Compromised: The Politics of Sex, Lies, and Blackmail

by Henry W. Vinson

A firsthand account of how public officials and other well-connected individuals have been compromised or blackmailed by their sexual improprieties, Confessions of a D.C. Madame relates the author’s time running the largest gay escort service in Washington, DC, and his interactions with VIPs from government, business, and the media who solicited the escorts he employed. The book details the federal government’s pernicious campaign waged against the author to ensure his silence and how he withstood relentless, fabricated attacks by the government, which included incarceration rooted in trumped up charges and outright lies. This fascinating and shocking facet of government malfeasance reveals the integral role blackmail plays in American politics and the unbelievable lengths the government perpetrates to silence those in the know.

Genres: Politics, Conspiracy Theories, True Crime, Nonfiction, Crime, Biography

216 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2013

About the author

Henry Vinson is a commercial pilot with airplane - Single and Multi Engine, Instrument Airplane, Rotorcraft, Certified Flight Instructor Airplane and Rotorcraft ratings. He holds a Master of Science in Integrated Marketing Communications from West Virginia University and a Bachelor of Science from Cincinnati College of Mortuary Science. Member of Airplane Owner and Pilot Association, Experimental Aircraft Association, American Communications Association, American Marketing Association, Public Relations Society of America, and Gay Pilots Association.

Reviews

[K.D. McQuain · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a fascinating story that should have been better written. At a mere 200 pages there was a lot of room for more detail on how he got into the escort scene and business, how the business operated, what it was like for an inexperienced young gay man to go out on calls with strangers. I would have liked to know more about the depravity of the power elite inside the beltway and I think the book would greatly benefit from those sorts of details. Even if Vinson is unwilling or unable to name specific patrons he could tell us a lot more about the circumstances. It could have benefited from a good editor as well, or even a few beta readers. There were several missing words and a lot of unnecessary repetitions that just made it feel amateurish, which is a shame because it's the sort of story that should be read.

[Harrison · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must-read, along with Bryant's "Franklin Scandal". This story (and many like it) have been buried for TOO long.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Although it is only 200 pages, this book has the power to dramatically change how you view the U.S. government, the U.S. justice system, and the mainstream media. The author Henry Vinson recounts the story of his life, with special emphasis on his time operating the largest gay escort service in Washington, D.C. during the 1980s -- and the massive fraud and cover-ups that were conducted to protect the guilty and put Vinson behind bars not once, but twice.

In case you are wondering, Vinson does name names, including people like former Senator Larry Craig, who was caught soliciting sex in a St. Paul-Minneapolis airport bathroom. While Craig denied his homsexuality and promptly resigned, Vinson points out that Craig was for many years a client of his gay escort service.

Another surprise: former CIA Director William Casey was also a patron of Vinson's escort service. According to Vinson: "William Casey started to phone me for gay escorts in 1986. Like Barney Frank, his preferred escort was an eighteen-year-old with minimal body hair and a slender swimmer's physique. Although he requested that I provide him with underage escorts, I told him that I wouldn't acquiesce to that request." (p. 119)

There are a few names Vinson is unable to mention due to the fact that the records of his indictment are still sealed 25 years after the fact. Therefore, he cannot mention certain names without fear of defamation lawsuits. I would be greatly interested to know the anonymous politician who helped cover up for Craig Spence and Donald Gregg.

Long story short: In spite of a few minor typos (mostly missing words like "a" or "the"), this is an exceptionally well-written book that will open your eyes to the rampant corruption in both politics and journalism. While I feel terrible for the injustices Vinson has had to suffer through during his life, I'm glad he's summoned the courage to document his trials and tribulations in Confessions of a D.C. Madam.

[Shoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's good and worth a read. Hard to escape the feeling that Vinson isn't showing his entire hand, and frankly it makes sense he wouldn't. It is a limitation to be sure, but it's hard to imagine this story could be told in this level of detail unless he were in charge of telling it.

Written in first person, the early part of the book is actually a straightforward recounting of Vinson's upbringing in rural West Virginia, and it's surprisingly compelling. Next we arrive in D.C. and Vinson's takeover of a gay escort service, which he expands into what seems like a near-monopoly. Vinson doesn't offer much detail about his thinking in getting into this business in the first place, which feels like a conspicuous absence and a shift from the earlier part of the book. This has been skimmed over in interviews and I had hoped the book would add some detail there but no dice. It makes me think there was a little more going on than Vinson was willing to share.

That said, in general I find him credible and I think that, if he is obfuscating or misleading at times, it is to minimize his moral or legal culpability as regards the escort service. This is at least understandable. I think his portrayal of being roped into being the procurer for Spence's blackmail operation is interesting, plausible, and offers some explanation for how such operations could recruit. The malicious prosecutions and harassment are par for the course when dealing with these government-affiliated operations. Co-author Nick Bryant's book on the Franklin scandal offers many stories in this vein.

