FLandis letter, links

[theswordsman]

Charges being considered in the investigation of the Postal Service team include fraud, drug distribution, tax evasion, money laundering and breaches of employment law, according to two people close to the investigation, who spoke on the condition they not be identified.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/sports/cycling/22armstrong.html?pagewanted=2

 

[buckwheat]

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/sports/cycling/22armstrong.html?pagewanted=2

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/22/sports/cycling/22armstrong.html?hp

 

[StyrbjornSterki]

...But why is the USADA so intent on this witch-hunt anyway? How could they possibly benefit from turning Lance Armstrong's heroic career into a doping scandal?...

Because they've known all along that riders don't so suddenly become superhuman. They've known something was going on but couldn't tell how LA and others were managing to dope but escape detection. FLandis' testimony gave them a more complete picture, connected dots that they didn't realize were connected. Now they need further confirmation and more details regarding sources and methods. This historical information will allow them to tweak their testing methods and -- they hope -- reduce the number of riders who cheat with impunity.

 

[theswordsman]

http://www.forbes.com/2010/08/24/be...trust-opinions-columnists-rich-karlgaard.html

What Armstrong won't tell you is that his athletic feats were impossible without the regular and careful use of EPO and blood transfusions. I say impossible without any trace of doubt because (a) all of Armstrong's major foes during his 1999-2005 reign were dopers; and (b) EPO and blood transfusions give a rider a 5% to 10% power advantage on mountain climbs vs. his non-doped self. Riders can't win the Tour de France without excelling in the mountains. The best in the world can't give 5% to 10% to No. 2 and still win.

Here was Armstrong's ethical dilemma, post-cancer, in 1998: He recovers but his finances are shaky, his (French) sponsor has dumped him, and he has no other career prospects. He returns to what he knows--pro cycling--at the very height of its EPO-doping and blood transfusion period. What does Armstrong do? What would you have done in his circumstances?

By all reasoning and a growing list of grand jury testimonies, Armstrong decided to become not just a doper, but the smartest doper in the pack.

 

[arrhythmia rules]

Two sets of court depositions have been put on line.
http://www.scribd.com/document_collections/2478961
Firstly Armstrong's testimony in the SCA Promotions arbitration.
Lance Armstrong Testimony
Oral Deposition Of Lance Armstrong Dated : 11 NOVEMBER 30, 2005
http://www.scribd.com/doc/31833754/Lance-Armstrong-Testimony
* From: Fight4Truth
* Uploaded: 05 / 24 / 2010
* Category: Law

and http://www.scribd.com/doc/24714560/Michael-Anderson-s-Testimony-On-Lance-Armstrong-Doping
Michael Anderson's Testimony On Lance Armstrong Doping
Lance Armstrong doped and here's former US Postal's Team mechanic Michael Anderson's court testimony.
# From: Fight4Truth
# Uploaded: 01 / 03 / 2010
# Reads: 2,493

This gives an interesting insight as to how Armstrong operates and secondly how little one as close to Armstrong as Anderson was actually knew about Armstrong's doping - sure he found evidence but only steroid use and avoiding a drugs test ( why was no action taken?) The threats and bullying are clearly outlined.

 

[Oldman]

Two sets of court depositions have been put on line.
http://www.scribd.com/document_collections/2478961
Firstly Armstrong's testimony in the SCA Promotions arbitration.
Lance Armstrong Testimony
Oral Deposition Of Lance Armstrong Dated : 11 NOVEMBER 30, 2005
http://www.scribd.com/doc/31833754/Lance-Armstrong-Testimony
* From: Fight4Truth
* Uploaded: 05 / 24 / 2010
* Category: Law

and http://www.scribd.com/doc/24714560/Michael-Anderson-s-Testimony-On-Lance-Armstrong-Doping
Michael Anderson's Testimony On Lance Armstrong Doping
Lance Armstrong doped and here's former US Postal's Team mechanic Michael Anderson's court testimony.
# From: Fight4Truth
# Uploaded: 01 / 03 / 2010
# Reads: 2,493

This gives an interesting insight as to how Armstrong operates and secondly how little one as close to Armstrong as Anderson was actually knew about Armstrong's doping - sure he found evidence but only steroid use and avoiding a drugs test ( why was no action taken?) The threats and bullying are clearly outlined.

