Evidence gathered by the FBI, including wiretaps, may be used at trial against the trainers, veterinarians, and others charged with federal drug adulteration and misbranding. U.S. District Court Judge Mary Kay Vsykocil made the ruling at an in-person hearing conducted Nov. 4. The judge has not yet filed a full legal opinion detailing her reasoning for denying the motions, which alleged the FBI had attained the wiretaps using misleading information on its application.
Several defendants, including trainer Jason Servis, had filed their own motions to suppress or joined together on existing motions. Motions from Jordan Fishman, Marcos Zulueta, and Christopher Oakes had been withdrawn when those defendants entered guilty pleas in recent weeks.
Judge Vyskocil also moved forward with trial scheduling. Attorneys had already agreed that the remaining defendants would be clustered in three groupings for trial purposes, according to who seemed to have worked together in the relevant, alleged criminal activities. The first group will consist of Dr. Seth Fishman, who is accused of making a number of performance-enhancing substances, and Lisa Giannelli, who is accused of helping to distribute those products. An order from the judge entered Nov. 4 stated the first trial is expected to begin on or about Jan. 19, 2022.
Defendants in the second group could see a trial toward the latter part of the first quarter of 2022, though a date range was not included in the Nov. 4 order. That grouping includes Rick Dane Jr. and Dr. Rebecca Linke.
The remaining defendants include Dr. Erica Garcia, Jason Servis, Michael Tannuzzo, and Dr. Alex Chan. Prosecutors have expressed a desire to try those four defendants together, although the judge left the door open this week that she may hear severance motions if any of the defendants move to be tried separately.
The next status conference in the case is scheduled for Jan. 13, 2022.
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