In 1966, Tony was arrested on a gun charge, a felony for which he served jail time. Association chose him as entertainer of the year in 1985. Then the couple flew to Vegas, where they went through two more marriage ceremonies. On September 20, 2008, state and federal officials raided Alamos Fouke (Miller County)compound as part of a two-year investigation into allegations of child abuse and child pornography. Special Trial Judge Larry L. Nameroff ruled, however, that the organization was essentially operated for Tonys and Susans private benefit, and the IRS seized some of the church property for an auction. Jordan (Kenyas son) was born in Alamos house and Alamo currently refers to him as the bastard and the nigger. Lizzy and her parents were threatened with expulsion from the group and eternal damnation if they did not comply with Alamos demand for her virginity. They legally changed their names to Tony and Susan Alamo. In November of that year, the judge sentenced him to 175 years in prison. She bore a child to Tony, a girl, Antoinette, in June of 2001. He also built a Christian empire on sex trafficking, embezzlement and lies. Sprinkle said she, her parents and others were beaten severely. Alamo had the body of Mrs. Alamo removed from the tomb. Welsh, Adam. Claiming resurrection was imminent, hed kept Susan displayed in the compound for months before interring her body. Williams, John. 1416, 18. Last week the children were taken away from her in New Orleans when authorities suspected she was trying to leave the country. When he announced to his followers they would all need to leave the compound in 1991, certain the feds were about to raid the place, Tony took Susans body along. She said an address on his posters the urge music fans to send in the votes for entertainer of the year is Alamos post office box in Los Angeles. He eventually moved his headquarters to Arkansas with his wife, Susan, where he held secret ceremonies at his compound to authorize his marriage to girls as young as 15-years-old. She threw Alamo out of her Los Angeles home last fall after he broke a 200 year old statue. Witnesses at his trial described being taken as child brides, with some as young as 9 years old. Shown here in 1993 at Alamos birthday party before she became a wife and again after she was unofficially married to Alamo. Alamo responded by declaring bankruptcy, and his businesses imploded, although Alamo Ministries limped along. Isabel Mendoza Unofficial wife of Tony Alamo 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. Attorney Susan James of Montgomery, Ala., who represented Alamo during the trial in Ft. Smith, Ark., noted that Alamo was challenging Spears decision and said he had denied all of Coies allegations. In 1982, the same year that Susan Alamo died,[15] the foundation was discontinued and replaced by the newly incorporated Music Square Church (MSC). Tony traveled far from his midwestern roots. Her name was Brigitta Gyllenhammer, and she lasted two years before divorcing him. 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. [21], The church was Protestant and Pentecostal in nature and it was frequently referred to as a sect of the Jesus movement. Members could stop by the compound in Dyer, from its perch looking out over the Ozark Mountains, and view the embalmed body of Susan Alamo. Alamo was convicted in 2009 on 10 counts for taking young girls, including a 9-year-old, across Arkansas state lines to have sex with them, the AP reports. Her body was taken to the foundation's compound on a ridge overlooking the town of Dyer, Arkansas, where Susan Alamo was born as Edith . March 1, 2023 3:00am. Divorce wasnt quite as scandalous in Hollywood, where Tony met Susan met in the mid-1960s. During his outlaw years, hed threatened to kidnap a federal judge, dug up and removed with late wifes body from her heart-shaped mausoleum and made millions of dollars selling high-end painted jeans jackets to celebrities. Donations made to the CALS Foundation are tax-deductible for United States federal income tax purposes. Georgia cop killed on first shift in retaliation for an arrest hour earlier, investigators say, Remains Found And Believed To Be Man Reported Missing In May 2021, Brother Accused Of Murder, Subscribe to Front Page Detectives Newsletter. She moved into the house with the other wives and was wearing a wedding ring given to her by Alamo, while he was still in prison. He accused me of having an ungodly statue of a man and a woman. Arkansas authorities report that Alamo (born Bernie Lazar Hoffman) died while in custody at the Federal Medical Center in. He wont sign the papers.. [16], Tony Alamo was arrested numerous times, beginning with an illegal weapons possession charge in 1966 for which he served time before he married Edith Opal Horn,[15][11] and culminating in his 2009 conviction on ten counts of transporting minors as young as 9 years old across state lines for sex. McNeil, Betsy. 