by Tim Elfrink
At the center of the web was a twenty-six-year-old: Christian Red, “News Travels to the Jungles of Venezuela with the Man Who Pulled Off Daring Rescues of Catcher Wilson Ramos and the Mother of Pitcher Ugueth Urbina,” New York Daily News, May 6, 2012.
admitted in the wake of the Ramos operation: Ibid.
Rob Manfred later testified at Alex Rodriguez’s arbitration: Grievance number 2013-2 (Alex Rodriguez) Vol. 8, Major League Baseball Arbitration Panel, Chairman Fredric R. Horowitz, October 17, 2013.
the group was given an annual budget: No byline, “2012 Security 500 Leader Profiles,” Security, November 1, 2012.
army of part-timers in the Caribbean and Latin America: Christian Red, “Baseball’s I-Team Goes Deeper Than PED Probes,” New York Daily News, May 7, 2012.
“A lot of cops have certain mannerisms”: Elisabeth Bumiller, “Undercover Beat to Executive Suite: Case Over, He Assumes the Life of His Assumed Identity,” New York Times, November 23, 1997.
After leaving the DA’s office: Christian Red, “MLB’s Lead Investigator of Alex Rodriguez Case, Dan Mullin, Says He Was Never the Target of NYPD probe,” New York Daily News, October 8, 2013.
confront Mullin and his boss: Martin Mbugua, “Cops Get Rough Time, Top Brass Grilled on Brutality,” New York Daily News, June 3, 1999.
Fremson later recounted: Ruth Fremson, “After the Attacks: A Place to Hide,” New York Times, September 16, 2001.
“The security department had some responsibility”: National Collegiate Athletic Association et al v. Christopher J. Christie et al, United States District Court District of New Jersey, deposition of Dan Mullin, November 19, 2012.
“We asked them, ‘Why now? Why not two years ago?’”: Christian Red, “Jose Pumped to Assist MLB, Canseco Booked for Help,” New York Daily News, April 3, 2008.
LaRussa spoke for many: ESPN.com News Services, “Canseco: Bush Had to Know About Steroids,” February 10, 2005, http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=1985653.
“We’re always worried about the integrity”: National Collegiate Athletic Association et al v. Christopher J. Christie et al, United States District Court District of New Jersey, deposition of Dan Mullin, November 19, 2012.
actually twenty and named Carlos Alvarez: Ben Badler, “In Latin America, New Fraud Models Emerge to Combat DNA Tests,” Baseball America, May 1, 2012.
necessitating dozens of contractors: Ben Badler, “Alvaro Aristy Faked Age, Identity for $1 Million Bonus,” Baseball America, October 27, 2011.
him “amnesty” from Tejada’s investigation: Jon Paley, interview by Tim Elfrink, December 2013.
“I don’t understand why [Tejada]”: Jorge Ortiz, “Documentary Raps MLB’s Handling of Dominican Prospects,” USA Today, July 6, 2012.
it hired a top New York law firm to investigate: A source with knowledge of the investigation, interview by Tim Elfrink, November 2013.
Just a decade earlier, Ken Caminiti: Tom Verducci, “Totally Juiced,” Sports Illustrated, June 3, 2002.
Yankees star pitcher David Wells: Associated Press, “Boomer Bombshell,” February 27, 2003.
“He’ll be drowning his sorrows in milkshakes”: “Goodbye Melky!” Braves Journal, The House that Mac Built, October 19, 2010, http://www.bravesjournal.us/?p=6344.
“This is the single biggest loophole”: Bob Ley, “Victor Conte Believes There Are Major Testing Loopholes,” ESPN.com, August 21, 2012, http://espn.go.com/video/clip?id=8289843.
But MLB’s testing lab in Montreal had quietly started using: John Fauber, “All-Star Break: Testosterone Tests MLB Rules,” Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, July 14, 2013.
“Athletes who are sophisticated can”: Travis Tygart, interview by Tim Elfrink, February 2014.
