The head of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), and Major League Baseball star Barry Bonds' personal trainer have been sentenced to prison for providing professional athletes with undetectable performance-enhancing drugs.
BALCO founder Victor Conte was sentenced to four months in prison and four months in home confinement Tuesday as part of a plea deal with U.S. government prosecutors. Conte pleaded guilty in July to money laundering and steroid distribution charges but dozens of counts were dropped.
Bonds' trainer Greg Anderson will spend three months in jail and three months in home confinement after pleading guilty to charges of money laundering and steroid distribution. BALCO vice president James Valente was sentenced to three-years probation after pleading guilty to reduced charges of steroid distribution. Conte and Anderson are to report to prison December 1.
Track coach Remi Korchemny, the fourth and final defendant in the case, is expected to get probation at a later sentencing date.
BALCO's prominent clients included major league baseball's Barry Bonds and Jason Giambi and Olympic athletics champions Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery. The case has had wide-ranging impact, prompting everything from U.S. Congressional hearings to more stringent anti-doping policies in amateur and professional sports.
Some information for this report provided by AFP and AP.
