NY Daily News: Rush Limbaugh in Pill Probe -- Talk radio star had drug habit, maid sez

NY Daily News & Drudge ^ | October 1, 2003 | Tracy Connor

[lainie]

Talk-radio titan Rush Limbaugh is being investigated for allegedly buying thousands of addictive painkillers from a black-market drug ring.

The moralizing motormouth was turned in by his former housekeeper - who says she was Limbaugh's pill supplier for four years.

Wilma Cline, 42, says Limbaugh was hooked on the potent prescription drugs OxyContin, Lorcet and hydrocodone - and went through detox twice.

"There were times when I worried," Cline told the National Enquirer, which broke the story in an edition being published today. "All these pills are enough to kill an elephant - never mind a man."

Cline could not be reached for further comment yesterday, but her lawyer, Ed Shohat of Miami, said his client "stands behind the story."

The Daily News independently confirmed that Limbaugh is under investigation.

His lawyers, Jerry Fox and Dan Zachary, refused to comment on the accusations and said any "medical information" about him was private and not newsworthy.

They said Limbaugh - who has a top-rated syndicated radio show but resigned early today from a weekly ESPN football segment amid criticism of racial comments about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb - was traveling and had no comment.

The Palm Beach County state attorney's office, which is running the probe, said it could not confirm or deny the allegations.

Scoring in parking lot

Cline told the Enquirer she went to prosecutors with information about Limbaugh and others after four years of drug deals that included clandestine handoffs in a Denny's parking lot.

She said she wore a wire during her last two deliveries to the conservative commentator and gave the tapes to authorities.

She also gave the Enquirer a ledger documenting how many pills she claimed to have bought for him - 4,350 in one 47-day period - and E-mails she claimed Limbaugh sent her.

In one missive, Limbaugh pushed Cline to get more "little blues" - code for OxyContin, the powerful narcotic nicknamed hillbilly heroin, she said.

"You know how this stuff works ... the more you get used to, the more it takes," the May 2002 E-mail reads. "But I will try and cut down to help out."

The account Cline gave the Enquirer is that she became Limbaugh's drug connection in 1998, nine months after taking a housekeeping job at his Palm Beach mansion.

It started after her husband, David, hurt himself in a fall, and Limbaugh asked how he was.

"He asked me casually, 'Is he getting any pain medication?' I said, 'Yes - he's had surgery, and the doctor gave him hydro-codone 750,'" Cline said. "To my astonishment, he said, 'Can you spare a couple of them?'"

Husband's pills

Cline said she gave Limbaugh 10 pills the next day and agreed to give him 30 of her husband's pills each month. When the doctor stopped renewing the prescription in early 1999, Limbaugh allegedly went ballistic.

"His tone was nasty and bullying. He said, 'I don't care how or what you do, but you'd better - better! - get me some more,'" Cline said.

The housekeeper said she found a new supplier and arranged to hide Limbaugh's stashes under his mattress so his wife, Marta, wouldn't find them.

After several months, Limbaugh told her he was going to New York for detox and didn't need any more pills, Cline said.

But a month later, he said his left ear was hurting and asked her for hydrocodone, followed by an order for OxyContin.

Limbaugh, 52, suffered from autoimmune ear disease, a condition that left him deaf and had to be corrected with cochlear implant surgery two years ago.

Cline said she continued to make deliveries to Limbaugh even after she quit as his housekeeper in July 2001 - but he became increasingly paranoid, even patting her down for recording devices, she said.

In June 2002, Limbaugh told her he was going to New York for detox a second time.

After he returned, "I went to talk to him, and he cried a little bit," she said. "He told me that if it ever got out, he would be ruined."

She claimed that a lawyer for Limbaugh gave her a payoff - $80,000 he owed her, plus another $120,000 - and asked her to destroy the computer that contained the E-mail records.

Soon after, Cline and her husband retained Shohat and contacted prosecutors.

[DittoJed2]

That is what is alleged. The folks actually doing the investigation won't confirm or deny the allegations. The paper doesn't say who it confirmed the investigation with. Could be that this Wilma is some crack(no pun intended)pot who was trying to blackmail Rush a ways back and just made up a story on him. The story lacks credibility to be sure.

[hmmmmm]

Thank you, hopefully this will help in some way :).

