Tammy Thomas Convicted of Perjury

[Sandy]

A federal grand jury convicted former world-class cyclist Tammy Thomas of perjury and obstructing justice for lying to the grand jury during the Balco steroids probe. She was found guilty of 3 counts of making false statements to a federal grand jury on November 23, 2003. She was also found guilty of obstructing justice. She was acquitted of 2 of the 5 perjury charges against her.

She faces a sentence likely to range from one to three years in federal prison,under federal sentencing guidelines, for the perjury and obsructing justice convictions.

Tammy Thomas is now a slender woman, weighing 50 pounds less than when she competed.

It was stated that the case was a "mirror image of the case against Bonds".


Sandy

PS- In a similar development, Serotta Sandy was found guilty of impersonating a cyclist. There are no sentencing federal guidelines for such a heinous crime. Those from the Serotta Forum are insiting upon the death sentence. :rolleyes: :)

[Grant McLean]

Marion Jones got 6 months.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/athletics/7184067.stm

It should be called the Martha Rule:
when lying to federal investigators is taken more seriously than the original crime.


-g

[Sandy]

I was thinking about the 1-3 year potential sentence. Her cycling and personal images are both tarnished forever. She did not directly hurt others except in competing with an unfair advantage. I realize that if everyone lied in front of grand juries with no repercussions then the integrity of results from the grand jury would be severely compromised. But a possible 3 year jail term to me seems a bit excessive. People commit people on peope crimes every day and get far less, I would think.


Sandy

[Grant McLean]

But a possible 3 year jail term to me seems a bit excessive. People commit people on peope crimes every day and get far less, I would think. Sandy


my gut says she won't get 3 years. 9 months maybe
what's Bonds going to get?

-g

[Erik.Lazdins]

my gut says she won't get 3 years. 9 months maybe
what's Bonds going to get?

-g

I agree - she will not get 3 years-
This is the case Bond's legal team was attending. I think Tammy won't get more than 1 year and gets out after 1/3 of her time is served.

The question now is does Barry change his story to reduce time or follow the template and get the same time?

[M.Sommers]

While there might be a few cats who feel we are not able to comment on this case cause we are mere wannabe's who never made it to Cat 1 or Pro...I fully disagree and offer joy that a liar was caught. Throw the book at her. Make an example of her. Let her share a cell with Barry Bonds. Cat 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1, opinions matter and perhaps the judge who ruled on this case never rode a bike in his/her life.

Cheaters never win and winners never cheat. Learned that in Kindergarten. Tammy did not uphold the spirit of the sport, did not dedicate herself to the sisterhood of her sport, she broke bonds, codes, rules and laws and now it is she who will suffer. Tammy not only cheated while on two wheels, she then lied afterwards and there's no respect for someone who does not ask for forgiveness.


"The hope of a secure and livable world lies with disciplined nonconformists who are dedicated to justice, peace and brotherhood."
~Martin Luther King Jr. (and Grant McLean tells me The Superfriends can be quoted for this too).

"Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere."
Martin Luther King Jr., Letter from Birmingham Jail, April 16, 1963

"I submit that an individual who breaks a law that conscience tells him is unjust, and who willingly accepts the penalty of imprisonment in order to arouse the conscience of the community over its injustice, is in reality expressing the highest respect for the law."
~Martin Luther King Jr.

[slowgoing]

I think Tammy won't get more than 1 year and gets out after 1/3 of her time is served.

I seem to recall that there is very little, if any, time off for good behavior in the federal penal system. Maybe someone else can chime in on this.

[harlond]

I feel safer now.

[Grant McLean]

While there might be a few cats who feel we are not able to comment on this case cause we are mere wannabe's who never made it to Cat 1 or Pro...I fully disagree and offer joy that a liar was caught. Throw the book at her. Make an example of her. Let her share a cell with Barry Bonds. Cat 5, 4, 3, 2 or 1, opinions matter and perhaps the judge who ruled on this case never rode a bike in his/her life.

Cheaters never win and winners never cheat. Learned that in Kindergarten. Tammy did not uphold the spirit of the sport, did not dedicate herself to the sisterhood of her sport, she broke bonds, codes, rules and laws and now it is she who will suffer. Tammy not only cheated while on two wheels, she then lied afterwards and there's no respect for someone who does not ask for forgiveness.



While I don't disagree with your point... it's kind of selective prosecution to
'throw the book' at a only a few little people. Let's start at the top.
Pull out the list of those who have made the most money in sport, and let's
see if they cheated.

Is tossing Tammy in jail the best lesson here? It seems to me it just reinforces
the silence at the top. Don't get caught. Until those who benefit the most
from the system they helped create are held accountable, I think the small
fish like Tammy are more victim of the system than criminal.

-g

[Birddog]

here's the AP story clipped from the Daily Oklahoman

"By The Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — Former cyclist Tammy Thomas was convicted Friday of lying to a grand jury investigating a steroid distribution ring that has implicated some of the biggest stars in baseball, football and track.

Thomas, the first person connected to the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative case to go to trial, shouted at the jurors after they found her guilty of three counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice.

