By T. D. Thornton
The barred Thoroughbred trainer Michael Tannuzzo, 50, was sentenced to 27 months in a federal prison on Monday as part of plea agreement in which he had previously copped guilty to one felony count of drug adulteration and misbranding with the intent to defraud or mislead.
Tannuzzo, a native of Brooklyn and Queens who had 11 horses racing at Aqueduct at the time of his Mar. 9, 2020, arrest, made headlines 24 hours later by steadfastly declaring his innocence and maintaining that the New York State Gaming Commission shouldn't have suspended his license after learning he had been booked by the feds on felony charges related to equine drugging conspiracies.
Tannuzzo told Daily Racing Form at that time that he was being targeted because his “best friend” was the trainer and high-profile defendant Jorge Navarro. His conspiracy charges were related to Tannuzzo picking up a package of a purported performance-enhancing drugs (PEDs) from Navarro's residence and delivering it to him at Monmouth Park. Tannuzzo said that equated to “guilt by association.”
But since Tannuzzo made those initial statements in the press nearly three years ago, Navarro has long since admitted to doping his horses, changed his own plea to guilty, and is currently serving a five-year prison sentence.
Tannuzzo was also ordered to pay $15,893, representing the value of “forfeitable property,” or the drugs in this case.
The Blood-Horse first reported Tannuzzo's prison sentence, citing a source who was present in the courtroom. The online docket for this case was not updated prior to deadline for this story, which is not unusual for court actions that occur late in the afternoon.
According to a sentencing submission filed by prosecutors, Tannuzzo “distributed, procured, and administered PEDs to dope racehorses and corruptly improve their race performance. Tannuzzo collaborated with convicted co-defendant Jorge Navarro in furtherance of Navarro's doping program.
“Not content to assist, Tannuzzo personally procured PEDs from multiple sources to administer to horses he controlled. Tannuzzo was involved in the offense conduct for approximately one year. In that time, Tannuzzo engaged in repeated efforts to dope horses under his care. Tannuzzo also displayed deep knowledge of the extent of Navarro's doping program and took steps to facilitate it.”
The submission continued, “Notwithstanding these efforts, Tannuzzo has repeatedly downplayed the fact and extent of his criminal conduct. Tannuzzo's minimization originated with his post-arrest statements to the press and extended to his allocution during the change of plea hearing. But the defendant cannot reasonably dispute the facts supporting his conviction: Tannuzzo obtained, and assisted others in obtaining, unapproved, untested, novel PEDs intended for administration on horses in violation of racing rules, despite the inherent risks of subjecting animals to unnecessary and unknown medications.”
The government had requested a sentence “at the low end of the Stipulated Guidelines Range of 30 to 36 months' imprisonment.” Tannuzzo's lawyer, in his own sentencing submission, had asked for probation or home confinement.
According to a trove of wiretapped calls that federal prosecutors had intended to use as evidence had the case gone to trial, on Mar. 3, 2019, Navarro and Tannuzzo discussed modeling a doping program based on one Navarro had used on his elite-level stakes sprinter, X Y Jet. A key takeaway from this discussion is that neither trainer seemed sure of the name of the substance that would be administered.
Navarro: What I'm going to do is tap his ankles, put him in a series every week with SGF. I'm just trying [to get] my vet to give me a good price, man, because I want to [expletive] tap every week.
Tannuzzo: You're going to tap him every week?
Navarro: Yeah, with SGF. That's what I did with X Y Jet. I'm going to call my vet up north, my surgeon, to see how he did it to X Y Jet and that's it. Don't worry man, you're in good hands. Don't worry.
Tannuzzo: You're talking about the HGF, not the SGF.
Navarro: Yeah, yeah, yeah. Whatever. The SGF whatever. The thing that you sent me in the syringe.
Tannuzzo: Yeah.
Within 10 months of that conversation, X Y Jet would die suddenly under Navarro's care, allegedly from cardiac distress that has never been fully documented or explained.
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