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Tape surfaces in Bonds trial
AP
Photo
Barry Bonds arrives at the federal courthouse for the second day of his trial in San Francisco, Tuesday, March 22, 2011. Now that a jury has been selected, the prosecutors and the slugger's lawyers are scheduled to deliver opening statements.
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO
Prosecutors in the federal case against Barry Bonds say a key witness has rediscovered the tape of a secretly recorded conversation with the slugger’s doctor, sparking a fight between the government and defense lawyers over whether the new material can be included at a trial years in the making.
On a day when there was no testimony because a juror was ill, the government said Monday that former Bonds business partner Steve Hoskins found a cassette recording of his conversation with Dr. Arthur Ting. Prosecutors, hoping to counter Ting’s testimony last week that he never discussed Bonds’ alleged steroid use with Hoskins — who insisted they had — said both men might be recalled to the witness stand.
“This will never come into evidence,” Bonds’ lead lawyer, Allen Ruby, told U.S. District Judge Susan Illston.
The trial began March 21, and prosecutors had planned to rest their case Monday with Dr. Don Catlin, former head of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory. But they now plan to call three lab workers, raising the government’s witness total to 25. That, plus the new evidence, makes it likely the case won’t go to the jury before next week.
Hoskins, the government’s second witness, testified he recorded a conversation with Ting discussing Bonds and steroids in 2003 or 2004, after federal agents raided the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative. BALCO was found to be the center of a steroids distribution ring, of which Bonds’ personal trainer was a part.
Ting testified last week that he had only one, general conversation with Hoskins about steroids and he denied Hoskins’ testimony that the two had as many as 50 discussions about Bonds and performance-enhancing drugs.
Hoskins, a childhood friend of Bonds, testified that he had recorded a conversation with Ting but the recording had been lost. Prosecutors said he located it last weekend and sent an email at 11 p.m. on Sunday notifying the defense of the find.
“He found (it) on the B side — this is a microcassette,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Parrella said. “He located a tape of himself discussing with Dr. Ting soon after the BALCO search warrants were executed.”
Parrella, who did not offer more details on how Hoskins located the tape, said the government may ask to recall “either Steve Hoskins, Dr. Ting or both in order to nail down this issue, so there is an accurate presentation of these conversations that went on.”