Posted on 02/23/2013 11:42:36 PM PST by ExxonPatrolUs
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States accused cyclist Lance Armstrong on Friday of defrauding the U.S. Postal Service by taking its sponsorship money at the same time he was doping and using performance-enhancing drugs in violation of cycling rules.
The government joined a civil suit against Armstrong, stripped of his seven Tour de France titles and banned for life from cycling in 2012 after accusations he had cheated for years. In January, he said the accusations were true in an interview with television host Oprah Winfrey.
A battle with the U.S. government over civil fraud charges threatens to sap what remains of the once-revered athlete's reputation, and hurt his wallet.
Armstrong and his teammates from Tailwind Sports wore the logo of the U.S. Postal Service during their record-breaking wins.
"This lawsuit is designed to help the Postal Service recoup the tens of millions of dollars it paid out to the Tailwind cycling team based on years of broken promises," Ronald Machen, the U.S. attorney for Washington, D.C., said in a statement.
The sponsorship money totaled more than $30 million, the government said.
Armstrong plans to contest the suit because the Postal Service was not actually damaged, his lawyer, Robert Luskin, said.
"The Postal Service's own studies show that the service benefited tremendously from its sponsorship - benefits totaling more than $100 million," the lawyer said in a statement.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.yahoo.com ...
The guy is not even near the level of a cheat and fraud like the current CIC. Why don’t we see them demonize him? Sure Lance cheated by using performance enhancing drugs. No other athlete has ever done that in the history of sports, right?.../s
They’re pouring it on a little thick IMO. Lance is just another whipping boy that’s newsworthy and the MSM are like the little nerds that used to get wedgies and are just exacting their revenge against another jock...lol
#%! autocorrect!
Oh I’m sure a bunch of them got and continue to get ‘weenies’. Hell, there are plenty of court cases to ensure free and profitable access to more...of all ages and without regard to color or creed.
The bigger problem is government transfer payments. Why should the Army sponsor NASCAR or the USPS sponsor a bicyclist? Keep stretching this back to its original bad idea and you’ve rolled up the big government lie.
Well, yeah. That's why I put the quotation marks around winner.
“The government joined a civil suit against Armstrong”
History will dub the Federal Government’s pursuit of Armstrong for FRAUD- and the media’s ravaging - pale foreshadowing of what happens to a.k.a. Obama.
There is no voter, no election, no state, no government office that “Obama” has not defrauded with his synthetic identity [alias], manufactured family-of-origin, fraudulent family history, and forged identity documents.
Oh, how he yearned to be historic. And so he will be - but NOT in the manner he imagined.
“a “winner” “cheat (and criminal).”
Exactly what America will discover about the 2012 Election Heist. “Obama” did not win. Nor did he in 2008 - though the fraud was less dramatic.
Allowed cheaters:
1. Democrat politicians & activists.
2. Anyone who criticizes Bush.
3. Any government agency.
4. Welfare recipients.
5. African dictators.
6. Anyone from Haiti.
7. Muslims.
Those not allowed to cheat:
1. White males, unless registered Democrat.
2. White females, unless registered Democrat or sleeps with known liberal Democrat.
3. White children.
4. White dogs and cats.
5. White anything, unless owned (or pwned) by Democrats.
6. Any Bible-based belief person. Must be completely sinless like Jesus.
7. Anyone who criticizes Obama.
Feel free to edit either list.
If Lance were one of Eric Holder’s people he’d be in the clear.
This is why I was shocked that he would ever confess. It was clear to me that the downside risk of lawsuits would outweigh the benefit of possibly getting back into some sports.
But has the government sued any OTHER dopers on the team? In this case, they are actually JOINING a lawsuit with a known doper. Why aren’t the suing Landis?
Anyway, I think they should have trouble claiming damage.
Because Armstrong WON, they got lots of publicity. I don’t know how that helped the USPS deliver more mail, but it certainly didn’t HURT them.
And they aren’t at all associated with him NOW. And nobody is going to stop sending mail because they are disgusted with Armstrong.
For conservatives it is still about cheating.
What a Wonderful World!
After the first ever tour de france when a guy on a recumbent bike beat everybody, they banned recumbent bicycles.
Pansies all of them.
Yes I own a custom-built recumbent bike.
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