Houston Astros shortstop Miguel Tejada has been charged with lying to Congressional investigators about steroids, according to an article posted to WashingtonPost.com.
Federal prosecutors accused Tejada of making misrepresentations to Congressional staffers during an interview in a Baltimore hotel room focusing on the prevalence of steroids in the game.
Tejada was charged with lying about conversations he had with another player about steroids, and not about actually using them himself.
That player, who was not named in court papers, is identifiable as Adam Piatt. They played together on the Oakland Athletics in 2003, and prosecutors allege that Tejada purchased human growth hormone from him that year. They do not accuse Tejada of using the substance or lying about his use of it, however.
Tejada is expected to appear in court tomorrow where he will most likely plead guilty. He faces a maximum penalty of a year in jail, but will likely face probation and possibly no jail time at all.
You’ll recall that Tejada’s name has been linked to the steroid scandal for quite some time — stemming back to 2005 when Rafael Palmero, Tejada’s former Orioles teammate, blamed Tejada for his positive steroid test.
Tejada’s name was also among those that frequently peppered last year’s Mitchell Report.