New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com

By TRACY CONNOR

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

Thursday, October 2nd, 2003

Breaking news: Rush on the record

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.



Breaking news: Rush tells why he quit

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh said Thursday he resigned as an ESPN sports analyst to protect network employees from the uproar over critical comments he made about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Limbaugh stepped down from the sports network’s “Sunday NFL Countdown” late Wednesday, three days after saying on the show that McNabb was overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.

“The great people at ESPN did not want to deal with this kind of reaction,” Limbaugh told the National Association of Broadcasters at its convention in Philadelphia on Thursday. “The path of least resistance became for me to resign.”

Limbaugh did not directly address media reports that began surfacing Wednesday that said the talk show host was under investigation in Florida for allegedly illegally obtaining and abusing prescription painkillers.

Premiere Radio Networks, which syndicates the politically focused “Rush Limbaugh Show,” issued a statement from Limbaugh earlier Thursday saying: “I am unaware of any investigation by any authority involving me. No government representative has contacted me directly or indirectly. If my assistance is required, I will, of course, cooperate fully.”

Talking about his comments about McNabb on ESPN, Limbaugh said Thursday that he had thought about the issue the night before making the comments. He also said he was used to scrutiny after 15 years in radio and expects to get attention.

“I figured if I’m going to do this (the ESPN show) I should be who I am,” he said.

Limbaugh has denied that his comments were racially motivated.

“I think what we’ve had here is a little social concern in the NFL. The media has been very desirous that a black quarterback do well,” Limbaugh said on Sunday’s show. “There is a little hope invested in McNabb, and he got a lot of credit for the performance of this team that he didn’t deserve. The defense carried this team.”

"...Limbaugh was hooked on the potent prescription drugs OxyContin, Lorcet and hydrocodone - and went through detox twice."

At least he had taste enough to go for the Oxycontin. The vicodin's a bit of a disappointment though. Strictly a chick drug.

but it's great for pain. Even for 'chicks'. Huh, fresca?

Damn he must be doing something right, what with all the liberal accolades.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news though, but Rushy-boy isn't going anywhere.

New York Daily News - http://www.nydailynews.com

I'll spill on pills, Rush vows

By JOSE MARTINEZ in Philadelphia

and CORKY SIEMASZKO in New York

DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITERS

Friday, October 3rd, 2003

Right-wing radio jock Rush Limbaugh promised yesterday to cooperate with police probing whether he bought black-market painkillers - an inquiry sources say could result in criminal charges against the conservative commentator.

Limbaugh stayed off the air yesterday and sought sanctuary from the swirling scandal at his Florida home. But his spokeswoman insisted he will be back in New York today to broadcast his popular radio show.

"He will be on the air tomorrow," Keven Bellows of Premiere Network, which syndicates the show, said yesterday.

Bellows, however, refused to answer when asked point-blank whether Limbaugh was hooked on drugs.

Limbaugh, 52, ducked reporters at a broadcasters convention in Philadelphia who tried to ask him about the Daily News report that he was under investigation in Palm Beach, Fla., for buying OxyContin, Lorcet and hydrocodone under the counter - and by the bushelful.

The News also confirmed key parts of a National Enquirer report that outed Limbaugh's former maid, Wilma Cline, as his pusher.

Cline said she supplied Limbaugh with thousands of pills from 1998 through last year - often meeting with the right-winger in the parking lot of a Denny's restaurant in West Palm Beach.

"He'd given me some of his empty Cuban cigar boxes," Cline told the tabloid. "Typically, when we met that way, he'd lower the window of his Mercedes and I'd hand him my cigar box full of pills."

Then, Cline said, Limbaugh would hand her a cigar box full of money. "Here's the cabbage," he'd say.

Limbaugh, who regularly lambastes liberals for supposedly loose morals and has ripped politicians who have suggested legalizing some drugs, did not challenge The News or Enquirer reports yesterday.

On his Web site, he posted a note in which he said he was "unaware of any investigation by any authorities involving me."

