Velarde says Bonds' trainer sold him HGH
Randy Velarde warms up prior to game three of the American League Division Series in Oakland. (Oct. 13, 2001) Credit: Newsday/Audrey C. Tiernan
SAN FRANCISCO -- As prosecutors moved closer to finishing their case against Barry Bonds, former Yankee Randy Velarde Wednesday described meeting Bonds' personal trainer outside spring training ballparks for injections of human growth hormone.
Velarde said he sought out Greg Anderson because of his link to Bonds, and that they met "in various parking lots." Velarde was asked whether they met more than 10 times. "That would be a fair number," he said.
And always, there would be an injection.
"Every meeting," he said.
Velarde was the fourth ballplayer to say he bought performance-enhancing drugs from Anderson, who for the third time has been jailed for contempt after refusing to testify against Bonds, a childhood friend.
Velarde played for the Yankees, Angels and A's from 1987-2002. He met Anderson in 2001 through Bobby Estalella, who split that season between Bonds' Giants and the Yankees.
"He mentioned to me he could get some stuff through Greg and gave me his name and number," Velarde said.
Anderson at first sent Velarde pills, but Velarde thought they weren't benefiting him. He switched to injections and said after them he felt he had more endurance and strength. He paid Anderson $500 to $800.
Prosecutors have called Jason Giambi, Jeremy Giambi, Marvin Benard and Velarde as witnesses to describe Anderson's drug-dealing -- an attempt to show jurors Bonds must have known the substances he received from Anderson were performance-enhancing drugs. None of the players had personal knowledge of any drug use by Bonds.
Bonds, baseball's season and career home run king, is charged with four counts of lying and one of obstruction for telling a grand jury in 2003 that he didn't knowingly use performance-enhancing drugs.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew A. Parrella told U.S. District Judge Susan Illston Wednesday that the government intended to call only three more witnesses. His statement was a surprise. Prosecutors said in the March 7 filing that Estalella would testify Bonds admitted to him that he used PEDs and that they had several discussions on the subject.
Parrella said his final three witnesses would be Bonds' physician Arthur Ting, Bonds' former personal shopper Kathy Hoskins and former UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory head Dr. Don Catlin. After that, the defense can start calling its witnesses.
Also testifying yesterday were an IRS special agent and a former one, along with six people who worked at the UCLA lab as it processed Bonds' 2003 drug test. The eight established the chain of evidence for the jury of Bonds' urine from the time federal agents seized it from Quest Diagnostics in April 2004 until it tested positive for the steroid Tetrahydrogestrinone (TGH) in March 2006.
With prosecutors planning to read portions of Bonds' grand jury testimony to the jury, the government's presentation is likely to wrap up early next week. Today's session will be short because Illston will leave to attend the swearing in of a judge late in the day. After that, the trial resumes Monday.
