Marion Jones, the record-breaking sprinter who tearfully confessed she used steroids after years of public denial, was sentenced to six months in prison for lying in two federal grand jury investigations.
Jones, 32, pleaded guilty in October to two counts of obstruction of justice in federal court in White Plains, New York. The International Olympic Committee stripped her of the record five medals she won at the 2000 Games in Sydney after she admitted taking banned performance-enhancing substances.
She was the first athlete convicted in the almost five-year- old U.S. government investigation of steroids in sports. The sentence was ordered today by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas in White Plains, who said he had considered imposing more than the maximum six-month term recommended under Jones's plea bargain because her offenses involved two separate criminal probes.
Jones, 32, pleaded guilty in October to two counts of obstruction of justice in federal court in White Plains, New York. The International Olympic Committee stripped her of the record five medals she won at the 2000 Games in Sydney after she admitted taking banned performance-enhancing substances.
She was the first athlete convicted in the almost five-year- old U.S. government investigation of steroids in sports. The sentence was ordered today by U.S. District Judge Kenneth Karas in White Plains, who said he had considered imposing more than the maximum six-month term recommended under Jones's plea bargain because her offenses involved two separate criminal probes.
Jones was charged with impeding a San Francisco steroid probe of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, or Balco, based in Burlingame, California, and a separate Manhattan investigation of a bad-check cashing scheme by fellow athlete Tim Montgomery. She argued she should receive only probation because she is the mother of two young boys.
In addition to pleading guilty to taking substances before the Sydney Olympics, Jones admitted lying about knowing that Montgomery deposited $200,000 in counterfeit checks in a bank account. She lived with Montgomery, the father of her older son, in 2005.
In addition to pleading guilty to taking substances before the Sydney Olympics, Jones admitted lying about knowing that Montgomery deposited $200,000 in counterfeit checks in a bank account. She lived with Montgomery, the father of her older son, in 2005.
Biggest Sponsor
Nike Inc., the world's biggest maker of athletic apparel, was Jones's biggest sponsor at the time the drug use took place. The company, whose contract with Jones expired in 2005, said at the time of her plea that it was ``saddened, shocked and disappointed by the fact that, while we believed and trusted in Marion, we were also deceived.''
The IOC launched a probe of banned substance use in 2004 after reports in the San Francisco Chronicle and other media linked athletes including Jones to Balco's drug-distribution network.
Barry Bonds, Major League Baseball's all-time home-run leader, was indicted in November with perjury and obstruction of justice for lying to a grand jury about steroid use. Prosecutors said the outfielder told a panel in 2003 that he never knowingly used banned drugs, according to his indictment.
On Jan. 9, a U.S. House Committee postponed until next month a hearing on steroids in professional baseball and requested depositions from prospective witnesses, including All-Star pitchers Roger Clemens and Andy Pettitte.
Steroids in Baseball
Congress is returning to the issue of steroids in baseball following last month's report by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, which linked more than 80 players including Pettitte and Clemens to performance-enhancing drugs. The same House committee held hearings in 2005 and urged a tougher drug policy for the sport.
Since the Mitchell report was released Dec. 13, Clemens has repeatedly denied charges made by his former trainer that he was injected with illegal drugs.
In the Jones case, the two-time world champion in the 100- meter sprint admitted at her October plea hearing that she took performance-enhancing drugs but didn't realize she had taken steroids until later, when her performance dropped off.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers told the judge Jan. 9 that the ex-track champion should be sentenced according to her plea deal with the government. The U.S. urged Karas to consider that Jones's false statements were three years apart and that her plea saved ``immeasurable time and resources.''
'Lost Everything'
Her lawyer, Henry DiPippo, wrote that ``Marion has already lost everything -- the only livelihood she has ever known, her professional accomplishments, her financial security, and her reputation -- all in the most public manner possible.''
Jones retired from competition after giving up her medals.
Jeff Novitzky, an agent with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service investigating the Balco case, said in court papers that Jones's name showed up in a Balco ledger. The lab's records contain a list of their ``client-athletes'' and results of urine tests for anabolic steroids and masking agents, he said.
Two pages of the ledger contain the name "Marion J.," indicating she took several performance-enhancing drugs including tetrahydrogestrinone, a lab-altered steroid known as THG or "the Clear," and the anabolic steroid Norbolethone known as "Nor," between September 2000 and June 2001, Novitzky said.
