Texarkana Gazette
July 25, 2009
By: Lynn LaRowe

Alamo guilty on all 10 counts
Prosecution believes he will spend life in prison

The five Jane Does and other victims who testified against self-proclaimed evangelist Tony Alamo held hands, wept and hugged Friday as a federal judge proclaimed him guilty 10 times.

Bernie LaZar Hoffman, better known as Alamo, will be sentenced on 10 counts of transporting minors across state lines for sex by U.S. District Judge Harry Barnes in six to eight weeks.

“We believe he will face the rest of his natural life in prison,” said Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyra Jenner, who along with Clay Fowlkes and Candace Taylor presented the government’s case.

Jury foreman Frank Oller said the nine men and three women believed the prosecution’s witnesses and carefully considered each count.

“That was the evidence that was proven,” Oller said. “We came up with a full decision that we are quite satisfied with.”

The jurors who found Alamo guilty at about 10:30 Friday morning came from seven counties that make up the Texarkana Division of the Western District of Arkansas: Miller, Lafayette, Nevada, Hempstead, Little River, Sevier and Howard.

Jenner said FBI Special Agent Randall Harris and Arkansas State Police Sergeant John Bishop conducted the investigation leading to Alamo’s convictions.

“It can’t be lost on anybody that Randall Harris and John Bishop gave a couple years of their careers on this case, gaining the trust of these victims,” said FBI Special Agent in charge Thomas Browne. “Randall hasn’t had a day off since the raid. He’s a gem and we’re fortunate to have him.”

Browne said investigators worked closely with Jenner, Taylor and Fowlkes during the course of their two-year investigation.

Residents of Fouke, Ark., where Alamo’s ministry compound is located, expressed gratitude for the successful prosecution.

“The girls are calling them ‘the dream team,’” said Judy Frazier, who owns and operates Jerry’s General Store with her husband in Fouke, Ark., where Alamo’s ministry/compound is located. Frazier said she knows several of the victims.

“It’s good to know Alamo’s not coming back,” she said.

“Randall there is no way words could express our gratitude,” said Fouke Mayor Terry Purvis as he clasped Harris’ hand. “God love you. Thank you sir.”

Harris said the investigation moved quickly once victims came forward and agreed to testify and said “insinuations” during the trial that the government dragged its feet were inaccurate.

“The girls deserved this day,” Harris said.

The absolute control witnesses described Alamo as exerting over his followers by dictating when they ate, slept, prayed and where and with whom they lived allowed Alamo to escape prosecution for so long, said Charlie Downs, an ex-member of the church. Downs, 21, left the group several years ago after 18 years.

Loyalists were not permitted to use the phone, travel at will, vote or marry without Alamo’s permission, ex-followers have said. Children could be taken from their parents at any time, jobs were assigned by Alamo and children were not allowed to attend school when they were needed to work.

Witnesses testified Alamo left them financially destitute if they chose to leave and told them God would punish them if they did.

“Me and my family were always being put down and ridiculed by Tony,” Downs said. “We were treated like dirt by him.”

The five Jane Does named in Alamo’s federal indictment were brought across state lines for sex and married Alamo as children. Their parents’ devotion to the man they thought talked to God kept them from protecting their daughters, the girls testified.

The fear of physical retribution kept them in line with Alamo’s desires as well, they said. One of the Jane Does testified her 3-year-old brother was beaten with a board and many of the Jane Does said they’d been struck by Alamo.

“You really appreciate the courage they showed stepping up to face their demon,” said Browne of Alamo’s many victims.

Cheers rose in Merfeld’s, a coffee shop across the street from the federal building in downtown Texarkana, as the news of the guilty verdicts was aired on television noon time newscasts. The atmosphere following Barnes’ reading of the jury’s decision was one of elation. Alamo’s devotees left quickly in cars.

“They tried to say this case was about their religious freedom,” said Mary Coker, founder of Partnered Against Cult Activity and a Fouke resident. “It was always about the sexual, mental and physical abuse by Tony Alamo.”

Alamo’s defense team, lead attorney Don Ervin of Houston, Florida lawyer Phillip Kuhn, Texarkana attorney Jeff Harrelson and investigator David Macgonagill, said they were disappointed in the jury’s decision.

“If they’d followed the law they’d have acquitted my client,” said Ervin, who said he plans to appeal the convictions.

Coker said Alamo might still be free if not for the courage of those who testified against him, those who helped the FBI and the “persistence” of Harris.

