LAist is part of Southern California Public Radio (SCPR), a member-supported public media network. Hear our news on-air at our partner site:
Democratic Party fundraiser and gay rights activist Ed Buck was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison Thursday.
Buck was found guilty last year of providing methamphetamine to two men who overdosed and died in his apartment.
Evidence presented at trial showed that Buck, now 67, spent years hosting "party and play" sessions at his apartment, where he would get men to take drugs and perform sex acts.
Sometimes, Buck's "parties" turned deadly. Gemmel Moore died of an overdose in 2017. Timothy Dean died in 2019. Both victims were Black. Buck is white.
“This defendant preyed upon vulnerable victims — men who were drug-dependent and often without homes — to feed an obsession that led to death and misery,” U.S. Attorney Tracy L. Wilkison said in a written statement.
Wilkison went on to say that Buck “continues to pose a clear danger to society" and that the "sentence imposed today will protect other potential victims and hopefully will bring some solace to the families of two men who needlessly died in Mr. Buck’s apartment.”
Buck was arrested in 2019 after an investigation found at least eight other alleged victims who described his apparent fetish to pay men — many of them unhoused and dealing with addiction — to inject meth and have sex.
Buck's arrest came only after activists delivered 30,000 signatures to then District Attorney Jackie Lacey demanding an investigation.
