Brutus "The Barber" Beefcake (Of WWF Fame) CAUSES ANTHRAX SCARE IN BOSTON

1Wrestling.com ^ | 2/13/2004 | 1Wrestling.com

[PureSolace]

BRUTUS BEEFCAKE CAUSES ANTHRAX SCARE, LANDS IN REHAB

by 1Wrestling.com Updated: 2/13/2004 8:34:41 AM

Brutus Beefcake (Ed Leslie) caused an Anthrax scare at a Boston subway station when a white powdery substance was found that caused the evacuation of the station where he was working. The substance was found on the counter of a fare booth being manned by Leslie, who later admitted it wasn't Anthrax but was cocaine.

Leslie has been suspended and has checked into rehab.

[PureSolace]

The world keeps getting weirder and weirder and weirder...

[Viking2002]

What a stupid SOB. But, nobody ever accused 'professional wrestlers' of being Nobel Prize laureates, either. :-)

[dead]

Wow, who'd ever imagine that the world's of drugs and pro wrestling would ever combine.?!?

[g35x]

He's one of the few who hasn't died by age 40.

[nuconvert]

"The substance was found on the counter of a fare booth being manned by Leslie, who later admitted it wasn't Anthrax but was cocaine."

LOL ! DUHHH

[LRS]

Looks like Beefcake will be on some prison menu...

[ibbryn]

In court later he will try to avoid the possession charges by claiming the substance isn't cocaine, but anthrax.

[billorites]

I've been avoiding Boston for hygenic reasons for 40 years.

You ought to do the same.

[lelio]

The Honky Tonk Man says "And that's payback for cutting Jimmy Hart's hair back in Wrestlemania IV"

[yooper]

Where do Ted Kennedy and Barney Frank figure into this melodrama? ("Snort" and "Blow" and all that, I just figured they had to be involved.)

[AppyPappy]

For those who don't know, at the peak of his career, Beefcake was surfing and took a Parasail square in the face. Another wrestler was there and held his face together through his mouth to keep him from choking to death on his own face. His face had to be rebuilt.

[billorites]

"What a waste it is to lose one's face.
Or not to have a face is being very wasteful.
How true that is."

[3catsanadog]

And would someone please explain to me why wrestling has become a must see event?

[billorites]

"And would someone please explain to me why wrestling has become a must see event?"

My grandmother, (1882-1968) was big into watching wrestling on TV after getting her first tube in the early 50's.

My parents weren't interested, I could care less, but I was then aware of the names and the general zeitgeist.

I still couldn't care less, but some people just swoon over these characters.

[CounterCounterCulture]

Body slam: T scare lands ex-grappler in rehab

By Laurel J. Sweet
Friday, February 13, 2004
He was the pec-perfect model for a toy action figure and a cartoon character puzzle, but it's former pro wrestling giant Brutus ``The Barber'' Beefcake who's gone to pieces.

Beefcake - these days Edward Leslie, 46, of Winchester - voluntarily checked into a treatment program Monday, according to a source, after cocaine he admitted was his created an anthrax scare at the MBTA's Downtown Crossing subway station.

Sources said the man who acquired his stage name for hacking off the hair of his enemies in the ring had been working there part time as a fare collector - a job that pays $25,000 a year.

``He was a big star for the World Wrestling (Federation),'' Buck Woodward, a columnist for the online magazine Pro Wrestling Insider, said yesterday of Leslie.

``During the '80s wrestling boom he became popular because he was very good friends with Hulk Hogan.''

But behind the colossal bronzed chest and TV set of his own wrestling talk show, ``The Barber Shop,'' Leslie's life was headed for the ropes. In 1990, his face was reconstructed with plates and bolts after a freak parasailing accident. Last April, the IRS slammed him with a lien for $57,425, according to records.

The MBTA confirmed yesterday they have an employee named Edward Leslie, but would not say if he was the one they suspended without pay after cocaine turned up Sunday afternoon on the counter of a Downtown Crossing fare booth, prompting an emergency hazmat response.

``Right now it's only an internal disciplinary matter,'' said MBTA spokesman Joe Pesaturo. ``He has been cooperative with police.''

Although the subway station was evacuated, MBTA Deputy Police Chief Thomas McCarthy said the fare collector - who he also would not identify - spared commuters further inconvenience by coming clean and dispelling terrorism fears.

Leslie's wife, Barbara, did not return a call yesterday.

Leslie was easily earning ``six figures'' in his heyday, said Woodward, noting that such falls from fame in the world of wrestling ``have happened before. There are guys who wasted their money, just like a rock star.''

Boston Herald

[CounterCounterCulture]

Wrasslin' BUMP list

Anthrax? Naw, it's only cocaine...

[firewalk]

Thanks for the ping

[NewRomeTacitus]

Hope he doesn't show up at his hearing as "the Zodiac".

Judge:"Mr. Leslie, did you knowingly leave the narcotic on the counter as a joke to scare your co-workers?"

Leslie, with face painted half-white and half-black:
"Yes no yes no yes no yes no yes no!"

[GreenHornet]

For those who don't know, at the peak of his career, Beefcake was surfing and took a Parasail square in the face. Another wrestler was there and held his face together through his mouth to keep him from choking to death on his own face. His face had to be rebuilt.

B. Brian Bair was the other wrestler, and was credited with saving Beefcake's life. Ed Leslie's face had to have a number of pins and bolts inserted to hold it together. Although he made a few appearances in the ring after the accident, his wrestling career was over - even a mild blow to the face might have been fatal. I hope he gets the help he needs.

[thegreatbeast]

They had a picture of him in the Boston Herald and he doesn't look anything like himself after a severe auto accident.