Olympic testing lab in California: Teri Thompson, Michael O’Keeffe, and Nathaniel Vinton, “Melky Cabrera’s Phony Website Scam Leads MLB Investigators to the Dominican Republic,” New York Daily News, August 20, 2012.
“The focus of our interest in Bosch”: Transcripts obtained by the authors of Grievance number 2013-2 (Alex Rodriguez) Vol. 8, Major League Baseball Arbitration Panel, Chairman Fredric R. Horowitz, October 17, 2013.
CHAPTER TWELVE
“I’m feeling it more and more and so are some industry experts”: All quotes from Tony Bosch in this section come from Bosch’s handwritten notebooks obtained by the authors.
“He doesn’t like arguments”: Roger De Armas, interview by Tim Elfrink, September 2013.
Baggies of white powder on a coffee table: Description from photo provided to the authors by Alex Rodriguez’s attorneys.
“Tony told me he’d be able to bring”: Jorge Jaen, interview by Tim Elfrink, October 2013.
“I still have a brotherly love for him”: Roger De Armas, interview by Tim Elfrink, September 2013.
Cadillac, parked at the nearby Ritz hotel: Key Biscayne Police Department incident report, filed by Officer B. Nusall on July 5, 2010, in Key Biscayne, Florida.
“I’m strapped, and I’m going to kill you”: Key Biscayne Police Department incident report, filed by Officer Y. Alfonso on August 16, 2010, in Key Biscayne, Florida.
prosecutor would get involved: From the case Anthony Bosch v. Aliette Bosch, Miami-Dade Civil Court, originally filed April 12, 2007.
“regarding players on the 40-man roster”: Associated Press, “Melky Cabrera Associate Banned from Ballparks,” August 21, 2012.
“It’s the fucking agents!”: Kirk Radomski, interviews by Gus Garcia-Roberts, October 2013 to January 2014.
signed an affidavit: Affidavit dated September 11, 2012, obtained by Gus Garcia-Roberts.
Hundley and White refused to talk: MLB source, interview by Tim Elfrink, February 2014.
“My stance on ACES”: Paul Lo Duca, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, January 2014.
Attorney Reisinger says that Lo Duca’s vitriol: Jay Reisinger, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, April 2014.
In 2011, he had named Sam Levinson: E-mail from Michael Weiner to other MLBPA executives, dated January 20, 2011, obtained by Gus Garcia-Roberts.
“We conducted a thorough investigation”: Teri Thompson and Michael O’Keeffe, “Sources: MLB Player’s Union to Censure Agents Seth and Sam Levinson in Wake of Melky Cabrera Cover Up,” New York Daily News, November 6, 2012.
“The Players Association made a significant investigation”: Jay Reisinger, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, April 2014.
In his arbitration testimony, Rob Manfred described: Transcripts obtained by the authors of Grievance number 2013-2 (Alex Rodriguez) Vol. 8, Major League Baseball Arbitration Panel, Chairman Fredric R. Horowitz, October 17, 2013.
Fischer recalls Pete saying to him: Porter Fischer, interview by Tim Elfrink, June 2013.
“So you gave him the books?”: Tim Elfrink, “MLB Steroid Scandal: How Porter Fischer Exposed the Coral Gables Clinic.”
According to MLB’s arbitrator: Grievance number 2013-2 (Alex Rodriguez) Vol. 8, Major League Baseball Arbitration Panel, Chairman Fredric R. Horowitz, October 17, 2013.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Joe Girardi literally felt the decision in his stomach: Mike Vaccaro, “Girardi’s ‘Gut Move’ Pays Off Big for Yankees,” New York Post, October 11, 2012.
“You’re scuffling a little bit right now”: “Oct. 10 Joe Girardi Postgame Interview,” MLB.com, October 10, 2012, http://mlb.mlb.com/news/article.jsp?ymd=20121010&content_id=39694118.
