Bronx Priest Stole $1M+ from NYC Churches for Wild Gay S&M Romance

The Roman Catholic Church (particularly the U.S. Catholic bishops) continues to wage its jihad against LGBT individuals yet finds itself unable to escape continued stories of priestly abuse of boys or, even more fun, priest into kinky gay sex.  Perhaps it is  an example of Divine displeasure with the bitter old men who continue to persecute gays while closing their eyes to their own Pharisee like behavior.  The latest juicy story comes from New York City where a parishioner launched lawsuit alleges that Rev. Peter Miqueli (pictured above) stole more than $1 million from two parishes to fund his gay romance with a S&M master (pictured at the end of this post) with whom he supposedly bought a house and purchased drugs.  In addition, the slave master was paid $1,000 per rough sex session.  A Hollywood screenwriter couldn't write stuff this wild and salacious.  Here are highlights from the New York Daily News:

A scandalous lawsuit accuses a Bronx priest of looting more than $1 million from a pair of city parishes — then spending the cash on a long-running S&M romance with a muscle-bound boyfriend.

The Rev. Peter Miqueli reportedly paid $1,000 per rough sex session with his hunky lover, who demanded the priest address him as “Master” — and drink his urine, the lawsuit said.

The sex-slave priest and his boy toy have shared a house in Brick, N.J., after Miqueli paid $264,000 cash six years ago, according to the suit.

Miqueli, 53, was also accused of stealing money donated to fix a church pipe organ, siphoning funds from a parish thrift shop and getting high on drugs provided by a Bronx parishioner.

Alleged boyfriend Keith Crist, named as a co-defendant, had nothing to say about the salacious claims.   “I don’t have to talk to you!” he yelped before hanging up on a Daily News reporter.

Neighbors in Jersey say there’s a steady stream of male visitors at the Brick home on Cornell Dr., where a new BMW allegedly belonging to Crist usually sits in the driveway. Miqueli also installed a heavily trafficked hot tub in the backyard, the neighbors said.

Timothy Cardinal Dolan and the archdiocese are also named as defendants in the Manhattan court papers.   The lawsuit charges the church hierarchy, in an echo of the pedophilia scandal, with covering up for the pervert priest.

Earlier this year, she [Crist’s former girlfriend Tatyana Gudin] said, she sent Dolan and other archdiocesan officials numerous emails providing details of what she knew about Crist and Miqueli.

The lawsuit says a Bronx doctor who’s also a church trustee provided the pair with illegal drugs to get high. Miqueli also reportedly gave $60,000 to the doctor for the downpayment on a house.

Alleged boyfriend/slave master

Can someone explain to me why anyone sane continues to listen to the Catholic Church hierarchy on issues of sex and morality?

Hastert Would Serve Prison Time Under Plea Deal

As the House Republicans continue in total disarray as they await Paul Ryan's decision as to whether or not he wants to be a masochist and accept the position of Speaker of the House in the face of the growing insanity of the Republican Party, it is right and just - to use a phrase from the Catholic liturgy - to remember the hypocrisy of the so-called "family values" Republicans who do not practice what they preach.  A case in point is former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert who is under federal indictment for  banking law violations that arose from his hush money being paid to a former male student with whom Hastert allegedly had inappropriate sexual contact back in his years as a high school coach.  Politico looks at the plea deal being offered by the feds.  Here are excerpts:

Federal prosecutors in Chicago want former House Speaker Dennis Hastert to serve prison time to resolve a criminal indictment charging he violated federal banking law when he withdrew about $900,000 in cash to pay to an unnamed associate as part of an effort to cover up past [sexual] misconduct [with a minor], sources said.

Defense attorneys and prosecutors are negotiating a plea deal that they will bring before U.S. District Judge Thomas Durkin, according to sources close to the case. The deal, details of which are still emerging, would likely call for Hastert to spend more than a year behind bars, one source said.

Hastert, who retired from the House in 2007, was indicted in May on charges of structuring bank withdrawals to avoid federal reporting requirements and lying to the FBI about what he did with the money. The indictment said that between 2012 and 2014 Hastert withdrew $952,000 in increments of less than $10,000 after a bank official warned him that larger amounts would be reported to federal authorities. The federal charges said the money was part of $1.7 million the former speaker paid and a total of $3.5 million he promised to pay to compensate for "past misconduct" against a longtime acquaintance and to compensate for that misdeed.

The federal charges don't detail what Hastert allegedly did to trigger the request for compensation, but they do note that he worked as a teacher and coach at a high school in Yorkville, Ill. before entering politics 35 years ago. Press accounts quoting anonymous sources have claimed that Hastert's "misconduct" involved sexual contact with a male student, but Hastert's attorneys have complained bitterly that those stories came from improper law enforcement leaks.

Many experts expected Hastert to cut a plea deal to avoid the publicity and additional embarrassment a trial could bring, But some thought the 73-year-old former speaker would negotiate an agreement with prosecutors that would involve a period of home confinement and probation rather than prison time.

Some skeptics of the federal bank reporting requirements have criticized the federal indictment, describing it as an effort to punish Hastert for alleged sexual crimes that can't be charged now because the statutes of limitations has passed. However, courts have upheld the use of the law even in case where the government makes no allegation of wrongdoing besides the way the cash transactions were broken up.

Personally, I have no sympathy for Hastert.  And let's get real.  No one promises to pay $3.5 million for past "misconduct" unless that misconduct is very, very damaging.  Thus, the allegations of sexual misconduct with a former student seem to reach that level of gravity.  The other thing that I will note - as I have in the past - is that 9 times out of 10 it is the "family values" Republicans who seem to always be engaging in illicit and/or gay sex even as they lie to constituents and prostitute themselves to the Christofascist elements of the GOP base.

Dennis Hastert Was Being Blackmailed Over Gay Sexual Abuse

Damn!  The family values Republicans just can't seem to stay out of sex abuse scandals.  Especially gay sex scandals.  According to a story in the Los Angeles Times, former Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert was being blackmailed over gay sexual abuse dating back to his high school coaching days.  That's why he was hiding money being moved from bank accounts in violation of federal regulations.  If the story is true, one has to wonder why the Hell Hastert ever became a "family values" Republican with this kind of potential time bomb from his past.  I guess I will never understand the mindset of these folks.  Here are highlights from the Los Angeles Times:

Indicted former House Speaker Dennis Hastert was paying an individual from his past to conceal sexual misconduct, two federal law enforcement officials said Friday.

