The FOX affiliate in Tampa, Florida, is reporting that Matt “Spiceboy” Lloyd, a former employee of Bubba “The Love Sponge” is being investigated as the possible person who leaked the Hulk Hogan sex tape to the media. The police report states that Lloyd stole several sex tape DVDs from Bubba’s office and distributed clips to sell the tapes, including selling one to TMZ. Apart from that, he also contacted a “sex tape broker” by the name of Keith Davidson “to engage in the extortion of Terry Bollea.”
A middleman was allegedly hired by Lloyd to do the dirty work for him so his name does not show up anywhere. He reportedly paid $10,000 to his wife’s best friend for her involvement. The same person, Lori Burbidge, told detectives she was told to meet with the broker and complete a deal with Hogan and his attorney. Burbridge, who is apparently throwing Lloyd under the bus, told police that he also leaked pictures of the Hogan sex tape to TheDirty.com apart from TMZ and was paid $8,500 in return. The money was deposited in her bank account so Lloyd remains anonymous and later she handed “Spiceboy” a cashier’s check for $8,000. If the investigation into Lloyd turns out to be true, Gawker will breathe a sigh of relief as Hogan’s team is claiming that Gawker released the sex tape to have an advantage in their $100 million lawsuit that Hogan filed against them.
Colin Vassallo has been editor of Wrestling-Online since 1996