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The Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO) (1984–2003) was an American company led by founder and owner
Victor Conte Victor Conte Jr. (born 1950 in Fresno, California) is a former bassist with Tower of Power and the founder and president of Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative (BALCO), a sports nutrition center in California. He served time in prison in 2005 after p ...
. In 2003, journalists
Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada co-authored the book '' Game of Shadows'' while they were reporters for the ''San Francisco Chronicle''. For their investigative work in the field of steroids, Williams and Fainaru-Wada were given the 2004 Geor ...
investigated the company's role in a drug sports scandal later referred to as the ''BALCO Affair''. BALCO marketed
tetrahydrogestrinone Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), known by the nickname The Clear, is a synthetic and orally active anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS) which was never marketed for medical use. It was developed by Patrick Arnold and was used by a number of high-profile ...
("the Clear"), a then-undetected, performance-enhancing
steroid A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and a ...
developed by chemist Patrick Arnold. Conte, BALCO vice president James Valente, weight trainer Greg Anderson and coach
Remi Korchemny Remi Korchemny (russian: Реми Корчемный; born 23 June 1932) is the former sprint coach of a number of high-profile athletes, including Soviet Olympic champion Valeri Borzov. He is serving a lifetime ban from the sport for his invo ...
had supplied a number of high-profile sports stars from the United States and Europe with "the Clear" and human
growth hormone Growth hormone (GH) or somatotropin, also known as human growth hormone (hGH or HGH) in its human form, is a peptide hormone that stimulates growth, cell reproduction, and cell regeneration in humans and other animals. It is thus important in h ...
for several years.


History

Headquartered in
Burlingame, California Burlingame () is a city in San Mateo County, California. It is located on the San Francisco Peninsula and has a significant shoreline on San Francisco Bay. The city is named after diplomat Anson Burlingame and is known for its numerous eucalyp ...
, BALCO was founded in 1984. Officially, BALCO was a service business for blood and urine analysis and
food supplement A dietary supplement is a manufactured product intended to supplement one's diet by taking a pill, capsule, tablet, powder, or liquid. A supplement can provide nutrients either extracted from food sources or that are synthetic in order ...
s. In 1988, Victor Conte offered free blood and urine tests to a group of athletes known as the ''BALCO Olympians''. He then was allowed to attend the
Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...
in
Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...
, South Korea. From 1996, Conte worked with well-known
American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...
star
Bill Romanowski William Thomas Romanowski (born April 2, 1966) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. Nicknamed "Romo" and "RomoCop", he spent the majority of his career with the San Francisco 4 ...
, who proved to be useful to establish new connections to athletes and coaches such as Korchemny. Conte and Korchemny shortly thereafter founded the '' ZMA Track Club'' for marketing purposes, well-known members of it being sprinters
Marion Jones Marion Lois Jones (born October 12, 1975), also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is an American former world champion track and field athlete and former professional basketball player. She won three gold medals and two bronze medals at the 200 ...
and
Tim Montgomery Timothy Montgomery (born January 28, 1975) is an American former track sprinter who specialized in the 100-meter dash. In 2005, he was stripped of his records—including a now-void men's 100-meter world record of 9.78 seconds set in 2002—a ...
. In 2000, Conte managed to contact American baseball star
Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...
via Greg Anderson, a coach working in a nearby fitness studio. Bonds then delivered contacts to other baseball professionals.


