The church quickly expanded its holdings, buying several businesses and establishing a compound in nearby Saugus. Always the promoter, the Alamos established their theological foundation as staunchly anti-Catholic, promoting conspiracy theories about how the Pope, United Nations and mainstream media stood behind the US.. Presidency. Tony and Sharon had a son, Sion, together in the summer of 1991, while Tony was in jail awaiting trial for threatening Federal Judge Morris Arnold. His skin is very white and clammy. Additional support provided by the Arkansas General Assembly. When Amrhein was arrested last week in New Orleans for trying to leave the country, her marriage license was reportedly not certified. The imprisoned Evangelist preacher Tony Alamo, who sexually abused young girls he considered to be his wives, has died after serving more than seven years of a 175-year prison sentence, authorities said. The ministry has buildings in Moffett and Muldrow. She was already married to Kenya Williams (African American) and pregnant with his child at the time. Claiming resurrection was imminent, hed kept Susan displayed in the compound for months before interring her body. Many witnesses can verify that Amy has been severely beaten by Alamo on many occasions. She said Alamo had sent her a telegram saying they were divorced, but she has been unable to get a divorce decree either in Van Buren or Nashville because he will not appear in court. She threw Alamo out of her Los Angeles home last fall after he broke a 200 year old statue. [1][2] The Alamo Ministries posted a notice of his death on its website's homepage, but it has not posted a notice of succession nor has it stated what its future plans are. Tony Alamo was born Bernie Lazar Hoffman on Sept. 20, 1934, to a Jewish family in Joplin, Missouri. The main campus continued to grow, adding gas stations, a restaurant and a hog farm, according to The New York Times. For more on former child brides Amy Eddy and Pebbles Rodriguez, subscribe now to PEOPLE or pick up this weeks issue, on newsstands now. There is nothing I can do to make it go away, but I try my hardest.. I was terrified that if I didnt do what I was supposed to do when he told me to do it no matter what it was Im going to hell, Amy tells PEOPLE, recalling her childhood in the cult. By. Also he owned the Little Mark, Alamo, and Talamo Records record labels. Hes a riot. I still do, said Coie, who last saw her mother in 1971 when she quit the sect against her parents wishes. Amrhein is involved in a custody fight over her two children from a previous marriage but her marriage to the Alama-based minister is being called into question because Alamo's second wife, Birgitta Gyllenhammar, 43, says she is still waiting for him to sign the divorce papers. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital Our website includes affiliate links, which means we get a small commission -- at no additional cost to you -- for each qualifying purpose. A chancery court judge ordered Alamo to return the body in 1995 in response to a suit filed by Christhiaon Coie, Susan Alamos estranged daughter. The CALS Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. There the church grew to several hundred members and it also established printing facilities, a school, and a tabernacle. I knew how he thinks, and what he might do, she said. March 1, 2023 3:00am. "[16] MSC sued and lost in the United States Court of Federal Claims. Now Tony Alamo is also a grave robber-at least in the eyes of an Arkansas judge, who has . Nailing Tony Alamo. This Rock 1 (October 1990). Communal living was a staple of the Music Square Church. History: In Arkansas in January 1994, Elizabeth Mercado (aka Lizzy Gutierrez) became Tonys wife. People Magazine Investigates: Cults premieres Monday (9 p.m. This is how he shows his gratitude? The full weight of the crimes hed committed was finally coming to light, and in 2014, a judge from Miller County, Arkansas, ruled in a case brought by seven ex-cult members. Little Rock, AR. When it became clear she wouldnt survive, she told church members she believed she would rise from the dead. Coie said that when she was trying to leave the sect years ago, her mother and stepfather tried to keep her there by threatening to take away her young daughter. Tony spent the last 20 years in and out of prison, pioneered conspiracy talk radio, and built an empire that couldnt withstand the lust and greed of its creator. This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. In September 1994, the Federal District Court for the Western District of Tennessee sentenced Alamo to six years in federal prison in Texarkana, Texas. Chancery Judge Bernice Kizer ruled Monday that the foundations