Michael Jackson’s Doctor Won’t Be Putting Anyone Else Out

By: Roger Friedman   //   Tuesday February 9, 2010

As the world knows, Dr. Conrad Murray was arraigned yesterday and set free on $75,000 bail. The government wanted $300,000. Dr. Murray’s lawyer thought he should just go free. The judge found a middle ground.

Now the case moves to downtown L.A. on April 5 for a preliminary hearing. But my sources say that we won’t have a trial before September, and it could be as long as a year before Dr. Murray has to face a jury of his peers.

Meanwihle, the government scored a point: Dr. Murray, while he waits for his medical license to be revoked, can no longer administer anesthesia. He won’t be putting anyone else out or under. That’s a good thing. You may recall a story I did last summer: Dr. Murray’s late doctor father also had problems giving patients such drugs. He was suspended for two years. The Murrays apparently like knocking out their patients. A lot.

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Michael Jackson’s Doctor to Be Arraigned on Monday

By: Roger Friedman   //   Friday February 5, 2010

conradmurray1 Michael Jacksons Doctor to Be Arraigned on MondayTMZ’s long week of predicting, nay, demanding, the arrest and arraignment of Dr. Conrad Murray has come to an end.

Despite the Web site’s wacky hourly announcements about Dr. Murray’s legal situation, Michael Jackson’s alleged killer will actually be formally charged on Monday in Los Angeles.

How do we know? Because the LAPD and District Attorney have each sent out a press release with the info. That takes the mystery out of it! Dr. Murray will be arraigned at the Airport Court on So. La Cienega on Monday after charges are filed with the DA.

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Arrest Imminent in Jackson Death; Michael’s Family Eyes $$$

By: Roger Friedman   //   Wednesday February 3, 2010

conradmurray Arrest Imminent in Jackson Death; Michaels Family Eyes $$$Dr. Conrad Murray will be arrested this afternoon for the murder of Michael Jackson on June 25. The charge, sources say, will be involuntary manslaughter.

And then the fun begins.

We can expect that within hours of the arrest a civil suit will be filed against Dr. Murray by Michael Jackson’s family. This should kick off internal squabbles among the avaricious Jacksons like never before.

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The Mystery Woman Who Ratted Out Jackson’s Doc

By: Roger Friedman   //   Tuesday August 25, 2009

Now a new Michael Jackson mystery. Who was the anonymous woman who turned the DEA onto Dr. Arnold Klein?

In the affidavit that was made public yesterday as part of a search warrant, there was this little fact: an anonymous female called the DEA and turned in Dr. Arnold Klein, Jackson’s dermatologist. The caller gave a number of aliases under which Jackson received prescriptions from the dermatologist. They included Omar  Arnold–a name first revealed in this column two months ago–as well as Fernand Diaz, Peter Madonie, and Josephine Baker. The police found a prescription in Jackson’s house made out to Omar Arnold.

And now I’m told that following the revelations about Dr. Conrad Murray yesterday, Dr. Klein is next. And the evidence concerning him will be much more detailed since Klein has been involved with Jackson for over 20 years. Nearly everyone in Jackson’s inner circles over the years has been involved with him, too.

And who is the mystery woman? The likely candidate, I am told, is Debbie Rowe. The mother of Jackson’s two eldest children worked for Klein in the 90s. She met Jackson in his office. She is said to hold Klein responsible for Jackson’s drug problems. In recent weeks, Klein has even had her barred from his offices. Rowe is said to have been very upset when Klein started suggesting he was the children’s father. “It made her skin crawl,” says a friend. Rowe would be only one of many who’d know what Klein gave Jackson over the years–and certainly an excellent witness in a trial.

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Dr. Murray Left Michael Jackson for 47 Minutes

By: Roger Friedman   //   Monday August 24, 2009

murray conrad 175 Dr. Murray Left Michael Jackson for 47 Minutes  In the affidavit given by Office E.G. Chance of the Houston Police Department, Michael Jackson is quoted as calling propofol, the dangerous drug that likely killed him, his “milk.” Apparently it has a milky appearance.

While propofol was being administered to Jackson at 10:40 a.m. on June 25, his doctor — Conrad Murray — left his side for 47 minutes to make phone calls. When Dr. Murray returned to Jackson’s bedside, the singer was not breathing.

Dr. Murray did not tell this to police when he was interviewed on June 27. But according to Officer Chance’s affidavit, discovered by the Los Angeles Times, Murray lied to police and said he was away from Jackson’s side for not more than two minutes. It was only by going through Murray’s phone records that the police discovered he was lying.

Murray, according to his cell records, was on the phone from 11:18 a.m. to 12:05 p.m. He told police later that he’d realized Michael had stopped breathing at 11 a.m. But the implication in the police report is that he didn’t notice for a full hour. By that time, it was probably too late. And even, according to the report, Los Angeles Fire Dept. Rescue responded to a call at 12:22 p.m., meaning Dr. Murray did not instantly call 911 when he realized what had happened while he was on the phone.

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Jacko’s Dr. Murray: Doc Dad Was Punished for Similar Rx’s

By: Roger Friedman   //   Thursday July 23, 2009

picture 33 Jackos Dr. Murray: Doc Dad Was Punished for Similar RxsMichael Jackson’s Dr. Conrad Murray, now under investigation by the LAPD for possible manslaughter in Michael’s death: medical malfeasance may be in his genes.

Dr. Murray’s biological father, whom he met at age 25, was the late Dr. Rawle Andrews of Houston, Tex. Dr. Andrews died in 2001, but was a respected Houston physician.

However: Dr. Rawle Andrews medical license came under review and severely limited—according to the Texas Medical Board—from 1994 to 1999.

