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Victor Conte, who devised a plan to distribute hard-to-detect banned substances to professional athletes featuring MLB legends Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and track and field star Jones years back, has died. He reached 75 years.

Government Probe and Convictions

A national inquiry regarding an additional venture Conte founded, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (Balco), led to the criminal findings of Marion Jones, top track cyclist Thomas, and ex-pro football defender Stubblefield, along with various support personnel and professionals.

Public Statements and Sentencing

He, who served several months in a penitentiary for illegal drug sales, talked publicly about his high-profile athletes. He went on television to claim he had seen three-time Olympic medalist Marion Jones inject herself with HGH, but never directly pointing the finger at Barry Bonds, the baseball star.

The Mitchell Report

The investigation led to the volume titled Game of Shadows. Just days following the book's publication in that year, the sport's chief Selig brought on political figure Mitchell to look into PED use.

He revealed he distributed steroids referred to as two specific substances and coached on their application to dozens of elite athletes, such as Giambi, a star player, the Mitchell report said.

Using performance-enhancing substances poses a serious threat to the honesty of the game,” the findings emphasized. “Prevalent consumption by athletes of these drugs unfairly disadvantages the those who refuse to cheat who refuse to use them and raises questions about the accuracy of historical stats.”

Mitchell indicated the problems were not sudden. The report emphasized each participant in baseball in the preceding decades – including leaders, club officials, the players’ association and players – shared some responsibility for what he labeled the PED epoch.

Investigation Origins

The official probe into Balco started when a tax agent searching the business refuse. Conte ultimately admitted guilt to a couple of the multiple accusations he faced in 2005 before a trial. Six of the defendants sentenced were caught lying to federal investigators.

Further Legal Actions

His fitness instructor Anderson, confessed to illegal substance sales stemming from his ties to the lab. Anderson was sentenced to a quarter year in jail and an equal period of home confinement.

The Slugger's Case

The home run king was accused of providing false statements to a federal jury about using performance-enhancing drugs and stood trial in that year. Prosecutors dropped his case after several years when the authorities chose not to appeal an reversed conviction to the highest court.

A seven-time National League MVP and 14-time All-Star outfielder, he retired after the 2007 season with 762 homers, exceeding the milestone of 755 that Aaron set from 1954-76. He claimed he did not knowingly using banned substances but has not been voted to the sport's hall of honor.

Later Years

He told the Associated Press in a 2010 interview that “yes, athletes cheat to win, but the government agents and prosecutors also bend the rules.” He also questioned whether the conclusions in such legal cases were worth the resources.

Post-incarceration, he got back in business in that year by resuscitating a health products venture he had launched years before called Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning or SNAC System. He located it in the same building that was home to Balco in Burlingame.

Continued Justification

He continued to justify about his major involvement in providing custom PEDs to elite athletes. He maintained he simply helped “level the playing field” in a sports environment already rife with cheaters.

Critical Perspectives

To a WADA member, a at the time a member of the WADA, he may as well have been selling illegal narcotics. “This involves unlawful substance distribution. This refers to substance use in defiance of legal codes,” Wadler said in that period. “This isn't charity and it's not altruistic. It's trafficking.”