Wall Street Felon known as ‘Abba Dabba Do’ Reemerges As ‘Cure’ Gays Guru
NEW YORK – A Truth Wins Out (TWO) and South Florida Gay News (SFGN) investigation revealed today that a Wall Street criminal mastermind…
Wall Street Felon known as ‘Abba Dabba Do’ Reemerges As ‘Cure’ Gays Guru
NEW YORK – A Truth Wins Out (TWO) and South Florida Gay News (SFGN) investigation revealed today that a Wall Street criminal mastermind who was convicted in 1987 of “fraud of spectacular scope” has secretly reinvented himself as a moral leader who “cures” gay and lesbian people. Known as “Abba Dabba Do” in the financial world, Arthur Abba Goldberg was sentenced to 18 months in jail for bilking poor communities with complicated bond schemes and served six months in prison.
“We have long considered Arthur Goldberg a con-artist, but our investigation shows he is also an ex-con,” said Wayne Besen, Executive Director of Truth Wins Out. ”His diabolical past mirrors his dishonest present-day work with the ex-gay industry. Whether it was shady deals on Wall Street or shading the truth on gay issues, Goldberg is someone who lacks credibility and can’t be trusted.”
“Mr. Goldberg’s silence today about his illegal conduct yesterday is a clear indicator that 18 months in prison 20 years ago has not inhibited his willingness to deceive others in order to advance himself today,” said SFGN Publisher Norm Kent. “You free yourself by admitting your wrongs, not erasing them. Goldberg is hardly in a position to be advocating how gay men and women should be authentic with their own lives when he is a fraud with his.”
Standard Podcast:
Rick Stokes did what almost every gay man in Kansas did back in the 1950s- he got married to a woman. His wife knew that he had a number of gay experiences before they got married but whether it was naivety or wishful thinking, they thought his desire for a gay life would go away.
When his desires wouldn’t abate, his family, his wife and his in-laws convinced him to undergo electro shock therapy to cure him. After many treatments and with no guarantee of success, Rick opted out of this unusual treatment and ended his marriage. But he says later it was the kick in the pants he needed to help him to chase his own rainbow colored dreams.
He moved to Sacramento, CA to find the man who he would eventually spend 35 years with. Along with his partner, Rick formed the Association for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) to provide social interaction and to promote pro-gay action.
They group provided a place for people to feel good about being gay and to accomplish pro gay activities. One such activity was to raise awareness about STDs like gonorrhea or syphilis which were very common but were little understood by gay men or even by their doctors.
The pair eventually moved to San Francisco and became involved in the gay scene. Having acquired a law degree, Rick became well known as the “go to” guy if you got busted by the police for what were punishable offenses back in the day. Often times, people arrested for what was considered lewd behavior pleaded down to a lesser crime in order to reduce the risk of being found out and losing work. Rick convinced people to not “plead out” their cases but to go to trail. Eventually, the court system figured out that they weren’t go to win any of these cases so the police stopped targeting gay men.
Rick later ran against Harvey Milk for Supervisor seat in 1977 and lost. He will be portrayed by in the upcoming film “Milk” by Stephen Spinella, an openly gay actor known for his role in Angels in America and Spring Awakening on Broadway.
Listen as we talk with Rick about the horrors of being electrocuted in attempts to change your sexuality, working for gay rights in America at a time when being gay as illegal and where we are all headed in our fight for sexual diversity.
You have the right to remain fabulous- Feast of Fools.
[Originally posted on 08.28.08]
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Visit Steamwork’s website and register to get a discount
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Hotel Mark Twain
Gay Friendly. Bear Friendly. People Friendly.
Call direct at: (415) 673-2332
and ask for the FEAST rate.
Featured Music:
Rachael Sage – Blistering Sun: Amazon | Site
RSS FEED | SUBSCRIBE ON iTUNES
SUBSCRIBE ON: GOOGLE
Standard Podcast [1:05:06m]:
Rick Stokes did what almost every gay man in Kansas did back in the 1950s- he got married to a woman. His wife knew that he had a number of gay experiences before they got married but whether it was naivety or wishful thinking, they thought his desire for a gay life would go away.
When his desires wouldn’t abate, his family, his wife and his in-laws convinced him to undergo electro shock therapy to cure him. After many treatments and with no guarantee of success, Rick opted out of this unusual treatment and ended his marriage. But he says later it was the kick in the pants he needed to help him to chase his own rainbow colored dreams.
He moved to Sacramento, CA to find the man who he would eventually spend 35 years with. Along with his partner, Rick formed the Association for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) to provide social interaction and to promote pro-gay action.
They group provided a place for people to feel good about being gay and to accomplish pro gay activities. One such activity was to raise awareness about STDs like gonorrhea or syphilis which were very common but were little understood by gay men or even by their doctors.
The pair eventually moved to San Francisco and became involved in the gay scene. Having acquired a law degree, Rick became well known as the “go to” guy if you got busted by the police for what were punishable offenses back in the day. Often times, people arrested for what was considered lewd behavior pleaded down to a lesser crime in order to reduce the risk of being found out and losing work. Rick convinced people to not “plead out” their cases but to go to trail. Eventually, the court system figured out that they weren’t go to win any of these cases so the police stopped targeting gay men.
Rick later ran against Harvey Milk for Supervisor seat in 1977 and lost. He will be portrayed by in the upcoming film “Milk” by Stephen Spinella, an openly gay actor known for his role in Angels in America and Spring Awakening on Broadway.
Listen as we talk with Rick about the horrors of being electrocuted in attempts to change your sexuality, working for gay rights in America at a time when being gay as illegal and where we are all headed in our fight for sexual diversity.
You have the right to remain fabulous- Feast of Fools.
Check out our sponsors:
Steamworks Gym, Sauna and Baths.
Visit Steamwork’s website and register to get a discount
on your next visit. Enter “Feast of Fools” on the promo
code field to get the special discount.
Hotel Mark Twain
Gay Friendly. Bear Friendly. People Friendly.
Call direct at: (415) 673-2332
and ask for the FEAST rate.
Featured Music:
Rachael Sage – Blistering Sun: Amazon | Site
RSS FEED | SUBSCRIBE ON iTUNES
SUBSCRIBE ON: GOOGLE
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