A criminal complaint by federal investigators against Edward Buck outlines claims of a history of predatory behavior against gay men by the LGBT activist and Democratic megadonor, resulting in rape, drug overdoses, and even deaths.
Although Buck is currently only being charged with distribution of methamphetamine resulting in death, the 20-page filing by authorities describes numerous instances of vulnerable gay men, many black, who found themselves drugged against their will and sodomized. Most of the nine men who spoke to investigators say they were initially lured to Buck’s residence on promises of money and free drugs.
Many of the victims were prostitutes. In the last two years, two men have died in Buck’s residence of a drug overdose.
Buck, 65, who is white, has also been charged by Los Angeles prosecutors with battery with serious bodily injury, sale or offer to sell or transport a controlled substance, and operating a drug house from Los Angeles prosecutors.
On Jan. 7 this year, Timothy Michael Dean, 55, who was black, was found dead in Buck’s home with “a plastic ring around [his] scrotum and a plastic ring around the base of [his] penis.” A coroner’s report concluded the cause of death was methamphetamine and ethanol toxicity.
Buck claimed that Dean committed suicide by hanging himself, but investigators found no evidence to support the claim. Charges were never brought against Buck for that death, sparking an outcry in Los Angeles.
On July 27, 2017, authorities found the corpse of Gemmel Moore, who was also black, lying on a mattress in Buck’s apartment wearing only white socks. Buck claims Moore overdosed on methamphetamine when he left the room, but Los Angeles deputies found “approximately 24 syringes, 5 glass pipes,” as well as “1.76 grams” of meth found in a tool box, “which also contained various sex toys.”
The criminal complaint against Buck details how he allegedly lured Moore, who was living with his mother in Houston, to his home. At one point, Buck told Moore to refer to him as “his slave master” before arranging a flight and private car.
In an interview with Moore’s mother, she stated that her son would talk about a “rich and powerful man named Ed Buck [who] held [him] against his wall and shot him up with drugs.” A separate interview with Moore’s Aunt recalled a conversation with Moore, saying Buck “used to inject [him] with drugs and would do ‘horrible things.'”
An Arizona native, Buck made his millions in the 1980s after buying an information services company out of bankruptcy. He soon after became interested in politics, leading the impeachment charge against former Arizona Republican Gov. Evan Mecham. At one point, he was the grand marshal of the 1989 International Gay Rodeo.
Buck moved to the historically gay neighborhood of West Hollywood, Los Angeles, in 1991 and quickly became involved in local, state, and national politics. Since the 1990s, Buck has donated over half a million dollars to Democratic candidates, including Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and California Democrats Reps. Ted Lieu and Adam Schiff.
But as he was cutting checks to prominent Democratic politicians, Buck was allegedly engaged in a twisted game of manipulating some of his city’s most vulnerable, leading to Los Angeles prosecutors to label him a “violent, dangerous sexual predator.”
One individual, only referred to as Victim 2 by investigators, said he fell asleep at Buck’s home in July 2017 only to find his arm “tied to the couch … red and sore,” which he believed was because “Buck injected him with drugs.”
Other victims recalled meeting Buck through gay online dating sites, only to find themselves facing bizarre demands to wear “white undergarments,” which he kept in a neat pile, separated by size, to satiate a fetish, and consuming large quantities of drugs.
Even after the death of Dean, Buck’s behavior continued, according to authorities. A homeless gay man, called Victim 6, said the numerous fatalities and near-death experiences at Buck’s home earned him the nickname “Doctor Kevorkian” among some in the gay community.
Victim 6 also described how Buck demanded he inject methamphetamine into his arm if he wanted to receive compensation. Buck then “asked Victim 6 to put on white underwear and a jockstrap” before he “placed a sex toy around Victim 6’s penis” despite it being “tight and very painful.”
The victim then lost consciousness, only to find that he “felt pain in his anus and saw that it was bleeding” when he awoke.
In another instance, a man named Victim 7 allegedly found himself temporarily paralyzed after ingesting a drug cocktail provided by Buck. When Buck asked the man to leave, he found himself unable to move.
“Buck then became frustrated and obtained a power saw from a closet, turned it on, and approached Victim 7 with it,” the criminal filing states.
Buck was allegedly drugging guests at his home as recently as Sept. 11. On that night, he sent an Uber to a motel in Skid Row where Victim 10, age 37, was living.
“Buck and Victim 10 engaged in sexual activities and Buck provided methamphetamine for Victim 10 to smoke and use intravenously,” the complaint reads. “Victim 10 stated that Buck would supply and intravenously inject Victim 10 with methamphetamine.”
At one point in the evening, Victim 10 started suffering from an overdose and asked for Buck to dial 911. Buck initially refused and first took him to an urgent care center, which referred him to a hospital.
This week, both federal and state prosecutors brought charges against Buck. Los Angeles officials have requested Buck’s bail be set at $4 million.
