By Allan Lengel
The Barry Bonds slugfest began Tuesday with some drama as the baseball slugger’s trial got underway in federal court in San Francisco.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston ordered Bond’s boyhood friend and longtime weight trainer Greg Anderson back to prison Tuesday for the duration of the trial after he refused to testify, the San Francisco Chronicle reported. Bonds is accused of lying to a federal grand jury when he said he didn’t take steroids.
“If you change your mind and want to testify, just let everyone know ASAP,” the judge said, according to the paper.
Anderson is no stranger to prison. He’s already served more than a year for contempt for refusing to cooperate with fed prosecutors, who want him to deliver some damaging evidence. And the San Francisco Chronicle reported that he also severed several months in prison for steroid dealing.
In opening statements Tuesday, the prosecution portrayed Bonds as a experienced steroid user who lied about his use, the paper reported. Bond’s attorney countered by saying that Bond told the truth and was falsely accused by former bitter friends and associates.