One of the officials, who would not speak publicly about the federal charges in Chicago, said “Individual A,” as the person is described in Thursday’s federal indictment, was a man and that the alleged misconduct was unrelated to Hastert’s tenure in Congress. The actions date to Hastert’s time as a Yorkville, Ill., high school wrestling coach and teacher, the official said.

It goes back a long way, back to then,” the source said. “It has nothing to do with public corruption or a corruption scandal. Or to his time in office.”  Thursday’s indictment described the misconduct “against Individual A” as having “occurred years earlier.”

Asked why Hastert was making the payments, the official said it was to conceal Hastert’s past relationship with the male. “It was sex,’’ the source said. The other official confirmed that the misconduct involved sexual abuse.

Federal prosecutors alleged that Hastert agreed to pay $3.5 million in apparent hush money to the individual, then lied to the FBI when asked about suspicious cash withdrawals from several banks.
The stunning indictment of the longtime Republican powerhouse alleged he gave about $1.7 million in cash beginning in 2010 to the acquaintance.

According to the seven-page indictment, Individual A met multiple times in 2010 with Hastert but brought up the allegations of past misconduct during at least one of the meetings. During that discussion and later meetings, Hastert agreed to pay $3.5 million to Individual A to conceal the wrongdoing, the indictment alleged.

From June 2010 to April 2012, Hastert made 15 withdrawals of $50,000 each from bank accounts he controlled and paid Individual A that cash about every six weeks, according to the charges.
After bank representatives questioned Hastert about the withdrawals in 2012, he began illegally structuring the cash withdrawals in increments less than $10,000 to evade bank reporting requirements, the indictment said.

When questioned by the FBI about the withdrawals last December, Hastert, who as speaker was once second in line to take over the Oval Office if the president was incapacitated, said he was trying to store cash because he didn't feel safe with the banking system, according to the charges.
"Yeah ... I kept the cash. That's what I'm doing," Hastert was quoted as saying to the agents.

Adding to the now swirling speculation, Towleroad has this:

Wrote liberal blogger Wayne Madsen at the time:

"There is also much focus on the relationship between House Speaker Dennis Hastert and his chief of staff, 56-year old Scott Palmer. Hastert and Palmer, Hastert's longtime unmarried adviser, live together in a DC townhouse along with Hastert's Deputy Chief of Staff, Mike Stokke, while Hastert's wife Jean lives in Yorkville, Illinois and stays at a hotel when she visits Washington."

As the husband would say, you can't write stuff this good.  Former Virginia 2nd District Congressman Ed Schrock's use of Mega Phone for hook ups pales in comparison!  How many other closeted Republicans are out there waiting to get outed - or indicted?

North Dakota Anti-Gay Republican Outed

Once again we find a stridently anti-gay Republican getting outed while soliciting gay sex.  The story line never seems to change: extreme anti-gay voting records and horrible anti-gay rhetoric in public, trolling for gay sex in private.  The hypocrisy is off the charts.  I totally agree with the so-called Barney Frank rule: "People have a right to privacy but not to hypocrisy."  North Dakota Republican state representative Randy Boehning sadly had it coming.  At the risk of sounding really shallow (or anti-bear), the most frightening aspect of the story given Boehning's girth and general unattractiveness is the thought of the "unsolicited photo of his penis" that he sent out.  The Bilerico Project has more details.  Here are highlights:

North Dakota Republican state representative Randy Boehning has a history of voting against the LGBT community, but that hasn't stopped him from cruising hookup apps looking for gay sex. Natch.

As with all hypocrites, Boehning got his comeuppance once the truth was revealed.

The exchange came to light when Dustin Smith, a 21-year-old Bismarck man with no known connections to the Capitol, contacted The Forum earlier this month, saying he recognized Boehning from a gay dating smartphone app called Grindr. Chatting under the user name Top Man!, Boehning sent Smith sexually suggestive messages and, in the early morning hours of March 12, an unsolicited photo of his penis, according to exchanges reviewed by The Forum.

"How can you discriminate against the person you're trying to pick up?" Smith said in a recent interview.

When first questioned about the messages two weeks ago, Boehning declined to comment on whether he sent the explicit photo and messages.

But on Saturday he confirmed he was Top Man! and said he doesn't think sending a graphic photo of himself to a stranger is a lapse in judgment, as Grindr is an adult site where users often exchange such images.

It's very reminiscent of former Virginia 2nd District Congressman Ed Schrock who had one of the most anti-gay voting records in Congress while using the old MegaPhone site to troll for gay sex.  At least Boehning had the integrity, unlike Schrock, to fess up.

bishop in charge of cleaning up Vatican finances 'Got Stuck in Elevator with a Rent Boy; Lived with Gay Lover in Uruguay

Absolutely nothing surprises me any more when it comes to the hypocrisy and number of gays in the Catholic Church hierarchy.  As more and more bizarre stories come out, one is left feeling that one could not write stuff as crazy and over the top of the reality within the Vatican and the Church hierarchy.  The latest story involves Monsignor Battista Ricca was recently appointed as Pope Francis's new point man charged with cleaning up the beleaguered Vatican Bank.  It seems that in addition to living with a gay lover in the past, Fr. Ricca was trapped in an elevator with a rent boy.  As I said, you can't make up shit this good.  Absent a complete house cleaning of the hierarchy to purge (i) child rapist enablers and protectors and (ii) hypocrites like Ricca, Pope Francis will only bring more of the same old sickness to Roman Catholicism.   The Daily Mail has coverage.  Here are highlights:

The man appointed by Pope Francis to clean up the Vatican's scandal-hit bank allegedly had a gay affair with a Swiss soldier and had to be rescued after getting stuck in a lift with a rent boy.

Monsignor Battista Ricca was recently appointed as Francis's new prelate with responsibility for the Vatican bank, the Institute for Religious Works which has been hit by years of financial scandal.

But according to an expose by weekly Italian news magazine L'Espresso, Monsignor Ricca's own record is less than spotless.

The publication has claimed that Monsignor Ricca only got the position as IoR prelate after the supposedly powerful 'gay lobby' in the Vatican airbrushed his CV.

According to the claims, Ricca took a Vatican diplomatic post in Uruguay in 1999 and caused shockwaves within the church when moved his Swiss army captain lover, Patrick Haari, in.

