RUTHERFORD COUNTY, NC MAN IMPLICATED IN DOUBLE MURDER- SUICIDE
Former head of the Georgia Republican Party, Ralph Gonzalez (39), David Abrami (36) and Robert Drake(30), were found dead in an apparent murder-suicide in Orlando, FL last week. Officials say the three had been dead for several days before their bodies were discovered. Police discovered the crime scene acting on a phone call from North Carolina expressing concern over one of the three men. The call reportedly came from an unidentified female friend of Abrami.
The Associated Press reports that Robert Drake, of Rutherford County, NC was the gunman. Newspaper reports describe Drake as a friend of Gonzalez and Abrami. All three men were active in Republican politics. Gonzalez was an influential political consultant, who owned Strategum Group, and managed Congressman Tom Feeny’s 2002 campaign. The house was owned by Gonzalez; Abrami lived with Gonzalez. Newspapers and political websites have been abuzz with posts from friends and associates of Gonzalez, who speculate the motive for the murder-suicide as being a gay love triangle gone wrong. Officials have yet to release details about a possible motive.
Another, more sinister motive has been put forth by several sources, including CrimeBlog.us. Reporters there say that Drake was associated with the owner of a gay escort service in the Virginia Beach area. The owners of that escort service are facing charges that they murdered the owner of a rival company catering to the gay community. A source for the Crime Blog reporter states:
“My solid, but unconfirmed, sources say that Drake was trying to hit Gonzalez up for cash to raise money to defend a kid (Harlow Cuadra) who is on trial for murder up in Pennsylvania. The 26 year old “kid” ran a gay escort and porn business in Virginia Beach and may have had several Republican clients–Drake being one. (See http://www.norfolkmaleescorts.com and http://www.boybatter.com). . . My sources say Drake may have approached Gonzalez for funds for Cuadra’s defense, threatening to blow the lid off everything by MAKING THE REPUBLICAN CLIENT LIST OF THE GAY ESCORT BUSINESS PUBLIC KNOWLEDGE.” http://crimeblog.us/?p=536#more-536
As the Crime Blog reporter rightly says, “we may never know what happened in that house”, but given the recent outings of several prominent gay Republicans (Former RNC National Field Director Dan Gurley, Jeff Gannon, former Rep. Mark Foley, Sen. Larry Craig, National College Republican Chairman Glenn Murphy, etc), a disturbing pattern may be emerging.
Sources tell The North Carolina Conservative that Drake volunteered on several Republican campaigns in western North Carolina, and was an associate of Congressman Patrick McHenry. Gonzalez is also believed to have been associated with McHenry in the past. Since being elected, McHenry has attempted to insure that all elected officials in his district are his supporters and cronies. This has caused a very nasty political war of attrition in the 10th District. Sources say that Drake worked on these campaigns as a surrogate of McHenry.
Updates will be provided as more information becomes available.