The Last Undercover by Bob Hamer

Author:Bob Hamer [HAMER, BOB]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Tags: BIO027000
ISBN: 9781599951805
Publisher: Center Street
Published: 2008-09-01T16:00:00+00:00

Saturday marked the beginning of the conference meetings. I awoke refreshed and excited about the possibilities for the upcoming day. I could feel the adrenaline rush as I dressed. I slept well, which for me was unusual. I’m often restless the night before an undercover meet, mulling over in my mind any of a hundred scenarios that might confront me during the assignment.

As I reflected on what I knew so far, I realized David’s opening salvo the day before about his overseas adventures boded well for a day of successful information gathering. I looked forward to pursuing that topic with him. It was important that David raised the travel issue, since that would negate an entrapment argument in court. It also paved the way for me to explore the subject in further detail. I strapped on my recording equipment—for the first several hours, a concealed camera—and made my way toward the garden area, where a continental breakfast was being served. Many had gathered, including guests who were not part of NAMBLA.

The weather was perfect. Some even suggested we conduct part of the meeting outside, but security concerns prevailed. We spent every session inside the conference room.

As I joined my NAMBLA “friends” around a wrought iron patio table for some easy conversation prior to commencement of the conference, Todd was in the middle of a story about his motorcycle adventure in the Turks and Caicos Islands in the Bahamas. While vacationing with a group called Flying Dentists in February 2002, he decided to rent a motorcycle and tour the island, including a visit to a conch farm.

This was his first time on a bike this size and he was unfamiliar with the toe brakes. Riding by himself, he lost control on a back road straightaway and crashed. The results were a broken collarbone, four broken ribs, and a broken hip. The injuries and the resulting seven missed weeks of work were devastating. But according to Todd, the most embarrassing part was he was rescued by seven carloads of Girl Scouts and their mothers. David never missed a beat: “Too bad it wasn’t Boy Scouts.”

“That would have made it all worthwhile,” Todd said sincerely.

When David Mayer briefly left the table, he was the topic of conversation. All we knew about him from the night before was that he had a doctorate in economics, master’s degrees in social work and psychology, and worked for over twenty years as an international flight attendant. It appeared he was not using his education to its fullest. Todd said David admitted to talking with a CIA recruiter when he was in graduate school. David’s CIA “contacts” would reemerge as the investigation progressed.

We made our way to the building that housed the conference room, just off the pool and garden. Compared to last year’s facilities in New York, these accommodations were quite an improvement, though the hardwood floors were a bit worn. Still, there was a kitchenette, and turn-of-the-century photos of the greater Miami area adorned the walls. The chairs were set up in a semicircle and the attendees took their seats.

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