Conte, Anderson sentenced to jail

SAN FRANCISCO – Two men at the centre of one of the sporting world’s largest drug scandals were sentenced to prison terms on Tuesday by an American federal court judge.

Judge Susan Illston sentenced Victor Conte, founder of Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative (BALCO), and Greg Anderson, who served as a personal trainer to Barry Bonds, to penalties of four months and three months in jail respectively. BALCO’s vice-president James Valente received three years’ probation.Conte is president of the BALCO whose clients included numerous elite athletes such as sprinters Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery and baseball players Bonds and Jason Giambi.Conte’s sentence was worked out as part of a deal with federal prosecutors and he was also instructed by a Judge Illston to serve four months under house arrest.”(Athletes) were cheating and you helped them do that.You were complicit in the cheating,” Judge Illston told Conte.Anderson, who helped Bonds chase Major League Baseball’s all-time home run record, also received three months house arrest.The pair are free on bond until they begin serving their prison sentences on December 1.In July, Conte and Anderson pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids and money laundering from charges dating to February 2004.The four-month home confinement is just one of a number of special conditions attached to a two-year supervised release order for Conte.The 54-year-old Conte will not be allowed to have contact with Anderson or track coach Remi Korchemny.He was also slapped with a 10 000 US dollar fine, ordered to turn over his financial information and is not allowed to own firearms.Conte says he is now the “poster child” for performance-enhancing drugs in sports.He said better education is the key to stamping out drug cheats and he plans to use his knowledge to do something positive for professional and amateur sports.”It is time for the world to finally become educated about the truth behind elite level sports, so we can begin to collectively work toward creating a genuine level playing field for the young athletes of the future,” Conte told the San Jose Mercury News outside the courtroom.Korchemny is scheduled to be sentenced early next year.In their guilty pleas, Conte and Anderson admitted to distributing to athletes a testosterone cream known as ‘The Cream’ and a synthetic steroid derivative known as ‘The Clear’.-Nampa-AFPBALCO’s vice-president James Valente received three years’ probation.Conte is president of the BALCO whose clients included numerous elite athletes such as sprinters Marion Jones, Tim Montgomery and baseball players Bonds and Jason Giambi.Conte’s sentence was worked out as part of a deal with federal prosecutors and he was also instructed by a Judge Illston to serve four months under house arrest.”(Athletes) were cheating and you helped them do that.You were complicit in the cheating,” Judge Illston told Conte.Anderson, who helped Bonds chase Major League Baseball’s all-time home run record, also received three months house arrest.The pair are free on bond until they begin serving their prison sentences on December 1.In July, Conte and Anderson pleaded guilty to one count each of conspiracy to distribute anabolic steroids and money laundering from charges dating to February 2004.The four-month home confinement is just one of a number of special conditions attached to a two-year supervised release order for Conte.The 54-year-old Conte will not be allowed to have contact with Anderson or track coach Remi Korchemny.He was also slapped with a 10 000 US dollar fine, ordered to turn over his financial information and is not allowed to own firearms.Conte says he is now the “poster child” for performance-enhancing drugs in sports.He said better education is the key to stamping out drug cheats and he plans to use his knowledge to do something positive for professional and amateur sports.”It is time for the world to finally become educated about the truth behind elite level sports, so we can begin to collectively work toward creating a genuine level playing field for the young athletes of the future,” Conte told the San Jose Mercury News outside the courtroom.Korchemny is scheduled to be sentenced early next year.In their guilty pleas, Conte and Anderson admitted to distributing to athletes a testosterone cream known as ‘The Cream’ and a synthetic steroid derivative known as ‘The Clear’.-Nampa-AFP