Pubdate: Wed, 30 Jan 2002
Source: Tallahassee Democrat (FL)
Copyright: 2002 Tallahassee Democrat.
Contact:  http://www.tdo.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/444
Author: Nancy Cook Lauer, Democrat Capitol Bureau Chief
Note: Tallahassee Democrat reporters Jeff Burlew, Juana Jordan and David 
Twiddy and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

GOV. JEB BUSH'S DAUGHTER ARRESTED

Charge is felony prescription fraud Noelle Bush, 24-year-old daughter of 
Gov. Jeb Bush, was arrested and charged with a felony count of prescription 
drug fraud early Tuesday.

Noelle, the only daughter of Jeb and Columba Bush, allegedly impersonated a 
local doctor and phoned in a prescription for the anti-anxiety drug Xanax 
at a Tallahassee Walgreens pharmacy. The pharmacist became suspicious and 
called Tallahassee police.

Jeb Bush said in a statement that he and his wife are "deeply saddened" 
over the incident. Since taking office, Bush has been a strong proponent of 
reducing drug abuse, as well as of providing treatment options for addicts.

His daughter's arrest came just after 1 a.m. as she sat in the 
drive-through lane of the North Monroe Street drug store, where she'd gone 
to pick up the prescription. She was handcuffed, searched, taken into 
custody and later released on her own recognizance.

Pharmacist Carlos Zimmerman - who frequently shows up in Tallahassee police 
records reporting alleged prescription fraud - told officers he was alerted 
by several suspicious phone calls and voice mail messages. In the first, a 
woman called about 11 p.m. Monday asking whether a prescription had been 
filled for Noelle Bush, he said.

When Zimmerman checked the store's voice mail, he heard a woman's voice 
claiming to be Tallahassee Dr. "Noelle" Scidmore, ordering a Xanax 
prescription for Bush. Dr. Noel Scidmore, a man, used to practice medicine 
in Tallahassee. A woman who answered the phone at his Tallahassee business 
number Tuesday said he'd moved his practice to Tennessee. A phone message 
left at his Tallahassee home number was not returned.

Zimmerman, who could not be reached for comment Tuesday, told police the 
call sounded "suspicious," especially because there was no number of pills 
specified when the prescription was called in.

When the woman called him a second time to ask whether the prescription was 
ready, Zimmerman said he told her about the quantity problem. A few minutes 
later, the "doctor" left another message on voice mail, giving the number 
of pills to be prescribed.

A suspicious Zimmerman called the answering service for Scidmore and 
received a call back from another doctor, telling him that Scidmore was no 
longer in practice here. The woman called a third time, and Zimmerman told 
her to come pick up her prescription.

When Bush pulled into the drive-through, Zimmerman asked for her ID and 
called police.

Under questioning, Bush denied making the calls. But, police reported, the 
phone number the "doctor" had left on Zimmerman's voice mail was actually 
one of the numbers to Bush's apartment on Park Avenue.

Tuesday's arrest wasn't her first brush with the law. She has a record of 
several car crashes and traffic tickets, including one parking lot fender 
bender in which she was charged with leaving the scene without calling 
police. Also, The Associated Press reported Tuesday that a woman with her 
full name and date of birth was charged with shoplifting in Flagstaff, 
Ariz., in 1995.

Now, if convicted of the felony prescription fraud charge, Bush could face 
up to five years in prison. That's unlikely, however. Prescription drug 
abusers are seldom sent to jail in Leon County, and most of those arrested 
each year, usually middle-age women addicted to painkillers, are given drug 
treatment and probation.

Meanwhile, as the news spread like wildfire through the Capitol, an 
unusually large number of TV cameras converged on Bush after an afternoon 
news conference. "This is a private matter. This is difficult for our 
family," the governor said. "A lot of families go through this, and I'd 
just ask you to treat this in as private a manner as possible."

Coincidentally, while Bush was speaking to the press, a Senate committee 
was taking up the issue of prescription drug abuse just yards away. SBs 
636, 638 and 640 would criminalize the prescribing of certain abused drugs 
and educate pharmacists and doctors about the dangers of prescription drug 
abuse, among other measures.

Bill sponsor Sen. Locke Burt, R-Ormond Beach, who is running for attorney 
general, said 30 percent of the drug abuse problem in Florida involves 
prescription drugs, and 90 percent of that number involves an informed 
participation by a professional such as a doctor or pharmacist that should 
be illegal, he said. Currently the professionals must be prosecuted under 
RICO, or racketeering laws.

"It's very unfortunate, and my heart goes out to the governor and his wife 
and his daughter," Burt said. "It does make the point that prescription 
drug abuse is a serious problem that can affect any family in Florida."

Burt's bills unanimously passed the Senate Health, Aging and Long-Term Care 
Committee and must clear three more committees before going to the Senate 
floor.

Florida Democratic Party Chairman Bob Poe said he hopes the governor's 
family's problems don't become grist for the political mill.

"It's a personal and private matter, and it shouldn't come up in a 
campaign," Burt said. "I hope that the campaign doesn't go to that level. 
It should remain a private family matter."

An art student, Noelle Bush attended Miami-Dade Community College during 
the fall of 1998. She graduated from Tallahassee Community College in 2000 
and attended Florida State University during the 2000-2001 academic year. 
She is not currently enrolled, the university registrar's office said.

Noelle Bush told police that she was starting a new job Tuesday. Tom Lynch, 
president of Infinity Software, a Tallahassee-based software company, said 
Bush had been hired as an administrative assistant. He said he had not 
decided whether she will remain with the company.

"I don't know what the facts are yet. I want to hear from her," Lynch said.

Her mother has worked on behalf of Informed Families of Florida, a 
nonprofit group involved in educating families about drug abuse.

Jeb and Columba Bush had said previously that one of their three children 
struggled with a drug problem following Bush's unsuccessful first run for 
governor in 1994. They did not say whether it was Noelle or one of her 
brothers.

Tallahassee Democrat reporters Jeff Burlew, Juana Jordan and David Twiddy 
and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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