DEFENSE’S FINAL WORDS TO JURY
WWF Attorney Laura Brevetti Summation:
(“) Mr. O’Shea says it’s unreasonable to say bad publicity was a concern? The hypocrisy of that statement is they bring in a 5 by 7 photo (of Hulk Hogan, Vince McMahon, and Zahorian) and blow it up to 20 by 22, to bring in Hulk Hogan to breathe life into a dead case. To have Hulk Hogan bear his soul that he took steroids when it was legal to take steroids. It is government leaks of this investigation that creates stigmas. The hypocrisy of that statement – it was the government that created the leaks. The media singled out Vince McMahon.
The government is asking you to infer, to deduce. That is not the type of evidence necessary to change this man’s life. But on what standard are you going to judge a man? You must be confident beyond a reasonable doubt. Don’t use as evidence rumor, scuttlebutt, “I thought he meant.” Look at evidence through the eyes of people in the ’80s, not the ’90s. Don’t judge on 20/20 hindsight, on evidence brought forth under suspect circumstances. He’s being painted as a scapegoat. They are trying to stir the prejudice in you because he made a lot of money.
Nobody respects wrestling, nobody respects wrestlers. It’s not America’s passtime. People won’t admit they watch it.
When you heard evidence, did you get the feeling people had a grudge, a lawsuit, wanted money, had hatred. Did you think someone put out an 800 number asking for info, any scrap of information from the bottom of a tar barrel. It’s all sizzle, no steak.
Of all the wrestlers who wrestled for the WWF after 1985, you would expect the government to bring you witnesses with specific dates and times and precise testimony. Credible testimony. They would say they never used steroids before, McMahon told them to take them, and Zahorian was told to sell wrestlers steroids. You didn’t hear that. You heard 180 degrees the opposite. They brought you nine wrestlers, so they must be the best nine they’ve got. They brought you wrestlers with grudges, with lawsuits, who work for the competition. Did Zahorian change his testimony to fit the government’s case? Is that evidence that makes you confident.
All of the wrestlers told you they were using steroids before and after they worked for the WWF. One out of seven of them bought steroids from Dr. Zahorian (not counting John Minton and Hogan, who she said she would talk about later). It’s mind boggling. They wanted to get evidence from the bottom of a tar barrel for this dead, one-count case.
After February 1991, a WWF memo advised wrestlers that the law was changing and it was no longer legal to possess and use steroids. We heard from two witnesses who told you they were convicted of steroid use after 1991, Zenk and Szopinski. Zenk and Rude said they were on steroids. Zenk said he was on steroids three weeks ago and Rude when he was in WCW. The government doesn’t care. They don’t want to clean up the current problem. Rude gets to stand up and leave the court room and we have to sit here for two weeks and decide if this happened years ago. You heard Rude say he took steroids while in WCW the last three years. What are we doing here? Tom Zenk didn’t buy steroids from Zahorian, but he is the type of individual who would take steroids out of the bottom of a trash can. (She continued to draw a picture of the government singling out McMahon when others were more guilty, more recently). It boggles the mind. Zenk is able to testify that he took steroids three weeks ago and then go to Japan and make 10,000 dollars and we have to sit here two weeks to see what may or may not have occurred.
Do you feel you’re being asked to do something good here or are you being pushed to get McMahon. (She then went down the list of wrestlers who testified one at a time, picking apart their testimony as being part of 1-800-LAWSUIT craze. She read back at length testimony from several witnesses.)
It’s not whether wrestlers were on steroids, but if McMahon knowingly and willingly entered into and participated in a conspiracy with Dr. Zahorian.
Mr. Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan) was presented to you as a star witness for the prosecution. He was called to prove their case, but was it the opposite? No wrestler, not matter his star quality, could save this dead case.”
(She then tried to portray Emily Feinberg as a professional actor (she filmed one promo video with no script) Emily Feinberg is well practiced in the art of deception. Her purpose was to give them information on a man she couldn’t get another paycheck from. It’s all a figment of an actress’s imagination.
How did Dr. Zahorian present himself to laymen? As a competent and able doctor. After two and a half years of incarceration he says he now believes what he did was wrong and the wrestlers were not his patients. I suggest to you after two and a half years of incarceration, you’d believe chickens fly. He said he never spoke to Mr. McMahon after ’88 and there’s not a shred of evidence Mr. McMahon had any knowledge of the ’88 act or that he was violating it. The only possible thin reed of evidence left is this four minute conversation in its final evolutionary state in 1988 where McMahon told Zahorian to be sure to keep the wrestlers healthy.
It is each and every one of you who puts life into the constitution; it’s not just a piece of paper. I know you want to get back to your families, but this is important. This man deserves your time.(“)
