August 3, 2023 • 27 mins
Host Sonari Glinton explores what happens when money, power, and fetishes lead to the demise of two Black men in the heart of West Hollywood.
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
In this podcast, we're going to talk frankly but sensitively
about issues some people might find disturbing, including rape and suicide.
If you or someone you know is suicidal in the
US down nine to eighty eight, check out this podcast
notes page for information on LGBT plus mental health resources
in your community.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
During the pandemic, I began this tradition of going on
long walks, and going on the walk is one of
the few things that will actually lower your blood pressure,
and I definitely need to do that and clear my
head and prepare for well, what we're about to do here.
You see, I live near the famous Sunset Strip. Actually,
let's walk down the strip.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Now.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
If you walk rather than drive, you get a whole
different point of view. You see all these beautiful cars,
pretty people. There's palm trees, glitz, and a lot of dogs.
I'm walking past a bunch of billboards. Sunset Boulevard is
one of the most expensive places to put a billboard.
And actually where this mall is, there's a gym where
(01:12):
all the porn stars work out. And before it was
a mall, it was Schwabs where Lana Turner was discovered.
Now just up the street is Laurel Canyon, where Joni Mitchell,
Buffalo Springfield, the Mamas and the papas live their best life.
And I'm walking near the Chateau Marmont, which is on
(01:32):
the opposite side of the street. On this side of
the street, there's just a hole in the ground. It
used to be the Garden of Alla, where everyone from
f Scott Fitzgerald to Frank Sinatra got their freak on
the chateau, though across the street is where Lindsay Lohan
racked up a forty six thousand dollars tab and where
John Belushi and Helmet Newton died. And if you walk
(01:56):
down the hill, all things just get more ordinary. One
hundred year old California bungalow, it's got to love them.
And they are these boxy apartment buildings that they call
dingbats here mixed with new buildings that don't actually fit in.
It's all, you know, typical Los Angeles, old and new,
(02:17):
high and low. Well, I have finally reached my destination.
This could be any apartment building in West Hollywood. There
are actually fifteen thousand rent controled apartments in the city.
But upstairs is that one apartment this street, this building,
(02:39):
all of it unremarkable in almost every way, well unless
you know what happened here. I'm standing in front of
one two three four North Laurel Avenue. It is a
pretty street by West Hollywood standards, But this is Hollywood. Actually,
(03:02):
this is West Hollywood. That distinction is super important because
this is a city all of its own. It's actually
the largest gay city per capita in the US. Hollywood
or West Hollywood, in Tinseltown, nothing is exactly as it appears.
When you step behind the velvet rope and turn off
the cleeg lights, you'll uncover a world that is definitely
(03:26):
much darker. It was harrowing.
Speaker 4 (03:31):
It was the most disturbing facts I can remember reading
in my life. I was speechless. The accounts of the
victims were just truly shocking. I had never seen anything
quite like this, and I don't think I ever will again.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
The woman you just heard, she's a federal prosecutor, And
I got to tell you when a federal prosecutor shocked,
you know, it's a real story. Now, what happened here
at one two three four North Laurel Avenue, on this
pretty West Hollywood street is more than just the story.
It's as dark as you can get in a city
that has a pretty dark history. But if you're gay
(04:17):
and black like me, this is not a news story.
There's been John Wayne Gacy. There was also Jeffrey Dahmer,
but in West Hollywood, we've had our own version. On
the streets, they called him doctor Kravorkian. His real name
is ed Buck.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
He seemed to have no remorse for what he was doing.
He was putting people's lives in danger on a regular basis,
and not just people, but specifically vulnerable communities, and just
really what he was doing was pretty horrific.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
He would get angry, he would get nasty, he would
get the violin.
Speaker 6 (05:00):
So this was a part of his personality.
Speaker 4 (05:03):
He didn't think that those were people who would be
trusted and believed over him, who held himself out as
this political donor and this powerful person who hung photos
of himself with powerful people in his apartment where he
was victimizing these people, I mean they were political figures,
quite literally, lording over his victims.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Those are two of the prosecutors and one of the
reporters who covered the case. This story changed many of
the lives of the people involved in it, but what's crazy,
And to be honest, what's fucked up is just how
ordinary the story of ed Buck feels. Now, what's not
ordinary is how the community responded. What's not ordinary is
(05:49):
this podcast. I'm Sinari Glinton. I'm going to be your host,
me and my team of journalists, researchers and producers. We're
going to walk you through a story that says Hollywood
as Marilyn Monroe, John Belushi, Bill Cosby or the Sunset struggle,
(06:10):
you see for every young starlet or celebrity or influence
or a singer who comes here to make a living,
there is another darker, shadowy side of this city.
Speaker 6 (06:21):
They said that Buck is quote a predator with no
regard for human life, who gave the victims dangerously large
doses of narcotics.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
We're going to take you inside the apartment of ed Buck.
Some people have called it the gates of Hell, and
we're going to try to tell the stories of why
these particular black lives, the lives of Jamel Moore and
Timothy Ding, why they matter. And here's the key. We're
going to try to make sense of why it took
so damn long to bring ed Buck to justice. Let's
(06:52):
listen to a candlelight vigil held here on August eighteen,
twenty seventeen, for one of the victims, James Goodford.
