Trainer Goes Back to Prison

After a loud and contentious court session, a federal judge sent Barry Bonds’ personal trainer back to prison on Monday for, among other things, refusing to tell a grand jury whether he had ever injected the San Francisco Giants’ slugger with steroids.

During the contempt of court hearing, U.S. District Judge William Alsup said Greg Anderson also had declined to answer questions about supplying performance-enhancing drugs to other athletes and, specifically, about his association with New York Yankees outfielder Gary Sheffield.

Prosecutors see Anderson as a potential key to proving Bonds committed perjury by telling a grand jury he never knowingly used steroids.

Called before the grand jury five times, the stocky Anderson has refused to testify about Bonds, his boyhood friend. Alsup wondered aloud if confinement for the remainder of the current grand jury’s term -- about 16 months -- might soften that resolve.

“Sometimes sitting in the cooler for a long time may have a therapeutic effect,” the judge said.

Anderson showed no emotion after the ruling, emptying his pockets onto a table and saying a brief thank you to his attorney, Mark Geragos, before federal marshals led him away.

Geragos said he hoped to file an appeal by the end of the week.

Monday’s ruling was the latest development in the BALCO steroids scandal, a case that began in September 2003 when investigators raided a nutritional supplement maker, Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, claiming it had supplied performance-enhancing drugs to athletes on the side.

Numerous sports stars were subsequently called before a grand jury.

Four men connected with BALCO -- including Anderson -- entered guilty pleas. Anderson served three months in prison and three months of home confinement for distributing steroids and money laundering.

After his release, prosecutors called him back to the grand jury when investigating whether Bonds had committed perjury by reportedly testifying he thought he was using flaxseed oil and arthritis balm.

Prosecutors also wanted to know whether Bonds failed to inform the Internal Revenue Service about thousands in cash from memorabilia sales.

The court initially found Anderson in contempt earlier this summer, but he was soon released because the grand jury’s term expired in mid-July. When a new grand jury convened, prosecutors subpoenaed him again.

His attorneys said he should not be compelled to testify because his plea agreement called for no further cooperation and because leaks had resulted in testimony appearing verbatim in the San Francisco Chronicle.

On Monday, a wary Alsup told the courtroom: “Welcome back. We’re here for yet another installment of this proceeding.”

It was quickly revealed that, during a grand jury appearance earlier this month, Anderson answered about 50 questions but balked at others that got to the heart of his relationship with Bonds.

“I’m uncomfortable testifying,” Alsup quoted Anderson as saying.

The trainer declined to answer whether he even knew the famed ballplayer.

Sheffield’s name came up because he had met Anderson through Bonds. The former Dodger has reportedly admitted using “the cream” -- a designer steroid distributed by BALCO -- but has said he did not know it was a steroid.

While prosecutors argued that Anderson should return to prison, Geragos focused on a recorded conversation in which his client allegedly told an acquaintance about distributing steroids to athletes.

Geragos said that prosecutors, who got hold of the tape, should not be allowed to use it as a basis for grand jury questions. He also said a previous court ruling allowed Anderson to ignore “tape-tainted” questions until the judge ruled on their appropriateness.

“Prosecutors tried to mislead him in the grand jury room,” Geragos said.

But Asst. U.S. Atty. Matthew Parrella said he based his questions on a “mountain” of additional evidence and Alsup called the defense argument “a charade.” By that time, the proceeding had turned acidic, with Geragos making references to an appeal as Anderson sat intently with his feet fidgeting beneath the table.

Alsup announced the ruling immediately, saying: “The wheels of justice are not going to be gummed up any longer.”