A New York jury began deliberation on February 1 in the horse doping trial against Dr. Seth Fishman.
The jury of eight women and four men deliberated for about 30 minutes before spending the night without reaching a verdict. They continued their discussion on the morning of February 2.
The charges against Fishman, a 50-year-old Florida veterinarian, stem from a federal government crackdown on horse doping at races across the country, of which more than two dozen include indicted individuals. Those charged include top coach Jason Servis, who is awaiting trial, and Jorge Navarro, who was sentenced to five years in the case after pleading guilty.
Prosecutors say racehorse trainers at Thoroughbred racetrack and harness have fed their horses with performance-enhancing drugs manufactured by Fishman and designed to evade post-race checks. race. They said Navarro was one of Fishman’s clients.
At the start of the 10th day of the trial on Tuesday, jurors noted Fishman’s absence from the courtroom for the second day in a row. They were not told where he was, and Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil advised them not to speculate in his absence.
“Please don’t make any inferences as to why he might be absent,” she said.
The jury spent much of the day listening to prosecutors and defense attorney Maurice Sercarz clash over the evidence in the case.
Prosecutor Sarah Mortazavi addressed the jury and began by saying that Fishman built “a multi-million dollar drug business through deception.”
“You know all that defendant Seth Fishman is about,” she said. “His business was to sell adulterated and mislabeled drugs, performance-enhancing drugs he designed to cheat horse racing.”
Re-emphasizing the evidence presented during the trial, she paused to play a 2019 Federal Bureau of Investigation burglary recording. In that recording, Fishman says that anytime you give something to one horse that you shouldn’t do, that’s doping.
Mortazavi said another theft log quoted Fishman as saying he had cheated the system.
“If someone says they’re trying to cheat the system, that’s what they’re doing,” the prosecutor said.
Minutes later, Mortazavi held a bottle of drugs that had been confiscated from Fishman’s business in 2018 and showed it to the jury.
“We’re not talking about hay and oats and apples,” she said.
Mortazavi says that there is a lot of evidence of Mermaid’s guilt. The prosecution’s case included witness statements, emails, text messages and dozens of wiretapping recordings. Three of the witnesses were trainers who said Fishman provided them with the PED.
To prove its case, the prosecution must prove that Mermaid deceived or deceived others in the course of the alleged conspiracy.
Mortazavi said evidence suggests Fishman attempted to defraud and deceive the Food and Drug Administration by registering his company in Panama.
She said the evidence also shows how Fishman tried to avoid scrutiny from racing regulators.
She reviewed a piece of text that quoted Fishman as saying “absolutely not” when asked if a PED order should be sent to an address at a railroad track.
“Why not send it to the racing office,” Fishman wrote, obviously amused.
“LOL – League of Legends” is the answer from Lisa Gianelli, Fishman’s business partner.
She is on trial with Fish-Man, but a wrongful conviction was declared last week after her attorney tested positive for COVID-19.
Sercarz argued to the jury that there was not enough evidence from the government that his client had cheated or cheated.
“Did he do anything that broke the racing regulations? Yes, but intended to be deceptive or misleading? ‘ said Sercarz.
He attributes Fishman’s actions to someone acting in good faith and who, as a licensed veterinarian, is always in the best interests of the horses.
“Mermaid Seth randomly chose to live in a rough neighborhood among racehorse owners and trainers who wanted to cheat,” says Sercarz.
“I suggest it is Dr. Fishman, who is trying to wean horses from much more dangerous things and provide a safer alternative while also keeping to his vows as a doctor. Veterinarians are licensed to protect the welfare and safety of animals.”
After Sercarz ended, prosecutors had the final say. Prosecutor Andrew Adams stood up and asked the jury to dismiss his opponent’s argument.
“He didn’t have much to do,” Adams said. “He is not a magician. He can’t make the evidence disappear.”
The prosecutor told the jury that Mermaid’s actions were not to help racehorses but to help his clients make money and cheat race administrations.
“He was a drug dealer, not a veterinarian,” Adams said.
Leading industry publications Thoroughbred are working together to cover this important trial.
