THE TRIAL:
ETTING: Uniondale, N.Y., Long Island Courthouse
JURISDICTION: Eastern District of N.Y.
DEFENDANT: Vincent K. McMahon
DEFENSE ATTORNEYS: Jerry S. McDevitt (Titan Sports) and Laura Brevetti (McMahon)
PROSECUTION: United States of America
PROSECUTORS: Sean O’Shea (prosecutor) and Tony Valenti (lead
investigator).
JUDGE: J. Mishler
Nov. 18, 1993 Vince McMahon, owner and promoter of Titan Sports, and Titan Sports were indicted by the U.S. Department of Justice on five counts of illegal activity related to anabolic steroids from 1985-1991. After changes in the indictment, there were three counts as of the start date of the trial.
COUNT ONE Count one, broken into four separate charges, alleges McMahon conspired to defraud the United States.
The four separate charges of count one, only one of which needs to be proven true for a conspiracy to be legally established, were as follows: (1) defrauding the FDA in its attempts to regulate steroids; (2) introducing into commerce steroids which were distributed in ways prescription drugs shouldn’t be; (3) causing steroids to be distributed in ways prescription drugs shouldn’t be; and (4) knowingly possessing (with intent to distribute) and distributing steroids for purposes other than treatment of disease in humans.
All of the above is essentially what Dr. George T. Zahorian III was convicted of doing in 1991, so count one charges Titan with doing nothing more than conspiring with (i.e. creating, aiding, or maintaining circumstances that allowed) Zahorian to act in those illegal ways for the company’s benefit, i.e. making it convenient for its wrestlers to get steroids, and thus get bigger, and thus sell more tickets.
The indictment spells out several ways Titan conspired with Zahorian which during the trial the prosecution had the burden of proving took place: McMahon and Titan attempted to evade detection of steroid transactions by using Titan resources to purchase bank checks which were then used to pay Zahorian for steroid shipments; between August and December 1989 Titan executives (Pat Patterson, Linda McMahon) instructed a Titan employee (Anita Scales) to hire Zahorian for its events after the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission no longer required his presence; after learning of the government’s investigation of Zahorian, one Titan executive (Mrs. McMahon) sent a memo to another Titan executive (Patterson) instructing him to make sure Zahorian was not at future events; Mr. McMahon and an executive (Patterson) discussed informing Zahorian he was under investigation; a Titan executive (Patterson) phoned Zahorian, instructed him to call back on a pay phone to avoid detection, and directed him to destroy records of Zahorian’s contact with WWF wrestlers and personnel; McMahon instructed WWF wrestlers to carry a prescription for their steroids at all times.
To justify the trial being held in the Eastern District of New York, the indictment states Zahorian purchased steroids from pharmaceutical companies in Westbury and Rockville Center, Long Island, N.Y. It also states steroids were delivered as part of the conspiracy to wrestlers who performed at various times at the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale (across the street from the courthouse).
COUNTS TWO AND THREE The other two counts allege that McMahon and Titan possessed steroids with intent to distribute to Terry Bollea (Hulk Hogan) on Apr. 13, 1989 and Oct. 24, 1989.
CHANGES Originally count two was broken into two separate counts, one aimed at Titan Sports and the other at McMahon, but it was ruled redundant since McMahon is sole owner of Titan Sports and thus they are one in the same. What is now count three was amended to the original indictment as counts four and five, but for the same reasons as above was combined into one count. There was an original fifth count that sought forfeiture of Titan Towers because funds from the conspiracy were said to have been used to purchase the building, but that count was dropped because Titan Towers was built after the time frame of the indictment.
