Hearing Set for Nov. 17 in Navarro, Servis Case

Proceedings in the federal case alleging race doping by former trainers Jorge Navarro and Jason Servis will resume Nov. 17 with a status conference and arraignment via telephone before judge Mary Kay Vyskocil.

Tuesday's United States District Court for the Southern District of New York hearing is expected to center on the length of the discovery phase for the upcoming trial, a process in which government prosecutors turn over evidence to attorneys for the defendants so they can prepare a defense for their clients. A schedule for defense motions could also be discussed.

The arraignments stem from a superseding indictment issued earlier this month to Navarro, Servis, and 12 other defendants.

Servis and Navarro, who accumulated combined earnings of $87 million before their licenses were revoked earlier this year, were at the forefront of March 9 original indictments of 27 individuals in Thoroughbred and Standardbred racing for allegedly participating in what was described in the original indictment as a "widespread, corrupt scheme by racehorse trainers, veterinarians, (performance-enhancing drug) distributors, and others to manufacture, distribute, and receive adulterated and misbranded PEDs and to secretly administer those PEDs to racehorses under scheme participants' control."

Given the number of defendants, the use of wiretaps, and the large amount of data found on a typical computer or cell phone, an immense cache of information was seized by the government and converted into evidence against the defendants. In a Nov. 10 letter to the court, Rita Glavin and Michael Considine, attorneys for Servis, wrote they have received seven terabytes of discovery materials in the last six weeks, containing approximately 2.4 million files, which they said was "more than 43 times the cumulative volume produced to the defense prior to Sept. 29, 2020." Glavin and Considine also wrote that "it will take substantial time to review" these files, suggesting they and the attorneys for the other defendants will seek additional discovery time from Vyskocil.

Attorneys for the defendants also recently filed outlines for the motions they intend to file in hopes of dismissing counts and suppressing some evidence, a customary move in this type of case. While defense attorneys saying they will dispute the validity of a wiretap or other evidence is a routine move, what is far more important is how they will convince Vyskocil to toss out the evidence—tactics that will be revealed in the future. In general, having wiretap information suppressed is an uphill climb for the defense. 

In another recent move, a superseding indictment was filed Nov. 5 which replaces the original indictment filed in March. In the new indictment, a total of 14 defendants were listed: Navarro, Servis, Erica Garcia, Marcos Zulueta, Michael Tannuzzo, Seth Fishman, Lisa Giannelli, Jordan Fishman, Rick Dane Jr., Christopher Oakes, Kristian Rhein, Michael Kegley Jr., Alexander Chan, and Rebecca Linke.

Though the superseding indictment carries five counts, as opposed to six in the original, it also lists additional charges of mail and wire fraud charges against Servis as well as Chan and Rhein, who are veterinarians. Those charges carry a maximum jail term of 20 years.

According to the indictment, if convicted, Servis, Chan, and Rhein shall forfeit to the government "any and all property, real and personal, that constitutes or is derived from proceeds traceable to the commission of said offenses, including but not limited to a sum of money in United States currency representing the amount of proceeds traceable to the commission of said offenses."

In addition, acting United States attorney Audrey Strauss has proposed three trial groupings. They would be Navarro, Garcia, Oakes, Tannuzzo, Zulueta, and Linke in group one; Servis, Rhein, Kegley, and Chan in group two; and Seth Fishman, Jordan Fishman, Giannelli, and Dane in group three.

Not included in the superseding indictment were Nicholas Surick, Gregory Skelton, Ross Cohen, Henry Argueta, and Christopher Marino, who were indicted in March. Among the possible reasons for them being dropped from the superseding indictment are plans to charge them at a later date, intentions by them to plead guilty, or charges against them being dropped.

From the original defendants, Sarah Izhaki and Scott Robinson have already entered guilty pleas and will be sentenced by Vyskocil in the near future. Vyskocil issued a Nov. 16 decree postponing Izhaki's sentencing until Feb. 10.

Both pled guilty to one count of conspiring to unlawfully introduce and receive with the intent to redistribute for pay or otherwise adulterated and misbranded drugs in interstate commerce, and to misbrand drugs in interstate commerce.

They are facing maximum prison sentences of five years. In addition, Robinson must pay the government $3,832,318.90 in forfeitures for illegal gains, while Izhaki owes $103,300.

In a Sept. 16 press release announcing the guilty pleas, Strauss said, "Scott Robinson and Sarah Izhaki represent the supply side of a market of greed that continues to endanger racehorses through the sale of performance-enhancing drugs. Each of these defendants provided the raw materials for fraud and animal abuse through the sale of unregulated and dangerous substances: Robinson's products were manufactured in shoddy facilities with no professional oversight of their composition; Izhaki's products were smuggled into the country and sold from cars in supermarket parking lots. These convictions show that our office and our partners at the FBI are committed to the prosecution and investigation of corruption, fraud, and endangerment in the horse racing industry."