Pubdate: Thu, 18 Jul 2002
Source: Deseret News (UT)
Copyright: 2002 Deseret News Publishing Corp.
Contact:  http://www.desnews.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/124
Author: Associated Press

BUSH'S NIECE SENTENCED FOR HAVING PILLS IN REHAB

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - A judge sentenced Noelle Bush, the daughter of Florida 
Gov. Jeb Bush, to three days behind bars for violating a court-ordered drug 
treatment plan by having prescription pills in a treatment center.

Noelle Bush, 24, was sentenced Wednesday for contempt of court and taken to 
a jail in Orlando.

Her lawyer, Pete Antonacci, said he didn't know what kind of pills had been 
in his client's possession. He said she had the pills for about a half-hour 
but tested negative for having taken them.

A letter from the treatment center to Judge Reginald Whitehead said Bush 
was questioned by a staffer who noticed her carrying pills. Bush said she 
had found the pills, while a nurse said they were taken from a cabinet in 
her office, the letter said.

"There is a concern about her lack of honesty, and how it relates to her 
(recovery)," the letter said.

Bush was arrested in January at a pharmacy drive-through window for 
allegedly trying to buy the anti-anxiety drug Xanax with a fraudulent 
prescription. She was admitted to a drug treatment center in February, with 
the possibility that charges would be dropped if she completed the program.
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