Then Girardi made an even more unusual call: Jon Heyman, “Girardi Made Special Press-level Call to Spare A-Rod’s Feelings,” CBSSports.com, October 26, 2012, http://www.cbssports.com/mlb/writer/jon-heyman/20697847/girardi-made-special-press-level-call-to-shield-A-Rods-feelings.
“I was relaxed tonight. I’m ready to break out”: Bill Pennington, “Slumping in Middle of Lineup, Rodriguez Is Center of Attention,” New York Times, October 11, 2012.
painful that he was popping painkillers: Craig Calcaterra, “A-Rod Was on Heavy Painkillers, Had to Go to the ER During the Playoffs,” NBC Sports, Decemb
er 3, 2012.
a note written by a radiologist: Medical records obtained by the authors.
Then, instead of going home: A source familiar with Tony Bosch’s testimony, interviews by Tim Elfrink and Gus Garcia-Roberts, November 2013 to January 2014.
“We’re looking into it”: Feinsand and Red, “A-Rod’s Cousin and Named Steroid Mule, Yuri Sucart, Spotted at Yankees Hotel; MLB Says It’s Watching.”
“Yes. This indicates A-Rod’s steroid scandal”: Mark Feinsand, “Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez Won’t Distance Himself from Yuri Sucart, Even After Steroid Scandal,” New York Daily News, June 3, 2011.
the Miami housing bubble burst: Yuri Sucart bankruptcy, case 11-19621-AJC, filed April 10, 2011, Southern District of Florida.
“I love him very much”: Feinsand, “Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez Won’t Distance Himself from Yuri Sucart, Even After Steroid Scandal.”
he fired the cousin who: Grievance number 2013-2 (Alex Rodriguez) Vol. 8, Major League Baseball Arbitration Panel, Chairman Fredric R. Horowitz, October 17, 2013.
“I clearly told Romo it was about”: Teri Thompson and Michael O’Keeffe, “Alex Rodriguez’s Dirty Secret!,” New York Daily News, August 10, 2013.
“I can’t have any trace of Victor Conte”: Terri Thompson and Michael O’Keeffe, “Alex Rodriguez’s Dirty Secret,” New York Daily News, August 11, 2013.
“Try to use service elevators”: Grievance number 2013-2 (Alex Rodriguez) Vol. 8, Major League Baseball Arbitration Panel, Chairman Fredric R. Horowitz, October 17, 2013.
“Rodriguez only had an MRI on his right hip”: Andrew Marchand, “Alex Rodriguez to have hip surgery,” ESPNNewYork.com, December 4, 2012.
Velazquez’s relationship with Bosch: Grievance number 2013-2 (Alex Rodriguez) Vol. 8, Major League Baseball Arbitration Panel, Chairman Fredric R. Horowitz, October 17, 2013.
annual fund-raisers at his home: Jose Lambiet, “Limbaugh’s Good Deed Lands Him New Gal Pal,” Palm Beach Post, January 23, 2008.
billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein: No byline, “Solange Knowles Hires Famed Attorney in Miami Beach Cop Incident,” CBS Miami, August 31, 2011.
Velazquez threatened the lives of both Bosch and Fischer: Rob Manfred made the accusation in Pelley, “The Case of Alex Rodriguez.” Porter Fischer made the accusations in interviews with the authors, August 2013 to January 2014.
never provided Rodriguez with PEDs: Grievance number 2013-2 (Alex Rodriguez) Vol. 8, Major League Baseball Arbitration Panel, Chairman Fredric R. Horowitz, October 17, 2013.
spree when he attended college in Tallahassee: Tallahassee Police Department reports, arrests June 11, 1995, and December 8, 1995.
“I got married in Jan. 2003”: State of Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation, master individual application, Jose Gustavo Gomez.
