Victor Conte, Key Figure in Infamous Sports Doping Controversy, Succumbs at Age 75.

The man behind the scheme, who masterminded a plan to supply stealthy banned substances to professional athletes including baseball icons Giambi and Bonds and Olympic track champion Marion Jones decades ago, has died. He reached 75 years.

Government Probe and Legal Outcomes

A national inquiry regarding another company established by Conte, the Bay Area lab, culminated in the guilty verdicts of Marion Jones, elite sprint cyclist Thomas, and ex-pro football defender Dana Stubblefield, in addition to coaches, distributors, a trainer, a chemist and a lawyer.

Public Statements and Sentencing

He, who completed four months in federal prison for illegal drug sales, spoke openly about his famous former clients. He went on TV to state he had seen three-time Olympic medalist Marion Jones self-administer with growth hormones, but consistently avoided pointing the finger at Bonds, the San Francisco Giants slugger.

Baseball's Investigation

The federal case led to the publication titled Game of Shadows. Just days following the release of the book in that year, the sport's chief Bud Selig appointed political figure George Mitchell to look into PED use.

Conte stated he sold steroids called “the cream” and “the clear” and coached on their application to many top performers, such as Jason Giambi, a star player, as per the investigation.

Employing banned drugs represents a major risk to the honesty of the competition,” the report stated. “Widespread use by competitors of such substances unfairly disadvantages the honest athletes who decline to take them and raises questions about the legitimacy of historical stats.”

Mitchell indicated the problems took time to emerge. Mitchell claimed all parties in the sport in the prior two decades – covering commissioners, club officials, the union and players – shared some responsibility for what he labeled the doping period.

Case Inception

The government's case into the company began with a tax agent examining the company’s trash. Conte eventually confessed to a couple of the multiple accusations filed against him in that year prior to court proceedings. Half a dozen of the 11 convicted people were caught misleading federal investigators.

Further Legal Actions

The athlete's coach Anderson, confessed to illegal substance sales arising from his involvement with Balco. He received a sentence to 90 days in jail and the same duration of home confinement.

The Slugger's Case

Bonds was charged with deceiving a federal jury about using banned substances and stood trial in that year. The case was dismissed the charges four years later when the government decided not to appeal an overturned ruling to the supreme court.

A multiple MVP winner and star performer, he concluded his playing days after the that season with a record home run tally, breaking the record of that number that Hank Aaron established from his career. He claimed he did not knowingly using banned substances but has failed to gain entry to the sport's hall of honor.

Later Years

He remarked to the press in a past conversation that “sportspeople break rules to win, but the officials and lawyers cheat to win, too.” He wondered whether the conclusions in such legal cases were worth the resources.

Post-incarceration, Conte resumed operations in 2007 by resuscitating a nutritional supplements business he had started years before called SNAC System. He set up shop in the very same place that previously contained the original company in the California city.

Defiant Stance

He continued to justify about his central role in providing tailored drugs to professional competitors. He argued he simply helped “balance the odds” in a sports environment full of doping athletes.

Outside Views

To an expert, a then-member of the WADA, he may as well have been distributing illegal narcotics. “This involves totally illegal drug trafficking. It's about drug consumption in breach of national statutes,” Wadler said in that period. “This isn't charity and this is not some do-gooding. This is drug dealing.”