local business must pay back sales taxes. He was working as a music promoter. A hearing was held the day after her arrest. The foundation might have to pay up to $70,000 in back taxes. Eddy was 14 and Rodriguez just 12 when they. Their wives had remarried more loyal subjects of Alamo, and their families had relocated to California. According to Alamo, while he was in a meeting at a Beverly Hills investment firm, Jesus came to him and told him to preach the second coming of Christ. What were they doing in New Orleans?. Flippo, Chet. Williams, John. WATCH: Cult Leaders & Child Brides: Breaking Down People Magazine Investigates: Cults. Benjamin Risha. Both women still suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, where seemingly normal activities can sometimes trigger panic attacks and feelings of fear and loneliness. Her name was Susan (born Edith Opal Horn) Lipowitz, nine years his senior. Members usually lived in a commune and worked at an Alamo-owned business, turning over much of their salaries to the church. [11] The church's projects included Nashville's largest country and western clothing store. [8] Converting from Judaism to Christianity, she became an itinerant evangelist before she met Hoffman. The feds had narrowed in Tony fought Coie for custody of Susans remains. The assistant said there were many Scriptural reasons why they divorced. Staff of the CALS Encyclopedia of Arkansas. . When Alamo saw Amrhein at the hearing the evangelist appeared upset. Does Mike Murdock's 58 days seed covenant really work? The girls grew up in Fouke, Arkansas, where they lived on a compound. Davis, Andy. As young girls, Amy Eddy and her best friend, Pebbles Rodriguez, did not have any control of their lives. Amrhein doesnt believe the children went to school while they lived at the foundation in Dyer. Additional support provided by the Arkansas Humanities Council. But he had to go back to his mother the day before his birthday. Larowe, Lynn. In 1982, his wife Susan Alamo (ne Edith Opal Horn) died of cancer. Alamo has fathered three children by different women who live in his home as secretaries. Alamos Pentecostal theology includeed a virulent paranoia and extreme anti-Catholicism that placed the Vatican as the real power broker behind the White House, the United Nations, and the media. Rate and review titles you borrow and share your opinions on them. Religion News Blog posted this on Sunday October 1, 1995.Last updated if a date shows here: Saturday, December 23, 2006. Gyllenhammar and Alamo were married in June 1984 in Los Angeles by Rev. [13], In 1991 the federal government confiscated the property, finding when its agents arrived that Susan's body had been removed. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. In 1984, Tony Alamo married what was either his fourth or sixth wife, as there have been claims he was married four times before he wed Susan. He came to me nose to nose and pulled a Muhammad Ali on me. Kizers ruling upheld an earlier decision by the state Department of Finance and Administration that six Alamo businesses in Alma and Dyer have no religious purpose and must pay sales taxes. Pebbles, now 32, and Amy, 34, are sharing their story, which is also featured in the premiere episode of People Magazine Investigates: Cults, airing June 4 on Investigation Discovery. [17][18][19][1][2], In June 2013, the federal government filed forfeiture and collection actions in federal court on 27 properties which were owned by members of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, in an attempt to collect $2.5 million in restitution that Alamo was ordered to pay to his victims. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. With the assistance of some church members, the Alamos produced records and tapes. The Alamo Christian Foundation was an American cult founded in 1969 by Christian evangelist Tony Alamo and one of his wives, Susan Alamo. By now, he was a millionaire with a large staff of workers. She said she did not plan to leave the country, although Amrhein thinks she and Alamo and the children were about to take a cruise on the Queen Elizabeth II. He was 82 years old. 2833. For about a decade, beginning in the mid-1990s, Amy and Pebbles lived as child brides of Alamo and were regularly starved, beaten and raped. Encyclopedia of Arkansas Years earlier, sheriffs deputies showed up at Alamos Saugus, California compound. Like Bernie, she grew up Jewish in a mostly Christian state. Updated. After his wife died of cancer in 1982, Tony Alamo, whose secretive Tony and Susan Alamo Foundation operates another commune in Saugus, predicted that she would be resurrected. Amrhein, who owns a real estate agency, said Alamos followers have gone