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Victor Conte, who devised a plan to distribute stealthy banned substances to elite sports stars including baseball greats Giambi and Bonds and Olympic track champion Marion Jones decades ago, has died. His age was 75.

Federal Investigation and Convictions

A national inquiry regarding a separate firm set up by him, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (Balco), resulted in the convictions of Marion Jones, top track cyclist Thomas, and retired NFL player Dana Stubblefield, along with various support personnel and professionals.

Open Discussions and Legal Consequences

Conte, who spent four months in federal prison for steroid distribution, talked publicly about his high-profile athletes. He appeared on television to state he had observed decorated Olympian Jones self-administer with HGH, but consistently avoided incriminating Bonds, the Giants power hitter.

Baseball's Investigation

The investigation resulted in the volume Game of Shadows. Just days following the publication date in the mid-2000s, baseball Commissioner Bud Selig appointed political figure Mitchell to look into PED use.

He revealed he distributed steroids known as “the cream” and “the clear” and guided their usage to many elite athletes, including Giambi, a multiple-time All-Star, the Mitchell report said.

“The illegal use of performance-enhancing substances represents a major risk to the integrity of the competition,” the report stated. “Broad usage by players of these compounds harms the honest athletes who refuse to use them and leads to skepticism about the accuracy of sporting achievements.”

The report noted the issues didn’t develop overnight. He said everyone involved in the sport in the preceding decades – including commissioners, management, the players’ association and athletes themselves – were partly accountable for what he called “the steroids era”.

Case Inception

The federal investigation into the laboratory began with a revenue officer examining the corporate garbage. He ended up pleading guilty to two of the multiple accusations he faced in that year prior to court proceedings. Several of the 11 convicted people were convicted for deceiving federal investigators.

Associated Convictions

His fitness instructor Anderson, pleaded guilty to illegal substance sales linked to his Balco connections. He received a sentence to 90 days in prison and the same duration of restricted movement.

The Slugger's Case

The home run king was indicted for providing false statements to a federal jury about using performance-enhancing drugs and stood trial in that year. The case was dismissed the charges down the line when the authorities chose not to contest an reversed conviction to the highest court.

A decorated player and 14-time All-Star outfielder, he ended his career after the that season with 762 homers, breaking the milestone of that number that Hank Aaron set from 1954-76. The athlete refuted consciously consuming banned substances but has not been voted to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Later Years

He told the Associated Press in a 2010 interview that “sportspeople break rules to triumph, but the federal representatives engage in misconduct as well.” He wondered whether the results in such legal cases merited the work.

Post-incarceration, he got back in business in that year by reviving a nutritional supplements business he had started years before called SNAC System. He located it in the same building that once housed his former lab in Burlingame.

Unapologetic Views

The controversial figure remained defiant about his major involvement in doling out tailored drugs to elite athletes. He maintained he simply helped “balance the odds” in a sports environment already rife with cheaters.

Outside Views

To a WADA member, a former participant of the WADA, he was essentially selling illegal narcotics. “It concerns unlawful substance distribution. It's about drug consumption in defiance of legal codes,” the doctor remarked in that period. “It's not a good deed and this is not some do-gooding. This is drug dealing.”