Former DHB comptroller Travis Brooks has provided testimony in the trial of former standardbred horse owner David Brooks. Also, according to a report, there is an update regarding the tranquilizer Ativan which David Brooks' attorneys claim their client needs to take part in his defense

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Brooks is currently on trial in Central Islip, New York for allegedly illegally inflating the worth of his body armor business, DHB Industries, and illegally siphoning off company funds to pay for personal expenses, including, at least in some part, his horse racing interests.

An article by newsday.com states that Travis Brooks (no relation to David Brooks) testified Monday, February 8 that he had told DHB chief operating officer Sandra Hatfield that he was resigning his position with the company because he was uncomfortable with the company's accounting practices. Brooks is alleged to have made a $185 million profit after selling company stock which had been artificially inflated. Hatfield, who is also on trial, is also accused of selling stock and making a $5 million profit.

The report states that after he learned of Travis Brooks' resignation, David Brooks -- apparently accompanied by an unidentified man that blocked the entrance out of a room -- threw a tirade directed at the former employee.

The report also explains that, in regard to the Ativan situation which has arisen in the trial, the psychiatrist at the federal detention in Queens in which David Brooks is being held believes it is medically inappropriate for Brooks to receive the dosages of the tranquilizer he had been getting from his personal psychiatrist, Michael Liebowitz.

District Judge Joanna Seybert was cited as saying that she does not have the power not overrule the detention centre psychiatrist. The article cites the psychiatrist as saying that the Ativan dosage David Brooks had been receiving was three times the normal dosage. A jail administrator was also reportedly testified that David Brooks has shown no signs of acute stress.

David Brooks' attorneys said that their client has a history of panic attacks and will suffer them again without the Ativan and thus be unable to take part in his defense. The report also states that Brooks has said that he needs Ambien, a sleep-inducing medication, to rest.

David Brooks was recently transferred from the Nassau County jail to a federal institution in Queens after corrections officials found that he had tried to smuggle 23 Ativan pills into jail via his underwear.

(With files from newsday.com)

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