Pro wrestler’s doctor changes plea to guilty

The doctor who 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.

The plea by Phil Astin III reversed the Carrollton doctor’s original not-guilty plea to 175 counts of unlawful drug distribution. Astin could face up to 20 years in prison and $1 million in fines on many of the counts.

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Phil Astin III

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Astin, 54, admitted that he knew he was violating federal law by illegally writing prescriptions for 19 patients. Local investigators have said Benoit and his wife were patients of Astin.

Prosecutors identified patients only by their initials in the indictment. However federal attorneys said Astin illegally prescribed drugs such as Percocet, Oxycontin, Xanax and Lorcet to professional wrestlers who eventually became addicted to them.

They also said Astin prescribed drugs to a woman in 2007 that led to her death from an overdose.

Astin’s lawyer, Natasha Perdew Silas, said her client’s case wasn’t like other drug cases. Astin, she said, did not trade prescriptions for cash and in some cases dismissed patients after learning they had abused drugs he prescribed.

Silas described Astin as “a country doctor practicing in a tight-knit community.” Sometimes he bent the rules to give chronic pain patients stronger medicine and faster refills, she said.

“We believe that the court would find that there is a larger subset of patients for whom our client provided treatment that was entirely appropriate,” Silas said.

Authorities believe that on June 22, 2007, Chris Benoit killed his wife and his mentally impaired 7-year-old son, then hanged himself.

Assistant U.S. Attorney John Horn told reporters after Thursday’s court hearing that there was “no evidence in the court record” of a link between Benoit’s drug use and the murder-suicide.

In a prepared statement, U.S. Attorney David Nahmias said, “This case demonstrates the irreparable damage that can be done when a doctor violates his oath to help others and instead chooses the path of illegal drug dealing.”

“We will continue to work hard to ensure that [Astin] receives an appropriate sentence that assures he is never able to harm anyone again,” Nahmias said.

Astin is scheduled to be sentenced May 12.