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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

Posted on 10/01/2003 10:41:34 PM PDT by 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.


TOPICS: Breaking News; Culture/Society; News/Current Events
KEYWORDS: addiction; afraidofrush; algorelostgetoverit; claslessdailynews; dailynewsnoclass; danzachary; edshohat; hitpiece; jerryfox; limbaugh; nationalenquirer; nydailynews; recovery; rush; rushlimbaugh; sleazydailynews; tabloidjournalism; talkradio; terrifiedofrush; wilmacline; wodlist
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To: Hildy
LOL!!!! I was just thinking I'd better shut this thing down and get in there to bed too :).
381 posted on 10/02/2003 12:04:37 AM PDT by GOPrincess
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To: GOPrincess
bubba better not get hired or anyone else in the clintoon clan
382 posted on 10/02/2003 12:04:46 AM PDT by machogirl
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To: lainie
The accusations are damning, and shocking...but holy cow...this is a NEWS story? It's dripping with schadenfreude!

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

If this had been Oprah Winfrey, would they have said, "the rotund egomaniac"? I think not!

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.

..............because?????

This is not a shining moment in journalism for the Daily News.

383 posted on 10/02/2003 12:04:51 AM PDT by L.N. Smithee (LEADERS WANTED! No experience, principles nec., will train; Showbiz Stardom a PLUS! Call Calif. GOP)
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To: Tree of Liberty
3rd possibility: people still 'get past' the drug tests these days. All the time.
384 posted on 10/02/2003 12:04:59 AM PDT by ApesForEvolution ("The only way evil triumphs is if good men do nothing" E. Burke)
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To: Rokurota
That was a Howler quote.
385 posted on 10/02/2003 12:05:38 AM PDT by ApesForEvolution ("The only way evil triumphs is if good men do nothing" E. Burke)
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To: onyx
"You woke me for this? Use your head. 4,000 and some odd pills in a 47 day period, and you would be reading his obit, not some salacious news article."

Yeah, he'd be deader than Elvis Presley.

386 posted on 10/02/2003 12:05:49 AM PDT by Lancey Howard
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To: ApesForEvolution
The "bite me" was transmitting basically about how I feel about your post.

I know a troll when I see one.
387 posted on 10/02/2003 12:06:05 AM PDT by Howlin
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To: GOPrincess
Do you know for a fact that ESPN/Disney demands a drug test of everyone on the air?

No, that's a presumption on my part. Don't quote me (I'm not a business owner, yet), but I believe most states require drug testing, and insurance companies also require it as part of coverage.

388 posted on 10/02/2003 12:06:43 AM PDT by Tree of Liberty (Do you work for good, or for awesome?)
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To: GOPrincess
I watched that show live, and Tom Jackson and Michael Irvin did not even flinch at those comments, nor did Steve Young or Boomer. Sports stars are expected to take the heat, given the salaries they make. I hope Donovan and his pussy ass is having some nice chunky soup with mom.
389 posted on 10/02/2003 12:07:04 AM PDT by des
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To: ApesForEvolution
Point taken.
390 posted on 10/02/2003 12:07:24 AM PDT by Tree of Liberty (Do you work for good, or for awesome?)
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To: onyx
What does your doctor husband say about the effects of painkillers on the liver? I thought they could damage it. At the doses they allege he was taking, there's no way he could hide liver damage.
391 posted on 10/02/2003 12:07:41 AM PDT by sandpit
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To: Timesink
I further hope that ALL Conservatives realize that THIS IS WAR and act accordingly!

We won't, trust me.

We shouldn't negotiate with terrorists. Democrats are political terrorists!

392 posted on 10/02/2003 12:07:44 AM PDT by teletech (Have we dug up Saddam yet?)
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To: Howlin
Yeah, computer next to a mirror is what I suspected of you...Headline: "Socialist RINO smears Conservative! More at 10.."
393 posted on 10/02/2003 12:07:58 AM PDT by ApesForEvolution ("The only way evil triumphs is if good men do nothing" E. Burke)
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To: lainie
Who is Ed Shohat? He's the lawyer the "maid" hired according to the NY Daily News article you posted :).

394 posted on 10/02/2003 12:08:01 AM PDT by hmmmmm
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To: Tree of Liberty
We'll have to keep an eye on the ESPN hiring drug test angle, that strikes me as an interesting possibility to shed light on this whole thing.

Well, everyone, I've got to sign off for the night or I'm going to hate myself when the alarm clock goes off tomomorrow. It's gonna be a weird day tomorrow any way we slice it. Thanks to all for sharing your thoughts.
395 posted on 10/02/2003 12:08:31 AM PDT by GOPrincess
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To: Hildy
Stinks to high heaven and that so many people here, are this ill educated on libel suits, so fast to believe this garbage, is just appalling and beyond belief.
396 posted on 10/02/2003 12:08:36 AM PDT by nopardons
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To: Reagan Man
>>>The House Clinic is the finest hearing clinic in the world and I can't imagine they'd jeopardize their reputation. Something isn't right here.

Don't you think that undergoing brain surgery (Cochlear implants are brain surgery) requires numerous tests that would have shown a massive drug habit? How about the high level of pain medications that a drug addicted patient would require to get ANY relief from the post-surgery pain? None of this raised any flags with doctors and other health professionals who are required to report such findings.

397 posted on 10/02/2003 12:08:56 AM PDT by Swordmaker (Tag line extermination service, no tagline too long or too short. Low prices. Freepmail me for quote)
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To: holdonnow; Chunga
your expertise is officially requested. over and over and over again.
398 posted on 10/02/2003 12:08:56 AM PDT by lainie
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To: Hildy
I went to bed at 8:30PM, but my bladder forced me out of bed, and I'm now well rested and ready to rock n' roll! :-)
399 posted on 10/02/2003 12:09:04 AM PDT by onyx (Ask the Indian$)
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To: ApesForEvolution
I still you still cannot post anywhere without trashing anybody who doesn't agree with you.

Thankfully you're mostly ignored.
400 posted on 10/02/2003 12:09:17 AM PDT by Howlin
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