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The orchestrator of the plot, who engineered a system to supply undetectable PEDs to professional athletes such as baseball icons Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and track and field star Jones in the past, has passed away. His age was 75.

Federal Investigation and Legal Outcomes

An official investigation into another company set up by him, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (Balco), culminated in the convictions of Marion Jones, elite sprint cyclist Thomas, and ex-pro football defender Dana Stubblefield, along with coaches, distributors, a trainer, a chemist and a lawyer.

Public Statements and Sentencing

Conte, who served a third of a year in a federal facility for illegal drug sales, discussed frankly about his famous former clients. He went on TV to claim he had seen triple Olympic champion Jones use a syringe with growth hormones, but consistently avoided pointing the finger at Bonds, the San Francisco Giants slugger.

Sport's Official Review

This probe led to the book Game of Shadows. Shortly after the release of the book in 2006, the sport's chief Selig appointed former senate majority leader George Mitchell to investigate steroids.

He admitted he sold steroids known as “the cream” and “the clear” and advised on their application to numerous elite athletes, like Jason Giambi, a multiple-time All-Star, as per the investigation.

“The illegal use of PEDs is a significant danger to the fairness of the sport,” the Mitchell report concluded. “Prevalent consumption by players of these drugs puts at a disadvantage the those who refuse to cheat who decline to take them and raises questions about the legitimacy of baseball records.”

Mitchell indicated the challenges were not sudden. He said everyone involved in professional baseball in the previous twenty years – covering commissioners, management, the representative body and players – shared some responsibility for what he called “the steroids era”.

How It Began

The government's case into the laboratory began with a tax agent searching the company’s trash. The defendant eventually confessed to two of the multiple accusations he faced in that year before a trial. Six of the 11 convicted people were caught deceiving grand jurors.

Further Legal Actions

The athlete's coach Greg Anderson, confessed to steroid distribution charges stemming from his Balco connections. He received a sentence to 90 days in prison and an equal period of house arrest.

The Slugger's Case

The home run king was indicted for lying to a grand jury about obtaining banned substances and stood trial in 2011. Prosecutors dropped his case after several years when the government decided not to challenge an overturned ruling to the supreme court.

A multiple MVP winner and frequent All-Star, he retired after the that season with a record home run tally, breaking the record of Aaron's total that Aaron established from his career. The athlete refuted consciously consuming PEDs but has not been voted to the sport's hall of honor.

Later Years

Conte told the Associated Press in a 2010 discussion that “sportspeople break rules to triumph, but the officials and lawyers cheat to win, too.” He doubted whether the conclusions in such legal cases justified the effort.

Following his prison term, Conte returned to work in that year by rebooting a supplements company he had launched previously called SNAC System. He set up shop in the same building that once housed the original company in Burlingame.

Unapologetic Views

Conte remained defiant about his major involvement in doling out custom PEDs to top sports stars. He maintained he simply helped “balance the odds” in a world full of cheaters.

Outside Views

To Dr Gary Wadler, a then-member of the global anti-doping body, he could be compared to selling illegal narcotics. “You are talking about totally illegal drug trafficking. This refers to using drugs in breach of national statutes,” the doctor remarked in 2007. “It's not a good deed and it's not altruistic. This is drug dealing.”