Judge would have liked to give him a bigger sentence
Jorge Navarro, one of the 29 people arrested on charges relating to mistreatment and doping of horses in March 2020, had changed his plea to guilty late this year. Under sentencing guidelines Judge May Kay Viskocil, of the Southern District of New York court, she imposed the maxium allowable sentence saying she would have made it 168-210 months if she had been allowed for his "cruel and fraudulent" activities.
She did not hold back in telling Navarro, who used performance-enhancing drugs to win a 28% clip while capturing seven straight Monmouth Park training titles in his 12-year career while engaging in harmful and potentially deadly practices toward his horses.
"You killed and endangered horses in your care and endangered the lives of the jockeys who rode your horses and rode against you," she said. "You bragged openly about what you did. You sent collaborators emojis representing the drugs you used on your horses. You were so openly notorious and brazen that you were dubbed 'The Juice Man.' This was not a momentary lapse of judgment. You injured the reputation of the sport of horse racing that you claimed to have loved and showed no concern for the animals under your care."
Navarro is from Panama and is in the US on a Green Card so could face deportation.
It will be interesting to hear what she has to say about Vet Dr Seth Fishman who was also arrested to providing adulterated and mislabeled products to Navarro, Servis and others. He is on bail and the prosecution is asking for the bail to be revoked as he has continued to produce "products" which he claims are all for export to the UAE.
His attorney claims that "federal law states food, drugs, devices, tobacco products, or cosmetics intended for export will not be considered adulterated or misbranded if they adhere to the specifications of the foreign buyer, are not in conflict with the laws of the country where the products are being sent, are labeled they are for export, and are not sold or offered in domestic commerce."
That hearing is set down for 20th December and Fishman's trial is due for mid-January.