When questioned by some of the many media representatives outside the courthouse, Alamo vowed to continue running his ministry from prison. Federal marshals led him to and from the courthouse cuffed and chained each day of the trial.

“I’m just another prophet rotting in jail for the gospel,” Alamo said.

Alamo’s prior felony conviction for tax evasion and the nature of the crimes for which he’s been convicted will move the recommendation up on the ranges of punishment he faces.

Each count also includes the possibility of a fine as high as $250,000.

Alamo, 74, could get up to 30 years on three counts, as many as 15 on three others and four counts are punishable by up to 10 years.

If he were to receive the maximum on each charge and if Barnes ordered the penalties to run consecutively, the sentence would total 175 years.

This appeal is one of three cases decided today that involve children who were taken into emergency custody by DHS from the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries compound in Fouke, Arkansas, in September 2008. Appellant Brian Broderick is the father of two girls, S.B. and A.B., taken into custody and challenges the circuit court’s order adjudicating his daughters dependent-neglected. Judge Joe Griffin heard this case and the one concerning Alphonso Reid’s daughters, A.R. and C.R., at the same hearing. Judge Jim Hudson heard the proceeding concerning Greg Seago’s daughter, V.S. Many witnesses testified at both hearings, and some testimony was consolidated in all three cases. Where possible, we will refer to the evidence discussed at length in the Seago opinion in order to avoid repetition.

Broderick has been a member of the ministry for over twenty-five years. He works
for and lives on property used by the ministry. S. B., the mother of S.B. and A.B.,
married Broderick in 1989 in the ministry when she was fifteen or sixteen. She left the ministry in early 2008 and is now living in Virginia with her fourteen-year-old daughter, M.B., and her adult son, N. B.. Although S. B. was involved in the
adjudication proceeding, she has not appealed the adjudication order. The Brodericks’ fifteen year-old son lives with his father. S.B., who was born December 1995, and A.B., who was born June 1997, lived at Alamo’s residence before they were taken into custody by DHS.

S. O. testified in this hearing and in the Seago hearing. As in the Seago
case, he talked about the iron control held by Tony Alamo over the members of the ministry. In both hearings, he testified about being beaten by John Kolbeck [Kolbek] when he was twelve; his second beating by Kolbeck in 2006, when his sister, A.O., was also beaten; and a third beating in October 2007. S.O. stated that parents must get permission from Alamo to take their children to the doctor, and that he never saw a parent try to prevent their child from being beaten. He explained that fear played a vital role in keeping everyone under control. He testified that the members of the church were taught that if they left, they would fall into sin; that they could not trust the government, which was the “anti-Christ”; and that they could not go to the government for help. S. O. said that his parents would not speak to him after he left the ministry.

M.B., who also testified at the Seago hearing, testified that she, S.B., A.B., A.R., V.S., B.S., A.T., and M.E. were underage females who lived at Alamo’s house with the adult women who were known to be Alamo’s wives. She said that D.K. moved into Alamo’s house when she was eight, and that S.H. moved there when she was about ten. M.B. said that she saw both D.K. and S.H., who were known as his wives and had wedding rings, go into Alamo’s bedroom and shut the door, staying there for hours. As in the Seago hearing, she described her sexual molestation and threats by Tony Alamo when she was in the shower. She
said that she did not tell her parents about the molestation because they would not have believed her over Alamo. As in the Seago hearing, she described her beating by John Kolbeck when she was ten years old, and talked about being forced to participate in a recording with B.S., V.S., and A.R., wherein the underage girls denied having been molested by Alamo.

M.B. also testified that she witnessed her sister S.B. being beaten by Michelle [Misheal] Jones, one of Alamo’s wives, with a board, while M.B. was forced to help hold her sister down. Another time, she said, she observed Alamo catch B.S. by the throat and shove her against the wall. She also said that she heard B.S. being beaten by Kolbeck as she screamed that she wanted her mother.

