Another man has been found dead at the Los Angeles home of a wealthy political donor who has previously been accused of intentionally overdosing male escorts as an incentive for them to earn more money.
NBC News reports that an unidentified male has been found dead at the West Hollywood home of Ed Buck, a prominent Democratic fundraiser and LGBT advocate previously accused of dangerously exploiting gay escorts for his sexual pleasure.
The LAPD’s Homicide Bureau is reportedly investigating the death of a man found in Buck’s apartment in the early hours of Monday morning.
Authorities had previously investigated the apparent overdose death of another man, Gemmel Moore, who died in Buck’s apartment in July 2017, but cleared Buck of any wrongdoing. The investigation was re-opened after complaints from the family of the 27-year-old, who were reportedly concerned that Buck’s political connections influenced the investigation, but again prosecutors said they did not find enough evidence to charge Buck, NBC News reports.
The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department reportedly said they will be reviewing the circumstances of Moore’s death again in light of the second death at Buck’s apartment.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Moore’s mother Latisha Nixon told local news outlet The Weho Times in 2017 that her son had previously filed a police report claiming that Buck, who he had reportedly met several times, had kept him in his apartment and forcibly injected him with an unknown drug. Authorities determined that Moore died of an accidental methamphetamine overdose.
The Weho Times was unable to locate the police report. Nixon further claimed that a friend of her son’s said “[Buck] would have my son to go out to… Santa Monica Boulevard looking for young gay black guys so he could inject them with drugs, see their reaction and how [they] would react and take pictures of them.”
Another sex worker told the news outlet that Buck seemed to “get off on getting you higher and higher,” and would offer more money as an incentive for the escorts to take more drugs.
Buck’s attorney, Seymour Amster, told NBC News that the man who was found dead was a friend of Buck’s who had insisted on coming over to Buck’s apartment, and that Buck eventually allowed him to come there despite his reluctance. Shortly after the unidentified man arrived, he “began exhibiting bizarre behavior,” the attorney said, promoting Buck to call 911.
The lawyer said that Buck is not currently facing any charges in relation to the death.
CrimeOnline will provide further updates when more information is available.
[Feature image: Former eBay Chief Executive Meg Whitman and Republican nominee for Governor, left, and Ed Buck, right. (AP Photo/Damian Dovarganes)]
