Ed Buck
Ed Buck | |
|---|---|
| Born | Edward Bernard Peter Buckmelter August 24, 1954 Steubenville, Ohio, U.S. |
| Education | Phoenix College |
| Occupation |
|
| Known for | Major political donor in West Hollywood, California |
| Political party | Democratic (after 1988) Republican (before 1988) |
| Criminal status | Incarcerated |
| Convictions | 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 |
|
| Penalty | 30 years imprisonment |
Edward Bernard Peter Buck (né Buckmelter; born August 24, 1954) is an American convicted felon and political donor. Starting in politics as the leader of the movement to recall Governor Evan Mecham in Arizona, Buck achieved prominence as a major Democratic Party donor while living in West Hollywood, California.
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. He plied the men with drugs and then sexually assaulted them while they were unconscious or immobile.
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.