D. O. also testified in both hearings. He described his punishment on “diesel therapy” and said that the whole church was placed on a week-long fast when he was eight or nine years old. He stated that, after his sister Alice [Alys] moved in with Alamo when she was ten or eleven, his family’s status improved. His mother received a new Dodge Caravan; his father got an expensive digital camera; they moved into a very large house in Texarkana; and his parents obtained better jobs in the ministry. He stated, “It is common knowledge that if you move into Tony’s house and you are spending a certain amount of years there, you are one of his wives. I mean he definitely doesn’t have boys coming over all the time. It’s only little girls and they usually never move out.”
A. D. also testified in both hearings. She said that her sister Pebbles was one
of Alamo’s wives and described seeing several young girls go into Alamo’s bedroom; she saw Alys Ondrisek go into Alamo’s room and stay for three or four days. She stated that Alamo talked about how beautiful Alys Ondrisek was and referred to her as his wife. As in the Seago hearing, she described her periods of imposed fasting and her physical punishment. She described the beatings of other young girls, including A.O., and Kolbeck’s beating of D. O. and S. O. She testified that, when they were tipped off about an upcoming raid, the younger girls who were Alamo’s wives were sent out of Alamo’s residence, and that she observed some pictures of his underage wives being removed from his belongings.

The video taped depositions of N. B. and J. C., which were played in the Seago hearing, were also admitted in this hearing.

A.R., Alphonso Reid’s stepdaughter, also testified about being beaten and
forced to fast as punishment. She said that the primary reason why she left the ministry was because Alamo did not permit her to obtain medical attention for her son, who was born with a serious medical condition. A. R. testified that Alamo has multiple wives and that she witnessed J.G. and W.T. marry thirty-year-old men when J.G. was twelve and W.T. was thirteen. A. said that she had only completed the eighth grade.

Dr. Karen Worley’s testimony in this hearing was significantly similar to her testimony in the Seago hearing. She said that the girls in this proceeding did not reveal any sexual abuse.
She stated that C.R., A.B., and S.B. talked about how the government thought that Alamo was a pedophile and appeared to have been coached before their interviews with investigators.

Robbie Polite, with DHS, testified that, although S.B. and A.B. had received some
immunizations, they were not up-to-date, according to the records in Arkansas.
S.B. testified that, since she was eleven years old, she and A.B. had primarily lived in Alamo’s house. She described a spanking that Alamo ordered one of his wives, Michelle Jones, to give her: “After he got off the phone, Tony said he was going [to] have Michelle spank me and I begged him not to and he said, yes, he was going to, I needed to learn my lesson and he took me into his room and got the paddle from behind his desk and had all my friends and everybody in the office come into his room and said for all them to watch me. . . .I was scared. I was crying. I asked him not to do this. We went into Tony’s room and he had four people hold me, hold my arms and legs down and he told me to bend over on his bed and I believe it was, do I need to say the name? It was Lydia, Sharon Alamo, Yvonne. She is known as Pebbles. And I can’t remember who else . . . but I got beat four times with the board. . . . He didn’t know how many licks I was going to get. He . . . had a smile on his face and just watching me and he whispered something to Michelle and Michelle just gave me four. After it was done I said thank you. I said that because I believed that he was doing it because he loved me and that’s what he said. . . . I had marks on my thighs. They were big bruises and, you know, my blood vessels had broken inside my skin. They were blue, purple, and black. They hurt. I felt the pain for about three weeks. About the first week I couldn’t sit down, but the second week after that I could. I did not report the pain because I was scared. Tony has slapped me probably five times. I think, five. He slapped my face. Well one time it was because he said I was giving him a dirty look, and which I wasn’t but. [sic] That caused me to question him being blind.”

S.B. said that she did not tell her father about the spanking or that Alamo had slapped her.

Bernie Lazar Hoffman, aka Tony Alamo, testified that he did not have total control over the members of the church. He denied the allegations of sexual abuse. He affirmed his belief in the Bible’s teachings that polygamy is acceptable and that girls can be married after they reach puberty. He denied, however, actually practicing polygamy, or condoning or permitting the marriage of underage girls.

He said that he had not witnessed A.O.’s “spanking” by Kolbeck, but acknowledged that he had witnessed S.O.’s “spanking.” He called the reports of beatings “exaggerated.” A significant amount of his testimony concerned his religious beliefs and was not relevant to the issues presented in this
appeal.

Alphonso Reid denied having any knowledge of beatings, sexual abuse of young girls, underage marriages, or fasts. He admitted that he had permitted Tamela to live in Alamo’s house since she was eleven or twelve; that A.R. and C.R. had also lived there; and that he had lived apart from the girls in Fouke. He said that when he was not traveling for work with the ministry, he lived in the brothers’ dorm, and admitted being away from Fouke for months at a time. He acknowledged seeing J. G. with her husband, and that he knew about the recording Alamo had made with the girls, as well as the allegations of sexual abuse. He admitted asking Alamo for permission to marry A.D., but said that the marriage did not occur because she was underage and she did not want to marry him; he said that the idea “was from the devil.” He said that he thought that Alamo was a prophet and did not believe that Alamo had sexually abused any girls.

