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Limbaugh won't be prosecuted, attorneys wager
PalmBeachPost.com ^ | Saturday, October 4, 2003 | John Pacenti

Posted on 10/04/2003 1:42:29 AM PDT by Walkin Man

Saturday, October 4

Limbaugh won't be prosecuted, attorneys wager

By John Pacenti, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer Saturday, October 4, 2003

WEST PALM BEACH -- Rush Limbaugh's alleged addiction to painkillers may be documented in e-mails.

His reported drug deals may have been taped by his former housekeeper.

And the talkative maid and her handyman husband could even be willing to testify against the conservative talk-show host. They sure were willing to spill everything to a supermarket tabloid.

But the chance of criminal charges ever being filed against Limbaugh is next to nil, say criminal defense attorneys who have handled numerous drug cases.

And some local lawyers say they are hearing from sources within State Attorney Barry Krischer's office that Limbaugh -- who lives in a $24 million mansion on Palm Beach -- will indeed not be charged.

Sources also said Limbaugh won't even be questioned by law enforcement officials, unless the commentator chooses to cooperate on his own.

Roy Black is the Miami powerhouse attorney Limbaugh has reportedly hired to represent him. But Black, who has represented such celebrities as Marv Albert and William Kennedy Smith, won't return calls to confirm he has been retained. And Limbaugh said on his radio show Friday he wasn't at liberty to address the allegations.

James Martz, the prosecutor who heads up a task force on money-laundering, said he is more interested in finding the heads of such distribution cells as opposed to prosecuting low-level drug users -- whether they are celebrities or not.

Plus, to prosecute drug abusers, authorities need to catch them in possession of the illegal substance, he said. "Shy of that, we have very little leverage in the state system," Martz said.

What it all comes down to, attorneys say, is that the court of public opinion is a far cry from the court of law.

"I think that the state better have a heck of a lot more than what I'm seeing, hearing and reading right now," attorney Michael Salnick said. "First of all you have a major credibility issue with these witnesses. The credibility issue starts with the fact they sold their story to The National Enquirer."

The former maid, Wilma Cline, and her husband, David Cline, told The Enquirer for its latest edition that Limbaugh bulldogged them into supplying him with thousands of painkillers between 1998 and 2002. They said Limbaugh took hydrocodone, Lorcet and OxyContin.

The story came out on the heels of Limbaugh resigning from his job as an ESPN sports analyst after he said Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb was overrated because the media wanted a black quarterback to succeed.

Maid said she taped transactions

It is unknown if the timing was coincidental, but The Enquirer's story is full of juicy details. According to the piece, it all started when Limbaugh asked for some extra pain pills from David Cline's legitimate prescription for a back injury.

Soon, Limbaugh demanded that they continue to supply him with pills when the prescription ran out. That's when Wilma Cline started keeping a log of her deliveries and preserved desperate e-mails from Limbaugh in which he referred to pills as "small blue babies."

Wilma Cline said she would meet Limbaugh in parking lots, passing a cigar box filled with pills through his Mercedes' window.

During her two last drug deliveries, Wilma Cline told The Enquirer, she secretly audiotaped the transactions.

Late last year, the Clines went to prosectors, who gave them immunity. Sources say the couple helped prosecutors in their investigation into tracking some 450,000 pills of hydrocodone back to the source.

Authorities believe some of Limbaugh's supply was dispensed from a small suburban Lake Worth pharmacy, World Health Association. The couple that ran the operation, Gloria and Louis Beshara, were arrested in May, seven months after the Clines came forward. The Besharas currently face trafficking charges.

Also, what could undermine the Clines' credibility is that David Cline has a criminal history.

He was arrested in 1982 in Collier County for cocaine trafficking, serving five years in prison. In 2000, he was arrested on charges of identity theft -- using the name George Earl Taylor -- of possessing a fake driver license and fake vehicle registration, as well as possession of marijuana and resisting arrest. He served 18 months probation.

It is unknown if the couple received full immunity from prosecutors for information they gave about how they provided pills for Limbaugh.

If Wilma Cline did tape Limbaugh without his knowledge, that is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison, attorneys say.

Plus, Martz said such tapings can't even be heard by prosecutors. As for e-mail evidence, Martz said any such evidence is problematic because there is trouble verifying who sent the e-mail.

So where does this leave Limbaugh's criminal liability?

"I think it's legal suicide to go after a guy like Limbaugh with evidence as flimsy as this," Salnick said.

Two former prosecutors, now in private practice, agree.

Robert Gershman said most of the time, users are prosecuted only for possession. He said the Clines probably wouldn't have even gotten in the door of the state attorney's office if they weren't outing a celebrity.

Marc Shiner said the celebrity issue taints the case. "Why would drug dealers turn in their client unless they are trying to save their own neck -- or trying to make a couple hundred thousand dollars peddling their story to the tabloids?" he asked.

"If I was Roy Black, I'd be sitting on the beach right now sipping a pina colada or watching a Marlins game and not worrying too much about Rush Limbaugh's criminal liability right now."


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Culture/Society; Extended News; Front Page News; News/Current Events; US: Florida
KEYWORDS: pilingon; rushbashing; rushlimbaugh; wod
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To: Walkin Man
"Gee, you mean a guy that’s worth at least 250 million dollars is gonna walk away from drug charges that would send the average American to Federal prison for many years, forfeiting all he owns?"

And just what charge is that? Can you confirm that there is evidence to substantiate such a charge? Or...are you just a hateful socio-commielib smear puke? Methinks the later.

As one who deals with criminal charges every day, I have heard of NO evidence that would indicate a charge of that severity is warranted. Do you know better?

Tripe brain!