The publication claims that the allegations have been confirmed by a number of bishops, priests and laity in Uruguay.  Ricca was eventually moved to Trinidad and Tobago and then recalled to Rome in 2002.

The same year, he allegedly found himself in more hot water when he was attacked at a notorious cruising ground.  Soon afterward, Ricca had to be rescued by firemen when he got trapped in a lift.   He was reportedly found inside with a youth who was known to local police.

As well as his role as primate of the IoR, Ricca is also in charge of the Pope's residential quarters at the Vatican.

The allegations come a month after Pope Francis acknowledged the existence of a 'gay lobby' inside the Vatican's secretive administration for the first time.

The Vatican is no stranger to gay sex scandals.  In 2010, it was reported that one of Pope Benedict's ceremonial ushers and a member of the Vatican choir were involved in a gay prostitution ring.

The Vatican's problems would be laughable but for the harm that the sex obsessed bitter old men continue to do to gays  - especially gay youth - and women by portraying women and gays as inherently disordered sinners and temptresses, respectively.  If anyone is disordered, it's these bitter old queens in dresses.    With every passing day, I become increasingly amazed that anyone truly moral listens to these foul men much less gives them undeserved deference.

Italian Police Investigate Whether Catholic Priests Hired Rentboys for Sex in Churches

Yesterday porcine Cardinal Timothy Dolan of the Archdiocese of New York was whining and spewing untruths in reaction to the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Windsor.  Here's a sampling of Dolan's batshitery via the New Civil Rights Movement:

“Today is a tragic day for marriage and our nation,” Dolan, the president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) and thus the head of the Roman Catholic Church in America.

“The Court got it wrong,” Dolan added, in a joint statement with Archbishop Salvatore Cordileone of San Francisco, chair of the U.S. bishops’ Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage.

In typical false-framing and fear-mongering, the pair continued: "The common good of all, especially our children, depends upon a society that strives to uphold the truth of marriage. Now is the time to redouble our efforts in witness to this truth. These decisions are part of a public debate of great consequence. The future of marriage and the well-being of our society hang in the balance."

But just as always seems to be the case, as the Catholic hierarchy was loudly decrying gays as a threat to America and society in general, yet another scandal was breaking in Rome involving, yes, you guessed it, priests and underage boys.  As always, the bitter old queens in dresses cannot abide normal, well adjusted gays living their lives openly  and with legal recognition of their relationships even as members of the priesthood continue to engage in sex crimes against minors.  The hypocrisy is truly mind numbing.  The latest dirt comes via the International Business Times.  Here are excerpts:

Italian investigators have opened an inquiry into claims by a convicted paedophile priest that an underage prostitution ring has been operating inside the Holy Roman Church with clergymen hiring rentboys for sex inside churches.

Don Patrizio Poggi, 46, told Italian authorities that a former Carabinieri pimped boys for nine clergymen.

The boys were chosen because they were starving and desperate, he claimed, according to Il Messaggero newspaper.

The former policeman used to recruit the boys, mostly eastern European immigrants, outside a gay bar named Twink near Rome's Termini train station. He reportedly sat in his Fiat Panda - marked "Emergency Blood" to avoid parking fines - to make his selection.

He was helped in the recruitment process by a friend who ran a modelling agency. He lured underage boys into prostitution through "false work offers for modelling and acting roles", Poggi said.

The agent also looked for rentboys at gay discos, saunas and gyms across Rome. An accountant was also said to be involved.  The boys were paid €150-€500 (£130-£425) to perform sex acts in church premises across the capital.

Poggi reportedly presented documentary and photographic evidence to police in the company of two senior Vatican clergymen who vouched for his credibility.

Poggi identified the nine clergymen, including two senior church officials and a religion lecturer. Three people have been placed under formal investigation.

And meanwhile, there is this headline out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Dolan's former archdiocese "Capuchins Protected Sex Abusers for Years."  Here are some highlights from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

It's been 44 years since Father Mel Hermanns sexually abused a boy at St. Lawrence Seminary in Mount Calvary in Fond du Lac County.

It's been 23 years since a separate case of suspicious conduct "involving physical activities with minor males" was reported.

And 20 years since the Capuchin priest's order paid for the seminary victim's counseling, and sent Hermanns to a treatment center known for its programs for sex offenders.  But Hermanns was not removed from ministry until just last fall, and even then there was little public notification.

Hermanns' name appears on a list of 23 current and former Capuchin friars removed for sexually abusing minors. It was released last week as part of an unprecedented audit commissioned by the Detroit-based Capuchin Province of St. Joseph, which operates parishes and other ministries in Milwaukee, to assess its sexual abuse policies and come to terms with its history.

The audit echoes the broader church's handling of the global sex abuse crisis, and provides insight into how one religious order systematically protected abusers and put the concerns of friars and their organization ahead of their responsibility to victims.

I'm sorry, but I would argue that the Catholic hierarchy and priesthood are a far greater threat to society and certainly the welfare of children than gay marriage.  One has to wonder why individuals like Dolan - who is rumored to have hidden millions in Church assets rather than pay compensation to abuse victims - are not behind bars at this very moment. 

Vatican Orders Cardinal Into Exile Over Gay Sex

Protecting sexual predators as a bishop or cardinal gets you a plum position in Rome if things get to hot with the law - remember Cardinal Law? - but admit to gay sexual conduct and you find yourself banished sent into exile.  That's the message the Vatican is sending with its order to Scotland's Cardinal Keith O'Brien to leave the country.   Be assured that I have ZERO sympathy for O'Brien who has proven to be a lying hypocrite who used his position to take advantage of seminarians and young priests.   The Scotland Herald reports on O'Brien's forced exile.  Here are excerpts:

Friends of the cleric have said he has been told by Rome to shelve his plans to retire to a church-owned cottage in East Lothian and instead leave the country.

The Herald understands Cardinal O'Brien was given the news yesterday afternoon, three days after being photographed moving his personal belongings from his official residence in Edinburgh to the residence in Dunbar where he had been spending regular weekends over the past few years.

It is the clearest indication yet of the Vatican's unwillingness to let the matter drift and concern that the Cardinal's admission of gay activity over decades and allegations of abuse towards trainee priests continues to damage the Church.

Investigations also continue into claims made by a serving priest in Lanarkshire of a "gay mafia" running seminaries in the 1980s and naming leading Catholic figures.

