Posted on 04/28/2006 3:11:12 PM PDT by kristinn
Edited on 04/28/2006 3:20:03 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
Rush Limbaugh's attorney has issued a statement announcing a settlement of the Florida prosecutor's investigation into alleged doctor shopping by Rush Limbaugh.
Details have been read by Sean Hannity and Rush Limbaugh. Basically, the charge of doctor shopping is dismissed, with some conditions.
In response to media and other inquiries, Roy Black, Rush Limbaugh's attorney, released the following statement today concerning a settlement agreement with the Palm Beach County State Attorney's Office to end the investigation of Mr. Limbaugh:
"I am pleased to announce that the State Attorney's Office and Mr. Limbaugh have reached an agreement whereby a single count charge of doctor shopping filed today by the State Attorney will be dismissed in 18 months. As a primary condition of the dismissal, Mr. Limbaugh must continue to seek treatment from the doctor he has seen for the past two and one half years. This is the same doctor under whose care Mr. Limbaugh has remained free of his addiction without relapse.
"Mr. Limbaugh and I have maintained from the start that there was no doctor shopping, and we continue to hold this position. Accordingly, we filed today with the Court a plea of 'Not Guilty' to the charge filed by the State.
"As part of this agreement, Mr. Limbaugh also has agreed to make a $30,000 payment to the State of Florida to defray the public cost of the investigation. The agreement also provides that he must refrain from violating the law during this 18 months, must pay $30 per month for the cost of "supervision" and comply with other similar provisions of the agreement.
"Mr. Limbaugh had intended to remain in treatment. Thus, we believe the outcome for him personally will be much as if he had fought the charge and won."
The actions taken today are as follows:
-- The State Attorney has filed a single charge of doctor shopping with the Court. The charge is being held in abeyance under the terms of an agreement between the State and Mr. Limbaugh.
-- Mr. Limbaugh has filed a plea of "Not Guilty" with the Court.
The formal agreement between Mr. Limbaugh and the State Attorney will be filed with the Court on Monday. The terms of the agreement are substantively as follows:
-- Mr. Limbaugh will continue in treatment with the doctor he has seen for the past two and one half years.
-- After Mr. Limbaugh completes an additional 18 months of treatment, the State Attorney has agreed to drop the charge.
-- Mr. Limbaugh has agreed to make a $30,000 payment to the State of Florida to defray the public cost of the investigation.
And I will also bet you that the doctors at the PB Ear, Nose & Throat Association who referred Rush to the House Ear Clinic sent a complete report and history of why he was being referred and what treatments and prescriptions they had ordered. Referrals are not done in a vacuum.
"Apparently the facts are now that Rush had five doctors... but that begs the question of whether they all prescribed oxycontin for him... I find it hard to believe that the ear, nose and throat specialist would be prescribing pain pills for a back problem. ..." ~ Swordmaker
Roy Black stated that two of Rush's doctors prescribed over 90% of the pain medication for him. You'll find that fact, and the possible answer to the so-called "5 doctors" assertion in my post here:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1623836/posts?page=69#69
See my post here: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/news/1623836/posts?page=69#69
Well, in the interest of accuracy - it went from three doctors at two clinics to 4 docs at 3 clinics.
Then if the Plam Beach Post article has it's info correct, it goes to 5 doctors at 4 clinics, counting an unnamed one in NY.
"hardly the 'scandal' (ala "drive-by media") you would like it to sound like ... "
I wouldn't like it to sound like anything... it is what it is and most probably bigger then we will ever know.
If it were Clinton or the Dems noone would even notice, isn't that what sets conservatives apart from them ?
and again, according to the Post article -
"Jupiter Dr. Lawrence Deziel told investigators in January that he had no knowledge of Limbaugh receiving prescriptions from any other doctor besides a fellow one at the Jupiter Outpatient Surgery Center."
So it appears that the doctors at (1) did not know about the doctors at (2) ... Curious to say the least ...
