On the 1200 block of West Hollywood’s North Laurel Avenue lies the home of 62-year-old Democratic donor Ed Buck, a multimillionaire who made his fortune in the insurance industry before turning to philanthropy and funding leftist causes. One of those causes was the impeachment of Republican former Arizona Governor Evan Meacham in 1988.
Buck founded the Mecham Recall Committee in Arizona to try to remove the governor from office, an effort that was eventually successful. When Meacham found out that Buck — a one-time male model — was gay, the governor had his aides give out bumper stickers that read, “Queer Ed Buck’s Recall.” This action was pilloried in the press when Meacham was quoted as saying the recall supporters were “a band of homosexuals and a few dissident Democrats.” The comic strip Doonesbury, in particular, savaged Meacham.
More recently, Buck donated large amounts to several Democratic causes in California, from $7,600 for Democratic State Senate President Pro Tempore Kevin de León, who’s running for the position of Lieutenant Governor, to thousands of dollars for other state senators, West Hollywood City Council members and board members of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Buck also ran a semi-successful campaign to rid West Hollywood of fur retailers. Photographs have been found of a smiling Buck posing with California Governor Jerry Brown and former presidential candidate Hillary Clinton.
However, as of July 27, a significant problem emerged for Buck in the form of 26-year-old prostitute Gemmel Moore, who was found dead of a methamphetamine overdose in Buck’s bathroom. Buck was home at the time of the incident according to Ed Winter, a spokesman for the Los Angeles County coroner’s office. Homicide detectives are now investigating based on information that’s been provided to them.
Seymour Amster, a lawyer for Buck, said his client had “nothing to do with this young man’s tragic death,” but Moore’s family believes this may not be the case. A family friend has given copies of Moore’s journal to the Los Angeles Times, in which Moore discussed drug use and made accusations against Buck. One entry reads, “I’ve become addicted to drugs and the worse [sic] ones at that. Ed Buck is the one to thank; he gave me my first injection of crystal [sic] meth. It was very painful, but after all the troubles, I became addicted to the pain and fetish/fantasy… I just hope the end result isn’t death… If it didn’t hurt so bad, I’d kill myself, but I’ll let Ed Buck do it for now.”
Moore was working as an escort at the time of his death and was apparently homeless, based on conversations he had with his mother, LaTisha Nixon. “I can’t bring my son back. He’s gone. There’s nothing I can do,” said Nixon, who works as a mail carrier in Spring, Texas. “I just want this situation exposed.”
Buck’s lawyer Amster attempted to dismiss the journals. “What happened in 2016, in unverified writing, I doubt has anything to do with what happened in 2017. There is nothing to show that Ed was anything but a kind-hearted individual trying to help somebody else by giving them access to his home,” said the attorney.
Nixon said her son had called her a year ago to discuss the situation with Buck and to say he was scared. He admitted he had contracted HIV and wanted to fly home to Texas. He did that, but shortly thereafter was asked to return to Los Angeles by Buck, who sent Moore a plane ticket. “My second-oldest son took him to the airport, texted me and said he made [his flight]. Five, six hours later, I get a phone call. They tell me my son is dead.”
A friend of Moore’s named John Bice said he tried to help young Moore when he returned briefly to Texas. Bice said he tried to convince the man to give up drugs. “Basically, [Moore] told me this guy [Buck] would find young struggling black guys around town, pick them up and say he was going to help them out — make sure they had clothes and food. He said it wasn’t an uncommon thing that there were several young guys like him in and out of the house or who hung around all the time. [Buck] wanted to see them get high, first with weed. Then, one day, the guy wanted [Moore] to shoot up. He’d wake up after being shot up naked in bed.” Bice claims he never expected Moore to go back out to Los Angeles. “He was definitely scared. He was also battling depression. He was lonely. I figured he was trying to get back out there to see friends he had out there.”
In the meantime, the Los Angeles Stonewall Democratic Club Steering Committee requested Buck’s resignation from that organization, a political fundraising group for members of Los Angeles’ LGBT community Democratic DonorDemocratic Donor. “We understand Mr. Buck has not been charged with a crime, and we cannot comment on those allegations,” read a statement from the group. “They are serious, however. We have requested, therefore, and accepted the resignation of Mr. Buck from the Stonewall Democratic Club Steering Committee.” Buck apparently acquiesced because he didn’t want to draw negative publicity to the club.
As the Steering Committee stated, Buck has not yet been charged with a crime, but an investigation is ongoing.
~ American Liberty Report
