PART 3
WWF Steroid Trial
JULY 12, 1994:
O’Shea began the day by reading a statement to the jury: Prior to the enactment of the new act, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Commission appointed doctors. In July of 1989, they required a physician be in attendance, but put the promotion in charge of hiring him from a commission approved list and then the promoter must pay him.
O’Shea then began addressing the attempts to keep Zahorian at WWF events after the July ’89 provision was enacted. Patterson said in December ’89 the inter-office memo from Linda McMahon was addressed to him, Titan’s senior vice president. Patterson said that was just a title. O’Shea established that at the time Linda was executive vice president and a level above him. Patterson said he first heard Zahorian was distributing steroids to wrestlers in 1986 or ’87 (contradicting his testimony the day before.) O’Shea pointed out that Zahorian said he had offered Patterson pills in early-’84. Patterson said it was ’84 or ’85.
O’Shea pointed out that the memo said Vince spoke to Linda about the investigation of Zahorian, stressing that Vince is the owner of the company. O’Shea restated that the WWF found out about the investigation, according to the memo, because Krill was representing the WWF when he heard about the investigation and thus warned the WWF not to continue working with Dr. Zahorian.
O’Shea challenged Patterson, saying he told Scales that the boys really wanted Dr. Zahorian to be their doctor. Patterson said no and O’Shea looked angry, one of the few times he showed emotion. Patterson then denied he spoke with Linda McMahon about keeping Zahorian aboard as the doctor, but eventually said he just “didn’t recall.” O’Shea pointed out the memo said that now that Zahorian is being investigation, it’s not a good idea to keep him around. Patterson first denied that Vince told him to warn Zahorian about the investigation, but then Patterson read the memo: “Vince agreed and would like me to call Zahorian and tell him not to come to any more of our events and clue him in on any action the justice department plans on taking.”
O’Shea: “Did you call him to warn him?” Patterson: “I called him to discuss it with him.” O’Shea: “Vince makes all the decisions in the company?” Patterson: “Yes.” O’Shea: “He’s not shy?” “No.” O’Shea: “He speaks his mind.” Patterson: “Yes.” He told you you should go ahead and make the call to Zahorian?” Patterson: “Yes.” O’Shea: “It was Mr. McMahon’s idea?” Patterson: “Yes.” O’Shea: “You say you didn’t learn of the investigation from Mr. McMahon. Who then?” Patterson: “From Linda.” O’Shea: “The executive vice president of the company at that time?” Patterson: “Yes.”
O’Shea: “How did you communicate with Zahorian?” Patterson: “I called him at the office.” O’Shea: “How many times did you call before he called you back?” Patterson: “Twice.” O’Shea: “What did you tell him when he called?” Patterson: “I told him to call me back on a pay phone.” O’Shea: “You didn’t want to be recorded?” Patterson: “Yes.” O’Shea: “In the grand jury you said you thought the call might be recorded by law enforcement officials?” Patterson: “Definitely. Yes.”
O’Shea: “Isn’t it true you told Zahorian he couldn’t come to WWF events?” Patterson: “No.” O’Shea: “Did you tell him to get rid of records.” Patterson: “I don’t recall.” O’Shea: “It could have happened?” Patterson: “It could have.” O’Shea: “Then you warned others?” Patterson: “The wrestlers.” O’Shea: “And agents?” Patterson: “Yes, I passed the word on to others.”
McDevitt then began his cross-examination. He spoke to Patterson about his background in wrestling, how he has been wrestling 37 years since he was 17 years old. Patterson said he didn’t speak English when he got into wrestling. McDevitt: “You don’t have medical training to recognize what a doctor should or shouldn’t do?” Patterson: “No.” McDevitt talked about Patterson’s early days with Capital Sports (the WWWF). Patterson said Vince McMahon was announcer then and was busy from start to finish at the tapings. Patterson, who tag teamed with Billy Graham, said he didn’t know anything about steroids in the ’70s. McDevitt: “Did using steroids in the ’70s carry the stigma they do today?” Patterson: “No.” McDevitt spoke more to Patterson about how busy McMahon was at TV tapings, the only time he and Zahorian could have crossed paths. McDevitt: “Have you ever met a man who works more hours than Vince McMahon? He works seven days a week from the time he wakes up until the time he goes to sleep?” Patterson: “True.” Patterson also agreed that Linda McMahon works as hard.