The Herald revealed on Thursday Archbishop of Glasgow Philip Tartaglia was behind an appeal to the Vatican to intervene after Cardinal O'Brien's re-emergence in Scotland this week.

[S]enior figures in the Church said he was "still causing immense damage".

Blogger friend Father Tony who once served at the Vatican suggests that O'Brien go public with his full story - something that certainly would have the potential to embarrass Rome if others knew of his sexual trysts:

Since the Vatican has cut him loose, he ought to do the same to them. Come on, O'Brien, tell your story. Nothing to lose. Much to gain. Start with Letterman. Say the F word and get bleeped. Everyone already knows you did it.

The Vatican Buys Europe's Biggest Gay Sauna

Image from Europa Multiclub Webpage

Whether it was a (i) mistake and yet another part of the Vatican's administrative incompetence or (ii) a secret plan to offer a new "retreat" to the closeted members of the Church hierarchy, we will never know, but The Independent is reporting that the Holy See has purchased a €23 million (£21 million) - roughly US$30 million - share of a Rome apartment block that houses Europe’s biggest gay sauna.  Obviously, the news is hysterically funny in my view with the conclave to elect the next pope set to begin tomorrow.  Perhaps the cardinals will mosey on by Europa Multiclub once they are done casting their secret ballots.  Here's a portion of the club president's greeting:

EMC is a place created by males and for males only. Our aim is to let you appreciate the taste and the satisfaction of meeting other persons in a unique and special place... Here you will find: king Turkish bath, Finnish sauna, giant whirlpool, waterfall whirlpool, relaxation rooms with videos, gym with Tecnogym equipments, cinema, aesthetics - solarium - massage, parties - shows - surprises,  .  .  .  .  The "BEAR" area speaks for itself.  Bears, hunters and admirer are welcome in Europa Multiclub!

Here are highlights from The Independent article:

A day ahead of the papal conclave, faces at the scandal-struck Vatican were even redder than usual after it emerged that the Holy See had purchased a €23 million (£21 million) share of a Rome apartment block that houses Europe’s biggest gay sauna.

The senior Vatican figure sweating the most due to the unlikely proximity of the gay Europa Multiclub is probably Cardinal Ivan Dias, the head of the Congregation for Evangelisation of Peoples, who is due to participate in tomorrow’s election at the Sistine Chapel.

This 76-year-old “prince of the church” enjoys a 12-room apartment on the first-floor of the imposing palazzo, at 2 Via Carducci, just yards from the ground floor entrance to the steamy flesh pot. There are 18 other Vatican apartments in the block, many of which house priests.

The Holy See is still reeling from allegations that the previous pontiff, Benedict XVI, had quit in reaction to the presence of a gay cabal in the curia.

And with disgraced Scottish cardinal Keith O’Brien lending new weight to charges of hypocrisy against the Church’s stance on homosexuality, La Repubblica newspaper noted that the presence of “Italy’s best known gay sauna in the premises is an embarrassment”.

Cardinal Dias, who is seen as a social conservative even by the current standards of the church hierarchy, is no doubt horrified to learn of the activities taking place a floor below.

It is not known, however, if the former archbishop of Bombay has popped downstairs to give spitiual guidances to the clients of the Europa Multiclub, given his belief that gays and lesbians can be cured of their “unnatural tendencies” through the “sacrement of penance”.

The sauna’s website promotes one of its special “bear nights”, with a video in which a rotund, hairy man strips down before changing into a priest’s outfit. It says Bruno, “a hairy, overweight pastor of souls, is free to the music of his clergyman, remaining in a thong, because he wants to expose body and soul”.

There was further embarrassment for the Holy See when the press observed that thanks to generous tax breaks it received from the last Berlusconi government, the church will have avoided hefty payments to the Italian state. The properties are recognized as part of the Holy City.

 As the boyfriend likes to say, you can't write stuff this good.  Here's the "Bear" video:
 

The Continued Moral Bankruptcy of the Catholic Hierarchy

One can only hope that O'Brien gets what he deserves in the end.  What is more troubling is the likelihood that there are many others like O'Brien in the Church hierarchy and the main efforts of the institutional Church will be to protect them even as normal, well adjusted gays continue to be attacked by the bitter, self-loathing old queens in Rome. 

UK Cardinal Admits to Sexual Improprieties

I have long maintained that those most outwardly homophobic and who verbally attack gays are typically the worse self-loathing closet cases.  Indeed, a University of Georgia study founded that it was the homophobes, not the gays, who were most aroused when viewing gay porn.  And this rule  of thumb seemingly holds true both in and out of religious institutions.  One need only recall Virginia Congressman Ed Schrock who had one of the most anti-gay voting records in Congress yet dropped his re-election campaign after it was exposed that he was using a gay hook up site to arrange trysts with men.  Now we can add Cardinal Keith O'Brien to this list of self-loathing hypocrites and liars.  Until recently, O'Brien was the highest ranking Catholic in the United Kingdom.  That is to say that was until accusations were leveled by five past and present priests that O'Brien had engaged in sexual improprieties with them.  O'Brien quickly resigned and was barred from participating in the conclave to elect a new Pope.  Now, O'Brien has admitted that the allegations were true.  One can only wonder (i) how many in the Church hierarchy knew of O'Brien's improper actions and (ii) how many more O'Briens there are among the ranks of the Church's bishops and cardinals.  I suspect that the answer to both issues is that many knew and many others have engaged in similar actions.  Pink News looks at O'Brien's admission that the claims against him were true.  Here are excepts:

In the statement, released on Sunday, the Cardinal apologised, and asked for forgiveness, as well as admitting that, despite previously contesting the allegations, some were true.

It read: “In recent days certain allegations which have been made against me have become public. Initially, their anonymous and non-specific nature led me to contest them.

“However, I wish to take this opportunity to admit that there have been times that my sexual conduct has fallen below the standards expected of me as a priest, archbishop and cardinal.

“To those I have offended, I apologize and ask forgiveness… To the Catholic Church and people of Scotland, I also apologize.”  He concluded by saying that he would retire, and would have no involvement in the Catholic church in Scotland, going forward.

He said: “I will now spend the rest of my life in retirement. I will play no further part in the public life of the Catholic Church in Scotland.”

Also today, one of the priests accusing Cardinal O’Brien of inappropriate behaviour came forward to call for transparency within the Catholic church, which he said would “crush him” if it could, for speaking out. 

