Bosch turns himself in, will plead guilty to charge
Others arrested in federal case include Sucart, who had steroid connection to A-Rod
Anthony Bosch, who ran the now-closed anti-aging clinic Biogenesis, surrendered to federal authorities Tuesday morning. He has reportedly reached a deal to plead guilty and cooperate with investigators in response to being charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute testosterone.
Bosch faces up to 10 years in prison, but is expected to receive consideration for his willingness to testify for the prosecution.
A January 2013 report in the Miami New Times uncovered Bosch's operation, prompting Major League Baseball to launch an investigation. After initially denying the allegations, Bosch agreed to cooperate with MLB.
His testimony led to the suspension of 14 players, including Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez, who is currently sitting out the entire season. The other players, including Ryan Braun, Melky Cabrera and Nelson Cruz, served their penalties last year.
Rodriguez denied any connection to Biogenesis. However, in February he accepted his suspension and withdrew lawsuits against MLB and the MLB Players Association.
MLB sued Bosch and several key figures around him, which allowed its investigators to subpeona clinic records. The suit against Bosch was withdrawn after he agreed to cooperate.
Federal court documents in the Bosch case do not specify whether the charges are directly related to his connection to the players.
Others were also arrested Tuesday, including Yuri Sucart, who was once referred to by Rodriguez as his "cousin" and was later banned from the Yankees clubhouse and other team-related activities by MLB; Juan Carlos Nunez, alleged to be an intermediary between Bosch and the baseball players; Jorge Valazquez and Carlos Acevedo, Bosch business associates, and Lazaro Callazo, a former University of Miami pitching coach.
When Rodriguez admitted in 2009 that he used steroids while with Texas from 2000-03, he said Sucart obtained and injected the drugs for him.
The arrests came after nearly two years of work by the Southern District of Florida, the Drug Enforcement Administration and a grand jury and occurred on the one-year anniversary of the announcement that more than a dozen players had been suspended for violating the game's collectively bargained drug policy.
According to the New York Daily News, it is unclear if any athletes might be implicated and possibly face charges.
"While none of the players who got drugs from Bosch were named in the charging documents Tuesday, a second wave of charges or indictments could implicate one or more players, sources said," the newspaper wrote in its report. "According to media reports, as well as information included in arbitrator Fredric Horowitz's report supporting his decision to suspend Rodriguez for the entire 2014 season and a Bosch interview in January by '60 Minutes,' Rodriguez allegedly threatened witnesses and purchased Biogenesis records to keep them secret."
Sources told ESPN's "Outside the Lines" that "MLB players and other pro athletes are not the focus of the federal investigation; rather, authorities focused solely on potential illegal activities involving Bosch and other associates."