Anti-doping prosecutor recommendation in Italy

Ettore Torri the CONI anti-doping prosecutor recommended Thursday that cyclist Lorenzo Bernucci; his wife, Valentina Borgioli; brother, Alessio Bernucci: mother, Antonella Rossi; and father-in-law, Fabrizio Borgioli, be banned after being linked to blood doping by a prosecutor in Padua.

Bernucci's former teammate with Lampre, Alessandro Petacchi, also is being investigated after police raided both riders' houses in April.

A six-year ban has been requested for Bernucci, who is facing his second offense after testing positive for a non-amphetamine appetite suppressant and getting fired by the T-Mobile team in 2007.

Four-year bans have been recommended for each of the other family members, which would prevent them from involvement in any sporting events in Italy.

The case will be decided by CONI's internal anti-doping court.

"I wasn't expecting the prosecutor Torri to request such a severe penalty," Bernucci told the ANSA news agency. "When I'm called before the anti-doping court, I will clear up my position, and then the judges will decide. I don't think the family has anything to do with this. My relatives didn't do anything."

The announcement came just a few hours after a gathering of cyclists at CONI attended by Italy's health minister Ferruccio Fazio, who announced new measures to combat doping at the amateur level.

"Out of 500 tests in the first semester of 2010, 15.9 percent came back positive among males," Fazio said. "I am about to sign off on a new anti-doping commission that will work very closely with CONI that will produce informative campaigns and collaborate with other anti-doping institutions, starting with the NAS [an elite police force]."

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