In a February 1989 raid on a gay escort service, the Secret Service showed up and confiscated key evidence. Law enforcement officials said that involvement of the Secret Service in a local operation was highly unusual and had never happened before.
Forget Mark Foley’s electronic dalliances with underage pages and the dozens of White House visits by gay GOP prostitute, Jeff “Bulldog” Gannon — the biggest gay Republican scandal to date was the uncovering in 1989 of multiple gay prostitution services that billed tens of thousands of dollars to credit cards belonging to powerful men inside the Bush and Reagan administrations — including top staffers, military officers and lobbyists. The scandal was revealed in late June 1989, and then just as quickly was swept under the rug and has barely been mentioned since.
If you think this sounds outlandish, consider the original source: The story was broken on June 29, 1989, by the ultraconservative Washington Times newspaper, which is of course owned by Korean rightwing cult leader, Rev. Sun Yung Moon. The lead reporter on the story was Paul M. Rodriguez, who is known for the rightwing slant of his reporting.
The article was edited by Wesley Pruden, then the Times’ managing editor, now its editor-in-chief. In it, Pruden, who makes on secret of his conservative, even neo-Confederate, views, made it clear that higher-ups in the Reagan and Bush administrations would be protected — the paper would only reveal the names of subordinates:
“There is no intention of publishing names or facts about the operation merely for titillation,” said [Pruden].
The Times ran the story above the fold, with a banner headline that read, “Homosexual prostitution inquiry ensnares VIPs with Reagan, Bush,” with the subheading, “‘Call boys’ took midnight tour of White House.”
Reading through the story (which we have transcribed, in part, below), it appears that the investigation into the call boy sex ring had begun about nine months earlier, arising from an attempted blackmail and charges of credit card fraud. Apparently the gay prostitutes routinely videotaped and photographed their encounters with their clients, especially those who had powerful positions in the government, which meant there was plenty of fodder for extorting money.
In February 1989, as Washington D.C. police were conducting a raid on an out-call center operated by several gay escort services in a residence on 34th Place NW, the Secret Service made a surprise appearance and confiscated some of the evidence, according to The Times:
Although the confiscated material was turned over to District police on the scene, witnesses and law enforcement agents say the Secret Service kept one box containing names and other information about high-level government officials who were clients of the male escort business.
District police officials say that, to their knowledge, this is the first time the Secret Service has ever become involved in such a raid in this area.
Initially, the Secret Service denied it was involved in the raid, but after a second raid of the 34th Place house on May 18 [1989], the agency acknowledged its involvement in the investigation.
Secret Service spokesman Bob Snow said the agency participated in the search and seizure operation because of its jurisdiction over credit card fraud. “We come into such operations usually at the request of a U.S. attorney … if the fraud involves $10,000 or more … We are not involved in any local prostitution investigation,” said Mr. Snow.
GOP lobbyist Craig Spence spent upwards of $20,000 per month on gay prostitutes.
The paper named Craig J. Spence as a central figure in the sex ring:
One of the ring’s big spending clients is Craig J. Spence, Washington socialite and international trade consultant, according to documents and interviews with operators and prostitutes who say they engaged in sexual activities with Mr. Spence.
Mr. Spence spent upwards of $20,000 a month for male prostitutes who provided sex to him and his friends, said to include military personnel who also acted as his “bodyguards.” It was Mr. Spence who arranged the nocturnal tour of the Reagan White House. Repeated attempts to reach Mr. Spence by telephone, fax machine and personal visits to his home, were unsuccessful.
Credit card vouchers confirm that Mr. Spence charged thousands of dollars on American Express and Visa cards, sometimes making $600 charges against his cards several times a day, drawn in behalf of an escort service called Professional Services Inc.
A few months after the story broke, Spence committed suicide, but in an interview with the Washington Times (which we have not yet located), he allegedly told the paper that he was given access to the White House that night by Donald Gregg, who was a top Bush adviser.
Other underlings named by the newspaper included Charles K. Dutcher, former associate director of presidential personnel in the Reagan administration; Paul R. Balach, Labor Secretary Elizabeth Dole’s political personnel liaison to the White House; and Todd A. Blodgett, a former assistant to President Reagan.
[…]
All three of us at Pensito Review are drawn to the story of Ryan Skipper.
