and Braun, including
that he “treated” the Brewers slugger when the player was a student at the
University of Miami.
“Due to ongoing litigation, it would be inappropriate to comment on any
aspect of this matter at this time,” Ribero-Ayala, said in a statement
released on Wednesday.
The value of any information that Bosch might provide, however, is sure to be
challenged by the implicated players, since baseball officials have agreed to
a series of demands from Bosch that include dropping the lawsuit MLB filed
against him earlier this year and paying his legal bills, indemnifying him
for any civil liability that arises from his cooperation and providing him
with personal security.
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MLB officials have also told Bosch they would intervene with any
law-enforcement agencies that might prosecute the South Florida businessman
because he acknowledged he provided performance-enhancing drugs to
ballplayers.
“This raises a lot of serious ethical problems,” one source said. “It’s
indirect compensation for information.”
Daily News legal analyst Tom Harvey, however, disagreed, saying MLB basically
had no choice if it wanted to get cooperation from Bosch
“Put yourself in their position,” he said. “You ask the witness to help
you and he says, ‘Why would I do that? I’m going to get burned if I do,
sued, the works.’ In light of what some of these athletes have done in the
past with lawsuits and threats, including Lance Armstrong and Roger Clemens,
why wouldn’t you want to be indemnified? Defending that lawsuit could cost
hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
Bosch, who had dodged MLB for months, apparently began to have a change of
heart about cooperating with baseball sometime after he denied in an ESPN
interview on April 30 that he knew anything about performance-enhancing
drugs. “I have been accused, tried and convicted in the media. And so I
think have been falsely accused throughout the media,” he told ESPN’s Pedro
Gomez. “I’ve done nothing wrong.”
He declined to comment on Rodriguez, Braun or Melky Cabrera. “I said no
comment on any names. These are my clients. I am not going to divulge
anything of my clients,” he said. “I am a nutritionist. I don’t know
anything about performance-enhancing drugs.”
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Bosch apparently became frustrated with that tactic, however, after Rodriguez
rejected his request for money, his legal bills mounted and the threat of
criminal prosecution became a more credible
As The News reported on Wednesday, the U.S. Attorney in Miami has shown
interest in opening an investigation into Bosch. Bosch has also received a
cease and desist letter from the Florida Department of Health, which fined
him $5,000 and ordered him to stop posing as a doctor. The DOH referred its
investigation to the Florida Attorney General’s office and the Miami State
Attorney’s office, although spokesmen for both agencies have said they are
not currently investigating Bosch.
“He had concerns about criminal exposure,” said another source. “And it
was a pain spending all his time hiding from investigators. All those things
added up.”
A spokesman for Rodriguez, Ron Berkowitz, did not return a call for comment.
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Bosch and his lawyer, Ribero-Ayala, had several conversations with MLB
executive vice-president Rob Manfred, according to a source, and assured him
that Bosch has relevant information.
Braun has steadfastly denied getting PEDs from Bosch, saying his name
appeared in a ledger of Bosch’s next to amounts owed and not next to a
schedule of banned drugs, as did the names of other players, including
Rodriguez.
Braun and his lawyers maintain that his name appeared in Bosch’s ledger
because the outfielder’s lawyers had disputed a fee after consulting with
Bosch during Braun’s appeal. Bosch backed up that claim in an interview with
ESPN earlier this year.
In the Brewers’ locker room after Tuesday night’s game, Braun said he wouldn
’t make any further statements about Bosch.
“I’ve already addressed everything related to the Miami situation,” Braun
said.
“The truth has not changed.
==========
Bosch: A-Rod, 我被告到脫褲了，救一下啦。
A-Rod: 干我P事。
Bosch: ....要死大家一起死。
(中略)
Braun: 我是因為之前找Bosch"諮詢"的價碼沒談攏才會被列在帳冊裡面的啦，冤枉喔。