True or false: The councilwoman is too sweet to be an addict!
Alcoholic Myth-of-the-Month: She’s too sweet.
“She couldn’t possibly be an addict — she’s a councilperson, a successful mom, has a decent job and donates much of her time to charitable causes.â€
So the thinking seems to have gone in the heads of countless friends and acquaintances of Burbank, California City Councilwoman Stacey Jo Murphy, 47, one of the town’s most popular politicians and a favorite of law enforcement, arrested on charges of cocaine possession and child endangerment. Detectives said an 18-month investigation of the Vineland Boyz street gang led them to Murphy’s long-time boyfriend, Scott Schaffer, 51, who was arrested on drug and weapons charges, after meth, cocaine, nine handguns and a large amount of ammunition were found at his home. Schaffer, who agreed to cooperate with authorities after a .45-caliber handgun found at the home of one of the gang members was traced to him, later admitted to selling firearms to gang members and purchasing cocaine from them. After allegedly implicating Murphy in the purchase of cocaine behind a bar, detectives searched her home and found cocaine, three loaded handguns and 900 rounds of ammunition.
Wherever there are inexplicably bizarre behaviors, we should be looking for addiction. The fact that this seemingly squeaky-clean former PTA mom would ask that her husband, with whom she bore three sons, move out after winning her first election to the city council in 1997 because “she needed some space,”might raise our antennae. Far more disturbing is her relationship with Schaffer, who is described by acquaintances as being “a little rough around the edges”for someone like Murphy. Schaffer has been convicted at least three times of driving without a valid license and, in October, 2004 was found guilty of DUI.
Friends are, of course, shell-shocked. However, one of the most common themes among law enforcers is how often perpetrators look and act just like you and me. Murphy may be a terrific lady, but if the charges are true, the odds are she has the disease of alcoholism. The surprise occurred because it may have been dormant for an extended period with a relapse possibly sometime around 1997. She probably attempted to control her use for several years, during which time close observers may have observed seemingly inexplicable mood swings. Meeting up with another addict, she slowly lost control.
Stacy Murphy replaced Councilwoman Susan Spanos, who was alleged to have had drug problems as well. Soon after taking office, in a three to two vote, a proposal requiring that the council and other city officials undergo alcohol and other drug testing was killed. Murphy voted against the proposal, calling the drug-testing requirement “a waste of time and money.”Yet, if she had been tested, any use might have been uncovered long before allegedly criminal behaviors occurred.