The Plot Thickens

By Keith Boykin, in politics
Friday, July 25 2003, 10:11AM

The New York City Hall murder story took a bizarre twist yesterday when all the major news agencies followed the New York Times and outed Othniel Askew. In the process, they dug up everything from his ex lover's identity to his domestic violence arrest.

The first thing I realized in reading the coverage of Othniel Askew is that I know this man. No, I don't believe I ever met him in person, but I know him nonetheless. If the newspaper accounts are to be believed, Askew was a scam artist and compulsive liar. An ambitious and very attractive black gay man, he seemed to be able to trade off his good looks and charm to help get him what he wanted.

Yes, I definitely know Othniel Askew. I know a few people who fit that bill perfectly. In the black gay community, we call these people "crafty." They steal credit card numbers, make up false identities, and seem to live fabulously with no apparent source of income. If Othniel Askew was one of the "crafty kids," then it's not altogether surprising that he was able to fool Councilman Davis and some others into trusting him. According to the newspaper accounts, Askew was quite an unusual man.

Othniel Boaz Askew The New York Daily News ran a front page cover story this morning with a revealing picture of Askew and a headline that read "Killer's Secret"

The paper said Askew lived in a restored Fort Greene townhouse, left a copy of his will and a note to his brother on a table, and left AIDS medicine in his house.

The Daily News also reported details of Askew's 1996 domestic violence arrest and of a 1999 arrest for grand larceny. The paper identified Mario Romero as Askew's "domestic partner" and described what it called "a bloody attack that started around 11:30 p.m. on Dec. 29, 1996, at the W. 43rd St. apartment the two shared."

Romero said that Askew "repeatedly struck [him] over his head, face and body with a hammer," the paper reported.

Othniel Boaz Askew Not to be outdone, The New York Post ran a cover headline called "Wild Eyes Of A Killer." Using code language for stereotypical homosexuality, the Post referred to Askew's "fastidiously neat Fort Greene apartment."

The Post also reported what it called "a gay domestic dispute in 1996." According to the paper, "police said they believe Askew was HIV positive. They said they found prescriptions for Paxil, Zarret and Viagra, as well as gay porn and sadomasochistic material."

Like the Daily News, the Post reported Askew's 1999 larceny arrest, but the Post added that Askew was arrested under the name "Neal Askew" for stealing a bag of jewelry and a cellphone from a friend.

Askew was also litigious, the paper reported, claiming he unsuccessfully sued a ski lodge after a skiing accident in the 1990s and a Fire Island gym for $1 million in 1999 after he claimed he had been injured doing bench presses.

He was also a scam artist. Reminiscent of David Hampton, the inspiration for "Six Degrees of Separation" who passed away just last week, Askew claimed to be an Orthodox Jew, a Yale Law School graduate, a Gulf War veteran, and a real-estate developer, the Post reported.

Compared to the coverage in the Post and the Daily News, The New York Times was more reserved in its imagery but not in its coverage. The Times, after all, was among the first to out Askew Thursday morning.

In today's paper, the Times describes Askew as a "former model" with a "minor criminal history � driving under the influence, chasing his naked boyfriend into the street with a hammer � and, according to some who came across him in Brooklyn, a near-desperate desire for some small place in the limelight."

The Times also comes closest to questioning Askew's relationship with Councilman James Davis. "The two were locked in a complex relationship," the paper hinted, "with Mr. Askew, who never formally qualified for the race, playing both antagonist and supplicant, and Mr. Davis, if publicly confident, trying to deal with a persistent if obscure rival."

According to the Times, Askew graduated from the C.W. Post campus of Long Island University with a degree in accounting, served in the Air Force, and held office jobs and sold pharmaceuticals before launching his unsuccessful bid to run for City Council.

Described as "unusually good-looking by many accounts," Askew "modeled at times and lived something of a boisterous life in Manhattan during the mid-1990's," the paper reported. The Times even said that he frequented the Roxy, which it called "a raucous dance club."

