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The man behind the scheme, who devised a system to provide hard-to-detect performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes such as baseball icons Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and Olympic track champion Marion Jones in the past, has died. He reached 75 years.

Federal Investigation and Convictions

An official probe of an additional venture set up by him, Balco, resulted in the guilty verdicts of Jones, top track cyclist Thomas, and retired NFL player Dana Stubblefield, along with various support personnel and professionals.

Public Statements and Sentencing

Conte, who served a third of a year in federal prison for steroid distribution, spoke openly about his high-profile athletes. He appeared on broadcast media to assert he had witnessed decorated Olympian Jones use a syringe with growth hormones, but always refrained from pointing the finger at Barry Bonds, the Giants power hitter.

Baseball's Investigation

The federal case inspired the book Game of Shadows. Just days following the release of the book in 2006, MLB commissioner Bud Selig hired political figure George Mitchell to examine doping in baseball.

He admitted he distributed steroids referred to as two specific substances and guided their usage to numerous top performers, like Giambi, a five-time major league All-Star, according to the report.

“The illegal use of banned drugs represents a major risk to the integrity of the game,” the Mitchell report concluded. “Prevalent consumption by competitors of these compounds unfairly disadvantages the clean players who refuse to use them and raises questions about the legitimacy of sporting achievements.”

Mitchell indicated the challenges didn’t develop overnight. He said all parties in baseball in the previous twenty years – covering leaders, team executives, the union and athletes themselves – were partly accountable for what he termed the doping period.

Investigation Origins

The federal investigation into Balco was initiated by a revenue officer digging through the corporate garbage. He ultimately admitted guilt to a pair of the numerous counts against him in 2005 before a trial. Several of the defendants sentenced were ensnared for deceiving grand jurors.

Related Cases

His fitness instructor Anderson, admitted guilt to steroid distribution charges linked to his Balco connections. The court gave him to three months in prison and the same duration of house arrest.

The Slugger's Case

Bonds was charged with lying to a federal jury about using PEDs and went on trial in that year. The case was dismissed the charges down the line when the government decided not to appeal an overturned ruling to the highest court.

A multiple MVP winner and frequent All-Star, he retired after the 2007 season with a record home run tally, breaking the record of Aaron's total that Aaron achieved from 1954-76. Bonds denied intentionally taking PEDs but has not been voted to the Hall of Fame.

Later Years

He told the Associated Press in a past conversation that “competitors do cheat to succeed, but the government agents and prosecutors cheat to win, too.” He doubted whether the results in such proceedings justified the effort.

After serving his sentence, he returned to work in that year by reviving a nutritional supplements business he had launched years before called Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning or SNAC System. He operated in the same building that once housed his former lab in Burlingame, California.

Defiant Stance

He continued to justify about his central role in distributing tailored drugs to top sports stars. He claimed he simply helped “balance the odds” in a world already rife with cheaters.

Outside Views

To a WADA member, a former participant of the WADA, he was essentially distributing hard drugs. “This involves blatant drug dealing. This refers to drug consumption in breach of national statutes,” Wadler said in the past. “This is not philanthropy and this is not some do-gooding. This is drug dealing.”