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. He remained in federal custody since then, spending his days at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina, when he died on May 2, 2017, at the age of 82. She married Tony, who at the time was a fugitive, in hiding from charges of felony child abuse in California. 1A, 6A. When Bernie LaZar Hoffman was born on Sept. 30, 1934, in Joplin, Missouri, he wasn't born into a particularly religious household. Alamo denies it. She later claimed her husband beat and drugged her and demanded she undergo plastic surgery to make her look like Susan. When Tony got back into the business in 1999, he immediately went on the air. Amy was 14. He was walking down the hallway in his black regalia and five-inch elevator shoes, Amrhein recalls. 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. [11] The church's projects included Nashville's largest country and western clothing store. Additional support provided by the Arkansas Community Foundation. Lydia and Tabor are no longer in associated with the group or Tony Alamo. 100 Rock Street For more on former child brides Amy Eddy and Pebbles Rodriguez, subscribe now to PEOPLE or pick up this weeks issue, on newsstands now. Anyone can use it regardless of ability, approach, or level of acceptance by recognized authorities in the field. Pictures are unavailable at this time. Mrs. Alamo had temporary custody of the two children. The monthly gross went from $50,000 to $120,000.. The flashy evangelist did business in the backwoods of western Arkansas, but when the law caught up with him, he was living in Tampa, Florida, where he ran a restaurant and regularly broadcast religious talk shows. The Alamo Christian Foundation was an American cult founded in 1969 by Christian evangelist Tony Alamo and one of his wives, Susan Alamo. The jackets sold profitably and began making real money for the church members and the church itself when celebrities began purchasing them for several thousand dollars each. 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The other children (Tabor and Antoinette) were conceived during Alamo and Kroopfs marriage and the biological mothers (Lydia Willis and Elizabeth Mercado) are in the group and currently living with (or near) Alamo. Tony and Susan Alamo on one of their album covers. Magazines, Or create a free account to access more articles, Christian Cult Leader and Child Sex Abuser Tony Alamo Dies in Federal Custody. Whispering in the Daylight: The Children of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries and Their Journey to Freedom. Use of this site constitutes acceptance of our, Digital 2023 TIME USA, LLC. Amy and Pebbles were finally freed from their torture in 2008 when Alamo was arrested and charged with 10 counts of interstate transportation of minors for illicit sexual purposes. Tony was heartbroken. This is so perverse.. Hed lost his best friend, business partner and favorite wife and she was only 56. He built her a heart-shaped mausoleum, and the church kept her body on display. He was 82 years old. Susan, too, would eventually change her name from the one her parents gave her in Alma, Arkansas. But he had to go back to his mother the day before his birthday. Executive summary: Tony Alamo Christian Ministries. Upon his release, the ex-felon returned home: back to his now humbler Tony Alamo Christian Ministries. [11], In 1976, the church relocated to Dyer, Arkansas, where Susan had grown up. 1A, 10A. Another former wife of imprisoned evangelist Tony Alamo has been added as a plaintiff in a civil lawsuit that names the ministry, church-run businesses and high-ranking individuals in the organization as defendants. She said last week that the financial award from her suit against Alamo, if it comes through, might see her daughters through college, or help pay her lawyer Charles Karr, whom she credited with sticking by her throughout the bizarre body case.. Amrhein called the Press Argus Courier this week after cult awareness groups sent him clippings that have appeared in this newspaper. Some sources say that they changed their names to Tony and Susan Alamo after their marriage, though Tony Alamo has claimed that he changed his own name earlier to mimic the Italian-American singers who were popular at the time. His father was a Jewish immigrant from Romania who, Alamo claims, had been dance instructor for Rudolf Valentino. Tony Alamo (born Bernie Lazar Hoffman; September 20, 1934) is an American religious leader and convicted child sex offender.He and his late wife Susan are best known as the founders of an organization currently known as Tony Alamo Christian Ministries.The organization is based in and around Fouke and Alma, Arkansas, United States, and has been referred to as a cult. This project is funded in part by a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant award. The only thing thats ungodly is if you have a statue of another God., I tried to make