Speaker 7 (07:05):
To cover this family, it just shouldn't have happened. My
son found police reports, his be cried out to so
many people in It's crazy how the whole entire situation
was handled. My son's dead, and five days later the
case is closed. I just want justice. That's it.
Speaker 4 (07:30):
Now.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
The producers and I have asked ourselves a question, what
does justice look like? How do you tell a story
that needs to be told without causing more pain to
the victims or sensationalizing the trauma of gay black men
like myself. This is supposed to be a true crime podcast,
but to be honest, as a black man and as
(07:51):
a veteran of public radio, I hate true crime. And
it's important that we tell you what happened. You know facts,
but we're not looking to wallow and gore. And if
you want to hear laughing that human tragedy, well this show,
ain't it. I've spent a lifetime telling stories, mainly public
radio ones. One of our favorite course products.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
In your Scenarios and Pierre Scenario, Glinton is in Japlin
in Pira. Scenari Glinton reports from the Capital, and PR
Scenario Clinton reports from Detroit.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Sabrina Fulton and Tracy Martin are the parents of Trayvon Martin.
Speaker 8 (08:25):
Even if Scenari is the only one who's doing it
like that impulse of just like I'm just gonna go
for it. I'm going to say something that's ridiculous and
just see if it works. I mean, you know, in
the movies, that's what gets the girl in the movies,
that's what makes you a hero.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
That last voice you heard was Ira Glass. He's the
voice everyone tried to emulate when podcasts where brand spanking new,
and his influence is definitely all over my work. But
what's happening to black folks or gay or trans people
in America and the globe? I really needed to do
journalism differently. The last thing we need in this age
(09:08):
is another polite, fucking public radio report. This is shattering
the system. As Oursie Lord said, the Master's tools will
never dismantle the Master's house. So we're going to do
(09:29):
something different. The only way that I know to shatter
the system is to shine a light, do the work,
afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted, give voice to
the voiceless. We're going to look at crimes that tell
a larger story, help connect the dots, give you context,
and maybe together we can learn how to shatter the system.
(09:55):
But first, how West Hollywood is really just like your
hometown but not that's after a break. One of the
most powerful testimonials you'll hear in this story is first
person from the first victim, Jamel Moore. His diary, in
(10:16):
many ways, is the reason this story could be told. Now.
We want to bring his words to you in an
audio form, so we hired an actor. Let's take a lesson.
Speaker 9 (10:27):
Ed Buck is the one to think. He gave me
my first injection of crystal men. It was painful, but
after all the troubles, I became addicted to the pain
and the fantasy.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
It's that diary and those words that launched an investigation.
That's what made us want to do shattering the system.
Jamel Moore predicted his own death at the hands of
a man who lived at this address one two three
four North Laurel. Jamel's name, though, isn't as widely known
as ay Avon Martin or George Floyd let's listen to
(11:03):
a visual for Jamel Moore that took place near where
I'm standing.
Speaker 9 (11:07):
Allowed them to know that God and God is still
in control.
Speaker 7 (11:13):
You fight for the ones you love and I will
not stop until I get justice. Ed Buck needs to
be held to accountability for all the things that he's done.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
It would take the death of another black gay man,
Timothy Dean, and an unlikely group of women to get justice.
And as we tell that story, there's also a story
here about how local government works and doesn't, how the
sex apps have changed the nature of gay life, media representation,
what happens or does not happen when a black person
(11:49):
goes missing, the opioid epidemic, and so much more. Jameel
Moore went to ed hooks of Turban on Rural Avenue
and ed injected into it's been killed. It was really horrific.
Speaker 10 (12:06):
Yeah, a young man whose friends who I've talked to
say there was so much more to Jamel Moore.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
That's Hank Scott. He is a pioneer in local journalism
and for years he's one of the few people who
took West Hollywood seriously. He's one of the dozens of
people that we're going to interview for this series. Now,
if we're going to make sense of one of the
most bizarre stories in Hollywood history, we're going to have
to give you context history. So we talked to a
(12:34):
roommate of one of the victims who made us think
not just about life in a neighborhood, but life in
America itself.
Speaker 11 (12:41):
I don't want to offend anybody, but you know, in the
American society it does feel there is only one god,
and the only god that there is money. You know,
everybody is so attached to money, and you know, especially
in la you can see a lot of behavior that
you know, it's like you want to hang out with
people that can progress your career, that can open doors
for you, that can get you to the right party.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
There are so many bizarre twists and connections to making
the season. For example, let's listen to part of the
interview that I did with Ludlow b. Query. He's a
former NAACP intern. He's now a defense attorney for Ed
Buck and he's the co counsul to Christopher Darden. You
may remember Darden because he prosecuted O. J. Simpson for
(13:23):
the murders of Ron Goldman. And Nicole Brown Simpson. He
lost that case. I have to ask the question that
I feel like the average black Angelino might say, which
would probably be something like, look, Chris Darden on the
wrong side yet again. I mean that is that's definitely
(13:47):
tell me that I'm wrong there.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
If you look at it outside of the criminal justice
sphere or the criminal justice space, then I can understand
why people would say that. Yes, I mean ed Buck
is ay he was doing horrible things that resulted in
the deaths of two black men. He's accused of exploiting
black men in particular.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Exploiting black men in particular queer men. The death of
these men so close to my demographic, so close to
my actual home, and this all requires something different. You know.
