Anthony Bosch, Clinic Owner in Doping Scandal, Sentenced to Four Years
Alex Rodriguez’s steroid supplier, sentenced to federal prison
Anthony Bosch arrived at federal court in Miami on Tuesday.CreditAlan Diaz/Associated Press
MIAMI — Anthony Bosch, the former owner of the South Florida clinic that supplied performance-enhancing substances to Major League Baseball players and other athletes, has been sentenced to four years in federal prison.
United States District Judge Darrin Gayles imposed the sentence Tuesday on Bosch, who was seeking a more lenient term because of his cooperation in the investigation. Prosecutors said Bosch could still have his sentence reduced through further cooperation.
Bosch pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to distribute testosterone to athletes from the now-closed Biogenesis of America clinic in Coral Gables. One customer was Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
Bosch and Rodriguez are expected to testify if Rodriguez’s cousin Yuri Sucart and the former University of Miami pitching coach Lazaro Collazo go to trial as scheduled in April.
Minutes before Alex Rodriguez's steroid dealer was sentenced to four years in federal prison, Anthony Bosch huddled with more than a dozen family members and friends in a courthouse alcove, tearfully reciting the Lord's Prayer.
Then Bosch, the man behind the notorious Biogenesis doping ring, walked into the courtroom of U.S. District Court Judge Darrin Gayles and stood to receive the terms of his sentence — 48 months, followed by three years of supervised release.
"My addiction took the best of me," Bosch told Judge Gayles, while family members sobbed in the courtoom gallery. "I can't put into words how sorry I am."
Judge Gayles gave Bosch until 11:15 a.m. to surrender to the U.S. Marshals at the courthouse.
Despite pleas for leniency from family members, Gayles gave Bosch three months less than the maximum sentence of 51 months allowed in the federal guidelines for Bosch's record of steroid distribution. The sentence could potentially be reduced later this year if Bosch testifies against Bosch co-conspirators Yuri Sucart and ex-Miami pitching coach Lazer Collazo, who pleaded not guilty and are scheduled to face trial in April.
Sucart is Rodriguez’s cousin, and was implicated previously by Rodriguez as having provided him steroids a decade ago. Rodriguez could also be called to testify in those cases.
The gallery was crowded with spectators, supporters of Bosch and members of the media. Among the faces was Porter Fisher, the former Biogenesis employee whose decision to swipe several boxes of medical records from the facility helped turn the case into a national story (the records were allegedly stolen from Fisher's car outside a tanning salon, and later appeared on the black market).
Also present was DLA Piper attorney Charlie Scheeler, who helped former Senator George Mitchell compile the groundbreaking 2007 report on doping in baseball.
The sentence was longer than that suggested by even the prosecutor, Pat Sullivan, who said 41 months was appropriate given Bosch's cooperation with the government's probe, which began nearly three years ago.
Bosch supplied A-Rod and more than a dozen pro ballplayers with steroids, human growth hormone and other performance-enhancing drugs. Even before his arrest by federal agents in August 2014, his testimony about A-Rod and other clients put him at the center of one of the most explosive doping cases in Major League Baseball history.
Bosch has been cooperating an MLB investigation that resulted in the suspension of 14 players, including Rodriguez; and future cooperation with the United States Anti-Doping Agency.
Bosch pleaded guilty in October to conspiracy to distribute testosterone to athletes from the now-closed clinic in Coral Gables. His best customer was Rodriguez, who confessed to DEA agents in January of last year that he had paid thousands of dollars a month to Bosch for PEDs in exchange for immunity from prosecution.
Major League Baseball, meanwhile, claims to have moved on: Rodriguez served his historic season-long suspension last year and is scheduled to report to the Yankees' spring training complex in the next few days.
The other players have also served their suspensions, including Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, who agreed to a 65 game-suspension in July of of 2013. Braun struck a deal with MLB after being presented with evidence that he had obtained testosterone through Biogenesis. Braun had previously tested positive for testosterone in December 2011, but maintained his innocence and ultimately avoided suspension for that violation on a technicality that his test sample had been improperly handled.
Rodriguez' suspension followed on Aug. 5, 2013, when then-commissioner Bud Selig hit the Yankee third-baseman with an historic 211-game suspension. Rodriguez immediately appealed the ban and began a scorched-earth battle against MLB that resulted lawsuits against Selig and MLB, the Players' Association and Yankee team doctor Christopher Ahmad.
Amid public denials that he had procured PEDs through Bosch, or that he even knew Bosch, Rodriguez attacked MLB and Yankee officials through almost all of 2013. It wasn't until arbitrator Fredric Horowitz upheld the suspension in January of last year, and the DEA's confrontation of Rodriguez later that month with evidence of his dealings with Bosch, that Rodriguez admitted his involvement to federal agents. He has not publicly admitted his involvement with Bosch.
Twelve other players agreed to 50-game suspensions without the right to appeal: Antonio Bastardo, Everth Cabrera, Francisco Cervelli, Nelson Cruz, Fautino de los Santos, Sergio Escalona, Fernando Martínez, Jesús Montero, Jordan Norberto, Jhonny Peralta, César Puello, and Jordany Valdespin.