Ross Cohen testifies for prosecution

Ross Cohen, a former harness racing trainer, continued as the prosecution’s witness on the 3^rd day of Lisa Giannelli’s trial Friday.

Ms. Giannelli is alleged to have conspired to distribute adulterated and misbranded performance-enhancing drugs (PED’s).  Mr. Cohen had testified that Ms. Giannelli sold him the drugs and that he then secretly administered these drugs to horses under his care.

Ms. Giannelli is the former assistant and purported “sales rep” for the now convicted veterinarian Seth Fishman, who in February 2022, was found guilty of manufacturing PED’s specifically designed to be undetectable in post-race testing.

It is Ms. Giannelli’s contention that her actions were not criminal because there was no criminal intent, and that in essence, she was just an employee following her boss’s directives.   When Cohen was cross examined, in an attempt to undermine Cohen’s credibility, Ms. Giannelli attorney Louis Fasulo was able to elicit testimony from Cohen where he once again admitted that he not only administered these illegal drugs to the horses under his care, but that he had, in prior years, also participated in “race fixing”.

Arrested in 2020, Cohen pled guilty and entered into a cooperation agreement with the government.  Mr. Cohen first admitted to administering PED’s and race-fixing at Seth Fishman’s February 2022 trial.

Ms. Giannelli’s attorney questioned Cohen’s motive for becoming a prosecution witness and asked whether his incentive for testimony was to secure a more lenient sentence for himself. Mr. Cohen answered that, “My incentive was to try to make right for my wrongs and tell the truth.”  When questioned further however, he went on to say, “I guess it could have been.  I don’t know if it was an incentive or not at the time.”  Although Mr. Cohen has pled guilty, he has not been sentenced yet.  A judge will determine his punishment.

Additional evidence was read into the record from Courtney Adams as Ms Giannelli was unavailable to testify at trial.  Ms. Adams stated that “She would suggest edits so the client would know what the product was.”

The trial resumes Monday, May 2^nd.

by Monica Bencal, for Harnesslink