Black-market Chemist Pleads Guilty In U.S. Baseball Doping Scandal

MIAMI (Reuters) - A black-market chemist pleaded guilty on Thursday to concocting testosterone in the garage lab of his Florida home that was used to supply performance-enhancing drugs linked to the U.S. baseball doping scandal.Paulo Berejuk, 51, faces up to 10 years in prison at his February sentencing in Miami federal court for conspiring to distribute a controlled substance.Berejuk is the latest to admit guilt in one of the biggest doping scandals in U.S. sports. It led to the suspension of more than a dozen Major League Baseball players, including New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez.Berejuk was part of the supply chain linked to Anthony Bosch, the owner of a now-defunct Florida anti-aging clinic at the center of the scandal who has pleaded guilty to conspiring to distribute testosterone. Bosch's sentencing also is scheduled for February.Berejuk "had considerable knowledge of chemistry, and was capable of manufacturing controlled substances out of raw materials," according to court documents.He provided black-market testosterone and human growth hormone to confidential sources working with federal prosecutors, according documents detailing his guilty plea.Berejuk was allowed to remain out of jail pending his sentencing, according to his Miami attorney, Robert Barrar.(Reporting by Zachary Fagenson; Writing by Letitia Stein; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Dan Grebler)Join the conversation about this story
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