Grand jury indicts Bonds

Perjury, obstruction charges are lodged

All-time home run king Barry Bonds was hit with a five-count indictment, charged with perjury and obstruction of justice. (FILE/JED JACOBSOHN/Getty Images)

His legacy in peril, America's home run king, Barry Bonds, yesterday was indicted on charges of perjury and obstruction of justice stemming from his alleged use of performance-enhancing drugs amid baseball's burgeoning steroid crisis.

In the latest blow to the national pastime, Bonds became the first baseball star to face criminal charges in a scandal that has threatened the game's integrity and cast suspicion on sluggers and slap hitters alike. Bonds faces up to 30 years in prison - and the nation's scorn - if he is convicted.

The five-count indictment - four counts of perjury and one of obstruction of justice - was issued by a federal grand jury in San Francisco as the baseball world braces for a report by former Senator George Mitchell on the proliferation of performance-enhancing drugs in the game.

The shock waves from the indictment were felt all the way to the White House, where President Bush, a former owner of the Texas Rangers, was "very disappointed to hear this," spokesman Tony Fratto said. "Clearly, this is a sad day for baseball."

The charges against Bonds grew out of a four-year investigation into steroid use by elite athletes, many of whom were clients of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative near San Francisco.

"During the investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances for Bonds and other professional athletes," the 10-page indictment states.

The findings represent the first time Bonds has publicly been identified as allegedly testing positive for steroids. The evidence could help prosecutors prove Bonds lied when he testified under oath in 2003 that he never received steroids and human growth hormone from his personal trainer, Greg Anderson, never used the illegal substances Anderson allegedly gave him, and never allowed Anderson to inject him with performance-enhancing drugs.

"Barry Lamar Bonds, unlawfully, willfully, and knowingly, did corruptly endeavor to influence, obstruct, and impede the due administration of justice, by knowingly giving Grand Jury testimony that was intentionally evasive, false, and misleading," the indictment concludes.

Anderson, who had been jailed since last year for refusing to testify against Bonds, was released after the indictment became public.

"This indictment came out of left field," Anderson's lawyer, Mark Geragos, said. "Frankly, I'm aghast. It looks like the government misled me and my client as well, saying this case couldn't go forward without him."

The charges came 100 days after Bonds hit his 756th home run to pass Hank Aaron for the career title, the most hallowed record in the sport. Bonds has been dogged by suspicion since he was first linked to the BALCO scandal, with fans heckling him everywhere but his hometown of San Francisco. Many fans and commentators have called for an asterisk to be placed next to his name in the record book.

Bonds, 43, has repeatedly denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs, acknowledging only that he used products Anderson gave him that he believed to be flaxseed oil and a balming lotion. The substances allegedly were steroids known as "the cream" and "the clear."

"The record is not tainted at all," he told reporters after he surpassed Aaron.

Bonds had yet to respond publicly last night to the indictment, and his lawyer, Mike Rains, told the Associated Press he had yet to read the indictment.

"However, it goes without saying that we look forward to rebutting these unsubstantiated charges in court," Rains said. "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."

Commissioner Bud Selig, who in recent years has tried to crack down on steroid abuse after presiding over a period in which illegal performance-enhancers became systemic, said he had yet to see details of the indictment. Selig was seen as positioning himself for possible charges against Bonds with his reluctance to associate himself with the Giants slugger in the final days of his run at Aaron's record.

"While everyone in America is considered innocent, I take this indictment very seriously and will follow its progress closely," Selig said.

Selig has the authority to suspend Bonds for 50 games for a positive steroid test or much longer if he deems his actions to be detrimental to the game. Bonds, a free agent who hit .276 last season with 28 home runs and 66 RBIs, has said he wants to play at least another season, though the indictment is likely to deter any possible suitors.

He is scheduled to appear in US District Court in San Francisco Dec. 7.

When he testified before the grand jury in 2003, Bonds was granted immunity from prosecution unless he committed perjury. The indictment claims he repeatedly lied under oath and indicates prosecutors have documents and other evidence to support their allegations.

The indictment does not state how prosecutors determined Bonds tested positive for steroids, though a likely source is Major League Baseball, which has been testing players since 2003.

Donald Fehr, executive director of the players' union, which long resisted steroid testing, said he was "saddened" by the charges against Bonds. He added, "In this country, every defendant, including Barry Bonds, is entitled to the presumption of innocence unless or until such time as he is proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt."

The BALCO inquiry has yielded convictions against six individuals, including Anderson, founder Victor Conte Jr., and three-time Olympic gold medalist Marion Jones. The investigation has implicated numerous other elite athletes, including baseball stars Jason Giambi and Gary Sheffield.

More than two years have passed since Congress turned a spotlight on the scandal with a hearing in which several of the game's leading home run hitters, including Mark McGwire, Sammy Sosa, and Rafael Palmeiro, were grilled about the prominence of steroid use in the game.

Palmeiro, who emphatically denied during the hearing that he used illegal performance-enhancers, was suspended five months later by Major League Baseball for 10 days after he tested positive for steroids.

Bonds played 15 of his 22 major league seasons with the Giants before team officials informed him in September they did not want him back next year.

"This is a very sad day," the Giants said yesterday in a statement. "For many years, Barry Bonds was an important member of our team and one of the most talented players of his era . . . Now that the judicial process has begun, we look forward to this matter being resolved in a court of law."

Material from the Associated Press was used in this report; Bob Hohler can be reached at hohler@globe.com.