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WASHINGTON -- Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada
arrived at court Wednesday to answer charges of lying to Congress, the
latest athlete to face criminal prosecutors over the scourge of
performance-enhancing drugs in pro sports.
Tejada, 34, is
expected to plead guilty. He entered the courthouse through a side
entrance, away from television cameras. Guards asked Tejada for
identification and the player showed a California driver's license.
The charges against the five-time All-Star were outlined in documents
filed Tuesday in Washington federal court. The court documents indicate
that a plea agreement has been reached with Tejada, who won the 2002
American League Most Valuable Player award while playing for the Oakland Athletics.
The papers were filed a day after New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez acknowledged past use of performance-enhancing drugs. No charges have been filed against Rodriguez.
The FBI also is investigating whether pitcher Roger Clemens, a seven-time Cy Young Award winner, lied to Congress last year when he denied using steroids or human growth hormone.
Clemens and Rodriguez top a list of drug-tainted stars that includes Barry Bonds, Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco, whose actions cast doubt on their on-field accomplishments.
Tejada faces as much as a year in jail if convicted on the misdemeanor
charge of making misrepresentations to Congress. Under federal
guidelines, he would probably receive a lighter sentence.
The
charge came in a legal document called a "criminal information," which
can be filed only with the defendant's consent and typically signals an
agreement to plead guilty.
In the court papers, Tejada is charged
with lying to investigators for the House Committee on Oversight and
Government Reform in 2005. Congressional staffers did not place Tejada
under oath when they questioned him, but court documents say the
investigators advised him "of the importance of providing truthful
answers."
Tejada "unlawfully withheld pertinent information from the committee
because defendant Tejada, before and during his interview with the
committee staff, then and there well knew that player #1, one of his
teammates on the Oakland Athletics, had used steroids and HGH," the
papers state.
During
the interview, Tejada denied knowledge of an ex-teammate's use of
performance-enhancing drugs, though officials say Tejada bought what he
believed to be human growth hormone from the player.
The court papers, filed by Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven Durham,
charge that during spring training in 2003, Tejada had purchased a
substance believed to be HGH from the player, giving him payments of
$3,100 and $3,200.
In the Mitchell report, which examined steroid use in baseball, Oakland outfielder Adam Piatt is cited saying he discussed steroid use with Tejada and provided Tejada with testosterone and human growth hormone.
Tejada came under scrutiny after another ex-teammate, former
Baltimore Orioles first baseman Rafael Palmeiro, testified before the
House committee and declared that he'd never used steroids.
Palmeiro
was suspended by baseball later that year after testing positive for
steroids. He said the positive result must have been caused by a B-12
vitamin injection given to him by Tejada.
Kirk Radomski, the former Mets clubhouse attendant who was a key source
for the Mitchell report, was asked about Tejada in addition to Clemens
when he appeared before a federal grand jury last month.
"I'm
not going to go into detail because it is grand jury testimony, but
basically they went over what was in the Mitchell report [about
Tejada]," Radomski told ESPN.com's Mike Fish on Tuesday. "They asked me
how I know he got the stuff. How I gave it to Adam Piatt and how Adam
Piatt had told me he gave it to Tejada."
Piatt did not know
whether Tejada used the HGH, according to the document. Radomski said
he doesn't know, either. Because of the quantities purchased by
individual players, Radomski said he occasionally suspected them of
sharing the drugs with others, but that he rarely asked questions.
He found out "by accident" about Tejada.
"When
I sent it to Adam, I told him how much it was," Radomski told ESPN in
an earlier interview. "He said, 'Give me a couple days. Once I get the
check from Miguel, I will send you a check.' So I said, 'It is for
Miguel? He said, 'Yeah, it's for Miguel.'
"So I got the check and
about two or three weeks later, when I talked to Adam again, he said,
'Miguel thanks you.' I said, 'OK.' That was the whole conversation I
had. I never brought it up again."
Information from ESPN.com's Mike Fish and The Associated Press is included in this report
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