Like most of us, Gary Hendler was closely watching for updates from the White House when he saw his name in the paper.
What We Know:
- In the final hours of his time in office, former President Donald Trump issued a number of pardons. Among those pardoned was Gary Hendler, a 67-year-old radio host from Ardmore, Pennsylvania who had no prior connection to the Trump administration.
- Hendler struggled with addiction starting in 1973. He was attending Temple University in Philadelphia when he got addicted to quaaludes, a popular recreational drug in the ’70s. In order to get his fix, Hendler and three fellow addicts opened a “stress clinic” in January of 1981. They hired a psychiatrist to prescribe quaaludes to anybody who asked.
- Shortly after opening the clinic, Hendler left the business and checked himself into rehab. But when federal agents raided the clinic in 1984, his name was still on all the corporate papers and he was arrested and charged for drug conspiracy. He was sentenced to three years supervised probation and fined $300.
- According to NBC News, Hendler had previously written a nearly 90-page pardon application to the Obama administration back in 2016 but to no avail. Now, he states that he was never contacted or notified by the Trump administration that he would be receiving a pardon.
- Hendler broke down in tears after seeing his name in the paper on Wednesday morning. The “Clean and Sober Radio” host was described by the administration as an “integral [person] in the lives of many members of the community who were dealing with substance abuse issues.”
Gary Hendler has achieved a lot since regaining his sobriety. He is now married with kids, owns a successful real estate business, and most importantly, pardoned!
