Howard K. Stern Found Guilty in Anna Nicole Smith Drug Conspiracy

Howard K. Stern Found Guilty in Anna Nicole Smith Drug Conspiracy

The verdict is in on the most recent legal battle surrounding the late Anna Nicole Smith. In August, three people close to Smith at the time of her death -- her doctor Sandeep Kapoor, psychiatrist Khristine Eroshevich, and lawyer/boyfriend Howard K. Stern -- went on trial for the crime of knowingly supplying drugs to an addict. In other words: Smith's doctors and boyfriend were accused of feeding the addiction that killed her in 2007. And only one of them was found innocent.

On Thursday, Howard K. Stern was found guilty of conspiring to get drugs for Smith by ordering prescriptions under his own name. Eroshevich, the psychiatrist, was found guilty of writing fraudulent prescriptions, as well as supplying addictive drugs to an addict. Both will face sentencing (a maximum of three years) in January. Kapoor, however, is free to go; he was acquitted of all charges.

So: does the "guilty" verdict answer any questions about Anna Nicole's death?

Not really. The official cause of death was accidental overdose, due to the combined effects of nine different prescription drugs. The reason Stern, Eroshevich and Kapoor were on trial is that all those drugs were prescribed by Eroshevich -- even though they should never have been prescribed simultaneously. And eight of them were prescribed in Stern's name. While they were convicted of supplying these drugs, Stern and Eroshevich were cleared on multiple other charges which would have put more responsibility for Smith's death (and up to six more years of jail) on their shoulders.

What happens to Stern and the doctors now is pretty inconsequential, as far as Anna's legacy is concerned. But the case does shed some light on how drug-addicted celebrities can manipulate the people around them to get prescriptions. From the evidence presented, it looks like Anna Nicole maintained a close, even borderline sexual, relationship with both of her doctors. An entry in Dr. Kapoor's private journal, read to the jury, contained this excerpt:

"I was making out with Anna, my patient, blurring the lines. I gave her methadone, Valium. Can she ruin me?"


The jury was also shown "a photo of Smith and Eroschevich naked and embracing in a bathtub." Although both Kapoor and Eroschevich swear that they were providing Smith with necessary drugs, due to her mental problems after the death of her son, they were obviously willing to blur the lines of the doctor-patient relationship and bend standard ethical rules, all for the sake of keeping their celebrity patient happy. Stern, too, put aside his better legal judgement in order to ease Smith's pain. Maybe none of them actually meant any harm. But then again, did Michael Jackson's doctors mean to hurt him? What about Heath Ledger's doctors? If Anne Nicole's psychiatrist gets jail time, maybe that will send the necessary message to celebrity doctors: sometimes, the best way to help is by saying no.

Do you think the doctors who prescribe too many drugs to celebrities should go to jail? Chime in below!

Source: http://www.ivillage.com/howard-k-stern-found-guilty-anna-nicole-smith-drug-conspiracy/1-a-294092

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EVENT FAB: Nick Cannon, Trey Songz, Chris Brown, & More Get GQ For The Gentlemen's Ball

Chris Brown, Trey Songz, B.o.B., Nick Cannon, and other fellas all hit the GQ Gentlemen's Ball at the Edison Ballroom in NYC last night,

 

Pics of them when you read on....

Chris rocked an interesting look and Trey got dapper in his black trimmed suit.

B.o.B. was there to perform.

New dad-to-be Nick Cannon hit up the event.

I see he's serious about this facial hair thing.  It does make him look more mature though...

Actor Anthony Mackie made an appearance.

And Nick kicked it with both him and Jay Sean.

Trey kicked it with his manager Kevin Liles.

And Montell Williams hit the black carpet with his wife.  Nice event.

Photog: Busacca

Source: http://theybf.com/2010/10/28/event-fab-nick-cannon-trey-songz-chris-brown-more-get-gq-for-the-gentlemens-ball

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Britney Spears Tweets About 'Glee' Tribute Episode

'I loved it!' writes the pop star, who also thanked fans and shared her thoughts on the show's covers.
By James Dinh


Britney Spears and Heather Morris on the set of "Glee"
Photo: FOX

Britney Spears fans are a force to be reckoned with. Earlier this year, they campaigned for an episode of "Glee" to be dedicated solely to their favorite pop princess. And after much anticipation, on Tuesday night the students of McKinley High shimmied, crooned and danced their way in tribute to the entertainer. The singer took to Twitter to thank her fans for their efforts and shared her thoughts on the program, titled "Britney/Brittany," and its covers of her songs.

"I loved it! Thank you guys SO much for making this happen!" Britney tweeted. In particular, the star seemed to enjoy the renditions of her classic tunes, saying, "I love this version of Stronger. Artie did a great job," and "The GLEE version of Toxic is amazing!"

While some of the McKinley High students — including Cheerio cheerleader Brittany S. Pearce (played by Heather Morris) — went into anesthesia--induced dream sequences to channel their inner Britney, Spears herself emerged throughout the episode's hallucinogenic fantasies. Appearing as Madonna's character at the end of "Me Against the Music," a high-school teacher in "... Baby One More Time" and a fellow cheerleader, the singer remained a source of inspiration for the Gleekers.

