August 22, 2007
The investigation into baseball's steroid problem by former Sen. George Mitchell may have finally made the breakthrough it's been looking for. Former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski of Manorville recently told Mitchell the names of players who purchased performance-enhancing drugs, according to a report last night posted on SI.com.
When Radomski pleaded guilty April 27 in a San Francisco federal court to selling steroids, part of his plea agreement included cooperating with Mitchell. The probe has been ongoing for nearly 18 months, but the only active player who has spoken with him was Jason Giambi, and only because he was forced to.
Radomski's meeting with Mitchell is significant because federal investigators contend he became a leading steroid distributor in the wake of BALCO's demise.
Scott Schools, the U.S. attorney in San Francisco, told Newsday that after Radomski's guilty plea, he admitted selling anabolic steroids, human growth hormone and amphetamines to "dozens of current and former major-league baseball players and associates, on teams throughout baseball."
A message left last night at the Hauppauge office of Radomski's attorney, John Reilly, was not immediately returned.
The names of the players Radomski said he sold to were intentionally blacked out in the publicly filed court documents, and the government has managed to prevent any leaks, unlike the BALCO grand jury.
Two newspaper groups recently argued in court that the players' names should be made public because Mitchell, a regular citizen, should not get special treatment. But federal prosecutors responded by saying they did not hand over names, and that they are allowing Radomski to speak to Mitchell for the "greater good" of dampening baseball's steroid culture.
Radomski knew his full cooperation will help him get a more lenient sentence. He pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of a controlled substance and one count of money laundering and is to be sentenced Sept. 7. The maximum penalty is 25 years in prison.
Former Yankee Gary Sheffield, who told a grand jury he unknowingly used steroids from BALCO, told HBO he would speak to Mitchell. But days later his agent, Rufus Williams, told Newsday that a meeting was unlikely.
