As exhibits and transcripts from the trial of Dr. Seth Fishman continue to be acquired by members of the trade media, Harness Link reported over the weekend it had acquired a copy of the testimony given by owner/trainer Adrienne Hall, who appeared as a witness for the prosecution.
The publication presented the transcript in its entirety here.
Fishman was convicted by a federal jury last week on two counts of conspiring to violate adulteration and misbranding laws and the manufacture of performance-enhancing substances given to racehorses.
His sentencing is currently scheduled to take place during the first week of May. The maximum term he may face in federal prison is 20 years.
Jeff Gural, owner of the Meadowlands, has been outspoken in his support of Hall, who admitted to purchasing PEDs from Fishman in an effort to improve her horses' performance. Hall has seen her membership in the U.S. Trotting Association revoked, but Gural does not plan to ban her from his track. A spokesman for the New York State Gaming Commission also indicated that there were no restrictions in place on Hall's license as of last week.
The transcript notes several occasions when wiretapped phone calls were played for the jury. The contents of an audio recording is not typically captured on the court reporter's transcript and is not included here.
Here are a few takeaways from the transcript:
- Hall initially contacted Fishman in an effort to find a veterinarian to serve her new training operation. She contacted Lisa Ranger on a recommendation from a fellow trainer in Ohio identified as Daniel Mier and purchased electrolyte jugs, iron sucrose, folic acid, vitamin B-12, Caco Copper, Amicar, and vitamin C from Equestology through Ranger. Hall was new to Florida at the time and interested in finding a new veterinarian to do lameness examinations on her horses. She inquired about whether Fishman could do this, but he later explained he did not do lameness work due to back problems. In fact, she said, Fishman never did any kind of examination of any of her horses. Hall later found a different veterinarian to do the work but never made any inquiries as to whether he could sell her any pre-race PEDs.
- Fishman later detailed to Hall that he'd been investigated by an unidentified state veterinary board.
“Here's reality,” read a text from Fishman to Hall, which Hall was asked to read on the stand. “I was tortured so much by race commission without a client ever getting a single positive other than stupid shit like Bute given by another vet. I voluntarily gave up my license and then the veterinary board had me investigated for BS. They even accused Lisa of practicing veterinary medicine. I spent $25,000 in legal fees and had a personal political favor called in to end the BS.” - Hall corresponded with Fishman anyhow in hopes he could help her with a pre-race program for her horses, which would eventually include products she understood to be VO2 Max, a blood builder, and equine growth hormone.
- Those products were given to Hall in vials with instructions they be reconstituted with sterile or bacteriostatic water before being injected — a process that made Hall nervous, since she did not want to accidentally put the product into the wrong vein or into a muscle and harm the horse.
- Fishman told Hall in text messages that a blood building program would run $400 to $800 per month per horse. “A good program for blood, tissue regeneration and muscle factors is normally $1,250 to $1,500 per month,” Fishman told her. He offered to discount that program to $750.
- Hall said Fishman never charged her for the PEDs he gave to her. He did indicate at one stage that if she referred other trainers to him, that she could make a commission off those sales. She assumed his interest in working with her was primarily the hope she could connect him to larger-scale operations where he believed she had a connection.
- Hall indicated that there were rumors that Tony Poliseno, apparently Donato Poliseno, who is a defendant on a separate indictment, was selling product trainers in Ohio believed could be suspect. Poliseno was on the Fishman client list presented as an exhibit by the prosecution during the trial.
“…By the time I had left Ohio or when I was getting ready to leave Ohio, a lot of trainers were getting fed up with Poliseno,” Hall testified. “There were rumors that he was selling them products that were not as they were labeled. Horses were having bad reactions. Some of it they thought could have just been saline, so they were wasting money. A lot of people were stopping buying from him, and that's kind of how I came across Equestology.”
Read the complete transcript at Harness Link
