Landis said Armstrong and several team officials from Armstrong’s United States Postal Service cycling team defrauded the government by allowing doping on the squad when the team’s contract with the Postal Service explicitly forbade it.
Armstrong and his lawyers have been negotiating with the government to settle the case, with Armstrong offering a payment of $5 million, while the government is asking for much more than that, said one person with knowledge of the discussions. That person did not want to be identified because the case is under seal.
Tim Herman, one of Armstrong’s lawyers, did not immediately respond to a request for comment late Thursday.
The government asked a judge for an extension Thursday to decide whether to join the case as a plaintiff and was granted it, the person said.
The case could have added significance because of the possible consequences for Thomas Weisel, a major figure in finance and Silicon Valley who sold the firm he ran, Montgomery Securities, for $1.2 billion in 1997.
Weisel was Armstrong’s biggest financial backer as a co-owner of the United States Postal Service Pro Cycling Team through a cycling management firm that he helped found called Tailwind Sports.
If the government decides to join the lawsuit and recovers any money, Landis will be eligible to receive a portion of it.
Before his confession to Oprah Winfrey, which was shown Thursday night, Armstrong had said Landis made up the story of doping on the team.
Armstrong claimed Landis had done so out of spite because he had not been hired by Armstrong after Landis returned from a two-year doping suspension.
Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/18/sports/cycling/lance-armstrongs-confession-could-mean-more-legal-trouble.html?partner=rss&emc=rss
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