Scandal

In 2003, the
United States Attorney for the Northern District of California The United States Attorney for the Northern District of California is the United States Attorney responsible for representing the federal government in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. The Northern Dis ...
began investigating BALCO. U.S. sprint coach Trevor Graham had given an anonymous phone call to the
United States Anti-Doping Agency The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...
(USADA) in June 2003 accusing a number of athletes being involved in doping with a steroid that was not detectable at the time. He also named Victor Conte as the source of the steroid. As evidence, Graham delivered a syringe containing traces of
tetrahydrogestrinone Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), known by the nickname The Clear, is a synthetic and orally active anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS) which was never marketed for medical use. It was developed by Patrick Arnold and was used by a number of high-profile ...
, nicknamed "the Clear." Shortly after,
Don Catlin Don H. Catlin (born June 4, 1938) is an anti- doping scientist and one of the founders of modern drug-testing in sport. Career Catlin has overseen testing for performance-enhancing drugs at the three most recent Olympics held in the United State ...
, MD, the founder of the UCLA Olympic Analytical Laboratory, developed a testing process for
tetrahydrogestrinone Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), known by the nickname The Clear, is a synthetic and orally active anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS) which was never marketed for medical use. It was developed by Patrick Arnold and was used by a number of high-profile ...
(THG). Now able to detect the new substance, he tested 550 existing samples from athletes, of which 20 proved to be positive for THG. On September 3, 2003 agents of the
Internal Revenue Service The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is the revenue service for the United States federal government, which is responsible for collecting U.S. federal taxes and administering the Internal Revenue Code, the main body of the federal statutory ta ...
,
Food and Drug Administration The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA or US FDA) is a List of United States federal agencies, federal agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Health and Human Services. The FDA is respon ...
, San Mateo Narcotics Task Force, and
United States Anti-Doping Agency The United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA, ) is a non-profit, non-governmental 501(c)(3) organization and the national anti- doping organization (NADO) for the United States. To protect clean competition and the integrity of sport and prevent ...
conducted a house search at the BALCO facilities. Beside lists of BALCO customers in a BALCO field warehouse they found containers whose labels indicated steroids and growth hormones. In a house search at Anderson's place two days later, steroids, $60,000 in cash, names lists and dosage plans were found. Among the athletes listed in the record of BALCO customers were: * MLB players:
Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...
,
Benito Santiago Benito Santiago Rivera (born March 9, 1965), is a Puerto Rican former professional baseball player. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1986 to 2005, most prominently as a member of the San Diego Padres, with whom he was a fou ...
,
Jeremy Giambi Jeremy Dean Giambi (; September 30, 1974 – February 9, 2022) was an American outfielder and first baseman in Major League Baseball (MLB). He played for four teams from 1998 to 2003, primarily the Oakland Athletics, where he was a teammate of h ...
, Bobby Estalella, Armando Rios * Athletes:
Hammer throw The hammer throw is one of the four throwing events in regular track and field competitions, along with the discus throw, shot put and javelin. The "hammer" used in this sport is not like any of the tools also called by that name. It consis ...
er
John McEwen Sir John McEwen, (29 March 1900 – 20 November 1980) was an Australian politician who served as the 18th prime minister of Australia, holding office from 1967 to 1968 in a caretaker capacity after the disappearance of Harold Holt. He was the ...
,
shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...
ters
Kevin Toth Kevin Toth (born December 29, 1967, in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American former shot put athlete. His personal best throw was in 2003, which places him 9th on the all-time performers list (). In 2004, the United States Anti-Doping Agency announc ...
and C.J. Hunter, sprinters
Dwain Chambers Dwain Anthony Chambers (born 5 April 1978) is a British track sprinter. He has won international medals at World and European levels and is one of the fastest European sprinters in the history of athletics. His primary event is the 100 me ...
,
Marion Jones Marion Lois Jones (born October 12, 1975), also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is an American former world champion track and field athlete and former professional basketball player. She won three gold medals and two bronze medals at the 200 ...
,
Tim Montgomery Timothy Montgomery (born January 28, 1975) is an American former track sprinter who specialized in the 100-meter dash. In 2005, he was stripped of his records—including a now-void men's 100-meter world record of 9.78 seconds set in 2002—a ...
,
Zhanna Block Zhanna Pintusevich-Block ( uk, Жанна Пінтусевич-Блок; Tarnopolskaya; born 6 July 1972) is a Ukrainian former world champion sprinter who competed in the Olympic Games. Early life Zhanna Pintusevich-Block comes from a Jewish ...
and
Kelli White Kelli White (born April 1, 1977, in Oakland, California) is an American former sprinter. She won two gold medals in the World Championships in Paris in 2003. However, on June 18, 2004, she was stripped of her medals, because she tested positive ...
, middle-distance runner Regina Jacobs. * Boxer
Shane Mosley Shane Mosley (born September 7, 1971), often known by his nickname "Sugar" Shane Mosley, is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1993 to 2016. He held multiple world championships in three weight classes, including the IBF l ...
. * Cycling:
Tammy Thomas Tammy Thomas (born 1970 or 1971) is an American former sprint track cyclist, who won a silver medal at the 2001 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in the individual sprint event. However, her career was ended after she was caught using anaboli ...
. * NFL players: A number from the
Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team that played in Oakland from its founding in 1960 to 1981 and again from 1995 to 2019 before relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan area where they now play as the Las Vegas Raide ...
, including
Bill Romanowski William Thomas Romanowski (born April 2, 1966) is a former American football linebacker who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 16 seasons. Nicknamed "Romo" and "RomoCop", he spent the majority of his career with the San Francisco 4 ...
,
