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The man behind the scheme, who masterminded a operation to distribute undetectable performance-enhancing drugs to professional athletes including MLB legends Giambi and Bonds and Olympic track champion Jones decades ago, is deceased. His age was 75.

Federal Investigation and Criminal Cases

An official inquiry regarding another company set up by him, Balco, led to the guilty verdicts of Jones, competitive biker Tammy Thomas, and retired NFL player Dana Stubblefield, along with coaches, distributors, a trainer, a chemist and a lawyer.

Open Discussions and Legal Consequences

The Balco founder, who served a third of a year in federal prison for steroid distribution, spoke openly about his well-known clients. He was featured on broadcast media to assert he had seen decorated Olympian Marion Jones inject herself with HGH, but never directly pointing the finger at Bonds, the Giants power hitter.

The Mitchell Report

The investigation inspired the volume Game of Shadows. A week after the release of the book in 2006, MLB commissioner Selig appointed ex-senator Mitchell to investigate steroids.

Conte stated he distributed steroids known as certain undetectable drugs and advised on their application to many elite athletes, such as Giambi, a five-time major league All-Star, the Mitchell report said.

Employing banned drugs represents a major risk to the honesty of the game,” the Mitchell report concluded. “Prevalent consumption by players of these compounds puts at a disadvantage the those who refuse to cheat who avoid them and raises questions about the legitimacy of sporting achievements.”

The report noted the issues were not sudden. Mitchell claimed each participant in professional baseball in the previous twenty years – encompassing leaders, club officials, the representative body and athletes themselves – were partly accountable for what he called “the steroids era”.

How It Began

The government's case into Balco began with a IRS investigator examining the company’s trash. Conte eventually confessed to a pair of the numerous counts filed against him in 2005 prior to court proceedings. Several of the 11 convicted people were ensnared for deceiving the court.

Associated Convictions

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

His Court Proceedings

The home run king was accused of lying to a federal jury about using performance-enhancing drugs and stood trial in 2011. Prosecutors dropped the case four years later when the government decided not to challenge an overturned ruling to the highest court.

A multiple MVP winner and star performer, Bonds retired after the 2007 campaign with a record home run tally, exceeding the milestone of Aaron's total that Aaron achieved from 1954-76. He claimed he did not consciously consuming performance-enhancing drugs but has not been voted to the Hall of Fame.

Later Years

Conte remarked to the press in a 2010 interview that “competitors do cheat to win, but the officials and lawyers also bend the rules.” He doubted whether the results in such proceedings were worth the resources.

After serving his sentence, he returned to work in that year by reviving a supplements company he had started previously called SNAC System. He located it in the same building that previously contained his former lab in Burlingame, California.

Unapologetic Views

He continued to justify about his central role in distributing designer steroids to professional competitors. He argued he simply helped “level the playing field” in a arena already rife with cheaters.

Outside Views

To an expert, a at the time a member of the WADA, Conte may as well have been pushing hard drugs. “It concerns totally illegal drug trafficking. You are talking about substance use in breach of national statutes,” the doctor remarked in 2007. “It's not a good deed and not a benevolent act. It's trafficking.”