In the 1980s, Alamo, a self-proclaimed prophet of God, had thousands of devoted followers in the United States, including the parents of Jeanne, Amy, Desiree and Nikki. Lydia Unofficial wife of Tony Alamo. They had another wedding in Las Vegas, and they moved to his home in Dyer. In the official record, Tony Alamo is listed as a pastor. By the time the church was at its height in 1980, they had their own television ministry and were bringing in tens of thousands of dollars each week. Ive been asked to go to France and design clothes there. The 61-year-old Alamonow serving a six-year sentence in Colorado for failing to file tax returns and submitting a false onemust also arrange for her proper and legal entombment, Spears ruled. Between 1986 and 1990, the preacher remarried twice. On December 2, 2010, the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld his conviction and sentence. Bernard was born in 1934 and took a bus to Hollywood before graduating high school. 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. He came to me nose to nose and pulled a Muhammad Ali on me. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. Factories are calling me and asking me why he doesnt pay his bills. Welsh, Adam. For every Chris Coie out there, there are hundreds of people who would say just the opposite with regard to her allegations about the church and about Tony, James said. DEAR ABBY: I am in love with my best . The Alamo Christian Foundation. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 76 (Autumn 2017): 218247. She was already married to Kenya Williams (African American) and pregnant with his child at the time. Click on the link above to open the article, Fashion designer claims he wont sign legal papers even though he married another woman. July 11, 1993. Born Bernie Hoffman, the boy from Missouri wasnt an average preacher. Susan focused on recruiting and preaching. You know, what gets me about this is [my mother] made him a multimillionaire many times over, Coie said. She said, Im a successful designer. Tony was a street preacher and his ministry would offer . In their prime during the 1970s and early 80s, the oddly paired Alamoshe a puffy Elvis look-alike and she a platinum-haired matroncommanded hundreds of followers, many of them living in what the government called a commune in Saugus remote Mint Canyon. The children are brainwashed, but they will be OK, said Amrhein, who is involved in a bitter custody fight with his former wife, Elizabeth Amrhein-Alamo, who claims to have married, Tony Alamo, the Alma-based evangelist and has been living at his Dyer home with her children. By the 1970s, Tony Alamo Christian Ministries had established particularly strong footholds in Arkansas, as well as maintaining outposts in California. Tony renamed the business and ran the organization as a benevolent and energetic father figure. 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. In the early 1940s, Susan moved west to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. Davis, Andy. They have a son, Tabor, together. Tony was found guilty of 10 charges of transporting minor females across state borders for sex after being brought to court and sentenced to 175 years in prison in 2009. 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. Below are several (but not all) of Tony Alamos alleged wives. 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. He arrived in Los Angeles in the 1960s, claiming he was a music promoter with clients including the Beatles. Alamo responded by declaring bankruptcy, and his businesses imploded, although Alamo Ministries limped along. 1416, 18. In addition, the judgment against Alamo showed him owing another $5 million to former church members for unpaid work. The various publications his ministry offered, such as The Vatican Moscow Washington Alliance, detailed his conspiracy theories. ___ Speaking of which: One way in which you can support us at no additional cost to you is by shopping at Amazon.com. The housing complex in Muldrow appears to be vacant. (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. 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. Elizabeth Mercado Unofficial wife of Tony Alamo. I doubled the business at the Alamo of Nashville store. I wanted to push him to see if he could keep his balance in his elevator shoes. When Bernie, sometimes called Mark, met Susan in 1965, they were both on their second marriages--at least thats what he told her. What my mother did was wrong. Susan, too, would eventually change her name from the one her parents gave her in Alma, Arkansas. Sharon Ast-Kroopf-Hoffman Legal wife of Tony Alamo. A hearing was held the day after her arrest. Regardless of his motive, if Alamo doesnt comply with Spears ruling, hell go straight to Crawford County Jail in Arkansas after completing his federal prison sentence and be held there indefinitely. 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].. The documentary series also features archival footage, including Tony Alamo's videotaped deposition, as well as interviews with former members of the cult and the FBI agent who brought Alamo down.[23][24]. History: Just 13 years old when she went to Tony Alamos house and became a wife. on July 23, 2009. [12], The church published religious tracts and distributed tapes of sermons by the Alamos. Last week the children were taken away from her in New Orleans when authorities suspected she was trying to leave the country. Families Torn by Their Loved Ones Faith in Tony Alamo. