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. The Alamo Christian Foundation was an American cult founded in 1969 by Christian evangelist Tony Alamo and one of his wives, Susan Alamo. The various publications his ministry offered, such as The Vatican Moscow Washington Alliance, detailed his conspiracy theories. The assistant said there were many Scriptural reasons why they divorced. Gordon, Ronald J. But the church began to falter in 1985, when the Internal Revenue Service stripped it of its tax-exempt status, charging it was nothing more than a front for Alamo-owned businesses. The ministry has buildings in Moffett and Muldrow. (AP) Amy Eddy and Pebbles Rodriguez are speaking out about how they were controlled by apocalyptic cult leader Tony Alamo in an upcoming documentary. 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. [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. 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. Amrhein called the Press Argus Courier this week after cult awareness groups sent him clippings that have appeared in this newspaper. 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. Some were forced to become his wives throughout the 1990s. 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. He lost, and would soon lose his tax-exempt status as the lawsuits piled up and dragged on through the 1980s. 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. 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. Both Tony and Susan were impressive on the stage: he with eye-catching outfits and musical ability, she with fiery sermons and deep faith. Many of the businesses have closed down. 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. The CALS Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. Bowden, Bill. He is a beautiful person. Sharon Ast-Kroopf-Hoffman Legal wife of Tony Alamo. Miss Gyllenhammar says when the romance cooled, he would often beat her. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Communal living was a staple of the Music Square Church. They were even told who they were going to marry: the 62-year-old leader of their apocalyptic group. Born Bernie Hoffman, the boy from Missouri wasnt an average preacher. Spears also rejected Alamos $3.5-million counterclaim that Coie had slandered and defamed him. The housing complex in Muldrow appears to be vacant. But last month Spears concluded after a weeklong trial that Mr. When it became clear she wouldnt survive, she told church members she believed she would rise from the dead. Additional support provided by the Arkansas Community Foundation. They say they were planning a honeymoon cruise for later, Amrhein said. Siege of the Alamos. People Weekly, June 13, 1983, pp. His booming voice could be heard on the radio from Alabama to Africa, trying to convert a new flock. 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. Among the businesses which Alamo started was decorating denim jackets and airbrushing them with bright, colorful designs. In addition to clothing, the church produced music and began distributing Christian music and sermons nationally. In 1990, Alamo failed to appear in court to answer these charges and was ruled guilty in default. Tony Alamo (19342017) was born Bernie Lazar Hoffman to a Jewish family. My mother learned strong-arm tactics from my father and then finessed it with religion, Coie said. 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. Alamo died in federal custody in North Carolina on May 2, 2017. 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. One of the fathers, Robert Miller, had previously overseen the churchs trucking company and alleged that Alamo had embezzled $100,000 from it. In the official record, Tony Alamo is listed as a pastor. Alamo quickly declared bankruptcy, and his related businesses collapsed. I mean, you cant put a good face on that, she continued. Many Hollywood celebrities were seen wearing them, including Michael Jackson, who wore a modified leather Alamo jacket on the cover of his album Bad. Through this church, the Alamos perpetuated some of their many. By. Claiming resurrection was imminent, hed kept Susan displayed in the compound for months before interring her body. Coie, a 45-year-old singer, said last week she had not expected a monetary award but sued to preserve some semblance of her mothers dignity. Larowe, Lynn. When he was a teenager, Alamo left Joplin for the West Coast. That is one reason why we can provide this research service free of charge. Troubles continue to mount for Tony Alamo Christian Foundation. Like Bernie, she grew up Jewish in a mostly Christian state. 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 . But no. At one time, Alamo owned as many as twenty-nine businesses in nearby Alma, including Alamo Western Wear, as well as Alamo Restaurant and Alamo Discount Grocery. In the early 1940s, Susan moved west to pursue her dream of becoming an actress. 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. The Only Limits Are the Ones You Place on Yourself. Meet the First U.S. Amputee to Scale Mount Everest, The Secret History of the Shadow Campaign That Saved the 2020 Election. Alamo denies it. This is how he shows his gratitude? 