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The man behind the scheme, who masterminded a plan to provide stealthy performance-enhancing drugs to top competitors featuring baseball greats Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and sprinting gold medalist Marion Jones decades ago, has died. He was 75.

Government Probe and Convictions

A national investigation into an additional venture Conte founded, Balco, resulted in the criminal findings of Marion Jones, competitive biker Thomas, and ex-pro football defender Dana Stubblefield, as well as trainers, suppliers, chemists, attorneys, and coaches.

Public Statements and Prison Time

He, who spent a third of a year in a federal facility for illegal drug sales, talked publicly about his famous former clients. He went on TV to claim he had witnessed decorated Olympian Jones self-administer with HGH, but always refrained from pointing the finger at Barry Bonds, the baseball star.

Baseball's Investigation

This probe inspired the volume Game of Shadows. A week after the book's publication in the mid-2000s, the sport's chief Selig appointed political figure George Mitchell to investigate steroids.

Conte stated he sold steroids called two specific substances and advised on their use to dozens of professional sportspeople, like Jason Giambi, a five-time major league All-Star, according to the report.

Using performance-enhancing substances is a significant danger to the fairness of the sport,” the findings emphasized. “Broad usage by athletes of these compounds puts at a disadvantage the clean players who refuse to use them and creates doubts about the accuracy of baseball records.”

The report noted the issues took time to emerge. Mitchell claimed all parties in baseball in the preceding decades – including leaders, club officials, the union and athletes themselves – shared some responsibility for what he called the doping period.

Case Inception

The government's case into the laboratory started when a IRS investigator digging through the company’s trash. The defendant ultimately admitted guilt to two of the 42 charges against him in the mid-2000s ahead of a court case. Half a dozen of the individuals found guilty were convicted for lying to grand jurors.

Related Cases

His fitness instructor Anderson, pleaded guilty to drug dealing counts linked to his involvement with Balco. The court gave him to 90 days in prison and the same duration of house arrest.

Bonds' Legal Battles

Bonds was indicted for deceiving a grand jury about obtaining PEDs and faced a trial in the early 2010s. The government abandoned the charges down the line when the government decided not to appeal an overturned ruling to the highest court.

A seven-time National League MVP and frequent All-Star, Bonds ended his career after the 2007 season with a record home run tally, breaking the milestone of that number that Hank Aaron achieved from his career. He claimed he did not consciously consuming banned substances but has never been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Conte's Post-Prison Life

He remarked to the press in a 2010 discussion that “yes, athletes cheat to triumph, but the federal representatives cheat to win, too.” He wondered whether the results in such proceedings were worth the resources.

After serving his sentence, Conte resumed operations in that year by rebooting a nutritional supplements business he had launched years before called his supplements brand. He set up shop in the same building that previously contained Balco in Burlingame, California.

Defiant Stance

He remained defiant about his central role in providing designer steroids to top sports stars. He maintained he simply helped “even the competition” in a sports environment already rife with cheaters.

Critical Perspectives

To a WADA member, a at the time a member of the global anti-doping body, he could be compared to distributing illegal narcotics. “This involves blatant drug dealing. This refers to substance use in breach of national statutes,” Wadler said in 2007. “It's not a good deed and it's not altruistic. This is drug dealing.”