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Lawyers of steroid distributor out to defend Barry Bonds

Lawyers for two men accused of participating in a steroid-distribution ring have come to the defense of baseball star Barry Bonds, saying the slugger "never took anything illegal."

Bonds was offered, but rejected, a questionable substance that's at the heart of the government's case, according to attorneys for Bonds' personal trainer and for the founder of a nutritional supplements lab implicated in the case.

The defense of Bonds, who has been accused by at least one fellow major league player of taking steroids, came outside court on Friday after two hearings in the case against four men charged with providing performance-enhancing substances to dozens of professional athletes.

"Barry Bonds never took anything illegal. He declined to take any of these illegal substances," said Tony Serra, the attorney for Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson.

Serra said Bonds "was offered substances via the schedule," referring to a calendar seized in a search of Anderson's home that listed doses and scheduling of substances taken by the athletes he trains.

Serra said Bonds was offered something that prosecutors have referred to in documents as "a `clear' steroid-like substance" -- the newly unmasked steroid THG. Serra said Bonds was offered that substance "by two or three people" through Anderson, but declined to try it.

Serra would not identify those other people, but said they also were involved in the case and that the substance had "to emanate out of the lab, I would think."

Serra was referring to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, whose founder Victor Conte and vice president James Valente are also charged with Anderson. Track coach Remi Korchemny is the fourth man indicted. All have pleaded innocent and are free on bail.

Bonds frequently has denied steroid use and no athlete has been charged in the case.

Conte's attorney also said that Bonds, one of dozens of athletes who testified before the grand jury that indicted the four men, had done nothing wrong.

"My client knows of no illegal activity that has ever been done by Barry Bonds," said lawyer Robert Holley. "[Conte] would like us to go on record because of the rumors and innuendoes."

Colorado Rockies reliever Turk Wendell said this week it was "clear just seeing his body" that Bonds was taking steroids.

Serra said Anderson trained seven pro athletes -- Bonds and five other major leaguers, as well as a pro football player. He would not divulge their names, or say whether Anderson continues to work with them.

Serra said Anderson never would have done anything, such as providing customers with banned drugs, that could have threatened his career or the reputation of the star athletes he trained.

"My client was always under the impression that what he provided was 100 percent legal," Serra said.

Prosecutor Jeff Nedrow asked US District Judge Susan Illston to set a trial for mid-April, a bid that Holley blasted as "just plain ridiculous" given the 34,000 pages of documents already generated in the case.

Illston agreed with defense attorneys that mid-April was too soon for a trial, and set status conferences for March 19 and 26 to discuss the course of the case.

Anderson, Valente and Korchemny -- who was carrying a US track team backpack -- all were silent in court, staring stiffly ahead. Conte greeted Nedrow with a handshake, kidded about his hair with a courtroom artist and talked incessantly.

As he left the courtroom, Conte told a reporter, "We have not yet begun to fight."
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