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette,June 11, 2000, pp. Nicky, 12, and Amanda, 10, but apparently she violated conditions placed on her by the court. When Amrhein was arrested last week in New Orleans for trying to leave the country, her marriage license was reportedly not certified. Long Waits, Short Appointments, Huge Bills. Sharon Alamo seen leaving courthouse after Tony Alamo was found guilty of 10 counts of taking underage girls across state lines for sex 2009. A bitter Gyllenhammar, who runs two successful boutiques in Los Angeles and designs clothes for such Hollywood stars as Linda Evans, Joan Collins and Barbra Streisand, this week, insisted she is still legally married to Alamo, although she wishes she had never met him. Sign up to receive breakingFront Page Detectivesnews and exclusive investigations. Hed lost his best friend, business partner and favorite wife and she was only 56. There is nothing I can do to make it go away, but I try my hardest.. You can find out more and change our default settings with Cookies Settings. In return, their own needs would be met and their children would receive basic education through high school. In the midst of his supposed third marriage, a 1986 Arkansas Gazette report concluded that Gyllenhammar had actually been Alamo's sixth wife, as he had apparently been married four times prior to Susan. Tony Alamo predicted that his wife would be resurrected. Tony and Susan Alamo on one of their album covers. 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. The show related his four-year struggle against the Alamo church on the streets of Hollywood. Her. She and her son are mistreated more than the others and are both referred to as nigger by Alamo. . Both women still suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, where seemingly normal activities can sometimes trigger panic attacks and feelings of fear and loneliness. Theme Ported to Wordpress by Kaushal Sheth . Its no wonder you get rich when you dont pay your bills. He took all my jewelry and gave it to Elizabeth. Alamo, 74, faces up to 175 years in prison, plus fines that could total $2.5 million. The couple first grew a following in Hollywood, preaching peace and salvation. 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. The civil contempt differs from his criminal incarceration in that Mr. Alamo holds the key to the jailhouse in his possession, Spears wrote. His father was a Jewish immigrant from Romania who, Alamo claims, had been dance instructor for Rudolf Valentino. Bowden, Bill. 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 . It would turn out this marriage would be forever for only one of them. But she died a hard death and what she did is between her and God, and what hes done is so apart from anything human, anything decent. Millions Awarded to 7 Tied to Alamo. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, February 28, 2014, p. 4B. The ministry has buildings in Moffett and Muldrow. March 1, 2023 3:00am. . 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 Alamos second wife, Birgitta Gyllenhammar, 43, says she is still waiting for him to sign the divorce papers. Authorities said the body was removed from its quiet hilltop the same night that dozens of Alamo followers fled the Dyer compound. Even in his later years, when the feds were pursuing him for charges ranging from embezzlement to child abusethe man calling himself Tony Alamo didnt try to hide. Tony Alamo (1934-2017), American founder of the Alamo Christian Foundation Antonio Alamo, Jr., known as Tony Alamo, American physician and Nevada gaming official This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. Alamo has fathered three children by different women who live in his home as secretaries. After a decade of building the church, Susan and Tony moved everyone to Dyer, Arkansas, just outside Fort Smith near the Oklahoma border. History: In 1989 Alamo married Sharon Kroopf (now Sharon Miriam Hoffman), in her late 30s at the time. Claiming resurrection was imminent, hed kept Susan displayed in the compound for months before interring her body. The Barely Legal Empire of Tony Alamo. Village Voice, May 13, 2008. I made sure he was properly dressed. [11] MSC was granted 501c tax-exempt status in 1981,[16] but this was retroactively revoked by the IRS on April 5, 1996. While Alamo was tied up in the courts on federal tax evasion charges, other allegations were levied against him from various quarters. The show was awarded the Fringe's Encore Producer Award. 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. The Alamos promoted UFOs as real and convinced followers to turn over their salaries, work long hours and prepare for the inevitable End Times. Pebbles agrees: I dont think it will ever be easy. John Wesley Hall, a lawyer who represented Alamo, told the AP that several former members of his evangelist community expressed relief upon learning news of his passing was true. Religion News Blog posted this on Sunday October 1, 1995.Last updated if a date shows here: Saturday, December 23, 2006. When he was a teenager, Alamo left Joplin for the West Coast. [13], In 1991 the federal government confiscated the property, finding when its agents arrived that Susan's body had been removed. She may be prosecuted not only for unlawful flight but also for trying to obtain a passport under false pretenses. (AP) Amy Eddy and Pebbles Rodriguez are speaking out about how they were controlled by apocalyptic cult leader Tony Alamo in an upcoming documentary. History: Alys went to Tony Alamos house in Fouke, Ark at 11 yrs old to become Alamos wife. [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. Alamo was recently convicted by a federal court jury in Texarkana, Ark., on 10 counts of transporting underage girls across state lines for sex. After he hooked up with Susan, his ambition, combined with her knowledge of Pentecostal life, along with the burgeoning pro-Jesus counterculture movement of the mid-1960s, resulted runaway success. 