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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: MS.BEHAVIN
Good nite MsB. sleep tight. ;>)
641 posted on 10/02/2003 1:30:03 AM PDT by slimer (i'm mad as hell and i'm not going to take it anymore!)
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To: MHT
...When it was Clinton, it wasn't about sex but about his job performance....

Dude, we bombed Kosovo back into the dark ages because of his sex life. Arafat bent the US over the desk and did to us what Clinton did to Monica. The President of the United States was the target of black mail by who knows how many countries who knew about his little problems.

Worst case, Rush really had half his brain tied behind his back. Rush is an ENTERTAINER. He speaks words. We form opinions. That's it.
642 posted on 10/02/2003 1:32:04 AM PDT by Joe_October (Saddam supported Terrorists. Al Qaeda are Terrorists. I can't find the link.)
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To: Reagan Man
One of the greatest failings of modern medicine is our difficulty controlling pain. However, it seems to me that as one of the richest men around that he, if anyone, would have access to doctors who could give him the best drugs and get a handle on pain. <P<There was a show tonight about Marilyn Monroe's death and it only took 24 to bring her down. The amounts listed in the article seem highly unlikely.
643 posted on 10/02/2003 1:32:51 AM PDT by MHT
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To: dinok
I keep thinking it's to hide the finding of WMD today.
644 posted on 10/02/2003 1:33:01 AM PDT by CyberAnt (America - The Greatest Nation on the Face of the Earth)
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To: All
Good nite my fellow freepers.
645 posted on 10/02/2003 1:35:14 AM PDT by slimer (i'm mad as hell and i'm not going to take it anymore!)
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To: lainie; JohnHuang2; MadIvan; TonyInOhio; MeeknMing; itreei; jd792; Molly Pitcher; muggs; ...
There is NO WAY Rush could do ALL the work and activities he does and be on codene and oxycontone and murid of other downers its impossable he would be sleeping 95% of the time !
646 posted on 10/02/2003 1:35:30 AM PDT by ATOMIC_PUNK ("If guns kill people, where are mine hiding the bodies.")
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To: Pukin Dog
Actually .. it's having the opposite effect on me .. I'm madder than hell!!
647 posted on 10/02/2003 1:38:22 AM PDT by CyberAnt (America - The Greatest Nation on the Face of the Earth)
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To: JohnHuang2
The paragons of 'free speech' and First Amendment rights on the Left performed a character assasination job on Dr. Laura not too long ago.

Exactly right and they did it in exactly the same fashion. It never mattered what she actually said, only that she dared to mention the "H" word... homosexuality.

We've got to protect talk radio and FOX. They're the major targets now. The left only believes in free speech for liberals.

648 posted on 10/02/2003 1:38:48 AM PDT by Exigence
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To: Timesink; Fledermaus; Howlin; Mo1
Would you believe there's a Wilma Cline in MO? A little town named Cuba, MO...80 miles from St. Louis.

She's the Treasurer of the Chamber of Commerce.

649 posted on 10/02/2003 1:40:10 AM PDT by Fracas
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To: slimer
Prayers for you, Slimer..

I'm sorry for your pain..so hard sometimes, I know..

Ms.B
650 posted on 10/02/2003 1:40:22 AM PDT by MS.BEHAVIN ("Great spirits have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds".Re-elect G.W.Bush)
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To: slimer
After reading the story again, I couldn't find where she said how many he actually took a day except that she kept a log for a time. She said how many she bought for him in a 47 day period

There are increased penalties for possession for sale than possession for mere personal use. Possession for sale can be inferred by possession of a quantity of drugs beyond the amount that could be reasonably used by an individual.

I think that they are not just setting Rush up for a charge of being a drug user but also for a charge of being a drug dealer. They are not playing softball... this is hardball... with depleted uranium balls.

651 posted on 10/02/2003 1:41:31 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: Rastus
Oh, come now! Didn't you hear from CNN that Rush is a racist? He figured he'd buy a couple of pills and then slip in to the restaurant to help the waitress run off the black customers. ;)

Shhh... I'm sure the only reason this exact accusation hasn't been made yet is that they haven't thought of it yet.

Wanna bet Rush is the lead story on every morning show tomorrow? Wonder if anyone will bother to mention the Kuwait/WMD story? Nah... not "real" news...

652 posted on 10/02/2003 1:42:01 AM PDT by Exigence
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To: Swordmaker
There are increased penalties for possession for sale than possession for mere personal use. Possession for sale can be inferred by possession of a quantity of drugs beyond the amount that could be reasonably used by an individual.

Yes... and even if this fiction has an ounce of truth, the dealer is the maid. You don't cut deals with the dealer to go after customers... unless you want to make a political statement.

This has "set up" written all over it...

653 posted on 10/02/2003 1:43:52 AM PDT by Exigence
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To: jocon307
Five by Five
654 posted on 10/02/2003 1:44:36 AM PDT by CyberAnt (America - The Greatest Nation on the Face of the Earth)
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To: CyberAnt
I keep thinking it's to hide the finding of WMD today.

Exactly. It's a "wag the dog."

655 posted on 10/02/2003 1:45:04 AM PDT by Exigence
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To: Exigence
We've got to protect talk radio and FOX. They're the major targets now. The left only believes in free speech for liberals.

Precisely, my friend.

656 posted on 10/02/2003 1:45:06 AM PDT by JohnHuang2
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To: Fracas
Rush is likely smoking one of his cigars and having an 'adult beverage'. He'll be happy to know you're joining him. I'm having coffee, but it's the thought that counts.

Another point. Pain killing drugs do not mix well with "adult beverages." Ask Dorothy Kilgallen...

657 posted on 10/02/2003 1:45:36 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: jocon307
THEY ARE TRYING TO TAKE OUR FREEDOM AWAY. DOES ANYBODY GET THIS?

Bumping the truth to the top.

658 posted on 10/02/2003 1:47:00 AM PDT by Exigence
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To: TheConservator
And .. as someone else said, the Enquirer has been successfully sued several time for it's overly embellished stories.

The key is to DISCREDIT RUSH - even if the story proves to be a totally false allegation, it's already out there - and will cause some people to doubt what he says.

WHO PROFITS FROM THAT RESULT ..?? DO I EVEN HAVE TO ASK ..??
659 posted on 10/02/2003 1:48:41 AM PDT by CyberAnt (America - The Greatest Nation on the Face of the Earth)
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To: nopardons
Not only that .. but Rush certainly is well off enough to be able to BUY his own .. I agree - this story has holes big enough to drive Air Force One through it.
660 posted on 10/02/2003 1:50:10 AM PDT by CyberAnt (America - The Greatest Nation on the Face of the Earth)
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