Two San Francisco Chronicle reporters will avoid jail time after a criminal-defense lawyer agreed to plead guilty to leaking them secret grand jury documents from the BALCO steroids investigation.
Attorney Troy Ellerman admitted in court papers filed Wednesday that he allowed reporters Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada to view transcripts of the grand jury testimony of baseball stars Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and sprinter Tim Montgomery, according to court documents.
The Chronicle published stories in 2004 that reported Giambi and Montgomery admitted taking steroids while Bonds and Sheffield testified that they didn’t knowingly take performance-enhancing drugs.
A federal judge ordered the reporters jailed after they refused to divulge the source of the story. They have remained free pending an appeal to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Ellerman’s plea agreement stated that the federal prosecutors will no longer try to put the reporters in prison.
The deal calls for Ellerman to spend two years in prison and pay a $250,000 fine; the terms are subject to approval by a judge. No date has been set for the plea hearing.
Ellerman, who lives in Woodland Park and serves as commissioner of the Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association in Colorado Springs, represented Victor Conte, founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, the Burlingame, Calif., supplements lab at the center of the federal steroid probe. He later represented BALCO vice president James Valente.
Eve Burton, general counsel for Hearst Corp., which owns the Chronicle, would not confirm or deny Ellerman was the source of the leaked documents.
“As we have said throughout, we don’t discuss issues involving confidential sources,” she said.
Bonds never has been charged, but a cloud of suspicion continues to plague the San Francisco Giants slugger.
Red Sox: Boston officially added outfielder J.D. Drew to its roster after left-handed pitcher Lenny DiNardo was claimed on waivers by the Oakland Athletics.
The club announced the $70 million deal with Drew on Jan. 26, seven weeks after preliminary agreement was reached. The deal had to be reviewed by Major League Baseball and the team needed an open slot on its 40-man roster for Drew.
Dodgers: Outfielder Choo Freeman, granted free agency by the Rockies last week to make room for outfielder Alexis Gomez on their 40-man roster, signed a minor-league deal.
Rockies: Colorado has interest in bringing back pitcher Marcos Carvajal, but only if he becomes a free agent. The Tampa Bay Devil Rays designated the right-hander for assignment Tuesday and free agency is possible if he’s not claimed on waivers. The Rockies acquired catcher Yorvit Torrealba in exchange for Carvajal, who compiled a 5.09 ERA in 39 appearances in 2005.
Orioles: Free-agent right- hander Steve Trachsel finalized a $3.1 million, one-year contract.
Indians: Reliever Cliff Politte signed a minor-league contract with Cleveland.
Rangers: Infielder Desi Relaford, whose most recent season in the majors came in 2005 with the Rockies, agreed to a minor-league contract.
