Arizona Diamondbacks pitcher Jason Grimsley admitted taking illegal performance-enhancing drugs and said that amphetamines were used "like aspirin" in major league clubhouses, according to an affidavit filed by the lead federal investigator in baseball's steroid investigation.
The affidavit, filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix, said Grimsley agreed to cooperate with U.S. Internal Revenue Service agents after Grimsley received a package containing two kits of human growth hormone April 19 at his Scottsdale home.
The affidavit, obtained by The Arizona Republic, comes nearly four years after the IRS began its probe of BALCO, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, near San Francisco. The original goal was to investigate a drug ring that distributed steroids and other illegal performance-enhancing drugs to elite athletes.
It is the first time an Arizona Diamondbacks player has been linked publicly to the scandal, which has implicated San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds, New York Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi and others.
Grimsley provided "extensive statements regarding his receipt and use of anabolic steroids, amphetamines and human growth hormone over the last several years," the affidavit said.
Grimsley also provided "details about his knowledge of other Major League Baseball players" using illegal performance-enhancing drugs, including several close acquaintances.
An hour before Tuesday night's game against Philadelphia, Grimsley told The Republic, "I have no comment about that and no idea about that."
Jeff Novitzky, the IRS special agent in charge of the BALCO case, filed the affidavit, which also said agents were anticipating the shipment of human growth hormones to Grimsley's home. In a two-hour interview with federal investigators on April 19, Grimsley told investigators:
• Until last year, major league clubhouses had coffee pots labeled "leaded" and "unleaded" for the players, indicating coffee with amphetamines and without. He did not specify how many.
• Latin players were a major source for the amphetamines within baseball.
• Amphetamines also came from players on California teams that could easily go into Mexico and get them.
Names of other players he suspected of using anabolic steroids or human growth hormone were redacted from the document.
In September 2003, the IRS and Food and Drug Administration agents raided the offices of BALCO and at an off-site facility found containers labeled as steroids, testosterone and human-growth hormones, which can make athletes stronger and faster.
No professional athlete has been charged in the BALCO investigation, although Bonds and Giambi testified before a federal grand jury in 2003.
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig this spring appointed former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to investigate players who were alleged to have used illegal steroids.
Mitchell's appointment came after pressure from Congress and the release this spring of Game of Shadows, a book written by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters who describe how Bonds and other players used illegal performance-enhancing drugs provided by BALCO.
Until 2003, baseball didn't conduct drug tests for steroids. The following year, it began imposing penalties.
Last July, BALCO founder Victor Conte Jr, the central figure in the investigation, pleaded guilty to distributing steroids and money laundering in a plea-bargain deal. He was sentenced to four months in prison and four months of house arrest.
Three others, including Greg Anderson, Bonds' personal trainer, have negotiated deals with federal prosecutors for their roles in providing illegal performance-enhancing drugs to roughly 30 athletes.
The affidavit, filed in U.S. District Court in Phoenix, said Grimsley agreed to cooperate with U.S. Internal Revenue Service agents after Grimsley received a package containing two kits of human growth hormone April 19 at his Scottsdale home.
The affidavit, obtained by The Arizona Republic, comes nearly four years after the IRS began its probe of BALCO, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, near San Francisco. The original goal was to investigate a drug ring that distributed steroids and other illegal performance-enhancing drugs to elite athletes.
It is the first time an Arizona Diamondbacks player has been linked publicly to the scandal, which has implicated San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds, New York Yankees first baseman Jason Giambi and others.
Grimsley provided "extensive statements regarding his receipt and use of anabolic steroids, amphetamines and human growth hormone over the last several years," the affidavit said.
Grimsley also provided "details about his knowledge of other Major League Baseball players" using illegal performance-enhancing drugs, including several close acquaintances.
An hour before Tuesday night's game against Philadelphia, Grimsley told The Republic, "I have no comment about that and no idea about that."
Jeff Novitzky, the IRS special agent in charge of the BALCO case, filed the affidavit, which also said agents were anticipating the shipment of human growth hormones to Grimsley's home. In a two-hour interview with federal investigators on April 19, Grimsley told investigators:
• Until last year, major league clubhouses had coffee pots labeled "leaded" and "unleaded" for the players, indicating coffee with amphetamines and without. He did not specify how many.
• Latin players were a major source for the amphetamines within baseball.
• Amphetamines also came from players on California teams that could easily go into Mexico and get them.
Names of other players he suspected of using anabolic steroids or human growth hormone were redacted from the document.
In September 2003, the IRS and Food and Drug Administration agents raided the offices of BALCO and at an off-site facility found containers labeled as steroids, testosterone and human-growth hormones, which can make athletes stronger and faster.
No professional athlete has been charged in the BALCO investigation, although Bonds and Giambi testified before a federal grand jury in 2003.
Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig this spring appointed former U.S. Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to investigate players who were alleged to have used illegal steroids.
Mitchell's appointment came after pressure from Congress and the release this spring of Game of Shadows, a book written by two San Francisco Chronicle reporters who describe how Bonds and other players used illegal performance-enhancing drugs provided by BALCO.
Until 2003, baseball didn't conduct drug tests for steroids. The following year, it began imposing penalties.
Last July, BALCO founder Victor Conte Jr, the central figure in the investigation, pleaded guilty to distributing steroids and money laundering in a plea-bargain deal. He was sentenced to four months in prison and four months of house arrest.
Three others, including Greg Anderson, Bonds' personal trainer, have negotiated deals with federal prosecutors for their roles in providing illegal performance-enhancing drugs to roughly 30 athletes.
Comment