State prosecutors refused deal to close Limbaugh case

[Judi Lynn]

State prosecutors refused deal to close Limbaugh case

By Peter Franceschina
Staff Writer
Posted January 23 2004

Palm Beach County prosecutors rejected an overture last month from Rush Limbaugh's attorneys that would have allowed the conservative commentator to enter drug rehabilitation rather than face criminal charges for prescription drug abuse.

Prosecutors say they think they have evidence that Limbaugh committed at least 10 felonies by illegally obtaining overlapping drug prescriptions, according to documents released to the South Florida Sun-Sentinel on Thursday.


They offered to end the investigation if Limbaugh pleaded guilty to a single felony for "doctor shopping" and agreed to a three-year term of probation, a deal that Limbaugh's Miami attorney Roy Black called "preposterous" on Thursday.

Limbaugh, 53, admitted in October to a prescription drug addiction as the result of chronic back pain and entered a monthlong treatment program. He has not been charged with any crimes.
(snip/...)

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-prush23jan23,0,6767877.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines

[POed_Ex_Repub]

1. Wait just a gosh darn minute here....

"Palm Beach County prosecutors rejected an overture last month from Rush Limbaugh's attorneys that would have allowed the conservative commentator to enter drug rehabilitation rather than face criminal charges for prescription drug abuse."

:wtf:

Didn't Rush supposedly already go through "drug rehabilitation"? Wasn't that where he supposedly disappeared to for a month and got all better?

Me thinks somebody who's name will go unmentioned (but rhymes with "Flush") is in denial.

(edited for spelling)

[Sannum]

2. he must be scared

I would say he missed the first step...

He went away for apperances sake....He had no intention of giving up the pills. Anything that will keep Fatboy out of the slammer, he will do. I bet he is pretty damn scared right now. Being a hypocryte always bites these people on the ass. If he thinks drug users should be in prison, than that is what he should get. He is blaming everyone but himself and refusing to accept responsibility. This "I am a victim of the prosecutor/democrats/hollywood liberals" act is going to backfire.

[Skittles]

21. please

drop the term "fatboy". Our disagreements with Rush Limbaugh are not about his weight.

[leftofthedial]

25. you are right

"Lardass" is far more descriptive in Limbaugh's case.

[sendero]

33. Or maybe...

... wobblebottom?

[JackDragna]

5. I bet he pissed the prosecutors off..

..with his holier-than-thou "I was just addicted to something legal as a result of surgery, which makes me innocent-you're-just-after-me-because-I'm-famous" attitude of his. I think he'll probably weasel out of any real punishment, but for one brief moment of time, it's fun to see Mr. Limbaugh out on a line instead of doing lines.

[TacticalPeek]

11. "Weasel out" is the option he just stupidly turned down.

To think he will escape this without at least admitting to a felony is the very rosiest of fantasies.

He may get one more chance to plea, but it looks like it gets worse for him from here on out.

Poor thing.

:evilgrin:

[Just Me]

14. I agree,...it was stupid for his attorney to publicly scoff at a plea,...

,...it pisses prosecutors off. He and his attorney should learn to practice reasonable humility. Otherwise, their haughtiness will bite them both in the arse.

[KansDem]

15. "reasonable humility"

Is there a pill Rush can take for this???

[Just Me]

19. If there were, would he take it?

:D I think not!!! :D

He gravitates towards the "stuff" that makes him feel omnipotent and manic.

[Mixxster]

18. "Weasel out" is the option he just stupidly turned down.

Yeah, but I can't imagine Rush accepting a felony conviction. Felons can't vote.

[Terran]

13. You are right

That's why *they* were right to call the offer "preposterous"! I am gleeful to hear this; that bastard is going to prison!

[Supply Side Jesus]

3. nail his fat a$$ against the wall!

SOB hypocrite deserves none the less.

[opihimoimoi]

4. Rush is FLUSH

down the ole toilet with the dude

[dusty64]

10. You ain't kidding.

Make the same example of him that he would make of anyone who isn't a rightwing nutcase. I have NO sympathy for the hypocritical windbag. I hear bennett was back on the airwaves last night so I guess rethugs can do whatever they please without a problem. What am I saying, doesn't scarborough have his own platform to spew his crap on tv.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Letter to Rush from a devoted fan, Carl Hiaasen, Miami Herald

(snip) Rush Limbaugh’s ‘fans’ say loyalty has limits
16 Jan 2004


Carl Hiaasen Miami Herald

Dear Mr. Limbaugh,

As president-elect of our local Rush Limbaugh Fan Club, I've been deputized to write this letter regarding your recent legal problems.

Here in Gopher County some of your loyal followers are upset about what they've been reading and hearing in the media, which (as we all know) is run by a bunch of liberal pansies (except for your radio show, of course!).

Anyhow, we were all real sorry to learn about you being a dope addict. Naturally we didn't believe a word of the story until it came from your own lips.

Seeing how you've been so hard-core against drug users on your radio show — saying that they ought to be locked up with murderers and rapists — it must've been hard on you to sneak around all those years, pretending like you were some straight-up, sober citizen.

According to Palm Beach prosecutors, in only six months you got about 2,000 painkiller pills from pharmacies in your neighborhood (and that's not including what you scored on the sly from your maid).

