New information has emerged in the South Florida performance-enhancing-drug scandal that has implicated MLB stars Alex Rodriguez, Melky Cabrera and Nelson Cruz.
According to an ESPN report from Mike Fish and T.J. Quinn, the Miami clinic in question used forged documents and prescription slips to buy PEDs and then avoid a paper trail, unbeknownst to the doctors and medical professionals whose names were on the forms:
Anthony Bosch, the self-described biochemist who operated a series of wellness clinics, used prescription forms that contained forged signatures, stamped with the names and license numbers of legitimate physicians who apparently were unaware of the scheme, sources and documents indicate. Those drugs were prescribed to Bosch’s friends and associates and then delivered to professional athletes in order to avoid a paper trail, sources said.
As Quinn notes on Twitter when linking to the story, the latest information surrounding this three-month-long saga could mean severe legal action is swiftly approaching:
The detailed report goes on to describe the step-by-step process Bosch and his associates used to get the PEDs from pharmaceutical representatives to the players in question, and includes information about the documents that link Dr. Daniel Carpman—an “anti-aging” specialist located in Coral Gables, Fla.—as the forged signature on most of the documents.
Carpman denies all culpability in the forged signatures—a position a Miami handwriting specialist confirmed in the report—but does not deny knowing of Bosch or his now-defunct clinic.
Carpman is now a big piece of the Bosch puzzle, as he has witnessed Bosch’s self-proclaimed greatness with respect to helping clients for quite some time now. In the article, he notes how Bosch’s ego has kept his PED pipe dream alive, at one point reportedly telling the clinic director, “Listen Tony, you’re not a doctor.”
The intricate plan to deceive both suspicious parties and medical professionals on documents involves differing telephone information, address listings and falsified signatures, and includes the elder Bosch, Pedro, being used as a contact and the clinic’s principle medical director on most forms.
Avoiding a paper trail meant Bosch did not keep computer records or accept benefits like Medicare, which he felt would just further complicate keeping his clinic under the radar (per the report):
Bosch was known to deal only in performance-enhancing and anti-aging substances, not narcotics or prescription pills, sources said. He also was known to favor maintaining written records and logs, fearing computer files would leave a more traceable trail. He didn’t accept insurance or Medicare, which would have created another level of legal trouble. Instead, multiple sources said he dealt only in cash.
Tim Elfrink of the Miami New Times first reported in January that MLB stars had been tied to PED use in connection with the Biogenesis of America offices in Miami.
MLB filed a lawsuit against Bosch in March (h/t New York Daily News) citing “intentional interference” with league players in regard to a ban on PEDs. The MLB investigation surrounding Bosch and players implicated in Elfrink’s and other media outlets’ subsequent reports is ongoing.
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