Patterson: “We used to get mad when people would say wrestling is fake. Vince said he was going to tell the truth and say wrestling is sports entertainment. It made wrestlers mad who were protective of what it was supposed to be.” McDevitt talked with Patterson about what made the WWF successful, trying to steer the image away from the muscular bodies being the primary factor. He mentioned character development and tie-ins with movies and television.
McDevitt then asked Patterson about what made Hulk Hogan successful, mentioning that his physique was only one element. Hogan also had charisma, interview ability, ability to work a crowd. McDevitt credited McMahon with creating the Hulk Hogan character. Patterson said Wrestlemania was the first time wrestling was seen on pay-per-view (which is not true). Patterson listed the celebrities who were involved.
McDevitt: “Did you understand it was unlawful for wrestlers to use steroids?” Patterson: “No.” McDevitt: “Has a wrestler ever been prosecuted for steroid use who bought them from Dr. Zahorian?” Patterson: “Don’t recall so.” McDevitt: “Did you order Anita Scales to hire Zahorian?” Patterson: “Absolutely not.” McDevitt: “Were you ever present for conversations Mr. McMahon had with Zahorian concerning his dispensing of steroids?” Patterson: “No.” (which contradicts Zahorian’s testimony that Patterson, McMahon, and he met at Hershey.) McDevitt: “Did you tell Zahorian he was under investigation?” Patterson: “I told him.” McDevitt: “Was your concern the reputation of the wrestlers?” Patterson: “Yes.”
Laura Brevetti then began her cross-examination. She repeated many areas McDevitt covered. She asked Patterson if Wacholz’s physique could be distinguished given his outfit and Patterson said no.
On redirect from O’Shea, he asked Patterson if he heard him right when he said it was the “late-’80s” when he heard about steroids. Patterson said it was. O’Shea pointed out sworn grand jury testimony where Patterson said he learned about steroids when he was a road agent, which was in ’85 or ’86. Patterson then said it was “more like the mid-’80s” when he learned about steroids.
·Anita Scales was next up. She is currently working for Titan Sports as the Director of Compliance and Regulations. She has worked for the WWF for eight years. She lumbered into the court room as if she had just been woken up and was being pushed from behind into the court room. She had long, dark hair, appeared to be in her mid-’30s, and gave the impression her appearance to others wasn’t a concern of hers. As she gave her testimony, she spoke methodically without much energy, but had a matter-of-fact, dry charisma to her that seemed to give her credibility with court room observers. She had a solid grasp of facts and dates and definitely came off as someone who paid attention to and remembered details. As Brevetti warned in her opening statement, Scales seemed to have a “need to be right.”
O’Shea began his direct questioning. Scales said she was in charge, among other things, of making sure Titan Sports complied with various state athletic commission regulations. She said she was informed of the change in commission rules around July 9, 1989. She then did research looking for information on specialties of a doctor that would be best for the requirements at WWF events. When she decided to go with a doctor other than Zahorian, Zahorian began to call her. “After he made a number of calls, I got irritated and began to document them. Aug. 7 Dr. Zahorian called and wanted the Hershey assignment. I said it was assigned. He said that Hershey was his town. I said it didn’t belong to anyone in particular… He said he would speak to someone else and go over my head. I said go ahead.”
O’Shea: “Did you speak to Pat Patterson?” Scales: “Yes. Around the end of August or September or October, he called and said he wanted Zahorian to work Hershey. I said that assignments were done. He said the boys wanted him. I said that was too bad.” O’Shea: “Did you get a call from Jay Scarpa (Strongbow)” Scales: “Yes. Shortly after Patterson called, he called and said he wanted Zahorian to work the Hershey shows. But this time, I was getting annoyed because I had received other calls from Zahorian at the office. I said no, but he said the boys need their candies. I said they can get their damn candies somewhere else. I told him (the new doctors) had already been hired through the end of the year.”
O’Shea: “Did you speak to anyone else?” Scales: “Yes. One I remember is Mel Phillips. I saw him in the hall and asked if Zahorian was doing inappropriate things in Hershey. He said he had a lot things he made available and that he was a very sleazy individual. He didn’t name any particular drugs. He just said he was sleazy… I also spoke to Bob Marella (Gorilla Monsoon) and told him I was being pressured to assign Zahorian to Hershey. He said Zahorian was sleazy and said there was no place in the business for someone of his type. I told him my situation and he said, ‘I guess, kid, you’re between a rock and a hard place.'”
