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Victor Conte, who engineered a system to supply undetectable banned substances to professional athletes including baseball icons Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and track and field star Marion Jones decades ago, has passed away. He was 75.

Federal Investigation and Convictions

A national inquiry regarding an additional venture set up by him, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (Balco), resulted in the criminal findings of Marion Jones, top track cyclist Thomas, and retired NFL player Dana Stubblefield, in addition to coaches, distributors, a trainer, a chemist and a lawyer.

Open Discussions and Legal Consequences

He, who completed several months in a federal facility for dealing steroids, talked publicly about his famous former clients. He went on television to state he had witnessed decorated Olympian Marion Jones self-administer with HGH, but consistently avoided pointing the finger at Barry Bonds, the baseball star.

The Mitchell Report

This probe resulted in the book titled Game of Shadows. Shortly after the book's publication in the mid-2000s, baseball Commissioner Bud Selig appointed political figure George Mitchell to investigate steroids.

Conte stated he distributed steroids referred to as “the cream” and “the clear” and advised on their application to dozens of professional sportspeople, like Giambi, a multiple-time All-Star, the Mitchell report said.

Using PEDs represents a major risk to the integrity of the sport,” the findings emphasized. “Widespread use by players of such substances harms the honest athletes who avoid them and raises questions about the legitimacy of baseball records.”

The report noted the problems took time to emerge. He said everyone involved in professional baseball in the previous twenty years – encompassing commissioners, team executives, the players’ association and athletes themselves – bore partial blame for what he labeled the PED epoch.

How It Began

The official probe into the company was initiated by a IRS investigator digging through the company’s trash. He ultimately admitted guilt to a couple of the numerous counts filed against him in 2005 before a trial. Six of the 11 convicted people were caught lying to grand jurors.

Associated Convictions

His fitness instructor Anderson, pleaded guilty to steroid distribution charges linked to his involvement with Balco. The court gave him to a quarter year in incarceration and three months of home confinement.

The Slugger's Case

Bonds was charged with providing false statements to a federal jury about obtaining banned substances and stood trial in that year. The government abandoned his case four years later when the government decided not to challenge an overturned obstruction of justice conviction to the highest court.

A decorated player and 14-time All-Star outfielder, he concluded his playing days after the 2007 campaign with 762 homers, exceeding the mark of that number that Hank Aaron established from his career. Bonds denied intentionally taking PEDs but has never been elected to the Hall of Fame.

Later Years

He stated in an interview in a 2010 discussion that “yes, athletes cheat to win, but the government agents and prosecutors cheat to win, too.” He doubted whether the conclusions in such legal cases were worth the resources.

Following his prison term, Conte returned to work in the late 2000s by resuscitating a nutritional supplements business he had launched two decades earlier called his supplements brand. He located it in the very same place that previously contained the original company in Burlingame.

Defiant Stance

He remained defiant about his major involvement in doling out designer steroids to top sports stars. He maintained he simply helped “balance the odds” in a arena full of cheaters.

Critical Perspectives

To an expert, a at the time a member of the WADA, he may as well have been 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 the past. “It's not a good deed and not a benevolent act. It's trafficking.”