Last November, Cardinal O’Brien was named ‘Bigot of the Year’ by a gay rights charity due to his staunch opposition to marriage equality.

In 2012, he stated that same-sex relationships were “harmful to the physical, mental and spiritual well being” and compared equal marriage to slavery and child abuse.

In an editorial on Friday, British Catholic newspaper The Tablet said:“When Cardinal Keith O’Brien called gay marriage a ‘grotesque subversion’ and ‘madness’ it attracted widespread censure. No wonder the accusations of inappropriate behaviour as a younger man – strenuously denied – were so damning. If true, it made him look a hypocrite. For the church this was a public relations disaster.”

I suspect that the college of cardinals will elect yet another right wing, reactionary homophobe to replace Benedict XVI and that nothing will change within the Church.

Indiana Anti-Gay Lawmaker Offers Teen Boy $80 for Sex

UPDATED: Not surprisingly, according to new reports from the Indianapolis Star, Hinkle appears to be receiving pressure from the GOP to resign:

"I strongly recommend that Representative Hinkle resign his position," said Marion County Republican Chairman Kyle Walker, "so that he can focus on his family and not have this situation detract from that or the work that needs to continue in his legislative district."

Andy Harris, Wayne Township trustee and former Wayne Township GOP chairman, said the people he has spoken to in Wayne Township are "just shocked and floored."

"It is not something they expected from Phil Hinkle," said Harris, who attends St. Christopher Catholic Church with him and considers him a friend. "But if found to be true, he definitely needs to step down. . . . There's no way I could support somebody running for an elected office doing that to their spouse and their family."

How many of those who are "shocked and floored" are still contributing to the Catholic Church? Hinkle's conduct is nothing compared to the criminal conspiracy that has unfolded under the Church hierarchy in covering up the sexual abuse of tens of thousands of children and youths.

ORIGINAL POST: Once again it seems those who are the most anti-gay in the public political lives are the ones actually out trolling for gay sex. As Bil Browning at Bilerico reports, the Indianapolis Star has "outed" Indiana Republican representative Phil Hinkle for offering a teenage boy $80 for sex after finding the young man on Craigslist. It's beyond hypocrisy and while many may disagree with me -as some of you have let me know in the past - I believe that every last one of these bastards needs to be exposed for the liars and hypocrites that they are in fact. They do untold damages to the lives of other LGBT citizens and, I'm sorry, I find it impossible to find even a tiny shred of sympathy for these people. It's one thing to be in the closet. It's something all together different to be in the closet and trolling for gay sex even as one is pushing legislation to harm other LGBT citizens. Here are highlights from the Star's coverage:

Emails shared with The Indianapolis Star suggest that state Rep. Phillip Hinkle -- responding to a local posting on Craigslist -- offered a young man $80 plus tip to spend time with him Saturday night at the JW Marriott hotel.

The emails, sent from Hinkle's publicly listed personal address, ask the young man for "a couple hours of your time tonight" and offer him cash up front, with a tip of up to $50 or $60 "for a really good time."

The email exchange is in response to the Craigslist posting in which the young man -- who lists his age as 20 in the ad but says he is 18 years old -- says, "I need a sugga daddy."

The young man told The Star that they met, but that he tried to leave after the man told him he was a state lawmaker. He said the lawmaker at first told him he could not leave, grabbed him in the rear, exposed himself to the young man and then later gave him an iPad, BlackBerry cellphone and $100 cash to keep quiet.

When contacted by The Star about the emails, Hinkle, a Republican who represents portions of Pike and Wayne townships, did not contest the emails but said, "I am aware of a shakedown taking place." Asked what he meant by shakedown, Hinkle would not elaborate. He directed further questions to his attorney.

The young man, Kameryn Gibson, told The Star he posted the Craigslist ad in the "Casual Encounters" section under m4m, which is shorthand for men for men. He used his adopted sister's email address.

Gibson said he and the man met but that they did not have sex. He and the sister, Megan Gibson, flatly denied any shakedown. "I wasn't shaking him down, at all," Kameryn Gibson said. Megan Gibson said she contacted The Star because she thought Hinkle's actions were "creepy" and, given his stature, that his actions should be made public.

Megan Gibson also provided the email exchange, which she forwarded to The Star. She also allowed a reporter to inspect the emails, which she had kept, on her smartphone. The phone contained not only the email exchange but a call log that showed phone calls from numbers that match both Hinkle's cellphone and home phone.

When Megan Gibson arrived to pick up her brother, she again threatened to call police and the local media. Kameryn and Megan Gibson said Hinkle then offered his iPad, a BlackBerry and $100 in cash.

Megan Gibson said that on the drive back, she began receiving a series of calls on the BlackBerry, including one from a woman who said she was Hinkle's wife. "I was like, 'Your husband is gay,' " Megan said. "And then she was like, 'You have the wrong person.' " Megan read her the email address: phinkle46 @comcast.net.
The line went silent. "Just for a couple seconds," Megan Gibson said, "and the first thing she said was, 'Please don't call the police.' " Phone messages left with Hinkle's wife late Thursday were not returned.

Assuming that Hinkle's wife did not know about her husband's hypocrisy and double life, then she does have my sympathy to some extent. The blame in that situation all lies with her husband. On the other hand, if she knew and did nothing to rein in his anti-gay voting agenda, then I'm sorry. She bears culpability as well.

Gay Italian Priests Sex Scandal Caught on Video

Yet another bomb shell to rock the Roman Catholic Church as an Italian investigative report tracks three priests in Rome who were caught by hidden cameras in sex romps and visits to gay clubs. Frankly, I am not surprised in the least. The more relevant question is how many [thousands] more are there and who many are within the ranks of the high clerics in the hierarchy? Papa Ratzi will naturally say the Church's sexual misconduct issues are all the fault of the gays - conveniently ignoring the Church system that helped make the priesthood a safe hiding place for both gays and pedophiles. Do I feel sorry for the priests caught in the probe? Not really - if they had any self-respect they would leave the Church. The good news, of course, is that at least these priests were not busy raping children and minors. Both The Advocate and the Daily Mail have coverage. Here are highlights from the Daily Mail:
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A gay priest sex scandal has rocked the Catholic Church in Italy today after a weekly news magazine released details of a shock investigation it had carried out. Using hidden cameras, a journalist from Panorama magazine - owned by Italian Prime Minister and media baron Silvio Berlusconi - filmed three priests as they attended gay nightspots and had casual sex.
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Today there was no immediate comment from the Italian Bishops Conference and the Vatican - which has been rocked by a series of sex scandals involving paedophile priests since the start of the year.
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Panorama described its investigation as 'deeply disturbing' as it detailed how three priests - two Italians and a Frenchman - happily took part in gay events and had casual sex.

