Veteran pro wrestler Paul Wight, formerly known as Big Show in WWE and now with AEW under his real name, has just now been linked to the largest performance-enhancing drugs operation in United States sports history – dubbed “Operation Strikeout” by federal agents.
ESPN’s Mike Fish has released his exclusive investigation into the Biogenesis of America scandal, which was exposed 10 years ago. Biogenesis, a Miami wellness clinic fueled by cocaine-addicted biochemist Tony Bosch, ended up outing some of the nation’s biggest athletes as PED users, but others were never publicly tied into the scandal until now as ESPN has conducted dozens of interviews and obtained more than 1,400 pages of unredacted, confidential U.S. DEA (Drug Enforcement Administration) investigative documents.
This has not been publicly known until now, but found in those 1,400 pages are the names of other athletes and figures who surfaced during the investigation of the largest doping operation in American sports history, from world champion boxers to pro wrestlers, entertainers, fitness gurus, and even law enforcement officials.
Bosch, the key target of the operation, told federal authorities that he treated or supplied nearly 100 athletes, including Wight. During an interview with the feds on April 9, 2014, Bosch told of how he had previously treated Wight, who was then known as Big Show in WWE. At the time Bosch saw Wight, in 2009-2010, Bosch was operating out of a small room in the back of a tanning salon in Coral Gables, FL, with then-partner Jorge “Ugi” Velazquez. Bosch told authorities how he first treated Wight’s wife Bess as a “body-sculpting” customer, and then he was introduced to the wrestler by Velazquez.
In that April 2014 interview with the feds, Bosch recalled how he once attended a Thanksgiving dinner at the Wights’ home in South Florida. They were joined by numerous pro wrestlers, Velazquez, and Dodd Romero, who is the one-time fitness guru to MLB great Alex Rodriguez, the most famous Bosch client. Bosch said while at the dinner, he learned that Velazquez was giving Wight additional performance-enhancing drugs “behind Bosch’s back.” Velazquez, who went to prison in the DEA investigation, had emerged as a major supplier of black market steroids in South Florida.
Bosch said Wight also advised him that wrestlers were asking for stronger substances, such as Deca-Durabolin and Winstrol. This didn’t mesh well with Bosch’s doping protocols, but Romero sided with the wrestlers.
Bosch told the feds that he stopped treating pro wrestlers after this issue, but he did see Wight a few more times. Velazquez continued providing substances to the wrestlers, according to Bosch.
Wight, through his attorney Edward Brennan, confirmed that Bosch and Velazquez were part of a “large open house gathering” at his home on Thanksgiving, but he also claimed he only met Bosch one other time. Brennan added that Wight never failed a drug test, and stressed that any involvement with performance-enhancing drugs would pose a serious risk because Wight suffered from an endocrine system disorder.
“Paul never treated with Bosch,” Brennan said. “Paul never took any PEDs from Ugi or anyone else. He is as clean as you can be. More importantly, he would never take any PEDs because of his underlying medical condition.”
2009 and 2010 were fairly busy years for Wight in WWE. He wrestled at least 78 matches in 2009, and held the WWE Unified Tag Team Titles for 140 recognized days with Chris Jericho, while also challenging for both of WWE’s top singles titles at multiple events. Wight then worked at least 79 matches in 2010, and held the WWE Unified Tag Team Titles with The Miz for 77 recognized days. Wight also starred in two 2010 movies, Knucklehead and MacGruber, and appeared on several TV shows in both years.
ESPN contacted Velazquez for their investigation and he referred to Bosch as a “snitch,” and adding, “What I believe it is, when you are doing a deal with the government, you need to bring stuff to the table to make yourself bigger so you can have more value. [Bosch] is trying to make himself bigger than he is, like always. He is a nobody.”
Velazquez rejected interview requests from the feds during their investigation, and ended up getting 30 months in prison. He also would not comment to ESPN on whether he was Bosch’s drug supplier, but said, “I refused to cooperate with the government, 100 percent. It is not my way, man. I wasn’t raised that way.”
DEA documents list Velazquez as the primary “source of supply” of controlled and non-controlled substances for Bosch and for his former partner, Carlos Acevedo, who later became a confidential informant for the feds and was convicted for his role. Acevedo, who was sentenced to 21 months, told the feds that Velazquez was “arrogant and manipulative.”
The feds used their full arsenal to bring down Bosch and his colleagues. Fish noted that DEA agents dug deep by calling upon confidential informants for undercover buys, using search warrants and wire taps, and even an air wing at times. Bosch gave up 28 MLB players to the feds, and several of those had never previously been linked to the Biogenesis of America scandal, including MVPs, All-Stars, and even down-the-road Baseball Hall of Fame candidates.
Bosch and seven associates were convicted in the end. Bosch pleaded guilty to conspiracy to distribute testosterone and was sentenced to 4 years in federal prison. He served 14 months before being released to a half-way house in late 2016, and was then on federal probation for an additional 3 years. Bosch was facing 10 years in prison, but prosecutors recommended a reduced sentence due to his cooperation, which in part may have included working in an undercover role with law enforcement. In return for his cooperation, MLB vowed to put in a good word for Bosch in any legal proceeding. Bosch also admitted to supplying performance-enhancing drugs to 18 minors, and that many of the substances were purchased on the black market.
Federal authorities would not characterize Bosch’s statements on an individual basis but they did say that, overall, they found Bosch to be truthful in his interviews. Bosch risked not only additional charges if he lied to the feds, but prosecutors also would have declined to go before the judge in the case and seek a reduced sentence as was specified in the cooperation deal. Bosch was not under oath when he gave interviews to DEA agents, like the other witnesses who gave interviews, which was keeping with standard practice in such investigations.
Federal authorities did not target athletes, such as Wight, or other hangers-on in their investigation.
“Our focus was on the distributors and the suppliers of the drugs,” said Mark Trouville, who was the DEA special agent in charge of the Florida office during the Biogenesis of America investigation. “The DEA doesn’t work cases to go after users. … We’re looking for people who are distributing drugs. We’re never concerned about the consumer.”
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