Brian Broderick denied knowing that children had been beaten, sexually abused,
slapped, or forced to fast, and described the ministry as a great environment in which to raise children. He did not believe any of the witnesses testifying to such abuse and called his children, M.B. and N., liars. In fact, he said that there was nothing anyone could do to make him believe that Alamo, whom he considered to be a prophet, had molested M.B. He acknowledged that he had been aware of the allegations of sexual abuse because he had heard the recording of Alamo and the girls and had attended some Fouke city council meetings. He admitted permitting his daughters to live at the mission, where Alamo resides, while he worked out of town for months at a time. He said that he has done construction work for the ministry most of his life, and that he is totally dependent upon it for all of his needs.

On January 6, 2009, Judge Griffin entered an order adjudicating S.B. and A.B.
dependent-neglected for the same reasons that Judge Hudson gave in the Seago order. He found S.O., D.O., A.R., M.B., J. C., and S.B. credible. He found Broderick, Reid, and Tony Alamo not credible. He imposed the same requirements on Broderick as Judge Hudson did on Seago—that he obtain housing and employment outside of the ministry.

The same day, Judge Griffin entered an order adjudicating A.R. and C.R. dependent-neglected for the same reasons, and imposing the same requirements on Reid. He made the same credibility findings.

Broderick challenges the sufficiency of the evidence supporting the adjudication order and attacks the credibility of the witnesses who said anything negative about the ministry. As Seago argued, he contends that there was no medical evidence that the fasts were dangerous or that the children were injured. He disputes that the children were neglected medically or educationally. He also asserts, for the first time on appeal, that the trial court’s requirement that he obtain employment and housing outside of the ministry is unconstitutional. We do not address arguments raised for the first time on appeal.

See Ark. Dep’t of Health & Human Servs.
v. Jones, 97 Ark. App. 267, 248 S.W.3d 507 (2007).
Adjudication hearings are held to determine whether the allegations in a petition are substantiated by the proof.
Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-327(a)(1) (Supp. 2009).
Dependency neglect allegations must be proven by a preponderance of the evidence.
Ark. Code Ann. § 9-27-325(h)(2)(B) (Supp. 2009).

We will not reverse the circuit court’s findings unless they are clearly erroneous. Brewer v. Ark. Dep’t of Human Servs., 71 Ark. App. 364, 43 S.W.3d 196
(2001).

In reviewing a dependency-neglect adjudication, we defer to the circuit court’s
evaluation of the credibility of the witnesses. Id. The focus of an adjudication hearing is on the child, not the parent. At this stage of a proceeding, the juvenile code is concerned with whether the child is dependent-neglected. An adjudication of dependency-neglect occurs without reference to which parent committed the acts or omissions leading to the adjudication; the juvenile is simply dependent-neglected.
See Howell v. Ark. Dep’t of Human
Servs., 2009 Ark. App. 138; Albright v. Ark. Dep’t of Human Servs., 97 Ark. App. 277, 248
S.W.3d 498 (2007).

Arkansas Code Annotated section 9-27-303(18)(A) (Supp. 2009) defines a “dependent neglected juvenile” as any juvenile who is at substantial risk of serious harm as a result of abandonment, abuse, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or neglect. The definition of “neglect” in section 9-27-303(36)(A) includes acts or omissions of “a parent, guardian, custodian, foster parent, or any person, who is entrusted with the juvenile’s care by a parent,” that constitute:

(i) Failure or refusal to prevent the abuse of the juvenile when the person knows or has reasonable cause to know the juvenile is or has been abused;

(ii) Failure or refusal to provide the necessary food, clothing, shelter, and education required by law, . . . or medical treatment necessary for the juvenile’s well-being . . . ;

(iii) Failure to take reasonable action to protect the juvenile from abandonment, abuse, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, neglect, or parental unfitness when the existence of this condition was known or should have been known;

(iv) Failure or irremediable inability to provide for the essential and necessary physical, mental, or emotional needs of the juvenile, including failure to provide a shelter that does not pose a risk to the health or safety of the juvenile;

(v) Failure to provide for the juvenile’s care and maintenance, proper or necessary
support, or medical, surgical, or other necessary care;

(vi) Failure, although able, to assume responsibility for the care and custody of the
juvenile or to participate in a plan to assume the responsibility; or