Federal agents also found a yellow manila folder labeled "Marion Jones" at a Balco storage facility in California, Novitzky said in court papers, with a monthly "doping" calendar Balco created for Jones between March and July 2001.
World Champion
In February 2006, Jones settled a $25 million defamation lawsuit against Victor Conte, the Balco founder. Conte, who claimed he supplied Jones with performance-enhancing drugs including THG, served a four-month jail term after pleading guilty to steroid distribution.
Jones was one of several athletes who testified four years ago before a grand jury probing Balco. Montgomery, a former world-record holder in the men's 100-meter sprint, was banned from the sport for two years because of steroid use. Trevor Graham, a former coach of Jones and Montgomery, faces trial in San Francisco federal court for lying to U.S. agents.
Jones admitted Graham gave her steroids before the 2000 Games and that she lied to federal agents in a 2003 interview, saying the former coach told her it was flaxseed oil.
Jones was listed in government filings in federal court in San Francisco as having testified before a grand jury investigating Graham. Also listed were Montgomery, sprinter Michelle Collins, brothers Alvin and Calvin Harrison and sprinter Ramon Clay.
Prosecutors said the athletes may be called as witnesses at Graham's trial.
The case is U.S. v. Marion Jones, 05-CR-1067, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (White Plains).
Congress is returning to the issue of steroids in baseball following last month's report by former U.S. Senator George Mitchell, which linked more than 80 players including Pettitte and Clemens to performance-enhancing drugs. The same House committee held hearings in 2005 and urged a tougher drug policy for the sport.
Since the Mitchell report was released Dec. 13, Clemens has repeatedly denied charges made by his former trainer that he was injected with illegal drugs.
In the Jones case, the two-time world champion in the 100- meter sprint admitted at her October plea hearing that she took performance-enhancing drugs but didn't realize she had taken steroids until later, when her performance dropped off.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers told the judge Jan. 9 that the ex-track champion should be sentenced according to her plea deal with the government. The U.S. urged Karas to consider that Jones's false statements were three years apart and that her plea saved ``immeasurable time and resources.''
'Lost Everything'
Her lawyer, Henry DiPippo, wrote that ``Marion has already lost everything -- the only livelihood she has ever known, her professional accomplishments, her financial security, and her reputation -- all in the most public manner possible.''
Jones retired from competition after giving up her medals.
Jeff Novitzky, an agent with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service investigating the Balco case, said in court papers that Jones's name showed up in a Balco ledger. The lab's records contain a list of their ``client-athletes'' and results of urine tests for anabolic steroids and masking agents, he said.
Two pages of the ledger contain the name "Marion J.," indicating she took several performance-enhancing drugs including tetrahydrogestrinone, a lab-altered steroid known as THG or "the Clear," and the anabolic steroid Norbolethone known as "Nor," between September 2000 and June 2001, Novitzky said.
Federal agents also found a yellow manila folder labeled "Marion Jones" at a Balco storage facility in California, Novitzky said in court papers, with a monthly "doping" calendar Balco created for Jones between March and July 2001.
World Champion
In February 2006, Jones settled a $25 million defamation lawsuit against Victor Conte, the Balco founder. Conte, who claimed he supplied Jones with performance-enhancing drugs including THG, served a four-month jail term after pleading guilty to steroid distribution.
Jones was one of several athletes who testified four years ago before a grand jury probing Balco. Montgomery, a former world-record holder in the men's 100-meter sprint, was banned from the sport for two years because of steroid use. Trevor Graham, a former coach of Jones and Montgomery, faces trial in San Francisco federal court for lying to U.S. agents.
Jones admitted Graham gave her steroids before the 2000 Games and that she lied to federal agents in a 2003 interview, saying the former coach told her it was flaxseed oil.
Jones was listed in government filings in federal court in San Francisco as having testified before a grand jury investigating Graham. Also listed were Montgomery, sprinter Michelle Collins, brothers Alvin and Calvin Harrison and sprinter Ramon Clay.
Prosecutors said the athletes may be called as witnesses at Graham's trial.
The case is U.S. v. Marion Jones, 05-CR-1067, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York (White Plains).
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