Posner Pleads Guilty to Drug Adulteration, Misbranding

Veterinarian Michael Posner entered a plea of guilty June 29 in federal court to a single count of drug adulteration and misbranding.

Posner admitted allegations in superseding information that from at least 2014 to 2016 he distributed a type of illicit drug and allowed others to use his name and veterinary license to generate prescriptions for the drug to customers. By entering the plea, he avoided a jury trial set for July 11.

An indictment returned by a grand jury in early 2020 named Posner and three other defendants who previously pleaded guilty: Carl Garofalo Sr., Scott Mangini, and Scott Robinson. All four defendants were involved in harness racing.

Judge J. Paul Oetken accepted the plea deal in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York and ordered a pre-sentence investigation. Sentencing memoranda are to be filed by Sept. 15 and Sept. 22, and Posner is scheduled for sentencing on Sept. 29. Bail was continued.

Robinson was sentenced in March 2021 to 18 months in prison. Mangini was sentenced in September 2021 to 18 months. Six months was handed down to Garofalo in March 2022. Five other harness-related defendants have also entered guilty pleas to similar offenses in New York: Rene Allard, Richard Banca, Louis Grasso, Thomas Guido III, and Donato Poliseno.

Posner was represented by attorneys Amanda Senske and Gordon Mehler. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mortazavi was present for the prosecution.