U.S. cyclist found guilty of lying about steroids

By Adam Tanner

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - In a case that could foreshadow the perjury indictment against baseball's home run king Barry Bonds, a federal jury in San Francisco on Friday found a cyclist guilty of lying to a federal grand jury about past steroid use.

Tammy Thomas, a silver medalist in the sprint competition at the 2001 World Championships, was one of many professional athletes who either saw their careers end or had their reputations sullied in the wake of the BALCO steroid scandal.

She is the first person charged in the BALCO cases to go to trial. The head of the BALCO laboratory, Victor Conte, reached a plea deal and has already served his time in prison, as has Patrick Arnold, the Illinois-based chemist who prepared the doping drugs.

After the verdict, Thomas erupted in anger at a prosecutor as he walked out of the courtroom. "You're a crummy guy. Look me in the eye. You destroy lives," she said.

The prosecutor did not acknowledge Thomas.

Thomas testified before the BALCO grand jury in San Francisco in October 2003 and denied she had ever received any performance-enhancing drugs from Arnold -- who devised the previously undetectable THG steroid -- and said she had never used steroids.

She was charged with five counts of giving a false statement and one count of obstruction of justice. She was found guilty on three of the false statement counts and obstruction of justice.

The outcome should be of interest to Bonds, who broke the Major League Baseball career home run record last season and could also go to trial this year or next after he was also charged with lying to a grand jury.