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Victor Conte, who engineered a plan to distribute hard-to-detect PEDs to top competitors such as baseball greats Giambi and Bonds and track and field star Jones in the past, has passed away. His age was 75.

Government Probe and Convictions

A national investigation into another company established by Conte, the Bay Area lab, resulted in the convictions of Jones, elite sprint cyclist Thomas, and retired NFL player Dana Stubblefield, in addition to various support personnel and professionals.

Conte's Admissions and Prison Time

He, who spent four months in a federal facility for steroid distribution, talked publicly about his high-profile athletes. He went on broadcast media to claim he had observed triple Olympic champion Marion Jones use a syringe with HGH, but never directly incriminating Barry Bonds, the baseball star.

Sport's Official Review

This probe led to the volume Game of Shadows. Just days following the release of the book in that year, MLB commissioner Selig brought on ex-senator George Mitchell to examine doping in baseball.

He admitted he distributed steroids referred to as “the cream” and “the clear” and coached on their usage to many professional sportspeople, including Jason Giambi, a star player, the Mitchell report said.

Using performance-enhancing substances poses a serious threat to the fairness of the sport,” the Mitchell report concluded. “Widespread use by competitors of these drugs unfairly disadvantages the those who refuse to cheat who refuse to use them and creates doubts about the accuracy of sporting achievements.”

Mitchell indicated the problems didn’t develop overnight. He said everyone involved in baseball in the prior two decades – covering commissioners, club officials, the representative body and players – were partly accountable for what he called “the steroids era”.

Case Inception

The federal investigation into Balco began with a IRS investigator searching the business refuse. The defendant ended up pleading guilty to a couple of the numerous counts he faced in that year prior to court proceedings. Six of the defendants sentenced were convicted for deceiving federal investigators.

Associated Convictions

His fitness instructor Greg Anderson, admitted guilt to drug dealing counts stemming from his ties to the lab. Anderson was sentenced to 90 days in jail and three months of home confinement.

The Slugger's Case

The home run king was indicted for lying to a investigative body about receiving PEDs and stood trial in 2011. Prosecutors dropped his case down the line when the government decided not to appeal an overturned ruling to the highest court.

A multiple MVP winner and frequent All-Star, Bonds concluded his playing days after the that season with a record home run tally, exceeding the mark of that number that Hank Aaron achieved from his career. Bonds denied knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs but has not been voted to the sport's hall of honor.

Later Years

He remarked to the press in a past conversation that “competitors do cheat to triumph, but the federal representatives engage in misconduct as well.” He also questioned whether the conclusions in such legal cases justified the effort.

Post-incarceration, Conte returned to work in the late 2000s by rebooting a health products venture he had founded two decades earlier called SNAC System. He located it in the same building that previously contained Balco in the California city.

Defiant Stance

He stayed unrepentant about his central role in distributing tailored drugs to top sports stars. He claimed he simply helped “even the competition” in a arena teeming with doping athletes.

Outside Views

To a WADA member, a former participant of the WADA, Conte may as well have been pushing illegal narcotics. “This involves totally illegal drug trafficking. It's about drug consumption in breach of national statutes,” he stated in that period. “This isn't charity and this is not some do-gooding. It's trafficking.”