A fan wrote to me that it never occurred to
him that I was gay, or for that matter, black.
That idea has genuinely come to horrify me. It occurred
(14:39):
to me that so many gay journalists sanitize gay life.
I know I avoided doing gay stories, and part of
this season is to tell the part of the story
that we gay men leave out. I've never been into
ed Buck's apartment, but I've been in apartments that are
not too far off. Later in the season, we'll talk
to a prosecutor who is using new tools to find
(15:01):
the next head buck.
Speaker 12 (15:04):
I think it's really important not to accidentally do any
blame shifting or even sound like we're doing any blame shifting.
It is a great thing that we've reached a place
where gay people can be crowd and can be meeting
easily and online and non in secret. That is fantastic.
(15:29):
The problem is that there are bad people out there
exploiting it.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
The point is to expose the way that people use
or abuse the system, not to select shame or blame
the victims or turn anyone into a boogeyman. But we've
got to spill the tea and show the part of
gay life, gay black life that isn't RuPaul's drag race.
There's another side to gay life that isn't singing Padam Padam.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
On the way to pilates, he would dangle a disition
payments for people to take more drugs than they were
used to, or to slam or inject drugs when they
would otherwise have chosen only to smoke them. He would
put them in underwear and have them pose with very
(16:17):
specific lighting that he orchestrated in the background and take
photos of them, hundreds thousands of photos of them that
we found on his hard drives. It was just very specific,
and if you heard it only from one person, it
would be almost impossible to believe. But after the number
of accounts that I heard, I could practically finish the
(16:40):
victim's sentences because I was so attuned to this ritual.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
We tell the story of what it takes to bring
down a wealthy, gay, white political donor, and how can
black queer men find justice in Boycetown. That and a
whole lot After a break, Welcome to Shattering the System.
(17:13):
I'm your host, Scenari Glinton. For years, I've walked past
one two three FOURD North Laurel Avenue, our neighborhood polling
place was actually across the street from this address. Apartment seventeen, though,
was the home of Ed Buck. Actually, you know what
names tell you a lot. Edward Bernard Peter Buck Melter.
He lived here for decades, essentially from the very beginning
(17:36):
of West Hollywood when it became a city. So what
we're going to have to do for this show is
kind of start at the end, because in twenty twenty one,
ed Buck was convicted of two counts of distribution of
methan fetamine resulting in death, four counts of distribution of
methan fetamine, one count of maintaining a drug involved premises,
(17:56):
and two counts of enticement to travel in interstate commerce
for prostitution. He was sentenced to thirty years in a
federal prison. In April of twenty twenty two, he was
convicted of giving fatal doses of meth amphetamine to two
gay black men. Two gay black men died in ed
Buck's apartment after he injected them with meth That's the
(18:18):
end of the story. But this podcast is about uncovering
hidden systems, remembering the forgotten and the forgotten heart. And
it's often too easy for the media to run with
just one version of who a victim is, to forget
(18:39):
that these people were deeply complex individuals. Let's listen to Octavia.
He was Timothy Dean's roommate. Timothy died at the hands
of ed Buck, but before that terrible night, he lived
in an incredibly rich life.
Speaker 11 (18:54):
You know, I want to contribute to leaving the right
memory about him, and I want to say a good
memory the right memory about him. I think that this
is the story of a fifty year old man that
went through hell, purgatory and heaven, experienced life to the fullest,
(19:15):
made a lot of mistakes and a lot of right choices,
but always got back on his feet and try to
change his future for the better.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Why did it take so long for ed Buck to
be arrested or tried. I'll tell you what. I'll give
you a quick answer. Black bodies, actually, black queer bodies
do not matter until they do. In the queer world.
Black bodies are curiosities, commodities, toys, objects of hate. Did
I say black bodies, I mean our bodies, my body.
(19:56):
I am not surprised that this wasn't what the network's
call breaking news. If these men were any other color,
I wouldn't have to make a case for the national
or international implications of these lives that were lost. But
we will, and in the process, we'll show you the
systems that fail us, all the systems that make this
(20:18):
tragedy possible, Systems like the one run by the former
LA County District Attorney Jackie Lacy. Now these are protesters
demanding her ouster after she failed to prosecute at Buck.
(20:41):
You may not have thought much about West Hollywood. After all,
it's a relatively new city, carved out of the vastness
of La County in nineteen eighty four by an unlikely
coalition of gays, Lesbians, Russian immigrants, and rent control advocates.
I've lived here for ten years. Maybe you haven't thought
about it, but West Hollywood is where if you've ever
(21:02):
thought about moving to Hollywood, the image you have in
your mind, that's of West Hollywood, The Sunset Strip, the
Chateau Marmont, the whiskey of Go Go. That's all considered
what we lovingly call wee hoo ed Buck, or at
least his story is widely known here in West Hollywood,
and I just want to stop and talk to a
(21:23):
couple of neighbors to get some impressions. Hey, do you
mind if I asked your question or two? I'm a reporter.
