New Court Dates For Men Indicted In Federal Drug Conspiracy Investigation
MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) - Anthony Bosch, founder of the now-closed Coral Gables Biogenesis clinic which was at the center of Major League Baseball's doping scandal, bonded out of jail Tuesday, pleading not guilty to federal drug conspiracy charge.
Three of the six others, who allegedly made up Bosch's supply and distribution network were also indicted, are scheduled to appear in court in the upcoming days.
Juan Carlos Nunez, 48, from Fort Lauderdale will appear in court Friday, August 8th.
Yuri Sucart, New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez's cousin, has a scheduled appearance in federal court for August 12th. Sucart was banned from the Yankees clubhouse, charter flights, bus and other team-related activities by Major League Baseball in 2009 after Rodriguez admitted he used steroids while with Texas from 2000 to 2003, saying Sucart obtained and injected the drugs for him.
Read The Federal Complaint Against Yuri Sucart
Jorge Augustine Velazquez, 43, of Miami, has a scheduled court date for August 15th.
Carlos Javier Acevedo, 35, and Christopher Benjamin Engroba, 25, of Miami, both appeared in court Tuesday.
Read The Federal Complaint Against Carlos Acevedo
Acevedo pleaded not guilty and his bond was set at $100,000. Engroba pleaded not guilty and his bond was $50,000. No other pleas were entered Tuesday.
Lazaro Daniel Collazo, 50, of Hialeah, has not appeared in court. Collazo is a former pitching coach for the universities of Miami, Louisville and South Florida who has also worked as a private instructor with numerous high school, college and professional pitchers. His University of Miami biography says he worked with Hall of Fame pitcher Jim Palmer during his 1991 comeback attempt, seven years after Palmer's retirement.
READ: Federal Charges Filed In Miami-Based MLB Steroid Scandal
Three others were also indicted in a drug ring discovered during the course of the investigation into Biogenesis. However, that case, which centered on the stimulant known as "molly," was not directly connected to Bosch. Charged in that separate case are Giovanny Brenes, 35, Jorge Canela, Jr., 25; and Cpl. Carlos Luis Ruiz, 34, all of Miami.
As of Wednesday, Brenes has a scheduled court date for Friday August 8th and Ruiz is scheduled to appear in federal court on August 13th. No word on when Jorge Canela Jr. will make his court appearance.
Ruiz worked for Florida Highway Patrol who released a statement regarding the allegations saying, "The Florida Highway Patrol is in the process of dismissing Cpl. Carlos L. Ruiz based on a federal warrant arrest on Aug. 5. Troopers are and should be held to the highest standards of integrity and trust. Ruiz's actions showed that he failed to uphold those standards expected of our members and this behavior will not be tolerated by the Department."
Bosch surrendered himself to federal authorities in Weston Tuesday morning.
Read The Federal Complaint Against Anthony Bosch
He did not say a word as he left the federal detention center amidst a gaggle of reporters and photographers.
According to court documents, Bosch willfully conspired to distribute the anabolic steroid testosterone from October 2008 through December 2012. He's been charged with one count of conspiracy to distribute testosterone. The documents do not specify whether the charges are directly related to the MLB scandal.
"The defendants charged today are alleged to have provided easy access to dangerous concoctions of performance enhancing drugs (PEDs) to impressionable high school kids and professional athletes on the promise of playing better, recovering faster from injury and having more energy," U.S. Attorney Wifredo A. Ferrer said Tuesday. "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. 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."
(TM and © Copyright 2014 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2013 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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