Posted on 06/02/2010 2:23:01 AM PDT by Zakeet
The son of legendary TV newsman Ted Koppel had the unconditional love of his parents and a second child on the way -- but the twin demons of drugs and booze were a deadly lure he couldn't duck, friends said yesterday.
Andrew "Drew" Koppel, 40, had "many substance-abuse issues," said a longtime family friend.
Still, that friend found it "shocking" that Koppel died in a stranger's seedy Manhattan apartment Monday after nearly 12 hours of drinking whiskey with a man he had just met in a Hell's Kitchen bar.
"What's really puzzling the family is why he ended up where he did," said another family friend. "It was a Sunday and holiday weekend. Why was he drinking in Hell's Kitchen and why would he end up in Washington Heights?"
Friends noted that Andrew -- a former Legal Aid attorney who quit his longtime job as a city Housing Authority lawyer in 2008 -- was close to his famous dad and the rest of his family, and never found his drinking to be a cause for alarm.
[Snip]
Andrew reportedly spent Sunday guzzling whiskey with waiter Russell Wimberly, 32, in a series of Hell's Kitchen saloons.
Wimberly later brought the extremely intoxicated Andrew to the Washington Heights apartment of a friend, Belinda Caban, 53. She said yesterday that Andrew appeared to be more than just drunk.
"I think he did take [drugs] because he was too out of it," said Caban, who helped put the drunk man in a bedroom to sleep it off.
Several hours later, seeing he wasn't breathing they called 911, but it was too late.
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
The second milestone symptom of addiction is drinking with inferiors. (the first is tolerance)
A dead druggie is a good druggie.
“The second milestone symptom of addiction is drinking with inferiors.”
LOL. Problem drinkers don’t have inferiors. I know.
What was she thinking, living with and having children with a man with so many problems? The foolish woman chose misery and heartache for her kids.
So many women do, but I’ll never understand why.
It’s very sad.
"FINAL proof that conservatism is a sham, and that conservatives need to be sent to re-education camps." /Sunstein mode>
Cheers!
“The foolish woman chose misery and heartache for her kids.”
The kids have a very wealthy grandfather, who I imagine will look after their needs.
I think its shameful that the press intrudes on her like this.
As a 14yr recovering alcoholic & addict I can tell you he didn't "duck" it because he didn't WANT to. Recovery is a program of want, not need.
God comfort his family.
>>The kids have a very wealthy grandfather,
That’s not always a solution.
Just ask Andrew.
She's a very average-looking woman, and he's from a well-off family. She probably thought she was getting a good deal.
I’m sure they won’t be hurting for worldly possessions but with a mom who makes decisions like she does they’re probably in for a rocky ride.
Man, if I had a girlfriend that looked like that, I’d drink like a fish too!
LOL
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