Lawyer: Bonds Said No to Drug Offer

Barry Bonds’ name appears on a document listing steroids and dosages that was seized by federal agents as part of a wide-ranging investigation, but the slugger never took the drugs, a defense lawyer connected to the case said Friday.

J. Tony Serra said Bonds declined when his personal trainer unwittingly offered him performance-enhancing substances well before the paperwork was found during raids.

“He said, ‘I don’t want any of whatever it is,’ ” said Serra, who represents Greg Anderson, Bonds’ trainer and longtime friend. “We don’t even know if he got that schedule or calendar.”

Anderson is among four men charged with conspiracy to distribute steroids to dozens of professional and Olympic athletes.

The case revolves around the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO, a Northern California company that allegedly dealt in steroids, including the newly discovered THG, or tetrahydrogestrinone.

Also charged were BALCO founder Victor Conte Jr., company vice president James J. Valente and Remi Korchemny, a prominent track and field coach.

The defendants, all of whom pleaded not guilty and were free on bail, appeared in a San Francisco courtroom Friday.

In the investigation that led to their indictments, federal agents raided BALCO’s offices in Burlingame and Anderson’s nearby condominium.

The raids reportedly produced evidence of steroids and, in Anderson’s home, nearly $64,000 in cash.

Among seized documents were the schedules that listed names of drugs, dosages and intervals at which they were to be taken, Serra said.

Bonds knew nothing about any such paperwork bearing his name, his attorney said.

“If Greg maintained something, that’s a surprise to us,” Michael Rains said. “Barry had made it clear to Greg that he never wanted to take any substance that was illegal or that would produce any harmful consequences to the body.”

The San Francisco Giant star holds one of the game’s most hallowed records -- 73 home runs in a season, set in 2001 -- and is chasing the career home run mark.

He came under scrutiny as one of the high-profile athletes called to testify before a grand jury last year.

That scrutiny intensified two weeks ago when his trainer was formally charged with helping to distribute steroids to clients who include six players in baseball’s major leagues and one in the NFL.

Earlier this week, Turk Wendell, a reliever for the Colorado Rockies, said it was “clear just seeing his body” that Bonds was taking steroids.

Bonds has repeatedly denied such allegations.

BALCO founder Conte, speaking through his lawyer, came to Bonds’ defense Friday.

“He knows of no illegal activity that ever took place with Barry Bonds,” Robert Holley told reporters. “He feels that there has been a lot of rumor and innuendo that has been slandering one of the best baseball players in the country.”

Also at the hearing, prosecutors asked U.S. District Judge Susan Illston to set a trial date in mid-April, but defense attorneys argued that they needed more time to study 32,000 pages of discovery documents and 2,000 pages of grand jury tran- scripts.

The judge agreed and set status conferences for March 19 and 26.

Offering a glimpse of a possible defense strategy, Serra claimed that Anderson had been told the substances he was helping distribute -- referred to by code names such as “The Clear” and “The Cream” -- were legal products that produced steroid-like effects.

Authorities say “The Clear” was THG and “The Cream” was a steroid mixed with a cream in attempt to evade detection.

“My client never offered Barry Bonds anything he believed to be illegal because he would never do that to Barry,” Serra said. “They’re close friends.”

Serra declined to say who told Anderson the products were legal.

Nor would he name any of the athletes involved, whose identities have so far been protected by authorities.

“Greg trains some of the premier baseball players with national reputations, high profile and very prosperous,” Serra said. “He would never give them anything that would jeopardize their careers and his.”

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Times wire services contributed to this report.