After stealing more than $600,000 from Nashville’s Vanderbilt University, Jason Hunt and boyfriend Samuel Cole Wakefield did what any fugitive queers would do: they fled to Puerto Vallarta and opened a gay nightclub.
Everything was all fabuloso at Crema ( right) when it opened at the end of 2011—actors Wilson Cruz and Michael McElroy popped up at the grand opening and Jonny McGovern appeared at their New Year’s party.
The fiesta ended last week, though, when authorities busted Hunt after he left his nightclub asylum and went to Arkansas. (Why in God’s name would anyone ditch Puerto Vallarta for Arkansas?)
Now the embattled embezzler is being held on a million-dollar bond in the Natural State but is expected to be extradited to Tennessee to face the (disco) music.
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Wakefield, his partner in life and in crime, was arrested Wednesday and charged with embezzling $60,000 from Vanderbilt.
Hunt was terminated from his job as an administrative assistant at Vanderbilt Law School in November, at which point he resigned his post as president of Nashville Pride and, apparently, bought himself a Spanish/English dictionary.
Maybe Hunt and Wakefield shouldn’t have tried to relive the glory days of Estudio 54. Nightclubs aren’t exactly known for being inconspicuous.
Photos: TripAdvisor, Montgomery County Jail
Dallas David
Arkansas?
Eureka Springs (a rustic, rural old-timey small town in the Ozark mountains), is pretty nice. It’s owned and run by a roughly 50/50 mix of GLBT’s and fundamentalist Christians. I have no idea how they manage it without acrimony, but they do.
Check out their city website (they have several) and see what you think. They’ve had a downturn lately due to the downturn.
Tea He
You’ve got to be extremely bold or stupid to be running a criminal scheme while representing the community as president of Pride! I believe something similar happened with a lesbian activist in the midwest a few years ago, except she made off with more coins. You’d think our “leaders” would be better than that … wonder when we’ll learn about the gay equivalent of Bernie Madoff?
rick
Ha. I love Eureka Springs, Arkansas. Its one of the weirdest little towns you’ll ever find. There’s a giant Jesus statue, and there are gay bars and gay-owned businesses. Rainbow flags right out on the highway. Lots of kitsch in that little town. I thought I was the only one who had ever been there. I also love Fayetteville, which isn’t far from there, and has a large gay community for a small city.
Mike
@rick: I moved to Arkansas this past year to cement operations for the Deep and Mid-South’s GLBT magazine and ultimately picked Fayetteville for a place to live. It’s a great place. Fayetteville’s Speakeasy won our Best Bar/Club in Arkansas award this year; go if you haven’t yet!
ewe
What were they serving? He should have cut down on eating and gotten a little plastic surgery instead.
kimj
Just heard about this on Jonny McGovern’s podcast Gay Pimpin’ with Jonny McGovern where he called the couple “fatties” the whole time hahaha