If there is no federal interest in fraud . . .
Dr. Maserati said:
When you say "they", I assume you mean the Food & Drug Administration?
'They' are not interested in the USPS fraud part.
'They' are interested in the drug part - which is not a victimless crime.
You make a good point suggesting the non-interest of the FDA in any claims of criminal fraud. If you're correct, then I think that we must infer that the FDA is going after dealers. Big expensive investigations rarely target users.
Lance's lawyers said in December that they haven't gotten a target letter. If they're not lying, then the momentum that has been keeping the investigation going all this time is not 'get Lance' momentum. They're going after somebody else, and the only logical target is drug dealers.
Prosecutors are very sensitive to statutes of limitation because they pose a real problem. A prosecution of Lance for possession of PEDS would be dead on arrival, given that there is a five year statute of limitations for dealing or using illegal PEDs. Conspiracy is the only possible relevant exception that I can think of, and I doubt that Lance was a part of a drug dealing conspiracy that extended past February, 2006 (five years ago). Anybody who dismisses the SOL, and who doesn't provide a careful analysis explaining why, is totally full of it.
Maybe something changed, and now the feds are going after Lance, but I doubt it. I think that they want Lance's truthful testimony against his dealer(s). Dr. Maserati makes a great point: Why would the FDA investigate the dickens out of a business fraud case? Regarding Lance, all that's left are charges that are barred by the statute of limitations.
On the other hand, the drug organization that fueled the USPS riders probably is an ongoing conspiracy that makes all sorts of recent dope deals. The old dope dealing (and using) is what they call 404(b) 'other bad act' evidence that can often be used to help prove the recent dope dealing.
These people are organized crime and they are EXACTLY what the feds are supposed to be going after.
I think that the feds want Lance's pee because Lance's bodily fluids are the key to getting Lance's truthful testimony. If you immunize Lance, and if you have Lance's dirty pee (corroborated by his erstwhile colleagues), then Lance faces a beautiful dilemma: Tell the truth and risk forever trashing your reputation, or lie and risk an equally embarrassing perjury prosecution.
A federal investigation of an international dope dealing organization is much, much more probable than a Lance-centric investigation. When this investigation is all over and is submitted to a court, the Feds will care very much about how the investigation is perceived by the public. A "Get Lance" focused investigation would be very bad PR. On the other hand, if Lance is collateral damage in the breakup of a big international dope dealing organization, then the PR is very good.
One more thing: Barry Bonds and Marion Jones were BALCO collateral damage.