BREAKING NEWS: Rush Limbaugh arrested on prescription fraud charges
It appears the fat bastard made a deal. Not a lot to report yet, but this press release from his lawyer is intriguing:
...a single count charge of doctor shopping filed today by the State Attorney will be dismissed in 18 months. As a primary condition of the dismissal, Mr. Limbaugh must continue to seek treatment from the doctor he has seen for the past two and one half years. This is the same doctor under whose care Mr. Limbaugh has remained free of his addiction without relapse....
The actions taken today are as follows:
-- The State Attorney has filed a single charge of doctor shopping with
the Court. The charge is being held in abeyance under the terms of an
agreement between the State and Mr. Limbaugh.-- Mr. Limbaugh has filed a plea of "Not Guilty" with the Court.
The formal agreement between Mr. Limbaugh and the State Attorney will be filed with the Court on Monday. The terms of the agreement are substantively as follows:
-- Mr. Limbaugh will continue in treatment with the doctor he has seen for
the past two and one half years.-- After Mr. Limbaugh completes an additional 18 months of treatment, the
State Attorney has agreed to drop the charge.-- Mr. Limbaugh has agreed to make a $30,000 payment to the State of
Florida to defray the public cost of the investigation.
MSNBC reports, "Prosecutors seized Limbaugh's records after learning that he received about 2,000 painkillers, prescribed by four doctors in six months, at a pharmacy near his Palm Beach mansion. They contend that Limbaugh engaged in "doctor shopping," or illegally deceived multiple doctors to receive overlapping prescriptions."
I wish I knew why prosecutors decided to deal on this. Seems to me if the guy scored 2,000 pills in six months he could be busted for intent to distribute. I'm not saying old Rush is a dealer, but that amount of poppers would buy you and me a ticket to the Big House.
UPDATE:
Not as tasty as originally thought, this story is still funny if only for this bit:
"Drug use, some might say, is destroying this country. And we have laws against selling drugs, pushing drugs, using drugs, importing drugs. ... And so if people are violating the law by doing drugs, they ought to be accused and they ought to be convicted and they ought to be sent up," Limbaugh said on his short-lived television show on October 5, 1995.
Good luck, ya bastard.
UPDATE:
Rush has signed the agreement and his lwyer had this very liberal statement, ""This is a common sense resolution and the appropriate way the state should treat people who have admitted an addiction to prescription pain medication and voluntarily sought treatment," Limbaugh's attorney, Roy Black, said in a statement Monday to The Associated Press."
We couldn't agree more, but how many of Rush's listeners do?
Comments
There's no comment on why Rush wasn't charged with intent to traffic, which is certainly what you or I would face if we'd gathered up 2,000 pills, nor is there any explanation on whether this meets Florida's tough sentencing guidelines.
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Posted by: Derek Phillips | May 1, 2006 11:36 AM