slimvictor
Bluelight Crew
Major League Baseball is investigating multiple wellness clinics in South Florida, as well as individuals with potential ties to players, armed with the belief that the region stretching 50 miles south from Boca Raton to Miami is "ground zero" for performance-enhancing drugs still filtering into the game.
"Outside the Lines" has learned that MLB security officials have spent considerable time in South Florida since last summer, monitoring clinics believed to be linked to the sale of human growth hormone and testosterone to players. MLB officials hope law enforcement will subpoena clinic records to determine whether players received illegal and banned substances.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is working with MLB, which declined comment Saturday, but it is unclear whether subpoenas have already been issued, and sources close to the investigation said a direct link to players has yet to be found. The investigation is tedious because of the involvement of potentially multiple agencies, plus the fly-by-night nature of questionable clinics, which have been known to shut down and reopen under new names as a means of staying ahead of the law.
One clinic under investigation is operated by Anthony Bosch, a self-described biochemist who most recently ran Biogenesis of America in Coral Gables. He long has had ties to the loosely regulated South Florida wellness industry, which pitches the promise of drugs to turn the scrawny to muscular and bring vitality to the tired and aged. ESPN reported in 2009 that Bosch, whose father, Dr. Pedro Publio Bosch, is a Coral Gables physician, wrote a prescription for a substance that led to the suspension for baseball star Manny Ramirez -- an outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers at the time.
The New York Daily News on Saturday first reported that MLB is investigating Bosch, whom the newspaper said had been an adviser to New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
Bosch's clinic has not opened since the beginning of the year. Another nearby clinic operated by a former Bosch associate shut down completely in early December, "Outside the Lines" has learned. Bosch, 48, resurfaced on MLB's radar about six month ago.
Because of the number of clinics, the MLB investigation is looking into several potential drug suppliers or networks, not a single source. The ongoing investigation could take well into the upcoming baseball season to complete, sources said, and officials remain unclear of the number of players that eventually may be involved.
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/8884955/mlb-investigating-south-florida-ground-zero-ped-war
"Outside the Lines" has learned that MLB security officials have spent considerable time in South Florida since last summer, monitoring clinics believed to be linked to the sale of human growth hormone and testosterone to players. MLB officials hope law enforcement will subpoena clinic records to determine whether players received illegal and banned substances.
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is working with MLB, which declined comment Saturday, but it is unclear whether subpoenas have already been issued, and sources close to the investigation said a direct link to players has yet to be found. The investigation is tedious because of the involvement of potentially multiple agencies, plus the fly-by-night nature of questionable clinics, which have been known to shut down and reopen under new names as a means of staying ahead of the law.
One clinic under investigation is operated by Anthony Bosch, a self-described biochemist who most recently ran Biogenesis of America in Coral Gables. He long has had ties to the loosely regulated South Florida wellness industry, which pitches the promise of drugs to turn the scrawny to muscular and bring vitality to the tired and aged. ESPN reported in 2009 that Bosch, whose father, Dr. Pedro Publio Bosch, is a Coral Gables physician, wrote a prescription for a substance that led to the suspension for baseball star Manny Ramirez -- an outfielder for the Los Angeles Dodgers at the time.
The New York Daily News on Saturday first reported that MLB is investigating Bosch, whom the newspaper said had been an adviser to New York Yankees third baseman Alex Rodriguez.
Bosch's clinic has not opened since the beginning of the year. Another nearby clinic operated by a former Bosch associate shut down completely in early December, "Outside the Lines" has learned. Bosch, 48, resurfaced on MLB's radar about six month ago.
Because of the number of clinics, the MLB investigation is looking into several potential drug suppliers or networks, not a single source. The ongoing investigation could take well into the upcoming baseball season to complete, sources said, and officials remain unclear of the number of players that eventually may be involved.
http://espn.go.com/espn/otl/story/_/id/8884955/mlb-investigating-south-florida-ground-zero-ped-war
