Miami Man Accused Of Supplying PEDs To MLB Players
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MIAMI (CBSMiami/AP) — A South Florida man suspected of manufacturing and supplying banned performance-enhancing drugs to Major League Baseball players and other athletes has been arrested.
Paulo Berejuk was charged with conspiracy to distribute testosterone, according to U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency complaint unsealed Tuesday.
A DEA affidavit describes Berejuk as a "black market source" for testosterone to clinics whose customers included MLB players. The affidavit says Berejuk is a chemist who made the substances in his garage.
The arrest is the latest in the recent MLB drug scandal that resulted in 14 player suspensions and felony drug charges against a half-dozen people connected with the clinics, including former Biogenesis of America owner Anthony Bosch.
Bosch pleaded guilty earlier this month to the drug charges. His now defunct Biogenesis Clinic reportedly sold up to 5,000 units of testosterone to New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez and other professional and high school ballplayers. Fourteen MLB players were suspended, including a season-long suspension for Rodriguez.
Bosch and six other people who allegedly made up the supply and distribution network were indicted.
Among the others charged were Alex Rodriguez's cousin Yuri Sucart, Carlos Javier Acevedo of Miami; Jorge Augustine Velazquez of Miami; Christopher Benjamin Engroba of Miami; Lazaro Daniel Collazo of Hialeah and Juan Carlos Nuñez of Fort Lauderdale.
The scandal broke in January 2013 when the Miami New Times published an expose that detailed how Bosch, through his unlicensed clinic, was secretly dealing steroids to ballplayers and other sports figures.
One of his employees, Porter Fischer, went to the newspaper with documents he had taken from the clinic, including client lists and the amounts they had paid for the drugs.
Fischer spoke to CBS4 Investigative Reporter Jim DeFede exclusively in August 2013.
Watch Jim DeFede's Interview With Porter Fischer
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Judge Orders Fischer Not Destroy Biogenesis Documents
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