Yankees’ A-Rod paid cousin to be quiet, US prosecutors say

By TIM REYNOLDS ASSOCIATED PRESS

10 years ago

In this Sept. 11, 2013, file photo, New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez wipes sweat from his brow as he sits in the dugout before a baseball game against the Baltimore Orioles in Baltimore. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

In this Oct. 1, 2013, file photo, New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez arrives at the offices of Major League Baseball in New York. (AP Photo/David Karp, File)

In this Sept. 14, 2013, file photo, New York Yankees’ Alex Rodriguez heads to the dugout during their 5-1 loss to the Boston Red Sox in a baseball game at Fenway Park in Boston. (AP Photo/Winslow Townson, File)

In this Jan. 16, 2014, file photo, Alex Rodriguez speaks during a news conference in Cancun, Mexico. The U.S. government says New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez paid his cousin almost $1 million to keep secret Rodriguez’s use of performance enhancing drugs. In court documents filed last week in Miami, federal prosecutors say Rodriguez paid $900,000 last year to settle a threatened lawsuit by Yuri Sucart, who had worked as Rodriguez’s personal assistant. Sucart, in a letter from his lawyer, threatened to expose Rodriquez’s PED use if he wasn’t paid $5 million. (AP Photo/Israel Leal, File)

MIAMI — The U.S. government says New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez paid his cousin almost $1 million to keep secret Rodriguez’s use of performance enhancing drugs.

In court documents filed last week in Miami, federal prosecutors say Rodriguez paid $900,000 last year to settle a threatened lawsuit by Yuri Sucart, who had worked as Rodriguez’s personal assistant. Sucart, in a letter from his lawyer, threatened to expose Rodriquez’s PED use if he wasn’t paid $5 million.

Sucart is charged with conspiring to distribute testosterone and human growth hormone. He has pleaded not guilty and is scheduled for trial in February.

Sucart was involved with Biogenesis of America. Its owner, Anthony Bosch, has already pleaded guilty and is cooperating with investigators.

Rodriguez’s spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.