Illinois Chemist in Baseball Steroid Case to Plead Guilty Today
April 28, 2006
(Bloomberg) -- An Illinois chemist, indicted in a U.S. probe into steroid use by professional athletes including San Francisco Giants outfielder Barry Bonds, will plead guilty today to unspecified charges in the case.
Patrick Arnold, an organic chemist from Champaign, Illinois, will appear in federal court in San Francisco for a ``change of plea,'' according to court documents. In November, Arnold was indicted on three counts, including conspiring to distribute a performance-enhancing substance known as ``the Clear'' to professional athletes.
Arnold would be the fifth person to plead guilty in the probe, including Victor Conte, the founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, known as Balco, and Greg Anderson, Bonds's personal trainer. Bonds testified before the grand jury in 2003 and is now being investigated for perjury, the San Francisco Chronicle has reported.
Nanci Clarence, Arnold's attorney, declined to comment. A phone number for Patrick Arnold in Champaign, Illinois, wasn't in service. A message left after hours for Arnold at his company, Proviant Technologies Inc., wasn't returned. Arnold previously had pleaded not guilty.
Minutes of a pretrial conference held last month in Arnold's case said ``the parties are close to reaching a resolution.''
Conte, Anderson, James Valente, Balco's vice president, and track coach Remi Korchemny have pleaded guilty to charges of giving anabolic steroids to athletes and money laundering. Bonds has denied taking steroids. No athletes have been charged in the case.
`The Clear'
Arnold was indicted for conspiring to distribute tetrahydrogestrinone, known as THG or the Clear, a synthetic ``designer steroid'' that was once undetectable and is banned in baseball. Arnold manufactured the steroid, according to an affidavit filed by an agent of the Food and Drug Administration's Office of Criminal Investigation, the U.S. Attorney's office said in November.
Bonds ranks third in Major League Baseball history with 711 home runs, trailing Hank Aaron's 755 and Babe Ruth's 714. He hit his 711th home run on April 26 against the New York Mets.
Bonds's personal surgeon was subpoenaed to testify before a federal grand jury hearing testimony on whether Bonds lied under oath when he told a grand jury in December 2003 that he had never used steroids, the Chronicle reported April 13, citing two people it didn't identify.
The case is U.S. v. Arnold, 05-703, U.S. District Court Northern District of California, San Francisco
