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Chemist Paulo Berejuk sentenced

MIAMI -- A chemist working out of his suburban South Florida garage has been sentenced to 18 months in prison for supplying banned performance-enhancing substances to a clinic whose customers included professional baseball players and other athletes.

A Miami federal judge imposed the sentence Wednesday on Paulo Berejuk, who pleaded guilty in December to conspiracy to distribute testosterone. Berejuk faces deportation to his native Brazil after prison.

Investigators said Berejuk was the key drug source for Anthony Bosch, who ran the now-closed Biogenesis of America clinic that provided steroids to baseball players and other athletes. One customer was New York Yankees star Alex Rodriguez, who recently apologized to fans for his actions.

The doping scandal resulted in suspensions last year for 14 professional baseball players and criminal convictions for Bosch and others.