Rodriguez called him his “business agent”: Grievance number 2013-2 (Alex Rodriguez) Vol. 8, Major League Baseball Arbitration Panel, Chairman Fredric R. Horowitz, October 17, 2013.
identified as Anthony Bosch: Mike Fisch and T. J. Quinn, “MLB Investigating Region in PED War,” ESPN.com, January 28, 2013, http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/8884955.
“What a difference a year makes”: Andrew Wagner, “Brewers Optimistic at Winter Fan Festival,” Associated Press, January 28, 2013.
“My son works very, very hard”: Mike Oz, “Gio Gonzalez—The Player Linked to Biogenesis Who Found Redemption,” Yahoo!, August 5, 2013.
“To the extent these allegations”: Gerry Fraley, “Pittsburgh Law Firm Denies Allegations Against Rangers’ Nelson Cruz,” Dallas Morning News, January 31, 2013.
“He said he was bleeding everywhere”: T. J. Quinn and Mike Fish, “Sources: Bosch Injected A-Rod,” ESPN.com, February 1, 2013, http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/8904501.
who is said to charge $900 an hour: John Greenwood, “Meet Michael Sitrick: The ‘Fixer’ You Call When Your Reputation Is on the Line,” Financial Post, October 19, 2013.
“He was not Mr. Bosch’s patient”: Statement e-mailed from Sitrick & Co. to Tim Elfrink, January 29, 2013.
At Rodriguez’s urging—and a $25,000: In the Matter of Arbitration Between Major League Baseball Players Association and Office of the Commissioner of Baseball, panel decision number 131, grievance number 2013-02 (Alexander Rodriguez), Fredric R. Horowitz, Esq., Panel Chair, December 20, 2013.
“is figure out a way to get it to want”: Michael Sitrick, Spin: How to Turn the Power of the Press to Your Advantage (Washington, D.C.: Regnery Publishing, 1998).
Biogenesis notes obtained from an unnamed source: Tim Brown and Jeff Passan, “Ryan Braun Listed in Records of Alleged PED Clinic,” Yahoo!, January 5, 2013.
“with any inquiry into this matter”: ESPN.com News Services, “Ryan Braun responds to report,” ESPN.com, February 7, 2013, http://espn.go.com/mlb/story/_/id/8919375.
“I just answered a few questions”: ESPN.com News Services, “Bosch Says PED Reports Inaccurate,” ESPN.com, April 30, 2013, http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/9225734.
“the drumbeat of false allegations”: Cliff Corcoran, “Allegations That A-Rod’s Camp Outed Players Puts Union in Tough Spot,” Sports Illustrated, August 16, 2013.
attempt to get him to confess: The Office of the Commissioner of Baseball v. Sitrick, 1:13-cv-07990-ER, Honorable Edgardo Ramos, filed November 8, 2013, United States District Court, Southern District of New York.
“I purchased supplements that”: Wallace Matthews, “Francisco Cervelli Denies PED Use,” ESPNNewYork.com, February 13, 2013, http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/8942985.
“Nobody put a gun to my head to go there”: Ibid.
ACES represented only 5.7 percent of big league ballplayers: Nathan Aderhold, “Biogenesis: MLB Launching Investigation into ACES Agency,” SB Nation, August 7, 2013, http://www.sbnation.com/mlb/2013/8/7/4598134/biogenesis-mlb-investigation-aces-agency-peds.
“He places his trust in people”: Bob Nightengale, “Agency’s Biogenesis Link Worth Exploring,” USA Today, August 6, 2013.
“knowledge of or connection to Biogenesis”: Mike Fish and T. J. Quinn, “Sources: Docs Link 5 Players to Clinic,” ESPN.com, February 20, 2013, http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/8963926.
“they didn’t catch on that this was happening”: Agent, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, February 2014.
the Biogenesis aftermath: Jeff Todd, “Jhonny Peralta Leaves ACES for SFX,” MLBTradeRumors.com, September 11, 2013, http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2013/09/jhonny-peralta-leaves-aces-for-sfx.html.
possibly funneling clients to Tony Bosch: Craig Calcaterra, “Source: ACES Agency Was Unaware of Players Biogenesis Activities,” NBC Sports, August 5, 2013.
primaries and associates of Biogenesis: Office of the Commissioner of Baseball v. Biogenesis of America (LLC), 2013-10479-CA-01, Miami-Dade County Civil Court, filed March 22, 2013.
