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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution has posted an article on the family of Nancy Benoit has charged Chris Benoit’s doctor, Dr. Phil Astin III for “Wrongful death suit”.

By MEGAN MATTEUCCI
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Thursday, June 11, 2009

A Carrollton doctor who prescribed drugs to professional wrestler Chris Benoit should pay for the lives of the wrestler’s deceased wife and son, the victims’ family says.

On Wednesday, the family filed a wrongful death suit in U.S. District Court against Dr. Phil Carroll Astin III and three unnamed drug distributors.

The suit claims the doctor and distributors prescribed drugs that caused Benoit to strangle his wife Nancy and smother 7-year-old son Daniel inside their Fayette County home in 2007.

Astin is now serving a 10-year prison sentence for illegally dispensing drugs.

Astin’s lawyer, Natasha Perdew Silas, could not be immediately reached for comment.

The suit claims that Astin prescribed painkillers, steroids and muscle relaxants to Benoit from June 2000 to June 23, 2007 – the day Benoit killed his family and then hanged himself.

The suit alleges that Astin has a responsibility to monitor Benoit and warn him of the side effects of the drugs. The suit also includes an affidavit by a veteran Long Island sports medicine doctor, who reviewed Benoit’s medical records.

The physician, Dr. Gary Wadler, found that Astin prescribed Benoit the medication without proper diagnosis or monitoring. The drugs ultimately caused Benoit’s “mental, physical, emotional and/or behavioral health to deteriorate to extent he killed” his family, Wadler said.

“It is my opinion, to a reasonable degree of medical certainty and medical probability, that Astin was negligent in his care and treatment of Benoit,” wrote Wadler, a member of the World Anti-Doping Agency’s board.

The suit seeks financial damages to cover the “full value” of the deceased lives, along with money for pain, suffering and expenses. The suit requests a jury trial.

Nancy Benoit’s parents, Maureen and Paul Toffoloni of Florida, filed the suit in U.S. District Court in Newnan. The Toffoloni’s handle Nancy and Daniel Benoit’s estate.

Earlier this year, Astin pleaded guilty to writing 175 illegal prescriptions for 19 patients, including two that died of drug overdoses. Federal prosecutors argued that Astin illegally prescribed drugs such as Percocet, Oxycontin, Xanax and Lorcet to professional wrestlers who eventually became addicted to them.

As stated Chris Benoit’s doctor, Dr Phil Astin III got 10 years. Here is an video clip of the sentencing.

-Michael Benoit, father of the late Chris Benoit, commented on the sentencing of Dr. Dr. Phil Astin today to Edmonton, Alberta radio station iNews880.com, noting he’s now hoping to finally gain possession of Benoit’s medical records:

“Now, since the trial is over, perhaps that will be made available to us. Perhaps that will provide more insight to how the doctor was treating my son, whether or not he was doing the proper follow-up, and making sure that what he was prescribing was doing any good, or if my son just kept asking for it. I’m really not sure.” You can read the full article here.

-The Atlanta-Journal Constitution has words that were spoken by Dr. phil Astin III during his sentencing of the 175-count federal indictment.

Astin told the judge,”"I take full responsibility, I am sorry I hurt so many lives. I was thinking that I was looking after my patients.”

U.S. Attorney John Horn said, “Medical doctors know that after a period of time, if the prescriptions are not working, you get them off.”

Chris Benoit’s doctor, Dr. Phil Astin, pled guilty on Jan. 29 to a 175-count federal indictment. He was sentenced today and had something to say before his sentencing:

“I take full responsibility,” Astin told the judge Tuesday. “I am sorry I hurt so many lives. I was thinking that I was looking after my patients.”

The prosecution asked for 11-13 years for the crime. Today the judge handed down a 10 year sentence for Dr. Astin.