to Huntington to pass out literature that says Amrhein beat his children and is emotionally unstable. History: In 1989 Alamo married Sharon Kroopf (now Sharon Miriam Hoffman), in her late 30s at the time. The Arkansas compound had much in common with Jonestown, the South American outpost run by Jim Jones that resulted in 909 deaths by cyanide poisoning on Nov. 18, 1978. They made the trip to Las Vegas in 1966 to tie the knot, each leaving their respective spouses. Asked about his wealth, Gyllenhammar said she is not entitled to any of his property because all of it belongs to the foundation. Lydia was in her early 30s. Sunday October 1, 1995 Alamo Christian Ministries, Tony Alamo. Dear Abby. There are witnesses that can verify that Alamo, in a rage, cruelly beat and kicked Jordan. She later claimed her husband beat and drugged her and demanded she undergo plastic surgery to make her look like Susan. History: In California in February 1993 Tony Alamo took Lydia , an African American, as a second wife. Susan and Tony Alamo met in a Hollywood Boulevard bar in the 1960s when Susan was pressing her then-teen-age daughter to become a kid performer and he was a self-styled promoter whose real name was Bernie L. Hoffman, Coie recalled last week. Sharon Alamo seen leaving courthouse after Tony Alamo was found guilty of 10 counts of taking underage girls across state lines for sex 2009. They had another wedding in Las Vegas, and they moved to his home in Dyer. He claimed Satan was behind the continuous, relentless government prosecution and that he was the ultimate victim. The term 'cult expert' is not protected. His motions allege that Spears cannot objectively judge the case because he was endorsed by local newspaper editor Jack Moseley. Its putting closure to it, finally, said Alamos stepdaughter, Christhiaon Coie of Reseda, who sued Alamo literally over her mothers dead body and for whom the legal decision represents a symbolic burial of her mothers and her tortured past. Kenny Feldman (no relation) of the Sunlight Mission of Santa Monica. The Alamos were multi-millionaires by the time Susan died, although their followers were often forced to scrounge through dumpsters for food, according to The Encyclopedia of Arkansas. They say they were planning a honeymoon cruise for later, Amrhein said. I called the State Department to look out for my former wife in case she applied for a passport, Amrhein said. Magazines, Digital He had his fist clenched and started making noises. [22] There is no doubt in my mind.. It would later be determined that the church was mostly optics, as it became the way an increasingly erratic and unhinged Tony evaded paying any taxes on his growing fortune. Alamo had not been issuing checks to his employees and offered only the most menial financial recompense, leading some disgruntled followers to begin reporting his activities. He can be very charming.. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. After years of legal troubles during which he was accused of engaging in abusive behavior against his followers,[3] Alamo was convicted of ten child rape offenses in 2009. Probably the strangest incident surrounding Tony Alamo Christian Ministries had to do with the body of Susan Alamo, who died of cancer on April 8, 1982. Alamo Mansion in Disrepair, Entered Now on a Dare. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, April 9, 2017, pp, 1A, 9A. The miniseries describes their founding and running of the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation which the program characterizes as a "cult" through which the Alamos became rich by exploiting their followers who truly believed in them. Her mother Suzanne and step-father, Bob Streit, are still with the Alamo group. There are things that are out of my control, like recurring nightmares. When Tony got back into the business in 1999, he immediately went on the air. $50,000 reward offered in two-year-old Delaware cold case murder can you help catch a killer? If you can, provide 1-2 sources of information backing up this correction. They married each other three times within a few weeks, first in Tijuana, Mexico. The grounds included a school, a printshop, a tabernacle and a workshop for producing clothing and garments. Alamo, 74, faces up to 175 years in prison, plus fines that could total $2.5 million. Some were forced to become his wives throughout the 1990s. The IRS and the labor board will take it all away from him, she said, referring to court rulings that have ordered Alamo to pay his followers minimum wage, as well as taxes on his businesses. Around the time of his wifes death, Tony changed the name of the church and consolidated its power. 