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. After both he and Susan converted to Christianity, they established the Music Square Church and began a Hollywood street ministry, passing out religious tracts and preaching especially to drug addicts, alcoholics, and prostitutes. History: In 1993 Angela Marie Morales (aka Angel Streit) became a wife in Arkansas at age 20. It was her second marriage. He was working as a music promoter. Alamo followers still pepper the IRS with legal challenges, help with his defense, and make their presence known through their trademark brochures. 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. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Factories are calling me and asking me why he doesnt pay his bills. The only thing thats ungodly is if you have a statue of another God., I tried to make the marriage work, Miss Gyllenhammar said. The show related his four-year struggle against the Alamo church on the streets of Hollywood. For Tony to say he beat out Julio as an entertainer of the year is completely crazy. Gyllenhammar was referring to Alamos claim that the American D.J. Widely regarded as a cult, Tony Alamo Christian Ministries was at the center of a number of lawsuits and government actions, and its leader was jailed on a variety of charges, including income tax evasion, the theft of his late wifes body, and taking underage girls across state lines for sex. He became unhinged and, convinced he could raise her from the dead, kept her embalmed body on display for six months with members of his church praying around it. Tony Alamo Christian Ministries. She threw Alamo out of her Los Angeles home last fall after he broke a 200 year old statue. She and her son are mistreated more than the others and are both referred to as "nigger" by Alamo. They named the group the Alamo Christian Foundation before forming the . Alamo to Return Body of Wife after 7 Years. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette,July 24, 1998, pp. Amy was 14. Her mother, Debbie Ondrisek, is still in the group and feels privileged that her daughter is married to the World Pastor. That was part of our custody agreement. He had his fist clenched and started making noises. Just why Alamo had the corpsewhich he claimed spoke to him from the graveremoved from its tomb was not explained in Spears order. Gyllenhammar, who moved to California from Sweden 15 years ago, talked of a romance that had gone sour. 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. She later claimed her husband beat and drugged her and demanded she undergo plastic surgery to make her look like Susan. Amy E. Unofficial wife of Tony Alamo Alamo kicked Kenya out of the group and took his wife. Tony Alamo predicted that his wife would be resurrected. 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. Picture taken in 1993. For additional information: The IRS Commissioner found that "MSC was so closely operated and controlled by and for the benefit of Tony Alamo that it enjoyed no substantive independent existence; that MSC was formed and operated by Tony Alamo for the principal purpose of willfully attempting to defeat or evade federal income tax; and that MSC was inseparable from Tony Alamo, and failed to operate for exclusively charitable purposes. Sunday October 1, 1995 Alamo Christian Ministries, Tony Alamo. Says Randall Harris, a retired FBI agent who investigated the case: The world revolved around Tony Alamo.. In addition, the judgment against Alamo showed him owing another $5 million to former church members for unpaid work. 2023 TIME USA, LLC. By the 1970s, Tony Alamo Christian Ministries had established particularly strong footholds in Arkansas, as well as maintaining outposts in California. Tony Alamo, a Jewish kid from Joplin, Missouri, met his perfect match when he first laid eyes on the woman of his dreams in Hollywood. In November of that year, the judge sentenced him to 175 years in prison. On November 13, he was sentenced to 175 years in prison and also was fined $250,000. By now, he was a millionaire with a large staff of workers. Dear Abby. Pre-European Exploration, Prehistory through 1540, European Exploration and Settlement, 1541 through 1802, Louisiana Purchase through Early Statehood, 1803 through 1860, Civil War through Reconstruction, 1861 through 1874, Post-Reconstruction through the Gilded Age, 1875 through 1900, Early Twentieth Century, 1901 through 1940, World War II through the Faubus Era, 1941 through 1967, Divergent Prosperity and the Arc of Reform, 19682022, https://www.villagevoice.com/2008/05/13/the-barely-legal-empire-of-tony-alamo/, Divergent Prosperity and the Arc of Reform (19682022). She believed a miracle would save her. Pebbles Rodriguez claims Alamo married her in 1999 when she was 12. The first time you log in to our catalog you will need to create an account. [20], Alamo died on May 2, 2017, while he was in custody at the Federal Medical Center, Butner in Butner, North Carolina. The Alamo Christian Foundation. Arkansas Historical Quarterly 76 (Autumn 2017): 218247. Church members branched out to begin small businesses within the nearby community of Alma, Arkansas. Susan became ill with breast cancer in the late 1970s, just as shed reached the height of her business success. Sprinkle said she, her parents and others were beaten severely. Lydia Unofficial wife of Tony Alamo. 