Documents Allege Anna Nicole's Doctors Committed 'Pharmaceutical Suicide'
Wednesday, September 23, 2009
By Hollie McKay
Four doctors. Nine aliases. And at least 44 different medications including methadone, two types of sedatives, muscle relaxants and "hospital heroin" painkillers led to the "acute combined drug intoxication" that killed Anna Nicole Smith on February 8, 2007.
Recently unsealed affidavits and search warrants written by state officials and obtained by FOXNews.com claim that Smith’s psychiatrist and next-door neighbor Dr. Khristine Eroshevich and internist Dr. Sandeep Kapoor requested such "alarming" amounts and combinations of drugs that five months before Smith’s death one of the several pharmacists they dealt with, Ira Freeman , refused to fill the prescriptions and considered the requests "pharmaceutical suicide."
Freeman was so "bothered" by Kapoor and Eroshevich’s prescriptions that she consulted with Dr. Thompson , the Director of the Drug and Poison Control Center for his professional opinion, according the documents.
Click here to read the first half of a copy of the unsealed documents
Click here to read the second half of a copy of the unsealed documents.
"Freeman read him the list over the phone and from what he recalled the dosages were ‘outrageously high’," the documents claimed. "Dr. Thompson stated they might work for a drug addict under supervised care, or with a dying cancer patient in a hospital, or ‘if you were going to kill someone’."
On September 11, 2006 Eroshevich visited another Burbank pharmacist, Steve Mazlin , and requested the sleep-aid Choral Hydrate for her famous client, according to the documents. However Mazlin told the doctor that he would not recommend such a potent drug "unless you want your picture on the front page of the National Enquirer."
Special agent Danny F. Santiago concludes in the documents that Eroshevich committed violations of California Health and Safety Code, obtaining a controlled substance by fraud, deceit, misrepresentation or false statement (she allegedly wrote prescriptions using fake names), a felony, and two violations of California Penal Code Burglary, also a felony.
The documents also indicate that the dosages of the controlled substances prescribed to Smith were not only "outside the duty of care" (and were at times more than double the normal amounts) but several of the substances given to her while pregnant were associated with such birth defects as congenital malformations, lower birth weight, neonatal dependence and miscarriage.
The newly unsealed papers also list Smith’s lawyer and companion Howard K. Stern as one of the many aliases who obtained drugs for the late Playboy model. According to the documents, Smith’s nannies told investigators that "many prescription bottles in the residence would be given to Smith by Howard K. Stern and Dr. Eroshevich" and that the two would "crush pills, heat them to turn them into liquid and inject Smith" who then would appear to be drunk, "often falling in the house and sleeping for two or three days at a time."
Stern allegedly received prescriptions from Eroshevich from December 4, 2006 to January 26, 2007 but after Smith’s passing there were no further prescriptions under his name.
The documents also allege that Dr. Kapoor constituted "unprofessional conduct" by possibly having sexual contact with Smith and that his "excessive prescribing of controlled substances" was for "other than a legitimate medical purpose." However an attorney for Kapoor has since denied this claim and said the doctor is in fact "openly gay." The papers also cite photos of the late glamour model and Eroshevich embracing in a bathtub without clothes two months before she died, suggesting their relationship also violated professional codes of conduct.
In March of this year, Stern and the two doctors pleaded not guilty to Los Angeles prosecutors charge that they conspired to provide Smith with controlled substances. A preliminary hearing is set for October 5 and all three face five years in prison if convicted.
