Ed Buck — who lived a life of glamour in a West Hollywood apartment — earned his millions as a male model and through a business deal selling a company he rescued. He is an LGBT and animal rights activist who donated hundreds of thousands of dollars to Democrats over the years. He seems like your typical California Democrat elitist.

But under this veneer of Hollywood luster was a twisted man who had for years been taking advantage of desperate, young, drug-addicted, black, homeless males. Using a gay hookup site, he solicited “party and play” — a euphemistic way of saying sex with drugs. Once he had his victims in his apartment, he reportedly injected them with drugs until they were unconscious and then had sex with them. Two victims of this man’s utter depravity, Gemmel Moore in 2017 and Timothy Dean in 2019, were found dead in his apartment from drug overdoses.

Buck was arrested in late 2019 after a witness, Dane Brown, came forward and reported Buck’s abuse to the police after almost becoming body number three from an intentional overdose. Brown had to call an ambulance from a nearby gas station because Buck refused to get him help. Does this sound like someone who cares about the lives of others?

Buck apologized to the families of his victims for their deaths but denies that he is responsible. Buck wanted the court to look at the entirety of his life and not just the “horrible caricature the government painted me as — a meth-fueled ax killer.”

Buck’s lawyer, Mark Werksman, had the same line of reasoning: The sexual deviance and drug abuse weren’t Buck’s fault; they stemmed from a childhood of sexual abuse. Cue up “Gee, Officer Krupke” from “West Side Story.”

Judge Christina Snyder was not duped. Her response to Buck and Werksman’s plea was this: “Even if we gave him the benefit of the doubt, abuse 50 years ago does not begin to excuse his abuse here. If anything, it should have made him more empathetic [to his victims].”

Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea Norell said: “Buck used his money and privilege to exploit the wealth and power imbalances between himself and his victims, who were unhoused, destitute, and/or struggling with addiction. He spent thousands of dollars on drugs and party and play sessions that destroyed lives and bred insidious addictions.” She added: “Buck does not value human life beyond his own. He used human beings as playthings, destroying their lives merely to appease his own sexual gratifications.”

Ed Buck will be in prison for many years to come for his crimes. However, there are many things about his case that are interesting to ponder. For instance: If his victims had been of a different race, would he have faced consequences?

The working theory here is that because Buck was a rich, politically connected white man and his victims were destitute black men, his crimes could not be swept under the rug, especially after George Floyd’s death and the ensuing outcry. To be clear, this man should be behind bars for what he has done regardless of the ethnicity and social standing of his victims. But it is especially poignant that this should happen in California, where the elite protect their own.

The buck has officially been stopped for Ed Buck.