HOWARD K. STERN CHARGED WITH CONSPIRACY TO SUPPLY DRUGS TO ANNA NICOLE SMITH

Anna Nicole Smith

After over two years since Anna Nicole Smith died from a lethal cocktail of prescription drugs, authorities in California have filed the first criminal charges. They have targeted her former attorney and alleged boyfriend, Howard K. Stern. Stern, who was at Smith's side for years who once claimed to be the father of her daughter Dannielynn, has been formally charged with conspiring to furnish drugs to Smith prior to her death, prosecutors said yesterday. He was arrested and booked by police in Whittier, Calif., with bail set for $20,000, police records show. Also charged with felonies were two doctors, Sandeep Kapoor, 40, and Khristine Eroshevich, 61, who allegedly prescribed medication unlawfully to Smith, according to the L.A. County District Attorney's Office. Kapoor also was arrested and booked in Whittier. A warrant was issued for Eroshevich's arrest. The conspiracy counts allege the three defendants conspired to provide controlled substances to Smith from between June 2004 and January 2007. They also were charged with "prescribing, administering or dispensing a controlled substance to an addict," among other charges. Smith, one of the most famous Playboy model's who starred in the reality series The Anna Nicole Show, died at age 39 in February 2007 of an accidental overdose of a combination of prescription drugs. Her death came just months after her 20-year-old son Daniel also died of a lethal combination of drugs. California's attorney general, Jerry Brown, alleges, Three people took part in the conspiracy to funnel powerful drugs that fed Anna Nicole Smith's addiction. "This was done knowingly and this was done with tragic consequences," Brown told a news conference a day after felony charges were filed against Stern. This was a conspiracy between three individuals," Brown said, adding that Stern was "the one that brought the drugs in many cases to Anna Nicole Smith." California's top prosecutor alleged hundreds of dangerous drugs were prescribed under false names, leading to Smith's death in February 2007. He said prosecutors will show that Stern and the doctors had to know that Smith was addicted to harmful drugs because she took so many drugs that had addictive properties and toxic side effects. Brown also suggested Smith's untimely death, and this prosecution, should send a message that pharmacists and doctors can be just as dangerous as street-corner drug dealers. "I'm very concerned about this indulgence by society," says Brown. "People think those drug dealers on the street corner are the only threat. People in white smocks in pharmacies and with medical degrees are a growing threat, and that's what this prosecution is all about." "The use of a fictitious name in itself is one thing," Brown says. "The use of a fictitious name to give excessive amounts – and we're not talking a few dozen, we're talking hundreds and hundreds of medications – was done not so much to conceal them from the paparazzi but to conceal from authorities the true nature of what was going on: an abusive and illegal pattern that is unconscionable, unprofessional and clearly illegal." According to the documents, the three provided Smith with "opiates, benzodiazepines, and other controlled and non-controlled substances." Stern and Kapoor were booked and released Thursday night. Eroshevich is said to be planning to turn herself in on Monday. All three are due for arraignment May 13th.
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