Grimsley did not name Clemens, others
Former D-Backs pitcher's attorney refutes steroids report
Joseph A. Reaves
http://www.azcentral.com/sports/diamondbacks/articles/1002dbacks.html
Former Diamondbacks pitcher Jason Grimsley told federal agents questioning him about illicit drugs in baseball last spring that “never in a million years” would star pitchers Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte use steroids, human growth hormone or any other illegal performance enhancers, Grimsley's attorney said Monday.
“Jason told them (the federal agents) he had no knowledge of Clemens and Pettitte using any illegal drugs and told them that never in a million years would either of them use,” attorney Ed Novak told The Arizona Republic.
Novak said the agents, not Grimsley, brought up Clemens and Pettitte and that recent published reports were incorrect claiming Grimsley also identified former Baltimore Orioles teammates Brain Roberts and Jay Gibbons as players who “took anabolic steroids.”
An affidavit filed in federal court in Phoenix last May by Jeff Novitzky, a special agent for the Internal Revenue Service, claimed Grimsley identified a series of major league players and a personal trainer whom he knew used illegal performance-enhancing drugs.
The names of those players and trainer were blacked when the affidavit was made public and never have been confirmed on the record by anyone who has seen it. However, the Los Angeles Times reported last weekend it was allowed to see an unedited copy of the affidavit provided by an anonymous source who refused to allow the newspaper to keep the 22-page document.
According to the Times, Grimsley identified Clemens, Pettitte, Roberts, Gibbons and Baltimore shortstop Miguel Tejada as players who used illegal performance-enhancing drugs. Former Baltimore first baseman David Segui had said earlier his name was mentioned in the affidavit.
“As to all five players named, Jason did not attribute steroid use to any of them,” said Novak, vice president of the Arizona State Bar and head of the white collar crime group of the prestigious law firm Quarles & Brady Streich Lang.
“There was no mention of Roberts or Gibbons at all. The agents didn't even mention Roberts or Gibbons.”
Late Monday, shortly after Novak denied Grimsley implicated Clemens, Pettitte, Roberts or Gibbons, the federal prosecutor overseeing the investigation of illicit drugs in baseball issued an unusual statement that also cast doubt on the story.
“In view of recent news reports purporting to identify certain athletes whose names had been redacted from the government's search warrant filings in the Grimsley matter, and in the interests of justice, please be advised that these reports contain significant inaccuracies,” said Kevin Ryan, U.S. Attorney in San Francisco.
Besides the five players, the Los Angeles Times also reported that former Yankees trainer Brian McNamee, now personal trainer to Clemens and Pettitte, hooked Grimsley up with a source who helped him obtain amphetamines, anabolic steroids and human growth hormone (HGH).
Grimsley was questioned by agents who were waiting April19 when the pitcher received an illegal shipment of HGH at his Scottsdale home. Novitzky's sworn affidavit says Grimsley, who still hasn't been charged with any crime, originally agreed to cooperate with investigators but stopped a week later after hiring an attorney.
“This affidavit was written nearly two months after the event, based on the memory of the agent,” Novak said, noting the affidavit was filed May31. “The FBI purposely does not record interviews because it does not want the public to know its interviewing process.”
