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Victor Conte, who devised a operation to supply undetectable performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes featuring MLB legends Giambi and Bonds and track and field star Marion Jones in the past, has died. He was 75.

Federal Investigation and Legal Outcomes

The federal government's probe of another company set up by him, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (Balco), resulted in the guilty verdicts of Marion Jones, competitive biker Thomas, and ex-pro football defender Dana Stubblefield, as well as various support personnel and professionals.

Public Statements and Prison Time

The Balco founder, who spent four months in federal prison for steroid distribution, spoke openly about his well-known clients. He was featured on broadcast media to assert he had observed three-time Olympic medalist Marion Jones inject herself with HGH, but consistently avoided incriminating Bonds, the San Francisco Giants slugger.

Baseball's Investigation

This probe inspired the publication titled Game of Shadows. Shortly after the release of the book in the mid-2000s, the sport's chief Bud Selig hired former senate majority leader George Mitchell to investigate steroids.

He admitted he sold steroids referred to as “the cream” and “the clear” and coached on their use to dozens of top performers, including Jason Giambi, a star player, as per the investigation.

Using PEDs poses a serious threat to the fairness of the game,” the report stated. “Prevalent consumption by players of such substances unfairly disadvantages the those who refuse to cheat who avoid them and leads to skepticism about the accuracy of baseball records.”

The report noted the problems were not sudden. The report emphasized everyone involved in the sport in the preceding decades – including commissioners, team executives, the representative body and athletes themselves – bore partial blame for what he termed the PED epoch.

How It Began

The federal investigation into the company started when a IRS investigator searching the company’s trash. He eventually confessed to two of the multiple accusations he faced in 2005 prior to court proceedings. Half a dozen of the defendants sentenced were caught misleading the court.

Further Legal Actions

His fitness instructor Anderson, confessed to drug dealing counts linked to his involvement with Balco. Anderson was sentenced to 90 days in jail and an equal period of house arrest.

Bonds' Legal Battles

Bonds was indicted for providing false statements to a grand jury about receiving performance-enhancing drugs and went on trial in the early 2010s. The government abandoned the case down the line when the authorities chose not to challenge an overturned ruling to the highest court.

A decorated player and frequent All-Star, he retired after the that season with a record home run tally, breaking the record of that number that Hank Aaron set from the 1950s to 1970s. The athlete refuted knowingly using performance-enhancing drugs but has failed to gain entry to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Conte's Post-Prison Life

The former convict told the Associated Press in a 2010 discussion that “sportspeople break rules to triumph, but the federal representatives also bend the rules.” He also questioned whether the results in such proceedings justified the effort.

Post-incarceration, he got back in business in the late 2000s by reviving a nutritional supplements business he had founded previously called SNAC System. He located it in the very same place that was home to the original company in Burlingame, California.

Unapologetic Views

The controversial figure continued to justify about his key part in distributing custom PEDs to professional competitors. He maintained he simply helped “even the competition” in a world full of cheaters.

Outside Views

To a WADA member, a former participant of the global anti-doping body, he was essentially distributing hard drugs. “This involves blatant drug dealing. This refers to using drugs in breach of national statutes,” Wadler said in the past. “It's not a good deed and not a benevolent act. It's illegal sales.”