|
The Boise homosexuality scandal refers to a sweeping investigation of a supposed "homosexual underground" in Boise, Idaho that started in 1955. Beginning with the arrest of three men in October 1955, the investigation broadened to encompass allegations that over 100 young men and teenage boys had been involved in sexual acts with a ring of adult homosexual men. By the time the investigation wound down in January 1957, some 1,500 people had been questioned, sixteen men faced charges, and fifteen of them were sentenced to terms ranging from probation to life in prison. Reportage of the investigation and arrests set off a moral panic in Boise, fueled by incendiary editorials in the city's newspaper. Although framed in terms of "protecting children" from adult predators, the probe was not confined to investigating charges of men having sex with underage boys and some of those convicted and sentenced to prison were found guilty only of sexual encounters with other consenting adults. The scandal highlighted the tension between the perception of homosexuality as a mental illness requiring treatment and homosexual sex as a criminal act mandating punishment and led to an examination of the problems of juvenile delinquency. The reasons behind both the start and the end of the investigation are unclear. In his seminal book on the scandal, ''The Boys of Boise: Furor, Vice and Folly in an American City'', journalist and academician John Gerassi suggests that the investigation began as a means for the wealthy elite of Boise to assert and maintain economic control of the city and the state. He asserts that a gay millionaire known as "The Queen" was the target of the probe, although he was never charged. With the son of the loudest proponent of the investigation implicated, Gerassi suggests that the forces behind the probe realized that homosexuals were at every level of society and that their wealth and power would not necessarily insulate them, leading them to quietly halt the investigation. ==Investigation and first arrests== The first arrests in the scandal came on October 31, 1955, following an investigation by private detective Howard Dice at the behest of an unnamed client.〔Gerassi, p. 2〕 Those arrested were Ralph Cooper, a 33-year-old shoe repairman; Charles Brokaw, a 29-year-old freight worker; and Vernon Cassel, a 51-year-old store clerk. Cooper and Brokaw were charged with "lewd conduct with a minor child" (Cooper based on an incident from June 1954) and Cassel with "infamous crimes against nature",〔Gerassi, p. 1〕 in other words, sodomy. When the arrests were announced, Ada County Probation Officer Emery Bess stated, without offering supporting evidence, that the investigation had only "scratched the surface" of "child molestation activities" in Boise involving several adults and over 100 teenagers.〔 According to Jim Brandon, at the time the chief of the Boise Police Department, the investigation began when the local YMCA became concerned about the number of transients who were staying at the facility and possible sexual improprieties. Dice's "unnamed client", a lawyer connected with the YMCA and who was connected to the power elite of Boise, hired Dice to investigate. Dice initially discovered nothing, then began speaking with some youths who told him about "juvenile delinquents" who congregated at the YMCA and who engaged in homosexual acts with adult men. With the involvement of underage males, probation officer Bess became involved and, according to Brandon, compiled a list of 75 youths supposedly involved in homosexual activity. Bess refused to turn over the list to the police or the prosecutor and Dice, operating under the direction of a local organization, the Allied Civic Group, continued the investigation that led to the three initial arrests.〔Gerassi, pp. 21–22〕 The reasons behind the investigation are murky and complex. Gerassi asserts that a "power elite" in Boise, whom he refers to as the "Boise gang", sought to use the investigation (and the resulting scandal) as a means of maintaining control over the city of Boise and, by extension, the entire state of Idaho. He suggests that different members of this elite sought to aim the investigation at different targets. The editor of the ''Idaho Statesman'', Jim Brown, and others wanted to undermine the current reform-minded mayor and his administration. Others targeted the Boise City Council, specifically Councilman Harold T. "Buck" Jones,〔Gerassi identified Buck with the pseudonym "Henry Morton" in 1966. In his 2001 introduction, Gerassi revealed Buck's identity because Buck was dead (Gerassi, p. xx).〕 whose son, Frank,〔Gerassi identified Frank with the pseudonym "Jim Morton" in 1966. In his 2001 introduction, Gerassi revealed not only Frank's identity, but also that Frank had committed suicide in 1982 (Gerassi, p. xxi).〕 was one of the youths involved in the scandal. Still other "Boise gang" members were after a fellow member, a wealthy homosexual known as "The Queen", whom they believed was too powerful to be brought down by any other means.〔Gerassi, pp. 20–21〕 It is equally unclear what triggered the investigation. According to attorney J. Charles Blanton, who had worked in the County Prosecutor's office until September 1955 and who represented Cassel, the office did not routinely search for homosexual activity to prosecute. Between early September and late October, something unknown happened that caused the heightened pursuit leading to the three initial arrests.〔Gerassi, pp. 5–6〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Boise homosexuality scandal」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|