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In one part of the investigation Panorama said that one priest, named as Carlo, willingly put on his cassock to have sex with the reporter's gay accomplice, adding 'all of which was filmed by the hidden camera'. The magazine also described how they had attended a Mass which was celebrated by Carlo.

Ted Haggard on Larry King Live

Ted Haggard and his wife and his oldest son are on Larry King Live as I type this post and my first reaction is "Get me the vomit bag!" First, Haggard has refused to assure viewers that there are no other men with whom he had relations other than Mike Jones and Grant, the young New Life Church volunteer. I suspect that this refusal means one thing: that we can expect more revelations from other men in the future.

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Second, and most disgusting of all is Haggard's claim that he is "heterosexual with issues" according to his "therapist." Of course, I suspect that his therapist is someone who is an affiliate or protege of NARTH and Exodus International - which means a witch doctor would have the same legitimacy. I was married for 24 years and fathered three children, so I do know how strong the urge is to deny the reality of one's true sexual orientation. But give me a break!! Haggard has had at least two gay affairs that lasted for some time - it wasn't a case of one or even two unplanned slips on Haggard's part.

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Either (1) Haggard is delusional or (2) he and his wife are playing the situation in order to somehow turn it into a money making proposition through book deals or some other ploy. Perhaps it's a case of a little of both. All I can say is that I do NOT buy Haggard's story and I suspect that LEGITIMATE therapists are rolling their eyes at the incredible bull shit that Larry King is allowing to be swilled unchallenged. In my opinion, the truth is that Haggard is gay and he is most sexually/emotionally fulfilled by gay sex. He needs to stop fooling himself, his wife, his children, and stop lying to the rest of the world.

More Revelations in the Ted Haggard Gay Sex Scandal

UPDATE: Don't be surprised if even more men come forward about the sexual appetite of Haggard and/or other New Life Church leaders. It never seems to fail that the churches that are the most homophobic are the ones that harbor the predator closet cases. New Life sounds like quite a cesspool. Here are highlights from the Gist:

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Former Denver escort Mike Jones, who blew the whistle on former New Life Church pastor Ted Haggard, came on the show today in the wake of the latest revelations from a young former church member, Grant Haas, who says that Haggard masturbated in front of him -- without his consent -- and sent him over 1000 sexually charged text messages. Haas says he stayed silent about it all for over two years because the New Life Church paid him hush money.

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Jones told me he not only spoke with Haas about his experiences with Haggard about a month about, but that there were two other men who also came to him with similar stories but who are fearful of going public. One of them, Jones says, was sexually harassed/abused by another New Life Church "elder" and Ted Haggard knew all about it. The other one had non-consensual sex with Ted Haggard himself, Jones said. MS: Were these two other men who were connected to the church, or members of the church?MJ: Yes, in fact I know one of them, their parents still go to church, New Life Church, which makes that more difficult for 'em.

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It's amazing how the Ted Haggard/New Life Church gay sex scandal just keeps on going like the Energizer Bunny. More and more surprising and sordid revelations keep springing up. These revelations include but are not limited to the fact that (i) New Life Church agreed to pay nearly $180,000 in apparent hush money to a young church volunteer with whom Haggard had an affair and (ii) Haggard's wife has admitted that she had known about her husband's"struggles" for many, many years. With all the gay sex and hush money, one would almost think that New Life Church was trying to be a mini version of the Roman Catholic Church. It will be interesting to see whether the HBO pulls its "The Trials of Ted Haggard" set to air on Thursday, January 29, 2009, if it turns out that Haggard lied in that documentary. First, here are some highlights from KRDO News Channel 13:

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COLORADO SPRINGS - For more than two years, Grant kept a secret from those he considered his family. "It's a lot of pain, a lot of mistrust with that church," reveals the former New Life volunteer. . . . Back in the summer of 2006, Grant was invited to go to Cripple Creek by the man he trusted and looked up to as a mentor. "He asked me if we were going to be godly or bad that night," Grant says, recalling their trip. The former volunteer says that meant either hanging out as friends, or buying Haggard porn and masturbate.

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"I told him that I didn't want that," says Grant. After a day in the small mountain town, both went back to Haggard's hotel room. Grant says he just wanted Haggard to be his pastor and friend, but according to the young man, as they were lying in bed Haggard asked if he could masturbate. Grant told him no, but says Haggard did it anyway. Grant was fearful to say anything to anyone. "He kind of made me have a guilt trip about it, so I wouldn't say anything about it," Grant remembers.

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Before the encounter in Cripple Creek, Grant came to Colorado Springs after being kicked out of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, Illinois. The college recommended he come to Colorado Springs to get help with his struggle with homosexuality. Four months into attending New Life Church, Pastor Ted Haggard personally introduced himself. According to Grant, Haggard asked, "What's your story and what are you doing here?" At first, Grant lied about why he was kicked out of Moody Bible, but finally admitted to him that he thought he was gay. "It seemed like at that moment his eyes lit up and his whole attitude toward me changed," says Grant.

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Grant tells NEWSCHANNEL 13 that as their relationship grew, Haggard began text messaging him, sometimes in the middle of the night. "Texting me all kind of weird things, texting me about all the different sexual positions, practices he was engaging in and it was just really weird," says Grant. Over the next several months he would get between 1,000 to 2,000 text messages a month. . . . NEWSCHANNEL 13 obtained a recorded phone conversation between Haggard and Grant. In the conversation, which was recorded in July of 2007, Grant tells Haggard that he deleted those messages.

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I would be happy, happy to find you money for you to move somewhere." Haggard then asks Grant to "forgive." But Grant says he couldn't when the church continually neglected to pay his medical bills - something he says church leaders promised. "I really felt the church staff did what they could to get me to move to a different city, to get me to stop going to the church, to make these promises to do whatever they could to help, but their main focus was to cover it up," says Grant. "They think Ted Haggard is not a harm to this community and I really think they're wrong, they're dead wrong."

