Injunction Expected as State Warns Meehan on Unlicensed Centers

State Department of Social Services officials said Thursday that they expect the attorney general’s office to issue an injunction--perhaps as soon as today to close three unlicensed drug and alcohol abuse facilities operated in North San Diego County by Bob Meehan.

But the expected action would not be the end of the legal problems facing the controversial Meehan. The San Diego County district attorney’s office said that prosecutors are looking into a request from the department that Meehan be cited on misdemeanor charges of operating the facilities without a license.

Meehan operates the Sober Live-In Center on Quailridge Road, a daytime therapy center for SLIC clients on 8th Street in Escondido and a “drop-in” center on Valley Parkway in Escondido. SLIC clients--mostly teen-agers and young adults--pay more than $5,000 for a 30-day program designed to rid them of dependencies on drugs or alcohol.

Fred Lacey, head of the Department of Social Services’ audit and investigative unit for the Community Care Licensing Office, said that his office is seeking the injunction because of previous violations by Meehan. Lacey referred to an unlicensed facility owned by Meehan that was closed in 1985 after considerable pressure from state officials.

“We’re working with the attorney general to get an injunction to stop him from operating. It takes a couple of days, and we may get it as early as Friday,” Lacey said.

Tom Hersant, head of the department’s San Diego office of community care licensing, said that investigators from Sacramento and his office this week visited the facilities and determined that they were being operated without a license.

“We’re sending out an official notice today (Thursday) on the violation of the law. . . . We’re telling him that further operation can subject him to administrative penalties or criminal prosecution,” Hersant said.

If the state decides to apply administrative penalties, Meehan is subject to a $200-a-day fine for each facility that stays open, Hersant said.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Allan Preckel said that his office is reviewing the findings of state officials, including “a garden variety of misdemeanors” allegedly committed by Meehan.

Preckel said Meehan could be punished with a $1,000 fine and six months in prison for each violation. He said that most of the misdemeanors involve fire and safety code violations.

The alleged violations were noted in the investigators’ reports on their visits to the three facilities. A decision was made to forward the findings to the district attorney for possible prosecution on misdemeanor charges, Hersant said.

The reports were also used to ask the attorney general for an injunction to close the facilities, Lacey said.

Meanwhile, Arizona officials said Thursday that Meehan has been ordered to shut down two unlicensed SLIC ranches that he operates in Chandler. Hazel McInteer, spokeswoman for the Arizona Office of Health Care Licensure, said that Meehan was ordered to close the facilities by Wednesday or face fines of $300 per day per client.

McInteer said that state officials ordered the closure after Meehan ignored a notice in April that gave him 30 days to apply for licenses. She said Meehan opened the Arizona homes in November.

Hersant said that Meehan was forced to close another North County SLIC facility last year, when state officials denied him an operating license. Meehan’s license application was denied on grounds that the home on Oakvale Road failed to meet fire safety, water and sanitation standards.

“His objective is laudable,” Preckel said, “but he has to follow the law like any other business.”

Meehan and his attorney, William McCarty, didn’t return several phone calls. A woman who answered the phone at the SLIC home said that Meehan was not available.

“I’m sorry. There’s no comment whatsoever,” she said.

Hersant said that Meehan could be issued licenses for the facilities if he applies and the buildings conform to fire and safety codes. He said the letter to Meehan merely notified him that the homes were unlicensed and did not include a deadline of any sort.

“It’s merely a notification. Basically, we’re giving him an opportunity to apply,” Hersant said.

In the past, Meehan has argued that he does not need an operating license because he only provides a boarding home for people who seek drug and alcohol counseling and treatment at other places.

Meehan’s critics, including former program participants and employees, charge that his controversial tactics turn participants away from their families and have elevated Meehan to a cult figure. These critics also argue that Meehan’s drug and alcohol rehabilitation programs encourage participants to engage in vandalism and antisocial behavior, referred to as “fun felonies” by program counselors.

But the district attorney, after looking into those allegations, decided not to investigate. McInteer said that Arizona authorities are looking into similar allegations.

Meehan received national attention seven years ago when he helped entertainer Carol Burnett’s daughter get off drugs.