Pound Angered By Conte Deal

Dick Pound, chairman of the World Anti-Doping Agency, has criticised the light sentence negotiated by Victor Conte, who allegedly supplied banned drugs to some of the biggest names in sport.

"It kind of ends up with a whimper and a very light sentence that many think is not commensurate with the gravity of the offences," Pound said yesterday. "Somebody who systematically tried to destroy the whole basis of sport by helping athletes and their coaches to cheat gets to walk away with a four-month sentence.

"If we don't get a chance to pursue other allegations with his full cooperation it's a cop-out on a cosmic scale."

Conte, the founder and owner of the Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative in San Francisco, pleaded guilty last Friday to conspiracy to distribute steroids and to money laundering in a deal with United States federal prosecutors.

If a judge at a hearing in October accepts the plea, Conte will spend four months in prison and four months under house arrest.

"An athlete who got caught doing the same sort of thing gets two years," said Pound. "There's certainly a mixed message. Part of it is the difference between the regulatory system of sport and the criminal justice system, but the message is not that encouraging."

Conte's co-defendants are also trying to cut deals with the authorities. These include Remi Korchemny, the Ukrainian-born coach who was working with Britain's Dwain Chambers when the sprinter tested positive for tetrahydrogestrinone (THG). Chambers is currently serving a two-year ban as a result.

The deal means that other athletes who are allegedly linked with Conte, including the five-times 2000 Olympic medallist Marion Jones and the former world 100 metres record holder Tim Montgomery, are likely never to have to testify in open court.

Conte had been charged with conspiring to distribute performance-enhancing drugs to more than 30 baseball players, footballers and athletes. Other leading American stars allegedly linked to the scandal include the baseball players Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants and Jason Giambi of the New York Yankees.

"It's clear Balco had a stable of clients and a stable of athletes," Pound said. "They've managed to stay under the radar."

Jones has denied allegations by Conte that he supplied her with banned drugs, including human growth hormone, and is currently suing him for $25m (£14.3m). Pound said: "Somebody is lying."