Four Charged In Steroids Scheme

Barry Bonds' personal trainer, a track coach and top executives of a San Francisco-area nutritional supplements lab were charged Thursday with running an illegal drug distribution operation.

The 42-count federal indictment returned by a grand jury in San Francisco alleges the scheme provided anabolic steroids, human growth hormone, EPO and other drugs to major league baseball and NFL players, as well as track and field stars.

The Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative — BALCO — and its owner Victor Conte, Jr., have been charged with conspiracy, money laundering, and distribution of anabolic steroids, reports CBS News Correspondent Stephanie Lambidakis.

None of the athletes was charged and none was named in the court documents.

The indictment names as defendants Conte, the president and chief executive officer of BALCO, and its vice president, James J. Valente. Also indicted were Bonds' personal trainer, Greg F. Anderson, and track coach Remi Korchemny.

According to the indictment, the four were involved in the scheme between December 2001 and Sept. 3, 2003, in which steroids were distributed to athletes on six different occasions.

One steroid, called "The Cream," included a substance that masked an athlete's use of the drug during testing. Another, called "The Clear," was sold to the athletes as a substance that would provide steroid-like effects without causing a positive drug test.

The defendants allegedly hid their activities by using false names on mailing labels and by referring to the drugs using a coded shorthand. In addition, authorities say the men provided the athletes with cover stories.