Foley Was Long Known to Have Interest in Young Men, Some Say
By Noam N. Levey, Maura Reynolds and Richard B. Schmitt, Times Staff Writers
October 2, 2006
....The current and former congressional staffers interviewed by the Los Angeles Times, who are from both parties, said it was well known within the Capitol's gay community that Foley was interested in young men.
"Among the gay political community, there was a pretty wide understanding that he had an eye for the interns and the younger staff," said one former congressional staffer.
The staffers said Foley -- who was elected to the House in 1994 and is not openly gay -- would seek out the young men in bars, restaurants and even around the Capitol.
The former intern said he was approached by Foley at Bullfeathers, a popular restaurant and bar a few blocks from the Capitol. "He asked for e-mail, which I gave him," said the young man. "I was 18. To have a congressman take an interest in you seemed pretty cool."
But he said he quickly regretted it. Foley began sending him e-mails, asking for more information about him. "It was a patented act," he said. He stopped responding to Foley soon afterward.
Beck-Heyman, the former page, said several other male pages in his class also had been approached by Foley. "Mark Foley knew he could get away with this type of behavior with male pages because he was a congressman," he said....
http://www.latimes.com/news/politics/la-na-foley3oct03,0,7011268.story?coll=la-home-headlines