thanks to midas
*I knew the name was familiar. Old article from the NY Post.......
New York Post
February 9, 2000
JACKSON DRUG STUNNER IN 'GYNO' TRIAL
A one-time dope-addict doctor was accused yesterday of pumping Michael
Jackson full of drugs while on tour with the bizarre megastar. The
bombshell accusation came in Manhattan federal court, where Dr. Neil
Ratner was testifying against another doctor in an insurance-fraud
case. Sources said Ratner told colleagues he once gave the Gloved One
so much of a relaxant that Jackson collapsed during a world tour.
Ratner is a key prosecution witness at the federal trial of Dr. Niels
Lauersen, a celebrity gynecologist dubbed the "Dyno Gyno," who's
charged with defrauding health-insurance companies for fertility
treatments. Ratner said that in the past few years he worked as a "tour
physician" for Jackson, but refused on the stand to answer questions
about Jackson and drugs. "Would you give Michael Jackson drugs?" asked
Lauersen's lawyer, Ted Wells, referring to the singer's 1996-97
tour. "I'm not going to discuss a patient's personal medical
condition," answered Ratner. Seconds later, in a heated sidebar
conversation with Judge William Pawley, Wells accused Ratner of being
Jackson's personal drug pusher. Wells told the judge Ratner gave
Jackson drugs while the King of Pop was touring in Europe. "I think
what he is doing is illegal," insisted Wells, who has spent days
grilling Ratner on the witness stand, trying to paint him as a liar and
a thief. The judge ruled that Ratner did not have to talk about his
treatment of Jackson. Asked again about his work on the tour, Ratner
answered: "I administered medical treatment occasionally." Sources said
Ratner once told people in Lauersen's office that Jackson collapsed
after a show because Ratner had given him too much of a general
anesthetic called propofol. Propofol is often used to relieve anxiety
or pain, but larger doses cause unconsciousness. When told of the lurid
drug accusations that surfaced at the trial, Jackson lawyer Brian Wolf
said the Gloved One's medical history was confidential. Ratner has said
he was an out-of-control drug-using doctor in the late '80s before
getting sober. He has denied ever illegally prescribing drugs to
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