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Victor Conte, who engineered a plan to provide stealthy banned substances to elite sports stars featuring baseball greats Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and Olympic track champion Jones in the past, has died. He was 75.

Official Inquiry and Criminal Cases

A national inquiry regarding an additional venture set up by him, the Bay Area lab, led to the guilty verdicts of Marion Jones, competitive biker Tammy Thomas, and former NFL defensive lineman Stubblefield, along with coaches, distributors, a trainer, a chemist and a lawyer.

Public Statements and Legal Consequences

He, who spent a third of a year in a federal facility for steroid distribution, spoke openly about his high-profile athletes. He went on TV to claim he had seen triple Olympic champion Marion Jones use a syringe with growth hormones, but consistently avoided pointing the finger at Bonds, the Giants power hitter.

Baseball's Investigation

The investigation led to the publication titled Game of Shadows. Shortly after the book's publication in that year, MLB commissioner Selig hired former senate majority leader Mitchell to examine doping in baseball.

He admitted he sold steroids referred to as two specific substances and coached on their use to dozens of professional sportspeople, such as Jason Giambi, a multiple-time All-Star, according to the report.

Using performance-enhancing substances poses a serious threat to the integrity of the game,” the report stated. “Prevalent consumption by competitors of such substances harms the honest athletes who avoid them and creates doubts about the legitimacy of sporting achievements.”

It was stated the issues didn’t develop overnight. The report emphasized everyone involved in professional baseball in the preceding decades – encompassing commissioners, management, the union and players – bore partial blame for what he called the doping period.

Case Inception

The official probe into the company began with a revenue officer searching the corporate garbage. The defendant ended up pleading guilty to a pair of the 42 charges filed against him in 2005 ahead of a court case. Six of the 11 convicted people were caught lying to federal investigators.

Related Cases

The athlete's coach Greg Anderson, admitted guilt to drug dealing counts arising from his involvement with Balco. He received a sentence to 90 days in prison and an equal period of home confinement.

His Court Proceedings

The home run king was indicted for providing false statements to a federal jury about using banned substances and went on trial in 2011. The case was dismissed the case four years later when the prosecutors opted not to contest an overturned ruling to the supreme court.

A multiple MVP winner and star performer, Bonds concluded his playing days after the 2007 season with a record home run tally, exceeding the milestone of that number that Hank Aaron established from the 1950s to 1970s. The athlete refuted knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs but has never been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Later Years

He stated in an interview in a 2010 discussion that “competitors do cheat to win, but the officials and lawyers engage in misconduct as well.” He doubted whether the conclusions in such legal cases merited the work.

After serving his sentence, he returned to work in 2007 by reviving a supplements company he had founded previously called Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning or SNAC System. He set up shop in the identical location that previously contained his former lab in Burlingame.

Unapologetic Views

The controversial figure continued to justify about his central role in providing custom PEDs to top sports stars. He claimed he simply helped “balance the odds” in a sports environment full of doping athletes.

Critical Perspectives

To an expert, a former participant of the World Anti-Doping Agency, he may as well have been distributing cocaine or heroin. “It concerns unlawful substance distribution. This refers to substance use in violation of federal law,” he stated in the past. “It's not a good deed and it's not altruistic. This is drug dealing.”