Full Story

Wrestling Globe Newsletter reports that Dr. Phil C. Astin III, was Chris Benoit physician at the time of the Benoit double murder/suicide, will be sentenced on Tuesday after pleading guilty to a 175-count indictment of illegally distributing prescription drugs from May 2002 until July 2007. On January 29, 2009, Astin admitted he illegally prescribed drugs, sometimes without even examining the patients first and pleaded guilty to all 175 counts against him. Astin is facing a maximum of 20 years in prison and a fine of up to $1 million on each count.. Astin prescribed Lorcet, Xanax and Somas to the Benoit’s from December 2004 until June 2007. Astin will be sentenced tomorrow in court.

God Bless the Benoit Family

Amazon has for Pre-order:Chris & Nancy: The True Story of the Benoit Murder-Suicide and Pro Wrestling’s Cocktail of Death (Paperback)

The page includes an early draft of the book’s cover design. The final cover design will be publicized and released online shortly.

CHRIS & NANCY has an official October 2009 publication date. For further pre-publication developments, follow the Wrestling Babylon (http://muchnick.net/babylon) and Chris & Nancy (http://benoitbook.blogspot.com) blogs. Or follow the author Muchnick on Twitter, here.

Here is the synopsis:

Exploring the steroid-fueled world of professional wrestling, this riveting chronicle lays bare the devastating events that led to the 2007 murder-suicide of Chris Benoit, his wife Nancy, and their seven year old son, Daniel. Benoit’s performance-enhancing drug addiction—massive amounts of doctor-prescribed human growth hormone were found in Benoit’s home—and subsequent suicide proved to be the tipping point for the professional wrestling world, resulting in unprecedented scrutiny of the sport’s sub-par health and safety standards. Using public records, dozen of interviews with those inside and outside of wrestling, and investigative results, this authoritative analysis provides an uncompromising look at the price athletes pay in this rough-and-tumble world.

-There will be an LIVE Smackdown on April 3rd from Wrestlemania week-end Axxess event in Hoston Texas.

-Dr. Phil Astin prescribed steroids to Chris Benoit, the professional wrestler who killed his wife, son and then himself in June 2007, pleaded guilty Thursday to illegally dispensing drugs. MORE ON THE STORY>>>>>

-John Cena will be airing in an commercial this Sunday’s SuperBowl XLIII on NBC reports Multichannelnews.com.

WWE has posted this up date with only hours until the Royal Rumble:

With only hours remaining until tonight’s Royal Rumble, WWE.com has been able to confirm that Mr. McMahon suffered a concussion as a result of the punt from Randy Orton.However, WWE.com has been unable to confirm rumors of neck trauma attributed to anonymous sources. The McMahon family has decided not to comment on the situation and has not returned our phone calls and emails regarding the incident or to confirm or deny whether or not they will be at Royal Rumble tonight.

-WWE had be trying to avoid anything ot do with Chris Benoit, since the tragic incident. WWE has given Benoit credit for the second longest record in Royal Rumble history as lasting in the rumble, his time 1:01:30 in 2004. See it here>>>

-Slam Wrestling has got an article up by Author IRVIN MUCHNICK over the WWE actions following the death of Chris Benoit:

We already know that WWE staged the Monday Night Raw tribute to Benoit despite knowledge by company executives that the deaths were not some random crime but, rather, murder-suicide by their beloved superstar. We know that security consultant Dennis Fagan’s Monday afternoon call to 911 was off by a cool 24 hours in its report of the time of Benoit’s text messages. (Neither of Guerrero’s two conflicting explanations of why he purportedly didn’t tell higher-ups about Benoit’s early Sunday texts until midday Monday makes any sense, either, in light of Chris’s no-show at the Sunday evening pay-per-view in Houston, on top of his excused absence from the Saturday evening house show in Beaumont.)

Finally, we know that the Fayette County sheriff’s report airbrushed several aspects of the Benoit telephonic record. And we know that Georgia and Connecticut law enforcement authorities, collectively, bobbed and weaved like a heel tag team trying to run out the time limit, before the latter finally obeyed the law and released to me the Stamford police videotaped interrogation of Matthew Greenberg, the “Benoit Wikipedia hacker.” More on the story GO HERE>>>>>

Judge Thomas Thrash, a U.S. District Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit filed against Hustler magazine by the family of the late Nancy Benoit.

