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Victor Conte, who engineered a plan to provide stealthy banned substances to top competitors including baseball greats Giambi and Bonds and track and field star Marion Jones years back, has died. He was 75.

Government Probe and Criminal Cases

A national inquiry regarding another company Conte founded, the Bay Area lab, led to the convictions of Marion Jones, competitive biker Thomas, and former NFL defensive lineman Stubblefield, as well as trainers, suppliers, chemists, attorneys, and coaches.

Conte's Admissions and Sentencing

He, who served several months in federal prison for illegal drug sales, discussed frankly about his high-profile athletes. He was featured on TV to claim he had witnessed triple Olympic champion Jones self-administer with HGH, but always refrained from implicating Barry Bonds, the San Francisco Giants slugger.

Baseball's Investigation

The federal case led to the book titled Game of Shadows. A week after the release of the book in that year, baseball Commissioner Selig brought on former senate majority leader George Mitchell to examine doping in baseball.

Conte stated he sold steroids referred to as “the cream” and “the clear” and coached on their usage to dozens of professional sportspeople, like Jason Giambi, a five-time major league All-Star, according to the report.

“The illegal use of banned drugs represents a major risk to the fairness of the competition,” the Mitchell report concluded. “Widespread use by players of these compounds unfairly disadvantages the honest athletes who decline to take them and raises questions about the accuracy of sporting achievements.”

The report noted the issues took time to emerge. Mitchell claimed each participant in the sport in the preceding decades – encompassing commissioners, team executives, the union and athletes themselves – were partly accountable for what he termed the PED epoch.

How It Began

The federal investigation into Balco began with a tax agent searching the business refuse. Conte ultimately admitted guilt to a pair of the multiple accusations he faced in 2005 ahead of a court case. Six of the defendants sentenced were caught misleading the court.

Associated Convictions

His fitness instructor Anderson, pleaded guilty to steroid distribution charges stemming from his involvement with Balco. The court gave him to three months in jail and three months of restricted movement.

Bonds' Legal Battles

The home run king was charged with providing false statements to a grand jury about receiving PEDs and went on trial in that year. The case was dismissed the case after several years when the prosecutors opted not to challenge an reversed conviction to the highest court.

A seven-time National League MVP and frequent All-Star, he concluded his playing days after the that season with a record home run tally, surpassing the milestone of Aaron's total that Aaron set from 1954-76. He claimed he did not knowingly using banned substances but has failed to gain entry to the Hall of Fame.

Later Years

The former convict stated in an interview in a past conversation that “sportspeople break rules to win, but the federal representatives cheat to win, too.” He also questioned whether the conclusions in these trials merited the work.

After serving his sentence, Conte returned to work in the late 2000s by reviving a supplements company he had founded previously called Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning or SNAC System. He operated in the very same place that previously contained Balco in Burlingame, California.

Defiant Stance

Conte continued to justify about his central role in distributing custom PEDs to professional competitors. He claimed he simply helped “even the competition” in a arena full of rule-breakers.

Outside Views

To a WADA member, a then-member of the World Anti-Doping Agency, Conte was essentially selling cocaine or heroin. “You are talking about totally illegal drug trafficking. You are talking about using drugs in violation of federal law,” the doctor remarked in that period. “This is not philanthropy and this is not some do-gooding. This is drug dealing.”