How long have you lived in West Hollywood? Twenty five years?
You know, how would you describe West Hollywood to someone
who has never been to Hollywood.
Speaker 10 (21:39):
It's very vivid, it's a lot of different it's very diversified.
A lot of different people live here. Also, young people
that are some what some are gay, and they used
to be more gay percentage than now. Now it's very mixed.
I would say it's a quiet, safe neighborhood. It's convenient.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
The walkability is what you're like.
Speaker 10 (22:05):
Yeah, oh yes, everything's walking distance.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
This is likely where your favorite star lived before they
were famous, or lives now, or in some cases, where
they were found dead. The difference between West Hollywood and
the idea of West Hollywood is the dream of the
thing and its reality. You know, like, literally less than
one hundred yards away from here, I saw Keanu Reeves
(22:31):
driving looking exactly like Keanu Reeves in his Porsche. My
favorite one is seeing Paul McCartney driving down Fountain in
an Anti Corvette, singing to himself, this is the dream
of Hollywood. Tell you what. I've never reported on Hollywood,
(22:55):
but I've always wondered what would happen if we say,
took the rigor that we turned on Chicago politics and
put in on Hollywood. Hollywood is this crazy thing, y'all
that distracts people. The desire to be in Hollywood is
what Hollywood is really about. For every Hollywood story, there's
(23:17):
often a world that is so much darker here's ed
Buck's defense attorney Ludlow query again, the La is a jungle.
You got to be careful.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
You know, this city is very deceptive because it's beautiful,
the weather's beautiful, the people are beautiful. But there is
so much darkness in this city. And it's always been there.
It's always been there. You got to be careful.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
That's what we're going to try to unpack here this season.
And after a career of being polite and following the
rules of journalism, we've gathered an amazing team to help
me look beyond the obvious. I've always thought the way
that Barack Obama must say he felt about Trayvon Martin,
well that's the way I feel about these men whose
lives ended in that Bucks apartment. I feel a responsibility.
(24:09):
And most news organizations don't want to talk about sex
or black men, or gay men, or about sex workers.
Let's listen to the former La County District Attorney Jackie Lacy.
Speaker 6 (24:21):
We can't file a criminal case based on who has
the loudest voice and we.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Go out there and arrest him.
Speaker 6 (24:28):
Now, the clock starts ticking, and it wouldn't be ethical
right now to arrest him until we really had the evidence.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
And there were thousands of videos on his computer.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Ed Buck used the system because no one was supposed
to believe gay black men. He counted on a lack
of outrage. So what is this show? How are you
going to go about this? Well, specifically, this is a
story about homelessness, power, drugs, money, sex, race, sexual consent, HIV, stigma,
(25:12):
and all of those things that came to a head
in ed Buck's apartment one two three four North Laurel Avenue.
Just like there's a dark underbelly of Hollywood. This is
a story about two men who died tragically, but it's
also a story about strength and resilience, and that's why
we want to tell it. But let's be clear. The
only reason we are here today, and the only reason
(25:34):
ed Buck is finally in jail, is because one of
his victims predicted his own death and wrote about it.
Jamelle Moore died on a cold mattress with no one
there to comfort him, and nothing I can say in
this show will bring him back. However, he left the
diary to tell us his story. You see, Matthew Shepherd
(25:55):
was killed twenty five years ago this October, and the
murder of a gay white man in Wyoming was covered
wall the wall. They even did an HBO movie about
his life in this park where I've made my way
to and these bagpipes that you hear are in tribute
to his memory. In many ways, Jamel Moore's words are
(26:15):
his memorial. So in our next episode, we hear from
a victim in his own words, the power of Jamel
Moore's diary. That's next Week. Shattering the System is a
(26:51):
production of Macro Studios and iHeart Podcasts. I'm Your Host
Scenari Englinton. Follow me at s O N A R
I one on Instagram. Our series executive producers are Charles King,
Asha Corpus, Win, Royo Reccio, Jonathan Hunger, Lindsay Hoffman, and
Scenari Lynton. That's Me. Our show is co written and
(27:13):
produced by Ralph Cooper, The Iird and ben Corey Jones.
Erica Rodriguez is our associate producer. Dana Conway is our
archival producer, Chris Mann is our audio engineer, and Lisa
Pollock is our consulting editor. Sound design and music provided
by Chris Mann with pod Shaper Special thanks to Karen
Griggsby Bates and Porsa, Mikas Robertson clips provided by TYT Network,
(27:38):
The Young Turks, additional clips from Joville and Spectrum News.
We'll be back next week with they told him to
go away. That's on the next shatter in the system.
Thank you for listening.
In this podcast, we're going to talk frankly but sensitively
about issues some people might find disturbing, including rape and suicide.
If you or someone you know is suicidal in the
US down nine to eighty eight, check out this podcast
notes page for information on LGBT plus mental health resources
in your community.
