Steroid clinic boss that supplied MLB players sentenced to prison

The owner of a Florida business at the heart of a steroid scandal that led to the seasonlong suspension of major league baseball star Alex Rodriguez was sentenced Tuesday to four years in prison for supplying performance-enhancing drugs.

Anthony Bosch, who pleaded guilty to a testosterone distribution charge in October, supplied steroids as well as human growth hormone and testosterone that led to 13 player suspensions, including a 162-game ban that sidelined Rodriguez for the entire 2014 season.

Bosch faced up to 10 years in prison on the felony charge, but prosecutors sought a sentence of roughly four years because of his cooperation with federal and MLB investigators. Bosch became a key witness for MLB, which has been paying his legal and security bills.

His cooperation led to the suspensions of Rodriguez, Baltimore Orioles outfielder Nelson Cruz, Everth Cabrera of the San Diego Padres and Jhonny Peralta of the St. Louis Cardinals and Milwaukee Brewers outfielder Ryan Braun, who won the National League's most valuable player award in 2011. None of the players have faced criminal charges.

Choking back tears during the court hearing, Bosch apologized. “My choices were terrible, and I'm ashamed of myself,” he said. “I can't put into words how sorry I am.”

Meanwhile, ESPN reported Tuesday that Rodriguez released a handwritten note addressed to fans and apologizing for his “mistakes.” 

“I regret that my actions made the situation worse than it needed to be. To Major League Baseball, the Yankees, the Steinbrenner family, the Players Association and you, the fans, I can only say I’m sorry,” he wrote. He was referring to Hal Steinbrenner and Hank Steinbrenner, the owners of the New York Yankees. 

Professional athletes paid Bosch as much as $12,000 per month for testosterone-filled syringes and creams, federal officials have said. 

He was also accused of selling performance-enhancing drugs to high school athletes, charging $250 to $600 per month, according to an indictment. 

“He was the person who recruited others to assist him,” the judge said during a hearing in the Southern District of Florida in Miami. “One can only imagine the horror of a parent who has unwittingly taken a child to Mr. Bosch and watched as he used a syringe to inject a controlled substance into their children.”

Al Jazeera and wire services