Tyrone Wheatley Tyrone Anthony Wheatley Sr. (born January 19, 1972) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach at Wayne State University in Detroit, Michigan. Previously, he served as the running backs coach of the Denver Broncos of ...
,
Barret Robbins Barret Glenn Robbins (born August 26, 1973) is a former American football center who played nine seasons for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL). After playing college football for Texas Christian University, he was taken ...
,
Chris Cooper Christopher Walton Cooper (born July 9, 1951) is an American actor. He has appeared in several major Hollywood films, including '' American Beauty'' (1999), ''October Sky'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Seabiscuit'' (2003), '' Ca ...
and
Dana Stubblefield Dana William Stubblefield (born November 14, 1970) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). After graduating from Taylor High School in North Bend, Ohio, Stubblefie ...
. * Judo: Conte was also connected with supplying "vitamin supplements" to the 1988 U.S. Olympic judo team coached by Willy Cahill of
San Bruno San Bruno (Spanish for " St. Bruno") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, incorporated in 1914. The population was 43,908 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is between South San Francisco and Millbrae, adjacent to ...
, California. * Christos Tzekos and his athletes were initially connected to BALCO but later cleared. Patrick Arnold, BALCO's chemist, alleges that Bonds and Sheffield were given "the Clear," though the athletes deny knowing about it and Arnold does not claim to have witnessed it. In April 2005, Lance Williams and Mark Fainaru-Wada were honored with the journalist prize of the
White House Correspondents' Association The White House Correspondents' Association (WHCA) is an organization of journalists who cover the White House and the president of the United States. The WHCA was founded on February 25, 1914, by journalists in response to an unfounded rumor t ...
. In 2006, they published the book ''
Game of Shadows ''Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO, and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports'' is a bestselling non-fiction book published on March 23, 2006, and written by Mark Fainaru-Wada and Lance Williams, reporters for the ''San Franc ...
,'' which consists of a summary of about 200 interviews and 1,000 documents they collected for their research. On July 15, 2005, Conte and Anderson cut plea bargains, pleaded guilty to illegal steroid distribution and
money laundering Money laundering is the process of concealing the origin of money, obtained from illicit activities such as drug trafficking, corruption, embezzlement or gambling, by converting it into a legitimate source. It is a crime in many jurisdictions ...
and avoided an embarrassing trial. Conte spent four months in prison. Anderson was incarcerated for 13½ months. He was released on November 15, 2007, the same day Bonds was indicted by a federal grand jury on four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice. On June 6, 2006 the house of
Arizona Diamondbacks The Arizona Diamondbacks (colloquially known as the D-backs) are an American professional baseball team based in Phoenix. The Diamondbacks compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. The f ...
player
Jason Grimsley Jason Alan Grimsley (born August 7, 1967) is a former Major League Baseball relief pitcher who played for seven teams during a 15-year career. He was a member of both the 1999 and 2000 World Series champion New York Yankees. Major League career J ...
was searched as part of the ongoing BALCO probe. Grimsley later said that federal investigators wanted him to wear a wire in order to obtain information against Barry Bonds. He told people which players used performance-enhancing drugs. The final result was that the Diamondbacks released Grimsley, and he was given a 50-game suspension by
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
. In October 2006, investigations against Fainaru-Wada and Williams were started. The reporters were served with subpoenas to appear before a grand jury to identify the individual who leaked Bonds' name to them. They refused to do so and federal prosecutors asked that they be jailed for up to 18 months (the typical term of a grand jury).Maik Grossekathöfer: ''Leck im System.'', Der Spiegel, 40/2006, S. 140, (German) However, in February 2007, federal prosecutors dropped charges against the reporters after a
Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of t ...
attorney, Troy Ellerman, who once represented Conte and another executive of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-operative, admitted to leaking the testimony and pleaded guilty to federal charges of unauthorized disclosure of grand jury testimony. In an interview with ''
Editor & Publisher ''Editor & Publisher'' (''E&P'') is an American monthly trade news magazine covering the newspaper industry. Published since 1901, ''Editor & Publisher'' is the self-described "bible of the newspaper industry." Originally based in New York City, ...
'', Lance Williams revealed that he would never testify in court, even if it did not involve confidential sources. "I have no interest in becoming anybody's witness." On November 15, 2007, former
San Francisco Giants The San Francisco Giants are an American professional baseball team based in San Francisco, California. The Giants compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Founded in 1883 as the New Yor ...
outfielder An outfielder is a person playing in one of the three defensive positions in baseball or softball, farthest from the batter. These defenders are the left fielder, the center fielder, and the right fielder. As an outfielder, their duty is to cat ...
Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...
was indicted for perjury and obstruction of justice based on his grand jury testimony in this investigation. The trial began March 21, 2011, and he was convicted on April 13, 2011 on the obstruction of justice charge. The conviction was overturned upon appeal in April 2015. On April 4, 2008,
Tammy Thomas Tammy Thomas (born 1970 or 1971) is an American former sprint track cyclist, who won a silver medal at the 2001 UCI Track Cycling World Championships in the individual sprint event. However, her career was ended after she was caught using anaboli ...
was convicted by a federal jury on three counts of making false statements to a federal grand jury in November 2003, and on one count of obstructing justice. She was acquitted of two perjury charges. Sentencing was set for July 18, 2008. She was sentenced to six months'
house arrest In justice and law, house arrest (also called home confinement, home detention, or, in modern times, electronic monitoring) is a measure by which a person is confined by the authorities to their residence. Travel is usually restricted, if all ...
and five years' probation on October 10, 2008. On May 29, 2008, Trevor Graham was convicted by a federal jury on one count of lying to federal investigators about his relationship to an admitted steroids dealer, and the jury deadlocked on two other charges. Sentencing was set for September 5, 2008. He was sentenced to one year of house arrest on October 21, 2008.