"No governmental representative has contacted me directly or indirectly," he wrote. "If my assistance is required in the future, I will, of course, cooperate fully."

Pharmacist on hot seat

Limbaugh is expected to be questioned within days as part of a probe into former Florida pharmacist Louis Beshara, who, with his wife, Gloria, allegedly supplied drug dealers with thousands of prescription hydrocodone tablets, a law enforcement source said yesterday.

Florida has been cracking down on illegal prescription drug peddling, and a source familiar with the case said Limbaugh's fame won't save him. "If the evidence is there, he could be charged," the source said.

Two years ago, Gov. Jeb Bush's daughter, Noelle, was busted after she was caught using a phony prescription to buy Xanax, an anti-anxiety drug that cocaine addicts use to come down from their highs.

The Palm Beach County state attorney's office, which is running the probe, again refused to confirm or deny it was involved.

The developments came a day after Limbaugh quit ESPN's "NFL Sunday Countdown" for racial comments he made Sunday about Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Limbaugh ignored the drug flap in his appearance before the National Association of Broadcasters, instead telling the crowd he meant no harm when he said the media were "very desirous" to see a black quarterback like McNabb succeed.

He said he quit to spare his fellow ESPN panelists from the media mayhem.

Black leaders ripped Limbaugh, and ESPN was deluged with calls and E-mails from angry fans.

Fearing a backlash, security officials at WABC's midtown offices urged workers to be extra careful. "Please be advised that with the current situation regarding Rush, everyone should be aware of any unknown guests or packages," they said in an E-mail to building tenants.



With David Hinckley and Chrissy Persico

Gee, a loud mouthed Republican turns out to be a hypocritical criminal....

....what a surprise...

...ya gotta love it!

What happened to "innocent until proven guilty" KFC? What happened to Rush Limbaugh's right to justice and a fair trial?

According to our resident Socialist KFC, Rush is already a "criminal".

Well that's socialism for ya. That, paganism, and "free love" remain the most reliable, time tested and successful methodologies ever created by mankind.

Right.

Oh yeah, anyone wanna buy a bridge?

...OK, if he publicly denies then then I will say he is not a criminal...

....wanna bet I win?

Oh, by the way, he has already hired an attorney...

...same one who represented William Kennedy Smith....

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

I saw some liberal idiot on the news last night saying the same thing.

You liberals just love parroting the party lines, don't ya?

Just what in the world makes you think everytime one of you nutcases accuse a conservative of being "this" or "that", he immediately must go on the defensive?

Absurd.

Hey Conservative thinkers:

How many of you here have been called "Fascist", "Nazi", "homophobe" etc by these loony-leftists?

Did you ever once stop to deny such crazy allegations? Of course not.

It sure is funny that idiots like KFC here think he's got our number though!

HAR!

Your number? We're on the subject of Rush...y'know....being a junkie....remember? Your "number" is null.....

Is this the part where I'm supposed to immediately go on the defensive and deny that from being the case?

Why bother denying the undeniable, Min?

Min: "Conservative thinkers"

...your oxymoron for the day.....

Hello. I've got to get in the last word. It makes me feel like I've won.

Gee KFC, I thought YOU were supposed to be my moron for the day...

He's everyone's moron. Feel free to kick him in the few teeth he has remaining anytime you wanna.

...the wit of Republicans....

BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

not a synthetic heroin.

now circle around your man right wingers

a fatboy drug addict that makes racist comments that avoided the draft.

like Bush a rich boy coke head that got busted form DUI and avoided the draft.

THESE ARE YOUR HEROES

One of the now PROVEN side affects of Oxycontin/Oxycodone overuse (addiction) is HEARING LOSS.

Can you Rush supporters hear that?

Let me spell it out:

Rush suddenly and mysteriously goes Deaf.

18 Months later it comes out that he's a Junkie. His preferred DRUG is Oxycontin/Oxycodone - Morphine/Heroin substitutes.

Draw your own conclusion.