Pubdate: Tue, 27 Jan 2004 Source: Sun-Sentinel (Fort Lauderdale, FL) Copyright: 2004 Sun-Sentinel Company Contact: http://www.sun-sentinel.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/159 Author: Tal Abbady and Peter Franceschina Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/oxycontin.htm (Oxycontin/Oxycodone) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/find?232 (Chronic Pain) Bookmark: http://www.mapinc.org/people/rush+limbaugh LIMBAUGH'S ATTORNEY LAMBASTES PROSECUTORS OVER RELEASE OF LETTERS MIAMI - Rush Limbaugh's attorney said Monday the conservative radio commentator didn't take an inordinate amount of painkillers and that it wasn't unusual that he sought treatment from several doctors for different problems. Attorney Roy Black also denounced Palm Beach County prosecutors for releasing what he called confidential letters relating to their investigation into Limbaugh's prescription drug use. Prosecutors say they were following the law and the advice of the state Attorney General's Office and The Florida Bar in releasing letters between their office and Black, which outlined proposals from both sides last month that would have ended the investigation. The letters were released last week in response to requests under the state's public-records law. Limbaugh, 53, has not been charged with any crimes. The investigation began in December 2002 after Limbaugh's former housekeeper told prosecutors she had sold him large quantities of prescription drugs, court records show. Black released a set of notes taken by Bar ethics counsel Barbara B. Moore of a conversation she had with Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer. Moore noted that Krischer related that the Attorney General's Office said the letters between his office and Black were public, except for the possibility of two letters "which include plea negotiations, which are not normally to be revealed so may or may not be public record." Moore's notes reflect she told Krischer his office must determine if those two letters are public and could ask a judge if there was a question. Krischer spokesman Michael Edmondson said the letters were not confidential as attorney-client privilege. "This was a public document," he said. Black said prosecutors could have asked a judge. "They never gave us a chance to have any input in the matter," he said. In a Dec. 11 letter, Black wrote that Limbaugh would be willing to enter a drug-intervention program if the investigation was closed without criminal charges. Prosecutors responded Dec. 15, saying they thought they have evidence Limbaugh committed at least 10 felonies for prescription fraud and offered to let Limbaugh plead guilty to one count and be placed on three years of probation. Black said Edmondson falsely leaked information that Limbaugh was seeking a plea agreement. Edmondson said he has acted appropriately in responding to media inquiries. "Mr. Limbaugh would not plead guilty to doctor shopping, the alleged offense, because he did not commit any doctor shopping," Black said. The search warrants prosecutors used to seize Limbaugh's medical records late last year detail pharmacy records showing Limbaugh was prescribed 1,733 hydrocodone pills, 90 OxyContin pills and 40 pills of time-release morphine from last March to September. Black said that worked out to roughly 8.5 pills a day, "not an outrageous amount" for someone suffering from chronic, debilitating pain. - --- MAP posted-by: Larry Seguin