Barry Bonds indicted for perjury

Barry Bonds was indicted Thursday by a San Francisco grand jury on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice.

The indictment was the culmination of a four-year federal investigation into whether baseball's home run king lied under oath to a grand jury examining steroid useamong elite athletes.

"During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained, including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances for Bonds and other athletes," the indictment read.

Bonds, a 43-year-old free agent, was charged on four counts of perjury and one for obstruction of justice.

If convicted, he faces a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison.

"I'm surprised," said John Burris, one of Bonds's lawyers.

"But there has been an effort to get Barry for a long time. I'm curious what evidence they have now they didn't have before."

"It goes without saying that we look forward to rebutting these unsupported charges in court," said fellow lawyer Mike Rains. "We will, no doubt, have more specific comments in the very near future once we have had the opportunity to actually see this indictment that took so long to generate."

Bonds testified in 2003 during the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative case that he never knowingly used steroids.

BALCO was a nutritional supplements lab, based in San Francisco, charged with illegal steroid distribution to elite athletes.

Alleged to have received steroids were Bonds, Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees, former NFL linebacker Bill Romanowski and sprinters Tim Montgomery and Marion Jones.

BALCO president Victor Conte, vice-president James Valente and Greg Anderson, Bonds's former personal trainer, were convicted last Oct. 15 of operating an illegal steroid distribution ring.

Also convicted were Patrick Arnold, a rogue chemist, and track coach Remi Korchemny.

"I certainly have not seen all of the evidence in Barry's case," Conte said. "However, I've seen a lot of it and I just don't think there is enough to meet the standard of beyond a reasonable doubt.

"They say it is possible to indict a ham sandwich. Unfortunately, I think it is going to take a very long time for us to find out if that's what they've done."

Bonds, an outfielder for the San Francisco Giants at the time, testified in 2003 that Anderson provided him with flaxseed oil and arthritic balm, not steroids.

"I don't think Greg would do anything like that to me and jeopardize our friendship," Bonds testified. "I just don't think he would do that."

Asked if Anderson supplied him with steroids, Bonds replied: "Not that I know of."

When Anderson refused to testify whether Bonds committed perjury, he was charged with contempt and jailed Aug. 28, 2006, but a federal judge ordered him released from prison on Thursday.

"This indictment came out of left field," said Mark Geragos, Anderson's lawyer.

"Frankly, I'm aghast. It looks like the government misled me, and Greg as well, saying this case could not go forward without him."

Even the White House weighed in on the indictment.

"The president is very disappointed to hear this," said Tony Fratto, a spokesman for President George W. Bush, who once owned the Texas Rangers.

"As this case is now in the criminal justice system, we will refrain from any further specific comments about it. But clearly, this is a sad day for baseball."

Suspected of steroid use

Bonds has been dogged by allegations of steroid use for years, but has never tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs.

"I take this indictment very seriously and will follow its progress closely," baseball commissioner Bud Selig said.

The New York Daily News reported Jan. 10 that Bonds failed an amphetamines test in 2006.

In March 2006, Bonds filed a lawsuit against two San Francisco Chronicle reporters who published Game of Shadows, a book alleging that he used steroids and other performance-enhancing drugs, but he dropped the suit three months later.

And Kimberly Bell, Bonds's ex-mistress, testified before a grand jury that Bonds told her of his steroid use in 2000.

Bonds is the most prolific slugger of his generation, surpassing Mark McGwire's record for home runs in a single season with 73 in 2001, and breaking Henry Aaron's career mark of 755 homers on Aug. 7.

The National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., currently has an exhibit marking Bonds's record-setting 756th homer.

"As a historic museum, we have no intention of taking the exhibit down," Hall of Fame vice president Jeff Idelson said.

Bonds is a career .298 hitter with 762 home runs, 1,996 runs batted in, 2,227 runs scored and 514 stolen bases in 2,986 games over 22 MLB seasons for the Pittsburgh Pirates and Giants.

He owns the major-league record of 2,558 career walks and an unprecedented seven National League Most Valuable Player Awards.