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Jury Selection Still In Progress After First Day Of Fishman/Giannelli Trial

The Jan. 19 selection of jurors for the federal horse-doping trail of Dr. Seth Fishman and Lisa Giannelli was extended into at least a second day when only 37 of 75 potential jurors were questioned inside a lower Manhattan courthouse.

U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil called for an end to the marathon nine-hour session at about 6 p.m. ET, ordering the jurors who had yet to be interviewed to return to the same Southern District of New York court by 9:30 a.m. Jan. 20.

The interview process consisted of 72 questions posed to the possible jurors, asking about a wide topic of subjects, including their knowledge of horse racing, ownership of pets, gambling, medications, feelings about veterinarians, and their background. These questions were asked to learn if any of them had personal conflicts that would prevent them from viewing the court case fairly and impartially.

Nine of the persons interviewed Wednesday were excused for a variety of reasons.

Of the 37 questioned, the only potential juror who said he follows horse racing closely at the present time was excused after he voiced concerns about judging the case without a bias.

Fishman and Giannelli are facing federal charges for allegedly working through a company called Equestology to sell adulterated and misbranded performance-enhancing drugs to clients in the horse racing industry.

Fishman and Giannelli are part of the March 9, 2020, indictments that also snared trainers Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis. Fishman is charged with two counts of conspiracy to commit drug adulteration and misbranding while Giannelli is facing one count of misbranding conspiracy.

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Jury Selection Process Begins for Fishman Trial

The Jan. 19 selection of jurors for the federal horse-doping trial of Dr. Seth Fishman and Lisa Giannelli was extended into at least a second day when only 37 of 75 potential jurors were questioned inside a lower Manhattan courthouse.
U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil called for an end to the marathon nine-hour session at about 6 p.m. ET, ordering the jurors who had yet to be interviewed to return to the same Southern District of New York court by 9:30 a.m. Jan. 20.

Nine of the persons interviewed Wednesday were excused for a variety of reasons.

Of the 37 questioned, the only potential juror who said he follows horse racing closely at the present time was excused after he voiced concerns about judging the case without a bias.

The Thoroughbred industry's leading publications are working together to cover this key trial.

The post Jury Selection Process Begins for Fishman Trial appeared first on TDN | Thoroughbred Daily News | Horse Racing News, Results and Video | Thoroughbred Breeding and Auctions.

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Ahead Of Trial, Fishman Gives Interview To Post: ‘I Believe I’m Practicing Sound Medicine’

Against the advice of his attorneys, Dr. Seth Fishman gave an extended interview to The Washington Post ahead of the start of his criminal trial in U.S. District Court, which begins Jan. 19. He said, among other things, that he has been unfairly targeted in the case.

Fishman portrayed himself to reporter Gus Garcia-Roberts as an animal lover whose products were therapeutic substances designed to help horses, and that the laws used to indict him are obscure and outdated.

“If I'm providing a safe alternative to what's in use — and will be used unless I provide a safe alternative — I believe I'm practicing sound medicine … And the fact that they may or may not be able to test for it as easily, I don't know how that makes it a crime,” Fishman told the Post, speaking of an EPO mimetic.

Fishman also said he believed he was targeted in the investigation, which many reports have indicated was spearheaded by a private investigative firm hired by The Jockey Club. He claimed that other guilty parties had been “spared” to “create an illusion of reform that can distract from more entrenched corruption.” Fishman claimed his connection to co-defendant Jorge Navarro was fairly tenuous compared to that of other veterinarians, and that two probably spoke for less than a collective hour in the time they knew each other.

Fishman has been involved in a federal case before, when he was called upon to testify against former Standardbred owner and client David H. Brooks. Brooks was indicted in 2007 for fraud, and court records revealed a conversation between Brooks and Fishman in which Brooks asked Fishman to create a pill that would create amnesia in a key witness in the case. An FBI report indicated Fishman had admitted he had sold drugs to Brooks for the purposes of pre-race doping, though Fishman contends that his words were misconstrued.

Fishman, who said he has stage three thyroid cancer, told the Post he's willing to take his chances in the case, though at times he becomes discouraged about his odds of beating the charges against him.

“My number got punched,” Fishman said. “So it's either real corrupt people trying to make an example out of me or God really hates me that much that it's, 'Hey, it's my lottery ticket to die.' ”

First Trial In Federal Drug Misbranding Case To Begin Jan. 19

The first trial in the well-publicized federal drug adulteration and misbranding case that focused on doping in horse racing will begin Jan. 19 in New York. Veterinarian Dr. Seth Fishman and Lisa Giannelli will be the first two defendants from the case announced in March 2020 to go to trial. A number of co-defendants, including high-profile former trainer Jorge Navarro, have entered guilty pleas and been sentenced for their role in making, distributing, or using adulterated or misbranded drugs on racehorses.

The remaining co-defendants have been broken down into three groups that will be tried together. Fishman and Giannelli are the first, while Dr. Rebecca Linke and Rick Dane Jr., are in the second, which could start in March. (Linke has already made a deal to defer prosecution.) No date has been set for the third trial grouping, which includes trainers Jason Servis and MIchael Tannuzzo, as well as Drs. Alexander Chan and Erica Garcia.

Fishman, who was trained as a veterinarian, has been accused of concocting performance-enhancing drug combinations he marketed to clients on the premise they would not test. Intercepted communications between Fishman and others revealed that he claimed he made different drug cocktails for each trainer who bought his products, so that if new drug tests detected one substance, his other clients would still be protected.

Giannelli worked for Fishman, though she disputes her role was more as a courier than a sales representative, as alleged by the prosecution.

A recent release of evidence against Fishman in court documents claims his products were implicated in a 2011 case of a horse who died after receiving an injection. It also raised questions about a connection between Fishman and his products and an official in the United Arab Emirates government connected with camels. Read more about that evidence in this story from Dec. 22, 2021.

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