See also

*
Don Catlin Don H. Catlin (born June 4, 1938) is an anti- doping scientist and one of the founders of modern drug-testing in sport. Career Catlin has overseen testing for performance-enhancing drugs at the three most recent Olympics held in the United State ...
*
Doping in sport In competitive sports, doping is the use of banned athletic performance-enhancing drugs by athletic competitors as a way of cheating in sports. The term ''doping'' is widely used by organizations that regulate sporting competitions. The use of ...
*
Marion Jones Marion Lois Jones (born October 12, 1975), also known as Marion Jones-Thompson, is an American former world champion track and field athlete and former professional basketball player. She won three gold medals and two bronze medals at the 200 ...
*
Barry Bonds Barry Lamar Bonds (born July 24, 1964) is an American former professional baseball left fielder who played 22 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB). Bonds was a member of the Pittsburgh Pirates from 1986 to 1992 and the San Francisco Giants f ...
*
Tetrahydrogestrinone Tetrahydrogestrinone (THG), known by the nickname The Clear, is a synthetic and orally active anabolic–androgenic steroid (AAS) which was never marketed for medical use. It was developed by Patrick Arnold and was used by a number of high-profile ...


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative Drugs in sport in the United States Burlingame, California Companies based in San Mateo County, California 1984 establishments in California American companies established in 1984