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].. When Alamo saw Amrhein at the hearing the evangelist appeared upset. Tony Alamo quickly predicted that she would be resurrected and kept her embalmed body on display at the Arkansas compound for approximately six months before placing it in a mausoleum. In July 1998, he was transferred to a Texarkana halfway house, from which he was released on December 8 of the same year. She didnt hink he will hold on to his wealth much longer. They also had a knack for finding young people who needed help. In return, Jody says, Tony Alamo took away her childhood at the age of 10 by putting her to work eight hours or more a day in the church's denim jacket business. Between 1986 and 1990, the preacher remarried twice. They made the trip to Las Vegas in 1966 to tie the knot, each leaving their respective spouses. Her name was Brigitta Gyllenhammer, and she lasted two years before divorcing him. The girls grew up in Fouke, Arkansas, where they lived on a compound. A hearing was held the day after her arrest. Ive been asked to go to France and design clothes there. In 1976, the U.S. Department of Labor brought charges against Alamo for violations of the Fair Labor Standard Act. Isabel Mendoza Unofficial wife of Tony Alamo I knew how he thinks, and what he might do, she said. Kenny Feldman (no relation) of the Sunlight Mission of Santa Monica. Much of the information on Alamos early, pre-conversion life is spurious at best, on account of Alamos constant exaggerations of his importance and/or sinfulness. But Ill get the kids, and theyll be all right. Hed lost his best friend, business partner and favorite wife and she was only 56. [4], After divorcing their respective spouses, Horn and Hoffman married in a 1966 Las Vegas ceremony, legally changing their names to Tony Alamo and Susan Alamo. 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. Long Waits, Short Appointments, Huge Bills. Years earlier, sheriffs deputies showed up at Alamos Saugus, California compound. He called the new entity Music Square Church and filed for tax-exempt status. [10][11] The church became the subject of controversy and as a result, it was frequently criticized for its manner of evangelization, which often involved young members of the congregation walking on the streets of Hollywood, inviting people to convert to Christianity and taking them to the church for evening services in Agua Dulce roughly an hour away for a meeting and a meal. 2023 Encyclopedia of Arkansas. He left me with all the bills, she said. Amrhein doesnt believe the children went to school while they lived at the foundation in Dyer. 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. Susan focused on recruiting and preaching. Years after his wife's death, Tony began taking child brides, as young as 8 years old, and in 2009, he was sentenced to 175 years in prison for transporting young girls across state lines for sex. In 2007, the Southern Poverty Law Center listed the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries as a hate group, citing its anti-Catholic literature and rhetoric. Between 1986 and 1990, the preacher remarried twice. He remained in prison until his death in May 2017 . On December 2, 2010, the Eighth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals upheld his conviction and sentence. Alamo Ministry Resurrected. Arkansas Times, November 29, 2007, pp. History: Alys went to Tony Alamos house in Fouke, Ark at 11 yrs old to become Alamos wife. The total number of wives he has accumulated is unclear, to be sure. Tony renamed the business and ran the organization as a benevolent and energetic father figure. Gyllenhammar and Alamo were married in June 1984 in Los Angeles by Rev. 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. Alys Ondrisek Alys Ondrisek Current wife of Tony Alamo The program also charges Tony Alamo with being a child abuser, polygamist and pedophile. Now Tony . The civil contempt differs from his criminal incarceration in that Mr. Alamo holds the key to the jailhouse in his possession, Spears wrote. Susan Alamo died in April 1982. While they live states apart Pebbles, a stay-at-home mom who is in the process of getting a divorce, is in the Phoenix area with her two young sons; and Amy is studying to get into college in Oklahoma City, where she is also raising two boys with her boyfriend they are forever linked and speak with each other daily. He was born Bernie Lazar Hoffman on September 20, 1934, in Joplin, Missouri. They launched a national television ministry in the 1970s. 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. [9], Tony and Susan Alamo founded the Alamo Christian Foundation in 1969 in Hollywood, California. The case of the boys went before U.S. District Judge Morris Arnold, who ruled that child abuse had taken place and awarded damages to the plaintiffs. 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. All Rights Reserved. Sign up to receive breakingFront Page Detectivesnews and exclusive investigations. Tony traveled far from his midwestern roots. And when she was 17, he took her virginity after making her one of the three "wives" he had at the time. In 1966, Tony was arrested on a gun charge, a felony for which he served jail time. "[16] MSC sued and lost in the United States Court of Federal Claims. Association chose him as entertainer of the year in 1985. 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