Ed Buck

{{short description|American political donor and convicted felon}}

{{Infobox criminal

| name = Ed Buck

| birth_name = Edward Bernard Peter Buckmelter

| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1954|8|24}}

| birth_place = Steubenville, Ohio, U.S.

| death_date =

| death_place =

| education = Phoenix College

| occupation = {{ubl|Businessman}}

| known_for = Major political donor in West Hollywood, California

| criminal_charge = {{plainlist|

Maintaining a drug house (State)
Battery causing serious injury (State)
Administering methamphetamine (State)}}

| criminal_penalty = 30 years imprisonment

| criminal_status = Incarcerated

| party = Democratic (after 1988)
Republican (before 1988)

| conviction = Distribution of methamphetamine resulting in death (21 U.S.C. § 841)
Maintaining a drug-involved premises (21 U.S.C. § 856)
Enticement to travel in interstate commerce for prostitution (18 U.S.C. § 2422) (2 counts)

}}

Edward Bernard Peter Buck (né Buckmelter; born August 24, 1954) is an American convicted felon and political donor. Starting in politics as the leader of the movement to recall Governor Evan Mecham in Arizona, Buck achieved prominence as a major Democratic Party donor while living in West Hollywood, California.

Two African-American men, the first in 2017 and the second in 2019, were discovered dead in Buck's West Hollywood home, later to be determined as due to drug overdoses. Several reports indicated that Buck had a history of bringing African-American men to his house, where he would reportedly inject them with high doses of crystal methamphetamine for sexual gratification.{{Cite news|last=Barron|first=Jesse|date=September 16, 2020|title=What Happened Inside Ed Buck's Apartment?|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/09/16/magazine/ed-buck-case.html|access-date=December 27, 2020|issn=0362-4331}} He plied the men with drugs and then sexually assaulted them while they were unconscious or immobile.{{cite news | last=Ormseth | first=Matthew | title=Ed Buck sentenced to 30 years in prison for abuses that led to men's drug deaths | date=April 14, 2022 | url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2022-04-14/ed-buck-to-face-judgement-for-preying-on-men-two-of-whom-died-in-sexually-deviant-pattern|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times }}

In January 2019, a coalition of 50 civil rights organizations called for law enforcement to investigate the matter. On September 17, 2019, Buck was arrested and charged with three counts of battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house. He was convicted of nine federal charges in 2021; on April 14, 2022, Buck was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Early life

Edward Bernard Peter Buckmelter was born in Steubenville, Ohio.{{cite news|title=Recall drive. Bucking the system: unlikely figure leads challenge to Mecham|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/121015602/?terms=%22Ed%2BBuck%22|access-date=November 21, 2017|work=Arizona Republic|date=June 28, 1987|page=10|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}{{cite news|title=Who Is Ed Buck?|url=http://www.wehoville.com/2017/08/16/who-is-ed-buck/|access-date=November 21, 2017|work=WEHOVille|date=August 16, 2017|quote=But it has attracted a lot of attention from the right-wing media here and abroad, including publications such as the Drudge Report; TruNews, a Christian news site; Political VelCraft, a right-wing conspiracy site, and Voat.com, a website that promotes conspiracy theories such as PizzaGate.}} He grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, where he was educated at North High School and graduated from Phoenix College.

Career

Buck began his career as a fashion model in Europe,{{cite news|last1=Van Der Werf|first1=Martin|title=Buck mirror image of Mecham, critics say|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/121126455|access-date=November 21, 2017|work=Arizona Republic|date=November 29, 1987|location=Phoenix, Arizona|pages=9–10|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}} where he also acted in television commercials and two movies. He worked for a friend's company, Rapid Information Services, before buying it out of bankruptcy for US$250,000 and renaming it Gopher Courier. Buck became a millionaire upon selling it after five years.

