Doctor to late wrestler pleads guilty in drug case

Doctor to late wrestler pleads guilty in drug case

NEWNAN, Ga. — The personal doctor to a professional wrestler who killed himself, his wife and their 7-year-old son in 2007 pleaded guilty Thursday to illegally distributing prescription drugs to patients, one of whom died.

Dr. Phil Astin, 54, pleaded guilty to a 175-count federal indictment charging him with illegally distributing prescription drugs and conspiring to distribute prescription drugs.

Astin also admitted that prescriptions he issued resulted in the overdose death of a female patient in 2007, though attorneys did not specifically name any patient or link the physician to World Wrestling Entertainment’s Chris Benoit.

More than 50 of the counts carry a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a $1 million fine. The others carry a lesser sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, said Patrick Crosby, spokesman for U.S. Attorney David Nahmias.

Astin did not comment Thursday after the hearing. His sentencing is scheduled for May 12.

In June, Astin pleaded not guilty to the charges. Thursday’s change was part of a 12-page plea bargain negotiated by defense attorney Natasha Perdew Silas, who acknowledged her own investigation’s findings in the case matched those of federal prosecutors.

Hasselbeck of ‘The View’ is going to have a baby

NEW YORK — Elisabeth Hasselbeck of “The View” and her husband, Tim, who played for the Arizona Cardinals, are about to be outnumbered.

Hasselbeck announced Thursday on the ABC daytime chat show that she’s pregnant with her third child, due in August. She said: “We are thankful for such great news and will begin planning our zone defense strategy immediately.”

The couple are the parents of 3-year-old Grace Elisabeth and 15-month-old Taylor Thomas.

Being outnumbered at work is nothing new for Hasselbeck. As the resident conservative on “The View,” she’s often gotten into passionate political arguments with her colleagues.

Connick Jr. couldn’t warm up to Canada

NEW YORK — According to Harry Connick Jr., winter in Canada counts as a fifth season. While filming the romantic comedy “New in Town” in Winnipeg last January, the actor’s face, beard and eyelashes froze in the subzero temperature.

“This was just a different level. I mean, for real,” Connick Jr. said Tuesday. “You can’t function. ... I mean, this is the kind of weather where if you stay out there, you’re not gonna make it, you know?”

Luckily, the 41-year-old actor had co-star Renee Zellweger’s company to distract him from the cold. The Southern-born stars — he grew up in New Orleans, she hails from Texas — clicked instantly and their scenes together felt natural, he said.

“She’s really smart, she’s really, really funny and she just loves to have a good time,” he said of the Oscar-winning actress. “And I think we have a lot in common, so we hit it off sort of off-camera before we even started working together. So that made a big difference. I mean, when you really like being around somebody, it’s easy.”

“New in Town” features Connick Jr. as a blue-collar union rep and Zellweger as a corporate executive from Miami sent to New Ulm, Minn., to revamp a food-processing plant.

Today’s birthdays

Actor Gene Hackman is 79. Actress Tammy Grimes is 75. Actress Vanessa Redgrave is 72. Country singer Jeanne Pruett is 72. Country singer Norma Jean is 71. Singer Marty Balin of Jefferson Airplane/Jefferson Starship is 67. Horn player William King of The Commodores is 60. Musician Phil Collins is 58. Actor Charles S. Dutton (“Roc”) is 58. Comedian Brett Butler (“Grace Under Fire”) is 51. Singer Jody Watley is 50. Country singer Tammy Cochran is 37. Actor Christian Bale is 35. Singer Josh Kelley is 29. Actor Wilmer Valderrama (“That ’70s Show”) is 29. Actor Jake Thomas (“Lizzie McGuire,” “AI”) is 19.