A few weeks back we wrote about the pending performance-enhancing drug use by Alex Rodriguez. The investigation cited eight defendants including Carlos Acevedo who partnered with Anthony Bosch. Acevedo and Bosch shut down their anti-aging clinic called Biogenesis of America in 2013 just before the investigation began. We know now that the clinic was in part used to sell to performance-enhancing drugs to Major League Baseball (MLB) players.
During the investigation, Bosch implicated 14 MLB players as his customers. Among them was Alex Rodriguez. Bosch, who pled guilty, will be sentenced on February 17. Many are speculating that he will receive a reduced sentence due to his cooperation in the federal investigation.
Acevedo, however, has already been sentenced. On Friday, January 9, he was sentenced to 3 ½ years in prison for his part in distributing illegal performance-enhancing drugs. According to the case files, Acevedo began working for Bosch in 2009 as a deliveryman, eventually becoming Bosch’s business partner in 2010. In 2012, Acevedo and Rodriguez’s former assistant, Yuri Sucart, sold testosterone to an undercover DEA agent. The illegal performance-enhancing drug transactions with the agent continued for roughly six months.
In April, Sucart and former University of Miami assistant baseball coach, Lazaro “Lazer” Collazo, will be on trial for their part in the performance-enhancing drug sting. Bosch and Acevedo could be required to testify at the trial.
In any criminal defense case, it’s crucial to have a defense attorney who is knowledgeable, experienced and will fight for your best interest. For example, Acevedo’s defense attorney argued against prosectors who wanted a stiffer sentence due to the finding of an unloaded 9 mm firearm, and testosterone vials, in Acevedo’s bedroom. The argument was that the weapon was in a place where he conducted business making it “dangerous” and “present.” The defense attorney, however, argued that there was no clear connection between the offense and the weapon found. The judge agreed.
Source:
MiamiHerald.com, “Steroid dealer’s partner sentenced to 3 1/2 years for peddling to MLB pros,” by Jay Weaver, 16 January 2015