IN LIGHT OF THE RECENT STRING OF HOLLYWOOD DEATHS RELATED TO EXCESSIVE PRESCRIPTION USE, I AM COMPELLED TO COMMENT. ANNA NICOLE, HEALTH LEDGER,AND MICHAEL JACKSON HAVE MORE THAN FAME IN COMMON. THEY HAVE DOCTORS AND OTHER PEOPLE AROUND THEM SUPPORTING OR EVEN PUSHING A VERY DANGEROUS, AND AS REPEATEDLY PROVEN, DEADLY LIFESTYLE. NOWADAYS PEOPLE LIKE THEIR MEDICATIONS. ANXIETY AND DEPRESSION. PAIN AND INSOMNIA. IT SEEMS LIKE EVERYONE HAS SOME DEGREE OF ONE OR ALL OF THESE COMPLAINTS. OF COURSE THEY DO! THAT IS LIFE! WHY ARE WE IN SUCH A HURRY TO BE NUMB? TAKING XANAX FOR ANXIETY DOESN'T FIX THE REASON FOR THE ANXIETY, IT JUST DOPES YOU UP SO YOU DON'T CARE. OXYCONTIN DOESN'T FIX THE PROBLEM CAUSING THE PAIN, IT JUST NUMBS THE PAIN RECEPTORS SO YOU CAN'T FEEL IT. AND I GET IT, SOMETIMES PEOPLE HAVE EXTREME ANXIETY, PAIN, ETC. AND THESE MEDICATIONS WORK GREAT TO GET YOU THROUGH THE SITUATIONAL PROBLEM. THEY ARE NOT INTENDED TO BE USED ON A LONG TERM BASIS UNLESS YOU HAVE SOME TERRIBLE OR CHRONIC MEDICAL CONDITION. DEATH IN THE FAMILY? YES, ATIVAN CAN MAKE IT SO YOU CAN AT LEAST GET THROUGH THE DAY WITHOUT CRYING NONSTOP. BROKEN LEG? VICODEN WILL LET YOU GET SOME REST SO THAT YOU CAN HEAL WITHOUT CONSTANTLY FEELING THE PAIN. BUT AGAIN, THESE ARE TEMPORARY SITUATIONS. STOP LOOKING FOR THE QUICK FIX AND EASY PILL FOR ISSUES THAT NEED LIFESTYLE CHANGE, COUNSELING, SURGICAL INTERVENTION, OR PHYSICAL THERAPY. YOU DESERVE MORE IN LIFE THAT A HALF-NUMB, HALF-STONED EXPERIENCE. TAKE ACCOUNTABILITY TO HEAL YOURSELF, INCLUDING YOUR BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT.
Posted date: September 23 2009 - 18:47:25 GMT
STREET VIBRATIONS 2009 COMES TO RENO
STREET VIBRATIONS
September 23 - 27, 2009
Reno, NV
Tunes, Tricks & Tons of Chrome
At Street Vibrations 14th Annual Event
Street Vibrations Motorcycle Festival is a celebration of music, metal and motorcycles. Street Vibrations offers tours, live entertainment, parades, ride-in shows, stunt shows and more. This event is so big, it rocks at several locations throughout the region. Major event venues are planned at Harley-Davidson Dealerships in Carson City and Reno and in historic Virginia City. Rides to what Mark Twain called “the fairest picture the whole earth affords,” Lake Tahoe -- provide unparalleled entertainment. Flirt with Lady Luck during poker walks and runs and during slot tournaments. It’s HOG heaven! Don’t miss America’s Finest Custom Bike Builder’s Expo to view the latest creations. Check out the Tattoo Expo for body art extraordinaire. The event is open to all motorcycles. A portion of the proceeds benefits the Juvenile Diabetes Association.
STREET VIBRATIONS IS ALWAYS SUCH A GREAT EVENT. NORTHERN NEVADA IS A WONDERFUL PLACE TO STAGE A VARIETY OF DAY RIDES. YOU CAN TAKE THE BEAUTIFUL SWEEPING TURNS OF A MOUNTAIN HIGHWAYS OR CUT LOOSE OUT ON THE DESERT FLATS. WHILE OUT AND ABOUT, BE SURE TO STOP IN FOR A TOUR, A DRINK, AN PERHAPS MORE.
Posted date: September 23 2009 - 18:05:12 GMT
PELOSI CALLS CRITICS "UNAMERICAN"
In a Tight Spot, Pelosi Calls Health Care Critics 'Un-American'
FOXNews.com
Monday, August 10, 2009
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi turned the health care debate up a notch Monday, penning a column along with her top deputy that questioned the patriotism of those disrupting town hall meetings to air their complaints.
Pelosi and House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer claimed such behavior is "simply un-American."
It's hardly the first time Pelosi, who earlier this year accused the CIA of lying to Congress and repeatedly has called Republicans unpatriotic, has employed some serious name-calling to characterize her opponents' views.
The jab Monday drew swift scorn from Republicans and critics who say the health care demonstrations are as American as apple pie.
"I, like most Americans, would find that kind of characterization of citizens exercising their First Amendment rights to be offensive," Rep. Mike Pence, R-Ind., told FOX News. "There's nothing more American than letting your elected representatives know how you feel about important issues facing the nation."
