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SAN FRANCISCO -- Barry Bonds' personal trainer refused to
testify Thursday to the federal grand jury investigating the San
Francisco slugger for perjury. Greg Anderson, who served three months in prison after pleading
guilty last year for his role in the Bay Area Laboratory
Co-Operative steroid scandal, could be sent back to prison if found
in contempt of court for refusing to testify. A hearing will be held next Wednesday, and Judge William Alsup
said he would rule next week on whether Anderson should be found in
contempt. Anderson's attorney, Mark Geragos, said his client should not
have to testify because he was the victim of an illegal government
wiretap that he said resulted in a recording of Anderson saying he
provided Bonds with "undetectable" drugs to help him beat
baseball's drug testing program in 2003. The details of the recording were first reported in October 2004
by the San Francisco Chronicle, which obtained a copy from a
confidential news source. Prosecutor Jeff Nedrow revealed Thursday that his office had
obtained a copy of the recording last summer. Alsup ruled that the recording was "not a wiretap, but a
privately recorded conversation with a witness," and that there
was no legal reason for Anderson not to testify. Nedrow said he wanted to question Anderson about the recording
and a "mountain" of other evidence. Geragos argued that the government had violated the terms of
Anderson's plea bargain by subpoenaing him for the subsequent grand
jury proceedings. Alsup rejected the arguments, but Geragos said he
would take them up again at next week's hearing. The grand jury is investigating whether Bonds perjured himself
when he testified to the original BALCO grand jury in December 2003
that he never knowingly used steroids or other banned performance
enhancing drugs. The grand jury heard testimony Thursday from Dr. Larry Bowers,
medical director of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency, the Chronicle
reported. Bowers accompanied federal agents on the September 2003
raid on BALCO and is familiar with documents seized in the raid
that described athletes' drug use. ------= Information from: San Francisco Chronicle,
http://www.sfgate.com/chronicle
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