Just two years ago, Tony Bosch was the go-to source for customized steroid cocktails for some of the biggest names in professional baseball. Alex Rodriguez, Ryan Braun, and Nelson Cruz all paid the unlicensed doctor thousands to cook up testosterone creams and lozenges that could beat Major League Baseball's drug testers.
Today, Bosch will make the short trip from downtown's Federal Detention Center to the federal courthouse. He'll plead guilty to conspiracy to distribute testosterone, a crime that could land him up to a decade in prison.
See also: Tony Bosch and Biogenesis: MLB Steroid Scandal
Update: Bosch pleaded guilty this morning, and Judge Darrin P. Gayles set a December 18 date for sentencing. In the meantime, he released Bosch on a new bond with the stipulation that he head straight to a locked-down treatment facility for his drug addictions.
Bosch was charged in August, along with six of his cohorts at Biogenesis, the Coral Gables clinic where he freely sold steroids, testosterone, HGH, and other restricted drugs despite having only an unrecognized degree from a school in Belize.
He quickly struck a deal to cooperate with federal prosecutors, much as he'd flipped to testify last year for Major League Baseball against his former clientele. With his help, MLB suspended 15 players, including A-Rod this whole past season.
Bosch was released on $100,000 bond, but on October 6, Judge Darrin Gayles sent him back to jail after the steroid dealer failed multiple cocaine tests.
Gayles isn't expected to sentence Bosch tomorrow after he pleads guilty, according to Guy Lewis, Bosch's attorney. Instead, he'll likely postpone sentencing until early next year.
In the meantime, prosecutors may still need Bosch's help to go after his former business partners.
At least one former co-worker is pushing for a harsh sentence for Bosch.
Porter Fischer, the former marketing manager at Biogenesis who exposed Bosch's side business as a steroid dealer by sharing records with Miami New Times, says he wants to see Bosch do serious time.
Fischer, who now runs an anti-steroid nonprofit called the Porter Project, has started a Change.org petition asking Judge Gayles to send a strong message with his sentencing.
"Posing as a physician in order to obtain financial gain with no regard for health, safety, or integrity is deplorable and should not be tolerated with just a slap on the wrist," the petition says. "Unlike the MLB and the NFL who have recently been chastised in the media for their lack of emphasis on their own drug & personal conduct policies, we urge you to take a strong stance now!"
Fischer also sent a letter to the judge urging him to give Bosch a lengthy prison term.
In the meantime, though, Bosch's attorneys have asked the judge to give the Biogenesis founder another shot at leaving jail on bond, noting that he may have failed two cocaine tests based on residual drugs in his body and that he was attending rehab sessions before being sent back to jail.
Gayles has yet to rule on that request.
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