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Accuser recounts trysts with 'Art'

He wanted to expose 'hypocrisy,' hopes it sways voters, he says

Fernando Quintero, Rocky Mountain News

Published November 3, 2006 at midnight

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The alleged phone calls always came from a public phone. Area code 719. Hundred-dollar bills allegedly arrived in an envelope with a single name, "Art," where the return address should be.

Michael Jones claims the calls and the money were for drug-fueled gay sexual encounters with Colorado Springs pastor Ted Haggard.

Now, the former gay escort has found himself in a firestorm of controversy after saying on a talk radio show Wednesday that he had a three-year sexual relationship with the nationally known evangelical pastor.

"I've been accused of exploiting him," Jones said. "I've been accused of being a puppet for some gay rights organization. I've been called all kinds of names."

Haggard, 50, and married with five kids, has denied having sexual relations with Jones. But the New Life Church announced Thursday that the pastor was resigning as president of the National Association of Evangelicals and had placed himself on leave from his church while a group investigates.

Jones, 49, said his reaction to the fallout from his claims was a mixture of sadness and relief.

"I'm not partying," he said. "I'm not jumping up and down. This is not a happy time for me."

Jones said he had thought about revealing his alleged affair with Haggard months ago but was advised by his attorney that he needed to gather more evidence. He said he decided to come out with his story before the election to influence voters.

"There are two important initiatives," he said, referring to a measure that would grant same-sex couples legal protections afforded to married couples, and another that would define marriage in Colorado as a union between a man and a woman.

"Friends have suffered because of our laws. I felt obligated to get the information out about the hypocrisy of people who make these laws and those who support them.

"It may not change the way people vote, but I feel I did what I had to do. I needed to expose what was happening. You can't say one thing and do another. There are consequences to our actions."

Haggard has spoken out against homosexuality and proposed anti- gay legislation.

Jones, who filed for bankruptcy last year, denied allegations that he was looking to benefit financially.

"If I wanted money, I would have blackmailed him," he said.

Jones said his sexual relationship with Haggard began three years ago after he received a phone call in response to an ad he had listed on rentboy.com, a gay escort Web site.

"He called me, saying he was visiting from Kansas City," Jones said. "We hooked up at my place. We always met at my place. He went by the name 'Art.'

"The only thing he ever admitted to me was that he was married."

Jones said he was paid $200 for the sex sessions, which usually lasted about an hour. He said Haggard did not ask him to perform any unusual sex acts or role play.

"It was pretty much vanilla sex," Jones said.

Jones said Haggard always called from a pay phone.

"When I saw it was a 719 area code, I realized he wasn't visiting from Kansas City."

Jones said Haggard drove an SUV he would park about a block away. During the summer months, he said, he saw Haggard drive a motorcycle. Once, Jones said Haggard came into his apartment with a black helmet.

About a year into their relationship, Jones said Haggard asked him what he knew about "crystal meth," a crystalline form of methamphetamine used by some because of its aphrodisiac qualities and the stamina it provides.

"I told him I didn't do any," Jones said. "He asked if I could hook him up. I asked around and eventually gave him the name and number of someone who could supply him."

Jones said he first learned about Haggard's identity when he saw him on TV about five months ago.

"The Da Vinci Code was out, and the History Channel was showing all these shows about it. There was one show about the Antichrist. And (Haggard) appeared as an expert. It flashed his name for a moment. I didn't catch it. But I knew right away it was him. I thought, 'Oh my God, there he is. Oh my God, that's Art.'

"I think I was meant to know who he was because the next day I was at the gym working out about 5 a.m. Someone had put one of the TVs on Daystar, that Christian station. There he was again. I came home and went on the Internet and found out how huge he was. I thought to myself, 'Wow, this guy's big time.' "

Jones said it was then that he began entertaining the idea of exposing his alleged affair.

"I started contemplating," Jones said. "I started looking at what he said about gay marriage and what he said about gays."

Haggard's accuser decided at that point to save what he claims is a letter and voicemail messages from the preacher.

On Thursday, Jones pulled out an envelope sealed in a plastic sandwich bag for "DNA evidence or something."

The envelope is addressed to Jones, with a postmark from Colorado Springs dated Aug. 7, 2006. The ZIP code is 80932. In the upper left corner is the name "Art."

Jones said Haggard enclosed two $100 bills in the envelope and nothing else.

He then played two messages he says were from Haggard. Jones said they were about procuring drugs for Haggard.

"Hi Mike. It's Art. Calling to see if you got the money . . . money for inventory. Could you get me a $100 or $200 supply? I could wait until next week. Maybe later today? I'll be up later," the message said.

The second message was brief.

"Hi Mike. Art here. I'm in Denver. Sorry I missed you. Go ahead and get the stuff. I'll get it later."

Jones says his last encounter with Haggard was in mid-August.

"I knew who he was by then. I wasn't sure what to do. It was a weird meeting."

Jones said he now makes a living as a personal trainer and a model for artists and art schools. He said he used to be a competitive body builder. He still works out about two hours a day, six days a week.

There is no record of his ever being charged with prostitution in Colorado.

Greg Montoya, editor and co-publisher of Out Front Colorado, a newspaper that serves Denver's gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender community, said Jones has advertised his business in the paper for several years. Montoya said the paper's readers voted Jones the best personal trainer a few years ago.

"As far as I know, he's an upstanding member of the community," Montoya said. "I've never heard anything negative about him."

Jones said he has a brother who lives in Aurora. He left him a voicemail message Thursday morning.

"I don't think it will go over very well with him. He's very Catholic," Jones said.

He also called his father in California. His mother died earlier this year.

"I told him, 'Dad, be prepared. I got paid for sex with a man,' " Jones said. "He said 'OK.' We're very close. I love my dad. He loves me."

Jones sat in his sparsely furnished Capitol Hill apartment and considered what lies ahead.

"I don't know how all this will end," he said. "If he had been honest with me and told me who he was, if he had said, 'Look, I may say some things in public about gay people that you're not going to like,' I might have made a different decision. But I had to catch him being a hypocrite."

or 303-954-5250

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