Dealing with the Italian authorities over the Simeoni affair is only one of Lance Armstrong's headaches at present. Last Thursday, March 31, a former personal assistant of the six-time Tour winner filed court papers in a Texas state district court, alleging he had found the banned substance androgen inside Armstrong's apartment in Girona, Spain, in early 2004.
In his court brief, Mike Anderson, who worked for Armstrong for around two years, claims to have found a white box that did not have a doctor's prescription attached when cleaning Armstrong's bathroom at his Girona apartment last year, but did have the name "Androstenine, or something very close to this", he said.
Anderson's brief then states that he went to the computer to find out what the drug was on the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) websites, and confirmed what he had found was the banned substance androgen. He then returned the box to the cabinet without telling Armstrong, but when Anderson looked for it again before Armstrong left to train in the Canary Islands, he couldn't find it.
Anderson does state only finding the drug, and said that he never once saw Armstrong take steroids or banned substances. But he also told the court Armstrong made significant promises so that he could start a bike shop, and didn't tell anyone about what he found for fear of being dismissed.
"I had a job to do, that's why I kept my mouth shut," said Anderson. "I tried for a very long time to give him the benefit of the doubt. I waited for months to even tell my wife."
Armstrong's attorney, Timothy Herman, has called the allegation false and "absurd". "We are not going to be blackmailed or pay extortion money to hide something that isn't true," he said. According to a report by Associated Press, Armstrong is already seeking US$125,000 in damages for legal fees, inconvenience, harassment and other expenses related to the litigation.
