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Victor Conte, who masterminded a plan to supply hard-to-detect banned substances to elite sports stars featuring MLB legends Giambi and Bonds and sprinting gold medalist Marion Jones decades ago, has died. He reached 75 years.

Official Inquiry and Criminal Cases

An official inquiry regarding a separate firm established by Conte, Balco, resulted in the convictions of Jones, top track cyclist Tammy Thomas, and ex-pro football defender Dana Stubblefield, in addition to coaches, distributors, a trainer, a chemist and a lawyer.

Open Discussions and Prison Time

The Balco founder, who completed a third of a year in federal prison for steroid distribution, discussed frankly about his high-profile athletes. He went on broadcast media to state he had witnessed triple Olympic champion Marion Jones inject herself with human growth hormones, but never directly pointing the finger at Bonds, the San Francisco Giants slugger.

Sport's Official Review

The federal case inspired the publication titled Game of Shadows. Shortly after the publication date in the mid-2000s, the sport's chief Selig hired political figure George Mitchell to look into PED use.

He revealed he distributed steroids referred to as “the cream” and “the clear” and guided their usage to many professional sportspeople, like Giambi, a multiple-time All-Star, as per the investigation.

“The illegal use of PEDs represents a major risk to the honesty of the game,” the Mitchell report concluded. “Widespread use by competitors of these compounds harms the those who refuse to cheat who decline to take them and creates doubts about the legitimacy of sporting achievements.”

The report noted the challenges were not sudden. He said each participant in professional baseball in the preceding decades – including leaders, club officials, the union and athletes themselves – shared some responsibility for what he called the PED epoch.

Investigation Origins

The federal investigation into Balco began with a IRS investigator examining the company’s trash. Conte ended up pleading guilty to a pair of the 42 charges against him in that year before a trial. Six of the 11 convicted people were caught deceiving federal investigators.

Further Legal Actions

The athlete's coach Greg Anderson, admitted guilt to illegal substance sales arising from his Balco connections. He received a sentence to 90 days in prison and an equal period of house arrest.

Bonds' Legal Battles

The home run king was charged with deceiving a federal jury about using performance-enhancing drugs and stood trial in the early 2010s. The case was dismissed the case down the line when the authorities chose not to contest an overturned obstruction of justice conviction to the supreme court.

A multiple MVP winner and 14-time All-Star outfielder, he concluded his playing days after the 2007 season with a record home run tally, surpassing the mark of that number that Aaron established from 1954-76. The athlete refuted consciously consuming PEDs but has never been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Later Years

Conte told the Associated Press in a 2010 interview that “competitors do cheat to triumph, but the government agents and prosecutors cheat to win, too.” He doubted whether the results in such proceedings justified the effort.

After serving his sentence, he returned to work in that year by rebooting a nutritional supplements business he had launched years before called SNAC System. He operated in the same building that was home to his former lab in the California city.

Unapologetic Views

He stayed unrepentant about his central role in doling out tailored drugs to elite athletes. He argued he simply helped “balance the odds” in a arena full of rule-breakers.

Expert Opinions

To a WADA member, a then-member of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Conte may as well have been distributing illegal narcotics. “You are talking about blatant drug dealing. This refers to drug consumption in breach of national statutes,” Wadler said in that period. “It's not a good deed and this is not some do-gooding. It's trafficking.”