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The man behind the scheme, who devised a system to supply stealthy banned substances to elite sports stars including baseball icons Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and Olympic track champion Jones in the past, has died. His age was 75.

Official Inquiry and Convictions

The federal government's inquiry regarding another company set up by him, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (Balco), resulted in the convictions of Jones, top track cyclist Thomas, and retired NFL player Dana Stubblefield, in addition to various support personnel and professionals.

Public Statements and Prison Time

The Balco founder, who served several months in federal prison for dealing steroids, spoke openly about his well-known clients. He went on television to state he had witnessed three-time Olympic medalist Jones self-administer with HGH, but never directly incriminating Bonds, the Giants power hitter.

Baseball's Investigation

The federal case resulted in the book titled Game of Shadows. Shortly after the release of the book in the mid-2000s, MLB commissioner Selig appointed former senate majority leader George Mitchell to examine doping in baseball.

He admitted he distributed steroids known as two specific substances and advised on their application to numerous top performers, such as Jason Giambi, a multiple-time All-Star, according to the report.

“The illegal use of banned drugs represents a major risk to the fairness of the competition,” the Mitchell report concluded. “Prevalent consumption by players of these compounds unfairly disadvantages the honest athletes who refuse to use them and raises questions about the accuracy of baseball records.”

The report noted the issues took time to emerge. He said each participant in baseball in the preceding decades – including commissioners, team executives, the players’ association and players – bore partial blame for what he called the PED epoch.

Investigation Origins

The government's case into the laboratory began with a revenue officer searching the company’s trash. Conte ultimately admitted guilt to two of the 42 charges he faced in 2005 prior to court proceedings. Half a dozen of the defendants sentenced were ensnared for lying to federal investigators.

Further Legal Actions

The athlete's coach Anderson, admitted guilt to steroid distribution charges arising from his ties to the lab. The court gave him to three months in incarceration and the same duration of restricted movement.

The Slugger's Case

Bonds was accused of lying to a grand jury about receiving PEDs and went on trial in the early 2010s. The government abandoned the case four years later when the government decided not to challenge an overturned obstruction of justice conviction to the supreme court.

A seven-time National League MVP and 14-time All-Star outfielder, he ended his career after the that season with 762 homers, surpassing the mark of 755 that Aaron set from 1954-76. The athlete refuted consciously consuming banned substances but has not been voted to the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Later Years

The former convict remarked to the press in a past conversation that “competitors do cheat to succeed, but the federal representatives also bend the rules.” He doubted whether the conclusions in such proceedings merited the work.

Post-incarceration, he returned to work in that year by rebooting a nutritional supplements business he had founded two decades earlier called his supplements brand. He set up shop in the very same place that once housed the original company in Burlingame, California.

Defiant Stance

He continued to justify about his key part in doling out tailored drugs to elite athletes. He argued he simply helped “balance the odds” in a sports environment full of doping athletes.

Outside Views

To a WADA member, a then-member of the World Anti-Doping Agency, he may as well have been selling cocaine or heroin. “You are talking about blatant drug dealing. You are talking about drug consumption in breach of national statutes,” he stated in 2007. “This isn't charity and it's not altruistic. This is drug dealing.”