BALCO Founder Gets Four Months in Prison
BALCO Founder Gets Four Months in Prison
SAN FRANCISCO - BALCO founder Victor Conte and Barry Bonds' personal trainer were sentenced to prison time for their roles in a scheme to provide pro athletes with undetectable banned drugs.
Conte, who started the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative and masterminded the plan, was sentenced to four months in prison and four months' home confinement Tuesday after negotiating a plea deal with federal prosecutors.
Greg Anderson, Bonds' personal trainer, was sentenced to three months behind bars and three months in home confinement after pleading guilty to money laundering and a steroid distribution charge. Anderson and Bonds have been friends since childhood.
The lab, according to court records, counted dozens of prominent athletes among its clients, including Bonds, New York Yankees slugger Jason Giambi and Olympic track and field star Marion Jones.
James Valente, vice president of Burlingame-based BALCO, was sentenced to probation after pleading guilty to reduced charges of steroid distribution.
Outside the courthouse, Conte read a statement saying he wanted to rid the sporting world of steroids.
"I've decided to direct my knowledge, experience and determination toward making sports more honorable for the athletes and fans," Conte said.
The case prompted pro sports to stiffen steroid policies and thrust performance-enhancing drugs into the spotlight. THG, a steroid uncovered in the investigation, is now banned throughout sports.
Conte pleaded guilty in July to money laundering and a steroid distribution charge; dozens of counts were dropped as part of his plea deal. Anderson and Conte, who remain free on bond, are scheduled to surrender to prison authorities Dec. 1.
U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said she was not thrilled with the plea deals, but accepted them anyway. Illston could have sentenced Conte to a year in prison. She had harsh words for Anderson, who faced a maximum six months confinement. She called his behavior criminally and morally wrong.
Anderson and his attorney had argued for no prison time.
"I'm sorry for my actions," Anderson told the judge.
U.S. Attorney Kevin Ryan in San Francisco said Tuesday the July plea deals were spurred in part by weak steroid laws and by the fact that some of the chemicals were not banned at the time. He noted, however, that the prosecution's fallout was larger than the case itself.
"This case is bigger at this point than the defendants who were sentenced today," Ryan said. "This case galvanized the debate about steroids."
Ryan added that he would "seriously consider" Conte's help in tracking down illegal performance-enhancing drugs.
Track coach Remi Korchemny, the fourth and final defendant in the case, is expected to get probation at a later sentencing date.
Still, authorities are now taking aim at the alleged BALCO suppliers.
Last month, the authorities raided a laboratory in Champaign, Ill., headed by Patrick Arnold, who's known for introducing the steroid precursor androstenedione to the U.S. Andro came to public attention in 1998 when St. Louis Cardinals slugger Mark McGwire said he used it when breaking baseball's home run record. Court records suggest Arnold supplied BALCO with THG, which was known as "the clear."
Ryan declined to comment on the investigation's next stages.
The two dozen or so athletes who appeared before a grand jury here have not been targets of the steroid probe. They have been granted immunity in exchange for their testimony, and authorities said Tuesday the investigation did not target the steroid users.
