BALCO leaker receives harsh prison sentence

SAN FRANCISCO – An attorney who admitted leaking the confidential grand jury testimony of Barry Bonds and other athletes to a reporter was sentenced Thursday to 2 1/2 years in prison, by far the harshest penalty to result from the government’s sprawling probe of steroids in sports.

Troy Ellerman, 44, pleaded guilty in February to allowing a San Francisco Chronicle reporter to view transcripts of testimony by Bonds, Jason Giambi, Gary Sheffield and other athletes embroiled in the steroids investigation. Giambi admitted taking steroids while Sheffield and Bonds testified if they did take performance enhancing drugs, they did so unwittingly.

After the newspaper published the players’ embarrassing accounts after they had been promised confidentiality, the judge overseeing the case recommended that the Department of Justice launch a leak investigation.

Ellerman initially blamed federal investigators for leaking the testimony and argued that the case against his client be tossed out because of government misconduct. He also lied to a judge about not knowing the source of the leaks.

“This affected, and infected every aspect of the judicial system,” U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey White said.

White also asked prosecutors about a letter Bonds’ attorney Michael Rains filed in the case arguing that the slugger was a victim of Ellerman’s actions and that Ellerman was not the only leak in the high-profile case.

Rains says he has evidence that sources other than Ellerman – but still unknown to him – had leaked confidential grand jury evidence to the Chronicle and other publications.

“Since Mr. Bonds has yet to be indicted, I have not been in position to introduce evidence concerning the leaked grand jury materials related to this case,” Rains said in his letter to the judge. “In the event that Mr. Bonds is indicted, I would certainly welcome such an opportunity.”

But on Thursday, Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Raphael told the judge that the government’s leak investigation concluded with Ellerman’s conviction. Raphael conceded that there had been other “little leaks” in the case, but that investigators were focused on finding the culprit of the grand jury breach.

“We do not believe that there is any other source,” Raphael said. “We have no specific evidence that someone else leaked grand jury transcripts.”