House Republican Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, released a statement calling the charge "outrageous and reprehensible."
Pelosi and Hoyer made the accusation as part of a lengthy column in USA Today stressing the need for action on health care reform. The piece was published as lawmakers return to their districts for summer recess, a period that could imperil the legislation if health care critics cause moderate Democrats to lose their stomachs for sweeping reform.
Critics have confronted lawmakers about the bills, sometimes shouting at them, at a number of town halls in the past week alone.
On Monday, Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill tried a new tack in rebutting the protesters while also minimizing their complaints. She got several hands when she asked audience members at a town hall meeting to raise their hands if they're so scared about the federal government running health care that they "can't think straight."
For Pelosi and Hoyer, they charged that an "ugly campaign" is afoot to misrepresent the legislation, "disrupt" the public meetings and prevent members of Congress from "conducting a civil dialogue" on the topic.
"Let the facts be heard," they wrote. "These disruptions are occurring because opponents are afraid not just of differing views -- but of the facts themselves. Drowning out opposing views is simply un-American. Drowning out the facts is how we failed at this task for decades."
The "un-American" dig was a sign the debate is heating up. In a tight spot, Pelosi is known for employing tough rhetoric and accusations to muscle her way out.
Back in September 2008, Pelosi used similar language to complain about Republicans who weren't showing up to talks on a Wall Street bailout package.
"I thought it was very unpatriotic of them not to show up, not to show up, in some ways, boycott the meetings earlier in the week," she said.
She also reportedly called the GOP budget in 2006 "unpatriotic" because it drove up the national debt.
This past May, she accused the CIA of lying to Congress, as she was facing questions about how much she knew early on about the Bush administration's interrogation policies.
Then last week, with the health care debate growing more heated, she invoked Nazi Germany, accusing protesters of "carrying swastikas and symbols like that" to meetings. A spokesman for Pelosi later said the speaker was referencing a photo taken at a town hall meeting hosted by Rep. Ed Markey, D-Mass., which showed a protester holding a sign of a swastika crossed out over President Obama's name and a question mark.
Yet the language Pelosi is using for health care critics is nothing like the language she used to describe anti-war protesters criticized by war supporters as unpatriotic.
Pelosi, who led efforts to withdraw from Iraq before troops had finished the job, tolerated anti-war hecklers on several occasions.
"It's always exciting," she said of protesters who interrupted a meeting in January 2006, according to an account in the San Francisco Chronicle. "This is democracy in action. I'm energized by it, frankly."
At an event in June 2007, she told anti-war protesters "just go for it, I respect your enthusiasm," according to another account.
The claims of "un-American" behavior by critics is not something made by President Obama, who on Monday withheld criticism of his health care detractors.
"We are having a vigorous debate in the United States and I think that's a healthy thing," he said, speaking at a North American summit in Mexico.
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said there's not really any "substantive difference" between the anti-war protests of MoveOn and Code Pink then and the health care reform criticism today -- other than the subject being addressed.
Cornyn told FOX News he thinks the latest charge of being "un-American" is a "pretty harsh statement" about Americans who have serious concerns about the health care legislation.
WOW! I NEVER THOUGHT THAT NANCY PELOSI COULD SHOCK ME. OF COURSE, I THINK SHE IS THE MOST WACKY LEFT-WING LUNATIC, INTENT ON TURNING OUR GREAT NATION INTO A SOCIALIST SOCIETY. EACH NIGHT SHE GOES TO SLEEP IN HER DUNGEON COFFIN WITH VISIONS OF BURNING CONSTITUTIONS DANCING IN HER HEAD. AND EACH MORNING SHE DEVOURS THE BLOOD, SWEAT, AND TEARS OF HARD WORKING AMERICANS FOR BREAKFAST. I REALLY DO BELIEVE THAT THIS FAR LEFT FACTION FEELS THAT THEY MUST BREAK DOWN THE VERY FOUNDING DEFINITIONS OF AMERICA AND WOULD LIKE TO START OVER WITH THEIR VISION OF A NEW COUNTRY. AND NOT A BETTER ONE. ALL OF THAT SAID, PELOSI ACTUALLY SHOCKED ME BY SO BLATANTLY CALLING A GROUP OF FINE PEOPLE "UNAMERICAN". SHE IS SO FAR REMOVED FROM REALITY THAT SHE THINKS SHE IS SPEAKING FOR THE MAJORITY OF THE NATION. WAKE UP AND SMELL THE TEA PARTY NANCY! YOU, SEAN PENN, AND GEORGE SOROS ARE ABOUT TO FIND YOURSELVES IN TREASONOUS TERRITORY. AMERICANS, IT IS TIME TO STAND UP FOR WHAT YOU THINK THIS COUNTRY IS ALL ABOUT. WE ARE SADDLED WITH AN ADMINISTRATION INTENT ON REDECORATING OUR FUNDAMENTAL PURPOSE. DON'T SIT ON THE SIDELINES AND THEN COMPLAIN OF THE RESULTS. YOUR OPINIONS AND VOICES ARE IMPORTANT- MAKE THEM HEARD!