Spears gave kudos to co-star Morris, saying, "Awww Heather Morris is sooo cute! Brittany S Pearce. Ha! She was so fun to work with and was really sweet in person."

The singer not only applauded Morris' friendliness, but also her rendition of "I'm a Slave 4 U." She wrote of the sultry production, "Slave: Oh ... My ... God ...! Those little boys are SO cute! I know how hard it is to dance with that snake! Nice job." The pop star also was surprised at how well the show re-created the music video set of her 2003 Madonna duet, "Me Against the Music," pointing out that it "looks just like the original," and adding, "Santana does a great Madonna impression."

As the students walked Spears through memory lane, Lea Michele's cover of "... Baby One More Time" also had the singer reminiscing. "Watching Baby brings back so many memories! Feels like yesterday," she explained.

John Stamos also made a guest appearance in the episode, as the dentist who sends the Gleeks into Britney world. Spears made it clear that the 47-year-old actor looks as good as he did during his heyday. "John Stamos is still hot! He looks the same as he did on Full House," she tweeted.

As with many "Glee" fans, Britney found a pleasantly odd interest in Jane Lynch, who plays the aggressive cheerleading coach Sue Sylvester, describing the actress as "hilarious and scary all rolled into one."

Spears wasn't the only one who enjoyed filming the tribute episode — the "Glee" castmembers recently dished on working with the star. Morris told Australian magazine TV Week that the singer was her childhood inspiration. "She was my idol from, like, age 12 to 16," she said. "I sang to her [songs] in my living room and danced to her — I learned all her moves. And I had my talent shows and I lip-synched to her. I just kept flashing back to growing up and being obsessed with her."

Naya Rivera, who plays Santana, also spoke highly of the pop icon. "I love Britney Spears. I mean, who doesn't? We all grew up with her," she proclaimed in a promo video for the show. "The first music purchase I ever made was '... Baby One More Time' on cassette. [It was like], 'Britney Spears is going to be in my mitts, what do I do?' [And I was like], 'Hi Britney!' And then she was like, 'Hey!' She was awesome and beautiful. She was, like, magical."

What did you think of the Britney-themed episode? Sound off in the comments!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1648937/20100929/spears_britney.jhtml

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George Clooney Nabs Ryan Gosling To Star In His 'Farragut North' Adaptation, 'The Ides Of March'

George Clooney will direct and star an adaptation of Beau Willimon's Broadway play "Farragut North," but the story's getting a different name for movie theaters: "The Ides of March." The tale of behind-the-scenes politics in a presidential primary race was originally inspired by the playwright's impressions of the 2004 Howard Dean campaign, and Ryan Gosling [...]

Source: http://moviesblog.mtv.com/2010/10/28/george-clooney-ryan-gosling-farragut-north-adaptation-the-ides-of-march/

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Rihanna Says Photos In Her New Book 'Say So Much'

Fans get to see 'all the things that they hadn't seen that were going on behind the scenes,' she tells MTV News of self-titled tome.
By Rebecca Thomas


Rihanna signs copies of her book in New York City Wednesday
Photo: Jason Kempin/ Getty Images

NEW YORK — Her fervently tracked fifth album, Loud, is just weeks from its November 16 due date, but on Wednesday (October 27), Rihanna was reflecting on her last LP, the moody Rated R. The Bajan singer turned up at a Fifth Avenue Barnes & Noble bookstore to sign copies of her new book.

Her self-titled tome is a photographic document of the year that followed the release of that dark disc and her triumphant Last Girl on Earth Tour. The widely photographed star told MTV News that her Rihanna Navy will get an intimate peek — unlike the relentless paparazzi pics that paper the blogs — at her life with this book, shot by creative director Simon Henwood.

"I think it was really special to have behind-the-scenes photos, you know, pictures that the fans haven't seen before, all together of a very specific moment of my life, an album of my life," Rihanna told us.

From stage lights to street lights, the 22-year-old stunner shines in front of the camera and perhaps never more so than in the images that capture Rihanna in the moments between show times: Admirers will swoon over a picture of the singer clutching her hoodie on a Paris rooftop with the Eiffel Tower visible in the distance or another rather decadent snap that shows her feasting on room service with just a table napkin and black suspenders doubling as a shirt.

"They just get to see all the things that they hadn't seen that were going on behind the scenes; really cool stuff, not typical," Rihanna, draped in a calf-length floral frock, explained. "They're really fun photos. And even for me, when I look at them, they say so much. Photos really tell a thousand words."

The "Only Girl (In the World)" singer had her own favorite, though, and she thumbed through the oversize collection to show us a green-tinged photo of her onstage in an elaborate headdress that calls to mind Venetian blinds. ("I call it the 'Disturbia' one ... I love that one.")

So what essential items does a globe-trotting songstress making her debut headlining tour pack when your concert schedule takes you as far as the Belgian city of Antwerp?

"Essential?" she thought for a moment. "Comfortable, warm clothes for the bus — the bus is always freezing! And you always want to be comfortable on the bus. Not much heels. You're pretty much going from the bus to the stage, back to the studio ... back to the stage. So it's not a lot of clothes to pack: sneakers, sweats, pajamas, stuff like that," she smiled.

Will you check out Rihanna's book? Let us know in the comments!

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Source: http://www.mtv.com/news/articles/1650981/20101027/rihanna.jhtml

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