[185JHP]

"Pride goeth before destruction - and an haughty spirit before a fall." A verse that is often misquoted; because people would rather think about "getting up" after a "fall" than think about being destroyed. FReegards and thanks for your good post.

[Timesink]

And if you don't think the story is out yet, turn on Katie Couric in about 4 hours.

Oh, I turned on Katie Couric years ago.

[Hildy]

His stupid ESPN gaffe was top of the news headlines today...can you imagine what's going to happen tomorrow????

[nopardons]

I'm not a lawyer, but wouldn't the " STAR WITNESS ", selling the story, pretrial,jepordize the trial ?

[GOPrincess]

"Here I was all excited because I got a job today - and now all the excitement is gone!"

Congrats!!

Know what you mean. This is really deflating, even if it's a bunch of malarkey, just think of the fun the media will have with this in days to come.

Good luck on that job :).

[des]

IT'S A FREAKIN' SPORTS SHOW----Get a grip.

[Cold Heat]

Incidentally, her weight has almost doubled since being on the medication.

Yes, the good ole munchies!

This story is false on the face of it. I look forward to the response.

[GROOVY]

If there's any substance to this at all, it could be a career-ender.

I don't see this as a career-ender. I mean his job is talking on the radio, as long as he is clean now or cleans himself up and keeps being entertaining then his career will go on.

[Edit35]

She also gave the Enquirer a ledger documenting how many pills she claimed to have bought for him - 4,350 in one 47-day period - and E-mails she claimed Limbaugh sent her.

I could make up a "ledger" in five minutes, by running to Staples and buying one, and then scribbling in there whatever I wanted to write.

Furthermore, the article says she gave her evidence to Palm Beach prosecutors in June of 2002, which by her claims would indicate she stopped getting pills for Rush at that point.

I know a little about pill addiction, and it seems to me Rush would have gone into hyper withdrawal for weeks if not months, and I don't recall anything out of the unusual.

Methinks she is making much of this up.

[Lancey Howard]

LOL, I was scanning the article real fast to get to the part where Rush was doin' the maid.

[LPM1888]

He must have been injecting the pills after melting them down.

[beaversmom]

If he is taking all those pills he might be sleeping in a Select Comfort coffin soon. If the maid is telling the truth, she is a big POS for doing this for a very addicted man no matter how much he strong armed her. Her moral character is very low. Also, if it is true, I'm glad it came out so now he can get some help before he did end up in a coffin. Better not to have RUSH for a little while than to have him taking the eternal dirt nap too soon. Guess we will find out more in the next few days to see how it plays out. Get ready for the circus. One bright side, I bet this knocks the steam out of the CIA leak story--okay, okay not much of a bright side, I know. I'm not the biggest RUSH fan, but I am a fan. The only people I could think of that it would be a bigger disappointment to find out something horrible about would be President Bush, Dennis Prager, or Michael Medved.

[lora_one]

U got THAT right!!!! I could think of some even more abhorant reeks that would be even more apropo. This "event" is just tooooooooo WELL timed, as far as I'm concerned.

[Howlin]

Just so you'll know:

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/993336/posts?page=311#311

Bite me.

[Yaelle]

Sort of like your hope that AS is not, what did you call him? Oh yeah a misogynist?

Yes. Are you being nice or sarcastic? I do hope that as well.

[Tree of Liberty]

No joke, at least not an intentional one. I thought someone mentioned on a previous thread that it was a sports broadcasters breakfast, but others say it's a general media broadcasters breakfast. Either way, Rush wasn't scheduled to host his show tomorrow. I don't know if that's changed, or if he'll telephone in to talk about this for a few minutes, or what.

[lainie]

Cline told the Enquirer she went to prosecutors with information about Limbaugh and others after four years of drug deals that included clandestine handoffs in a Denny's parking lot.

She said she wore a wire during her last two deliveries to the conservative commentator and gave the tapes to authorities.

She also gave the Enquirer a ledger documenting how many pills she claimed to have bought for him - 4,350 in one 47-day period - and E-mails she claimed Limbaugh sent her.

This is flapdoodle, people. Bilge. Baloney. A bunch of jive.

Even if it was true, she's trying her case in the court of National Enquirer? No. NOnonononono.