Anna Nicole Smith's lawyer and two Los Angeles doctors have been charged with providing her with thousands of prescription drugs leading up to her fatal overdose on Feb. 8, 2007, which was ruled an accidental death. Facing conspiracy charges are Howard K. Stern, Dr. Khristine Eroshevich and Dr. Sandeep Kapoor.All three will be arraigned on multiple charges on May 13.
Stern, Smith's attorney and companion (pictured above), faces six charges and the two doctors face seven. Charges include conspiracy, unlawfully prescribing a controlled substance and prescribing, administering or dispensing a controlled substance to an addict.
"What we have in this case is a conspiracy among three individuals," California Attorney General Jerry Brown said at a news conference. "Howard K. Stern is the principal enabler. Dr. Eroshevich and Dr. Kapoor are prescribing drugs excessively to a known addict and using false and fictitious names all in violation of the law and all in furtherance of a conspiracy."
Tragic Consequences
Stern and Kapoor surrendered to authorities and were both released after each posted $20,000 bail. Eroshevich is expected to turn herself in Monday.
"What we have in this case is a conspiracy among three individuals," Brown said. "It was done knowingly, and it was done with tragic consequences."
Brown said Stern was the "principal enabler" in the conspiracy who "funneled highly addictive drugs to Ms. Smith. We're not talking a few dozen, we're talking hundreds and hundreds of pills," Brown said. "The law's been violated, it's a conspiracy, this is bad business."
The charges cover a period between June 2004 and January 2007, during which time they supplied Smith with thousands of pills leading up to her overdose at age 39 in a casino hotel in Hollywood, Florida. At the time of her death, Smith had nine different drugs in her system.
Used Fictitious Names
Prosecutors said the doctors, Smith's psychiatrist Eroshevich and Dr. Kapoor (left), prescribed drugs to fictitious names such as Michelle Chase, Wesley Irwin and Vicki Marshall, but they were all intended for Anna Nicole Smith. None of the drugs found in the hotel at the time of her death were prescribed in Smith's name.
In addition to the conspiracy charge, the three are also charged with obtaining an opiate prescription by fraud, deceit or misrepresentation and obtaining an opiate prescription by giving a false name or address.
The charges detail 95 different "overt acts" in the conspiracy to supply the former Playboy Playmate with addictive drugs, including Ambien, Hydromorphone, Clonazepam, Methadone and Xanax.
"This is serious stuff," Brown said. "Our goal is to prepare the evidence as well as possible. Now it's up to the district attorney and his discretion to handle it the best way possible."
See Also:
Prosecutors Detail 95 'Overt Acts' in Anna Nicole Smith Case, List Drugs
Attorney General: Stern "Principal Enabler" in Anna Nicole Drug Case
Howard K. Stern, Anna Nicole Docs Charged With Conspiracy to Get Drugs, Writing Rx for an Addict
Background:
No Crime: Anna Nicole Smith's Death 'Accidental'
Drugs Listed on Anna Nicole Smith's Autopsy Report
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Discuss The Anna Nicole Smith Case
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Photos: Mug Shots
Comments
I know all of the reporting is on the principles and their conspiracy to give drugs to Anna Nicole.The real issue is why we allow such dangerous drugs to be sold in the first place.Over 150,000 die each year from ‘prescription’drugs.Over a million each are permanently damaged in some way.Tens of thousands are addicted and many doctors are doing the same thing as Stern and Co.,but don’t get caught.
Billions are made by the big pharma companies,but how much tragedy is there we don’t even know about except from cold stats from Harvard?
Once you leave the pharmacy you are no longer under the watchful eye of a doctor-or you have ‘help’to get more and more drugs from the Sterns/docs of this world.
It took long enough for them to turn themselves in! After they were told that Anna Nicole’s baby wasn’t their’s,they want to turn theirselves in! They don’t need to see the light of day again!