Speaker 2 (00:26):
During the pandemic, I began this tradition of going on
long walks, and going on the walk is one of
the few things that will actually lower your blood pressure,
and I definitely need to do that and clear my
head and prepare for well, what we're about to do here.
You see, I live near the famous Sunset Strip. Actually,
let's walk down the strip.
Speaker 3 (00:49):
Now.
Speaker 2 (00:49):
If you walk rather than drive, you get a whole
different point of view. You see all these beautiful cars,
pretty people. There's palm trees, glitz, and a lot of dogs.
I'm walking past a bunch of billboards. Sunset Boulevard is
one of the most expensive places to put a billboard.
And actually where this mall is, there's a gym where
(01:12):
all the porn stars work out. And before it was
a mall, it was Schwabs where Lana Turner was discovered.
Now just up the street is Laurel Canyon, where Joni Mitchell,
Buffalo Springfield, the Mamas and the papas live their best life.
And I'm walking near the Chateau Marmont, which is on
(01:32):
the opposite side of the street. On this side of
the street, there's just a hole in the ground. It
used to be the Garden of Alla, where everyone from
f Scott Fitzgerald to Frank Sinatra got their freak on
the chateau, though across the street is where Lindsay Lohan
racked up a forty six thousand dollars tab and where
John Belushi and Helmet Newton died. And if you walk
(01:56):
down the hill, all things just get more ordinary. One
hundred year old California bungalow, it's got to love them.
And they are these boxy apartment buildings that they call
dingbats here mixed with new buildings that don't actually fit in.
It's all, you know, typical Los Angeles, old and new,
(02:17):
high and low. Well, I have finally reached my destination.
This could be any apartment building in West Hollywood. There
are actually fifteen thousand rent controled apartments in the city.
But upstairs is that one apartment this street, this building,
(02:39):
all of it unremarkable in almost every way, well unless
you know what happened here. I'm standing in front of
one two three four North Laurel Avenue. It is a
pretty street by West Hollywood standards, But this is Hollywood. Actually,
(03:02):
this is West Hollywood. That distinction is super important because
this is a city all of its own. It's actually
the largest gay city per capita in the US. Hollywood
or West Hollywood, in Tinseltown, nothing is exactly as it appears.
When you step behind the velvet rope and turn off
the cleeg lights, you'll uncover a world that is definitely
(03:26):
much darker. It was harrowing.
Speaker 4 (03:31):
It was the most disturbing facts I can remember reading
in my life. I was speechless. The accounts of the
victims were just truly shocking. I had never seen anything
quite like this, and I don't think I ever will again.
Speaker 2 (03:55):
The woman you just heard, she's a federal prosecutor, And
I got to tell you when a federal prosecutor shocked,
you know, it's a real story. Now, what happened here
at one two three four North Laurel Avenue, on this
pretty West Hollywood street is more than just the story.
It's as dark as you can get in a city
that has a pretty dark history. But if you're gay
(04:17):
and black like me, this is not a news story.
There's been John Wayne Gacy. There was also Jeffrey Dahmer,
but in West Hollywood, we've had our own version. On
the streets, they called him doctor Kravorkian. His real name
is ed Buck.
Speaker 5 (04:40):
He seemed to have no remorse for what he was doing.
He was putting people's lives in danger on a regular basis,
and not just people, but specifically vulnerable communities, and just
really what he was doing was pretty horrific.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
He would get angry, he would get nasty, he would
get the violin.
Speaker 6 (05:00):
So this was a part of his personality.
Speaker 4 (05:03):
He didn't think that those were people who would be
trusted and believed over him, who held himself out as
this political donor and this powerful person who hung photos
of himself with powerful people in his apartment where he
was victimizing these people, I mean they were political figures,
quite literally, lording over his victims.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Those are two of the prosecutors and one of the
reporters who covered the case. This story changed many of
the lives of the people involved in it, but what's crazy,
And to be honest, what's fucked up is just how
ordinary the story of ed Buck feels. Now, what's not
ordinary is how the community responded. What's not ordinary is
(05:49):
this podcast. I'm Sinari Glinton. I'm going to be your host,
me and my team of journalists, researchers and producers. We're
going to walk you through a story that says Hollywood
as Marilyn Monroe, John Belushi, Bill Cosby or the Sunset struggle,
(06:10):
you see for every young starlet or celebrity or influence
or a singer who comes here to make a living,
there is another darker, shadowy side of this city.
Speaker 6 (06:21):
They said that Buck is quote a predator with no
regard for human life, who gave the victims dangerously large
doses of narcotics.
Speaker 2 (06:30):
We're going to take you inside the apartment of ed Buck.
Some people have called it the gates of Hell, and
we're going to try to tell the stories of why
these particular black lives, the lives of Jamel Moore and
Timothy Ding, why they matter. And here's the key. We're
going to try to make sense of why it took
so damn long to bring ed Buck to justice. Let's
(06:52):
listen to a candlelight vigil held here on August eighteen,
twenty seventeen, for one of the victims, James Goodford.
Speaker 7 (07:05):
To cover this family, it just shouldn't have happened. My
son found police reports, his be cried out to so
many people in It's crazy how the whole entire situation
was handled. My son's dead, and five days later the
case is closed. I just want justice. That's it.
