No indictment for Barry Bonds

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Barry Bonds won't have to worry about federal prosecution -- for now.
AP




SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- -- No indictment was returned Thursday against Barry Bonds, though a new grand jury will be convened to consider possible perjury and tax-evasion charges against the star slugger as part of the ongoing federal probe into steroids.
Word that an indictment of Bonds was not imminent came as one grand jury's term expired. A new panel will continue to investigate whether Bonds lied when he said under oath that he never knowingly took performance enhancing drugs, according to Mark Geragos, the lawyer for Bonds' trainer Greg Anderson.
A key witness, Anderson was freed at midday from the federal prison where he was sent more than two weeks ago after he refused to testify against his childhood friend. Geragos said Anderson has already been ordered to testify next Thursday before the new grand jury. But he will again refuse.
"They can subpoena him every day for the rest of this year and it doesn't matter," Geragos said. "He's not going to talk."
The judge that ordered Anderson to prison had said the personal trainer was to be held until he agreed to testify against Bonds or the grand jury's term expired.
With the grand jury expiring Thursday, speculation had been mounting for weeks that Bonds, one of the biggest names in professional sports, would be indicted. His lawyers had said they were preparing a defense.
But soon after the grand jury reported to the federal courthouse here to begin the final day of its probe, the U.S. Attorney's office issued a statement saying it "is not seeking an indictment (Thursday) in connection with the ongoing steroids-related investigation."
"There's temporary relief in the news we heard today," said Bonds' lawyer, Michael Rains. "He's hoping this is the end of it, but he doesn't know that, nor do I."
Anderson appears to be the key to whether perjury charges could stick against Bonds, and prosecutors referred to his refusal to testify on Thursday.
"We will continue to move forward actively in this investigation -- including continuing to seek the truthful testimony of witnesses whose testimony the grand jury is entitled to hear," said Luke Macaulay, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan.
Bonds testified in 2003 that he thought substances given to him by Anderson were arthritis balm and flaxseed oil. Authorities suspected Bonds was lying and that those items were "the clear" and "the cream" -- two performance-enhancing drugs tied to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, the lab exposed as a steroids supplier to top athletes in baseball, track and other sports.
Although Bonds was promised immunity as long as he told the truth, doubts soon surfaced.
-- His former girlfriend, Kimberly Bell, testified that the slugger told her he had used steroids, according to Bell's lawyer. Bonds' attorney accused Bell of trying to extort money from Bonds and using the platform to promote a book that was never published.
-- IRS Agent Jeff Novitzky, lead investigator in the steroids probe, said in court filings that BALCO founder Victor Conte told him Bonds used "the clear" on a regular basis.
-- Federal agents who raided Anderson's house seized dosing calendars, price lists and other documents pointing to Bonds' use of steroids and human growth hormone.
Federal prosecutors say they need Anderson, in part, to interpret the calendars, which seem to spell out Bonds' schedule for using performance-enhancing drugs.
Anderson was one of four men convicted in the BALCO scandal. He was sentenced to three months behind bars and three months of home confinement in October after pleading guilty to money laundering and steroid distribution.
He was called to testify before the new grand jury and refused. A federal judge found him in contempt of court and ordered him jailed.
Geragos protested, saying Anderson was the victim of an illegal government wiretap and that because Anderson's refusal to cooperate with government investigators is noted in his earlier plea argument, he cannot be forced to testify.
"He took three months in jail rather than cooperate," Geragos said Thursday.
He also says Anderson can't trust that his testimony will be kept confidential because other BALCO grand jury testimony has been leaked to the press. Excerpts of testimony by Bonds and other key players in the case was published by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Geragos said he plans to repeat the same arguments.
Allegations of steroid use long have plagued Bonds, who passed Babe Ruth in May to become second only to Hank Aaron on the career home run list. They intensified in late 2003, when he testified before the original BALCO grand jury, which took testimony from about two dozen athletes.
Without the trainer's help, prosecutors still could indict Bonds on charges alleging he failed to pay taxes on money made through sales of autographs and other memorabilia. There is also the chance Bonds might be indicted on perjury charges without Anderson's testimony.
"There comes a point in time ... where everybody needs to move on," Rains said. "We hope we have arrived at that point today."