Former harness trainer Donato Poliseno became the third of six defendants May 17 to enter a guilty plea in related charges alleging widespread doping of racehorses.
Poliseno entered a plea to a superseding charge of entering into interstate commerce misbranded and adulterated drugs. As part of the plea, Poliseno admitted to forfeiture of $2,264,849.13 and agreed that a money judgment shall be entered against him in that amount as part of his sentence and judgment of conviction.
Speaking through his attorney Louis M. Freeman, Poliseno said he suffers from cardiac issues and lives four hours from U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. Thus, Poliseno waived his right to be present and entered the plea remotely after receiving approval from Judge P. Kevin Castel. Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah Mortazavi handled the plea hearing for the government.
Court records did not indicate Poliseno's sentencing date as of the publication of this story.
Poliseno's guilty plea follows that of Richard Banca on April 10 and Louis Grasso on May 11. Rene Allard and Thomas Guido III are scheduled to go to jury trial on June 27 unless a plea agreement is reached in the interim. It's unclear whether Conor Flynn, a former assistant to Banca, still faces trial.
Charges against the six were brought in late February, 2020, but pandemic restrictions slowed operations of the court.
