News & Observer | newsobserver.com | Dealer says he obtained drugs for Graham's athletes

Published: May 21, 2008 02:52 PM
Modified: May 21, 2008 02:56 PM

Dealer says he obtained drugs for Graham's athletes

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SAN FRANCISCO - An admitted steroids dealer testified Wednesday that he set up Marion Jones with a three-drug cocktail of banned substances to boost her bid to win five medals at the 2000 Olympic Games in Sydney.

Angel "Memo" Heredia said he mailed the oxygen-boosting EPO, growth hormone and insulin to Jones at the behest of her then-coach Trevor Graham, who faces federal charges of lying to federal agents about his relationship with Heredia. Graham has pleaded not guilty to the charges.

Heredia testified for the second day at Graham's trial that at the coach's behest he also sold banned drugs to Olympic gold medal sprinters Antonio Pettigrew, Jerome Young, Tim Montgomery and Dennis Mitchell. Elite runners Ramon Clay, Duane Ross and Garfield Ellenwood also were customers, Heredia said.

Heredia said he counseled Graham against allowing Jones to combine the three drugs he mailed her into a single injection in the weeks before the Sydney games. Jones won golds in the 100 meters, 200 meters and 1,600-meter relay. She also won bronzes in the 400-meter relay and the long jump.

"The main point for her was to make the team in the 400 event in order to win a fifth medal," Heredia said. "He wanted to have everything untraceable."

Heredia testified Tuesday that he obtained a litany of performance-enhancing drugs from Mexico and sent them directly to the athletes or to Graham to distribute. Heredia testified that several of the athletes met him in Mexico, but conceded he wrongly testified earlier to a grand jury that he met Graham in Mexico.

"It has been 12, 13 years since this happened, and I can't remember every detail," he said.

Yet Heredia was able to recall with great detail the origins of several Western Union receipts issued almost eight years ago. He testified, for instance, that two July 2000 receipts for a combined $1,000 were for growth hormone and EPO sales to Pettigrew.

Heredia has yet to be cross-examined by Graham's lawyer. Several of Graham's former athletes also were expected to testify against him during the two-week trial.

Graham is the second figure arising from the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or BALCO, doping scandal to face trial. A federal jury earlier found former elite cyclist Tammy Thomas guilty of lying to a federal grand jury when she denied taking steroids. Former San Francisco Giant Barry Bonds has pleaded not guilty to lying to a federal grand jury about his drug use.

In addition, eight others — including BALCO founder Victor Conte and Jones — have pleaded guilty to various charges of drug dealing and lying to federal investigators. Jones is serving a six-month prison sentence, and Montgomery was recently sentenced to four years after pleading guilty to writing bad checks. He also faces heroin distribution charges.

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