Doctor: Anna Nicole Had ‘legitimate need’ for Drugs Howard K. Stern/Dr. Khristine Eroshevich..

A physician portrayed by prosecutors as a “Dr. Feelgood” because he prescribed large amounts of prescription drugs to former Playboy model Anna Nicole Smith said Friday that a jury’s decision to acquit him Thursday was a recognition that Smith had a “legitimate need” for the painkillers.

“It’s been a long ordeal of almost four years,” Dr. Sandeep Kapoor, a 42-year-old internist, said during an exclusive interview on TODAY. “It’s just absolute joy and relief, I suppose … I think the jury had all the evidence, which there was a lot of, and really saw there was a legitimate need.
“Anna Nicole Smith suffered chronic pain and several other medical conditions and required treatment,” Kapoor added.
Kapoor was acquitted after 13 days of deliberations, but Smith’s former lawyer/boyfriend, Howard K. Stern, and her psychiatrist, Khristine Eroshevich, did not fare so well. Both were convicted of felony conspiracy for using fake names to get Smith prescriptions for opiates and sedatives and could get as much as three years in prison when sentenced.
The charges against the three were unrelated to Smith’s 2007 overdose death in Florida. Playboy’s 1993 Playmate of the Year was just 39 when she died.
Crossing the line?
The evidence against Kapoor included photographs from a 2005 gay pride parade in West Hollywood in which he marched shirtless alongside Smith and was kissing her. Jurors also were shown passages from Kapoor’s own diary, in which he described “making out” with Smith and wondered whether he’d crossed a professional line with her.
That’s a page taken out of a personal journal of 800 pages,” Kapoor told TODAY co-anchor Meredith Vieira. “That was one afternoon at a charity event that certainly was taken out of context again and blown of proportion … It was a professional relationship with a patient and a doctor.”
Kapoor’s lawyer argued successfully during the trial that the pills Kapoor prescribed for Smith were part of a regimen he inherited from the doctors whose practice he took over. Smith suffered from migraines, spinal pain and other ailments that required pain management treatment, Kapoor said.
He told Vieira that the case only wound up becoming a criminal matter because of the notoriety surrounding Smith, whose life and death at a young age some have likened to Marilyn Monroe’s. Smith’s death spawned investigations in California, Florida and the Bahamas. Her death also touched off a tug-of-war over her remains and a paternity/custody battle between Stern and Larry Birkhead, who eventually was confirmed to be the father of Smith’s daughter, Dannielynn.
“It just happened to be that [Smith] was a public figure and the subject of tabloid fodder,” Kapoor said. “That became a jumping-off point for a lot of the circuslike atmosphere.”
Not out of the woods
Although he was acquitted of all charges, Kapoor isn’t out of the woods yet. He said he will try to rebuild his reputation and practice while waiting to find out what, if anything, a California board that regulates physicians may do concerning his license to practice medicine.
“Certainly there may be a further investigation by the medical board,” said Ellyn Garofalo, Kapoor’s attorney. “We are hoping the medical board will look at these verdicts and understand the evidence in the criminal matter … and forego any further proceedings with Dr. Kapoor.”
Stern and Eroshevich are due back in court in January. Under California law, each could ask the court for a new trial, or to reduce the convictions to misdemeanors.

Vince McMahon -- Victory in WWE T-Shirt War

Vince McMahon just piledrived the state of Connecticut ... and won -- a judge has ruled that state officials have no right to turn away voters who sport WWE clothing to the polls on Tuesday.  

It's a quick victory for McMahon ... who filed legal papers earlier this week, after the Conn. Secretary of the State issued an order empowering election officials to turn WWE-clothing wearers away from polls ... simply because his wife is running for U.S. Senate.

McMahon -- who owns the WWE -- released a statement saying, "I am pleased that Connecticut voters have had their freedom of expression to wear WWE merchandise and their right to vote restored."

Mariah Carey: 'Yes, We Are Pregnant'

Mariah Carey has a little Cannon ball on the way -- the singer announced this morning that she is pregnant. ... but Mariah also revealed that she suffered a miscarriage roughly two years ago. Carey -- who appeared with Access Hollywood's Billy Bush on "Today" -- explained, "It's still early, I'm expecting in the spring, I'll say that. I don't want to give too much of like, specific outlines."

After the big announcement, Carey, who was joined by her husband Nick Cannon, also talked about a miscarriage she suffered two years ago ... she was one month into her pregnancy at the time.

This time around, Cannon says the experience is "absolutely emotional" -- adding, "the greatest gift on earth is a child."

Woman in Charlie Sheen Hotel Room Will Press Case

Capri Anderson, the woman who ended up locking herself in Charlie Sheen's hotel bathroom, will ask Colorado prosecutors to violate Charlie's probation ... on ground he allegedly held her against her will.



We've also learned Anderson, aka Christina Walsh, has already lawyered up, hiring a high-profile Beverly Hills attorney -- not Gloria Allred.  

Our sources say Anderson claims after she locked herself in the bathroom, Charlie tried getting in and began repeatedly punching the door.  She alleges she feared for her life.

We're told Anderson wants the Pitkin County D.A. to attempt to violate Charlie's probation in the domestic violence case and she plans to fly to Apsen in the next few days to make her case.

Sources in Pitkin County tell us as far as the D.A. is concerned, any complaint that criminal activity occurred in New York must be filed in New York, not Pitkin County.  We're told, however, that if Anderson flies to Aspen, the D.A. has "an open-door policy" and would see her.

As one person on her team told TMZ, beyond the Pitkin case, "We're weighing our legal options."

Law enforcement sources in NYC tell TMZ ... when cops interviewed Anderson at the hotel, she did not say she felt Charlie was holding her against her will.

Charlie Sheen's 'Date' Mugs with Denise Richards

Under the category ... be careful who you pose for pictures with ... TMZ has obtained a now-awkward photo of Denise Richards mugging for the camera with Capri Anderson, just hours before The Plaza Hotel incident.



The photo was taken at Daniel restaurant in NYC, where Charlie Sheen, three other guys and five women, including Anderson, went to dinner at 8:00 PM Monday.  Denise was also invited to dinner, showed up and we're told Anderson made a beeline for her, saying she was a big fan and wanted a pic with her.  We're told Denise, who had no idea who the woman was, obliged.

But sources tell us Denise quickly figured it out and became so uncomfortable she left during appetizers.

And you know the rest of the story ... after an alcohol-fueled dinner, Charlie and Anderson, aka Christina Walsh, ended up in his hotel room.

Clash Bassist -- I Lost Track of Punk Music

ormer Clash bassist Paul Simonon is considered to be one of the founding fathers of punk rock ... so it was pretty shocking last night when dude told us he's lost touch with the movement. 


The rock god spent a whole lotta time outside  Bar 1200 in West Hollywood last night -- signing autographs for a crowd of fans ... when he told us he doesn't  know anything about punk music these days ... because, "I got involved with it, like, quite a few years ago."

Penelope Cruz Goes Bump in the Night...

Looking chic in all black, Penelope Cruz tried to hide her growing Bardem baby bump while leaving a London restaurant last night.



The 36-year-old Oscar winner's first baby with husband Javier Bardem is due in the Spring.