Victor Conte, the founder of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (Balco) who supplied undetectable performance-enhancing drugs to elite athletes including baseball stars Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi, has died at the age of 75. His death was announced by Snac System, a nutritional supplements company he ran after serving a prison sentence.
Conte's scheme, which involved designer steroids known as 'the cream' and 'the clear', led to a major federal investigation that resulted in convictions for Olympic champion Marion Jones, cyclist Tammy Thomas, and former NFL player Dana Stubblefield, among others. Conte himself pleaded guilty to two charges in 2005 and served four months in prison.
The scandal prompted Major League Baseball to commission the Mitchell Report, which concluded that the illegal use of performance-enhancing substances posed a serious threat to the integrity of the game. The report noted that Conte had advised dozens of elite athletes on steroid use, including Giambi, a five-time All-Star.
Barry Bonds, the all-time home run leader, was charged with lying to a grand jury about his use of performance-enhancing drugs. The case was eventually dropped in 2015. Bonds has denied knowingly using banned substances but has not been elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame.
Conte remained unrepentant, describing his actions as levelling the playing field in a sport rife with cheaters. However, Dr Gary Wadler of the World Anti-Doping Agency condemned him as a drug dealer, saying his activities were 'totally illegal drug trafficking'.
