Conte indicates that Bonds knew about steroids

[Walter Cronkite]

A source close to Victor Conte says Conte told him Barry Bonds sought BALCO's services to "get jacked."

BALCO founder Victor Conte allegedly bragged to an associate that Barry Bonds had intimate knowledge of the designer steroids he received from the Bay Area company, and that the Giants slugger took an active interest in what those substances contained, a source close to Conte told ESPN The Magazine.

The disclosure comes to light amid reports that Patrick Arnold, the Illinois chemist who created the designer steroid THG, has made the same admission to a national media outlet.

Arnold, 39, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids in April. He is scheduled to report to federal prison next week to begin serving a four-month sentence for his part in the BALCO steroid conspiracy.

If true, the disclosure appears to contradict Bonds' sworn testimony before a grand jury in 2004. In a report on that testimony, the San Francisco Chrionicle quoted Bonds as saying that he did not think that a clear liquid he received from his trainer, Greg Anderson, was a designer steroid. Bonds reportedly said that he did not think that Anderson "would jeopardize our friendship" by giving him banned drugs.

However, a source who is close to Conte told ESPN The Magazine that the BALCO founder confided to him that Bonds knew precisely what he was taking. The source said that Conte told him that Bonds came to BALCO to "get jacked."

Reached late Friday night, Conte denied the claim.

The disclosure adds a wrinkle to the case that has hung over Bonds since federal agents raided BALCO in 2003. According to the Chronicle, Jason Giambi testified to the grand jury that Anderson spoke in great detail about the drugs he was being given. According to the source, Conte was at least as forthcoming with Bonds.

In public, Conte has repeatedly said that he had no dealings with BALCO's baseball clients.

Source: ESPN.com