WWF Attorney Jerry McDevitt Summation:
(“) They say the victim of this crime is the FDA, that they were defrauded. No one took the stand from the FDA. The FDA ran from this courtroom like Dracula runs from a cross.
If you don’t have evidence, you use harsh rhetoric. You talk about underbellies. There is only one reference to the FDA in the prosecution’s case. Everything you learned about the FDA’s regulatory efforts you learned from us.
If your only physical evidence is a little bottle that I can’t even look on this (the prosecutor’s) table and see, then you blow up a document so big you need anabolic steroids to lift it.
When Zahorian wasn’t scheduled to be at Hershey, if he was five years into a conspiracy with McMahon, wouldn’t he feel comfortable calling his co-conspirator and saying, “Hey Vince, what gives?” Zahorian was never hired after the law changed.
It was not illegal to buy and possess steroids for your personal use. The method of your payment doesn’t make the action illegal. Is there anything wrong with being discreet, keeping your personal use private?
The government alleges there was a cover-up. As far as cover-ups go, this was a lousy cover up. Emily Feinberg destroyed nothing. Remember, every single piece of evidence is right there (on the prosecution’s table) and they haven’t proven anything to you.
For 30 years the system failed to do what it’s supposed to – it failed to regulate steroids at their entry point into the system. More steroids entered into circulation than possibly could have been used for medical purposes, but no one stopped them. No laymen can defraud that system. Mr. McMahon is not responsible for this egregious mess.
Does anybody really know what a conspiracy is? The government charges that it’s an unspoken agreement to violate the law. You heard only one snippet of a conversation brought out under the most egregious circumstances possible. (He then talked about Zahorian’s treatment before giving his grand jury testimony.) Was it necessary (to treat him that way)? Does that make you feel good about this country. The bottom line is, his presence was required by the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission. He tells you no one ever encouraged him to sell steroids to wrestlers to increase ticket sales. What is the basis for these charges?
You have heard no evidence of a violation of the 1988 law. A conspiracy is an attempt to create a crime, not solve one. The government’s case summed up is, ‘Maybe you won’t notice.’
This is the greatest system in the world, but it is also one that allows the government the last word. This is the last you’ll hear from me. The vote you cast over the next few days is important. It’s a huge responsibility. The government has a huge burden. They didn’t come close. They didn’t produce any evidence. Mr. McMahon entertained millions of people – some used steroids when it was legal and they got them from a doctor. I ask you to find McMahon not guilty.
