Rodeo official admits he's jury leaker

Coloradan was defense lawyer in steroids case

Hector Gutierrez And John C. Ensslin, Rocky Mountain News

Published February 15, 2007 at midnight

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The commissioner of the Colorado Springs-based Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association admitted Wednesday that he leaked the grand jury testimony of Major League Baseball players detailing steroid use to a San Francisco newspaper.

The admission by Troy L. Ellerman, an attorney from Woodland Park in Teller County, in the notorious BALCO case is expected to end the high-pressure investigation by federal prosecutors to find the source of the illegal disclosures.

Grand jury transcripts leaked included testimony from Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants, New York Yankees star Jason Giambi and Detroit's Gary Sheffield. The testimony was given during the prosecution of four people linked to the Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative.

Ellerman was the defense lawyer for James Valente, the vice president of BALCO, who was indicted for illegal steroid distribution. Valente pleaded guilty to the charge.

Ellerman has agreed to plead guilty to two counts of contempt of court, one count of obstruction of justice and one count of filing a false declaration with a federal court.

Ellerman's guilty pleas to the felony counts were part of a plea deal that was filed Wednesday in U.S. district court in San Francisco, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

With Ellerman's guilty pleas, the U.S. Department of Justice is expected to withdraw subpoenas that were handed down to the San Francisco Chronicle and two of its reporters as prosecutors investigated the source of the leak.

As a result, the reporters are not expected to testify before the grand jury.

The quashing of the subpoenas also apparently means that a federal judge's order holding the two reporters in contempt of court will be moot, the government said.

The reporters, who wrote extensively about steroid use based on the leaked testimony, had appealed the judge's ruling to the federal appellate court. The highly publicized BALCO scandal has reverberated from the Bay Area to the far reaches of Major League Baseball.

The case against Ellerman began to develop last fall when a witness offered to help the FBI prove that the Colorado lawyer was the source of the leaks. On Dec. 13, agents went to Ellerman's home where he admitted his role in the leak, according to federal prosecutors.

Ellerman could not be reached for comment Wednesday. He has been commissioner of the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association for two years.

Association officials could not be reached for comment Wednesday night.

However, when word of Ellerman's role in the case first surfaced on yahoosports.com in December, Tom Feller, the association's board chairman, issued a statement saying, "The majority of the PRCA Board stands solidly behind Commissioner Troy Ellerman and he continues to move the PRCA and the sport of professional rodeo forward."

The statement credited Ellerman with re-establishing financial stability, streamlining expenses and providing audited financial records for the first time in recent years.

Harry Vold, a veteran stock contractor from Vineland who is not a member of the board, said he was disappointed to hear the news about Ellerman's guilty plea.

"From my point of view, I think he tried to do as much as he can (for the PRCA)," Vold said. "I'm disappointed that this had to come out because it'll reflect a shadow on the PRCA."

However, former board member Leon Vick was not a supporter of Ellerman as commissioner and often clashed with him about certain transactions that Ellerman conducted.

"It couldn't have happened to a better guy," Vick said when told of Ellerman's guilty pleas. "I hope this doesn't damage the Professional Rodeo Cowboy Association, and I hope it continues to go forward."

High profile testimony

Statements from prominent athletes in the Balco scandal were leaked to the press by Ellerman, including:

Barry Bonds

Jason Giambi

Gary Sheffield

gutierrezh@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5204

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