The federal courts are still dealing with those involved in the Biogenesis Scandal that rocked the MLB back in 2013. Yuri Sucart, who was the alleged middleman between Alex Rodriguez and Biogenesis owner Anthony Bosch, was sentenced to prison on Thursday.
U.S. District Judge Cecilia M. Altonaga gave Sucart seven months in prison as well as one year of probation and six months of house arrest following his term, according to The Associated Press. The 53-year-old pleaded guilty to federal drug charges back in March. Sucart is the cousin of Rodriguez and was the last of eight people involved in the scandal to finally come clean.
There's also a possibility he gets deported to his native Dominican Republic after he serves the seven-month sentence.
The government described Sucart as a "major distributor of steroids and human growth hormone," according to the New York Daily News. While he mostly provided Rodriguez with the performance-enhancing drugs, assistant U.S. attorney Sharad Motiani noted that Sucart also recruited other players (including teenagers) into the "Biogenesis steroid orbit" and earned extra cash on the side.
Rodriguez made it known in 2009 that Sucart provided him with PEDs after it was reported that year the slugger was found to have failed a drug test earlier in his career. As a result, Sucart was banned from all MLB clubhouses and then fired by A-Rod in 2012 after spending many years as his cousin's right-hand man. A-Rod then offered Sucart $600,000 to keep quiet, according to court records.
Since then it's been a downward spiral for Sucart, who is battling heart trouble, bad circulation, near-diabetes and a tumor in his head, the Daily News also mentioned back in March. The defense argued that he was the "fall guy" for somebody else - likely referring to Rodriguez - but what was revealed in court Thursday suggested otherwise.
The Miami New Times first reported that the Biogenesis clinic was supplying drugs to MLB players and it has since resulted in the suspension of 14 players, including Rodriguez's 162-game ban in 2014, as well as the conviction of those involved with the distribution, including Bosch's four-year sentence.
As baseball works to clean up the sport, the federal government has provided assistance in taking care of those responsible for compromising the league's integrity.
