BUSH'S DAUGHTER ARRESTED, CHARGED WITH PRESCRIPTION FRAUD

TALLAHASSEE - Gov. Jeb Bush's 24-year-old daughter was arrested at a
pharmacy drive-through window Tuesday on charges of trying to buy the
anti-anxiety drug Xanax with a fraudulent prescription.

Authorities said Noelle Bush apparently posed as a doctor and called
in the phony prescription after suffering a panic attack Monday
evening.

Bush, who was supposed to start a new job Tuesday at a software
company, was jailed and released pending a Jan. 31 arraignment.
Police said she was released without having to post bond.

She could get as many as five years in prison and a $5,000 fine if
convicted. Bush's attorney, former Florida deputy attorney general
Pete Antonacci, could not be reached after-hours at his office.

Jeb Bush and his wife, Columba, issued a statement saying they were
''deeply saddened'' by the incident involving their only daughter.
They said ''substance abuse is an issue confronting many families
across our nation.''

''She's doing fine,'' the governor said. ''It's really hard for our
family, but a lot of families go through this.''

President Bush's twin daughters, Jenna and Barbara, have gotten in
trouble for underage drinking.

Jeb and Columba Bush have said that one of their three children
struggled with a drug problem after Bush's unsuccessful first run for
governor in 1994. They did not say whether it was Noelle or one of
her brothers. Columba Bush also has worked for a Florida group
involved in educating families about drug abuse.

According to police, a woman called a Walgreens pharmacy late Monday
to see if a prescription had been called in for Noelle Bush.
Pharmacist Carlos Zimmerman checked the voice mail and heard a woman
claiming to be Dr. Noel Scidmore requesting a prescription for Xanax,
a prescription drug similar to Valium that is normally used to treat
anxiety disorders.

Zimmerman told police the prescription sounded suspicious because
there was no quantity indicated. He saved the message, described by
police as ''shaky.''

Within 20 minutes, the woman called back to check on the
prescription, and Zimmerman said he needed a specific quantity. He
received a voice mail message about 10 minutes later specifying the
quantity.

He then called the doctor's answering service. Another doctor
returned the call and said Scidmore ''is moving and isn't really
practicing now.'' The doctor said the phoned-in prescription should
be treated as fraudulent.

When the woman called back to check on the prescription again, the
pharmacist told her it would be ready shortly. Noelle Bush drove up
in her white Volkswagen about 1 a.m. and was waiting there when
police arrived.

Police said Noelle Bush's voice and the voice on the answering
machine appear to be identical. She allegedly told police that the
contact number for Scidmore left on the pharmacy answering machine is
her second phone line.

Tom Lynch, president of Infinity Software, said Bush had been
scheduled to start as an administrative assistant Tuesday. He said
the job offer stands and will be waiting for Bush whenever she is
available.

Bush, who lives alone in Tallahassee, studied art and graduated from
a local community college in 2000. She attended Florida State
University during the 2000-01 academic year but is not enrolled now.

Since 1995, she has received seven speeding tickets, been cited for
five other traffic violations and been involved in three automobile
crashes, state motor vehicle records show.

In 1995, a woman named Noelle Lucila Bush was charged with
shoplifting in Flagstaff, Ariz., according to police records. Deputy
Police Chief Robert White said the incident took place at a mall but
did not have details because misdemeanor records are purged after
five years. The governor's office said it couldn't immediately verify
the shoplifting incident.

In May 2001, Jenna Bush was charged with using someone else's ID to
try to buy a margarita at a restaurant in Texas, and her twin sister,
Barbara, was charged with underage drinking. The charges were dropped
after the twins performed community service, attended alcohol
awareness classes and paid $100 fines.

Also, Jenna was fined $500, and her license was suspended for a
separate underage drinking charge in April.