Track Coach Pointed Out

It's rude to point. If you find yourself in court and you're being pointed at, that means you are accussed of doing something wrong.

Trevor Graham was pointed at and identified by two witnesses yesterday who accused the track coach of lying. One witness was Jeff Novitzky, the federal agent who is the face of the BALCO investigation. Novitzky said Graham misled him about his involvement with PED's. "Telling the truth would have helped tremendously. We were really thinking and hoping that Mr. Graham would be the link that would really advance that investigation," Novitzky said.

The other witness to point at Mr. Graham was Angel Guillermo Heredia, who I've posted previously as being a confessed drug distributor who is flying without a net. He has been cooperating with the government since December 2005, but he was not given immunity for testifying. Heredia, by cooperating is trying to minimize any charges against him or a possible deportation following the trial. Bold move Angel; not given immunity and facing possible charges and or deportation, I hope you are being truthful.

Heredia, while on the stand, in stark contrast to Jeff Novitzky, was visibly nervous and was admonished by the judge to limit answers to yes or no on several occasions. Previously Novitzky testified that Graham "had talked to Heredia only once and 'never ever met him in person.'"

Heredia's testimony contradicted this account. Heredia described how Graham and two athletes drove from Raleigh, NC to Laredo, TX in December 1996 to meet Heredia and take a trip to Mexico to acquire drugs. Heredia had pictures to prove that they met. Heredia went on to supply PED's and advice to Graham-coached athletes from that initial meeting until the summer of 2000. The PED's included: steroids, HGH, EPO and other drugs. Heredia testified that the athletes that used the PED's were: Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery, Jerome Young and Antonio Pettigrew. This was the first time Pettigrew has been implicated in the use of PED's.

During the opening statements of the trial, the game plans of the prosecution and the defense were laid out. The defense was going to try to discredit Heredia and question his motives. The defense also appeared to invoke the sympathy card: portraying Graham as "the original Balco whistle blower" (which he was) and a "convenient scapegoat" for disgruntled former athletes. Graham's lawyer, William P. Keane, also went with the "misspoke" card when he denied ever meeting Heredia.

This is the second case arising from the BALCO investigation to go to trial; eight other people have plead guilty to various crimes while the cyclist Tammy Thomas was found guilty of perjury.

"Graham told agents he had not met Heredia, had not spoken with him on the phone since 1997 and had not taken his drugs for athletes or referred athletes to him."

The prosecution told the jury that the evidence would show Graham referred athletes to Heredia for drugs and they received drugs from Heredia to provide to others. The prosecution also would show the jury records of more than 100 phone calls between the two men and several secretly recorded conversations in 2006.

Trevor, I hope you have that ace up your sleeve, because the way things are playing out right now, you're going to need a lot more than sympathy to get an acquittal. Never met him, but there are photos showing otherwise; never spoke on the phone after 1997, yet the prosecution will show more than 100 phone records and secretly recorded conversations from 2006.

TG, one question, were you getting your legal advice from a disciple of Rusty Hardin? If so, that is money not well spent. You should have played the game most of the other folks wrapped up in BALCO did...plead guilty.

Details Emerge from Canseco & the Feds

New details are emerging from Jose Canseco's meeting two weeks ago with Jeff Novitzky and other federal investigators, per the NYT. The meeting was a result of the perjury investigation of Roger Clemens. One of the details, besides whether current and former MLB'ers were shooting roids, revolved around whether or not Canseco sought money from various players before the release of his latest book, "Vindicated".



Previously it was reported in January by the NYT that Canseco sought money from only Magglio Ordóñez in order not to be in the book. Major League Baseball and the agent for Detroit Tigers outfielder Magglio Ordóñez alerted the FBI last summer of Ordóñez’s concerns that Canseco was seeking to get him to invest in a movie project in exchange for not naming him in the upcoming book. Per Ordóñez's request, federal investigators did not open an investigation. Needless to say, in "Vindicated", Ordóñez takes the spike from Jose. Ordóñez has declined to comment on any of the allegations in the matter.



As for A-Rod, Novitzky asked about "Max" aka Joseph Dion, the trainer Jose introduced A-Rod to and allegedly started him on the program. Dion has denied that claim and has said A-Rod did not use roids while the two were working together. Novitzky inquired about three other trainers from FL. Canseco said he did not know any of the three; A-Rod knows and is friends with two of the three. A-Rod again claimed that he has nothing to hide.



Canseco's lawyer, Greg S. Emerson, became concerned when Novitzky advised that he heard that Canseco had approached a number of players about investing in a movie project as Canseco was working on his second book about baseball and performance-enhancing drugs.



Emerson believes investigators may be declaring “open season on the messenger,” meaning Canseco.


“I don’t know if that is happening, but that is what it looks like is happening and I don’t like that one bit,” he said.



Allegedly shaking down only one guy is just not plausible for Jose. With all your post career baseball moves you've made, with the exception of blowing the cover of the roids era, you would not shake down just one former teammate. Where there's smoke, there's fire and every cliche you want to throw at it. You knew if one guy bit and paid for this "movie project", others would do the same. I can't wait to get some popcorn and see what flick the the guys who didn't want to be ratted out financed.

Jeff Novitzky Changes Teams; Jose Canseco Gets Grilled for 3 Hours

Another great day to be a fan of beef roids. You have Jose Canseco ratting out guys to the feds and Jeff Novitzky moving over from the IRS to the FDA's Office of Criminal Investigations. The only next logical step in Mr. Novitzky's career path would be the ultimate culmination in tracking down 'roiders with a stint at the DEA.

Regarding Canseco, I have not read his latest book, Vindicated, but apparently he vowed that his source "Max" would have his back regarding the juiciest accusations he levied. The allegation on A-Rod, or as Jose would like us to believe, A-Roid.

"Max", in the real world, is known as Joseph Dion and did not have Jose's back regarding the claims against the alleged A-Roid. "A-Rod, at the time I trained him," Dion said, "was 100 percent against steroids."

Jose, the feds are up in the count 0-2. Now is not the time to try and crush one out the park. Make sure everything you tell the feds is the truth or you will be fighting for who gets the pillow when you join Marion Jones in the hole.