O’Shea: “Did you speak to Tony Garea (another road agent)?” Scales: “Yes. It was quite similar to my call with Marella. He said Zahorian opened up shop. He said his bag was so heavy, he had to roll it in. I was left with the distinct impression Zahorian dealt in volume, not in samples.”
O’Shea: “Despite your efforts, you learned he appeared at Hershey anyway?” Scales: “After one of the shows – I don’t remember the date – I received a call from Rene Goulet, the secondary agent the night before in Hershey. He wondered why two doctors were at the show. He said Zahorian had been in the locker room.” O’Shea: “What did you do with respect to Zahorian still appearing at Hershey?” Scales: “I realized there was a powerlessness.” O’Shea: “Did you go directly to your supervisor?” Scales: “Yes. I went to see her because I was agitated. I did not go to see her often. But I believed it was my responsibility to assign doctors to Hershey… I told her I heard scurrilous things. She told me to do what Pat says… (after the meeting with Linda) I was ranting and raving in the office and said I refuse.” Scales said, without regret, she was well known for ranting and raving in the office. “That’s quite frequent with me,” she said. Scales said she and her assistant Margaret Sharkey wrote a letter to Zahorian telling him since he expressed interest in being the physician at the Dec. 26, 1989 event, let us know if he would attend. She said they worded it in a way to not be too inviting. The letter was dated Nov. 3.
She said Elizabeth DiFabio, executive assistant to Linda McMahon, called and asked if Zahorian would be scheduled for the Dec. 26 Hershey event. “She told me they no longer wanted Zahorian at the event. I said I would take care of it, so I went to Pat Patterson’s office. I didn’t have to tell him why I was there. He said he heard about Dr. Zahorian. I told him Zahorian said he wanted him there, but that I would get rid of him. I told Patterson to find his replacement.” O’Shea entered into evidence a letter from Scales to the athletic commission saying Dr. Zahorian was “no longer available” which Scales called a euphemism. “We made him not available,” she said.
During McDevitt’s cross examination, he asked Scales if she really sent that letter inviting Zahorian to return to Hershey. She said it went in the stack with all the other mail. McDevitt asked Scales if she ever got a call from Zahorian. She said she didn’t, but didn’t think anything of it because she was going on vacation and was backed up with a ton of other work. McDevitt established that when Zahorian told her on the phone he was going to go above her head, she didn’t know for sure if he actually did. McDevitt, after a half hour of dabbling in her previous testimony for inconsistencies (during which event the court reporter took brief naps), referred to her opinion of Dr. Zahorian being formed via a “little straw poll.” Scales said she went to people whose opinions she values, people who treated her decently and who she respected.
When Scales said Scarpa referred to “candies,” McDevitt said she didn’t know that to mean steroids. Scales responded, “I knew they weren’t Hershey Kisses,” which got a rise out of the court room.
Brevetti began her cross-examination by establishing that Scales never had verbal or written conversation with Mr. McMahon in 1989 nor any year prior. Brevetti: “Is there any question in your mind that if Vince McMahon wanted Dr. Zahorian at Hershey, he could have pushed a button and had him hired?” Scales: “I guess he could have.” Brevetti: “If he had, would you have hired him?” Scales:” “I would have.” Brevetti established that Scales was still working at Titan earning around $54,000 a year.
Brevetti: “You said the Zahorian matter was infinitesimal relative to your work load (and that’s why you didn’t take notice of him not responding to your letter inviting him to return after he had previously begged for the job).” Scales: “Yes.” Brevetti: “Do you think the matter may also have been infinitesimal to her (Linda), too?” Scales: “I guess.” Brevetti: “Did Linda McMahon show any particular knowledge or awareness of Dr. Zahorian?” Scales: “No.” Brevetti: “Pat asked you to hire Zahorian?” Scales: “Yes.” Brevetti: “And this sort of thing wasn’t Mrs. McMahon’s bailiwick?” Scales: “Yes.” Brevetti: “(So she simply directed you to follow the instructions of an experienced employee, Patterson, who was more familiar with the situation than she was)?” Scales: “You’re making it sound flippant and it wasn’t.”
Brevetti then pointed out a sign on the door of Scales’s and Sharkey’s office, which reads, “Beware of the women in this office.” Scales said it’s not exactly those words, meaning “b-tches” was the word instead of “women.” Brevetti then established that Scales had taken files out of Titan offices and gave them to the government in September of last year. Scales said she considered that her “insurance policy.” The tone and accusatory nature of Brevetti’s questions made it seem like Scales may not remain an employee of Titan sports for long.
