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McLeskey had been a gubernatorial appointee to a state erosion commission or board. McLeskey was a avid deepsea fisherman, boaters and resided beside the entrance to Rudee Inlet. He owned the Rudee Inlet Fishing Marina. He was well plugged in to the city’s movers, shakers, party clique, and low lifes alike. He knew who came in and out of Rudee Inlet.
The south enders and bar frequenters kept him informed on the gossip.
He badly wanted re-appointment and had been led to believe he would get it. Then Robb double crossed him by appointing hotel/bar owner Edmund C. Ruffin, a former partner with Nabil Kassir and Rowe’s in a couple ventures, to McLeskey’s position. McLeskey was upset and became vengeful, intent on getting even with Robb.
He sought Rowe out, more for his media contacts than for his real state ability, to be a conduit to get the story out on Robb to try to block his political future to greater office. As a partner of Ruffin and Kassir, Rowe was aware of the ‘public’ cocaine parties involving the city’s social elites, Croatan Beach professionals.
McLeskey told the Robb, Ruffin, et al’s cocaine, whoring story to Rowe and asked that it be leaked to the media. Rowe selected O’Connor to get the story.
McLeskey was able to provide details, sources, and solid leads for O’Connor to follow in her long and detailed investigation.
One story involved a boat trip with Robb and Ruffin on boat trip with female companions and each taking pictures of each other in the ‘fighting’ chair getting oral sex. Ruffin in fact had previously told the same story to Rowe, who was leasing Mary’s Kountry Kitchen on 17th Street (owned by Ruffin and Nabil Kassir) before going to work with McLesky. Rowe had been told many of the stories.
In fact a television program called ‘Current Affairs’ had called Rowe saying it had also heard the event and offered hundreds of thousands of dollars for proof of the story and copies of the pictures. This before Rowe went to work for McLeskey and the story publicly broke.
Rowe had been told by one of the partners there were only two copies of the photos and neither party was about to make them available at any price. Each had too much at stake.
When O’Connor needed verification, which she couldn’t run down with tips from Rowe and McLeskey, Rowe told McLeskey O’Connor had to have proof. McLeskey gave Rowe the name of the boat captain who took the pair out of Rudee.
O’Connor became frightened of all the high level intrigue and its lead to important people and Rowe, armed with a .357 magnum, accompanied her to some interviews, without incident.
O’Connor got the complete story(ies), and the rest is journalistic history.
Robb’s star fell. Ruffin; Kassir and a brother; Bruce Thompson, a Ruffin business partner and Robb fundraiser, and the owners of the Raven Restaurant subsequently underwent criminal investigations, trials, and convictions.
Many other of Virginia Beach’s finest citizens were cocaine party goers and had intimate knowledge of the XXX-Governor’s unlawful behavior. Others were caught up in periphery, less serious events, but never ratted anyone out.
And that is just one of the sex, orgies, and videos stories floating around in the Virginia Beach's resort city past.
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