Prosecutor to announce resolution of case involving DA's wife

<br>OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The wife of Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane would avoid prison time under a proposed plea bargain to charges that she wrote fake prescriptions to satisfy a drug habit,

Tuesday, November 20th 2001, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) _ The wife of Oklahoma County District Attorney Wes Lane would avoid prison time under a proposed plea bargain to charges that she wrote fake prescriptions to satisfy a drug habit, a special prosecutor said Tuesday.

Under the proposal, Dr. Lori Hansen, a plastic surgeon, would plead guilty to two counts of obtaining controlled drugs by misrepresentation and prosecutors would recommend that her sentence be deferred, District Attorney Gene Christian of Duncan said.

She would also be required to pay $2,000 in fines, plus another $1,000 to the victims compensation fund and court costs. Christian said he would also recommend 300 hours of community service, including 50 hours devoted to public speaking about the problems of drug addiction.

The plea bargain was to be considered by an Oklahoma County judge Tuesday afternoon.

Hansen was named in an Oklahoma State Board of Medical Licensure complaint that accused her of 16 misconduct violations, many of which the complaint alleges broke state and federal laws.

She was accused of writing the fake prescriptions to satisfy an addiction to painkillers.

Hansen has said she has been clean of drugs since June 4, 2000, when her office staff confronted her. She said she began taking drugs because of back pain and developed a 12-pill-a-day habit.

Lane has said he knew nothing about his wife's drug habit until after her staff confronted her. They have been married 14 years.

In the licensure board complaint, Hansen admitted that she wrote prescriptions to herself between January 1997 and June 2000 for Norco, a Schedule III controlled drug, in the names of others. She picked up the prescriptions at various pharmacies.

It also alleges that she regularly took hydrocodone from the sample cabinet at her office.