Lance Armstrong: Has Drug Probe Gone Too Far?

A father of three girls, Novitzky is often described as a straightlaced grinder who is so dedicated to his profession that he has taken calls about his steroid investigations while driving his daughters to a Miley Cyrus concert. "I've always thought of government as a bunch of bumblers," says Catlin, who has advised Novitzky on the science of performance-enhancing drugs. According to Catlin, Novitzky has mastered the material. "Novitzky is not a bumbler. He's the opposite of bumbler. He produces very serious, very scholarly work."

According to his defenders, Novitzky's passion for sports drives his passion to bust the cheaters. "Jeff represents the millions of people who value sports for the good lessons it teaches," says Travis Tygart, chief executive of the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency. "What bothered him was that sports is supposed to be this nice part of life," says Catlin. And the dopers were sullying sports. "He was incensed over that," says Catlin. (See pictures of Lance Armstrong's career.)

A bit too incensed, according to his critics. One federal judge said Novitsky and other investigators showed "callous disregard" for the Fourth Amendment (which protects citizens from unjustified search and seizure) when they raided the lab that housed the results from baseball's 2003 steroid-testing program. Conte claimed that Novitzky misrepresented their conversations in written statements. "Athletes cheat to win," says Conte. "And the government cheats to win too."

Of course, Conte, who was sentenced to four months in prison and four more in home confinement because of Novitzky's enterprising work, is not unbiased. But given Novitzky's eight-years-and-counting crusade against steroids — on the public dime — Conte brings up some very fair questions. "How can we justify this expenditure in tough economic times?" asks Conte. "Should this be a priority? This is going to continue to cost taxpayers a lot of money. Is this all in the best interest of the country?"

How much have Novitzky's steroid investigations cost taxpayers? Neither the FDA nor the IRS would say. "The money spent pales in comparison to the annual salary of one individual player who cheated the game," says Tygart. No matter the exact figure, Novitzky's admirers say the government has made a worthwhile investment. "Something as culturally important as sports deserves inquiry," says Keane. "We have someone as idealized as Lance Armstrong, and if it turns out that he is 'Shoeless' Joe Jackson, Americans who look up to his accomplishments have a right to know." (See the top 10 disgraced athletes.)

But even someone like Catlin, the UCLA scientist who has dedicated his professional career to fighting doping — he identified the designer steroid produced by BALCO — cannot say with certainty that an Armstrong probe will cover its costs. "I've been down the road on these investigations," Catlin says. "They are expensive, they go on and on, and when they finally conclude, the athletes get a slap on the hand." He cites the case of Tammy Thomas, a cyclist who received just six months in home confinement after being convicted of lying to a BALCO grand jury. Troy Ellerman received the longest prison sentence, 30 months, of anyone involved in the BALCO affair. The crime? He's a lawyer who was punished for leaking grand-jury testimony to the media.

Further, the prosecution's chances in the long-delayed Barry Bonds perjury trial took a huge hit in June, when the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that allegedly positive urine samples collected by Bonds' personal trainer, Greg Anderson, were not permissible as hearsay evidence. (Anderson has been jailed on contempt charges for refusing to testify against Bonds and vouch for the authenticity of the tests.)

A case against Armstrong could prove even more difficult, since the government has no positive steroid tests from the cyclist (that we know of). "Like everyone else, I want to know the truth about Lance Armstrong," says Catlin. "But I'm not sure the truth can be known, no matter how many millions we put into it." And if the truth is what Armstrong says it is, the U.S. will have wasted taxpayer money trying to take down one of its heroes.

See TIME's Pictures of the Week.

See the Cartoons of the Week.