During Nancy’s marriage to Daus from 1981 to 1986, Nancy claims she never gave permission for the photos to be used in an a “pornographic” magazine.

Daus testified in an affidavit, while married to Nancy, wife and aspiring model, possed for these photos and videos in the summer of 1983.

Thrash, however, sided with Hustler in citing the freedom of the press and calling Nancy Benoit’s death “a legitimate matter of public interest and concern”.

“The fact that the Court personally views publication of the photographs to be offensive and distasteful is not determinative,” Thrash wrote. Toread the full article to go here.

-FCW TV TAPINGS 8/14/2008 Photos…

-The world of professional wrestling is “still in shock” over the Chris Benoit murders, according to one of the sport’s biggest names.

World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) star Dave “The Animal” Batista says the wrestling industry is still traumatised by Benoit’s double-murder suicide almost 14 months ago.

“Still to this day, I think people are in shock over it and a lot of people are still in denial,” the US-based Batista told ninemsn.

“It’s just the hardest thing we’ve ever done … a nightmare come to life.”

Batista, 39, spent over five years wrestling with Benoit as two of the WWE’s most popular entertainers. Batista ’still shocked’ over Benoit murders

-There has been a slight change on the Nancy and Daniel Benoit Foundation website. Check it out….. (Nothing but love here for these two…)

The “Animal” Batista takes on John Cena at SummerSlam 2008! Sunday, August 17th live from Indianapolis only on Pay-Per-View!

Go To http://ss08.wwe.com/

Dwayne “The rock” Johnson’s Movie - -Race to Witch Mountain visit-Part II

- I recently filed a complaint with the Connecticut Freedom of Information Commission to compel the Stamford Police Department to release the video of its interrogation last summer of Matthew T. Greenberg — a hapless University of Connecticut student whose Internet mischief has landed him the sobriquet of “the Benoit Wikipedia hacker.”

Pull up a chair while I explain. Guest column: Strange case of the “Benoit Wikipedia hacker”

-WHEN sports entertainment icon Paul Heyman first starting producing THE HEYMAN HUSTLE exclusively for the Sun, his director Mitchell Stuart said “some of the wildest moments we ever captured end up on the cutting room floor.”
For 19 episodes, we’ve seen our man Paul conduct broad-ranging interviews with a bizarre assortment of characters like Danity Kane’s Aubrey O’Day, prominent theatre legend James Lipton, Guns n’ Roses bassist Duff McKagan, hip hop legend Ice-T and his bodacious blonde bombshell wife Coco, You Tube Divorce sensation Tricia Walsh Smith, and former pro wrestler Governor Jesse Ventura.

But last time on the Hustle, Paul stumbled onto a story that made global headlines. The Playboy Outtakes Hustle

-When it comes to pro wrestling books, it is rare to read any which will have an impact on your life. Ring of Hell by Matthew Randazzo was the first book that made me take a serious look at my background in pro wrestling and all that I was taught over the last ten-plus years. Whether you agree with Randazzo or not, Ring of Hell is a book that every wrestling fan has an opinion on.

Randazzo’s book has been the talk of the wrestling world for weeks. Following my review of the book on phillyBurbs.com, I received quite a bit of feedback from friends within the industry. I was surprised at how upset some of my friends were for the positive review that I gave the book. I was not the only one, as several friends of mine with radio shows or columns also received a lot of criticism for their positive reviews as well. Ring of Hell’s Matthew Randazzo speaks to phillyBurbs.com

In February of 2008, this documentary was created for CNBC which follows the tragic deaths of Canada’s greatest wrestlers who’s origins go back to Stu Harts Stampede Wrestling in 1980’s. 3/4 of the documentary however reflects on the shamed Canadian veteran Chris Benoit..

A Fight To The Death on Fifth Estate Pt 1

A Fight To The Death on Fifth Estate Pt 2

A Fight To The Death on Fifth Estate Pt 3

A Fight To The Death on Fifth Estate Pt 4

A Fight To The Death on Fifth Estate Pt 5