Posted date: August 11 2009 - 17:15:00 GMT
VA Medical System- Another Reason To Fear Nationalized Health Care
VA Medical System in Shambles, Veterans Groups Say
With Veterans Affairs hospitals giving botched radiation treatments to nearly 100 vets and exposing 10,000 to HIV and hepatitis viruses, veterans advocates and lawmakers say the VA health system is in dire need of proper oversight and funding.
By Joseph Abrams
FOXNews.com
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Amid growing controversy over procedures that exposed 10,000 veterans to the AIDS and hepatitis viruses, the Department of Veterans Affairs is now bracing against news that one of its facilities in Pennsylvania gave botched radiation treatments to nearly 100 cancer patients.
Veterans groups and lawmakers say VA hospitals have permitted these violations because federal regulations allow doctors to work with little outside scrutiny. They say the VA health system, with its under-funded hospitals and overworked doctors, is showing signs of an "institutional breakdown," in the words of one congressman.
An official with the American Legion who visits and inspects VA health centers said complacency, poor funding and little oversight led to the violations that failed the cancer patients in Philadelphia and possibly infected 53 veterans with hepatitis and HIV from unsterilized equipment at three VA health centers in Florida, Tennessee and Georgia.
"Lack of inspections, lack of transparency" were likely to blame, said Joe Wilson, deputy director of the Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission for the American Legion, who testified before Congress this month on transparency problems in a budgeting arm of the VA.
Wilson said the American Legion is investigating the case of the VA Medical Center in Philadelphia, where doctors gave 92 veterans incorrect radiation doses for treatment of prostate cancer during a six-year span when no peer review or proper oversight measures were in place, the New York Times reported.
Those doctors, whose continuous errors were finally detected last year, were immediately fired from their work at the VA center, but not before putting the lives of the 92 veterans at risk. That news came on the heels of months of investigations into medical lapses that permitted endoscopic procedures like colonoscopies to be performed improperly for years.
Wilson told FOXNews.com that poor funding has aggravated problems, and that money is often misspent on repairs for old facilities and equipment to help manage a construction backlog that has put the VA years behind. He said the aging facilities are incapable of handling or properly operating new technology and equipment.
"The average age of VA facilities is about 49 years," he said. "That's too old. In the private sector the average age of facilities is about 12 years."
The VA Medical Center in Philadelphia is 57 years old. Doctors there were performing a procedure called brachytherapy, in which radioactive seeds the size of rice grains are implanted into organs to kill cancer cells.
But doctors there were sometimes implanting the seeds into the wrong organs, and in many cases gave significantly less radiation than was prescribed -- including during an entire year when their monitoring equipment was broken and they were essentially flying blind, the New York Times reported.
And when one physician, Dr. Gary Kao, was found to have botched a brachytherapy in 2003, he simply changed his surgery plan to make the error appear to be intentional, the Times reported.
Despite the violations that cost Kao his job, some veterans' groups said the general care provided by VA is among the best in the world, and they applauded the department for taking steps to address its problems.
"Our feeling is that the quality of the care is excellent," said Jay Agg, a national spokesman for AMVETS, the American Veterans organization. "However, the fact that it occurred in the first place really points to a lack of oversight, and corrective measures need to be taken."
Both AMVETS and the American Legion welcomed advanced funding that was granted to VA this week, reversing a trend of late funding that has kept the department on tenterhooks for nearly 20 years.
But investigations conducted by the VA last month show that systemic problems remain. Under half of VA centers given surprise inspections had proper training and guidelines in place for common endoscopic procedures.
VA Secretary Gen. Eric Shinseki and senior leadership "are conducting a top to bottom review of the Department," a VA representative told FOXNews.com. "They are implementing aggressive actions to make sure the right policies and procedures are in place to protect our veterans and provide them with the quality health care they have earned."
