MAN GETS 30 DAYS FOR FAILING TO AID FRIEND WHO DIED OF OVERDOSE

Waukesha - A man denied Thursday providing a lethal dose of oxycodone to a
close friend but received a 30-day jail term for failing to aid the friend
after a day of drinking and drug use.

"I'm haunted by the events of that day," Leonard Schwartz, 54, said in
Waukesha County Circuit Court, reading from a prepared statement. "I
honestly do not know what happened."

The denial frustrated relatives of Todd Fellbaum, a 38-year-old marketing
executive who overdosed on alcohol and oxycodone, a narcotic, after a day
of drinking and smoking marijuana with Schwartz on Sept. 2. Fellbaum's
blood-alcohol level was 0.316, about three times what the state considers
evidence of intoxication for motorists.

"We don't want to hear any more stories," Paul Gorski, Fellbaum's
brother-in-law, said in court Thursday. "We are here to seek the truth and
closure."

Gorski called Schwartz "Judas" and a "coward" who failed to look out for
Fellbaum, his friend of more than 20 years.

"You were a gutless coward. You allowed Todd Fellbaum to die like a dog,
possibly alone," Gorski said. He returned Schwartz's sympathy card and a
$50 check, saying the family didn't want it.

But Schwartz's lawyer, Jack Chavez, said that his client was grief-stricken
over losing his friend and "adamantly denies providing any type of drug to
Mr. Fellbaum."

Chavez said the two friends did drink heavily and smoke marijuana that day
as they bar-hopped and then cooked bratwurst at Fellbaum's Brookfield home.

Schwartz, of Fort Atkinson, told police that when he left Fellbaum's house,
his friend was slumped over the kitchen table but was alive, according to a
criminal complaint.

Schwartz said he hit Fellbaum on the back and Fellbaum mumbled something.

But about 90 minutes later, Schwartz called 911 from a gas station pay
phone that is one mile from Fellbaum's house and anonymously asked for
someone to go to Fellbaum's house because he was not breathing, Assistant
District Attorney Brad Schimel said.

Schwartz's fingerprints were found on a plate in Fellbaum's kitchen that
had oxycodone residue, Schimel said.

Chavez said that his client likely handled the plate earlier when the two
ate the bratwurst.

Schwartz had been taking oxycodone with a physician's prescription for
various injuries, but he said he did not bring the drug to Fellbaum's house.

Schimel said he reduced the original charge of felony delivery of oxycodone
because of problems proving the case - Schwartz's lack of a criminal record
and the lack of evidence that Schwartz wanted his friend to overdose.

Schwartz pleaded no contest to two misdemeanors, possession of marijuana
and failure to render aid. The latter has a maximum 30-day jail term.
Chavez urged that no jail be imposed.

Circuit Judge Patrick Snyder imposed the maximum, saying he was not basing
the sentence on any belief that Schwartz supplied the oxycodone. The
maximum, and more, he said, was called for because of the conduct of
leaving a friend incapacitated and not returning to the house to help.