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Victor Conte, who masterminded a operation to distribute stealthy banned substances to elite sports stars including baseball greats Giambi and Bonds and track and field star Marion Jones in the past, has passed away. He reached 75 years.

Federal Investigation and Criminal Cases

A national probe of another company Conte founded, Balco, led to the criminal findings of Jones, elite sprint cyclist Thomas, and retired NFL player Stubblefield, as well as various support personnel and professionals.

Conte's Admissions and Legal Consequences

He, who spent a third of a year in federal prison for illegal drug sales, discussed frankly about his famous former clients. He went on TV to state he had observed triple Olympic champion Jones inject herself with growth hormones, but always refrained from implicating Barry Bonds, the baseball star.

Sport's Official Review

This probe inspired the book titled Game of Shadows. Shortly after the release of the book in that year, the sport's chief Bud Selig brought on political figure George Mitchell to investigate steroids.

Conte stated he sold steroids referred to as “the cream” and “the clear” and coached on their application to dozens of professional sportspeople, like Giambi, a star player, according to the report.

“The illegal use of banned drugs represents a major risk to the integrity of the game,” the report stated. “Widespread use by competitors of such substances puts at a disadvantage the those who refuse to cheat who avoid them and creates doubts about the legitimacy of historical stats.”

The report noted the problems didn’t develop overnight. The report emphasized each participant in professional baseball in the prior two decades – encompassing leaders, club officials, the union and players – shared some responsibility for what he called the doping period.

Case Inception

The federal investigation into the company began with a revenue officer digging through the corporate garbage. Conte eventually confessed to a pair of the multiple accusations filed against him in 2005 before a trial. Six of the individuals found guilty were caught deceiving federal investigators.

Related Cases

Bonds’ personal trainer Greg Anderson, confessed to steroid distribution charges arising from his Balco connections. The court gave him to a quarter year in incarceration and an equal period of restricted movement.

The Slugger's Case

Bonds was accused of providing false statements to a federal jury about receiving PEDs and stood trial in the early 2010s. The case was dismissed the charges after several years when the prosecutors opted not to appeal an reversed conviction to the supreme court.

A decorated player and frequent All-Star, Bonds ended his career after the 2007 campaign with 762 homers, breaking the milestone of Aaron's total that Hank Aaron achieved from the 1950s to 1970s. The athlete refuted knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs but has not been voted to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Conte's Post-Prison Life

The former convict stated in an interview in a 2010 interview that “competitors do cheat to win, but the federal representatives cheat to win, too.” He doubted whether the conclusions in such proceedings were worth the resources.

Post-incarceration, he resumed operations in the late 2000s by resuscitating a health products venture he had launched previously called Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning or SNAC System. He set up shop in the very same place that once housed the original company in the California city.

Continued Justification

He stayed unrepentant about his central role in providing designer steroids to top sports stars. He claimed he simply helped “balance the odds” in a sports environment full of doping athletes.

Outside Views

To an expert, a former participant of the global anti-doping body, Conte was essentially selling cocaine or heroin. “It concerns unlawful substance distribution. You are talking about substance use in defiance of legal codes,” the doctor remarked in the past. “This is not philanthropy and this is not some do-gooding. It's trafficking.”