Report Says Jones Got Steroids From BALCO

A nutritionist charged with distributing illegal drugs to pro athletes told federal agents he gave steroids to track stars Marion Jones and Tim Montgomery in exchange for endorsements, a newspaper reported Saturday night.

The story on the San Francisco Chronicle’s web site, quoting sources who requested anonymity, said Bay Area Laboratory Co-Operative founder Victor Conte told the federal investigators that Jones and Montgomery received the performance-enhancing substances in exchange for endorsements of his nutritional supplement.

A lawyer for Jones told the Chronicle that the newspaper’s story was wrong. A lawyer for Conte told the newspaper that the lab owner denied ever providing information to federal agents about any specific athletes receiving steroids.

Jones’ lawyer, Joseph Burton, did not immediately respond to telephone and e-mail messages from Associated Press. Conte’s attorneys, Robert Holley and Troy Ellerman, did not immediately respond to phone and e-mail messages from AP.

Conte said in an e-mail message to AP that he couldn’t comment. Jones’ publicist, Lewis Kay, could not be reached for comment.

Jones and Montgomery, both of whom testified last fall before a federal grand jury that indicted Conte and three other men, repeatedly have denied steroid use. All four indicted men have pleaded not guilty.

Jones won an unprecedented five track medals -- three of them gold -- at the 2000 Sydney Olympics. Her boyfriend, Montgomery, holds the world record of 9.78 seconds in the 100 meters.

A source who requested anonymity told the Chronicle that Conte’s statements to federal investigators came after agents raided BALCO last September. Three other anonymous sources confirmed to the Chronicle the information about Jones receiving drugs from Conte.

Sources told the newspaper that federal agents were told that Jones and Montgomery received a then-undetectable steroid known as “the clear” and a testosterone-based steroid known as “the cream” in exchange for endorsing a zinc- and magnesium-based, legal nutritional product called ZMA.

Prosecutors have identified “the clear” as THG, which was unmasked last summer by anti-doping officials. Five track and field athletes and four NFL players have tested positive for THG. Jones and Montgomery were not among that group.

Federal officials have refused to make public the names of athletes who allegedly received performance-enhancing drugs through BALCO. The Senate Commerce Committee, chaired by Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), has subpoenaed the Justice Department’s BALCO documents.

Two sources told the Chronicle that those documents have been turned over to the committee.

The New York Times reported Saturday, quoting sources who requested anonymity, that a $7,350 check from Jones’ bank account was written to Conte in 2000, just before the Sydney Olympics.

The Times quoted two people familiar with the check as saying it was signed by Jones’ former husband, former shotputter C.J. Hunter, who failed four separate steroid tests before the Sydney Games.