A tentative trial date of July 11 has been set for Dr. Michael Posner, a veterinarian prosecutors say worked with Scott Mangini to help Mangini cover up his distribution of adulteration and misbranded drugs for racehorses.
Pharmacist Scott Mangini and his former business partner, Scott Robinson, have entered guilty pleas in the case and been sentenced for their role in creating and distributing adulterated and misbranded drugs which were given to racehorses.
Posner and Carl Garofalo Jr., were included in a superseding indictment filed after the well-known cluster of March 2020 indictments against Mangini, Robinson, and others in the harness and Thoroughbred worlds. Garofalo, who stands accused of helping Mangini with product manufacturing, has entered a guilty plea to one count of drug adulteration and misbranding and is awaiting sentencing at the end of the month.
Earlier this week, U.S. District Judge J. Paul Oetken denied a motion from Posner to dismiss the indictment.
At a status conference held Feb. 18, there seemed to be a possibility Posner, 75, may eventually change his plea.
Sarah Mortazavi, assistant U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, indicated to Judge Oetken there had been some discussions “about a potential resolution” in the case but that both sides wanted to schedule a trial date in case those did not prove fruitful. Gordon Mehler, attorney for Posner, disputed that.
“We have not had any discussions whatsoever,' said Mehler. “For reasons we won't bore the court with, essentially we didn't think our client would ultimately be indicted.”
According to documents filed by the prosecution in opposition to Posner's motion to dismiss, the government indicated that Posner had charged Mangini $400 to $800 a month to use his veterinary license for false prescriptions. The prosecution claims that Posner, who primarily operates as a small animal veterinarian, was aware Mangini wanted to use his license to create false prescriptions, which were to serve as a cover, should Mangini ever be audited by the Food and Drug Administration or the Florida Department of Health. Posner allegedly gave Mangini access to his veterinary office's internal software so Mangini could enter the false prescriptions there, giving Posner a paper trail should he ever be audited himself. The false prescriptions seemed to be primarily be centered on the omeprazole products Mangini illegally manufactured and sold. Mangini seemed to believe that the presence of a prescription could negate the legal questions around his company's mass production of omeprazole paste, despite not being an FDA-approved manufacturing facility.
The post Trial Date Set For Vet Connected With Federal Doping Case appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
