Doug Thorburn, addiction expert, addiction contrarian and author of the recently released
Alcoholism: Myths and Realities: Removing the Stigma of Society's Most Destructive Disease, chronicles a number of people who have made headlines in regards to their addictive behavior. Such people as former major league baseball player Lenny Dykstra, Pittsburgh health club murderer George Sodini, notorious drug dealer Jesse James Hollywood who ordered the murder of a 15 year old hostage kidnapped to collect a drub debt and many others.
Here is the Top Story of the August 2009 Thorburn Addiction Report:
http://www.preventragedy.com Read on to peruse the Runners-Up for Top Story of the Month: Systems analyst and loner
George Sodini, 48, who walked into a Pittsburgh gym, shooting and killing 3 women, wounding 9 women, terrifying dozens of others and then killing himself. In his personal blog, he recounted years of loneliness and rejection, along with his plans for committing mass murder, which he delayed twice. He knew that liquid courage was required for him to pull it off. He wrote on May 5: "To pull the exit plan [i.e., murder-suicide] off, it popped into my mind to just use some booze….I stopped at Shop N Save and got a fifth of vodka and a small bottle of Jack Daniels. I haven't had a drink since September 1, 1988, just over 20 years….I need to use it to take the edge off of carrying out the exit plan. I will be taking some every now and then to get used to it and see if the alcohol effects will embolden me. Weed would be fun to try again." On July 23 he wrote: "I had 20+ years of sobriety…."
As I've written elsewhere, the healthy neo-cortex, the seat of reason and logic, restrains us from acting out on the vile thoughts many of us have from time to time. A damaged neo-cortex allows the lower brain centers, responsible for impulsive behaviors and base survival, free reign. Alcohol in the alcoholic damages the higher brain center. This is the reason the number of mass and serial murders committed by non-alcoholics is almost zero.
But not every alcoholic kills. It probably requires a tweaking in early life, usually involving an alcoholic parent, as well as a particularly virulent form of the disease. A hint of the combination of alcoholism and abusive past life can be gleaned from Sodini's blog. He writes: "My dad never (not once) talked to me or asked about my life's details and tell me what he knew. He was just a useless sperm doner....Brother was a...useless bully." (sic) While this doesn't usually impel even an alcoholic to commit murder of any kind, much less mass murder, it once again reminds us of the admonition on page 163 of "Drunks, Drugs & Debits" that we cannot predict how destructive a practicing alcoholic may become, or when.
Jesse James Hollywood, runner-up in the
June 2009 TAR, convicted of first-degree murder in the 2000 slaying of 15-year-old Nicholas Markowitz even though he didn't pull the trigger. The jury found that "friends," eager to clear the books of drug debts, followed his orders to kill by shooting Markowitz nine times. The gun, which was buried with Nicholas, belonged to Hollywood. One journalist reporting the conviction reminded readers that the case inspired the 2006 movie "Alpha Dog," which "depicted a dark side of middle-class suburbia, a world of frequently stoned young people who were willing to take orders from a criminal mastermind." Correct me if I'm wrong, but this seems to imply that this middle-class world consists of stoners taking orders from others "willingly." Have you ever known an addict who was willing to take orders from anyone unless his life was at stake? And by the way, this "dark side" is, simply, addiction at it worst.
Former New York Mets and, later, Philadelphia Phillies centerfielder
Lenny Dykstra filing for bankruptcy the day before his mansion was to be auctioned in a foreclosure sale. Dykstra, who reported an estimated $58 million in net worth as recently as early 2008, listed less than $50,000 in assets against $10-$50 million in liabilities. His storied career includes a DUI after demolishing his Mercedes roadster in 1991 in a 1 a.m. spin-out with his BAL at .179 percent, an arrest for making sexual advances to a 17-year-old worker at his Simi Valley car wash in 1999 (for which he was later cleared), being the target of at least two dozen legal actions since 2007 and a business empire that appears to have imploded.
A GQ article by
Kevin Coughlin details Coughlin's 67-day employment with Dykstra, accusing him of credit card fraud, failure to pay rent on the magazine's Park Avenue offices, bounced checks and the use of offensive terms when speaking about blacks, women and gays. In yet another example of alcoholism helping to fuel the real estate bubble, Dykstra purchased hockey great Wayne Gretsky's Thousand Oaks, California home for $18.5 million with almost $13 million in loans. The home appears to be practically empty in this video, in which Dykstra makes a pathetic attempt to defend his actions (the good part begins about 6 minutes into the video). Here, he shows off his stock-picking acumen, with Jim Cramer as chief enabler. Here, we can see that alcoholics provide material for use by late night comedians in this Comedy Central video with Jon Stewart.
Scott Kernan, 47, appointed by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger in November 2008 as undersecretary for prison operations for the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, suspended for six weeks without pay as punishment for driving his state-provided car while under the influence. Kernan, whose position places him as the second-ranking administrator of California's prison system, says he is "deeply remorseful" and will plead guilty. But Mr. Kernan, will you seek sobriety? And will you begin to inspire those serving under you to do the same?
Pro football Hall of Famer
Bruce Smith, 45, charged with DUI for the third time in 12 years. The first time, in 1997, charges were dismissed. The second time, in 2003, he was acquitted. This time he says he plans "on taking steps to ensure that this never happens again." Mr. Smith, can we assume this means you will make sure you're never convicted again, or begin attending a program in which you seek sobriety?
Two-time American Idol contestant
Alexis Cohen, 25, struck and killed while walking to her car at approximately 4 a.m. Her bizarre performance in front of the American Idol judges and profanity-laced tirade after being rejected is worth viewing here. The odds that large quantities of alcohol and/or other drugs were often in her system are estimated by this addictionologist as very high. The driver of the car that hit and killed her fled, suggesting yet another tragic incident of likely alcoholic v. alcoholic. See the next entry.
Daniel Bark, 23, was fleeing the scene of an accident when he allegedly struck and killed Alexis Cohen. Police caught up with him an hour later and, after refusing a breathalyzer and being charged with a DUI for the first incident, was released at 7 a.m. He was rearrested the following night after police linked his vehicle to the second hit and run in which Cohen was killed. Bark says he is distraught and doesn't "comprehend" his responsibility for Cohen's death. The addictionologist in me identifies a blackout, during which time Bark will never remember a thing (the events didn't even enter the memory banks). He probably doesn't recall much of the events leading up to his 2004 DUI, either. He will, however, remember his time in jail (assuming he is found guilty, of course).
Alexandria, Virginia police chief
David Baker, arrested on charges of DUI after crashing his unmarked city vehicle. Baker's blood alcohol level was .19 percent, for which anyone Baker's age, 58, is almost certain proof of alcoholism. Baker has been with the Alexandria police department for 19 years after a 21-year stint as a D.C. police officer. The driver of the other vehicle suffered whiplash, neck and back injuries. The addictionologist might inquire as to the number of incidents there were prior to this near-miss of a tragedy for which close people—or the law—could have intervened, but didn't.
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