LIMBAUGH SETTLES DRUG CASE

West Palm Beach, Fla. - Rush Limbaugh yesterday reached a settlement
with prosecutors in a fraud case involving prescription painkillers,
though the conservative radio commentator maintained his innocence.

Limbaugh turned himself in to authorities about 4 p.m. on a warrant
for fraud to conceal information to obtain a prescription, the first
charge in the nearly three-year-old case, said Teri Barbera, a
spokeswoman for the state attorney. He was released an hour later on
$3,000 bail.

Limbaugh's attorney, Roy Black, said his client and prosecutors
reached a settlement on a charge of doctor-shopping.

Under the deal, Limbaugh would eventually see the charge dismissed in
18 months if he continues treatment for drug addiction, Black said.

Limbaugh also must continue to seek treatment from the doctor he has
seen for the last 2 1/2 years, Black said.

Limbaugh entered a plea of not guilty in court yesterday.

"Mr. Limbaugh and I have maintained from the start that there was no
doctor shopping, and we continue to hold this position," Black said in
an e-mailed statement.

Prosecutors began investigating Limbaugh in 2003 after a tabloid
newspaper reported that his housekeeper said he had used her to buy
painkillers illegally. He soon took a five-week leave from his radio
show to enter a rehabilitation program.

Prosecutors seized Limbaugh's records after learning that he received
about 2,000 painkillers, prescribed by four doctors in six months, at
a pharmacy near his Palm Beach home. They contended that Limbaugh
engaged in "doctor-shopping," or illegally deceiving multiple doctors
to receive overlapping prescriptions.

Limbaugh acknowledged he became addicted to pain medication, blaming
it on severe back pain.

According to Black, Limbaugh also has agreed to make a $30,000 payment
to the state to defray the cost of the investigation. The agreement
also provides that he must refrain from violating the law during the
18 months, must pay $30 per month for the cost of supervision, and
comply with other similar provisions of the agreement.