Limbaugh is Busted Again
Limbaugh is Busted Again
Limbaugh detained after luggage search produces pills
By Kevin Deutsch, Susan Spencer-Wendel
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Less than two months after striking a deal to avoid criminal prosecution, conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh was detained for more than three hours Monday at Palm Beach International Airport after customs agents found a bottle of Viagra prescribed to someone else in his luggage.
Limbaugh, 55, arrived on a private plane from the Dominican Republic about 2 p.m. and walked into a private terminal at Signature Flight Support. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer checked his luggage and found the bottle containing 29 blue Viagra tablets, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
The label listed the names of two doctors; Limbaugh told officials they were his personal physicians in Florida. Limbaugh's name was nowhere on the bottle, sheriff's office spokesman Paul Miller said.
Viagra is used to treat erectile dysfunction. Possession of certain drugs without a prescription could be a second-degree misdemeanor, Miller said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials detained the Palm Beach resident before turning the investigation over to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office about 4:30 p.m. Limbaugh cooperated with deputies and gave a statement indicating that the bottle was for his use, Miller said.
Zachary Mann, special agent and spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said luggage checks are "typical." Limbaugh was allowed to leave the airport about 5:30 p.m., Miller said.
The sheriff's office will turn the investigation over to the state attorney's office, which will determine whether charges will be filed.
"We believe there might be a violation of state statute, but it will be up to the state attorney's office to make the final determination," Miller said.
The incident comes as Limbaugh waits in legal limbo, a felony charge of doctor-shopping still hanging over his head. Prosecutors charged him with the crime in late April, but entered an agreement with him whereby the charge would be dropped after 18 months upon completion of substance-abuse treatment. He is required to submit to random drug analysis.
State attorney's office spokesman Mike Edmondson said his office also will look into whether Limbaugh violated that agreement with prosecutors. Prosecutors also will examine the possibility of "any doctor being complicit and the possibility of doctors being charged as well."
According to the deferred-prosecution agreement, Limbaugh must refrain from violation of any law.
If prosecutors determine the Viagra possession to be a crime, Limbaugh could again face the felony doctor-shopping charge. Doctor-shopping is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Limbaugh's attorney, Roy Black, said in a statement Monday night that Limbaugh was detained after returning from an international trip.
The drug "had been prescribed by Mr. Limbaugh's treating physician but labeled as being issued to the physician rather than Mr. Limbaugh for privacy purposes," the statement said.
Limbaugh, an admitted prescription-drug addict, reported to the Palm Beach County Jail April 28 and was out within an hour on the felony doctor-shopping charge.
His former housekeeper triggered the investigation after telling prosecutors she supplied Limbaugh with thousands of doses of OxyContin and other painkillers from 1998 to 2002.
Investigators seized Limbaugh's medical records in 2003, igniting a legal battle all the way to the Florida Supreme Court and arguing a right to privacy.
Limbaugh decried the investigation to his millions of listeners as a political witch hunt headed by a Democrat, State Attorney Barry Krischer. For months, his Web site featured a link to material about the "fishing expedition."
Mann said the search of Limbaugh's luggage was allowable under "border search authority" and is a common practice when people enter the country.
"It's like a police officer making a traffic stop," Mann said. "They do those things all day."
Limbaugh detained after luggage search produces pills
By Kevin Deutsch, Susan Spencer-Wendel
Palm Beach Post Staff Writers
Less than two months after striking a deal to avoid criminal prosecution, conservative talk-show host Rush Limbaugh was detained for more than three hours Monday at Palm Beach International Airport after customs agents found a bottle of Viagra prescribed to someone else in his luggage.
Limbaugh, 55, arrived on a private plane from the Dominican Republic about 2 p.m. and walked into a private terminal at Signature Flight Support. A U.S. Customs and Border Protection officer checked his luggage and found the bottle containing 29 blue Viagra tablets, according to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office.
The label listed the names of two doctors; Limbaugh told officials they were his personal physicians in Florida. Limbaugh's name was nowhere on the bottle, sheriff's office spokesman Paul Miller said.
Viagra is used to treat erectile dysfunction. Possession of certain drugs without a prescription could be a second-degree misdemeanor, Miller said.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection officials detained the Palm Beach resident before turning the investigation over to the Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office about 4:30 p.m. Limbaugh cooperated with deputies and gave a statement indicating that the bottle was for his use, Miller said.
Zachary Mann, special agent and spokesman for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, said luggage checks are "typical." Limbaugh was allowed to leave the airport about 5:30 p.m., Miller said.
The sheriff's office will turn the investigation over to the state attorney's office, which will determine whether charges will be filed.
"We believe there might be a violation of state statute, but it will be up to the state attorney's office to make the final determination," Miller said.
The incident comes as Limbaugh waits in legal limbo, a felony charge of doctor-shopping still hanging over his head. Prosecutors charged him with the crime in late April, but entered an agreement with him whereby the charge would be dropped after 18 months upon completion of substance-abuse treatment. He is required to submit to random drug analysis.
State attorney's office spokesman Mike Edmondson said his office also will look into whether Limbaugh violated that agreement with prosecutors. Prosecutors also will examine the possibility of "any doctor being complicit and the possibility of doctors being charged as well."
According to the deferred-prosecution agreement, Limbaugh must refrain from violation of any law.
If prosecutors determine the Viagra possession to be a crime, Limbaugh could again face the felony doctor-shopping charge. Doctor-shopping is a third-degree felony punishable by up to five years in prison.
Limbaugh's attorney, Roy Black, said in a statement Monday night that Limbaugh was detained after returning from an international trip.
The drug "had been prescribed by Mr. Limbaugh's treating physician but labeled as being issued to the physician rather than Mr. Limbaugh for privacy purposes," the statement said.
Limbaugh, an admitted prescription-drug addict, reported to the Palm Beach County Jail April 28 and was out within an hour on the felony doctor-shopping charge.
His former housekeeper triggered the investigation after telling prosecutors she supplied Limbaugh with thousands of doses of OxyContin and other painkillers from 1998 to 2002.
Investigators seized Limbaugh's medical records in 2003, igniting a legal battle all the way to the Florida Supreme Court and arguing a right to privacy.
Limbaugh decried the investigation to his millions of listeners as a political witch hunt headed by a Democrat, State Attorney Barry Krischer. For months, his Web site featured a link to material about the "fishing expedition."
Mann said the search of Limbaugh's luggage was allowable under "border search authority" and is a common practice when people enter the country.
"It's like a police officer making a traffic stop," Mann said. "They do those things all day."
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