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Victor Conte, who masterminded a operation to distribute stealthy PEDs to professional athletes including MLB legends Giambi and Bonds and sprinting gold medalist Marion Jones decades ago, has died. He was 75.

Government Probe and Convictions

An official inquiry regarding a separate firm established by Conte, the Bay Area lab, culminated in the criminal findings of Marion Jones, elite sprint cyclist Thomas, and retired NFL player Stubblefield, as well as trainers, suppliers, chemists, attorneys, and coaches.

Conte's Admissions and Sentencing

The Balco founder, who completed four months in federal prison for dealing steroids, spoke openly about his high-profile athletes. He was featured on television to assert he had seen triple Olympic champion Jones inject herself with growth hormones, but never directly incriminating Barry Bonds, the baseball star.

The Mitchell Report

The investigation led to the publication Game of Shadows. Shortly after the publication date in the mid-2000s, MLB commissioner Bud Selig brought on ex-senator George Mitchell to investigate steroids.

He admitted he distributed steroids known as “the cream” and “the clear” and coached on their usage to numerous elite athletes, including Jason Giambi, a five-time major league All-Star, the Mitchell report said.

Using banned drugs represents a major risk to the honesty of the game,” the report stated. “Broad usage by athletes of these drugs unfairly disadvantages the clean players who decline to take them and creates doubts about the accuracy of sporting achievements.”

It was stated the problems were not sudden. The report emphasized all parties in professional baseball in the previous twenty years – including commissioners, management, the union and athletes themselves – bore partial blame for what he called the PED epoch.

Case Inception

The federal investigation into the company was initiated by a IRS investigator examining the business refuse. He ended up pleading guilty to two of the multiple accusations against him in the mid-2000s prior to court proceedings. Half a dozen of the 11 convicted people were ensnared for deceiving the court.

Associated Convictions

The athlete's coach Greg Anderson, admitted guilt to illegal substance sales stemming from his ties to the lab. The court gave him to three months in jail and an equal period of restricted movement.

His Court Proceedings

The baseball legend was indicted for providing false statements to a investigative body about receiving PEDs and stood trial in 2011. Prosecutors dropped his case down the line when the authorities chose not to challenge an overturned ruling to the federal apex court.

A seven-time National League MVP and 14-time All-Star outfielder, Bonds concluded his playing days after the 2007 season with 762 home runs, surpassing the mark of 755 that Hank Aaron achieved from the 1950s to 1970s. Bonds denied consciously consuming performance-enhancing drugs but has never been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Later Years

Conte told the Associated Press in a past conversation that “sportspeople break rules to win, but the federal representatives cheat to win, too.” He wondered whether the conclusions in these trials were worth the resources.

After serving his sentence, Conte got back in business in 2007 by rebooting a nutritional supplements business he had founded years before called Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning or SNAC System. He located it in the identical location that once housed the original company in the California city.

Continued Justification

He continued to justify about his central role in doling out designer steroids to top sports stars. He argued he simply helped “balance the odds” in a world teeming with rule-breakers.

Outside Views

To an expert, a then-member of the WADA, he could be compared to pushing cocaine or heroin. “You are talking about totally illegal drug trafficking. This refers to substance use in violation of federal law,” Wadler said in that period. “This isn't charity and it's not altruistic. It's illegal sales.”