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Victor Conte, who masterminded a system to provide stealthy banned substances to professional athletes featuring MLB legends Giambi and Bonds and Olympic track champion Jones decades ago, is deceased. He was 75.

Government Probe and Criminal Cases

A national inquiry regarding an additional venture Conte founded, the Bay Area lab, culminated in the convictions of Marion Jones, competitive biker Tammy Thomas, and former NFL defensive lineman Stubblefield, along with coaches, distributors, a trainer, a chemist and a lawyer.

Conte's Admissions and Sentencing

Conte, who spent four months in federal prison for illegal drug sales, spoke openly about his well-known clients. He appeared on broadcast media to state he had witnessed three-time Olympic medalist Jones use a syringe with growth hormones, but consistently avoided incriminating Bonds, the Giants power hitter.

The Mitchell Report

The investigation inspired the volume Game of Shadows. Just days following the publication date in that year, MLB commissioner Selig appointed ex-senator Mitchell to investigate steroids.

Conte stated he sold steroids referred to as two specific substances and coached on their use to dozens of professional sportspeople, including Jason Giambi, a star player, according to the report.

Using PEDs is a significant danger to the honesty of the competition,” the findings emphasized. “Widespread use by players of these drugs puts at a disadvantage the those who refuse to cheat who decline to take them and leads to skepticism about the validity of baseball records.”

The report noted the issues were not sudden. Mitchell claimed everyone involved in baseball in the previous twenty years – including commissioners, management, the players’ association and athletes themselves – were partly accountable for what he termed the doping period.

Case Inception

The federal investigation into the company started when a tax agent searching the company’s trash. He eventually confessed to a couple of the 42 charges he faced in 2005 prior to court proceedings. Half a dozen of the 11 convicted people were caught deceiving grand jurors.

Further Legal Actions

Bonds’ personal trainer Anderson, confessed to illegal substance sales linked to his ties to the lab. He received a sentence to a quarter year in prison and an equal period of home confinement.

His Court Proceedings

Bonds was accused of providing false statements to a investigative body about using PEDs and faced a trial in 2011. The case was dismissed the case after several years when the government decided not to contest an overturned obstruction of justice conviction to the federal apex court.

A seven-time National League MVP and 14-time All-Star outfielder, Bonds concluded his playing days after the 2007 campaign with 762 homers, exceeding the record of 755 that Aaron established from 1954-76. Bonds denied intentionally taking PEDs but has never been elected to the sport's hall of honor.

After Incarceration

He told the Associated Press in a past conversation that “yes, athletes cheat to win, but the government agents and prosecutors also bend the rules.” He also questioned whether the outcomes in these trials were worth the resources.

After serving his sentence, he got back in business in that year by reviving a health products venture he had founded previously called Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning or SNAC System. He operated in the identical location that was home to his former lab in the California city.

Continued Justification

Conte stayed unrepentant about his major involvement in distributing custom PEDs to professional competitors. He argued he simply helped “even the competition” in a sports environment full of cheaters.

Outside Views

To a WADA member, a former participant of the global anti-doping body, Conte was essentially distributing hard drugs. “This involves totally illegal drug trafficking. It's about drug consumption in breach of national statutes,” he stated in 2007. “This is not philanthropy and not a benevolent act. This is drug dealing.”