A-Rod’s cousin Yuri Sucart gets seven months in jail for Biogenesis case
While Alex Rodriguez is free to swing his bat for the New York Yankees and chase home run No. 666 — he’s one away, folks — his cousin and longtime personal assistant is headed to jail.
Yuri Sucart was sentenced to seven months in jail Thursday morning for his part in the Biogenesis case, the largest PED scandal in baseball history, of which Sucart played an integral part, according to authorities. Sucart, 53, was one of eight people who pleaded guilty to federal drug charges for their roles in the Biogenesis mess, including the ringleader Anthony Bosch, who was sentenced to four years in prison for posing as a fake doctor at his Miami-area clinic.
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After his jail time is up, Sucart will serve six months more of house arrest and pay a $5,000 fine. There’s a chance he’ll also be deported back to the Dominican Republic, according to the Associated Press. Sucart’s role in Biogenesis was more than just connecting Bosch to A-Rod.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Sharad Motiani said in addition to working for Rodriguez, Sucart recruited other players into the Biogenesis steroid orbit and got paid handsomely on the side. Sucart also provided steroids to teenage ballplayers, the prosecutor said.
”Mr. Sucart is one of the most important individuals in this case,” Motiani said. ”It wasn’t only Alex Rodriguez. He provided it to other professional athletes, there’s no dispute about that.”
People in the baseball world first got to know Sucart simply as Cousin Yuri, he was A-Rod’s go-to guy for years. When Rodriguez admitted using steroids in 2009, he identified Yuri as his drug mule. He was banned from MLB parks after that, but stayed in touch with A-Rod and the two had an up-and-down relationship since then.
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Throughout the Biogenesis case, there were reports that Yuri was trying to shake down A-Rod for $5 million to keep quiet. Then a number of strange stories came out — like the time A-Rod was said to have come to Yuri’s house (which A-Rod paid for) to urinate on the walls and “mark his territory.”
That’s a technique Sucart might want to adapt when he reports to the clink.
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Mike Oz is the editor of Big League Stew on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @MikeOz
