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Victor Conte, who engineered a system to provide undetectable banned substances to top competitors featuring MLB legends Giambi and Bonds and track and field star Jones in the past, has died. He reached 75 years.

Official Inquiry and Criminal Cases

A national investigation into another company set up by him, the Bay Area lab, led to the criminal findings of Marion Jones, top track cyclist Tammy Thomas, and ex-pro football defender Stubblefield, along with various support personnel and professionals.

Conte's Admissions and Sentencing

Conte, who spent several months in a federal facility for illegal drug sales, spoke openly about his high-profile athletes. He went on television to assert he had observed three-time Olympic medalist Jones inject herself with human growth hormones, but never directly implicating Barry Bonds, the baseball star.

Baseball's Investigation

The investigation resulted in the volume Game of Shadows. Shortly after the publication date in 2006, MLB commissioner Bud Selig appointed ex-senator George Mitchell to investigate steroids.

He admitted he provided steroids known as certain undetectable drugs and coached on their application to many elite athletes, including Jason Giambi, a five-time major league All-Star, according to the report.

Employing banned drugs poses a serious threat to the fairness of the game,” the report stated. “Prevalent consumption by athletes of such substances puts at a disadvantage the clean players who refuse to use them and creates doubts about the validity of historical stats.”

Mitchell indicated the challenges didn’t develop overnight. Mitchell claimed all parties in baseball in the preceding decades – covering leaders, management, the union and athletes themselves – were partly accountable for what he termed the doping period.

Investigation Origins

The official probe into Balco started when a IRS investigator examining the business refuse. He eventually confessed to two of the multiple accusations against him in the mid-2000s prior to court proceedings. Several of the 11 convicted people were ensnared for lying to federal investigators.

Associated Convictions

Bonds’ personal trainer Anderson, confessed to drug dealing counts arising from his involvement with Balco. The court gave him to three months in prison and the same duration of restricted movement.

The Slugger's Case

Bonds was accused of deceiving a grand jury about receiving PEDs and went on trial in that year. Prosecutors dropped the case four years later when the prosecutors opted not to appeal an reversed conviction to the supreme court.

A decorated player and star performer, he retired after the 2007 season with 762 home runs, exceeding the mark of 755 that Aaron set from the 1950s to 1970s. Bonds denied intentionally taking performance-enhancing drugs but has not been voted to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Conte's Post-Prison Life

Conte remarked to the press in a 2010 discussion that “yes, athletes cheat to succeed, but the federal representatives cheat to win, too.” He also questioned whether the conclusions in such legal cases merited the work.

After serving his sentence, Conte returned to work in that year by reviving a health products venture he had launched two decades earlier called his supplements brand. He located it in the same building that previously contained the original company in Burlingame, California.

Unapologetic Views

He continued to justify about his central role in doling out tailored drugs to professional competitors. He maintained he simply helped “balance the odds” in a world already rife with cheaters.

Outside Views

To an expert, a at the time a member of the global anti-doping body, he could be compared to selling illegal narcotics. “It concerns unlawful substance distribution. You are talking about drug consumption in violation of federal law,” Wadler said in that period. “This isn't charity and this is not some do-gooding. It's trafficking.”