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The man behind the scheme, who devised a system to provide stealthy performance-enhancing drugs to elite sports stars such as baseball icons Giambi and Bonds and sprinting gold medalist Marion Jones years back, has died. He reached 75 years.

Government Probe and Convictions

A national probe of a separate firm set up by him, the Bay Area lab, culminated in the convictions of Marion Jones, elite sprint cyclist Thomas, and ex-pro football defender Dana Stubblefield, in addition to trainers, suppliers, chemists, attorneys, and coaches.

Open Discussions and Prison Time

He, who served a third of a year in a federal facility for illegal drug sales, spoke openly about his high-profile athletes. He was featured on television to state he had observed three-time Olympic medalist Jones self-administer with human growth hormones, but never directly pointing the finger at Bonds, the San Francisco Giants slugger.

Sport's Official Review

This probe led to the book titled Game of Shadows. A week after the book's publication in that year, baseball Commissioner Selig brought on political figure George Mitchell to investigate steroids.

He admitted he provided steroids known as “the cream” and “the clear” and coached on their use to dozens of professional sportspeople, such as Jason Giambi, a multiple-time All-Star, the Mitchell report said.

Employing PEDs poses a serious threat to the honesty of the sport,” the Mitchell report concluded. “Prevalent consumption by athletes of these drugs unfairly disadvantages the honest athletes who avoid them and creates doubts about the accuracy of sporting achievements.”

It was stated the problems didn’t develop overnight. Mitchell claimed each participant in the sport in the prior two decades – including leaders, club officials, the players’ association and athletes themselves – shared some responsibility for what he called the PED epoch.

Case Inception

The official probe into the company began with a IRS investigator digging through the company’s trash. He ultimately admitted guilt to a couple of the 42 charges filed against him in 2005 prior to court proceedings. Half a dozen of the individuals found guilty were ensnared for misleading federal investigators.

Associated Convictions

His fitness instructor Anderson, admitted guilt to drug dealing counts stemming from his involvement with Balco. He received a sentence to three months in prison and three months of house arrest.

Bonds' Legal Battles

The baseball legend was indicted for lying to a federal jury about receiving PEDs and faced a trial in that year. The case was dismissed his case four years later when the prosecutors opted not to appeal an overturned obstruction of justice conviction to the federal apex court.

A multiple MVP winner and frequent All-Star, he retired after the 2007 campaign with 762 home runs, exceeding the record of 755 that Hank Aaron achieved from 1954-76. The athlete refuted consciously consuming banned substances but has never been elected to the sport's hall of honor.

Conte's Post-Prison Life

The former convict stated in an interview in a 2010 discussion that “sportspeople break rules to succeed, but the government agents and prosecutors cheat to win, too.” He wondered whether the conclusions in such proceedings justified the effort.

After serving his sentence, he resumed operations in 2007 by resuscitating a nutritional supplements business he had launched two decades earlier called Scientific Nutrition for Advanced Conditioning or SNAC System. He set up shop in the same building that previously contained Balco in Burlingame.

Unapologetic Views

Conte remained defiant about his central role in doling out tailored drugs to top sports stars. He maintained he simply helped “balance the odds” in a sports environment teeming with cheaters.

Critical Perspectives

To an expert, a then-member of the global anti-doping body, he may as well have been selling cocaine or heroin. “You are talking about totally illegal drug trafficking. This refers to drug consumption in defiance of legal codes,” Wadler said in the past. “This is not philanthropy and not a benevolent act. It's illegal sales.”