Speaker 4 (07:30):
Now.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
The producers and I have asked ourselves a question, what
does justice look like? How do you tell a story
that needs to be told without causing more pain to
the victims or sensationalizing the trauma of gay black men
like myself. This is supposed to be a true crime podcast,
but to be honest, as a black man and as
(07:51):
a veteran of public radio, I hate true crime. And
it's important that we tell you what happened. You know facts,
but we're not looking to wallow and gore. And if
you want to hear laughing that human tragedy, well this show,
ain't it. I've spent a lifetime telling stories, mainly public
radio ones. One of our favorite course products.
Speaker 1 (08:13):
In your Scenarios and Pierre Scenario, Glinton is in Japlin
in Pira. Scenari Glinton reports from the Capital, and PR
Scenario Clinton reports from Detroit.
Speaker 2 (08:22):
Sabrina Fulton and Tracy Martin are the parents of Trayvon Martin.
Speaker 8 (08:25):
Even if Scenari is the only one who's doing it
like that impulse of just like I'm just gonna go
for it. I'm going to say something that's ridiculous and
just see if it works. I mean, you know, in
the movies, that's what gets the girl in the movies,
that's what makes you a hero.
Speaker 2 (08:46):
That last voice you heard was Ira Glass. He's the
voice everyone tried to emulate when podcasts where brand spanking new,
and his influence is definitely all over my work. But
what's happening to black folks or gay or trans people
in America and the globe? I really needed to do
journalism differently. The last thing we need in this age
(09:08):
is another polite, fucking public radio report. This is shattering
the system. As Oursie Lord said, the Master's tools will
never dismantle the Master's house. So we're going to do
(09:29):
something different. The only way that I know to shatter
the system is to shine a light, do the work,
afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted, give voice to
the voiceless. We're going to look at crimes that tell
a larger story, help connect the dots, give you context,
and maybe together we can learn how to shatter the system.
(09:55):
But first, how West Hollywood is really just like your
hometown but not that's after a break. One of the
most powerful testimonials you'll hear in this story is first
person from the first victim, Jamel Moore. His diary, in
(10:16):
many ways, is the reason this story could be told. Now.
We want to bring his words to you in an
audio form, so we hired an actor. Let's take a lesson.
Speaker 9 (10:27):
Ed Buck is the one to think. He gave me
my first injection of crystal men. It was painful, but
after all the troubles, I became addicted to the pain
and the fantasy.
Speaker 2 (10:42):
It's that diary and those words that launched an investigation.
That's what made us want to do shattering the system.
Jamel Moore predicted his own death at the hands of
a man who lived at this address one two three
four North Laurel. Jamel's name, though, isn't as widely known
as ay Avon Martin or George Floyd let's listen to
(11:03):
a visual for Jamel Moore that took place near where
I'm standing.
Speaker 9 (11:07):
Allowed them to know that God and God is still
in control.
Speaker 7 (11:13):
You fight for the ones you love and I will
not stop until I get justice. Ed Buck needs to
be held to accountability for all the things that he's done.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
It would take the death of another black gay man,
Timothy Dean, and an unlikely group of women to get justice.
And as we tell that story, there's also a story
here about how local government works and doesn't, how the
sex apps have changed the nature of gay life, media representation,
what happens or does not happen when a black person
(11:49):
goes missing, the opioid epidemic, and so much more. Jameel
Moore went to ed hooks of Turban on Rural Avenue
and ed injected into it's been killed. It was really horrific.
Speaker 10 (12:06):
Yeah, a young man whose friends who I've talked to
say there was so much more to Jamel Moore.
Speaker 2 (12:13):
That's Hank Scott. He is a pioneer in local journalism
and for years he's one of the few people who
took West Hollywood seriously. He's one of the dozens of
people that we're going to interview for this series. Now,
if we're going to make sense of one of the
most bizarre stories in Hollywood history, we're going to have
to give you context history. So we talked to a
(12:34):
roommate of one of the victims who made us think
not just about life in a neighborhood, but life in
America itself.
Speaker 11 (12:41):
I don't want to offend anybody, but you know, in the
American society it does feel there is only one god,
and the only god that there is money. You know,
everybody is so attached to money, and you know, especially
in la you can see a lot of behavior that
you know, it's like you want to hang out with
people that can progress your career, that can open doors
for you, that can get you to the right party.
Speaker 2 (13:03):
There are so many bizarre twists and connections to making
the season. For example, let's listen to part of the
interview that I did with Ludlow b. Query. He's a
former NAACP intern. He's now a defense attorney for Ed
Buck and he's the co counsul to Christopher Darden. You
may remember Darden because he prosecuted O. J. Simpson for
(13:23):
the murders of Ron Goldman. And Nicole Brown Simpson. He
lost that case. I have to ask the question that
I feel like the average black Angelino might say, which
would probably be something like, look, Chris Darden on the
wrong side yet again. I mean that is that's definitely
(13:47):
tell me that I'm wrong there.
