Runners-Up: Federline, Dunst, Vaughn, Watros, Rodriguez, Brancato, Renfro, Stacey Jo Murphy and others
Runners-up for top story of the month:
Kevin Federline, who was allegedly dumped by new-mom Britney Spears because of his continuing marijuana use and reversion to partying and nightclubbing. Federline is reported to have recently been arrogant, rude and critical of Britney in front of others. (Let’s see…pompous, inconsiderate behaviors and making disparaging remarks…How to Spot Hidden Alcoholics mentions these and other behaviors as indicative of early-stage alcoholism.) Britney had a prenuptial agreement requiring that she pay Federline, who was unemployed when they met, $300,000 for every year they stay married. Anyone who’d care to send Britney my books will help save her a lot of money….(although she was smart…it could have been far worse.)
Purported good-girl actress Kirsten Dunst, admitting to Jay Leno that she has “lots of alcohol and no food”in her fridge, and “jokingly”responding to Leno’s query as to whether she might have a “problem,””…maybe in a few months you’ll see me in…rehab…”In what may be a case of late-onset alcoholism, Dunst, 23, is reported by friends as having “gone from good girl to she-devil overnight…out almost every night of the week with a gang of party crazy pals.”
Actor Vince Vaughn who, after being spotted driving erratically and weaving in and out of traffic, was forced to take a sobriety test because he reeked of booze, and the enabling Arizona police who would neither arrest nor allow him or passenger Jennifer Aniston to continue driving in their intoxicated states. Vaughn, who co-starred in The Wedding Crashers, was charged but not convicted for fighting during a club brawl in September 2001.
“Lost”actresses Michelle Rodriguez and Cynthia Watros, arrested by Hawaii police almost simultaneously for DUI after each was observed weaving. Rodriguez, who had sworn off partying and told “Lost”producers that she had changed, was jailed only last year for a series of driving misbehaviors, including a hit and run, driving with a suspended license and DUI. Watros co-starred in the very amusing alcoholic series “Titus”(a review of which can be found in the August 2005 issue of the Thorburn Addiction Report”link follows this article.)
Actor Lillo Brancato, 29, who starred in “A Bronx Tale”and “The Sopranos,”arrested on suspicion of second-degree murder, while his girlfriend’s father Steven Armento was arraigned on first-degree murder. The two engaged in a shoot-out with an off-duty police officer who confronted them after hearing glass break next door to his home. Brancato had two prior arrests, including a bust for heroin possession in mid-2005, while Armento has been in trouble with the law repeatedly since 1976.
Actor Brad Renfro, 23, arrested for attempting to purchase heroin in an LAPD sting operation on skid row in downtown Los Angeles. He first attracted attention in the 1994 John Grisham film version of “The Client”and later appeared in “Apt Pupil,””Ghost World”and “Tom and Huck.”
Former Burbank, California councilwoman Stacey Jo Murphy, who pleaded guilty to felony cocaine possession after law enforcers connected her to a violent street gang. Murphy, a former PTA member who had a squeaky-clean reputation and whose close friends were described as “shocked and flabbergasted”at her arrest, entered a plea agreement with no jail time in exchange for enrollment in drug and parenting classes with progress reports. If her friends and colleagues were aware of the numerous behavioral clues to addiction detailed in How to Spot Hidden Alcoholics, they might have been in a position to intervene before her addiction got the best of her and wouldn’t be so surprised. My guess is she was a recovering alcoholic who may have been influenced to fall off the wagon by cocaine-addicted boyfriend Scott Schaffer, who pleaded guilty to trading guns for cocaine with the notorious Vineland Boyz street gang.
Ex-USC Trojan star and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Darrell Russell and former teammate Mike Bastianelli, dead from injuries sustained in a one-car automobile accident. While the report of Bastianelli’s death didn’t mention a toxicology report, he was driving a friend’s car at a “high rate of speed”at 6 a.m. Russell, chosen No. 2 overall by the Raiders after the 1996 season, signed a rookie record-breaking seven-year $22 million contract. During a five-year career with the Raiders, he was suspended by the NFL four times for substance abuse policy violations. In 2002, he was arrested but not convicted on charges of drugging and raping a woman and charged with DUI after leaving a brothel in Carson City, Nevada. Those who knew him described him as likeable and having a keen mind and sharp wit. He was also reportedly reared well by his mother, providing yet further support for the idea that an excellent environment can’t protect one from addiction. Both Russell and Bastianelli may be poster-children representing the tragic results of unchecked alcoholism.
Comedic actor Richard Pryor, dead from a heart attack after a long battle with multiple sclerosis. His drinking almost killed him two decades ago; he apparently sobered up after setting himself on fire while freebasing cocaine.
And finally, in the spirit of the holiday season, two obscure possible alcoholics tragically crossed paths: Gildardo Gudino Jr. of Bell Gardens, California, age 34, who tumbled out of a party bus limousine onto a Los Angeles freeway at 3:30 a.m. one Sunday in December, along with Albert Deleon, 48, who is accused of hitting the victim and fleeing the scene. Officers determined Deleon was driving while under the influence. It had not yet been determined whether the victim was already dead from hitting the pavement before being struck by Deleon. Gudino was celebrating his 34th birthday and had rented the party bus in an effort to avoid such a tragedy. On the other hand, he was long past puberty and fraternity hi-jinks, increasing the likelihood of alcoholism.
Under watch:
Former German chancellor Gerhard Schroder, who used his position to structure a deal supporting the construction of a controversial gas pipeline under the Baltic Sea. Shortly after stepping down as chancellor, he took a job reportedly paying over $1 million annually with the Russian energy giant Gazprom, chairing the pipeline consortium’s shareholder committee. While former chess champion and now contributor to The Wall Street Journal Garry Kasparov asks, “Does the state run Gazprom or does Gazprom run the state?”he failed to ask the questions, “What mindset might motivate Schroder to act in a manner that could raise such obvious concerns over improprieties?”and “what might that mindset be rooted in?”
Former Wal-Mart Vice Chairman Thomas Coughlin who, despite having been a protégé and former hunting buddy of founder Sam Walton and earning millions in compensation, pleaded guilty to five illegal transactions involving the misappropriation of more than $350,000. Documents reviewed by The Wall Street Journal suggest that through fraudulent reimbursements and improper use of gift cards he had the retailer pay for a variety of personal expenses, including a $2,590 dog enclosure, a $1,359 pair of alligator boots, several shotguns, wine and Stolichnaya vodka. It isn’t the purchase of alcohol that is suspicious in itself, but rather that he engaged in acts of deception and theft through guile, while earning millions of dollars. Note, however, that it will be practically impossible to obtain proof of addictive use by anyone outside his close circle, as is true for most CEOs and politicians who engage in gross misconduct: there is no National Enquirer for business and political leaders.
Note to family, friends and fans of the above: the benefit of the doubt is given by assuming alcoholism (they are either idiots and fundamentally rotten, or they are alcoholic/other drug addicts”which would explain the misbehaviors). If alcoholic, there is zero chance that behaviors, in the long run, will improve without sobriety. An essential prerequisite to sobriety is the cessation of enabling, allowing pain and crises to build. Thus far, many have done everything they can to protect the addict from the requisite pain, making these news events possible. The cure for alcoholism, consequential bad behaviors and, ultimately, tragedy, is simple: stop protecting the addict from the logical consequences of misbehaviors and proactively intervene.