Second man found dead in Democratic donor Edward Buck's home identified

Dean worked at Saks Fifth Avenue's Beverly Hills location and was well-liked in the community, his roommate, Ottavio Taddei, said according to KTLA.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has said a man was found dead at Buck's home early Monday morning.

It's the second death of an adult male at Buck's home in the last couple years. In July 2017 a man identified as Gemmel Moore was determined to have fatally overdosed at the same location, authorities said. Buck, 64, was present at the time of both incidents.

Police are conducting an investigation into the more recent death as well as follow-up interviews and a secondary review of the 2017 death to better understand the two cases, authorities said.

Rep. Ted Lieu to donate contributions from Buck

Buck has donated to a number of Democratic candidates and PACs in recent years, according to information from OpenSecrets, a nonpartisan group that tracks money in US politics.

California Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu announced earlier this week that he will donate more than $18,000 in campaign contributions from Buck to LGBTQ and African American civil rights organizations.

In a statement, Lieu said he was "deeply disturbed by the latest revelations" of a second death at Buck's home.

Lieu said he will donate $5,000 each to Lambda Legal and the NAACP; $3,000 each to GLAAD and The Trevor Project; and $2,500 to Equality California Institute.

Two deaths in less than two years

Deputies responded to Buck's home at 1:05 a.m. Monday regarding a person not breathing. They pronounced the man dead when they arrived, the Sheriff's Department said. The cause of death is unknown and will be determined by the Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner.

The death of Moore, a 26-year-old black man, in July 2017 was determined to be an accidental methamphetamine overdose, the Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner's website says.

The admissible evidence in the case was insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that Buck was responsible for Moore's death, according to a charge evaluation worksheet from the LA County District Attorney in July 2018. The admissible evidence was also insufficient to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that he furnished drugs to Moore or that he possessed drugs, the document states.

The Los Angeles LGBT Center, an organization that provides services and advocates for LGBT people, called on the Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva to fully investigate the latest death and "aggressively seek justice."

"Although the investigation is in its early stages, we urge Sheriff Villanueva to keep the public fully informed as LGBT people have a considerable and urgent interest in a case that is so clearly linked to the health and safety of our community," the statement said. "The reports we have heard provide more questions than answers."

Buck's attorney, Seymour Amster, told CNN that Buck and the victim had been friends for over 25 years. He said he did not believe there would be charges filed in the case.

"Yes, Ed does have individuals he associates with who have problems with drugs. He tries to talk them out of it. Sometimes they bring their problems into his apartment, and that's where the problem is," Amster said.

Political involvement

Buck has contributed to a number of causes and races in California and beyond.

In addition to $2,700 to Lieu, in 2017, he gave $10,400 to the Getting Stuff Done PAC affiliated with Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema of Arizona, and $1,000 each to Rep. Jimmy Gomez of California, Rep. Pete Aguilar of California, Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi of Illinois, and former Sen. Joe Donnelly of Indiana.

He also previously gave $2,700 to Hillary Clinton in 2015, $5,000 to the House Majority PAC that supports Democrats in 2014, and $1,000 to Barack Obama in 2008, according to OpenSecrets.

In 2010, Buck heckled California Republican gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman at a political event, according to news reports from NJ.com at the time. New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, who was campaigning for Whitman, then confronted Buck.

"It's people who raise their voices and yell and scream like you that are dividing this country," Christie said. "We're here to bring this country together, not to divide it."

CNN's Stella Chan, Stephanie Elam and Jason Kravarik contributed to this report.

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