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NEWS: Rush Limbaugh investigated for illegal drug purchases, paper reports

Shocking allegation surfaces after commentator resigns from ESPN in racial flap

From news services

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/1003/02limbaughdrugs.html;COXnetJSessionID=18XMckggp6Ee2QLAyNBs....

Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh is being investigated for allegedly buying thousands of prescription painkillers from a black-market drug ring, the New York Daily News reported today.

The newspaper said Limbaugh has been implicated by his former housekeeper, who says she was Limbaugh's pill supplier for four years.

Wilma Cline, 42, was quoted by the newspaper as saying Limbaugh was hooked on the potent prescription drugs OxyContin, Lorcet and hydrocodone, and went through drug rehabilitation twice.

"There were times when I worried," Cline told the National Enquirer, which also carried 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, but her lawyer, Ed Shohat of Miami, said his client "stands behind the story."

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 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 e-mail, Limbaugh urged Cline to get more "little blues," the street name for the powerful narcotic OxyContin, she said.

"You know how this stuff works ... the more you get used to, the more it takes," the May 2002 e-mail read. "But I will try and cut down to help out."

The Enquirer reported that Cline became Limbaugh's drug connection in 1998, nine months after taking a housekeeping job at his Palm Beach, Fla., mansion.

The Palm Beach County state attorney's office, which is in charge of the investigation, said it could not confirm or deny the allegations.

Limbaugh's lawyers, Jerry Fox and Dan Zachary, refused to comment on the accusations.

They said Limbaugh, who resigned early today from ESPN's "NFL Sunday Countdown" amid criticism of racial comments about Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb, was traveling and had no comment.

Limbaugh sparked outrage when he said McNabb is overrated because the media wanted to see a black quarterback succeed.

After defending his comments on his nationally syndicated radio show, Limbaugh issued a statement early this morning announcing his resignation.

"My comments this past Sunday were directed at the media and were not racially motivated," Limbaugh said. "I offered an opinion. This opinion has caused discomfort to the crew, which I regret.

"I love 'NFL Sunday Countdown' and do not want to be a distraction to the great work done by all who work on it," Limbaugh said.

George Bodenheimer, president of ESPN and ABC Sports, accepted the resignation.

"We regret the circumstances surrounding this," he said in a statement. "We believe that he took the appropriate action to resolve this matter expeditiously."

McNabb had said earlier Wednesday that he didn't mind criticism of his performance, but was upset that Limbaugh made his race an issue and said it was too late for an apology.

"It's somewhat shocking to hear that on national TV from him," McNabb said. "It's not something that I can sit here and say won't bother me."

Before McNabb led the Eagles to a 23-13 victory over the Buffalo Bills on Sunday, Limbaugh said on ESPN's pregame show that he didn't think McNabb was as good as perceived from the start.

"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 NFL Countdown."

"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," he said.

Seven black quarterbacks started games last weekend. Two other blacks who regularly start were out with injuries.

Limbaugh did not back down during his syndicated radio talk show Wednesday.

"All this has become the tempest that it is because I must have been right about something," Limbaugh said. "If I wasn't right, there wouldn't be this cacophony of outrage that has sprung up in the sports writer community."

The NFL disclaimed any responsibility from Limbaugh's remarks.

"ESPN knew what it was getting when they hired Rush Limbaugh," league vice president Joe Browne said. "ESPN selects its on-air talent, not the NFL."

Chris Berman, who anchors the ESPN show, said he did not believe Limbaugh's tone or intent was malicious.

"As cut and dry as it seems in print, I didn't think so when it went by my ears," he said. "I probably should have looked to soften it. We're sorry we upset a guy who got off to a rough start."

McNabb said someone on the show should have challenged Limbaugh. Among the other panelists are former players Michael Irvin and Tom Jackson, both of whom are black.

"I'm not pointing at anyone but someone should have said it," McNabb said of the panelists, who also include former quarterback Steve Young. "I wouldn't have cared if it was the cameraman."

McNabb got off to the worst start of his career this season and was the NFL's lowest-rated starting quarterback after losses to Tampa Bay and New England. Still, the Eagles are 36-22 in games he has started, including 4-3 in the playoffs.

Limbaugh is the radio host of the politically focused "Rush Limbaugh Show," which is syndicated in more than 650 markets worldwide. He spent most of the 1990s assailing then-President Clinton and said his job with ESPN was "the fulfillment of a dream."

ESPN spokesman Dave Nagle said ratings for "Sunday NFL Countdown" were up 10 percent overall since Limbaugh joined the show this year.