“‘Sam and Seth knew what was going on’”: Steve Eder, “Between Players and Doping, a Valet Seen as Middleman,” New York Times, August 7, 2013.
“we were involved in their doping”: Agent, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, September 2013.
Any implication that Weiner: Jay Reisinger, interview by Gus Garcia-Roberts, April 2014.
“The copy of the records”: Tim Elfrink, “Alex Rodriguez, Gio Gonzalez, Wayne Odesnik, Anthony Bosch Deny Miami New Times Biogenesis Report,” Miami New Times, January 30, 2013.
“The additional publicity and notoriety that Gamboa has received”: Mitch Abramson, “Rapper 50 Cent Tries to Explain Away His Boxer’s Role in Sports’ Latest Drug Scandal,” New York Daily News, February 26, 2013.
read the final sentence of the article: Clark Spencer, Susan Miller Degnan, and Barry Jackson, “Ex–Miami Hurricanes Player Says Jimmy Goins Will Be Cleared in PED Scandal,” Miami Herald, February 1, 2013.
“also wearing a lab coat that said Dr. Bosch”: James Goins v. Biogenesis of America (LLC), 2013-20306-CA-01, Miami-Dade County Civil Court, filed June 7,
2013.
“Mr. Rodriguez then presented to me”: Yuri Sucart bankruptcy, case 11-19621-AJC, filed April 10, 2011, Southern District of Florida.
had distributed to family members: Wallace Matthews, “A-Rod’s Cousin Selling ’09 Series Ring,” ESPN.com, February 25, 2013, http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/8980514.
“involving all the performance-enhancing drugs”: Michael O’Keeffe and Christian Red, “Alex Rodriguez Facing Lawsuit from Cousin Yuri Sucart,” New York Daily News, March 11, 2013.
284 Jewish Sports Stars: David Brown, “Ryan Braun’s Image Removed from Cover of ‘Jewish Sports Stars’ book,” Yahoo!, September 24, 2013.
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
$20 and $100 bills stuffed into an envelope: Steve Fishman, “Chasing A-Rod,” New York, December 1, 2013. Also cited in the arbitration decision of Fredric Horowitz.
“losing control of the information he had provided?”: Chuck Strouse, “New Times Says No to MLB,” Miami New Times, March 14, 2013.
“They’d chase me, they’d follow me outside”: Hernan Dominguez, interview by Tim Elfrink, November 2013.
“They showed up at every one of my relatives’”: Jorge Jaen, interview by Tim Elfrink, October 2013.
The two musclebound “goons”: T. J. Quinn and Mike Fish, “No Physical Evidence Tied to A-Rod,” ESPN.com, April 13, 2013, http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/9165418.
“Pete!” he screamed into his cell: Unless otherwise noted, all Porter Fischer quotes come from Porter Fischer, interview by Tim Elfrink, June 2013.
chasing narco bosses in Latin America: Pinecrest Police Department incident report filed by Officer J. Villanueva on February 19, 2013, in Pinecrest, Florida.
“I’m thinking, ‘Holy shit, this is just like’”: Tim Elfrink, “MLB Steroid Scandal: How Porter Fischer Exposed the Coral Gables Clinic,” Miami New Times, June 20, 2013.
texted Fischer with one final bid: Texts shared by Porter Fischer with Tim Elfrink, June 2013.
the lure as a suspected drug buyer: Nick Madigan, “Police Officer Target of Sting, Held in Assault,” Baltimore Sun, January 26, 2008.
$36,000-per-year gig with Florida’s DOH: Florida Department of Health personnel files for Jerome K. Hill, obtained by the authors.
