Tony Bosch, the former Biogenesis of America leader at the heart of the latest Alex Rodriguez scandal that rocked Major League Baseball, agreed to plead guilty Tuesday to illegally distributing performance-enhancing drugs.
A 21-month investigation involving the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration found that Bosch and six others — including Rodriguez's cousin Yuri Sucart — were distributing testosterone in Miami-Dade County and elsewhere,
according to a statement from federal authorities Tuesday.
U.S. attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer said Bosch, who will formerly enter a guilty plea as part of a deal with prosecutors, is facing a maximum
10 years in prison, according to The Associated Press.
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"Anthony Bosch, the self-acclaimed 'Best Fake Doctor Ever,' has turned in his lab coat for an orange jumpsuit," Miami DEA special agent Mark R. Trouville said in a statement.
"Mr. Bosch's alleged actions were a danger to the minors and adults who consumed his concoctions. I'm so proud of the men and women of the DEA and our law enforcement partners who conducted this investigation, which focused on greedy drug traffickers, who exploited athletes of all ages for their personal gain," Trouville continued.
Along with 50-year-old Bosch and 52-year-old Sucart, others charged in the investigation included Carlos Javier Acevedo, 35, of Miami; Jorge Augustine "Ugi" Velazquez, 43, of Miami; Christopher Benjamin Engroba, 25, of Miami; Lazaro Daniel "Lazer" Collazo, 50, of Hialeah, Florida; and Juan Carlos Nuñez, 48, of Fort Lauderdale, according to a federal prosecutor's news release.
"Bosch and his network of recruiters and black market suppliers ignored the serious health risks posed to their so-called 'patients,' all for a profit," Ferrer said in a statement. "Simply put, doping children is unacceptable — it is not only wrong and illegal, but dangerous. Cheating doesn't pay and individuals like Bosch and his co-defendants, who distributed PEDs to athletes and, more importantly, to our children, will be held accountable for their actions."
Major League Baseball suspended Rodriguez, the Yankees' all-star third baseman, for the full season in connection to the scandal. After initially fighting the charges in court, the slugger
dropped a lawsuit challenging the suspension in February.
The Associated Press wrote that a Miami New Times article in January 2013, which reported that Rodriguez bought human growth hormone from the Bosch's clinic from 2009 to 2012, led to the investigations by baseball officials and authorities.
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