The New York Times is reporting that federal authorities are considering criminal charges against the wife and mother-in-law of Greg Anderson, Barry Bonds’s former personal trainer, in an attempt to pressure Anderson to testify against Bonds.

Federal prosecutors want Anderson, who has vowed never to testify against Bonds, to cooperate in Bonds’s upcoming March trial on perjury charges stemming from his alleged lying to a federal grand jury about using steroids and human growth hormone.

Anderson served three months in prison after pleading guilty in 2005 to distributing steroids and money laundering.  He served another year in prison on contempt charges for refusing to testify about Bonds.

Anderson’s wife, Nicole Gestas and her mother, Madeleine Gestas, have reportedly been the subject of an investigation into financial matters surrounding Anderson’s steroid distribution and could face conspiracy charges as a result.

Dark Side isn’t sure that prosecutors have completely thought this strategy through, however.  Because while charging Anderson’s wife might help prosecutors gain some leverage, Dark Side’s guessing putting his mother-in-law away for a while might be doing the dude a favor.

For more on this story, visit The New York Times