Ex-FBI agent in Operation Equine says Rogers Clemens' act is shaky

BY CHRISTIAN RED
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Monday, January 7th 2008, 4:00 AM

HOUSTON - One of the two FBI agents in charge of Operation Equine - the landmark steroids investigation in the early '90s that led to more than 70 trafficking convictions and exposed former sluggers Mark McGwire and Jose Canseco - told the Daily News he thinks Roger Clemens was less than honest in Sunday night's "60 Minutes" interview.

"There were some telling moments, especially with regard to the polygraph question," Greg Stejskal said from his Michigan home, referring to CBS' Mike Wallace asking the Rocket if he'd consider taking a lie detector test. Clemens seemed particularly fidgety at that point and answered, "I don't know if they're good or bad."

"It's always difficult to tell when you're not present at the interview. You don't see the full context of how the questions were asked, what editing was done," said Stejskal, who retired from the Bureau in 2006 after more than three decades of service. "But (Clemens) had reactions that, to me, were not indicative of telling the truth. I can say what I think, but in the scheme of things, what does it mean?"

Stejskal said the more telling moment will come in nine days, when congressional hearings are scheduled in Washington. Clemens - along with former Yankee teammates Andy Pettitte and Chuck Knoblauch - has been asked to testify as have Brian McNamee and former Mets clubhouse attendant Kirk Radomski.

"It's interesting that Clemens' attorney said for him not to talk with the Mitchell investigators originally," said Stejskal, referring to the Mitchell Report. "How Clemens reacts to questions in Washington - he can finesse questions, like McGwire did in 2005. He could take the Fifth. Or he could say he didn't take steroids, like he did (last night).

"But in the Mitchell Report, McNamee went into such specificity and detail that to me indicated he was telling the truth. The fact that Pettitte came forward and admitted (HGH) use, it's telling," Stejskal said.

Interestingly, Stejskal had his own brush with Wallace three years ago, after The News exclusively reported how Stejskal had warned Major League Baseball in 1994 about a growing steroids problem. Wallace contacted the Ann Arbor (Mich.)-based Stejskal after MLB denied such a meeting between the FBI agent and MLB security chief Kevin Hallinan had taken place. MLB later retracted its denial.

Stejskal said he thought Wallace was fair in his interview with Clemens, but that the veteran newsman could have probed deeper on some occasions.

"If Clemens is saying he got injected with B-12 and lidocaine, where was he getting those substances, needles?" asked Stejskal. "Did Clemens supply them to McNamee? Again, it's tough to know the context of everything in the interview, not being there. But I would have felt better if Clemens had just said, 'I'll take a lie detector test. Whenever and wherever.'"

News source：http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/yankees/2008/01/07/2008-01-07_exfbi_agent_in_operation_equine_says_rog.html