Arrest made in Biogenesis theft
— -- Police in South Florida have made an arrest in the March theft of documents related to the Biogenesis of America clinic, which is alleged to have supplied performance-enhancing drugs to Alex Rodriguez and at least a dozen other professional baseball players.
Reginald St. Fleur, 20, a tanning salon employee, was charged Wednesday by Boca Raton police with armed burglary. The charge stems from the March 24 break-in of a car rented by Porter Fischer, a former Biogenesis client and investor. Documents that Fischer had previously taken from the clinic were stolen and would later be used to bolster player suspensions levied by Major League Baseball.
The documents, which Fischer was scheduled to turn over the next day as part of a Florida Department of Health investigation, were purchased April 16 by Major League Baseball as evidence in its investigation. Gary Jones, whose van also was broken into, sold the documents to MLB security chief Dan Mullin for $25,000 -- money delivered in a white envelope containing $50 and $100 bills. A month earlier, Jones had sold an initial batch of Biogenesis documents to MLB for $125,000.
The car break-ins occurred behind a Boca Raton tanning salon where Fischer had come to meet Jones on a Sunday afternoon. While Jones and Fischer were inside, Fischer's car was broken into and the patient files -- including three notebooks compiled by clinic nurses and Biogenesis founder Tony Bosch -- were stolen. Police said St. Fleur worked at the tanning facility and Jones, a subcontractor, regularly repaired beds at the tanning salon.
Fischer filed a police report immediately, and police took evidence from his car, including a sample of blood. Jones declined to file a police report, even though his van was also broken into and a laptop computer stolen. Boca Raton police declared the case "inactive" on May 20 but reopened it six weeks ago amid media reports MLB had purchased what were believed to be the stolen documents from Jones.
Police said DNA results this week linked the blood sample to St. Fleur, who denied to police this week he had known or ever spoken to Fischer. Fischer provided a sworn statement to police, saying he and St. Fleur, whom police said has a criminal history including armed and unarmed burglary, regularly interacted for several years around the tanning salon.
The documents that MLB obtained from the car were intended to go to the state health department. Jones told "Outside the Lines" that Mullin knew the documents were stolen, adding "of course" when asked if he told them they were stolen. MLB officials have denied they knowingly purchased stolen documents and denied that their purchase of them impeded a health department investigation, as "Outside the Lines" reported last month.
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