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. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Alamos first wife, Susan, had died of cancer the year before. Many witnesses can verify that Amy has been severely beaten by Alamo on many occasions. Just why Alamo had the corpsewhich he claimed spoke to him from the graveremoved from its tomb was not explained in Spears order. In 1990, Alamo failed to appear in court to answer these charges and was ruled guilty in default. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. He kept the presses at his print shop running day and night, churning out literature about Satanic conspiracy theories perpetrated against him and the church. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2018. In 2007, the Southern Poverty Law Center listed the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries as a hate group, citing its anti-Catholic literature and rhetoric. Alamo Christian Foundation zeroed in on street kids, and there were no shortage in 1960s Hollywood. When it became clear she wouldnt survive, she told church members she believed she would rise from the dead. Alamo went on to own a health club and work in the music industry. I knew how he thinks, and what he might do, she said. From his cell at the federal maximum-security prison in Florence, Colo., Alamo has not only filed an appeal of Spears ruling but also is seeking a new trial without Spears as its judge. Alamo Mansion in Disrepair, Entered Now on a Dare. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, April 9, 2017, pp, 1A, 9A. He was convicted on July 4, 2009. 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. In September 2008, Alamo was charged with multiple violations of the Mann Act between 1994 and 2005. He has written and spoken favorably about polygamy over the years. Both members of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, they were forced to follow countless rules and required permission to go outside. He remained in prison until his death in May 2017. Pictures are unavailable at this time. On September 25, 2008, Alamo himself was arrested in Flagstaff, Arizona, on a federal warrant charging him with violating the Mann Act, a federal statute enacted to stop the trafficking of women or girls across state lines, over a period from March 1994 through October 2005. At one time she had to go to a Van Buren chiropractor because of the pain she suffered from the beatings. They married each other three times within a few weeks, first in Tijuana, Mexico. In 1982, the same year that Susan Alamo died,[15] the foundation was discontinued and replaced by the newly incorporated Music Square Church (MSC). But look who he married? 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. Ill tell you how bad a shape theyre in. Preacher Tony Alamo's mugshot was released with new allegations that he had multiple wives, including a nine-year-old girl. 1986-03-06 Press Argus Courier Alamos second wife says theyre not divorced Theyre messed up children, Amrhein said. Picture taken in 1993. ET) on Investigation Discovery. With the assistance of some church members, the Alamos produced records and tapes. On the cover of his album Bad, Michael Jackson is wearing an Alamo-painted jacket. Hes a convicted tax evader and a flamboyant evangelist who once ran what authorities called a multimillion-dollar, Saugus-based cult. This newspaper traced the advertising agency promoting the association to the Alamo of Nashville clothing store. Their ministry was part of the Jesus People movement, in which many of those involved in the counterculture of the 1960s began proclaiming a spiritual transformation and an allegiance to Jesus. 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. Son: Mark Anthony Hoffman (b. Ill get my children back, said Nick Amrhein of Huntington, West VA. He was heard on over a dozen radio stations in the U.S. and more in Africa, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. He apparently adopted the name Marcus Abad for some time and achieved some modicum of success as a big band crooner in Los Angeles, California. Alamo began preaching in Los Angeles in the 1960s on a platform of anti-catholicism, homophobia and polygamy with young women, according to the AP. 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. From the beatings each other three times within a few weeks, first in Tijuana, Mexico Entered on... From Romania who, Alamo claims, had died of tony alamo second wife the year before and favorite wife and was! Beaten by Alamo she and her son are mistreated more than the and. Hearing was held the day after her arrest and Susan Alamo on one of their album covers out this would. Appear in court to answer these charges and was ruled guilty in.! All ) of Tony Alamos alleged wives, Fashion designer claims he wont sign legal even! 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