TV Movie Led to Prostitute's Disclosures
'Mayflower Madam' Gave Gobie Idea
By Bill Dedman
Washington Post Staff Writer
August 27, 1989
Prostitute and pimp Stephen L. Gobie settled in with his "girls" in
his Georgetown town house one evening in late 1987 to watch "The
Mayflower Madam" on television. As Candice Bergen portrayed upscale
madam Sydney Biddle Barrows, Gobie's companions had an idea.
"The girls turned to me and said, 'You're just like her,' " Gobie
recalled in an interview yesterday. "That's when I realized that I was
in the middle of a developing story that could be worth something
someday. I told them, 'One day, don't be surprised if you see me on TV.'
"
Gobie's dream has come true. His accusation that Rep. Barney Frank
(D-Mass.) knew that Gobie had operated a prostitution service out of
Frank's Capitol Hill apartment became national news after it was first
reported Friday by the Washington Times.
Frank, one of two openly gay members of Congress, confirmed Friday
that he paid Gobie for sex, hired him with personal funds as an aide and
wrote letters on congressional stationery on his behalf to Virginia
probation officials, but Frank said he fired Gobie when he learned that
clients were visiting the apartment.
Frank, a leading House liberal, likened himself to Henry Higgins, who
in "Pygmalion" tries to transform a cockney waif into a member of
English society. Gobie dismissed that as "garbage." "This is not the
case of the poor waif who is being sheltered," Gobie said. "This was the
first time he felt good in a relationship. Here's a guy who didn't have
a social life until he was 45."
Gobie's craving for public attention also has produced an uproar in
Montgomery County. Gobie said he maintained a relationship with Gabriel
A. Massaro, the principal of Chevy Chase Elementary School, and used an
office at the school in late 1987 to make telephone calls and have one
client meet a prostitute.
Massaro, who has been placed on administrative leave, has been
unavailable for comment.
Gobie said his motive was largely financial. Gobie had offered his
story to WUSA-TV (Channel 9), then the Washington Times. Later he came
to The Washington Post, saying he was looking "to start a bidding war"
for "a better offer" than the Washington Times made. He and the Times
say he was not paid.
Gobie also said he wants "to show up people in positions of power who
abuse other people."
Gobie expressed no regret for any damage done to the careers of Frank
and Massaro.
Although Frank and Gobie differ in some details of their
relationship, they agree on the story line. They met on April Fool's Day
1985. The representative answered a classified ad in the Washington
Blade, the local gay weekly. "Exceptionally good-looking, personable,
muscular athlete is available. Hot bottom plus large endowment equals a
good time."
Then in his third term, the 45-year-old representative had not yet
stated his homosexuality publicly. He paid Gobie $80 in cash for sex.
Gobie, then 28, was one of many young men "freelancing" in male
prostitution. Gobie said he was born in Boston and grew up in a military
family. He has felony convictions for possession of cocaine, oral sodomy
and production of obscene items involving a juvenile.
Gobie and Frank say they became more friends than sexual partners.
Gobie says he attended a bill-signing at the White House, and helped
coach and played left field for Frank's team in the Congressional
Softball League. "I was the star player," Gobie said.
Frank began to help Gobie financially, paying his attorney and
court-ordered psychiatrist. The House member also said he hired Gobie as
a personal aide, housekeeper and driver, but Gobie said that was a
"cover story" concocted for probation officers.
In late 1985, Gobie says, he began to use Frank's apartment and two
other locations for prostitution. Frank knew about the prostitution all
along, but it was never explicitly discussed, Gobie says.
"He knew exactly what I was doing," Gobie said. "It was pretty
obvious. If he had to come home early {from work}, he would call home to
be sure the coast was clear . . . . He was living vicariously through
me. He said it was kind of a thrill, and if he had been 20 years younger
he might be doing the same thing."
Frank denies that he knew, saying he learned from his landlord and
kicked Gobie out in August 1987. Gobie supports this part of Frank's
story.
Gobie said his disclosures are only beginning. "I think I'll just
slap a book together. Sydney Biddle Barrows made in excess of a million.
I thought 'Capitol Offenses' would be a nice title."
© 1996 The Washington Post Co.
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