(vii) Failure to appropriately supervise the juvenile that results in the juvenile’s being left alone at an inappropriate age or in inappropriate circumstances, creating a dangerous situation or a situation that puts the juvenile at risk of harm.
The evidence introduced at this hearing presented a clear picture of the danger to
children in the ministry compound at Fouke. There was testimony that many children were beaten, including M.B., S.B., and their brother; A.R.; and C.R. Several were placed on fasts. S.O. was given “diesel therapy” and his brother D. was imprisoned in a warehouse for eight months. Alamo slapped S.B. and shoved B.S. against a wall. There was evidence that Alamo molested M.B., and that he “married” several young girls. There was testimony that it was normal for underage girls to be married to much-older men. In spite of the evidence demonstrating that sexual abuse of underage girls, beatings, and fasts were widely known within the ministry, Broderick denied knowing of any potential danger to his children.

The evidence presented at this hearing sufficiently demonstrated that the environment in which Broderick placed his children was dangerous. Given the juvenile code’s goal of preventing the abuse of children before it occurs, if at all possible, we have no hesitation in affirming the circuit court’s finding that these were children dependent-neglected.

Affirmed.
VAUGHT, C.J., and MARSHALL, J., agree.
10 CA09-244

4. Minister’s Trial Gets Attention

Editor’s Note: Each year, the Times Record newsroom staff votes on the Top 10 local stories of the year. The sentencing for Tony Alamo ranks as the No. 4 story of 2009.

July 25 was the first day of a long goodbye that ends Jan. 13 for Tony Alamo, born Bernard Lazar Hoffman.

At the end a two-week federal trial in Texarkana, Ark., picketers bid “Bye Bye Bernie” after the 75-year-old founder of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries was found guilty of 10 counts of taking girls across state lines for illegal sexual purposes.

On Nov. 14, a federal judge handed down the maximum sentence, 175 years.

When Alamo returns to court Jan. 13 for a sentencing hearing, the judge will decide if the five witnesses who testified as his victims should receive restitution. All of the witnesses, now 17 to 33 years old, told the court they were forced to “marry” and have sex with Alamo as young girls. Experts have said each victim should get $2.7 million.

During trial, an 18-year-old woman testified she married Alamo at age 8 and escaped from his 15-acre Fouke compound in 2006.

A 17-year-old said she started visiting Alamo at age 8 and was married to him by age 11.

A 25-year-old “third-generation” follower said she married Alamo at 14 during a visit to him in prison while he was serving a sentence for tax evasion. Her 38-year-old mother, a former Alamo follower who sent the girl to him, testified that Alamo lashed out at her when she grimaced upon seeing a 9-year-old girl rubbing his thighs.

The 25-year-old said she traveled to Las Vegas, Los Angeles and Nashville, Tenn., either with Alamo or at his behest to have sex with him. Other victims said they were taken to California and West Virginia or returned to Arkansas for sexual purposes.

Alamo’s trial and conviction arose from a three-year investigation that ended a bit prematurely.

State and federal officials were forced to raid his compound three weeks earlier than planned after a federal prosecutor accidentally forwarded an e-mail about the probe to news media.

Alamo was not at the compound the day of the raid, but FBI agents arrested him five days later in Flagstaff, Ariz.

In April, Tony Alamo Christian Ministries sued the Arkansas Department of Human Services after child welfare officials had placed 36 children of Alamo followers in protective custody and sought to take in another 100 children. The suit is pending, and several placements have been affirmed in state courts.

Also pending is a lawsuit by two former followers who are seeking damages over beatings they said they received from Alamo or on his orders.

During the sex-crimes trial, prosecutors used a flow chart to show how financial transactions were conducted in a way that obscured Alamo’s involvement. Plane tickets and hotel rooms were bought by followers using credit cards paid through a bank account listed under a bookkeeper’s name.

Ministry properties — including houses in Fort Smith, mobile homes in Oklahoma and a warehouse in Booneville that formerly housed the Ace Comb factory — were listed in followers’ names. Records show Alamo is liable for $100,000 in civil court judgments against his Fouke complex as well as numerous federal tax liens against his church in Sebastian County.

Alamo founded the ministry with wife Susan in the 1960s. After she died in 1982, he began to criticize Catholicism. He blamed the Vatican for his latest legal woes.

He began taking multiple wives in the early 1990s. After marrying a 15-year-old in 1994, he took brides at younger and younger ages. His common-law wife, Sharon Alamo, 50, testified at trial that she never noticed younger and younger girls were coming to live in the home.