Ever attentive to detail, the "paper of record" found Askew's 1997 bankruptcy records and even identified the floor Askew lived on (the 11th) in his West 43rd Street apartment when he was arrested for domestic violence in 1996.

Almost all the media accounts have reported Askew's claim that Councilman Davis was trying to out him, but that claim seems ridiculous when you consider Askew's long track record in the gay world. Maybe it made sense in the mind of a delusional but ambitious young man.

In a conversation with a reporter early this morning, I heard more information about Askew that will surely come to light in the days to come. What scares me most is not how different Askew is from the rest of us, but how similar he is to so many people some of us already know.

There are many crazy people out there in the world. Those in public life are used to dealing with them. They meet you and instantly claim to be your friend. They play on your public persona to get what they want from you. And when they don't get it, they can sometimes snap.

We can never know exactly what's going on inside someone else's head, but if there's a lesson here for me, it's about the importance of re-examining our relationships and appreciating the preciousness of each day we have alive.

July 26, 2003 Headlines

Othniel Boaz Askew

July 27, 2003 Headlines

Othniel Boaz Askew

Comments (25) reveal

Comments conceal

Cody
July 25 2003, 11:06AM

Juicy. Curiouser and curiouser.

Well, as the resident Christian, I gotta to get biblical on this one:

Luke 12:2 "There is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, or hidden that will not be made known. 3 What you have said in the dark will be heard in the daylight, and what you have whispered in the ear in the inner rooms will be proclaimed from the roofs."

Step Out yourself before circumstances push you out there.

Could brother Davis not have known with whom he was dealing? Doubtful. He was a sharp cookie. Were the two hiding something? God only knows.

Know with whom you're getting involved. A lesson too often learned the hard way.

Mr
July 25 2003, 12:19PM

I thinkAskew was just mentally unbalanced. His actions doesn't have anything to do with his homosexuality or Hiv status. The incident with his lover demonstrate his violent tendencies. The picture on the cover of the Post is a bad shot, but we all have unflattering shot of ourselves floating around. I think if he was straight we would have had the same outcome. The people in his life failed to notice his behavior (yeah everyone mentions how odd he was now) or to act on it and get him some help. I feel sorry for both Councilman Davis and Othniel Askew.

cmoney
July 25 2003, 12:29PM

Why is it such a controversy when black male and homosexuality are mentioned in the same sentence? I am glad that you are touching this topic, Keith, because I am sick of people rolling their eyes every time the question is simply raised. HELLO! Black men do have sex with each other and we do have relationships, both above board and on the DL. The sooner we accept this, the sooner we can accept the fact that AIDS in Africa and the U.S. is spread by both heterosexual and homosexual activities. How is it that AIDS is rampant in Africa and yet "no one is gay"? Please!
A continent with the most beautiful men in the world and none of them are having sex with each other. Imagine that. It is the same stigma that we face in this country when we refuse to accept that the D.C. Snipers could have been in a gay relationship (remember how they almost bit your head off when you raised that question?). If we at least allow ourselves to ask the obvious questions, we might just get to the truth.

fred
July 25 2003, 1:20PM

What went wrong? I am just mystified and heartbroken by the latest news on Othniel Askew, I know that he doesn�t deserve any remorse or sympathy but I can�t help but feel those things. He was apparently a disturbed man who chose to take someone�s life as the answer for his problems. It�s clear that he was not exactly �closeted� given that he was arrested and it was on public record that he had been in gay relationships.
This is just a sad time for the black community as well as the black gay community because we lost one of our own to senseless violence that could have been prevented if someone had read the signs and not look the other way. I am sure that Davis�s staff members knew about Askew and Davis but didn�t feel the need to butt in being that the topic of black gay men is still taboo in this society.
Well now we can talk about it since it�s plastered all over the New York Post and the Daily News. How�s that to open up the discussion that has been ignored for decades��.

Kola Boof
July 25 2003, 1:46PM

Keith...this doesn't add up.

