Democrat mega-donor Ed Buck facing new charges

A Los Angeles federal grand jury returned an updated indictment with new felony charges for Democrat party mega-donor Ed Buck on Tuesday, the Justice Department announced.

According to the New York Post, Buck is now being charged with four additional felonies including enticing victims to travel interstate for prostitution in at least one case that led to a fatal drug overdose.

On July 27, 2017 26-year-old Gemmel Moore fatally overdosed in Buck’s West Hollywood apartment after being flown to Los Angeles by Buck from Texas, where he lived. Prosecutors allege Buck provided methamphetamine to Moore and forced him to shoot up in a fetish known as “slamming” in which one party becomes aroused by watching another inject drugs. A criminal complaint from 2019 alleges Buck injected at least ten men against their will with crystal meth in his West Hollywood apartment that prosecutors say was being operated as a drug den.

After Moore’s death, heartbreaking entries from his personal journal were released to the press, in which he wrote, “I pray that I can just get my life together and make sense. I help so many people but can’t seem to help myself. I honestly don’t know what to do. I’ve become addicted to drugs and the worse one at that. Ed Buck is the one to thank, he gave me my first injection of chrystal [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.”

On January 7, 2019 another body of a black man was discovered in Buck’s apartment. 55-year-old Timothy Dean succumbed to a fatal overdose administered by Buck, prosecutors believe.

Following the two high-profile deaths, in which Buck evaded arrest or criminal charges at the time, young black men continued to be photographed coming in and out of Buck’s seedy West Hollywood apartment. Local news stations also snapped photos of Buck, 65, with young black men in public. His arrest came in September 2019 after a third man overdosed in Buck’s apartment but managed to escape and call the police. The 37-year-old man survived.

Many claim that Buck’s twisted behavior was an open secret for years in political and LGBT circles, but authorities turned a blind eye due to Buck’s powerful political connections. Buck was a prominent supporter of Hillary Clinton in 2016. Since the mid-2000s, Buck has given over $500,000 to Democrat political candidates and various liberal political causes. 40 politicians currently holding office–from Los Angeles City Hall to the United States Congress–have taken money from Buck.

Below is a list of sitting office holders in California who cashed a check from Buck for at least $1,000, according to the Los Angeles Times:

Ted Lieu, US Rep (D-Torrance): $25,600

Mike Feuer, LA City Attorney: $18,400

John Duran, West Hollywood Council Member: $12,500

Jeff Prang, LA County Assessor: $11,950

Anthony Portantino, State Sen (D-LA Canada Flintridge): $9,900

Bob Blumenfield, LA City Council Member: $7,550

Jerry McNerney, US Rep (D-Stockton): $6,850

Scott Svonkin, LA Community College District: $6,000

Henry Stern, State Sen (D-Canoga Park): $5,200

Susan Rubio, State Sen (D-Baldwin Park): $4,400

Mitch O’Farrell, LA City Council Member: $4,200

Ron Galperin, LA Controller: $3,600

Jimmy Gomez, US Rep (D-Los Angeles): $3,000

Adam Schiff, US Rep (D-Burbank): $2,700

Xavier Becerra, State Attorney General (D): $2,500

Richard Bloom, State Assemblyman (D-Santa Monica): $2,500

Andra Hoffman, LA Community College District: $2,200

Paul Koretz, LA City Council Member: $2,200

Paul Krekorian, LA City Council Member: $2,200

Gavin Newsom, Governor of California (D): $2,100

Pete Aguilar, US Rep (D-Redlands): $2,000

Adrin Nazarian, State Assemblyman: $1,887

Lauren Meister, West Hollywood City Council Member: $1,500

Gil Cedillo, LA City Council Member: $1,400

Eric Garcetti, Mayor of Los Angeles (D): $1,400

Ben Allen, State Sen (D-Santa Monica): $1,000

Ami Bera, US Rep (D-Elk Grove): $1,000

Lucille Roybal-Allard, US Rep (D-Downey): $1,000

Blanca Rubio, State Assemblywoman (D-Baldwin): $1,000

John D’amico, Mayor of West Hollywood (D): $1,000