Speaker 3 (13:49):
If you look at it outside of the criminal justice
sphere or the criminal justice space, then I can understand
why people would say that. Yes, I mean ed Buck
is ay he was doing horrible things that resulted in
the deaths of two black men. He's accused of exploiting
black men in particular.
Speaker 2 (14:16):
Exploiting black men in particular queer men. The death of
these men so close to my demographic, so close to
my actual home, and this all requires something different. You know.
A fan wrote to me that it never occurred to
him that I was gay, or for that matter, black.
That idea has genuinely come to horrify me. It occurred
(14:39):
to me that so many gay journalists sanitize gay life.
I know I avoided doing gay stories, and part of
this season is to tell the part of the story
that we gay men leave out. I've never been into
ed Buck's apartment, but I've been in apartments that are
not too far off. Later in the season, we'll talk
to a prosecutor who is using new tools to find
(15:01):
the next head buck.
Speaker 12 (15:04):
I think it's really important not to accidentally do any
blame shifting or even sound like we're doing any blame shifting.
It is a great thing that we've reached a place
where gay people can be crowd and can be meeting
easily and online and non in secret. That is fantastic.
(15:29):
The problem is that there are bad people out there
exploiting it.
Speaker 2 (15:35):
The point is to expose the way that people use
or abuse the system, not to select shame or blame
the victims or turn anyone into a boogeyman. But we've
got to spill the tea and show the part of
gay life, gay black life that isn't RuPaul's drag race.
There's another side to gay life that isn't singing Padam Padam.
Speaker 4 (15:55):
On the way to pilates, he would dangle a disition
payments for people to take more drugs than they were
used to, or to slam or inject drugs when they
would otherwise have chosen only to smoke them. He would
put them in underwear and have them pose with very
(16:17):
specific lighting that he orchestrated in the background and take
photos of them, hundreds thousands of photos of them that
we found on his hard drives. It was just very specific,
and if you heard it only from one person, it
would be almost impossible to believe. But after the number
of accounts that I heard, I could practically finish the
(16:40):
victim's sentences because I was so attuned to this ritual.
Speaker 2 (16:49):
We tell the story of what it takes to bring
down a wealthy, gay, white political donor, and how can
black queer men find justice in Boycetown. That and a
whole lot After a break, Welcome to Shattering the System.
(17:13):
I'm your host, Scenari Glinton. For years, I've walked past
one two three FOURD North Laurel Avenue, our neighborhood polling
place was actually across the street from this address. Apartment seventeen, though,
was the home of Ed Buck. Actually, you know what
names tell you a lot. Edward Bernard Peter Buck Melter.
He lived here for decades, essentially from the very beginning
(17:36):
of West Hollywood when it became a city. So what
we're going to have to do for this show is
kind of start at the end, because in twenty twenty one,
ed Buck was convicted of two counts of distribution of
methan fetamine resulting in death, four counts of distribution of
methan fetamine, one count of maintaining a drug involved premises,
(17:56):
and two counts of enticement to travel in interstate commerce
for prostitution. He was sentenced to thirty years in a
federal prison. In April of twenty twenty two, he was
convicted of giving fatal doses of meth amphetamine to two
gay black men. Two gay black men died in ed
Buck's apartment after he injected them with meth That's the
(18:18):
end of the story. But this podcast is about uncovering
hidden systems, remembering the forgotten and the forgotten heart. And
it's often too easy for the media to run with
just one version of who a victim is, to forget
(18:39):
that these people were deeply complex individuals. Let's listen to Octavia.
He was Timothy Dean's roommate. Timothy died at the hands
of ed Buck, but before that terrible night, he lived
in an incredibly rich life.
Speaker 11 (18:54):
You know, I want to contribute to leaving the right
memory about him, and I want to say a good
memory the right memory about him. I think that this
is the story of a fifty year old man that
went through hell, purgatory and heaven, experienced life to the fullest,
(19:15):
made a lot of mistakes and a lot of right choices,
but always got back on his feet and try to
change his future for the better.
Speaker 2 (19:34):
Why did it take so long for ed Buck to
be arrested or tried. I'll tell you what. I'll give
you a quick answer. Black bodies, actually, black queer bodies
do not matter until they do. In the queer world.
Black bodies are curiosities, commodities, toys, objects of hate. Did
I say black bodies, I mean our bodies, my body.
(19:56):
I am not surprised that this wasn't what the network's
call breaking news. If these men were any other color,
I wouldn't have to make a case for the national
or international implications of these lives that were lost. But
we will, and in the process, we'll show you the
systems that fail us, all the systems that make this
(20:18):
tragedy possible, Systems like the one run by the former
LA County District Attorney Jackie Lacy. Now these are protesters
demanding her ouster after she failed to prosecute at Buck.
(20:41):
You may not have thought much about West Hollywood. After all,
it's a relatively new city, carved out of the vastness
of La County in nineteen eighty four by an unlikely
coalition of gays, Lesbians, Russian immigrants, and rent control advocates.
