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Victor Conte, who masterminded a operation to distribute undetectable banned substances to professional athletes including baseball greats Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and sprinting gold medalist Jones decades ago, has passed away. His age was 75.

Government Probe and Criminal Cases

The federal government's probe of an additional venture set up by him, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (Balco), resulted in the convictions of Jones, top track cyclist Tammy Thomas, and former NFL defensive lineman Stubblefield, in addition to coaches, distributors, a trainer, a chemist and a lawyer.

Public Statements and Legal Consequences

The Balco founder, who served four months in federal prison for illegal drug sales, talked publicly about his high-profile athletes. He went on broadcast media to claim he had seen triple Olympic champion Jones inject herself with growth hormones, but never directly implicating Barry Bonds, the baseball star.

Sport's Official Review

The investigation resulted in the book titled Game of Shadows. Just days following the publication date in 2006, MLB commissioner Selig brought on former senate majority leader Mitchell to look into PED use.

He admitted he distributed steroids referred to as certain undetectable drugs and advised on their use to numerous elite athletes, like Jason Giambi, a five-time major league All-Star, the Mitchell report said.

Using PEDs poses a serious threat to the fairness of the game,” the report stated. “Prevalent consumption by players of such substances puts at a disadvantage the those who refuse to cheat who decline to take them and raises questions about the legitimacy of baseball records.”

It was stated the problems were not sudden. The report emphasized all parties in baseball in the previous twenty years – encompassing commissioners, team executives, the union and athletes themselves – shared some responsibility for what he termed the PED epoch.

How It Began

The federal investigation into Balco was initiated by a revenue officer digging through the company’s trash. He eventually confessed to two of the numerous counts against him in the mid-2000s before a trial. Half a dozen of the 11 convicted people were caught misleading federal investigators.

Associated Convictions

Bonds’ personal trainer Anderson, pleaded guilty 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.

His Court Proceedings

The baseball legend was indicted for deceiving a investigative body about obtaining performance-enhancing drugs and went on trial in that year. The case was dismissed his case down the line when the authorities chose not to challenge an overturned ruling to the supreme court.

A decorated player and frequent All-Star, he retired after the 2007 season with a record home run tally, exceeding the record of Aaron's total that Hank Aaron achieved from his career. The athlete refuted intentionally taking banned substances but has not been voted to the Hall of Fame.

Later Years

The former convict told the Associated Press in a 2010 discussion that “competitors do cheat to triumph, but the officials and lawyers cheat to win, too.” He also questioned whether the conclusions in these trials justified the effort.

Following his prison term, he resumed operations in 2007 by rebooting a health products venture he had launched previously called Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning or SNAC System. He located it in the identical location that was home to Balco in the California city.

Unapologetic Views

The controversial figure stayed unrepentant about his central role in providing custom PEDs to elite athletes. He argued he simply helped “even the competition” in a sports environment full of doping athletes.

Expert Opinions

To a WADA member, a then-member of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Conte could be compared to selling cocaine or heroin. “You are talking about totally illegal drug trafficking. This refers to drug consumption in breach of national statutes,” Wadler said in the past. “This is not philanthropy and it's not altruistic. It's trafficking.”