Posted on 10/02/2003 1:21:45 AM PDT by kattracks
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.
Feeling no pain
The drugs Rush Limbaugh is accused of abusing are legal only with a doctor's prescription. All are habit-forming.
- Hydrocodone
Anti-cough agent and painkiller similar to morphine. Side effects include anxiety, poor mental performance, emotional dependence, drowsiness, mood changes, difficulty breathing and itchiness.
- Lorcet
Brand name for the combination of Tylenol and hydrocodone, prescribed for moderate to severe pain. Side effects include dry mouth, nausea, vomiting, decreased appetite, dizziness, tiredness, muscle twitches, sweating and itching.
- OxyContin
Potent time-release medication for relief of moderate to severe pain, known as hillbilly heroin because of black-market popularity in some rural areas. Side effects include drowsiness, dizziness, sweating, muscle twitches and decreased sex drive. A large dose can be fatal.
Originally published on October 2, 2003
I kept track of the print media during the impeachment wars. I'm examining the bylines on a lot of this Bush/Rush/Arnie stuff, and (ala Gomer Pyle) SURPRISE, SURPRISE! - it's the same crowd who were Clinton's most vociferous and insidious defenders. If Lars-Erik Nelson hadn't croaked during the 2000 recount wars, he'd be at the head of the pack.
...perhaps looking like fools at a later date.
Like that stopped the Democrats after the Clinton impeachment. Buck up, soldier - we're in a war, and the Stupid Party came to a gun fight with a knife, as usual.
The Democrats own the national media, and this is a full-court press (pardon the pun).
But your analogy to the Monica story is wrong, however. I am sure that this story is being packaged and spun fromthe getgo by the Democrats specialoperations unit. This is a political takedown. The "facts" being reported are all in the control of a supposed polica informant that is lawyered to a Democrat elections lawyer in Miami who was defending off-shore contributions to the Dem Senatorial campaign. Do you need a map? Then go to the fact of disclosure at all. Such informants do not routinely call the press and start sellling their story. I am sure that the Enquirer will have a cover so thay there will be no record of her actually being paid by it--but her allegiance has been secured in some way. The story is that at a certian point in Summer of 2002 she went to this lawyer. The truth is more likely that the Dem operatives approached and pressured this woman to dance to their tune. I will stop speculating at this point, but the imagination should be fertile here.
His personal foibles are of no interest to me, but if true, these allegations would certainly prove to be harmful to the conservative cause. He's just too big an icon.
I can just picture the codeine-heads driving maniacally all night through trailer parks.LOL
I have severe arthritis in my spine. I have taken Oxy for around 5 years. Taken as directed, it is a miracle pain relief drug. I would rather take one of these pills as compared to taking 8 Lor-tabs. Oxy's have made my life more normal. Without them I doubt very much I could function..I know I couldn't work.
Those abusing the drug give it a bad name.
From my own personal experiences and observations, drug abuse knows no boundries -- age, sex, race, ethnic, relgious, economic, or political affiliation.
You're wasting your breath by trying to inject pragmatic common sense into this. They're into full blown, conspiracy theorizing rants now.
Thats the problem when allegations come out against outspoken social conservatives - their opponents react with an "I told you so" glee, those who suggested a more moderate approach can sigh in anticipatory sadness, and the fierce partisans can either experience extreme disillusionment or go off the deep end if the allegations prove correct.
Amen, Labyrinthos. Addiction pays no respect to social or economic strata. In fact, significant wealth and/or power can make it far more difficult to come to grips with an inability to control an addicting substance.
You could be innocent, and then again, the snakes [and there are a lot of them] operate by trying to appear innocent.
Knowing Rush, however, the rope will break. He will break free and become even greater and more successful than ever!
I will pray for him.
I remember his saying, several times, that wealth and fame weren't all they were cracked up to be. He would make some remark like 'if you only knew...,' trailing off elliptically.
Now that it's out (I believe the core story is true, though likely Cline has exaggerated grossly), I hope Rush will handle this like the big man he is.
Prayers going out for Rush.
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