This story from investigative reporters Teri Thompson and Michael O’Keefe of the New York Daily News adds a funny little wrinkle -- but probably nothing more -- to the ongoing Alex Rodriguez PED saga.
A-Rod apparently went on a desperate hunt for performance-enhancers of any kind in early 2012, enlisting the help of former NFL linebacker and admitted steroid user Bill Romanowski to set up a meet-and-greet with BALCO founder Victor Conte.
Conte, who spent four months in prison in 2005 on BALCO-related charges, could not provide A-Rod with any illegal performance-enhancing drugs. But Conte did get A-Rod some legal supplements and has now relayed his entire experience with the veteran slugger to the Daily News. Here’s an excerpt:[Conte] described how Rodriguez showed up uninvited on his doorstep in May 2012 with admitted BALCO steroid casualty Bill Romanowski, the former NFL linebacker, to discuss legal products that could give Rodriguez an edge.
Conte said Rodriguez had been trying to set up a sitdown through Romanowski for two months before they finally met, the day before the Yankees kicked off a three-game series with the Oakland A’s.
Romanowski had tried to convince Conte to fly to New York or Los Angeles to meet with Rodriguez, but Conte said he declined the offer.
“I flushed it out with Romo before they ever showed up at the office,” Conte said. “I clearly told Romo it (anything he could do for Rodriguez) was about legal performance enhancement.”
Conte’s daughter Veronica hand-delivered a package of over-the-counter supplements to A-Rod’s hotel room when the Yankees were playing in Oakland on May 25, 2012 and two packages of the same legal stuff were eventually shipped to Rodriguez at addresses in Miami Beach and Greenwich Village. Victor Conte told the Daily News that he spoke to Biogenesis founder Tony Bosch twice over the phone because A-Rod had referred to Bosch as his “nutrition guy” and Conte didn’t want to overlap certain supplement regimens.
