LOS ANGELES (CBSLA) – Not long ago, Ed Buck was rubbing elbows with some of the Democratic party’s biggest stars – donating tens of thousands of dollars to various candidates and causes.
But now, Buck is under fire from community activists after a second gay black man – identified as 55-year-old Timothy Dean – died in his home in January. People gathered twice last month, chanting outside Buck’s West Hollywood apartment building.
Leticia Nixon – the mother of Gemmel Moore, who died at Buck’s apartment in July of 2017 of a drug overdose – spoke to the crowd.
“We shouldn’t even be here. There shouldn’t be a second victim,” she said.
Before the two deaths at his home, Buck was a well-known activist. Originally from Arizona, he reportedly made around $1 million selling a courier company and moved to West Hollywood in the early 90s.
He’s often referred to as a wealthy donor. CBSLA’s Tom Wait found campaign finance records for federal, state and local donations.
Buck’s biggest political investment was for more than $300,000 to his political action committee called Animal PAC. The organization says it was “formed to represent animal welfare interests throughout California.”
Buck was a well-known animal rights activist. But he has also donated thousands of dollars to various politicians. Many of the donations were made years before the deaths at his home. In many cases,…