The representative said that all brachytherapy treatments have been ended at the Philadelphia hospital, and the VA has hired a national director of radiation oncology and developed standard procedures for calculating the accuracy of seed placement.
But veterans advocates say that won't be enough, and they say they haven't seen any evidence of changes that could fix what they call a broken healthcare system.
"How many patients can you see in a day and still give proper care?" asked Jim Strickland, a veterans' advocate and former health care technician who contributes to VAWatchdog.org. "There aren't enough physicians to handle the crisis that the VA faces."
Richard Dodd, a litigator who has represented veterans in lawsuits against the government, said that poor funding has lowered the quality of care and interest from some physicians.
"They're generally under-funded ... and I think the interest of the doctors suffers to some degree," he told FOXNews.com. "Generally speaking, the physicians that work at the VA work there because they have no interest in private health care, and in some situations are unable to find jobs in private industry."
Strickland said care and oversight would not improve until funding is increased and the leadership makes sweeping changes.
In the meantime, he said, "we are doing such a disservice to our veterans."
Lawmakers, who are bristling at that "disservice," led congressional inquiries into the endoscopy debacle during hearings last week.
"[T]here is no question that shoddy standards -- systemic across the VA -- put veterans at risk and dealt a blow to their trust in the VA," said Rep. Harry Mitchell, the Arizona Democrat who chairs the House Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
Sen. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., is now gearing up for action over the Philadelphia facility. He wrote to Shinseki Tuesday asking "what allowed such chronic failures to occur" and demanding to know what steps the VA has taken "to ensure that such problems do not occur at other VA hospitals."
Specter called for a field hearing of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on Monday, June 29, calling the alleged abuses at VA hospitals "very serious" and promising that they would get a "full and prompt review." A lawyer for Gary Kao said the doctor would appear at the Philadelphia hearing and answer any questions from Specter "fully and completely."
I GUESS TIMING IS EVERYTHING. PLEASE REFERENCE MY BLOG FROM EARLIER THIS WEEK DISCUSSING WHY NATIONALIZED HEALTH CARE IS A CATASTROPHIC MISTAKE. THE V.A. IS A CLASSIC EXAMPLE OF THE GOVERNMENT'S INABILITY TO PROVIDE QUALITY HEALTH CARE TO OUR VETS- PEOPLE WHO GAVE THEIR TIME, HEARTS, AND SOULS TO DEFEND THIS GREAT COUNTRY. IF THE AMERICAN GOVERNMENT CHOOSES TO PRESIDE OVER OUR HEALTH CARE, WE ARE HEADED BACK INTO THE DARK AGES!
Posted date: June 25 2009 - 6:05:16 GMT
NEVADA TOUGHENS CHILD PROSTITUTION LAWS
Child prostitution law highlighted by Gov.
Associated Press
LAS VEGAS — Nevada is going after the property and assets of people convicted of trafficking in child prostitutes.
Gov. Jim Gibbons held a ceremony Monday in Las Vegas to highlight a law that becomes effective Oct. 1. Proponents say it'll give Nevada some of the strictest child prostitution laws in the country.
It lets authorities freeze and seize assets of those involved in child prostitution, and allows for fines of up to $500,000 for trafficking in prostitutes younger than 14, and $100,000 for trafficking in prostitutes ages 14 to 17.
The measure unanimously passed the Legislature, and Gibbons signed it May 22.
Lawmakers were told that Las Vegas police handled 150 cases of child prostitution last year.
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Information from: Las Vegas Sun, http://www.lasvegassun.com
THANK YOU GOVERNOR GIBBONS. CHILD PROSTITUTION IS A TERRIBLE CRIME. THERE IS NO EXCUSE. VIOLATORS SHOULD BE PUNISHED HARSHLY. IN NEVADA WE HAVE BROTHELS THAT ARE HAPPY TO SERVE AS SEXUAL OUTLETS FOR PEOPLE, MANY OF THE INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR LADIES EVEN SPECIALIZE IN LOOKING YOUNG, "BARELY LEGAL" SO TO SPEAK. LETS LET KIDS BE KIDS AND LEAVE SEXUAL ACTIVITIES TO THOSE CONSENTING ADULTS OVER THE AGE OF 18.
Posted date: June 23 2009 - 19:33:52 GMT
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