Confession may lead to legal woes for Armstrong [View all]

[Omaha Steve]

Source: AP-Excite

By GREG RISLING

LOS ANGELES (AP) - By admitting to Oprah Winfrey that he doped during his professional cycling career, Lance Armstrong potentially opened himself up to a stream of litigation that could lighten his wallet for years.

And then there's the big question: Will his mea culpa result in the reopening of a criminal investigation by the U.S. government?

Some legal experts believe the disillusionment and anger now directed at Armstrong will force the government to re-examine its evidence in light of his admissions, but others say revisiting the criminal case is unlikely.

"There are no formal guidelines on reopening one, and the discretion is left to the prosecutor," said Matthew Levine, a former federal prosecutor and a white-collar defense attorney in New York. "But generally there's a lot of pressure not to reopen, especially where the declination has been made public. It does happen, but it's quite rare."

FULL story at link.


Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20130118/DA3SPKT83.html

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In this July 5, 2004, file photo, US Postal Service team leader Lance Armstrong sits by the registration bus before the second stage of the 91st Tour de France cycling race between Charleroi and Namur, Belgium. Armstrong confessed to using performance-enhancing drugs to win the Tour de France during a taped interview with Oprah Winfrey that aired Thursday, Jan. 17, 2013, reversing more than a decade of denial. (AP Photo/Peter Dejong, File)