While LA works his magic within the protected confines of the US he probably can do no wrong as far as USA Cycling/Weisel Inc is on the watch. Hog made a good point about the Unholy Euro triuvirate wanting LA's blood as motivation for cooperation in Europe but that is far from an organized group of witchburners. That is, unless; some hard evidence tying people, money and goods across borders has been discovered.

The level of bullying for US Olympic teams and World's selection was probably minimal since his extended sports family owned the federation. It's not hard to imagine the US based whistleblowers not getting much attention.

 

[SpeedWay]

Here is a take on LA worth spending the 6 minutes it takes to read.

http://jay-mariotti.fanhouse.com/2010/07/22/armstrong-would-be-biggest-fraud-of-all/

Ouch.

LOL. Looks like your boy won't be making you scream "Ouch" anymore.


http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/08/espn-personality-jay-mariotti-arrested.html

"Jay Mariotti is a ***" - Ozzie Guillen

 

[JMBeaushrimp]

Holy naive population, Batman!

Just read the fanhouse.com article posted above.

Wow! Check out the comments! I don't read American stuff very often, and I guess that this is exactly why. And why the US has the government it deserves...

Either they're all on happy pills, or they're putting something questionable in the water. Unreal! Totally not willing to look at reality, and basing everything on media personality and image.

In regards to what The Boss has done for cancer - hopefully the afflicted can come to realize that whatever they got from LA was actually a product of their own making. Whether it was visualization, belief in an example, endogenous enkephalins, whatever - it was THEM doing it, and not some sociopathic megalomaniac.

Holy ****, I'm really hoping for an ***-kicking and an accounting, but after seeing how the fan base sees him as bigger than Jesus... Who knows? How high up the ladder do these chumps go? Maybe jurors would fold...

Man, I really want to see this go down...

 

[shawnrohrbach]

LOL.

"Jay Mariotti is a ***" - Ozzie Guillen

Maybe you see the relevance of adding this if you are a douche bag.

 

[CycloErgoSum]

More from Karlgaard* - Lance Armstrong's Tragedy

http://blogs.forbes.com/digitalrules/2010/07/26/lance-armstrongs-tragedy/?partner=contextstory

*Apologies if already posted

 

[theswordsman]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-...jects-blood-doping-accusations-by-landis.html

Landis said he was sold human growth hormone by the team trainer in 2003, according to the April e-mail to USA Cycling Chief Executive Steve Johnson. Marti worked with Tour de France champion Alberto Contador on the Astana team this year and is likely to switch with him to the Saxo Bank team next year, Contador’s spokesman Jacinto Vidarte said.

Willing to Speak

Marti is “not going to make any comment,” Vidarte said. Astana officials didn’t respond to requests by phone and e-mail for a comment from Marti. Aramendi didn’t immediately return an e-mail sent to his clinic, and a staff member said he was on vacation and unavailable.

Garcia del Moral said he’d be willing to speak to U.S. investigators if asked, although he is unable to break patient confidentiality rules.

 

[saphblue]

On the lighter side

From the Onion (a satirical news site for those unfamiliar with it): http://www.theonion.com/articles/lance-armstrong-wants-to-tell-nation-something-but,17973/

 

[scribe]

Lots of softball articles on lance these days, including this one.....

http://www.vancouversun.com/mobile/iphone/story.html?id=3457204

apparently, he wants to go to mars now. Probably gonna need ferarri for that one.

 

[OneRaceWonder]

Lots of softball articles on lance these days, including this one.....

http://www.vancouversun.com/mobile/iphone/story.html?id=3457204

apparently, he wants to go to mars now. Probably gonna need ferarri for that one.

..too..."for that one too"..

 

[arrhythmia rules]

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lance-armstrong-20100902,0,2458173.story?track=rss
posted by Merckx index
"Betsy Andreu also told The Times that the government has obtained recorded voice mails left on Andreu's message machine by Stephanie McIlvain, a representative of Oakley Inc., a longtime Armstrong sponsor. Andreu said those recordings indicated McIlvain lied when testifying that she hadn't heard Armstrong admit using drugs."
on Betsy testifies thread.
I guess there will be lots more like this shortly.

