Victor Conte, one of the central names in performance-enhancing drug scandals during the 2000s, died Monday at 75. Conte had announced in June that he had been diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

Conte founded BALCO, the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative, in 1984, after a career as a musician, which included time as the bassist for R&B group Tower of Power. BALCO offered supplements as well as blood and urine analysis to athletes. In 2000, Conte began working with several baseball players, including former San Francisco Giants slugger Barry Bonds.

A 2003 federal investigation found that BALCO had distributed banned performance-enhancing drugs to major athletes across a variety of sports. Bonds, as well as other superstar athletes such as world champion track and field athlete Marion Jones,

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