On redirect, O’Shea asked a few questions and established that Zahorian was physically present at a WWF card after July 1989 when the commission rules changed.
·Jim Hellwig (a/k/a Ultimate Warrior) testified next. Warrior said he worked for the WWF from 1987 through Aug. ’91 and from Apr. ’92 to Nov. ’92. Hellwig said he used steroids (deca and testosterone) before joining the WWF.
O’Shea: “Did you see signs of others using steroids?” Hellwig: “I had been around long enough to see it and hear casual conversations. It wasn’t like a great silence fell across the room when someone talked of steroids.” Hellwig approximated 85-90 percent of the WWF wrestlers while he was there were on steroids.
About Dr. Zahorian, Hellwig said, “He’d take your blood pressure, check your eyes and ears, ask how you were doing, and then ask if there was anything you needed.” On McMahon asking about HGH, Hellwig said, “He asked me one time if I could get HGH. It’s a hormone, either synthetic or taken from cadavers from the pituitary gland. Warrior talked about an incident in February 1991 at Capital Center at the Marriot where he got in trouble for leaving steroids in his hotel room. He got a call at home in Dallas from McMahon who said a syringe and vile were found by the maid. Hellwig said at first he said someone else left it in his room, but as he had time to think about it, he admitted it was his. He said McMahon said things had heated up in regards to Dr. Zahorian and I should be careful, even though in my mind and other wrestlers’ minds we didn’t think they were illegal at the time. Hellwig said prior to that McMahon never told him not to take steroids.
On McDevitt’s cross-examination, he established that Warrior began using steroids in 1984, prior to joining the WWF. Hellwig said, “I didn’t think anyone would consciously take steroids if they thought they were pouring toxins or poisons into their body. Steroids were a small sacrifice I was going to make. I was willing to make that sacrifice to maintain that character for my career or bodybuilding.” Hellwig added that he justified using steroids because he ate right, kept in shape, didn’t smoke, and didn’t drink.
Hellwig said he never got steroids from Zahorian. He said he never saw steroids actually being taken or injected while in the WWF. Hellwig said McMahon never told him to take steroids, never told him he wanted him to be bigger than life, or hinted that he should take steroids. Warrior said he had a close relationship with McMahon as one of his inner-circle because he made it to the top. McDevitt said, “If he was going to tell anyone to take steroids, it would have been you?” Hellwig said, “Yes.” Warrior said he didn’t know when steroids became a controlled substance in 1991.
During Laura Brevetti’s cross-examination, she tried to establish that Warrior’s use of steroids was a personal choice and that he was successful only in part because of his physique – stressing he was the only wrestler to run to the ring (ignoring that The Road Warriors established that long before Hellwig) and his interviews, look, and rope-shaking were all popular characteristics of his.
Warrior said he was made aware through word of mouth when steroids became illegal to purchase and use for any reason other than the treatment of disease.
On redirect, O’Shea established that had Hellwig wanted steroids from Zahorian, he could have purchased them. He also established that McMahon was mad at Hellwig for leaving the steroids behind because he was caught, not because he was using them. O’Shea: “McMahon knew you were using steroids.” Hellwig: “Yes.”
·Margaret Sharkey (assistant to Anita Scales) testified next. She testified that Patterson called her and told her they were going to use Zahorian (after the commission rule changed) because the boys loved him and then essentially reiterated some of Scales’s testimony.
On cross-examination by McDevitt, he drew attention to Sharkey admitting she discussed the case with Scales and while Hellwig was testifying actually talked with him about questions she was asked while on the stand. McDevitt tried to establish suspicioun that the letter inviting Zahorian back wasn’t even sent, but was simply filed and labeled as having been sent by Scales and Sharkey. Sharkey said she was not expecting a call back from Zahorian because he would be more apt to call Patterson if he was accepting the offer. She said she was hoping he wasn’t going to show up. McDevitt asked if Scales embellishes sometimes and Sharkey said, “No, she’s pretty straight forward.” Sharkey contradicted Scales after a pretty clever set-up by McDevitt. He portrayed Scales as “ranting and raving” after meeting with Linda McMahon and made it seem those were his choice of words and that such action would be considered a negative reflection on the testimony she gave. Sharkey said Scales was very angry, but not ranting and raving.