Sure the killer was "crafty" and could have a been a con artist who got Davis to trust him.

But that doesn't explain why such a crafty, brilliant person would effectively DESTROY his own life...and go to prison for murder.

In prison, Keith...he can't be handsome, crafty and live fabulously.

THESE MEN WERE LOVERS. Of some sort.

He killed a man in cold blood. He shot him repeatedly...virtually copying the scene from Bette Davis's film "The Letter" to a T.

Why is no one putting the obvious together? Something much bigger than being "outed" was behind this.

Why is our community so unwilling to accept that homosexuals also have torrid love affairs that end in murder? And why does DAVIS's heroic image preclude him from being gay?

AGAIN...why does Davis's "heroic image" preclude him from tapping the killer's ass?

My instincts are usually dead on. I smell an affair gone bad.

TD
July 25 2003, 2:16PM

I wonder how long Askew has been on the HIV medications because some meds (like Sustiva is known to induce nightmares or other psychosis) can affect a patient's mental well-being esp. long-term use. Not to say that Askew is mentally stable w/o the meds. Just an observation.

Ahmad
July 25 2003, 2:51PM

It is so typical of the Post and The Daily news to over-sensationalize a tragedy which requires less hype surrounding Askew's sexuality and more attention paid towards the psychosis of a cold blooded killer. This man was driven by greed and a lack of "true-self". The fact that he was gay is only news to those of us who did not know him. The councilman knew he was gay. Askew's friends and family most likely knew he was gay. It wasn't no secret! I'm so tired of the media's concentration on a killer's sexuality when it's discovered that he is gay. It's almost as if they are attempting to create these parallels between homosexuality and insanity. The brother was crazy...period!

Dwiget
July 25 2003, 3:48PM

There are a couple of holes in this scenario. One in particular that has already been brought up by Keith; Why was Askew so worried about being outed, when the information would have come out anyway? If he had run against the councilman, that info would have definitely come to light. Furthermore, if the councilman did out him, that would have brought the councilman's sexuality into question. So why did he flip? Why would he flip? Why would that threat have even been on the table?

Perhaps this situation was the other way around. Maybe Askew was going to "out" the councilman in exchange for some favor. The councilman refused, then Askew flipped. But who knows?

dwiget
July 25 2003, 3:55PM

This link clears up some of my questions.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/103818p-93880c.html

Bernie
July 25 2003, 4:20PM

Why is it inconceivable for some people to believe there was NOTHING going on between Davis and Askew, and that Askew was simply a loose cannon waiting to go off?

Consider the known facts:

All of the known interactions between these two men were initiated by Askew. Davis's district office staff reported Askew showing up unannounced on numerous occasions. Television news footage here in New York showed Askew at a City Hall press conference lurking in the background, and City Hall employees reported seeing him hanging around frequently. The day of the murder, it was Askew who called Davis seeking a meeting (he also sought a meeting with another candidate for office who brushed him off).

IF he was really being harrassed, as he claimed in the "rambling" (according to an FBI spokesman) phone call he made to the Bureau, why did he do it just that morning? And if he was being harrassed why did he continue to seek out Davis?

I think what is a far more plausible theory of the case is that this imbalanced individual, was desperate to make a name for himself. For some unknown reason, he wanted to be a City Councilman from the 35th District in Brooklyn. He gathered enough signatures to get on the ballot, but for some unknown reason missed the July 10 filing deadline. (He blamed staff people at the Board of Elections but every indication is it was his own fault.) Yet he still needed the fame and glamour he craved.

He sought out Davis, not the other way around. FACT: He attempted to get Davis (and the other candidate) to sign an agreement he wrote making him successor to the Council seat in the event anything happened to Davis. Davis refused. To this demented mind, this posed a problem that had to be rectified only one way.

