The former owner of the clinic at the center of Major League Baseball's recent performance-enhancing drug scandal had his bail revoked Monday because of recent positive tests for cocaine use.
U.S. District Judge Darrin P. Gayles ordered Anthony Bosch jailed immediately. Bosch tested positive twice in August for cocaine use, after he was released on $100,000 bail under conditions including no use of illegal drugs and random urine testing. Gayles also found Bosch wasn't regularly attending voluntary drug treatment.
"I simply have no confidence in his ability to appear as required," Gayles said at a hearing.
Prosecutors say Bosch's Coral Gables clinic, Biogenesis of America, was involved in a conspiracy to provide performance-enhancing drugs to MLB players and even high school athletes. Fourteen MLB players were suspended following the probe, including a season-long suspension this year for New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez.
Bosch, 51, is scheduled to plead guilty next week and has been cooperating in the investigation against others who were charged, including possibly testifying in those cases. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael "Pat" Sullivan, however, said authorities were well aware of Bosch's chronic drug problem and fondness for South Beach nightclubs.
"We knew from our investigation that Mr. Bosch was one who liked to party," Sullivan said.
Bosch attorney Guy Lewis, himself a former Miami U.S. attorney, pointed out that Bosch had not tested positive for cocaine since Aug. 18 and was doing his best to attend a drug treatment program. Lewis denied that Bosch has been frequenting nightclubs and said that he is living up to his cooperation agreement with prosecutors.
"I can tell you he's not out on South Beach," Lewis said. "The last thing he's doing is out being notorious in South Florida. He has a drug problem, though. He is addressing it."
Although Sullivan did not ask for Bosch's bail to be revoked, Gayles refused to simply place Bosch under a curfew or order more frequent urine testing. Gayles also was unmoved by Lewis' comment that Bosch was under a great deal of pressure and was the subject of death threats.
"The pressure on the defendant, I don't find a mitigating factor," the judge said. "I don't find that he's a good candidate to remain out on bond."
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Thomas may have ruled differently, we will never know.
ReplyDeleteMC Waste Services, I guess having a gay black male federal judge isn't good enough unless he rules that way you want, is that it?
ReplyDeleteThat' the problem with being identified as gay. Gayles isn't a "Gay black Judge" he is a judge who happens to be black and happens to have a sexual preference for men, just like we have a sexual preference for any woman who won;t have anything to do with us. We shouldn't define people by race or sexual desires (or lack of success in that field) but by what they do or say. Or as MLK said "the content of their character".
ReplyDeleteThis is the classic please put me in the RDAP program move.
ReplyDeleteUh, you don't need to test positive to get into RDAP.
ReplyDeleteGayles committed a rookie mistake by not drinking the kool aid and realizing that federal judges are at the general whim of the govt. Gayles will soon learn that in the federal system pre-trial release is in name only.
ReplyDeleteI just thought of this:
ReplyDeleteDon't do the line
if you can't do the time!
MC Waste Services' first comment deserves no response.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, I'm not sure why testing positive for cocaine would require jailing Bosch. Why would that cause Judge Gayles to believe that Bosch would be less likely to appear as required? Seems unrelated.
This case illustrates the hypocrisy in the system. For white collar snitch defendants, test positive and it's a personal failing. For all other defendants, revoke bond and deny acceptance of responsibility credit.
ReplyDelete