U.S. prosecutors: A-Rod paid cousin to be quiet

The U.S. government says New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez paid his cousin almost $1 million to keep secret Rodriguez’s use of performance enhancing drugs. In court documents filed last week in Miami, federal prosecutors say Rodriguez paid $900,000 last year to settle a threatened lawsuit by Yuri Sucart, who had worked as Rodriguez’s personal assistant. Sucart, in a letter from his lawyer, threatened to expose Rodriquez’s PED use if he wasn’t paid $5 million. Sucart, who was involved with Biogenesis of America, is charged with conspiring to distribute testosterone and human growth hormone. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial in February. – AP