Conte Sentenced

Victor Conte, the former Tower Of Power bassist who founded the Bay Area Laboratory-Cooperative (better known as BALCO), was sentenced October 18th to four months behind bars plus four more in home confinement in a plea deal negotiated with federal prosecutors.

Court records in the case showed that BALCO, at the heart of professional baseball’s steroid scandals, counted dozens of athletes on its client roster including Barry Bonds, Jason Giambi and Marion Jones.

Conte pleaded guilty in July to money laundering and a steroid distribution charge. Dozens of other counts were dropped.

Before becoming a “nutritional supplement” expert, Conte was known as Tower of Power’s “Walking Fish” on bass. He also played for Herbie Hancock‘s jazz band and had a group of his own called, ironically, Pure Food and Drug Act.