Joe Papp no longer has two guns

Is that acceptable?

Joe Papp's sentencing pushed to Jan. 21

Former professional cyclist Joe Papp's sentencing on federal charges
of trafficking in performance-enhancing drugs has been delayed a
second time as the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency continues to sift through a
list of the clients who allegedly purchased doping products from him
online.

Papp was to be sentenced Friday in U.S. District Court in Pittsburgh,
but the hearing has been delayed until Jan. 21, according to a
spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney's Office there. The sentencing had
already been postponed from the original date last June. Papp pleaded
guilty in February to two counts of conspiracy to sell human growth
hormone and the red blood cell booster erythropoietin during a
yearlong period starting in September 2006. Those charges are
punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison.

USADA chief Travis Tygart would not comment on any cases pending
before that agency. Earlier this month, a cyclist admitted buying EPO
from Papp's website and accepted a two-year suspension from USADA. The
rider, Jonathan Chodroff of the Jelly Belly team, was an amateur when
he committed the offense and midway through this season informed team
management he was quitting to continue his education.

A second rider contested the allegation and was cleared by a three-man
arbitration panel last week, according to that rider's lawyer, Howard
Jacobs. USADA does not disclose athletes' names when they are not
sanctioned and Jacobs also declined to name rider. The agency could
still appeal that decision to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in
Switzerland.

Court records in Papp's case state that the sentence is being delayed
because he and his attorney "need more time to develop and present
evidence that would be of value to Papp at the time of his
sentencing." Several documents in his public file state that he will
seek a reduced sentence. The plea agreement detailing the facts of
Papp's federal case is sealed, and Tygart would not comment on any
aspect of that proceeding or the extent of Papp's past or future
cooperation with USADA.

The 35-year-old Papp was a second-tier pro in the United States and
Europe and might have remained unknown to most cycling fans had he not
testified against deposed 2006 Tour de France winner Floyd Landis at
Landis' 2007 arbitration hearing.

Papp, who tested positive for synthetic testosterone at a 2006 race in
Turkey, had no inside knowledge of Landis' career and was called by
USADA to describe how riders used micro-doses of testosterone as a
recovery agent during long races. Landis' challenge to his own
positive test result was unsuccessful, and this year he confessed to
having doped throughout his heyday in the peloton.

At Landis' hearing in May 2007, Papp, who was about to be suspended
from competition for two years due to his own transgression, testified
that he was appearing because "I had a responsibility that extended
beyond me ... to my family, to be an ethical parent, to be -- to be a
good person, and I also had a responsibility to the sport that I
loved."

However, according to court records, Papp continued his clandestine
sales of EPO and HGH during and beyond the period he was cooperating
with USADA in the Landis case. Four months after Papp testified at
that hearing, federal agents raided his mother's home in suburban
Pittsburgh and seized evidence, including a customer list for a
website, eposino.com, that Papp maintained as a middleman for a
Chinese supplier.

The site included information and tips on how to use EPO, and also
featured translated excerpts of a 2004 book, "L.A. Confidentiel," by
journalists David Walsh and Pierre Ballester that was published in
French and contained numerous allegations of doping against Lance
Armstrong.

Federal prosecutors said Papp netted $80,000 from sales to 187
customers from September 2006 to September 2007.

Papp subsequently provided evidence in another case. Based in part on
Papp's cell phone records and photographs, arbitrators ruled in
December 2008 that former Rock Racing rider Kayle Leogrande could be
suspended for a doping violation even though he had not tested
positive for a banned substance -- a so-called "non-analytical"
violation for use of EPO supported by the testimony of two team staff
members.

Sources with direct knowledge of Papp's case have told ESPN.com that
the majority of Papp's alleged clients are amateur or Masters-level
athletes. Not all are cyclists, and not all are U.S. citizens. Some
are now retired and none are believed to be prominent members of the
pro peloton.

While awaiting sentencing in June, Papp became involved in a domestic
altercation with a woman he was dating and according to court records,
both were charged with simple assault. Papp's nose was broken as the
two flailed at each other in his car on the way back from a shopping
trip in the Pittsburgh area, according to the police report. Neither
he nor the woman elected to press charges.

Documents in the court file also show that before Papp pleaded guilty
to trafficking, he turned over two handguns to a friend and former
federal air marshal with the understanding that they would be sold and
he would not regain possession of them.


http://espn.go.com/olympics/blog/_/n...-pushed-jan-21

On Sep 22, 8:07*pm, Plano Dude wrote:

While awaiting sentencing in June, Papp became involved in a domestic
altercation with a woman he was dating and according to court records,
both were charged with simple assault. Papp's nose was broken as the
two flailed at each other in his car on the way back from a shopping
trip in the Pittsburgh area, according to the police report. Neither
he nor the woman elected to press charges.

The Cyclingnews.com report on that one should be an interesting read...

On Sep 22, 4:07*am, Plano Dude wrote:
Papp's nose was broken as the
two flailed at each other in his car on the way back from a shopping
trip in the Pittsburgh area, according to the police report.

That conjures up images of those 2 Spanish riders slapping at each
other.

I always thought that story about his Cuban wife/girlfriend not being
allowed to leave Cuba was ... a story.

I think she done R-U-N-N-O-F-T