I've wondered from the beginning why Rush did not simply have all of his doctors sign an affidavit that they all knew about the others - it would have made everything go away very early.
Like I said, have fun with your conspiracy theories.
If he were my child, I'd want something like this.
Only in America, where you pay damages to the system for coming after you.
sorry to be so late to this party but this is just showing how pathetic the case was.
This is STRICTLY A PROSECUTOR FACE SAVING.
This only shows the prosecutor had nothing from day one. This is near the terms of the original drug court system. I be Rush does not even have actual reporting probation. It is probably mailing in reporting probation.
Additionally Rush was able to have his own program imposed on this deal, as a lawyer it just shows how weak the prosecutor's case is that they can force the prosecutor to take this.
Net result.
Rush no criminal record. ZERO. He will not even have to answer that he was arrested.
Prosecutor, net result is humiliation and exposure as a hack. I hope the bar complaint moves forward because the bar complaint is 100% independent of the case in the courts.
It is not "copping a plea".
The only plea Rush entered is "not guility" (as in "how do you plead?")
Most Rush Bashers are ignoring (or do not want to admit they know) the law.
The chard is going to be held in abayance.
Now the interesting thing is the fact that any OTHER person would have only had 12 months. Rush is having the full 18. I wonder if the terms of the deal allow for early termination of the "probation" (really a pre trial release not true probation) as in allowed in other probation cases where 50% of the period is completed.
Yes, this is the PROSECUTOR saving face.
"Net result.
Rush no criminal record. ZERO. He will not even have to answer that he was arrested. "
So ? Thousands of addicts get their records expunged in this way. You think he will ever have to submit an employment app ?
You seem to forget the most important net result of this -
Rush is off an addiction to drugs that he had at least as far back as 1999, when he first attempted detox.
If his "cover" was blown during the election campaign, might we have been presented with Pres. ALGore ?
The mind shudders at the thought.
I totally understand too. Been using darvocet for three years for monthly pain, The rest of the month I'd spend having withdrawal headaches from the stuff. FINALLY got my doctor to recommend something surgical to correct it. I am so glad not to be taking them anymore. Narcotics don't agree with me too much, but I can understand how easy it would be to get hooked, they sure do feel nice initially. It's the side effects that make me miserable.
News to me!~ (I'm a 24/7 fan, and I hear him criticize him plenty, just not on the war.)
Yeah I figured that out after I posted. Sorry. :-)
I guess I was under the impression that he did do something illegal with regard to obtaining the drugs - otherwise how did he get so much? - and that his admission of addiction was why no action was taken. Or am I mistaken?
"I guess I was under the impression that he did do something illegal with regard to obtaining the drugs - otherwise how did he get so much? "
True - from the pharmacy records, you can see that he was obtaining overlapping prescriptions from different doctors.
" and that his admission of addiction was why no action was taken."
No - the addiction simply didn't matter to the charge, it was his method of obtaining the drugs, not if he swallowed them or not.
But...first time offenders who are users have the option of going into diversion, which means supervised treatment - If you successfully complete it, the charges are then dismissed.
Rush spent two years and hundreds of thousands of dollars ( if not millions ) fighting the investigation. The investigation slowly proceeded and reached a point where a charge was filed, and Rush entered the diversion program rather then face trial.
I think you are mistaken.
No action was taken? He has been the object of a three year political prosecution. Yes. It is a political prosecution. As I said earlier, no one (or virtually none)else (or virtually none) has been charged under this statute, and almost no one had ever heard of the "crime" of doctor shopping before Rush was tarred with it. It's been a long time now so I don't remember whether he checked himself into rehab before this all began or after, but the prosecution has gone on for years since he did.
As for "how did he get so much," others on this thread have explained that he really didn't have "so much." You just choose not to pay attention.
ML/NJ
No matter what you think of Rush Limbaugh. The cases are never pursued. They just aren't. It was only of interest to the DA & investigators because of the name of the accused - Limbaugh.
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