He served a four-year sentence for tax evasion in the 1990s. Investigators have said he was and still is capable of maintaining control of his empire from behind bars.

In 1998, Alamo was released from prison after serving time evading federal income tax. That year, he also was ordered to deliver the body of his wife Susan, who died in 1982, to a Van Buren funeral home, and that news event was ranked No. 7 in the Times Record’s top 10 stories of 1998.

Investigation continues in possible bankruptcy fraud case

The investigation into possible bankruptcy fraud by a high-ranking associate of Tony Alamo will continue, an Oklahoma bankruptcy trustee said.

Gerald Miller of the Eastern District of Oklahoma met last week with Thomas Scarcello and his lawyer, Darrell Johnson of Fort Smith, Ark.

“All I can really tell you is that I can’t really tell you anything,” Miller said. “But the investigation is ongoing and the case remains open.”

Johnson declined to comment specifically on the hearing as well.

“I really don’t want to go into that,” Johnson said. “All I can say is we had the hearing.”

Last month Miller filed a motion to reopen the bankruptcy case to determine whether Scarcello duped the court by transferring assets before filing. Scarcello’s filing, and those of several others listed as defendants, halted a civil lawsuit filed by Tempurpedic accusing Scarcello and several associates of profiting from the sale of mattresses, slippers and pillows meant for Hurricane Katrina victims.

On Dec. 7, Scarcello, Johnson and Miller met to review documents bankruptcy court judge Tom Cornish had ordered Scarcello to produce concerning money transfers, property conveyances, bank accounts and assets for multiple years preceding his September 2008 Chapter 7 filing.

In documents he submitted in the bankruptcy case, Scarcello claimed to have limited personal property, a wedding ring set and some clothing among his possessions.

The Tempurpedic lawsuit accuses Scarcello and his associates of selling the mattresses, pillows and slippers on Internet sites, in flea markets and from the backs of trucks. A large number of mattresses was found in a Booneville, Ark., warehouse owned by two females reported to be Tony Alamo’s wives, according to court documents.

The bankruptcy trustee also is interested in documents pertaining to the civil suit.

During a deposition of Scarcello by a Tempurpedic lawyer, the Alamo loyalist repeatedly asserts his Fifth Amendment right not to incriminate himself when asked who his bookkeeper is and what he did with $500,000 he accepted as payment for some of the mattresses.

Scarcello describes Alamo as a “holy man of God” in the deposition.

Alamo was sentenced to serve 175 years in federal prison last month by U.S. District Judge Harry Barnes in the Texarkana division of the Western District of Arkansas. A jury found the 75-year-old guilty of 10 counts listed in a federal indictment accusing him of bringing young girls across state lines for sex.

Recently, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals, which is the next step for Alamo in his bid for freedom, issued a stay in the appellate case. The issue of restitution Alamo could be assessed as recompense for the harm he caused to the five Jane Does who testified against him will be decided at a hearing scheduled for Jan. 13 before Barnes.

Waiting until after the hearing will allow Alamo’s lawyers to appeal the restitution order at the same time as his conviction and maximum sentence, said one of Alamo’s attorneys, John Wesley Hall Jr. of Little Rock.

Alamo is also represented by John Ervin of Houston, Phillip Kuhn of Florida and Jeff Harrelson of Texarkana.

The government is represented by assistant U.S. attorneys Kyra Jenner, Clay Fowlkes and Candace Taylor.

Tony Alamo’s Enforcer, John Kolbek, on the run

JENNIFER KOLBEK MAY BE IN HIDING WITH HER HUSBAND, JOHN KOLBEK

CLICK HERE TO FIND FOX TELEVISION NETWORK INFORMATION FOR YOUR AREA

INFORMATION ABOUT JOHN KOLBEK:

PROFILE:
Sex:Male
Race:White
Current Age:50
Height:6′4″
Weight:260
Hair (Color, Description, Facial Hair):
* Brown
Eyes:
* Green
Last Seen:
* Fort Smith , AR
Other Possible Locations:
* Fort Smith , AR
Last Known Locations:
* Fort Smith , AR

BRIEF:
Wanted For:
* Second Degree Battery
Fort Smith , AR
Possible Location(s):
* Fort Smith , AR
Latest Airing:
* December 12 2009

AMERICA’S MOST WANTED
“Episode 12-12-09″ – 9 \ 8c

– “AMERICA’S MOST WANTED” — (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT)