Speaking of, I think of this book primarily as an interesting companion to the Franklin story. I don't think it matters too much in what order one reads this book vs. the Bryant book, but I do think the Bryant book is by far the more important and illuminating of the two. That's not a mark against this one, as the scope is just more limited and Vinson's time in the middle of things was short. Overall, worth it for those interested in the story, but definitely don't leave the Bryant book unread.

Lastly, the book contains a fair number of grammatical errors. The errors aren't completely derailing but they can be distracting. I'm frankly not sure whether the author or publisher is typically responsible for hiring a copyeditor, but with TrineDay publishing it feels to me like it's ultimately their oversight. (Given TrineDay's baffling treatment of Wendy Painting and her book Aberration in the Heartland of the Real, I'm a little suspicious of their dedication to their authors' or readers' best interests.)

[Cl · Rating 4 out of 5]

The one thing that puzzled me was Henry’s decision to process the credit cards for Tony. Henry knew that Tony and Craig were human traffickers and blackmailers, so why make the decision to engage in credit card fraud?

Tony also said that he gave Craig to Henry as a client, but I don’t understand why? What was it about Henry that made him the perfect target for Craig and Tony’s sinister crime ring? Also, did Henry ever get Tony’s last name?

Craig was a creep. A dangerous, manipulative creep. 20k per month was (is) a lot money, but I think that I would’ve immediately dropped Craig as a client after he showed me all his government issued surveillance equipment.

[Jane Doe · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put this book down.

It talks in grave detail about Craig Spence and Larry King.. it’s a very important read for anyone who has any interest in the Franklin Scandal…

I am also very shocked how someone could constantly have their name thrown in the dirt so much by the government, it angers me especially for someone who was a citizen like anyone else.

It shows how corrupt our government is and how much they are willing to go after anyone for retribution.

[Dan Doherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an essential book to more fully understand the depravity and corruption of our political system. However it was overly padded with Vinsons own personal story which will likely not be of much interest to most readers who were drawn to this book.

[Meg Sprague · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wow- this book was so interesting, horrifying, & sad. It really shows you that with money and power you can get away with anything and some of these officials
in the upper echelon of government have a lot of dirty secrets that they are willing to go to great lengths to hide!

[Patricia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written account of the cesspool that is Washington D.C. politics. Eye-opening explanation as to how our shadow government operates.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

A disturbing, informative, crucial read. It explains so much about the U.S. political abominable hellscape to know about high-stakes blackmail over the decades of politicians and political figures with direct TIES to the White House, some U.S. military personnel, and prominent, wealthy businessmen / people.

Some of these influential individuals were / are allegedly involved in unspeakable child abuse, including trafficking and allegations of child murder, and covert s3xual depravity, often involving U.S. male politicians involved with male escorts and pr0stitut3s (and deliberately hiding it, hypocritically voting against the rights of LGBTQ people and vilifying them, WHILE engaging in closeted relations with males. One specific mere example is retired Idaho Republican Senator Larry Craig, who was elected to the ID Senate from 1974 to 1980. From 1980 to 1991, Larry then served in the U.S. House of Representatives, and lastly, from 1991 to 2009, he was in the U.S. Senate. He left office in January 2009, after being arrested in 2007 for attempting to solicit s3x from an undercover male police officer in a bathroom at the Minneapolis, MN, airport. As a nauseating cherry on this vile sundae, Larry has been married to a woman since 1983 and he has continued to vehemently deny he is a g@y man or has ever been involved in g@y s3xual activity).

As noted in some GR reviews, the proofreading / editing is somewhat lacking, with noticeable missing words, usually: of, in, at. I also find it puzzling and incredulous that Henry Vinson documented in this book specific clothing / outfits of MANY individuals, and their height, weight, hairstyles, hair color, and eye color, from interactions that occurred in the 1980s. Does he have a photographic memory?? He never wrote that he does. Maybe he kept a written record of some of these details during the few years while he ran his esc0rt service. I have a good memory, but how many ordinary people would recall with ease and accuracy ALL of these specific details from prior decades? (as one example, on page 44: during a 1980s introduction and interaction, Fred Johnson from the Johnson Funeral Home had dishwater blond hair, was slender, 6'2", had a beaming smile, and sported a navy blue, three-piece suit). All I can write about this type of alleged eidetic recall is: it is ODD. Aside from these issues for me, this is an important, stomach-turning book.

[Medical Gunch · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an interesting account worthy of a serious follow up. I was hoping for something similar to Bryant’s Franklin Scandal Book, but this was a lot shorter and only cites a few sources inside the text itself.

[W · Rating 2 out of 5]

A precursor to Epstein, if believed

[Ella · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is certainly a thing I read.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a read!