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Grant still hasn't seen all the money he was promised. He tells NEWSCHANNEL 13 he is due one more payment check - $46,000. Once all the payments are made, Grant would receive a payout of $179,000. As for the money already paid out, Senior Pastor Brady Boyd says he won't be demanding the money back from Grant for violating the settlement agreement. Boyd also told his congregation on Sunday the money was paid by insurance, not member's tithings.

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Then there is this tidbit about what Haggard's wife has recently admitted as reported by Newsweek:

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Former evangelical pastor Ted Haggard's wife says she knew about his struggles with same-sex attraction for years and felt he was "winning the battle" before a scandal involving a male prostitute triggered his downfall in late 2006.

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Gayle Haggard makes the remarks in an appearance with her husband on "The Oprah Winfrey Show" to air Wednesday. She said she was shocked when Haggard first told her the truth about the allegations against him. "The first words out of my mouth were, 'Who are you?'" she said, according to a publicity release issued Tuesday by Harpo Productions.

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However, Gayle Haggard also said her husband told her early in their 30-year marriage that he "struggled with some thoughts." "I felt it was the thing that could destroy Ted if he gave in to it," she said. "So I prayed for him and I felt as though he was winning the battle."

New Gay Sex Scandal Swirls Around Haggard and New Life

Why is it that the religious leaders and denominations that insist that they have all the answers in a rote, check off the boxes way are the ones that are constantly plagued by nearly never ending stories of "moral falls" and other episodes illustrating their hypocrisy and total lack of having all the answers. Ted Haggard and New Life Church are a case in point as a new gay sex scandal explodes involving Haggard and efforts by New Life Church to cover it up. Personally, I have no sympathy for Haggard who not only lived a lie but peddled poison making others feel unworthy or unloved by God. Moreover, in this latest scandal New Life Church was involved in the attempted cover up. Here are some highlights from the Colorado Independent:

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Fresh revelations have emerged that disgraced evangelical leader Ted Haggard had a previously undisclosed sex-for-cash relationship with a young male New Life Church volunteer. An Associated Press report claims that Haggard was involved in an “inappropriate, consensual sexual relationship” that “went on for a long period of time … it wasn’t a one-time act,” according to Brady Boyd, the pastor who succeeded the embattled former leader of the 10,000 member New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

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Boyd told the wire service that a young man in his early 20s approached church leaders about the relationship after Haggard stepped down from his post following news of a gay sex-drug scandal involving Denver male escort Mike Jones. Unlike Jones, however, AP reports “the church reached a legal settlement to pay the man for counseling and college tuition, with one condition being that none of the parties involved discuss the matter publicly.”

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Boyd believes the unnamed man is now talking to the press ahead of an HBO documentary on Haggard that is set to air Jan. 29. “I think what caused this young man to be a bit aggravated was Ted being seen as a victim, when he himself had experienced a great deal of hurt,” Boyd said. “I seriously doubt this man would have come forward if the documentary had not been made.”

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Anticipating further news and media coverage Brady Boyd posted a message on the New Life Website. Here are some highlights:

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In the days ahead, there will be new press reports of allegations made by a man who knew Ted Haggard through his involvement with New Life Church. This man has decided to speak to the media about his alleged relationship with Mr. Haggard. Since these allegations were first brought to our attention, New Life Church leadership has reached out to him with compassion by providing him with pastoral care, professional counseling, and financial assistance. We did this with the hope that he would experience healing and move forward with purpose in his life.

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At that time, he and church leaders agreed that publishing his allegations or our church’s assistance to him would not be in his best interest. This decision was made not as an attempt to conceal wrongdoings, but to protect him from those who would seek to exploit him. His actions now suggest that he has changed his mind.

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I regret that we have to revisit the unpleasant issues of the past, but I am convinced we are on the path of healing and great days are ahead for all of us.

Alabama Attorney General to Resign Due to Gay Sex Scandal??

Having once lived in Mobile, Alabama (a beautiful and gracious city, by the way), I still follow politics in the state which seems to have become much more reactionary in the twenty-five some years since I was a resident. Among the current crop of wingnuts who have been elected to state wide office is Republican Attorney General Troy King, who is rabidly homophobic in his statements and writings, opposes the sale of sex toys within the state, opposes gambling, supports the use of the death penalty. Now, rumors are swirling in Montgomery and elsewhere that King may be about to resign due - Heavens forbid!!! - to having been allegedly caught in a gay sex scandal, something that just seems to be a constant with Republican elected officials. Especially those who claim to be the most anti-gay. If the rumors are true, I feel most sorry for King's wife and children. Here are highlights about this potential bombshell:

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A spokesperson for Alabama Governor Bob Riley denied that Attorney General Troy King is preparing to resign in the wake of a massive rumor campaign that has yet to be fully confirmed. The word is, according to multiple sources in Montgomery and elsewhere, that King was recently caught by his wife in a gay affair with a male aide and banished from his home.

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King was an early supporter of the 2008 presidential campaign of Arizona Senator John McCain. King’s name had been mentioned as a possible gubernatorial candidate in 2010, but we suppose that’s out now… King was also known for his fight against the sex toy shops in Montgomery. Looks like Shakespeare was right … whoever cries the loudest…

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And there's this (I will be checking the Mobile Register as well as scuttle but from folks I know in Alabama):

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Sources at the Montgomery Advertiser say that they have been sitting on the story for a couple of weeks. They're working the story fast and furiously but won't run until they get official confirmation due to possible exposure to a lawsuit from King. Their sources tell them that Troy King was caught in a compromising situation with a male aide at King's home by his wife. The Montgomery Advertiser is trying to determine who King would submit his resignation to - is it Gov. Bob Riley? A press release from King's office stated that he was supposed to be in Mobile yesterday (Wednesday). The Mobile-Register is working the story as well. Other sources say that he's at Point Clear in Fairhope attending the District Attorney's conference.

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Note to readers: Point Clear is where Marriott's fabulous Gand Hotel is located. The Grand is frequently used for conferences. When I lived in Mobile, we knew the owners of the Grand who sold to Marriot after Hurricane Frederic did major damage in September, 1979. Marriott dis a wonderful job restoring and enlarging the Grand and I recommend it highly, including dancing under the stars at Julep Point which juts out into Mobile Bay.

