XPost: la.general, alt.politics.media, rec.arts.tv.comedy.colbert-report   
   XPost: dc.politics   
   From: ed.buck.dick.smoking@disney.com   
      
   Federal prosecutors announced on Thursday that they have filed   
   charges against prominent Democratic donor Ed Buck in connection   
   with the 2017 death of Gemmel Moore at his West Hollywood   
   apartment.   
      
   Buck, 65, has been charged with providing methamphetamine to a   
   victim who died after receiving the drug intravenously,   
   according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for   
   the Central District of California.   
      
   An affidavit outlines what U.S. District Attorney Nicola Hanna   
   described as a “disturbing” pattern in which he said Buck would   
   offer money and drugs in exchange for sex at his residence in   
   the 1200 block of Laurel Avenue.   
      
   The defendant is accused of providing the meth that resulted in   
   the overdose of Moore, who was 26 when he died on July 27, 2017.   
   His death was ruled an accidental methamphetamine overdose by   
   the Los Angeles County coroner's office.   
      
   The criminal complaint also alleges another man also died from a   
   drug overdose at Buck’s apartment earlier this year.   
      
   Though neither the complaint nor federal officials identified   
   the victim, the date given -- Jan. 7 -- matches up to when 55-   
   year-old Timothy Dean suffered a fatal overdose at the residence.   
      
   No one called 911 until at least 15 minutes after Dean died,   
   according to the autopsy report. His death was ruled an   
   accident, and the cause was listed as methamphetamine and   
   alcohol toxicity.   
      
   Despite the second overdose death at his home, the political   
   activist continued soliciting men in exchange for sex.   
      
   Several months ago, during the investigation, personnel from the   
   Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department located a homeless man   
   in a West Hollywood park who told them he had two encounters   
   with Buck, including one where he lost consciousness after being   
   injected with meth, according to Hanna.   
      
   The victim told investigators he heard about Buck from other   
   men, who said they referred to Buck as “Dr. Kevorkian” because   
   he was “well known for compensating male prostitutes with drug   
   and money,” Hanna said.   
      
   There are 10 other victims in the federal case, including nine   
   who told investigators that Buck gave them narcotics or   
   encouraged them to inject drugs as part of an agreed upon   
   compensation for sexual services, according to Hanna.   
      
   The last victim was a 37-year-old man who overdosed at his   
   apartment twice, once on Sept. 4 and again on Sept. 11, the   
   federal complaint stated.   
      
   The victim had been living with Buck until earlier this month,   
   and alleged he had been injected with meth daily, according to   
   Hanna. He overdosed twice, resulting in two hospitalizations,   
   but survived.   
      
   Buck was arrested and charged Tuesday, six days after the   
   victim’s second overdose, authorities said.   
      
   Activists had been calling for Buck's arrest and prosecution in   
   connection with the deaths of Moore and Dean long before the   
   prominent donor was taken into custody.   
      
   Local prosecutors had previously cited insufficient evidence to   
   file charges against Buck.   
      
   Now the DA's office is pursuing charges against Buck including   
   battery, administering methamphetamine and maintaining a drug   
   house.   
      
   In the filing from Tuesday, prosecutors depicted him as a   
   "violent, dangerous sexual predator. They allege he used drugs,   
   money, and shelter as bait to lure men struggling with addiction   
   and homelessness into his apartment, where he "manipulates them   
   into participating in his sexual fetishes," according to court   
   documents.   
      
   If convicted on the original charges, Buck would have faced up   
   to five years and eight months in state prison.   
      
   But local and federal officials worked together to build a   
   tougher case, which could result in Buck potentially spending   
   the rest of his life behind bars if he's convicted on the latest   
   charges.   
      
   “Under state law, we determined there was insufficient   
   admissible evidence to hold him responsible for the deaths of   
   Mr. Moore and Mr. Dean," L.A. District Attorney Jackie Lacey   
   explained at the news conference. “Ultimately, we arrived at the   
   conclusion that there were more options under federal law that   
   can carry a lengthier prison sentence.”   
      
   The federal charges carry a minimum mandatory sentence of 20   
   years in prison, and a maximum sentence of life in prison   
   without the possibility of parole, according to Hanna.   
      
   Buck appeared in Los Angeles County Superior Court in downtown   
   L.A. Thursday. Later in the afternoon, he appeared in U.S.   
      
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