Ed Buck: prominent Democratic donor convicted of death of two men he gave drugs to

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Buck was convicted of two counts of distributing methamphetamine resulting in death, four counts of distributing methamphetamine, one count of drug-related premises maintenance and two counts of inducing travel in interstate commerce for the purpose of prostitution.

Gemmel Moore, 26, died of an overdose in July 2017 and Timothy Dean, 55, died in January 2019.

“It has been a huge honor to be able to defend the rights of victims in this case,” said assistant to the US prosecutor Chelsea Norell.

CNN reached out to Buck’s attorney, Ludlow Creary II, for comment, but did not get an immediate response.

Democratic donor Ed Buck indicted for allegedly providing lethal doses of methamphetamine
According to a 2019 indictment, Buck “has engaged in a model of soliciting men to use drugs supplied by Buck and perform sex acts in Buck’s apartment” – a practice described in the document as “party and game”.
The victims were solicited on social media, including a gay dating site, and Buck hired a recruiter to find and nominate men, prosecutors said.

Prosecutors said in a press release Tuesday that Buck typically targets people who are poor, homeless or struggling with drug addiction.

“He exploited the wealth and the balance of power between them by offering his victims money to use drugs and letting Buck inject them with drugs,” prosecutors said in the statement.

Buck bought a plane ticket for Moore, who had moved to Texas, so that Moore could fly to Los Angeles in July 2017 to party and play in Buck’s apartment, prosecutors said.

CNN affiliate KCBS reported that Moore’s mother Latisha Nixon said Tuesday was bittersweet because her son died four years ago on July 27.

“But we had the victory today,” she said outside the courthouse.

Timothy Dean’s sister, Joyce Jackson, thanked her supporters.

“Finally, Ed Buck won’t hurt anyone else, and I thank God for that,” Jackson said.

Norell thanked the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department, the FBI, and the Drug Enforcement Administration.

“They’ve put together a tremendous case and we wouldn’t have had the volume and quality of the evidence without our law enforcement partners who are the unsung heroes here,” said Norell.

Buck, 66, faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years in federal prison with a maximum sentence of life in federal prison.

He also faces state charges filed by the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office.

Buck has donated to a number of Democratic and PAC candidates in recent years, according to information from OpenSecrets, a non-partisan group that follows money in US politics. Recipients rushed to return Buck’s money after Dean died.

Sarah Moon of CNN contributed to this report.

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