Via TD Thornton
Banned trainer Jason Servis, the last – and most famous – defendant awaiting trial or sentencing in the 2020 racehorse doping conspiracy scandal, is in talks with federal prosecutors to reach a plea agreement to trial for three counts of conspiracy to commit fraud and misbranding of drugs for which he is facing charges of drugging nearly all Purebreds in his care in 2019.
The disclosure was revealed late Friday afternoon in a routine court filing requesting an extension of the time to file the petition in Servis’ upcoming trial, which has a start date of January 9.
“The government and counsel for defendant Jason Servis are currently discussing the possibility of a pre-trial arrangement, which could reduce the need for a trial,” U.S. Attorney Damian Williams wrote in a letter to the court.
The request for more time was approved by Judge Mary Kay Vyskocil of the United States District Court (Southern District of New York).
The December 2 filing also refers to a plea hearing that the same judge had issued the day before to New York-based veterinarian Alexander Chan, who was charged with a trio of felony counts involving the purposeful injection of performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) into Servis’ horses and subsequent concealment of charges. from billing and veterinary records.
Chan, as part of his change of defense, most likely involved his former client, Servis, during his December 5 hearing.
That’s what another vet who worked for Servis, Kristian Rhein, did in August 2021 when he changed his own guilty plea to a felony during the government’s lengthy prosecution. federal about a supposedly years-long conspiracy against racehorses. Rhein received a maximum sentence of three years in prison for his crimes.
Chan and Servis were scheduled to go on trial together next month.
“According to the foregoing, the parties respectfully argue that the postponement of the forthcoming deadline [to file motions] will facilitate the parties’ continued efforts to reach a pre-trial resolution,” Williams wrote to the judge.
The feds have revealed they have a trove of wiretapping evidence relating to Servis talking about his doping regime to Rhein, Chan and currently imprisoned coach Jorge Navarro, who in December 2021 was sentenced to 5 years in prison for rampant drug use. PED horse.
Several secretly recorded phone conversations related to MGISW Maximum securitywho crossed the rope first in the GI Kentucky Derby, but was DQ’d for interfering in the race.
One of the elixirs of choice for both Servis and Navarro is SGF-1000, a specially formulated PED that is purported to promote tissue repair and increase endurance and endurance in racing horses in excess. its natural abilities. The two coaches discussed this PED during a blocked call on March 5, 2019. The transcript is as follows:
service: I’ll tell you what, Jorge. I’m using it [expletive] shoot. What is it SGF?
Navarro: Oh yes, yes, yes. I have, uh, I have more than 12 horses up there so I’ll let you know, okay?
service: I’ve used it on almost everything.
Navarro: Jay, we’ll sit down and talk about this [expletive]. I don’t want to talk about this [expletive] on the phone, okay?
service: OK. You’re right.
On June 5, 2019, a call between Servis and Rhein went as follows, according to the source:
service: Are you alone?
ice River: Yeah yeah yeah. I just came out of the barn.
service: Greet. So they did some testing out of the competition with which I had no problems. Um, they took Maximum security Monday and they are back again today. But Monday he received the KS. I just want to make sure we’re all okay with that.
ice River: Wait, what did he get?
service: I’m sorry, I said “KS.” You know, your shot. The…
ice River: Oh, the SG.
service: Yes, those things.
ice River: Yeah-no, no, no. The Jockey Club tested it, and I met the person who tested it back then. It comes back as collagen. They don’t even have a test for it.