Thomas was acquitted of two counts of perjury.


"I already had one career taken away from me,” she yelled. "Look me in the eye. You can't do it.”

Thomas then turned to a prosecutor and shouted, "Look me in the eye …. You like to destroy people's lives.”

Thomas was banned from cycling for life in August 2002 after the performance-enhancing drug Norbolethone was detected in her urine.

The drug, once an obscure steroid used in human tests in the 1960s, was rediscovered by chemist Patrick Arnold, who supplied the Burlingame-based BALCO with undetectable performance-enhancing drugs. He pleaded guilty in 2006 to drug charges.

Thomas had told the grand jury that she didn't know Arnold and never received any steroids from him.

During the cyclist's seven day trial, jurors heard testimony that ranged from arcane discussions of human hormone science to detailed and deeply personal descriptions of how Thomas' body apparently changed after she took the substances.

Dr. Margaret Wierman, an endocrinologist at the University of Colorado, testified that when she examined Thomas in 2000, she observed masculine body features.

"My recollection was that when I examined her, she had specific signs of evidence of a full beard” and other features, including male-pattern balding, diminished breasts and unusual patterns of hair on her chest and arms, Wierman said.

She also said she observed Thomas' deep voice."



I thought it was interesting that she had a little residual "roid rage" for the jury and the prosecutor.

Birddog

[kestrel]

Velonews states in true steroid persona she went off on the jury after the verdict.

[csm]

is she gonna do her time in a men's prison or women's prison?
just askin....

[rwsaunders]

After being given immunity, the last thing that you want to do is to continue to lie. It sounds like she earned the time.

Prosecutors gave Thomas immunity to testify in October 2003. But her statements to the grand jury were "inconsistent," and she claimed she had not gotten the steroids from Arnold, Novitzky said.

Her failure to fully cooperate, he said, set back the investigation and Arnold's indictment, he said.

Eight people connected to BALCO, including Arnold, have pleaded guilty to drug charges or perjury. Thomas is the first to go to trial.

[fiamme red]

That will probably nip her legal career in the bud. She's a third-year law student at the University of Oklahoma, but she won't be admitted to the bar after this.

[paczki]

Is tossing Tammy in jail the best lesson here? It seems to me it just reinforces
the silence at the top. Don't get caught. Until those who benefit the most
from the system they helped create are held accountable, I think the small
fish like Tammy are more victim of the system than criminal.

+1

[Tony Edwards]

I seem to recall that there is very little, if any, time off for good behavior in the federal penal system. Maybe someone else can chime in on this.

Correct. The federal courts don't have parole - if memory serves prisoners are required to serve at least 85% of their adjudged sentences.

[rwsaunders]

That will probably nip her legal career in the bud. She's a third-year law student at the University of Oklahoma, but she won't be admitted to the bar after this.

Bill Clinton was disbarred and he made $20MM last year. :cool:

[Grant McLean]

That will probably nip her legal career in the bud. She's a third-year law student at the University of Oklahoma, but she won't be admitted to the bar after this.

Too bad Arnold the guvinator can't pardon her...

-g

[KJMUNC]

To quote Charlie: "Quit complaining! You know what they tell you: 'don't do the crime if you can't do the time!'"

Funny how so many transgressors believe the rest of society should just accept their self-imposted reformations as suitable penance. Sorry Tammy, it just don't work that way. Have fun in the big house.

[djg21]

my gut says she won't get 3 years. 9 months maybe
what's Bonds going to get?

-g

Her career as an aspiring attorney is over for a long while. She won't be admitted to practice with a felony conviction -- especially one implicating honesty - any time soon.

[gone]

Her career as an aspiring attorney is over for a long while. She won't be admitted to practice with a felony conviction -- especially one implicating honesty - any time soon.
Absolutely! We wouldn't want any dishonest attorneys.

[djg21]

While I don't disagree with your point... it's kind of selective prosecution to
'throw the book' at a only a few little people.
-g

The concept of "selective prosecution" is BS!!!! While it certainly happens, the fact remains that if the perp hadn't committed the crime in the first place, there would be nothing to prosecute him/her for, selectively or otherwise.

She committed perjury. She should be incarcerated to set an example.

[bostondrunk]

The concept of "selective prosecution" is BS!!!! While it certainly happens, the fact remains that if the perp hadn't committed the crime in the first place, there would be nothing to prosecute him/her for, selectively or otherwise.

She committed perjury. She should be incarcerated to set an example.

I still think a potential 3 years locked in a cage is a bit much for lying about taking steroids...

[Sandy]

I still think a potential 3 years locked in a cage is a bit much for lying about taking steroids...

+1


Sandy

[M.Sommers]

The gold was the lure
Silver bullet ricocheted
Sweat now tears fall down

Lincoln apple tree
Her fault to ponder the axe
Red faced within jail

[JohnS]

Why is it that everyone always calls for the sport to be cleaned up and the transgressors punished, and then when it happens, it's always "why are they picking on the little guy?". If she had told the truth it would've made it easier to get the "big guy". No sympathy for her here... :no: