Victor Conte, the architect of the MLB and track doping scandal, has passed away at 75.

Victor Conte, Architect of Steroid Scandal, Passes Away at 75

Victor Conte, the man behind a notorious scheme to distribute hard-to-detect performance-enhancing drugs to athletes—including baseball legends Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi, as well as Olympic sprinter Marion Jones—has died at 75.

Conte’s passing was confirmed on Monday by SNAC System, the sports nutrition company he founded, though the cause of death hasn’t been made public.

A federal probe into Conte’s other venture, Bay Area Laboratory Cooperative (BALCO), led to multiple convictions, including that of Jones, elite cyclist Tammy Thomas, NFL player Dana Stubblefield, along with a range of coaches, trainers, and other associates.

This investigation sparked the 2006 publication of the book “Game of Shadows.” Notably, just a week after its release, baseball commissioner Bud Selig enlisted former Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell to dive deeper into the steroid issue.

Mitchell’s findings revealed that Conte was responsible for selling steroids termed “cream” and “clear,” and he advised a host of top athletes on their use, including Giambi, who was a five-time Major League All-Star.

The inquiry into BALCO initially began when tax officials searched through the company’s rubbish.

In 2005, Conte pleaded guilty to a couple of the 42 charges against him and served four months in a minimum-security facility. A notable outcome of the trials found several individuals, including six out of eleven convicted, guilty of lying to grand juries and federal investigators.

Greg Anderson, Bonds’ personal trainer, also acknowledged his involvement in steroid distribution linked to BALCO, receiving a sentence of three months in prison followed by three months of home confinement.

Bonds faced trial in 2011 over accusations of lying related to performance-enhancing drugs but saw the case dropped in 2015 after the government chose against an appeal to challenge an obstruction of justice conviction.

Bonds, a seven-time National League MVP and 14-time All-Star outfielder, concluded his career post-2007 with 762 home runs, surpassing Hank Aaron’s previous record of 755 from 1954 to 1976. Despite his achievements, Bonds denied knowingly using performance-enhancing substances and has never been inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame.

Regarding the impact of the scandal, Conte once remarked to The Associated Press in a 2010 interview, “Athletes cheat to win, but government officials and prosecutors also cheat to win.” He seemed to question whether the legal battles were worth the effort.