PHARMACIST IN LIMBO AS PROSECUTORS EXAMINE CASE

FORT MADISON -- It has been nearly a year since pharmacist Steven Helling
was arrested.

To date, however, federal authorities still haven't filed charges against
the man alleged to have handed out drugs like Percodan, Demerol and Ritalin
with copied or altered prescriptions.

"I think it was just some overzealous guy," said Helling, the 45-year-old
owner of a Fort Madison pharmacy that bears his name.

Helling was charged in North Lee County District Court with 15 counts of
delivering a controlled substance without a valid prescription. Bond was
set at $375,000, and Helling was taken to the Lee County jail after being
arrested on the felony charges.

The U.S. Attorney's office in Rock Island, Ill., began reviewing Helling's
case and state court filings show it was ready for a review in May by a
federal grand jury.

Lee County Attorney Mike Short was so sure federal charges were about to be
filed that he asked a judge to dismiss the state charges, which was done
May 12.

Since then, Short has been told over and over an indictment is about a
month away.

When he last checked, Short said that's what he was still being told.

Authorities have broadened the case, he said, and some delay could be due
to that.

"Generally, I understand they're going to re-look at things," Short said.

Helling's case has been assigned to a couple of different prosecutors since
May, and none have put it at the top of their list of things to do. It is
currently assigned to Assistant U.S. Attorney Rocky Rothrock, who did not
return a telephone call Thursday.

Al Overbaugh, a spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office in Des Moines,
said he couldn't provide specific comment on the case.

But the statute of limitations on federal drug cases is five years, and he
didn't rule out an eventual indictment.

"The wheels of justice sometimes move slowly," he said.

Helling's arrest came after an audit of his business, Helling Health Mart,
1124 Avenue H, by the Iowa State Board of Pharmacy Examiners. The audit was
followed by an investigation by the Lee County Narcotics Task Force.

Authorities say there was a pattern over a two-year period of giving out
powerful painkillers and an anti-hyperactivity drug that contains a strong
stimulant without proper prescriptions, but Helling maintains it only
appears that way on paper.

Helling said he has just gone about his business, because there was nothing
worthy of criminal prosecution in what the auditors and investigators found.

His pharmacy license was temporarily suspended, Helling said, and he had to
pay a $50 fine because of one irregularity.

Other than that, however, Helling said he doesn't expect anything to come
of the matter.

"We haven't heard anything since they dropped the charges," he said. "Every
now and then somebody comes in and inspects. They just want to see how it's
going now."

Short could re-file the state charges if federal prosecutors don't act.

In spite of the delays, however, Short said he still believes the U.S.
Attorney's office when they say an indictment is just around the corner.
"Next month, we'll have an indictment," he said.