Buck led the campaign to recall Arizona Republican Governor Evan Mecham, founding the Mecham Recall Committee in 1987. The committee claimed over 10,000 volunteers statewide, and collected nearly 400,000 signatures from Arizona voters supporting a recall. He announced the campaign on December 21, 1986, before Mecham had even been sworn in,{{cite news|last1=Stanton|first1=Sam|title=Recall bid on Mecham a bit early|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/120306723/?terms=%22Ed%2BBuck%22|access-date=November 25, 2017|work=The Arizona Republic|date=December 21, 1986|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}} and was the "leader" of a protest on the day of Mecham's inauguration.{{cite news|title=Mecham begins term as 17th governor of Arizona with call for 'new beginning'|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/165363028/?terms=%22Ed%2BBuck%22|access-date=November 25, 2017|work=Arizona Daily Star|date=January 6, 1987|pages=1, 2|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}

Buck distributed bumper stickers that read "Mecham for Ex-Governor", and Arizona Attorney General Robert K. Corbin ruled that state employees were allowed to use them on their cars.{{cite news|last1=Stanton|first1=Sam|title=Recall-Mecham stickers OK'd for state workers' cars|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/120908881/?terms=%22Ed%2BBuck%22|access-date=November 25, 2017|work=The Arizona Republic|date=February 13, 1987|page=16|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}} According to The Arizona Republic, the anti-Mecham campaign "made Buck a household name in Arizona," and he was attacked by Arizonans for Traditional Family Values chairman Julian Sanders.{{cite news|last1=Carson|first1=Susan R.|title=Opponent of Mecham lambasted|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/166792412/?terms=%22Ed%2BBuck%22|access-date=November 21, 2017|work=Arizona Daily Star|date=March 15, 1987|pages=11, 12|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}}{{cite news|title=Phoenix man seeks to recall Mecham|url=https://www.newspapers.com/image/164671539/?terms=%22Ed%2BBuck%22|access-date=November 25, 2017|work=Arizona Daily Star|date=December 22, 1986|page=32|via=Newspapers.com|url-access=subscription}} Buck switched his registration from Republican to Democrat in 1988.

After moving to West Hollywood, California, Buck ran unsuccessfully for city council in 2007. He also served on the steering committee of the Stonewall Democratic Club.{{cite news|last1=Cullen|first1=Terence|title=Los Angeles investigators probing death of male escort at home of prominent Democratic donor|url=http://www.nydailynews.com/news/national/la-investigators-probing-male-escort-death-dem-donor-home-article-1.3432856|access-date=November 25, 2017|work=The New York Daily News|date=August 22, 2017}}{{cite news|title=Investigation Underway Into Fatal Drug Overdose At Democratic Donor's WeHo Home|url=http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2017/08/15/overdose-democratic-donor-death/|access-date=November 26, 2017|work=CBS Los Angeles|date=August 15, 2017}} Buck donated more than $500,000 to political candidates and causes, almost all of them linked to the Democratic Party, including contributions to candidates Hillary Clinton, Ted Lieu, Pete Aguilar, Adam Schiff, and Raja Krishnamoorthi.{{cite web|title=Ed Buck was known for his abrasive behavior. But politicians still took his money|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-10-17/ed-buck-west-hollywood-money-donations|last=Branson-Potts|first=Hailey|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=October 17, 2019|access-date=October 17, 2019}}

