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Victor Conte, who engineered a system to provide hard-to-detect performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes including baseball greats Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and track and field star Jones in the past, has died. He reached 75 years.

Government Probe and Convictions

The federal government's investigation into an additional venture set up by him, Balco, led to the convictions of Marion Jones, elite sprint cyclist Thomas, and ex-pro football defender Stubblefield, in addition to trainers, suppliers, chemists, attorneys, and coaches.

Open Discussions and Prison Time

Conte, who spent a third of a year in federal prison for dealing steroids, spoke openly about his famous former clients. He was featured on broadcast media to state he had seen three-time Olympic medalist Marion Jones use a syringe with growth hormones, but always refrained from incriminating Barry Bonds, the Giants power hitter.

The Mitchell Report

This probe inspired the volume titled Game of Shadows. Shortly after the publication date in that year, the sport's chief Bud Selig brought on political figure George Mitchell to examine doping in baseball.

He revealed he provided steroids known as two specific substances and coached on their usage to numerous professional sportspeople, like Jason Giambi, a multiple-time All-Star, according to the report.

Employing performance-enhancing substances poses a serious threat to the integrity of the competition,” the report stated. “Widespread use by athletes of these compounds unfairly disadvantages the honest athletes who refuse to use them and raises questions about the legitimacy of historical stats.”

It was stated the challenges took time to emerge. He said everyone involved in baseball in the prior two decades – including leaders, team executives, the representative body and players – bore partial blame for what he labeled the PED epoch.

Case Inception

The federal investigation into the laboratory started when a revenue officer digging through the business refuse. Conte ended up pleading guilty to a couple of the multiple accusations filed against him in 2005 ahead of a court case. Half a dozen of the individuals found guilty were convicted for misleading grand jurors.

Associated Convictions

His fitness instructor Greg Anderson, pleaded guilty to steroid distribution charges arising from his Balco connections. He received a sentence to three months in incarceration and three months of restricted movement.

His Court Proceedings

The baseball legend was charged with providing false statements to a grand jury about receiving performance-enhancing drugs and went on trial in that year. The case was dismissed the case down the line when the government decided not to contest an overturned ruling to the supreme court.

A multiple MVP winner and frequent All-Star, he retired after the 2007 season with 762 home runs, breaking the record of Aaron's total that Hank Aaron established from 1954-76. Bonds denied intentionally taking PEDs but has never been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Conte's Post-Prison Life

He told the Associated Press in a 2010 discussion that “sportspeople break rules to win, but the government agents and prosecutors cheat to win, too.” He doubted whether the outcomes in these trials were worth the resources.

After serving his sentence, he got back in business in that year by reviving a supplements company he had started years before called his supplements brand. He set up shop in the very same place that previously contained Balco in Burlingame.

Unapologetic Views

Conte continued to justify about his key part in providing custom PEDs to professional competitors. He maintained he simply helped “level the playing field” in a arena already rife with rule-breakers.

Outside Views

To a WADA member, a former participant of the global anti-doping body, Conte could be compared to pushing hard drugs. “This involves blatant drug dealing. You are talking about using drugs in violation of federal law,” Wadler said in 2007. “This is not philanthropy and it's not altruistic. This is drug dealing.”