A Tangled Story of Addiction

The DEA pursued the matter for 11 months. Dowd kept tabs on the investigation from Washington, writing letters and making frequent phone calls to the agency, according to sources close to the investigation.

McCain's conduct left her facing federal charges of obtaining "a controlled substance by misrepresenting, fraud, forgery, deception or subterfuge." Experts say she could have faced a 20-year prison sentence.

Dowd negotiated a deal with the U.S. attorney's office allowing McCain, as a first-time offender, to avoid charges and enter a diversion program that required community service, drug treatment and reimbursement to the DEA for investigative costs. Johnson agreed to surrender his medical license and retire.

With final negotiations between federal prosecutors and Dowd still underway, Gosinski sued McCain for wrongful termination.

On Feb. 4, 1994, Gosinski's attorney, Stanley Lubin, wrote to McCain, saying his client had omitted certain details in his lawsuit "due to their sensitive nature." He said that for $250,000, Gosinski would drop the action. Lubin said in an interview that he met with Dowd, who said the lawsuit was without merit. "He told me if I thought the senator was going to cave into this extortion, I was going to learn a very serious lesson," Lubin recalled.

On April 28, 1994, Dowd wrote to Maricopa County Attorney Richard Romley, a Republican, asking that Gosinski be investigated for attempted extortion.

Romley agreed. Dowd and Cindy McCain lined up witnesses and prepared a brief to support the contention that Gosinski's job performance was unacceptable and that he was of questionable character, assertions he denied.

In May of that year, county investigator Terry Blake interviewed McCain at her Phoenix home. He asked questions about Gosinski and then grilled McCain about prescription painkillers. He later wrote:

"Mrs. McCain was asked if AMVT procured narcotic drugs as a part of their normal operation. She said they did.

"I asked if she ever obtained narcotic drugs by using her employee's names. She said she did.

"Mrs. McCain was asked if prescriptions were written in Mr. Gosinski's name without his knowledge. She said yes."

McCain told Blake she once had a dependence on painkillers, according to the report, which included the interview summary and copies of her illegal prescriptions. The probe of possible extortion by Gosinski was closed without charges.