This is just a personal question.

What are your thoughts on Anton LaVey? Did he do justice to the Satanic name or could we have lived without his ideas?

Some adore him, praising him for his boldness and individuality. Some say the "Satanic Revolution" could have flourished just as well without him.

What do you think?

I personally could not be any happier that he is dead. As bad as that sounds, it's what I think. I will agree that yes, in the Satanic Bible he made very good observations and presented information and his opinions in quite an intriguing manner.

http://www.churchofsatan.org/aslv.html

I despise him because of his personal character and also the way he treated Togare and Loki.

Asking whether Satanism "needed" LaVey is like asking whether Christianity "needed" Christ---or, even if you're an "eclectic" or "theistic" Satanist, it's still like asking whether Christianity "needed" Augustine, Constantine, or St. Thomas Aquinas.

As for all of those juicy rumors about LaVey, always consider the source. Overwhelmingly, the sources of those rumors tend to be a) Christians (such as Bob Larson), b) disgruntled ex-CoS members who didn't get a priesthood titles and/or the control over the whole organization, and c) people seeking a quick buck.

Always ask, cui bono? Who benefits? What is someone's reason for sharing or expressing this or that?

Well, and as someone who's deeply scandalized by rumors of LaVey's dirty laundry, you don't seem to have the same eagerness or willingness to sniff out the FCoS and Lord Egan, whose url you just posted. What's good for the goose is good for the gander, right?

Of course, LaVey was not perfect. Personally, for example, I think he became a bit too much of a curmudgeon in his old age, at least for my taste. But, most of the people who have scandalous stories to tell you about him have clear ulterior motives, so they simply can't be trusted. Perhaps one can equally argue that those who knew and loved him, and those who admire him today, can't be trusted to be completely objective or truthful, either. It's why I had the sense to never write a biography for him for school ;) .