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ESPN Staff Writer- T.J. Quinn joined ESPN in November 2007 as an investigative reporter for ESPN's Enterprise Unit, which is charged with developing long-form, investigative features to be presented across multiple platforms.
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ESPN Senior Writer- Investigative reporter for ESPN.com
- 10 years at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
- Twice nominated for a Pulitzer Prize
MIAMI -- The texts, the source said, usually came late at night, telling Anthony Bosch to come to the house. Bosch would then head to the waterfront mansion on Biscayne Bay, through the gate on North Bay Road, to inject performance-enhancing drugs into Alex Rodriguez.
Procedures were different, though, sources told "Outside the Lines," for the other athletes who were customers of Bosch's Biogenesis of America clinic in Coral Gables, which Major League Baseball considers the center of a widespread doping operation in South Florida. Those athletes, sources said, relied on intermediaries to transport the performance-enhancing drug regimens Bosch provided.
But for A-Rod, the service was always personal: "Only Tony handled A-Rod," one source told "Outside the Lines."
The visits took place every few weeks. One night last spring, a source said, Bosch told associates he had been kicked out of Rodriguez's home after he had trouble locating a vein, infuriating the player. The sources did not say why Bosch would have been tapping a vein, as HGH and testosterone do not require intravenous injections. But whatever he was doing, "Tony said A-Rod was pissed at him," a source said. "He said he was bleeding everywhere."
Several sources, speaking on the condition of anonymity, said Bosch spoke openly about his relationship with the Yankees All-Star, and two sources said that documents they reviewed detailed the drug regimens and schedules Rodriguez received.
A spokesperson for Rodriguez on Friday said "the allegations are not true."
MLB officials say they believe Bosch is the center of the South Florida doping operation and have urged the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency to open an investigation. But numerous sources contacted by "Outside the Lines" say that they have not been interviewed by federal agents or by MLB investigators, and are not aware of any law enforcement effort to seize material from the now-shuttered Biogenesis office or Bosch's home. MLB officials have turned over information they collected to the DEA. But sources in Florida said they have seen no indication that an investigation has begun. DEA officials have declined to comment on the existence of a case.
Rodriguez was named in the Miami New Times on Monday as one of numerous athletes listed in Biogenesis paperwork. A source told "Outside the Lines" Bosch had an aversion to computerized records and wrote all of his records by hand. The other MLB players named were Melky Cabrera, Bartolo Colon, Nelson Cruz, Yasmani Grandal and Gio Gonzalez.
Bosch termed the allegations against him "bull----" and "all wrong" when reached by "Outside the Lines." His attorney, Susy Ribero-Ayala, also put out a statement denying the allegations and told "Outside the Lines'' that Bosch wouldn't be talking "any time very soon."
One source familiar with Bosch's operation said Bosch's office was visited regularly by Juan Carlos Nunez, a man identified this summer as working for Melky Cabrera's agents, Seth and Sam Levinson of ACES Sports Management. After Cabrera tested positive, MLB officials said Nunez created a fake website in an attempt to provide an alibi for Cabrera. The Levinsons previously described Nunez as having been a "consultant," and said they had no knowledge of his activities or his possible connection to PEDs.
Sources familiar with MLB's investigation said officials are still looking into how much the veteran agents knew, as three of their players, Cabrera, Cruz and Gonzalez, have been connected to the clinic.
Nunez, who in recent years relocated to South Florida, has not responded to several requests for comment. One baseball agent said Nunez has frequently been seen at Marlins Park, and was known to be an important conduit between the Levinsons' ACES agency and Latin American ballplayers. Seth Levinson issued a statement Friday:
"Anyone who knows us, knows that it is absolutely ridiculous to think that we would ever condone the use of performance-enhancing drugs. We have represented many hundreds of players over 25 years, and our track record makes it perfectly clear that we do things the right way. ACES long ago stopped using Juan Nunez as an independent contractor, and he plays no role whatsoever in ACES' ongoing representation of any professional baseball player."
In November, the MLBPA said: "After a thorough investigation, we concluded none of the ACES principals were involved in or had knowledge of the Cabrera scheme."
Rodriguez has denied ever having been treated by Bosch or having received PEDs from him. Cabrera, Colon and Grandal each were suspended 50 games after testing positive for testosterone last season. Cruz has not spoken about the allegations, but a law firm representing him, Farrell & Reisinger, issued a denial this week to The Associated Press: "We are aware of certain allegations and inferences. To the extent these allegations and inferences refer to Nelson, they are denied."
Gonzalez this week denied ever using PEDs; his father, Max, said he received drugs from Bosch for his own weight loss, and said his son had never doped.
One source familiar with Bosch's operation said Rodriguez's cousin, Yuri Sucart, identified as having helped Rodriguez during his admitted period of doping more than 10 years ago, appeared regularly at Biogenesis, but not on behalf of the player. The source said Sucart obtained drugs for personal use, and that Rodriguez didn't need him as a courier because of the personal attention he received from Bosch.
Four years ago, "Outside the Lines" identified Bosch and his father, Dr. Pedro Bosch, as having provided a prescription for human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) to Manny Ramirez, who then received the first of his two PED suspensions. As in this latest instance involving Anthony Bosch, MLB officials pressed the DEA to open an investigation, but law enforcement sources said the agency never did.
Anthony Bosch often has presented himself as a physician, despite not having a medical license. His name is listed on state corporation records tied to a laundry list of ventures that are now inoperative, and sources said he was involved in several businesses, such as Biogenesis, in which his name did not appear on paperwork.
Several friends and former associates told "Outside the Lines" they were either told by Bosch or led to believe that he was a medical doctor. On state corporate filings for one venture, Bosch is listed as "Dr. Bosch." Under Florida law, only a licensed physician can consult with a patient and recommend treatment and prescribe medications. A would-be patient told "Outside the Lines" that Bosch was introduced to him as an "anti-aging doctor" during a visit to a South Florida clinic within the past year, and a reporter was present early last fall when Bosch told a man he was a doctor.