Those who know Councilman Davis say he was extremely outgoing, to the point of hugging those he knew, even those who were political opponents. Interviews with members of the Council Wednesday repeated those sentiments several times. It was not uncommon for him to befriend those who he barely knew. Constituents report how he'd show up at neighborhood birthday parties and even bar mitzvahs. He was a likeable person. Thus for him to befriend Askew, who himself was a chameleon and con artist, was a logical albeit fatal step.

Askew left a will and instructions to survivors the day of the murder. He called the FBI the same day, I believe to establish an alibi. Nothing more. Again, were any of these allegations true, why wait until the same day you plan to kill someone to call FBI? He sought a meeting with the other council candidate, then with Davis, asking to go to City Hall with him. If you're being harrassed why continue to see someone?

He shot Davis dead because in his delusional state this would eliminate all obstacles to being City Councilman. Little did he realize, it doesn't work that way.

That seems a far more reasonable explanation than any of the bar stool speculation I've read thus far.

ronn
July 25 2003, 7:59PM

Bernie, you're much too kind. The "theories" put forth for this murder by some on this board is laughable. I say look in your mirror and ask yourself why must you belittle the character of a good man? Davis was affable, friendly to a fault and open to listen to anyone that wanted to talk to him. And let's not overlook his prior careers: correction officer that volunteered to help inmates rehabilitate; police officer that strived to become an instructor to make sure other young men of color would not be harassed as he had been; minister and Councilman to each and ever person in his district. He went out of his way to include Hasidic, Latino and SLG communities in his work on the City Council.

When his family, friends, colleagues and constituents say that he will be missed, it is genuine.

I pray for all of the Askews of the world. Especially those on this board that don't even realize it yet.

Bernie
July 25 2003, 8:22PM

Here's one other thing to consider. If Davis were going to "out" Askew, supposedly because he'd found out he was gay, DON'T YOU THINK HE WOULD HAVE UNCOVERED ALL THE ARRESTS TOO!!!!!!

Don't you think if he *had* done a background investigation on this guy, he would have stayed as far away from this psycho as possible???

Now, if you need any more proof of this guy's dementia, read this account from Gay City News:
http://www.gaycitynews.com/GCN230/obsessionturnsdeadly.html

Cody
July 25 2003, 9:49PM

Keith, my brother, riddle me this:

Hidden beneath the denial of the possibility of a more than casual relationship between the 41-year-old single councilman and the younger very good looking male model and political aspirant is the ANTI GAY insinuation that there is something wrong with two attractive men being, well, attracted to each other. And that attraction leading to something much more than meets the public�s eye. Davis was a respectable public activist, not a saint. He was a man too. The councilman was known to have gone to Askew�s home on more than one occasion. The day of the murder they went together to a unisex barbershop and got their haircut. Has a city councilman been in your house lately? Well, maybe one has with you being you. But, politics make strange bedfellows indeed.

If Askew had been an attractive sister would you still consider it blasphemous to think they had a sexual tryst?

If it comes out that they did would you think less of the man as public servant? I hope not.

Like Bill Clinton, Davis was a savvy politician. Monica would not be a household name if politicians had no need to get a groove on every now and then.

Askew was a nut case but before this he only vented his wrath on men he was more than casually involved with.

But hell, to date, none of us really know what went on, only that something went very wrong.

Byron
July 25 2003, 11:17PM

I don't think there's an insinuation that two attractive men being involved is wrong. It's just that -- for now, anyway -- there's no real basis to believe that these particular two were involved any way other than politically. That could change in 24 hours, but right now anything else is speculation based on nothing. And if it had been a sister, the possibility of a tryst would merely be titillation of the heterosexual kind, but no more relevant if the information were the same as what we have now. One could just as easily speculate that Askew *wanted* sex and Davis wouldn't give it up.

Askew was seriously disturbed, and, no, it does not take someting [most people see as] "big" to set a really disturbed person off. He beat up a boyfriend with a hammer. He called another rival candidate (Herbert) asking if he was "willing to die for this," just that morning. He was not thinking of going to prison where he couldn't live fabulously: he was planning to die fabulously.

