#615: Eugene Delgaudio

Eugene Delgaudio is the most colorful board member of the Public Advocates of the US, a deeply homophobic organization devopted to spinning gay-related news (and other things) into their own flavor of loon (their president is (or at least was) one Ronald Pearson). The result is the usual stuff, incuding conspiracy theories, hate, and paranoia (and some rather loaded quizzes for the public). Indeed, the organization serves as a backdrop for Delgaudio’s spamming activities (called “fundraising activities”), primarily in the form of requests for money sent to everyone who has ever discussed issues remotely related to homosexuality, regardless of what side the recipient may happen to be on, and selling his mailing lists (do don’t sign up for anything). Delgaudio also represents the Sterling District on the Loudoun County, Virginia, Board of Supervisors, by the way.

As for his anti-gay agenda, Delgaudio has said things like “[a]s homosexuals die off due to AIDS, the remaining AIDS carriers prey on children to replenish the Homosexual Community,” “the Homosexual Lobby and its billionaire donors are flush with cash. When Congressmen and Senators see the power and riches of the radical Homosexuals, they get tempted. You’d be surprised how many politicians are already bought and paid for,” and “I absolutely must find $73,575 before the end of next month to pay for printing, telephones, research, and postage.” The rest of his output consists of variations on those three (there is a completely weird one here), but primarily the latter. Here is a typical fundraising letter.

You can see Delgaudio claim that the Gasparilla Pirate Festival in Tampa is infiltrated by “radical homosexuals” seeking to exploit unsuspecting college students here (and here). As for paranoia (well, more paranoia – everything he writes is drenched with paranoia) Delgaudio has claimed that “[i]n the past, the radical homosexuals have attempted to kill me, even threatening and stalking my family;” here is the accompanying fundraising letter.

Indeed, according to Delgaudio the homosexual conspiracy is supporting “anti-discrimination” measures as part of their plan to convert kids to homosexuality. Here is the accompanying fundraising letter.

The problem, according to Delgaudio, is that there are too few left willing to fight against the homosexual propaganda machine. Here is the accompanying fundraising letter.

Among his most famous screeds is his argument against the TSA’s full-body security scans: “It's the federal employee's version of the Gay Bill of Special Rights ... That means the next TSA official that gives you an ‘enhanced pat down’ could be a practicing homosexual secretly getting pleasure from your submission;” and here is the fundraising letter accompanying his “TSA porn scanner” rant.

Despite his apparent pathological shortage of cash the Public Advocates actually pay Delgaudio in excess of $ 150 000 a year (more here). In 2012 Loudon County actually initiated an investigation of Delgaudio concerning the way he was using his office. Delgaudio’s response to the investigations was actually quite epic (recommended link).

There’s an excellent, if old, portrait of Delgaudio here. And here is another, more recent, spam mail fundraising letter. A grassroots Delgaudio recall movement was formed in 2013 – this guy holds public office, for the sake of anything and everything that is decent upon this Earth!

In a pang of absolutely astonishing self-aggrandazing delusion Delgaudio was audacious enough to take the credit when TSA replaced the scanners in 2012.

Diagnosis: Thoroughly delusional and deeply paranoid bigotbot and spam machine. Probably more of a nuisance than a real threat, but his blind hatred should probably not be completely overlooked.