AN ALL-NEW “AMERICA’S MOST WANTED” CONTINUES ITS PURSUIT OF JUSTICE SATURDAY, DECEMBER 12, ON FOX

AMERICA’S MOST WANTED takes on the nation’s hottest crime issues. This crime-fighting program focuses on capturing fugitives, protecting victims and empowering citizens within the criminal justice system. The series also takes an in-depth look at laws that harm victims, champions the cause of lawmakers fighting to protect victims’ rights and presents news of recent captures, convictions and missing children cases. AMERICA’S MOST WANTED airs Saturday, Dec. 12 (9:00-10:00 PM ET/PT) on FOX. (MW-2311) (TV-14; V) CC

Host: John Walsh

RECENT TWITTER UPDATES ABOUT THE SHOW:

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CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE JOHN KOLBEK SEGMENT ON AMERICA’S MOST WANTED

Tony Alamo’s Enforcer On The Run

Cops: Fugitive Beat Followers For Slip-Ups

While Tony Alamo might be in jail for transporting minors over state lines for sex, another dangerous member of his church is still on the run. Cops say John Kolbek helped keep the Alamo followers in line… by beating them into submission.

The Full Story Below:

The Alamo Empire

In the late 1960s, Tony Alamo and his wife Susan began the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Ministries by recruiting the hippies and homeless off Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles, Calif. The group officially incorporated into the Tony and Susan Alamo Foundation on January 29, 1969.

Cops say Susan Alamo was the brains of the foundation and instructed Tony Alamo on how to act and what to say. The couple bought airtime and began spreading their message on the airwaves. Tony, a self-proclaimed singer and record promoter, performed religious songs live, while Susan preached the Bible.

While the group continued to gain followers, the Alamos gained power. However, their empire faltered when Susan was struck down with breast cancer. Ex-members say this was when Tony Alamo began to show a darker side.

He allegedly forced his followers to pray around his dead wife’s body all day and night, convinced she would rise from the dead. When her body decayed instead of resurrecting, ex-followers say Alamo told them Susan would return to him in the body of a younger woman.

In the early 90s, Alamo was sued by the IRS for back taxes, and became a fugitive for two years. After he was captured and served jail time, he returned to his church and took up old habits.

This is when cops say Alamo began to prey on young women in his church. In order to do this, he needed to control his followers. This is where John Kolbek entered the picture.
According to later testimony, Kolbek’s daughter was married to Alamo when she was only eight years-old.

The Enforcer

Ex-members say Kolbek got into Alamo’s good graces when he allowed his daughter to live with Alamo when she was six years-old. According to later testimony, the child was “married” to Alamo when she was only eight. After this precious gift, Kolbek became Alamo’s right-hand man.

Alamo allegedly became extremely controlling in every aspect of his follower’s lives. They had to submit their phone records to him, and they could not purchase clothing, food, or any other item without his approval. Ex-followers said they could not watch television without Alamo’s consent. In exchange, Alamo gave his followers salvation.

According to ex-followers, church members believed that God was actually speaking through Alamo. Alamo preached fire and brimstone, saying that the end was coming and that he would bring those who followed him into heaven. He threatened his churchgoers, saying those who left the church would become insane or homosexual, and would burn in hell when they died. This type of fear kept his flock from straying.

If anyone were to question Alamo, they would be summoned to see Kolbek. Kolbek had what was known as the “board of education,” a three foot long, six inch wide wooden board used to beat followers into submission. Ex-members said it was unpredictable when they would get beaten. There are documented records of members being beaten for playing in the dirt, making a joke about Harry Potter, playing with squirt bottles, making repairs that didn’t hold, and other meaningless “crimes.”

But while the crimes were meaningless, the beatings weren’t.
Here’s Johnny!

Ex-members say the beatings would consist of person holding each limb, while the victim was held aloft. Kolbek would then take out the board and beat the person relentlessly, sometimes to the point of unconsiousness. In one case, Alamo was quoted as introducing John Kolbek by saying, “Here’s Johnny!” Another time, he was reported as saying, “Do you think I like doing this? I love doing this!”

These beatings were allegedly given to adults and children alike. In one case, ex-members say Alamo even ordered Kolbek to “beat the devil” out of a little girl with epilepsy.

When two teenage boys escaped the Alamo compound, they reported the alleged abuse to police. The beatings one boy sustained were so intense, there was still visible bruising from a beating six months prior.

Police raided the Alamo compound on September 21, 2008 and removed the girls living in Alamo’s house. They raided the area again in November, seized more children, and placed them into foster homes.

