Ed Buck
American political activist and convicted murderer / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Edward Bernard Peter Buck (né Buckmelter; born August 24, 1954) is an American convicted felon, Democratic Party donor, former founder of the Mecham Recall Committee, and businessman. He also was a former model and actor and he made a significant amount of money running and selling the data service company Gopher Courier. He became involved in politics after the election of Evan Mecham as Governor of Arizona in 1986; Buck, an Arizona resident, led the effort to recall him from the governorship of Arizona, accusing him of racism and corruption. The experience led Buck to change his party affiliation from Republican to Democrat, and he has since donated heavily to Democratic politicians. In 2007, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for the city council of West Hollywood, California.
Ed Buck | |
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Born | Edward Bernard Peter Buckmelter (1954-08-24) August 24, 1954 (age 69) Steubenville, Ohio, U.S. |
Education | Phoenix College |
Occupations |
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Political party | Democratic (after 1988) Republican (before 1988) |
Criminal status | Incarcerated |
Conviction(s) | Distribution of methamphetamine resulting in death (21 U.S.C. § 841) Maintaining a drug-involved premises (21 U.S.C. § 856) Enticement to travel in interstate commerce for prostitution (18 U.S.C. § 2422) (2 counts) |
Criminal charge |
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Penalty | 30 years imprisonment |
Two African-American men, the first in 2017 and the second in 2019, were discovered dead in Buck's West Hollywood home, later to be determined as due to drug overdoses. Several reports indicated that Buck had a history of bringing African-American men to his house, where he would reportedly inject them with high doses of crystal methamphetamine for sexual gratification.[1] He plied the men with drugs and then sexually assaulted them while they were unconscious or immobile.[2]
In January 2019, a coalition of 50 civil rights organizations called for law enforcement to investigate the matter. On September 17, 2019, Buck was arrested and charged with three counts of battery causing serious injury, administering methamphetamine and maintaining a drug house. He was convicted of nine federal charges in 2021; on April 14, 2022, Buck was sentenced to 30 years in prison.[2]