Criminal investigations

On July 27, 2017, a young African-American man named Gemmel Moore died in Buck's apartment.{{cite news|last1=Branson-Potts|first1=Hailey|last2=Winton|first2=Richard|title=Democratic donor's home was littered with drug paraphernalia after man died, coroner says|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-gemmel-moore-autopsy-20171118-story.html|url-access=limited|access-date=November 21, 2017|work=The Los Angeles Times|date=November 18, 2017|quote=Moore, who was black, had been homeless and had worked as an escort.}} Paramedics found Moore, who had worked as an escort, naked on a mattress in the living room with a "male pornography movie playing on the television", according to a Los Angeles County coroner's report. A spokesman for the coroner's office, Ed Winter, said Buck was inside his Laurel Avenue home at the time of Moore's death and that drug paraphernalia was recovered from the scene.{{cite news|url=http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-democratic-donor-overdose-20170814-story.html|title=Homicide detectives probe man's overdose death at the home of prominent L.A. Democratic donor Ed Buck|first1=Richard|last1=Winton|first2=Alene|last2=Tchekmedyian|first3=Hailey|last3=Branson-Potts|newspaper=Los Angeles Times|date=August 15, 2017}} Police found sex toys, syringes, and "clear plastic bags with suspected methamphetamine in a tool box roll-cabinet in the living room", 24 syringes with brown residue, five glass pipes with white residue and burn marks, a plastic straw with possible white residue, clear plastic bags with white powdery residue, and a clear plastic bag with a "piece of crystal-like substance". Moore’s mother, LaTisha Nixon, skeptical of the claim that her son had accidentally overdosed, wrote an email to various newspapers and local TV news stations. She was introduced to Jasmyne Cannick, a local writer, activist and Political candidate, by another reporter who thought Jasmyne could help her. The death was investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, and Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey declined to charge Buck on July 26, 2018.{{cite news |title=LA County DA Declines to Charge Ed Buck in Death of Gemmel Moore |url=https://www.wehoville.com/2018/07/26/la-county-da-declines-charge-ed-buck-death-gemmel-moore/ |access-date=July 29, 2018 |work=WEHOville |date=July 26, 2018}} Jasmyne Cannick, criticized Lacey's decision, writing on Twitter that any further deaths at Ed's residence would be Lacey's responsibility.{{cite news |title='Serial predator': L.A. writer has been sounding alarm on Ed Buck for over a year |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/feature/nbc-out/serial-predator-l-writer-has-been-sounding-alarm-ed-buck-n957776 |access-date=January 18, 2019 |work=NBC News |date=January 11, 2019}}

Since the death of Gemmel Moore, multiple reports have indicated that Buck had a history of luring young, Black gay men to his apartment, where he would inject them with crystal methamphetamine for sexual gratification.

On January 7, 2019, another African-American man, 55-year-old Timothy Michael Dean (a part-time adult film actor known professionally as Hole Hunter{{Cite web|url=https://www.advocate.com/crime/2019/1/10/man-who-died-bucks-home-idd-retail-worker-adult-film-actor|title=Man Who Died in Buck's Home ID'd: Retail Worker, Adult Film Actor|date=January 10, 2019|website=The Advocate}}{{Cite web|url=https://wehoville.com/2019/01/10/story-behind-man-found-dead-ed-bucks-laurel-avenue-apartment/|title=The Story Behind the Man Found Dead in Ed Buck's Laurel Avenue Apartment|date=January 10, 2019}}), died at Buck's home.{{cite news |title=Death Reported at West Hollywood Home of Wealthy Political Donor Ed Buck — For the 2nd Time|url=https://ktla.com/2019/01/07/death-reported-at-west-hollywood-home-of-wealthy-political-donor-ed-buck-for-the-2nd-time/|access-date=January 7, 2019 |work=KTLA |date=January 7, 2019}} Following Dean's death, a coalition of 50 civil rights organizations released a statement calling on local law enforcement to conduct a thorough investigation of Buck's role in the incident and calling on elected officials to return all contributions received from Buck.{{cite news|url=https://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-ed-buck-west-hollywood-race-20190111-story.html|title=Ed Buck's attorney says critics have unfairly used race to blame his client for two deaths in his home|last1=Branson-Potts|first1=Hailey|date=January 11, 2019|access-date=January 27, 2019|newspaper=The Los Angeles Times}}

Buck was arrested on September 17, 2019, and charged with three counts of battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house, according to the Los Angeles County district attorney's office. He was accused of having injected a 37-year-old man, who overdosed but survived, with methamphetamine on September 11.{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/nation/2019/09/18/ed-buck-drug-den-arrest-hollywood-overdose-democratic-donor/?noredirect=on|title=Democratic donor arrested after third man overdoses at his West Hollywood home|last=Flynn|first=Meagan|newspaper=The Washington Post|date=September 18, 2019|access-date=September 18, 2019}}

