Celebrity Court

In what came as no real surprise, Barry Bonds was indicted yesterday on federal charges stemming from lying to a grand jury about not knowingly taking steroids. What is interesting about the whole thing is that although the investigation has been going on for a long time, the Feds could not get their act together and indict Bonds before he stole Hank Aaron’s record as the home run champion. They had their chance with a grand jury previously, but ran out of time before reaching an indictment.

While Bonds faces up to 30 years in prison, it is unlikely he would serve that amount, even if he is convicted on all counts. What is even more unlikely is that Bonds would plead guilty. A guilty plea is a legal admission of guilt, like a judicial confession, and there is no way Bonds is going to admit he did anything wrong. The only shred of hope that he has to cling to that will keep his legacy from being completed marred is his pathetic claim that he did not know that he was taking steroids. Personally if I was taking a nice legal over-the-counter supplement and I started beefing up like Arnold Schwarzenegger, I might think something was up. I guess Bonds just thought the legal stuff was potent. Right. Then why wasn’t everyone using it?

The biggest lesson that this case can teach young people, aside from the obvious about not cheating to succeed professionally, is that you never, ever like to a federal grand jury. Often what you are accused of doing pales in comparison with lying about not doing it. Martha Stewart is a perfect example. Using a insider trader tip and dumping stock is wrong. Lying about it to a grand jury and obstructing justice is horrendously wrong. That is why she went to prison and that is why Bonds will likely be headed there too. Although he probably deserves to go for just being a colossal jerk and attempting to single-handedly ruin the best sport in America.

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Barry Bonds, Bonds indicted, obstruction of justice, lying to grand jury, steroids, baseball, Hank Aaron, Martha Stewart

Despite being arrested last week for driving under the influence of alcohol, former Olympian and TNA wresting champion Kurt Angle denies that he did anything illegal.

According to TMZ, Angle’s attorney stated that Angle is maintaining his innocence in the incident and stated that Angle showed no signs of intoxication and the police do not have first hand knowledge that he drove the vehicle. The attorney asserted that arrest occurred because of Angle’s celebrity status.

According to 24wrestling, the police stated that another motorist reported that they saw Angle’s vehicle pull out of a bar and nearly hit their vehicle. Angle’s car then reportedly crossed the center line and almost hit a sign.

The motorist took down the plate information of the car and gave it to police, who then went to Angle’s home. Angle admitted that he had just left the local bar. Angle was reportedly then given a field sobriety test, which he failed.

It appears that no Breathalyzer test nor blood sample were completed. Angle will have to report to court on the charge, although no date has yet been set.

Angle first rose to fame in 1996 when he won the Olympic gold medal in wrestling. He competed despite having broken two of his cervical vertebrae prior to that. He has wrestled with TNA (Total Non-stop Action) since September of 2006.

This is not the first bad press Angle has received. Earlier this year he was involved in steroid allegations, which he denied. He stated that he had not received any illegal performance-enhancing drugs and all medications that he used because of his injuries were under a doctor’s care.

Kurt Angle, DUI

Lou Pearlman, the leader behind boy bands The Backstreet Boys and N’Sync may have had more than a fatherly-mentor role with the young men in his band. According to allegations by The New York Post, Pearlman reportedly made inappropriate sexual advances toward the teens in his groups.

Jane Carter, the mother of Backstreet Boy Nick Carter said that “certain things” happened and she had to warn the mothers of the other boys about what Pearlman was really like.

Steve Mooney, a former assistant to Pearlman and wanna-be singer, asked Pearlman what he needed to do in order to get a shot in one of his groups. According to Mooney, Pearlman “leaned back in his chair, in his white terry cloth robe and white underwear, and spread his legs and said, ‘You’re a smart boy. Figure it out.’”

Other allegations have also come from members of former groups Take 5 and LFO, which appear to indicate that Pearlman’s predatory actions were not limited to one or two people.

What surprises me about these allegations is that they were not made public at the time that they happened and that charges were not filed against him. Perhaps those involved wanted to spare themselves public humiliation and wanted to keep it a secret. This is a normal response when someone is abused, but I would imagine the fear and shame would be greater when you know that the entire country will know about what happened to you.

Pearlman is currently in jail awating trial on bank fraud, after he allegedly duped investors out of $315 million. He has not been charged in connection with any sex related offenses.

Lou Pearlman, Nick Carter, Steve Mooney, Backstreet Boys, N’Sync, LFO, Take5

According to the New York Post, hip-hop performer Remy Ma was charged with witness-tampering and gang-assault charges. She is already facing charges that she shot a woman in the stomach during a dispute over money.

