Corey Haim’s Death Investigated As Part Of Illegal Drug Ring

LOS ANGELES – A prescription pill ring that relies on fraudulently obtained prescription pads was under investigation today in connection with the apparent overdose death of actor Corey Haim.

“Corey Haim’s death is yet another tragedy linked to the growing problem of prescription-drug abuse,” Attorney General Jerry Brown said Friday. “This problem is increasingly linked to criminal organizations, like the illegal and massive prescription-drug ring under investigation. It’s a serious public health problem.”

Funeral plans are pending for Haim, who is expected to be buried in his native Toronto.

Though Haim had struggled with drug addiction, no illegal drugs were found in the Barham Boulevard apartment he shared with his cancer-stricken mother.

According to Brown, an unauthorized prescription in the actor’s name was found in a probe of phony prescription pads ordered from a San Diego vendor. The probe, being led by the San Diego Regional Pharmaceutical Narcotic Enforcement Team, has uncovered more than 4,500 to 5,000 phony prescriptions.

Haim, 38, collapsed at the apartment and was taken to a Burbank hospital, where he was pronounced dead at 2:15 a.m. Wednesday.

The actor’s mother told Access Hollywood a coroner’s investigator told her that her son had an enlarged heart, pulmonary congestion and water in his lungs when he collapsed and died.

Haim’s agent, Mark Heaslip, told the New York Daily News that his client’s heart condition may have played a role in his death and expressed doubt that the actor was back in the grip of addiction.

Haim’s first film was “Firstborn” in 1984. Roles followed, including in “Murphy’s Romance” and “Silver Bullet” in 1985, “Lucas” in 1986, and “The Lost Boys” in 1987.

Haim more recently collaborated with Corey Feldman in the reality show “The Two Coreys,” which aired on the A&E Network in 2007 and 2008.