 

[theswordsman]

Novitzky has now reached out to the Andreus, who, after being subpoenaed in a 2005 arbitration dispute over victory bonuses, testified that they heard Armstrong confess in a hospital in 1996 to using performance-enhancing drugs. Betsy Andreu confirmed that she and her husband had spoken to Novitzky, but said they have not been subpoenaed by a federal grand jury in Los Angeles that is meeting in secrecy under the direction of assistant U.S. Attorney Doug Miller.

"Novitzky has been nothing but respectful and fair to us," Andreu told the Daily News. "We will definitely cooperate, telling the truth."

http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/m...e_armstrong_teammate_frankie_andreu_wife.html

 

[theswordsman]

Armstrong's team met on Tuesday with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Los Angeles, which is handling the inquiry.

"We will respect the privacy of our discussions with the government, but we can confirm that a meeting occurred yesterday to begin a meaningful dialogue with the government about this matter," Armstrong attorney Mark Fabiani said in a statement.

Thom Mrozek, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's Office, declined comment.

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/cycling/2010-09-02-armstrong-teammate-wife-feds_N.htm

 

[Benotti69]

http://www.usatoday.com/sports/cycling/2010-09-02-armstrong-teammate-wife-feds_N.htm

are they trying to broker a deal?

maybe he is already seeing public opinion turn by the amount that LIESTRONG is taking in!

 

[thehog]

http://www.mensjournal.com/october-2010-sneak-peak

Out September 10th in the US Mens Journal are mighty p1ssed off with the lies Armstrong told them for their July issue. They promise the full story this time around.

 

[flicker]

*** edited by mod ***

 

[theswordsman]

http://www.mensjournal.com/october-2010-sneak-peak

Out September 10th in the US Mens Journal are mighty p1ssed off with the lies Armstrong told them for their July issue. They promise the full story this time around.

404 error on the link?

I know it exists because this came up in a Google search:

Men's Journal |

Sneak Peak: Take a gander at a portion of MJ's October 2010 issue story on the latest accusations against Lance Armstrong and the federal probe launched to ...
http://www.mensjournal.com/ - Similar

The Case Against Lance | Men's Journal

Sep 2, 2010 ... For more than a decade, Lance Armstrong has denied ever ...
http://www.mensjournal.com/october-2010-sneak-peak

 

[Dr. Maserati]

404 error on the link?

I know it exists because this came up in a Google search:

Men's Journal |

I do not normaly do this - but here is the article - as I had it opened on another tab:

For more than a decade, Lance Armstrong has denied ever taking performance-enhancing drugs. But now, the federal agent who exposed Barry Bonds has the cycling legend in his sights—and against the wall.
By Bill Gifford
We wanted to believe in him from the beginning. It was July 3, 1999, and the man had suffered testicular cancer and nearly died at 25, but managed to come back and qualify for one of the most physically demanding races on Earth. Now he sat on his bike in the start house for the prologue of that summer’s Tour de France, a five-mile dash around a lame French amusement park called Futuroscope. As he rolled down the start ramp and gained speed, whipping his bike back and forth and sprinting out of the corners, it was clear he was on fire. No American had ever come close to winning the Tour’s prestigious first stage, and yet he won easily, thrillingly. It was the start of something huge.

RELATED: Tom Brokaw Interviews Lance Armstrong


Then, as required of every Tour de France stage winner, Armstrong gave a urine sample that afternoon, and it tested positive for a banned substance—corticosteroids, a catabolic agent used by athletes to aid recovery and increase endurance. That might have been it for Armstrong’s Tour and racing season, and it might have cost him his future—no seven Tour wins, no jillions of yellow bracelets. But race officials accepted his word (and doctor’s prescription as evidence) that the steroids in his urine were from a skin cream for saddle sores. And as there was no effective test for erythropoietin, or EPO, a prohibited blood-booster that pro cyclists took like candy in the 1990s, lab technicians failed to find the EPO in Armstrong’s system that day for another six years, and under circumstances that made it possible for him to discredit the finding.