Attempting to fit this into a neat logical box is certainly one way of coming to grips with the fact that another human -- particularly one who could be any of us -- has committed such a decidedly illogical and heinous act (against someone who could also be any of us). But there is no logic here, not at this time.

It happened, it was terrible, they both look like us, and we don't get to feel better about it.

Cody
July 26 2003, 9:10AM

Byron, is that you? Just last week I was talking about you to some friends. It's been at least 8 years. Bed-Sty Brooklyn 1995. Funny running into you here, but no surprise, you're still one of the brightest people I've ever met.

You�re right. I know I jumped to conclusions here. Askew could have felt the councilman was leading him on. The councilman could have been one of those st8 politicos who flirt with constituents, male and female, to attract a committed and loyal following. I've seen that done often. Tapping a gay following in NYC is the Holy Grail for mayoral wannabees. Remember Rudy in drag?

Afdhere Jama
July 26 2003, 9:10PM

Maybe Askew found out his lover was cheating on him and couldn't handle it?

It happens with straight people, it can happen with us queer too.

That said, I was really surprised when I found out the men were black. Rarely do the black folk in this country have such public "psychos."

A black man is missing (they found a body, it could be him.) A black man's future is on a la-la-land(Kobe.) And, now, a black man kills a black man.... :O This has been a SUPER natural freaky month, to say the least, for the black "celebs" :-P

J
July 27 2003, 6:48PM

Believe me, some one else wanted Davis killed? And as long as the media continues to report all this fluff about Askew and nothing about "real" motive, we'll be left in the dark about this.

Another Ron Brown situation. Beware, my brothers, of the New World Order. Beware, my brothers, of the power alignment and its intentions.

Cody
July 27 2003, 11:41PM

Don't know if it makes much difference now. I've learned over the past few days that I would have really liked the man James Davis. An incredible loss to the diverse Fort Greene community in Brooklyn and the entire city of New York. I'm sure he'll rest well. A rest well deserved.

Is it important to figure out why this happened? I read today that he was the only person ever killed in City Hall -- a man whose life was dedicated to ending senseless violence. How ironic is that? A supporter of gay and lesbian causes, gunned down by a sick gay man.

The question still remains, however, was Askew a jilted piece, a crazed psychopath, an oppressed black and gay man pushed to a breaking point, a glory seeker, or what?

Two very odd things stand out: the story linked below depicts an average, by some accounts an even "sweet" guy who got very violent when dumped by lovers. Kinda understandable, nobody likes being rejected.

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/103958p-94071c.html

Also, the Mayor sent the City's Head of the Domestic Violence Department to Davis's memorial rally.

Is the media holding something back? Are they being too kind to Davis?

I dunno.

Historic, indeed.

Ahmad
July 29 2003, 1:41PM

Interesting article in the voice title, "Death By Outing"...read on

http://villagevoice.com/issues/0331/goldstein.php

Guest
July 29 2003, 3:51PM

I think everything that can be said has already been said. The Village Voice article will not add or detract from this awful moment in humanity. When will black people ever get it together? Probably never and just think we (black people) started and birthed the world and everything in it only to lose it to our own machinations & demise!

alicia banks
July 29 2003, 5:52PM

thank you keith!!!

for being brave enough to pen UNCENSORED truths

black gaybashers need to learn that there is a new breed of black gays EVERYWHERE who will not
passively endure their abuses!!!!

and black closeted gays need to learn the LETHAL consequences of their cowardice, deception, and co-conspiracy in their own demise...

honest gays cannot be blackmailed into dementia

no lie can live forever

peace
ab

alicia banks
July 29 2003, 6:10PM

here is a great article on askew:

http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0331/goldstein.php

alicia banks
July 29 2003, 7:07PM

The Plot Thickens

Comments (25) reveal

Comments conceal

previous It's Happened Again

next Who Is He And What Is He To You?

featured links

Email this article