U.S. lawyer jailed for leaking steroids testimony, By: Adam Tanner
July 12, 2007
The defense attorney who leaked closed-door testimony on steroids from top sports stars including baseball's Barry Bonds will spend two and a half years behind bars, a U.S. federal judge ruled on Thursday.
The sentencing of Troy Ellerman served as a reminder of the legal controversy facing Bonds as he is just four home runs away from tying Hank Aaron for Major League Baseball's all-time record.
Ellerman had represented the vice president of BALCO, the San Francisco-area lab at the center of a doping scandal that tarnished the reputations of leading names in baseball, football and track and field.
The Sacramento-based lawyer allowed two San Francisco Chronicle reporters to see transcripts of athletes testifying before a federal grand jury. The details did not prove helpful to the BALCO defense, and Ellerman even complained in open court about the leaks he blamed on the government.
"Word has to go out to attorneys out there if you're not honest with the court and play by its rules, you're going to pay the price," U.S. District Judge Jeffrey White said in announcing the sentence.
Bonds' lawyer later confirmed the seven-time Most Valuable Player had told the grand jury he had never knowingly used steroids. Many fans suspect that performance-enhancing drugs fueled the slugger, who turns 43 in two weeks, as he aged, powering his record 73-home-run season in 2001.
Some federal investigators also believed Bonds may not have told the grand jury the truth, so he later became the focus of a grand jury probe. Lying to a grand jury can bring up to five years in prison.
GLAD TO DO TIME
In his case, Ellerman admitted allowing the journalists to copy notes in 2004 of testimony from Tim Montgomery, who was once the world's fastest man, as well as baseball players Bonds, Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield.
Ellerman apologized to the court and prosecutors in the BALCO case.
"I'm can't undo what I've done. I didn't have the courage to come forward and stop the lying. All I can offer to you is for you to know that I will do better," he said. "Sunlight is the best disinfectant. I'm glad to do my time."
Under his initial plea agreement, Ellerman was to serve no more than two years in prison, but last month Judge White said the deal was too lenient. Ellerman and prosecutors refined their plea to allow a maximum of 33 months in prison and a fine of up to $60,000.
The judge did not impose the fine, but required Ellerman to make ten presentations to law schools to warn students about misconduct.
Before what the government called "an unanticipated informant" revealed Ellerman's identity, the judge said the two reporters should go to jail for not revealing their source. Charges against the reporters have since been dropped.