The basis for the latest chargers is that she allegedly tried to prevent of the prosecution’s key witnesses from testifying by having her boyfriend intimidate the witness’ boyfriend. When the man tried to leave, he was allegedly attacked by friends of Remy, which resulted in a broken jaw.

Remy Ma

Edward Graziano, the father of John Graziano, the young man injured when Nick Hogan crashed his car last week, was arrested on Friday. He reportedly became violent at the hospital where is son is staying on Thursday, resulting in the arrest.

Edward Graziano was arrested after his wife told police that he “got physical” while arguing with other members of the family. He has a history of violent behavior and was under an injunction to stay away from his wife following a previous domestic violence incident.

I do not know anything about the nature of the relationships in this family, so I cannot begin to speculate about the intentions of Edward Graziano, but I would think that if my son was critically ill, I would go to the hospital to visit him and ignore any family drama that might be there. It could be that a fight ensued when other family members did not want to see him there because of the domestic violence history between him and his wife. While I understand her concerns for her own safety, I think that they could have worked out some sort of visitation schedule so that both parents could visit with their son and not have to be in each other’s company. I do not think that a father should be prevented from seeing his adult son because his wife has an order of protection preventing him from being around her.

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Edward Graziano, Nick Hogan, John Graziano, domestic violence, car crash

On Thursday, officials released the audio tape of the post-arrest interview with Senator Larry Craig of Idaho from June 11th. Craig was arrested for lewd conduct in the bathroom of the Minneapolis-St. Paul airport. The police said that Craig tapped the foot of the undercover officer who was in the next stall and reached under the stall.

In the interview, Craig denies being gay and said that the police had entrapped him. He added that he doesn’t do “those things” and doesn’t “seek activity in bathrooms.”

Craig said that he believes his foot did bump the person in the stall next to him, but it is because he is a “wide guy” and has to spread his legs out. He also added that he did reach his hand down, but that he was reaching down to pick up a piece of paper. The officer said that he saw Craig’s fingers “come underneath the stalls” and touch the bottom of the stall divider.

At the end of the interview, the officer made an odd statement, saying “Embarrassing, embarrassing. No wonder why we’re going down the tubes.” I interpret that to mean that the reason why our country is “going down the tubes” is because the elected officials lie. If I were Craig’s attorney, I think I would use that statement to show evidence that the officer knew who the senator was and tried to entrap him for political motivations. However, the problem for Craig is that he already pled guilty to a lesser charge of disorderly conduct, in exchange for a fine, without a lawyer present.

The fall-out from his arrest has already led him to being removed from Mitt Romney’s campaign and people are calling for his resignation. The most compelling part of the whole case is that if it is true that he was hoping to engage in homosexual relations with someone in a bathroom stall, it appears that he has some self-loathing issues to work out. His senatorial voting record shows that he repeatedly voted against provisions that would aide the gay and lesbian population in the United States, including adding them as a protected class in hate crimes law and voting against gay marriage.

You can listen to the tape here.

Larry Craig, Senator Craig, lewd conduct, Mitt Romney, Senate

Lucky to escape unhurt, Chicago Bears linebacker Lance Briggs crashed his brand-new Lamborghini Murcielago, valued at over $300,000, early Monday morning. Briggs was reportedly traveling home to suburban Northbrook after visiting at least two nightclubs in Chicago, when he crashed at approximately 3:00 a.m. He then left his heavily damaged car on the side of the road, where it was found abandoned by the police.

Briggs, who admitted that he was driving the vehicle, is facing a misdemeanor charge for leaving the scene of an accident. He was also given tickets for failing to notify police of the crash and improper lane usage. He will have to head to court on October 4th.

There has been rampant speculation that alcohol may have played a role in the crash, which would explain why Briggs would not have called the police, or at the very least a tow-truck, after the accident. Because he did not speak with police until late Monday afternoon, it will be difficult, if not impossible, to prove a driving under the influence charge. It is also possible that Briggs was simply speeding, especially considering the fact that the Lamborghini can reach speeds of over 200 miles per hour.

Photo courtesy of the Chicago Tribune

Lance Briggs, speeding, car accident, Chicago Bears

Despite previous reports that Lindsay Lohan was in possession of cocaine during both of her incidents of driving under the influence of alcohol, the District Attorney in Los Angeles declined to charge her with any felony charges.

According to TMZ, the amount of cocaine found in Lohan’s possession was less than the amount required for felony filing in California, which is apparently .05 grams. There was also an issue proving possession of the cocaine during her first arrest, where the cocaine was found in her car. After she allegedly abandoned after crashing it, someone else reportedly moved her car. I am sure the District Attorney realized that it would be difficult to prove that it was her cocaine since she was not in sole possession and control of the vehicle prior to its being searched.

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