I've lived here for ten years. Maybe you haven't thought
about it, but West Hollywood is where if you've ever
(21:02):
thought about moving to Hollywood, the image you have in
your mind, that's of West Hollywood, The Sunset Strip, the
Chateau Marmont, the whiskey of Go Go. That's all considered
what we lovingly call wee hoo ed Buck, or at
least his story is widely known here in West Hollywood,
and I just want to stop and talk to a
(21:23):
couple of neighbors to get some impressions. Hey, do you
mind if I asked your question or two? I'm a reporter.
How long have you lived in West Hollywood? Twenty five years?
You know, how would you describe West Hollywood to someone
who has never been to Hollywood.
Speaker 10 (21:39):
It's very vivid, it's a lot of different it's very diversified.
A lot of different people live here. Also, young people
that are some what some are gay, and they used
to be more gay percentage than now. Now it's very mixed.
I would say it's a quiet, safe neighborhood. It's convenient.
Speaker 2 (22:04):
The walkability is what you're like.
Speaker 10 (22:05):
Yeah, oh yes, everything's walking distance.
Speaker 2 (22:09):
This is likely where your favorite star lived before they
were famous, or lives now, or in some cases, where
they were found dead. The difference between West Hollywood and
the idea of West Hollywood is the dream of the
thing and its reality. You know, like, literally less than
one hundred yards away from here, I saw Keanu Reeves
(22:31):
driving looking exactly like Keanu Reeves in his Porsche. My
favorite one is seeing Paul McCartney driving down Fountain in
an Anti Corvette, singing to himself, this is the dream
of Hollywood. Tell you what. I've never reported on Hollywood,
(22:55):
but I've always wondered what would happen if we say,
took the rigor that we turned on Chicago politics and
put in on Hollywood. Hollywood is this crazy thing, y'all
that distracts people. The desire to be in Hollywood is
what Hollywood is really about. For every Hollywood story, there's
(23:17):
often a world that is so much darker here's ed
Buck's defense attorney Ludlow query again, the La is a jungle.
You got to be careful.
Speaker 3 (23:28):
You know, this city is very deceptive because it's beautiful,
the weather's beautiful, the people are beautiful. But there is
so much darkness in this city. And it's always been there.
It's always been there. You got to be careful.
Speaker 2 (23:47):
That's what we're going to try to unpack here this season.
And after a career of being polite and following the
rules of journalism, we've gathered an amazing team to help
me look beyond the obvious. I've always thought the way
that Barack Obama must say he felt about Trayvon Martin,
well that's the way I feel about these men whose
lives ended in that Bucks apartment. I feel a responsibility.
(24:09):
And most news organizations don't want to talk about sex
or black men, or gay men, or about sex workers.
Let's listen to the former La County District Attorney Jackie Lacy.
Speaker 6 (24:21):
We can't file a criminal case based on who has
the loudest voice and we.
Speaker 2 (24:27):
Go out there and arrest him.
Speaker 6 (24:28):
Now, the clock starts ticking, and it wouldn't be ethical
right now to arrest him until we really had the evidence.
Speaker 5 (24:36):
And there were thousands of videos on his computer.
Speaker 2 (24:44):
Ed Buck used the system because no one was supposed
to believe gay black men. He counted on a lack
of outrage. So what is this show? How are you
going to go about this? Well, specifically, this is a
story about homelessness, power, drugs, money, sex, race, sexual consent, HIV, stigma,
(25:12):
and all of those things that came to a head
in ed Buck's apartment one two three four North Laurel Avenue.
Just like there's a dark underbelly of Hollywood. This is
a story about two men who died tragically, but it's
also a story about strength and resilience, and that's why
we want to tell it. But let's be clear. The
only reason we are here today, and the only reason
(25:34):
ed Buck is finally in jail, is because one of
his victims predicted his own death and wrote about it.
Jamelle Moore died on a cold mattress with no one
there to comfort him, and nothing I can say in
this show will bring him back. However, he left the
diary to tell us his story. You see, Matthew Shepherd
(25:55):
was killed twenty five years ago this October, and the
murder of a gay white man in Wyoming was covered
wall the wall. They even did an HBO movie about
his life in this park where I've made my way
to and these bagpipes that you hear are in tribute
to his memory. In many ways, Jamel Moore's words are
(26:15):
his memorial. So in our next episode, we hear from
a victim in his own words, the power of Jamel
Moore's diary. That's next Week. Shattering the System is a
(26:51):
production of Macro Studios and iHeart Podcasts. I'm Your Host
Scenari Englinton. Follow me at s O N A R
I one on Instagram. Our series executive producers are Charles King,
Asha Corpus, Win, Royo Reccio, Jonathan Hunger, Lindsay Hoffman, and
Scenari Lynton. That's Me. Our show is co written and
(27:13):
produced by Ralph Cooper, The Iird and ben Corey Jones.
Erica Rodriguez is our associate producer. Dana Conway is our
archival producer, Chris Mann is our audio engineer, and Lisa
Pollock is our consulting editor. Sound design and music provided
by Chris Mann with pod Shaper Special thanks to Karen
Griggsby Bates and Porsa, Mikas Robertson clips provided by TYT Network,
(27:38):
The Young Turks, additional clips from Joville and Spectrum News.
We'll be back next week with they told him to
go away. That's on the next shatter in the system.
Thank you for listening.
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