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Victor Conte, who devised a system to provide stealthy performance-enhancing drugs to top competitors including baseball greats Giambi and Bonds and track and field star Marion Jones decades ago, has died. He was 75.

Government Probe and Criminal Cases

An official probe of an additional venture set up by him, Balco, culminated in the criminal findings of Jones, elite sprint cyclist Thomas, and ex-pro football defender Dana Stubblefield, in addition to various support personnel and professionals.

Conte's Admissions and Legal Consequences

The Balco founder, who spent a third of a year in a federal facility for illegal drug sales, talked publicly about his well-known clients. He was featured on TV to state he had witnessed decorated Olympian Marion Jones self-administer with growth hormones, but never directly pointing the finger at Bonds, the baseball star.

Baseball's Investigation

The investigation inspired the publication titled Game of Shadows. A week after the release of the book in that year, baseball Commissioner Selig hired political figure Mitchell to investigate steroids.

He revealed he provided steroids referred to as certain undetectable drugs and advised on their usage to many top performers, including Giambi, a multiple-time All-Star, the Mitchell report said.

Employing PEDs poses a serious threat to the fairness of the sport,” the Mitchell report concluded. “Widespread use by athletes of these drugs harms the clean players who decline to take them and leads to skepticism about the validity of baseball records.”

It was stated the challenges were not sudden. Mitchell claimed everyone involved in professional baseball in the previous twenty years – covering leaders, management, the players’ association and players – were partly accountable for what he called the PED epoch.

Investigation Origins

The government's case into Balco was initiated by a tax agent searching the company’s trash. He ended up pleading guilty to a pair of the numerous counts against him in that year before a trial. Six of the 11 convicted people were ensnared for lying to grand jurors.

Related Cases

The athlete's coach Greg Anderson, admitted guilt to illegal substance sales linked to his involvement with Balco. Anderson was sentenced to a quarter year in incarceration and the same duration of house arrest.

His Court Proceedings

The home run king was indicted for providing false statements to a grand jury about receiving PEDs and stood trial in that year. Prosecutors dropped the charges four years later when the government decided not to contest an reversed conviction to the federal apex court.

A multiple MVP winner and 14-time All-Star outfielder, he concluded his playing days after the 2007 season with 762 home runs, surpassing the record of 755 that Aaron achieved from 1954-76. He claimed he did not knowingly using PEDs but has never been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Later Years

The former convict stated in an interview in a 2010 interview that “yes, athletes cheat to triumph, but the officials and lawyers engage in misconduct as well.” He also questioned whether the conclusions in such legal cases merited the work.

Following his prison term, he got back in business in the late 2000s by resuscitating a nutritional supplements business he had started previously called his supplements brand. He operated in the same building that was home to the original company in Burlingame.

Unapologetic Views

He remained defiant about his key part in doling out designer steroids to elite athletes. He claimed he simply helped “balance the odds” in a world already rife with rule-breakers.

Critical Perspectives

To an expert, a then-member of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Conte was essentially pushing cocaine or heroin. “You are talking about blatant drug dealing. You are talking about drug consumption in violation of federal law,” he stated in 2007. “This isn't charity and not a benevolent act. It's illegal sales.”