A family history of addiction prompted attorney to tell authorities what he'd heard about Prince and Percocet

Attorney Mike Padden said he received some 25 requests to do media interviews, nationally and internationally, after my video of what he told authorities about Prince's drug usage aired last week. Padden did give a telephone interview to CNN that was scheduled to air Wednesday.

Padden told officials that former clients Lorna Nelson and Duane Nelson both expressed concern to him a long time ago about Prince's use of Percocet and cocaine (tinyurl.com/hp73wgp). Lorna, a half-sister of Prince's, died in 2006. Duane, who died in 2011, is believed to be of no relation to Prince, although they grew up thinking they were brothers.

"My position on this is, saying it more than once doesn't make it more true," Padden told me.

Padden, who I seem to remember deposed Prince once for a lawsuit, said he never pressed for information about the music star from Lorna or Duane. Padden represented Lorna in her dispute with Prince over the estate of their father, John Nelson.

"Lorna was one of the sweetest people I ever met and I liked Duane, I really did. We had fun together," Padden said, laughing, "I think it's hard to be the sibling of an incredibly famous person."

Padden said he saw Prince in concert years ago. "I really respected him in terms of his talent, but I wasn't particularly fond of him because I didn't like the way he treated his family, with information I became privy to as a result of representing Duane and Lorna. I just don't think he was very nice to people. I could give you numerous examples. It's unimportant. Prince was basically nice to pretty women and famous people," he said.

However, Padden said he has come to the conclusion, "This guy was bigger than Elvis."

"Again, it's a terrible tragedy," Padden said. "The other thing that's important to me is when somebody this famous dies, it's another teachable moment for our country. My father died of an addiction. He died of nicotine. Cancer killed my dad. A friend of mine died a couple of months ago. … I think it may have been drug-related. So it's an important subject for me and an important learning moment for young people that this is what can happen."

ABC news correspondent Eva Pilgrim did one of her last reports from Paisley Park in front of the spectacular 6x4 foot Prince glyph in purple roses and other flowers.

The masterpiece was created by Minneapolis florist Roger Beck for a U.K. fan group.

"That thing is beautiful!!!" Pilgrim tweeted me. "We took a picture with it, too."

When the memorials come down — I am thinking sometime after Prince's birthday June 7 — the expanse of fence between Paisley entrances is going to need re-sodding. It was grass, now it's not, and when it rains it's mud.

When I was at Paisley Tuesday, I was surprised by the number of people I overheard saying they didn't know what this building was until Prince died there.

The NY Post columnist Cindy Adams had a few remembrances from various brushes with Prince.

"I don't keep up with pop music. I just make my own," she recalled him saying when they met in 2009. "I have 50 albums of material I'll never release."

Adams also wrote about seeing him, if I am interpreting her correctly, in the ladies' section of Saint Laurent wearing sunglasses that had one lens dark, one pleated.

Adams said Prince once shared his "phobia about dirt" and said, "I cannot swallow Quaker Oats."

C.J. can be reached at cj@startribune.com and seen on FOX 9's "Jason Show" and "Buzz." E-mailers, please state a subject; "Hello" does not count. Attachments are not opened.