3.2K views 2 years ago NASHVILLE Tony Alamo his church Alamo Christian Ministries, his store The Alamo, or the Al-ah-mo, and his wife Susan's dead body were one of the first phenomena. Dear Abby advises a woman whose boyfriend is using her. July 11, 1993. The term cult has a precise definition or rather, Religion News Blog is a service provided by, Preacher Tony Alamo Told to Return Wifes Remains, No jail sentence for Phil Aguilar, founder of Christian motorcycle club, FLDS sells cult fashion online; Ex-member helps FLDS victims, Minister removed after confession of sexual misconduct, Controversial Reverend Carl H. Stevens of Greater Grace World Outreach Dies. They legally changed their names to Tony and Susan Alamo. Tony was a street preacher and his ministry would offer . In addition to clothing, the church produced music and began distributing Christian music and sermons nationally. 32, testified that she was taken as Alamo's wife at age 17 and that Alamo had five other wives at the time. Says Randall Harris, a retired FBI agent who investigated the case: The world revolved around Tony Alamo.. At one time she had to go to a Van Buren chiropractor because of the pain she suffered from the beatings. Elizabeth Mercado Unofficial wife of Tony Alamo. Ive been asked to go to France and design clothes there. Dear Abby: My boyfriend is using me for sex and money. Were free! . I doubled the business at the Alamo of Nashville store. Specific details about his death were not immediately known, though he reportedly suffered from a number of health problems, including diabetes and a 2011 heart attack. If hed married Brooke Shields I would be jealous. History: In California in 1993 Maria Isabel Mendoza (aka Isabel Mendoza) became another Alamo wife at age 19. He claimed that he recorded a hit record single in the early 1960s, Little Yankee Girl, and that he was asked to manage musical acts including the Beatles, the Doors, and the Rolling Stones. Gyllenhammar said Alamo is attracted to blond women. The monthly gross went from $50,000 to $120,000.. Alamo also claimed that UFOs are divine messengers from heaven and signs of the end times. 1416, 18. You are here: Home | Preacher Tony Alamo Told to Return Wifes Remains. Alamo is the president of the Alama-based Alamo Christian Foundation. Alamo Christian Foundation zeroed in on street kids, and there were no shortage in 1960s Hollywood. As the church expanded, it established other churches in Nashville, Chicago, Brooklyn, and Miami Beach. Mr. Alamo presently has the ability to have the body produced.. Alamos church also lives, if in a far smaller and less organized fashion, said several sources including Alamos own lawyer. One of the ex-communicated fathers also claimed Alamo had embezzled up to $100,000 in church funds from their trucking company. Hes not paying his bills at his stores. Honor or memorial gifts are an everlasting way to pay tribute to someone who has touched your life. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. 1A, 10A. Ill tell you how bad a shape theyre in. The show was awarded the Fringe's Encore Producer Award. The total number of wives he has accumulated is unclear, to be sure. Anti-Catholic, pro-polygamy evangelist convicted in 2009 on 10 counts of transporting underage girls across state lines for sex. On June 8, 1994, he was convicted on one charge of filing a false income tax return and three charges of failing to file a tax return; testimony during the trial revealed that the church had a total income on $9 million during the three years when Alamo paid no taxes. Christian communities were good business in Hollywood, and The Alamo Christian foundation grew steadily over the next decade. Misheal Eden Jones-Williams Unofficial wife of Tony Alamo. At its height, the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries had thousands of followers around the country, according to the AP. Alamo was living at the time in Tampa, Fla., a fugitive from charges that he had ordered the beating of an 11-year-old church member at the Saugus commune. But Coie said she believes the dark-haired preacher did it because he knows no bounds of decency, because he could use her [Susan Alamo] two times around like a marionette to control [their followers].. He was heard on over a dozen radio stations in the U.S. and more in Africa, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. Lets make the most of it.. He was walking down the hallway in his black regalia and five-inch elevator shoes, Amrhein recalls. Buchanan, Susy. Alamos attorneys kept the issue before the courts from 1985 to 1992, arguing that church-owned enterprises were exempt from federal income taxes because they were churches in disguise. 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