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Victor Conte, who masterminded a system to provide undetectable performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes featuring baseball greats Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and Olympic track champion Marion Jones decades ago, has passed away. He was 75.

Official Inquiry and Convictions

A national inquiry regarding another company set up by him, the Bay Area lab, culminated in the convictions of Jones, competitive biker Thomas, and ex-pro football defender Stubblefield, along with coaches, distributors, a trainer, a chemist and a lawyer.

Open Discussions and Sentencing

He, who spent a third of a year in a federal facility for steroid distribution, talked publicly about his well-known clients. He appeared on TV to state he had witnessed three-time Olympic medalist Marion Jones self-administer with human growth hormones, but never directly pointing the finger at Barry Bonds, the Giants power hitter.

Sport's Official Review

This probe resulted in the book Game of Shadows. A week after the release of the book in 2006, baseball Commissioner Selig appointed former senate majority leader George Mitchell to examine doping in baseball.

Conte stated he distributed steroids known as certain undetectable drugs and advised on their application to many professional sportspeople, including Jason Giambi, a multiple-time All-Star, the Mitchell report said.

Using PEDs is a significant danger to the fairness of the competition,” the report stated. “Widespread use by competitors of these drugs harms the those who refuse to cheat who avoid them and raises questions about the accuracy of baseball records.”

The report noted the challenges took time to emerge. The report emphasized all parties in the sport in the previous twenty years – encompassing leaders, team executives, the union and athletes themselves – shared some responsibility for what he termed the PED epoch.

How It Began

The official probe into Balco was initiated by a tax agent examining the company’s trash. Conte ended up pleading guilty to a pair of the multiple accusations he faced in 2005 prior to court proceedings. Half a dozen of the defendants sentenced were caught misleading grand jurors.

Associated Convictions

Bonds’ personal trainer Anderson, pleaded guilty to steroid distribution charges arising from his Balco connections. He received a sentence to 90 days in prison and three months of restricted movement.

The Slugger's Case

The baseball legend was accused of deceiving a investigative body about using banned substances and stood trial in that year. The government abandoned the case four years later when the government decided not to contest an reversed conviction to the highest court.

A multiple MVP winner and frequent All-Star, he retired after the 2007 season with a record home run tally, breaking the record of Aaron's total that Hank Aaron achieved from 1954-76. Bonds denied knowingly using banned substances but has failed to gain entry to the Hall of Fame.

Later Years

The former convict remarked to the press in a 2010 interview that “sportspeople break rules to win, but the government agents and prosecutors cheat to win, too.” He also questioned whether the outcomes in such legal cases justified the effort.

Following his prison term, he returned to work in the late 2000s by rebooting a supplements company he had started previously called his supplements brand. He set up shop in the identical location that previously contained the original company in the California city.

Unapologetic Views

The controversial figure continued to justify about his major involvement in doling out custom PEDs to top sports stars. He claimed he simply helped “even the competition” in a sports environment teeming with rule-breakers.

Critical Perspectives

To a WADA member, a then-member of the global anti-doping body, Conte could be compared to distributing hard drugs. “You are talking about blatant drug dealing. It's about drug consumption in defiance of legal codes,” the doctor remarked in that period. “This isn't charity and not a benevolent act. It's illegal sales.”