Limbaugh lawyer denies any talk of plea deal

[Cannikin]

http://www.cnn.com/2004/LAW/01/26/limbaugh.no.deal/index.html

MIAMI, Florida (CNN) -- Talk radio host Rush Limbaugh's lawyer said Monday there was never any offer by his client to make a plea deal with the state attorney's office investigating Limbaugh on charges of "doctor shopping."

Black said Palm Beach County State Attorney Barry Krischer had assured him in their first meeting that "his office did not prosecute addicts or people who become dependent on prescription medication, that that was not the purpose of this particular matter."

Based on that assurance, Black said, he wrote to Krischer to suggest the investigation be resolved through a referral to a pretrial diversion program, including rehabilitation and counseling for Limbaugh, who has admitted his addiction to prescription painkillers and completed one rehab program.

Doctor shopping -- in which a person gets multiple prescriptions for the same or similar medication from different doctors over the same time period -- is a felony in Florida, punishable by up to five years in prison.

Black said claims that his letters -- which were published in the South Florida Sun-Sentinel newspaper last week -- were released under a public records request was not completely true.

At the news conference, Black read from call records that described a conversation between the state attorney's office and the Florida bar. The state attorney's office used that conversation to release the letters per the public information request, Black said, when in fact the bar told the office it may need to consult with a judge to determine if the correspondence should be released.