12/8/13 – TG: Alamo followers again claim property ownership
Texarkana Gazette
December 8, 2013
By: Lynn LaRowe – Texarkana Gazette
Alamo followers again claim property ownership
Several followers of imprisoned evangelist Tony Alamo have submitted claims of ownership to properties in Fouke and Fort Smith, Ark., that a federal judge has ruled can be sold to partially satisfy a $30 million judgment Alamo owes in a civil suit.
Earlier this year, U.S. Magistrate Judge Barry Bryant gave the green light to lawyers David Carter of Texarkana and Neil Smith of Irving, Texas, to sell a group of properties in Fort Smith, Ark., including the Alamo Ministries church building there. A large group of followers filed claims of ownership, which were thrown out by Bryant after a series of hearings.
Carter and Irving represent Spencer Ondrisek and Seth Calagna, two men who were raised in the controversial group. The men are owed $15 million each by Alamo, who was found guilty by a jury in a civil trial of battery, outrage and conspiracy.
Since Bryant authorized the sale of the Fort Smith properties, Carter and Irving have sought permission to liquidate other real estate associated with Alamo, including the Alamo Ministries church building in Fouke, Ark., a nearby residence known as the “House of Scorn” and other properties.
Despite their failed attempts to claim ownership of the properties in the first group, several Alamo loyalists are making another effort to hang on to the properties listed in the second “writ of execution.”
Bryant has not scheduled a hearing to address the new claims.
Alamo was convicted by a jury in 2009 of all 10 counts listed in a federal indictment charging him with bringing five women he wed as children across state lines for sex. He is serving a 175-year term at a federal lockup in Tuscon, Ariz.