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Anastasio jailed for missing session

 

 

By Don Lehman,

dlehman@poststar.com

Thursday, January 24, 2008 1:42 AM EST

 

FORT EDWARD -- The former lead singer of the jam band Phish spent two days in Washington County Jail last week after he missed a court-ordered counseling session as part of his participation in Washington County Drug Court.

 

Ernest "Trey" Anastasio spent 48 hours in the county jail from Jan. 16 through Jan. 18 after he was sanctioned for missing a single counseling session.

 

Washington County Assistant District Attorney Tony Jordan, who handles the drug court for the district attorney's office, said the third-party counseling session did not involve a drug test.

 

He said Anastasio, 43, has not missed any drug tests, and has passed them all since he began participating in drug court last spring.

 

"From my perspective, he's done very well in the program," Jordan said.

 

Anastasio is in Phase 3 of the program, the final phase. He is on pace to graduate this summer, even having missed the counseling session, and will be sentenced to 5 years on probation if he makes it through.

 

"He's been moving right along and is on track to graduate," Jordan said.

 

Washington County Sheriff Roger Leclaire said Anastasio's days in jail were uneventful, and that he spent them in general population.

 

Leclaire said his office was not told what Anastasio's violation was for.

 

"They don't specify when they send them here," he said.

 

Anastasio was at the court for a regularly scheduled meeting Tuesday. Neither he nor his lawyer, Steve Coffey, could be reached Wednesday.

 

Anastasio, a resident of Saratoga Springs and Richmond, Vt., was ordered to participate in the program after pleading guilty to illegally possessing painkillers for which he didn't have a prescription when pulled over for a traffic violation in Whitehall on Dec. 15, 2006.

 

He also was charged with driving under the influence of drugs.

 

He pleaded guilty to a felony charge of fifth-degree criminal possession of a controlled substance.

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FIVE YEARS probation for some pills? Draconian?

He got an extremely typical sentence for his charge in New York State.

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I wish they would get back together and play those damn songs. Its ridiculous that they dont. I think with him being sober they will get together soon.

I'm sure it will happen, eventually, but if he is serious about staying sober I think he might wait a bit longer before jumping back into that circus.

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FIVE YEARS probation for some pills? Draconian?

 

i agree. i used to be a substance abuse therapist and the one thing i realized is that we can't criminalize addiction without being draconian. he missed a meeting. big deal for recovery, but not criminal. just tack on some more meetings etc. not to mention he has passed all drug tests. stellar! going to jail hopefully was an attention getter for him.

craig

 

He got an extremely typical sentence for his charge in New York State.

which is ridiculous!

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i agree. i used to be a substance abuse therapist and the one thing i realized is that we can't criminalize addiction without being draconian. he missed a meeting. big deal for recovery, but not criminal. just tack on some more meetings etc. not to mention he has passed all drug tests. stellar! going to jail hopefully was an attention getter for him.

craig

 

 

which is ridiculous!

 

there was heroin in the car not just pills.

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i'm hoping for a reunion. i hope the boys get their shit together and recapture some of the pride they had at the beginning. playing songs to perfection, working out arrangements, playing smaller venues, etc. as far as i am concerned, everything went to hell in 97 when they got into all the free jamming at the expense of getting the notes right on Rift or YEM for example. ironically, story of the ghost came out around that time and is an incredible album.

craig

 

there was heroin in the car not just pills.

 

so, pills are basically heroin if the pills were opiates. DUI, yes, criminal. holding, major social/medical problem. not criminal.

craig

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i'm hoping for a reunion. i hope the boys get their shit together and recapture some of the pride they had at the beginning. playing songs to perfection, working out arrangements, playing smaller venues, etc. as far as i am concerned, everything went to hell in 97 when they got into all the free jamming at the expense of getting the notes right on Rift or YEM for example. ironically, story of the ghost came out around that time and is an incredible album.

craig

 

 

 

so, pills are basically heroin if the pills were opiates. DUI, yes, criminal. holding, major social/medical problem. not criminal.

craig

 

I doubt they'd ever be able to play smaller venues or that you'd ever be able to get to another show.

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which is ridiculous!

Blame Nelson Rockefeller.

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I really enjoyed Phish until 99/2000. Frankly, I was glad to see them part. The music really sucked before hey parted. If they do get back together, I would hope for a change of how they did things. They just kept wanting things to get bigger and bigger until they were not enjoyable anymore. Too many hipsters ,druggies and hangers on towards the end. I know there were many rumblings about drugs in the band towards the end. My feelings would be mixed over any reunion.

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JerseyMike where did you hear they had been jamming???

 

A freind was at one of Levon Helm's Midnight Rambles in Woodstock over the summer and Fishman and Gordon were there and they told my buddy, who is a big Phish fan, that they had been jamming at Trey's place quite a bit. they did stress that it was just for fun, but it is something.

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A freind was at one of Levon Helm's Midnight Rambles in Woodstock over the summer and Fishman and Gordon were there and they told my buddy, who is a big Phish fan, that they had been jamming at Trey's place quite a bit. they did stress that it was just for fun, but it is something.

 

I don't think they should reunite...95-99 was strong but after that I did lose interest quickly. :stunned

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so, pills are basically heroin if the pills were opiates. DUI, yes, criminal. holding, major social/medical problem. not criminal.

craig

No, he actually had some sweet lady h. Charges always get dropped by the time a case is through especially if you're a celeb. He definitely had heroin in addition xanax, percocet, vicodin.

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No, he actually had some sweet lady h. Charges always get dropped by the time a case is through especially if you're a celeb. He definitely had heroin in addition xanax, percocet, vicodin.

The other poster is sugggesting that heroin has the same active ingredient as oxycontin, codeine and any number of opiates that come in pill form, which is true, but not quite the same thing.

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I was just mentioning another illegal substance he had in his position at the time of his arrest. which more then likely made his penalty more severe

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