Wealthy US political donor Ed Buck on trial for deadly drugs-for-sex fetish
- Ed Buck on trial for providing fatal meth doses to two men, running a drug den and persuading others to travel for prostitution
- The 66-year-old, who has pleaded not guilty, allegedly liked to inject his victims with drugs
The men Ed Buck lured to his flat for “party and play” found themselves in a situation of life and death, prosecutors said.
Two men enticed by the promise of drugs for sex died. Those who survived overdoses reported harrowing encounters with a man bent on injecting them with methamphetamine and slipping them other drugs.
Nearly two years after Buck was arrested and charged by federal prosecutors, the wealthy Democratic donor went on trial Tuesday on charges of providing fatal doses to two men, running a drug den and persuading others to travel for prostitution.
Buck, 66, who has given more than US$500,000 to mostly Democratic politicians and causes since 2000, has pleaded not guilty. He faces nine felonies that could put him in prison for life if he’s convicted.
The arrest of Buck in 2019 marked a turning point for activists who rallied outside his West Hollywood flat and pressured law enforcement to act after Gemmel Moore, 26, died on his floor in 2017. Even after Timothy Dean, 55, died 18 months later, it took another nine months and the near-death of another overdose victim before Buck was arrested in September 2019.
Family and friends of the victims said Tuesday that they were looking forward to getting justice for their loved ones.