When you do the arithmetic, that works out to at least 11 hits of opiate-based analgesics a day — enough to put any lily-livered liberal in the emergency room, yet it didn't even slow you down!
(snip/...)

http://www.oscnewsgazette.com/index.php?option=news&task=viewarticle&sid=7618

[Terwilliger]

7. LOL

:bounce:

[shirlden]

8. Smart commentary

ROTFLMAO !!!!!!!!!!

Wonder if ole Pigboy knows he is now the top clown of radio.

[DiverDave]

9. That is

GOOD!,
I'm sending it to some friends.
Thanks for posting it.

[Say_What]

16. Too funny!! "...for God's sake, you sound just like Hillary!"

From Hiaasen's letter:

...Now, you and Mr. Black claim that the authorities in Palm Beach are persecuting you because of your political beliefs.

“The Democrats still cannot defeat me in the arena of political ideas,” you said on your radio show. “And so now they are trying to do so in the court of public opinion and the legal system.”

Whoa.

Even for the most dedicated Limbaugh listeners (and here in Gopher County we've been steadfast), this is too much to swallow.

All of a sudden you're the innocent victim of a vast, nefarious political conspiracy — for God's sake, you sound just like Hillary!

Next thing we know, you'll be telling us that Dick Gephardt spiked your Lipitors with Xanax. Or that Howard Dean got you hooked on those OxyContins he is a doctor, right?).

[drb]

24. Hey, Rush!!! Read this!!!

This is your anal sphincter now .

This is your anal sphincter in jail O

Any questions? :D

[Beetwasher]

12. Music To My Ears

I hope they hold him responsible for his actions. As a human being I hope he gets better and learns the error of his ways, but I also damn well want him to be punished just like any regular person would who was caught in the same situation.

[Say_What]

17. Uh oh, BIG mistake on PigBoy's part --10 felony counts

They offered him a great deal and the arrogant pig didn't take it. I don't believe that drug users should be in prison, but with someone this arrogant, who obviously thinks he's above the law, I say throw the book at him.


From the article:

... Martz offered to end the investigation through a plea agreement. "We believe this case can be settled without a trial," he wrote in the Dec. 15 letter.

Prosecutors said Limbaugh would have to admit to doctor shopping, a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison. Limbaugh would be placed on three years of probation, required to undergo a treatment program approved by a judge and subjected to random drug tests during that time.

"Mr. Limbaugh would provide community service during his probationary period in a manner approved by the court," Martz wrote. "We would suggest that those efforts be utilized to raise public awareness of the dangers of prescription drug addiction."

And since Limbaugh does not have a criminal record, the prosecutors' offer would have allowed the judge to withhold a formal finding of guilt, meaning Limbaugh would not be a convicted felon if he successfully completed all terms of his probation.

It was unclear Thursday whether the prosecution offer is still on the table....

[catmandu57]

20. I bet it was the random drug testing clause

that the pigboy couldn't agree to, anyone who thinks this fat fuck isn't still stuffing pills down his hypocritical throat would buy swampland and bridges.

[Catfish]

29. He's afraid

I think he's scared of the random drug tests.

[rocktivity]

22. Prosecutors offered probation?

Why, if they have evidence of money laundering and intent to distrubute? We're talking about THOUSANDS of pills here! Are they that scared that they won't be able to convict?


rocknation

[Elidor]

23. Look out Rush - your attorney is a PINKO!

Black wrote, "...The public is better served by treating addicts as patients rather than criminals."

Someone write to Rush and warn him that he is employing a dangerous left-wing nutjob as his attorney. I'm sure he'll be horrified.

[sonias]

26. At least 10 felonies...

And the prosecutors were going to let him get probation. What an idiot pigboy is.

Well okay, there would have been that single felony conviction, the loss of voting rights and random drug testing. I'm sure pigboy couldn't give in this early. Those prosecutors better make good on something besides rehab in this case. <sarcasm> Think of the children, what message are we sending the children? </sarcasm>

Sonia

[mbperrin]

27. What if he says "pretty please"?

Ha. Shouldn't say more.

[colonel odis]

28. presidential pardon?

wouldn't surprise anyone, would it? after all, rush has been the waterboy for this administration.

if he gets backed into a corner where he'd have to do real time, i'd look for him either to change his name back to jeff christie or off himself.

[Say_What]

30. Kick...

*

[Mr_Lefty]

31. I can't wait!

I can't wait to see rush on probation! It's better than jail in my opinion. I hope he gets five years probation- with mandatory drug tests of course... I can't wait to see him in court begging for mercy every time his drug test comes up positive. He'll do some short stretches over and over and each time the press will cover it.

[loudnclear]

32. Turning down 3-yrs probation means Rush feels he can't stop!

Why else would he turn down that deal? He has already admitted doing exactly what he's being charged with.

[RowWellandLive]

34. Just because he's a hypocrite

doesn't mean that I am going to be one too. Just because he's Rush I'm not going to side with the prosecutors who seem to want the big fish. "Doctor shopping" is a ridiculous charge that is almost never brought. I know it's the law but that doesn't make it right.

No one, not even a right wing hypocrite, should be charged with this. The law should be repealed and drug addiction should be treated like the disease it is.

I do not support the prosecution here. The irony is amusing but my principles still hold.