The USADA, WADA, or any other cycling/anti-doping governing body isn't going to do the job some would like to see going forward on the Armstrong investigation due to lack of money and absolutely no political will whatsoever.
One of the issues that encouraged the European authorities when they first met with the Feds at Interpol was the amount of investigative power they brought to the table, with the requisite matching budget to put into the investigation. They took heart from this, and as the investigation progressed they uncovered much more than they hoped for. Once the US Feds shuttered the idea at what turned out to be the final hour, everyone on the other side of the pond threw up their hands in despair and are, one by one, giving up the ghost in frustration.
Suddenly the investigation coordinators that convened at Interpol are looking at the money spent up to this point and are refusing to allocate any more time and resources to what has been referred to as "some stupid old man and his bag of potions" (this is in reference to Dr. Ferrari by an understandably irate Italian prosecutor). They are extremely upset with the US Feds for encouraging the investigation and then dropping it for seemingly political reasons, leaving some law-enforcement budgets in a bit of the red with nothing to show for the time and money invested. Expect cooperation going forward in other international cases, regardless of import, to be strained. The US has taken a beating over this, and the seemingly lack of transparency over how this could happen, or why it fell to the decision of one man to kill the whole thing, has the word "corruption" being bandied about.
The evidence/testimony taken from people like Hamilton, Landis, etc. was nothing but icing on the cake. They were just stories to solidify the truly disturbing aspects of what Dr. Ferrari was up to in cahoots with Armstrong and then-US Postal director sportif Johan Bruyneel. But the good doctor lawyered up as soon the Swiss accounts were frozen. The pressure has been relentless from his side, and he is not talking about anything to anyone. He is maintaining his innocence to the very end, which has become much easier now that he won't get indicted for money laundering and assisting in a continuing criminal enterprise to solicit and acquire doping products for use in professional sports.
With the budget woes the European community is experiencing, expect Dr. Ferrari to quietly settle out of court with a bit of a fine and nothing more. This is the current word out on the street. The Italians have their hands full with their constant battles against the Mafia and the corruption it breeds-they are currently up to their necks in drug trafficking, extortion and human bondage/forced prostitution to really see anything positive out of chasing Dr. Ferrari, a man who has eluded them for so many years and will continue to act with impunity, thanks to the asshole who shuttered the case in the United States.
So unless unforeseen events overtake what is an obviously cynical and politically motivated episode and the Armstrong investigation is miraculously re-opened, this case is pretty much closed. The pimps have won and the whores continue walking the streets.
No comments:
Post a Comment