the marriage work, Miss Gyllenhammar said. This newspaper traced the advertising agency promoting the association to the Alamo of Nashville clothing store. The CALS Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. T he 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,. They were awarded the largest sum of damages in Arkansas history $525 million dollars. But he wanted to spend his birthday with me so we got permission for him to stay two days longer. In 1976, a few unhappy followers reported him to the U.S. Department of Labor, who investigated. Click on the link above to open the article, Fashion designer claims he wont sign legal papers even though he married another woman. It would turn out this marriage would be forever for only one of them. 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. He's a convicted tax evader and a flamboyant evangelist who once ran what authorities called a multimillion-dollar, Saugus-based cult. His booming voice could be heard on the radio from Alabama to Africa, trying to convert a new flock. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. He was working as a music promoter. Her name was Brigitta Gyllenhammer, and she lasted two years before divorcing him. Although Alamo was unable to bring his wife back to life, he intends to keep the controversy over her body alive in court, according to Coie and one of her lawyers, Asa Hutchinson of Ft. Smith. History: In Arkansas in January 1994, Elizabeth Mercado (aka Lizzy Gutierrez) became Tonys wife. She left Alamo Ministries and separated from him in the summer . He preached he was the victim of a government conspiracy. on July 23, 2009. It also operated a drug rehabilitation facility, and those who were involved in the church developed several businesses in the Alma area. In 1982, his wife Susan Alamo (ne Edith Opal Horn) died of cancer. Like a cheap carnival act, Coie recalled last week, he kept it on display in an open casket, telling church followers that Susan Alamo would rise from the dead. [1][2] He was 82 years old. 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].. [22] He served slightly less than four years, was transferred to a Texarkana halfway house, and by Christmas 1998, he was a free man again. U.S. District Judge Morris Arnold, finding that they had indeed been abused, later awarded damages to the boys in question. I didnt respect anything she ever did in her life but shes still my mother and I loved her completely. (Listed if other than Religion News Blog, or if not shown above), Leslie Berger, Los Angeles Times, Oct. 1, 1995, http://www.latimes.com, cults use a method that experts now refer to as coercive control an act, Updated Israeli police have arrested man whom they suspect of leading a violent cult community, The upcoming trials of the last three Aum Shinrikyo cult members will inevitably revisit the, The Cult Information Centre, a UK charity that warns people of the dangers of cults,, 'Fatal Attraction' star Glenn Close has told New York Magazine that she was well-equipped for, After 25 years in operation, the Cult Information Centre in England fears it may no, A panel of academics and professionals from Israel's Ministry of Welfare and Social Services will, South Australia's chief prosecutor is calling for new laws to thwart the rise of cults. Kenya was the son of Diana Elena Williams Alamo, a legal ex-wife of Alamos. Her mother Suzanne and step-father, Bob Streit, are still with the Alamo group. Just why Alamo had the corpsewhich he claimed spoke to him from the graveremoved from its tomb was not explained in Spears order. When Bernie, sometimes called Mark, met Susan in 1965, they were both on their second marriages--at least thats what he told her. Tonys behavior after Susans death became troubling, but it turned out he had a long history of shady dealings and violent confrontations dating back to his days in Los Angeles. Her. [4][5][6][7], Susan Alamo (19251982) was born Edith Opal Horn in Alma, Arkansas. She may be prosecuted not only for unlawful flight but also for trying to obtain a passport under false pretenses. Amrhein doesnt believe the children went to school while they lived at the foundation in Dyer. Alamo Mansion in Disrepair, Entered Now on a Dare. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, April 9, 2017, pp, 1A, 9A. She was arrested as she went to pick up her passport. 25-May-1964) Wife: Edith Opal Horn ("Susan Alamo", b. . http://www.alamoministries.com/ (accessed February 23, 2023). Susan was the love of Alamos life, and by the time he met her, hed already dropped Bernie and begun calling himself Mark. Hed tried out a few stage namesBernie was a singersuch as Mark Hoffman and Marcus Abad.. Gyllenhammar, who moved to California from Sweden 15 years ago, talked of a romance that had gone sour. Tony Alamo predicted that his wife would be resurrected. I have a right to be angry, says Pebbles. 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