CYCLING:FEDERAL PROSECUTORS said on Friday they had closed their investigation of Lance Armstrong without charging him, nearly two years after they began looking into allegations he and his cycling teammates committed a variety of possible crimes by doping.
The possible crimes being investigated included the defrauding of the government, drug trafficking, money laundering and conspiracy involving Armstrong and other top cyclists. In particular, the authorities were exploring whether money from the US Postal Service, the primary team sponsor for the first four of Armstrong’s Tour de France wins, was used to buy performance-enhancing drugs.
Andre Birotte jnr, the US attorney for the Central District of California, announced the end of the high-profile investigation, which involved several federal agencies, in a brief statement. He did not cite a reason for the decision and declined further comment. “The United States Attorney determined that a public announcement concerning the closing of the investigation was warranted by numerous reports about the investigation in media outlets around the world,” the statement said.
Armstrong, who won the Tour de France a record seven times, has always emphatically denied all accusations that he used illegal performance-enhancing drugs.
But his first Tour de France win in 1999 followed the event’s largest doping scandal, and ever since he has fought suspicions that his Tour titles were tainted by drug use. But he has never tested positive. (At the 1999 Tour, he failed a test for a corticosteroid but produced a doctor’s note indicating the drug had been used for therapeutic reasons.)
“I am gratified to learn that the US Attorney’s Office is closing its investigation,” Armstrong said in a statement. “It is the right decision and I commend them for reaching it. I look forward to continuing my life as a father, a competitor, and an advocate in the fight against cancer without this distraction.”
John Keker, Armstrong’s lead lawyer, said on Friday he learned of the decision at about the same time it was announced publicly. He declined to comment on why the investigation was dropped but praised prosecutors’ decision to step away from the inquiry. “They made the right decision, and they made it on their own.”
Jeff Novitzky, a special agent for the Food and Drug Administration, was principally involved with the Armstrong investigation. As an agent for the Internal Revenue Service, he brought down the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative doping lab. Novitzky did not respond to requests for comment.Although Armstrong no longer faces the prospect of criminal prosecution, Travis T Tygart, the chief executive of the US Anti Doping Agency, said his organisation would continue to investigate him.
“Unlike the US Attorney, Usada’s job is to protect clean sport rather than enforce specific criminal laws,” Tygart said in a statement. “Our investigation into doping in the sport of cycling is continuing.”
New York Times