Armstrong, of course, went on to win the 1999 Tour—and six more. Even more incredibly, though he’s been tested at least 200 times for performance-enhancing drugs, he had never been caught and sanctioned for doping even as, one by one, nearly all of his main rivals and several former teammates tested positive, served suspensions, or retired under a cloud of suspicion. Throughout an era of highly sophisticated doping, when the attitude was that if you wanted to win, you had to use drugs, Armstrong’s first and last line of defense against doping allegations was his clean record. If he had doped, the argument went, then why hadn’t he been caught too? But then came this spring’s fresh round of accusations from a former teammate that he did dope—and the possibility that he was simply that much better than everyone else at evading detection and covering up.

In e-mails from his former teammate Floyd Landis to cycling officials, which leaked to the press in late May, Landis claimed that he’d personally witnessed Armstrong and other teammates receiving banned blood transfusions, including on the team bus in 2004, the year Armstrong won his sixth Tour in a row. Landis also said that in 2003 Armstrong himself had given him his first EPO, in six loaded syringes, outside his apartment in Girona, Spain, as Armstrong’s then wife, Kristin, looked on.

RELATED: Floyd Drops the Bomb


The revelations added fuel to an ongoing federal investigation led by Jeff Novitzky, the former IRS agent who broke the BALCO steroids case, resulting in criminal charges against Barry Bonds and jail time for sprinter Marion Jones. Within weeks of Landis’s bombs, subpoenas began flying, and in early August, the New York Times reported on an unnamed former teammate who corroborated Landis’s claims that Armstrong knew about—and encouraged—doping on his teams. The investigators contacted Armstrong’s sponsors Nike and Trek, as well as numerous former teammates and even his archnemesis, former Tour de France winner Greg LeMond. LeMond’s decade-long feud with Armstrong—whom LeMond has accused of doping and of sabotaging his bike company—includes a huge lawsuit with Trek bicycles that settled earlier this year. In all, their fights have generated 70,000 documents, which LeMond happily shipped to the Feds in 46 boxes this summer.

At press time no one knew what the precise charges might be, or if the Los Angeles-based grand jury, which convened in early August, would indict anyone, but Novitzky’s team appeared too invested to let it drop. “It strikes me as an investigation in search of a crime,” says one lawyer connected with the case. “They’re devoting so many resources to it that there is pressure to come up with something.”

Using performance-enhancing drugs is not a crime in the U.S., and, as one of Armstrong’s lawyers, Tim Herman, points out, all of the Landis-alleged doping took place in Europe. But it’s unlikely the Feds would attempt to convict him of using or trafficking in banned substances, and, instead, try to catch Armstrong lying about them—or profiting from their use. Lawyers close to the case suggest that the grand jury might come down with white-collar charges like fraud, perjury, obstruction of justice, or even racketeering.

RELATED: The Best Energy Supplement Ever?


The stakes couldn’t be much higher. If a court hears Landis’s accusations and decides that Armstrong took banned substances to win the Tour de France, earn millions in endorsements and charitable donations, and become something close to a secular saint, his heroic comeback—and even his anti-cancer crusade—will be diminished forever. Which is why, on some level, nobody wants the allegations to be true.

Read the full article in MJ’s October issue, on newsstands September 10…

 

[theswordsman]

Thanks!

VeloNation spoke with accounting fraud expert from Brigham Young University, Dr. Mark Zimbelman, to gain some insight into what the prosecution may be working on behind the scenes, and possible next steps with the investigation.

http://www.velonation.com/News/ID/5...be-looking-for-if-there-is-a-money-trail.aspx

 

[python]

the following link was first posted by bianchigirl in the ‘is armstrong about to admit’ thread
http://www.laobserved.com/archive/2010/09/inside_the_talk_of_a_lanc.php

Federal investigators raided Ball's Marina del Rey house in May looking for evidence related to the Armstrong probe, according to attorneys familiar with the case.

 

[theswordsman]

The U.S. Justice Department is weighing whether to intervene in a federal whistle-blower lawsuit filed earlier this year by one of Lance Armstrong's former cycling teammates, Floyd Landis, people familiar with the matter say.

Mr. Landis's lawsuit was filed under the federal False Claims Act, these people say. The act allows citizens to sue on behalf of the government alleging the government has been defrauded.

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052748703946504575469622694037154.html