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Elite track coach Trevor Graham should not be sent to prison for lying about his role in distributing steroids to U.S. track stars, a federal probation officer says.
Instead, the probation officer has suggested Graham serve six months of house arrest for lying to federal agents who were investigating the BALCO steroids scandal, court records show.
Graham, former coach of the North Carolina-based Sprint Capitol track club, was found guilty in May of falsely telling agents in 2003 that he hadn’t spoken to a confessed steroid dealer, Angel “Memo” Heredia, for six years.
In a trial in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Heredia testified that he often phoned Graham to arrange drug shipments for Graham’s athletes. Three former sprinters who won Olympic gold medals - Antonio Pettigrew, Jerome Young and Dennis Mitchell - testified that Graham set them up with banned drugs.
Judge Susan Illston is scheduled to sentence Graham on Tuesday. She isn’t bound by the probation officer’s recommendation.
Graham’s lawyer, William Keane, has urged a sentence of community service, saying Graham’s conviction has destroyed his coaching career, court records show. Prosecutors want a 10-month prison term, contending that Graham’s “greed” led him to provide drugs to many athletes, including former Olympic superstar Marion Jones.
Jones, who was prosecuted in federal court in New York, served six months in prison for lying to the BALCO agents about her own steroid use. She also pleaded guilty to check fraud.
But last week in San Francisco, Illston refused to imprison another elite athlete convicted of lying about using steroids. Instead, she ordered former bicycle racer Tammy Thomas to serve six months home confinement on her convictions for perjury and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors wanted a 30-month prison term. Some experts said the sentence was a hopeful sign for former Giants star Barry Bonds, who is set to go on trial next year in Illston’s court, accused of the same crimes as Thomas.
Instead, the probation officer has suggested Graham serve six months of house arrest for lying to federal agents who were investigating the BALCO steroids scandal, court records show.
Graham, former coach of the North Carolina-based Sprint Capitol track club, was found guilty in May of falsely telling agents in 2003 that he hadn’t spoken to a confessed steroid dealer, Angel “Memo” Heredia, for six years.
In a trial in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, Heredia testified that he often phoned Graham to arrange drug shipments for Graham’s athletes. Three former sprinters who won Olympic gold medals - Antonio Pettigrew, Jerome Young and Dennis Mitchell - testified that Graham set them up with banned drugs.
Judge Susan Illston is scheduled to sentence Graham on Tuesday. She isn’t bound by the probation officer’s recommendation.
Graham’s lawyer, William Keane, has urged a sentence of community service, saying Graham’s conviction has destroyed his coaching career, court records show. Prosecutors want a 10-month prison term, contending that Graham’s “greed” led him to provide drugs to many athletes, including former Olympic superstar Marion Jones.
Jones, who was prosecuted in federal court in New York, served six months in prison for lying to the BALCO agents about her own steroid use. She also pleaded guilty to check fraud.
But last week in San Francisco, Illston refused to imprison another elite athlete convicted of lying about using steroids. Instead, she ordered former bicycle racer Tammy Thomas to serve six months home confinement on her convictions for perjury and obstruction of justice. Prosecutors wanted a 30-month prison term. Some experts said the sentence was a hopeful sign for former Giants star Barry Bonds, who is set to go on trial next year in Illston’s court, accused of the same crimes as Thomas.
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