More gay men describe sexual encounters with U.S. Sen. Craig; 1982 Page scandal: Craig was named as sex partner, says lawyer of primary accuser

Things are getting even more fun again in the Larry Craig gay sex scandal. The Idaho Statesman had two stories on Sunday. The first story reported (http://www.idahostatesman.com/102/story/226703.html) that more men have come forward concerning sexual overtures made to them by the U. S. Senator. Obviously, Craig's denials look weaker and weaker. Detailed accounts of each man's statements can be found in the Statesman article. Here are some highlights:

Four gay men, willing to put their names in print and whose allegations can't be disproved, have come forward since news of U.S. Sen. Larry Craig's guilty plea. They say they had sex with Craig or that he made a sexual advance or that he paid them unusual attention. They are telling their stories now because they are offended by Craig's denials, including his famous statement, "I am not gay, I never have been gay." Those words, spoken on live national TV on Aug. 28, are now memorialized on a just-released-for-Christmas Talking Senator Larry Craig Action Figure.

David Phillips is a 42-year-old information technology consultant in Washington, D.C., who says Craig picked him up at a gay club in 1986 and that they subsequently had sex.

Mike Jones is a former prostitute who told the world he had sex with the Rev. Ted Haggard last year. The former Colorado Springs evangelist at first denied it but eventually confessed. Jones says Craig paid him for sex in late 2004 or early 2005.

Greg Ruth was a 24-year-old college Republican in 1981 when he says he was hit on by Craig at a Republican meeting in Coeur d'Alene.

Tom Russell, now 48, is a former Nampa resident who lives in Utah. Russell said his encounter with Craig occurred at Bogus Basin in the early 1980s.

A fifth gay man, who is from Boise but who declined to be named for fear of retaliation, offered a recent and telling account: He was in a men's restroom at Denver International Airport in September 2006 when the man in the next stall moved his hand slowly, palm up, under the divider. Alarmed, the man said he waited outside the restroom and then identified the man in the adjoining stall as Craig, whom he had met in Idaho.

There are no videos, no love letters, no voice messages. Like last August, they are he-said, he-said allegations about a man seeking discreet sex from partners whom he counted on to never tell. But the Statesman's investigation, which included reviews of travel and property records and background checks on all five men, found nothing to disprove the five new accounts. The men offer telling and sometimes similar details about what happened, or the senator's travel records place him in the city where sex is alleged to have occurred, or his accusers told credible witnesses at the time of the incident.

The second story ( http://www.idahostatesman.com/1264/story/226713.html) concerns the old 1982 Congressional Page scandal. Once again, Senator Craig may have been lying in his previous denials of involvement. Here are highlights from that story:

For 25 years, Sen. Larry Craig has not only denied wrongdoing in the 1982 page scandal but has insisted he was not among seven House members accused of homosexual conduct. The lawyer for the page who initiated the scandal says otherwise. On July 1, 1982, the day after the story of a congressional page scandal broke, then-Rep. Craig pre-emptively denied any connection to the scandal before he’d been named publicly. Craig now says speaking out was the mistake of a frightened first-term congressman and that he regrets that his statements have long fueled rumors he is gay.

Bob Scott is the Arkansas lawyer who represented Leroy Williams, the Republican House page who initiated the scandal but later recanted. “I am positive he named Larry Craig in 1982,” said Scott, a former GOP official in Arkansas. Scott said Williams recently reaffirmed to him that he named Craig in 1982. Williams, who is gay, has consistently declined comment. Repeated attempts by the Idaho Statesman to reach him failed. Scott said he believes Craig appears in a December 1982 House Ethics Committee report as “Congressman C,” who Williams said had sex with him two or three times.

Obviously, where there is this much smoke, it is hard to believe that there wasn't some fire too.

Florida Gay Murder Suicide Case May Have Virginia Beach Ties

This story from the North Carolina Conservative (http://www.northcarolinaconservative.com/index.php?subaction=showfull&id=1188428152&archive=&start_from=&ucat) , which if substantiated, could cause new tintilation in terms of another GOP gay sex scandal (something I always welcome since it under underscores the hypocrisy rampant in the GOP, plus it drives the Christianists crazy). Moreover, it may have a tie to Virginia Beach residents now on trial for murder of a gay porn producer in Pennsylvania. It can't get much racier than this! Here are some highlights:

RUTHERFORD COUNTY, NC MAN IMPLICATED IN DOUBLE MURDER- SUICIDEFormer head of the Georgia Republican Party, Ralph Gonzalez (39), David Abrami (36) and Robert Drake(30), were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide in Orlando, FL last week. Officials say the three had been dead for several days before their bodies were discovered. Police discovered the crime scene acting on a phone call from North Carolina expressing concern over one of the three men. The call reportedly came from an unidentified female friend of Abrami.

The Associated Press reports that Robert Drake, of Rutherford County, NC was the gunman. Newspaper reports describe Drake as a friend of Gonzalez and Abrami. All three men were active in Republican politics. Gonzalez was an influential political consultant, who owned Strategum Group, and managed Congressman Tom Feeny’s 2002 campaign. The house was owned by Gonzalez; Abrami lived with Gonzalez. Newspapers and political websites have been abuzz with posts from friends and associates of Gonzalez, who speculate the motive for the murder-suicide as being a gay love triangle gone wrong. Officials have yet to release details about a possible motive.

Another, more sinister motive has been put forth by several sources, including CrimeBlog.us. Reporters there say that Drake was associated with the owner of a gay escort service in the Virginia Beach area. The owners of that escort service are facing charges that they murdered the owner of a rival company catering to the gay community. A source for the Crime Blog reporter states:

“My solid, but unconfirmed, sources say that Drake was trying to hit Gonzalez up for cash to raise money to defend a kid (Harlow Cuadra) [pictured above with his boyfriend] who is on trial for murder up in Pennsylvania. The 26 year old “kid” ran a gay escort and porn business in Virginia Beach and may have had several Republican clients–Drake being one. (See www.norfolkmaleescorts.com and www.boybatter.com). . . My sources say Drake may have approached Gonzalez for funds for Cuadra’s defense, threatening to blow the lid off everything by MAKING THE REPUBLICAN CLIENT LIST OF THE GAY ESCORT BUSINESS PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE.” http://crimeblog.us/?p=536#more-536

As the Crime Blog reporter rightly says, “we may never know what happened in that house”, but given the recent outings of several prominent gay Republicans (Former RNC National Field Director Dan Gurley, Jeff Gannon, former Rep. Mark Foley, Sen. Larry Craig, National College Republican Chairman Glenn Murphy, etc), a disturbing pattern may be emerging.