181 posted on 10/04/2003 4:12:09 PM PDT by lawdude (Liberalism: A failure every time it is tried!)
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To: nopardons
Well, as a listener since before he even went national, I humbly beg to differ. Yes, in a sense, the "fire" is gone, but in it's place IMHO is a really large quiet hammer. Rush has evolved on radio, to a somewhat more subtle version of his earlier self. Sorry if I sound like a Rush "apologist", but I believe the only thing that has changed about Rush is the improvement in vocabulary and delivery.
182 posted on 10/04/2003 4:16:54 PM PDT by ch53gunner
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To: Destro
Yup, its good to be King...he who has the gold makes(and breaks and gets away with it) the rules, etc.
183 posted on 10/04/2003 5:03:59 PM PDT by Walkin Man
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To: Walkin Man
Live and learn.
184 posted on 10/04/2003 5:06:41 PM PDT by Destro (Know your enemy! Help fight Islamic terrorisim by visiting www.johnathangaltfilms.com)
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To: WOSG
OJ did it, bonehead!

Yeah, and let us also consider that WHITE PEOPLE WOULDN'T GO BURN DOWN THEIR OWN NEIGHBORHOODS if Limbaugh was found guilty. Can it be a wonder that simpson got off after the way all his bro's and their famblys 'lit up' when rodney king was merely beaten?

Honestly, I couldn't care if clinton OR simpson OR limbaugh even wake up tomorrow morning (though, if one or more didn't all it would do is crap-up the local 'fishwrap' for another couple of days and Fox would run a quarter-page 'breaking news' subtitle for a month)- my observation was that someone who doesn't defend himself (be he guilty or innocent) looks like he's up to something.

Whether he's crooked or not doesn't matter to me - I stopped listening to him when it became too tedious to listen through all the cigar-crap, sports-crap, golf-crap, arguing-with-his-off-mike-staff-crap, commercials-crap, and etc.-crap to glean the truths and observations I could hear or read from other conservatives.

185 posted on 10/04/2003 6:51:37 PM PDT by solitas ("...it depends on what your definition of hydrocodone is...")
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To: auggy
Rush will own the Enquirer when this is over

Now THERE'S a consummation devoutly to be wished!

186 posted on 10/04/2003 7:29:37 PM PDT by shhrubbery!
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To: ch53gunner
His vocabulary isn't impressive and his silly mispronounciations( to be funny, I suppose ), are cloying, odd, and annoying.

Yes, he evolved; he evolved into a cartoon version of his former self and is no longer on the cutting edge of anything AND, worst of all, days to a week late with news.

187 posted on 10/04/2003 8:28:20 PM PDT by nopardons
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To: nopardons
He is INNOCENT (Rush), until proven guilty in a court of law.

So OJ really is innocent?

188 posted on 10/05/2003 5:33:10 AM PDT by joesbucks
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To: joesbucks
Nope; OJ is guilty as sin and the evidence proved that.

There's NO hard evidence, at all, about Rush, yet.

189 posted on 10/05/2003 10:48:54 PM PDT by nopardons
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To: drstevej
Rush's brother, David, is an attorney. David handles all of Rush's contracts.

His grandfather,Rush H. Limbaugh, Sr., was an attorney.

Rush's uncle, Stephen N. Limbaugh, Sr. is a federal judge appointed by Ronald Reagan.

His first cousin, Stephen N. Limbaugh, Jr. sits on the Missouri Supreme Court.

Pretty ironic.

190 posted on 10/06/2003 3:55:33 AM PDT by sakic
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To: sakic
***Pretty ironic.***

How so?
191 posted on 10/06/2003 5:02:54 AM PDT by drstevej
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To: Dialup Llama
Exactamundo! Couldn't have said it better if I were a Demosthenes and Seneca rolled into one.
192 posted on 10/06/2003 10:09:56 AM PDT by attiladhun2
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To: sakic
He has had numerous chances to deny them yet he has not. Not the actions of an innocent man. If I was accused of this and it was untrue I'd certainly deny it.

Just to play devil's advocate here... Clinton vehemently denied having sexual relations with "that woman, Miss Lewinsky" too. My point is that anyone can deny anything. In these days, a denial means nothing. Rush is doing the smart thing by letting the investigation take it course. He will have much to say at a later date.

193 posted on 10/06/2003 10:27:48 AM PDT by SaveTheChief
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To: Walkin Man; All
Excuse me .. "drug charges" .. what drug charges ..?? .. and .. since when has it been determined the emails were sent by Rush ..??

What if the emails were sent by the maid .. what if Rush caught her dealing drugs on his computer .. maybe that's why she doesn't work for him anymore ..??

And .. if someone used my computer that way - the first thing I would say to them is - GET THAT STUFF OFF MY COMPUTER.

I think .. when the maid got arrested, the lawyer found out she had worked for Rush .. and the lawyer knew who to call.

How about David Kendall (Clinton lawyer), who works for the National Enquirer .. how about David Boies (Gore lawyer), who works for the National Enquirer.

This thing is so stinky - it can't pass the smell test.

And .. who benefits the most from Rush being shut down ..??

Also .. for those who don't listen to Rush, he made a statement this morning .. he said he was in his airplane on his way to Philadelphia when he heard about the drug story - and "we all wondered what that was all about".

Now .. I contend that Rush would not have made that kind of statement if HE HAD KNOWN WHAT THAT WAS ALL ABOUT. You see the point.

Let's not react like the media and take for granted Rush is guilty of doing anything wrong.
194 posted on 10/06/2003 10:46:06 AM PDT by CyberAnt
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To: SaveTheChief
He will have much to say at a later date.

I assume you're right. The question is whether it will be the truth.

195 posted on 10/06/2003 9:07:50 PM PDT by sakic
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