On September 19, 2019, a federal charge of "one count of distribution of methamphetamine resulting in death" was added by the United States for the death of Gemmel Moore, who died on July 27, 2017. That death had originally been ruled an accidental methamphetamine overdose by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.{{cite web|url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/19/us/democratic-donor-ed-buck-federally-charged/index.html |last1=Chan |first1=Stella |last2=Mossberg |first2=Cheri |last3=Simon |first3=Darran |date=September 19, 2019 |title=Democratic donor Ed Buck faces federal charge for allegedly providing lethal dose of meth |work=CNN |access-date=September 20, 2019}}{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2019-09-19/source-ed-buck-to-face-federal-drug-charges-after-deaths-of-men-at-his-west-hollywood-home |last1=Queally |first1=James |last2=Winton |first2=Richard |date=September 19, 2019 |title=Democratic donor Ed Buck paid at least 10 men to use drugs for his own pleasure, prosecutors say |work=The Los Angeles Times |access-date=September 20, 2019}}

On August 4, 2020, a federal grand jury charged Buck with four additional felonies, bringing the total number of federal charges to nine counts. Buck was scheduled to go to trial on January 19, 2021,{{cite web|title=Grand Jury Charges Ed Buck with Four Additional Felonies, Including that He Enticed Victims to Travel Interstate to Engage in Prostitution|url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/grand-jury-charges-ed-buck-four-additional-felonies-including-he-enticed-victims-travel|publisher=United States Department of Justice|date=August 4, 2020|access-date=August 8, 2020}} but the date was postponed to April 20, 2021, due to COVID-19-related considerations.{{cite news|url = https://www.lamag.com/citythinkblog/ed-buck-trial-postponed/|title = Ed Buck's Trial Has Been Postponed Again, and Further Delay Could Follow|magazine = Los Angeles|date = January 15, 2021|accessdate = April 15, 2022|last = Seneeze|first = Thom}}

On July 27, 2021, Buck was convicted of nine federal charges, including the deaths of Gemmel Moore and Timothy Dean, maintaining a drug den, distributing methamphetamines, and solicitation of prostitutes.{{cite web |last1=Dazio |first1=Stefanie |title=Democratic donor convicted of offering drugs for sex; 2 died |url=https://apnews.com/article/government-and-politics-8c6328f5fa689fed71251ce421aa5021 |website=AP News |access-date=August 8, 2021 |language=en |date=July 27, 2021}}{{Cite web |date=July 27, 2021 |title=West Hollywood Man Found Guilty of Drug Trafficking Charges, Including Giving Methamphetamine to Two Victims Who Died |url=https://www.justice.gov/usao-cdca/pr/west-hollywood-man-found-guilty-drug-trafficking-charges-including-giving |access-date=March 5, 2022 |website=www.justice.gov |language=en}} On April 14, 2022, Buck was sentenced to 30 years in prison.

Personal life

Buck came out to his parents as gay at the age of 16. He changed his surname from Buckmelter to Buck in 1981 or 1983. He was the Grand Marshal of the 1989 International Gay Rodeo. Buck formerly lived near Piestewa Peak in Phoenix, Arizona. He moved to West Hollywood in 1991.

References

External links

[https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=ed+buck Donor Lookup for people named Ed Buck at OpenSecrets.org ]
[https://www.opensecrets.org/donor-lookup/results?name=edward+buck Donor Lookup for people named Edward Buck at OpenSecrets.org]
[http://www.jasmyneacannick.com/series/gemmel-moore/ Jasmyne Cannick's writings on the death of Gemmel Moore] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200417075236/https://www.jasmyneacannick.com/series/gemmel-moore/ |date=April 17, 2020 }}

Category:1954 births

Category:Living people

Category:20th-century American businesspeople

Category:20th-century American male actors

Category:21st-century American businesspeople

Category:21st-century American criminals

Category:Activists from California

Category:American male models

Category:American people convicted of drug offenses

Category:American political activists

Category:American political fundraisers

Category:Arizona Democrats