Dr. Andrews was found to have prescribed “controlled substances and substances with addictive potential to [two patients, names reduced to initials] for extended periods of time without adequate indication.”

The board particularly cited four “dangerous” drugs in their order:

Stadol—a powerful pain reliever used for migraines after surgery—connected to Demerol

Nubain—another powerful pain reliever, delivered through IV, equivalent to morphine and used as a supplement to anesthesia;

Talwin— yet another monster pain reliever/narcotic used before surgery and anesthesia

Phenergan—a more moderate pain killer but also an antihistamine used for itching and swelling.

If any of these turn up in Michael Jackson’s toxicology report, the parallels may be more than just a coincidence. What probably killed Jackson was an overdose or misuse of anesthesia-based drug Diprivan. Certainly, Dr. Murray knew that his father had had disciplinary action taken against him for prescribing and administering similar drugs.

The citation reads: “Agreed Order entered restricting license for 5 years for prescribing or administering a drug or treatment that is non therapeutic in nature or non therapeutic in the manner the drug or treatment is administered or prescribed.”

Both Dr. Andrews and his son, Dr. Murray, are graduates of Nashville’s Meharry Medical College.

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Jackson’s Friend: He Went to Dr. Klein’s “To Sleep”

By: Roger Friedman   //   Thursday July 16, 2009

One of the biggest mysteries of the Michael Jackson case is how Dr. Conrad Murray found his way into Michael’s life.

Randy Phillips, head of AEG Live, has said repeatedly to me and to others that Jackson simply told him to hire Murray and pay him $150,000 a month. On the face of it, Murray was a cardiologist with offices in Las Vegas, San Diego, and Houston. He seemed OK. Phillips told me, “This is who Michael wanted.”

Did Michael have his own arrangements with Dr. Murray? This is still unknown.

But Murray, unbeknownst to the Jackson camp, was awash in personal debt. He was also not board certified.

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Jackson: Doctor Told Friend to “Keep Michael Warm”

By: Roger Friedman   //   Thursday July 16, 2009

The police investigations into Michael Jackson’s two main doctors—skin doc Dr. Arnold Klein and heart doc Dr. Conrad Murray—are narrowing. You can feel that something is about to happen. Meanwhile, more Jackson insiders are coming clean about what they saw and heard in Jackson’s rented Holmby Hills mansion in the few weeks leading up to his death.

One such insider, present constantly, disliked both doctors intensely. Dr. Murray, this source says, sent a message one day in the weeks preceding his death: “Keep Michael warm” after Jackson, the source says, “showed up shivering, cold as ice, and confused.”

Was this the result of anesthesia withdrawal? The person now believes it must have been. They say, “Michael was too thin, had an addiction, and had never healed mentally from the trial.  Yes, of course I saw him interact with others.  His state of mind was never stable.  He was OCD, and paranoid.  His clarity was not consistent.”

But things changed in the last couple of weeks. Jackson, starting around Monday, June 21st, seemed like his old self. “He was the best he had ever been on the last two days,” says my source. What happened? When they inquired, another member of the household replied, “Klein’s outta town,” a reference to Jackson’s infamous dermatologist.

One more thing: ABC News produced pictures yesterday of Jackson’s legs, circa 2002, discolored and full of needle marks. There’s a picture of an injection gone wrong in one of Jackson’s ankles. That is more than likely the IV that broke in December 2002 when Jackson was supposed to testify in a trial. He said he had a spider bite. But my sources said then that there was no spider. It was an accident of self-injection.

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Michael Jackson’s Overlooked Local Doctor

By: Roger Friedman   //   Wednesday July 15, 2009

While the Los Angeles Police Department is focused on Michael Jackson’s principal doctors — Conrad Murray and Arnold Klein — there are others worth investigating.

I’ve told you already about Dr. Neil Ratner of Woodstock, New York. He was the anesthesiologist who traveled with Jackson in the 90s.

Now I’m told there’s another doctor closer to Michael geographically: Dr. Stuart Finkelstein of Cerritos, California. Ironically, Dr. Finkelstein lists himself as an addiction specialist. When I tried to talk to him last week, he read me a statement and got off the phone. Finkelstein has gotten a lot of publicity for working with Britney Spears and Robert Downey Jr., among others. One article referred to him as “the rock and roll doctor.”

But sources who were close to Michael Jackson have lots of stories of Dr. Finkelstein traveling with the pop star in the mid-1990s on tour in places like Bangkok.

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Michael Jackson Did NOT Have Skin Cancer

By: Roger Friedman   //   Friday July 10, 2009

Michael Jackson visited dermatologist Dr. Arnold Klein an average of three times a week in recent months. And he had no evidence of skin cancer, despite public reports.

Jackson, an insider says, was using the skin cancer as a cover story. “There was no evidence of skin cancer,” says my source, who indicated if there was, Klein required just three visits in total.

Meantime, while Klein is doing TV appearances, he remains high on the LAPD’s list of Michael’s doctors who are being questioned. Also on the list is Dr. Conrad Murray, who was with Jackson when he died.

Possibly also on the list is Dr. Ralph Massey of Santa Monica. When Jackson concocted the story about the skin cancer, Massey’s name came up in news reports as the surgeon Klein was referring him to. Calls to Massey’s office were not returned.

Interestingly, Jackson was photographed leaving Klein’s office on May 16th with a bag labeled “skin cancer.”

Eleven days earlier, on May 5th, an old friend saw him in the office, as I previously reported, where Jackson was practicing dance kicks. Jackson seemed “very fit,” according to Joanne Horowitz, who assumed the singer was there to get a Botox-like injection.

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