Alamo has since been convicted of transporting minors over state lines for sex, and sentenced to 175 years in prison. Kolbek was able to escape authorities, and is on the run. He might be traveling with this wife, Jennifer, and four children belonging to another member on the church. The children are under the guardianship of Jennifer Kolbek, and police are concerned for the children’s safety.

Wanted For:

* Second Degree Battery , Fort Smith , AR ; Oct 16, 2008

(Information valid as of December 11, 2009)

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CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE JOHN KOLBEK SEGMENT ON AMERICA’S MOST WANTED

‘America’s Most Wanted’ to air profile of Kolbek

A profile of Tony Alamo follower and fugitive John Kolbek will air at 8 p.m. Saturday on FOX as a segment of “America’s Most Wanted.”

Television crews visited the Alamo ministry’s Fouke, Ark., compound in October to film footage for the show.

As part of their filming, the crews followed Texarkana Gazette reporter Lynn LaRowe, who has covered the Alamo saga since a September 2008 raid on the Fouke compound. She provided background information about the Alamo trial and Kolbek’s role in the organization.

Portions of that interview will be included in the Kolbek segment.

Diana Nolan, “America’s Most Wanted” associate producer, said public interest and law enforcement requests brought the case to the show’s attention and Kolbek’s alleged crimes warranted his placement on the program.

“We found out about the John Kolbek case in two different ways. We had people write in and ask us to do this story. We were also asked by police in Fort Smith (Ark.) to get involved and when we researched the case, we just saw that it seemed like he’s a very violent man from his crimes,” Nolan said.

She said that Kolbek is charged with battery, and court testimony by the victims seemed very graphic.

“We thought that it was our duty to do what we could to put him on the show and see if we could catch him,” she said.

Nolan said the visit was an important part of getting the best information to viewers to generate solid leads, which she hopes will bring Kolbek to justice.

Top Ten Fraudulent Religious Leaders

Sadly but not surprisingly, researchers find no shortage of candidates for this list. Compiling this list, researchers defined “fraud” in reasonably strict legal terms, setting aside all questions of doctrine and faith. In most cases, religious leaders duped their followers into believing in their righteousness; and they subsequently were exposed as pious hypocrites. Fraudulent leaders’ sexual exploits typically were the source of their undoing. Some faced criminal charges; all endured severe public humiliation, and none ever rebuilt a ministry after his exposure.

1. Jim Jones

Shortly after leading nearly 1000 of the faithful to establish a colony in Guyana, Jim Jones, founder of The People’s Temple, became the object of a Congressional investigation late in 1978. Deborah Layton, a Jonestown defector, and concerned relatives of Jonestown pilgrims alleged Jones had bilked his followers of all their assets and was holding them captive at the Guyana settlement. Layton disclosed The People’s Temple controlled millions of dollars in offshore accounts, and she detailed the deceptive practices by which Jones had secured their transfer. Other concerned relatives detailed their allegations that messages of family indicated Jones and his lieutenants held them against their will.

2. Warren Jeffs

In another much-publicized case, Warren Jeffs, a “descendant of the Prophet and leader of the Fundamentalist “LDS” Church, went to trial on charges of rape as an accomplice, because former members of his flock testified he had married them to church elders while they still were in their early teens. Jeff’s Church of Jesus Christ of the Latter Day Saints openly practiced polygamy, housing all its members on a huge, well-fortified compound that straddled the Utah-Arizona border. According to testimony in the case, Jeffs and the elders banished teen-aged boys and claimed eligible teen-aged girls as their wives. Witnesses testified some elders had as many as seven wives, and some wives were as young as twelve years old. For a brief period, state officials took all the children from Jeff’s compound, making them temporary wards of the state. In court proceedings separate from Jeffs’s trial, FLDS officials won restoration of their parental rights, but a variety of criminal investigations continue.

3. Jimmy Swaggart

In a vivid illustration of a New Testament parable, Jimmy Swaggart threw stones—hard, fast, and repeatedly—before he took stock of his own sins. Third among the top three 1980s televangelists, Swaggart systematically took out his rivals, exposing Jim Gorman’s affair with a member of his congregation, and then trapping Jim Bakker and revealing his infidelity. Both exposes received extensive media coverage. Adapting the old principle “an eye for an eye” to the modern media world, Gorman retaliated, hiring a private investigator who found Swaggart in flagrante with a prostitute. In an impassioned, tear-filled confession, an icon of the televangelist age, Swaggart admitted between sobs, “I have sinned against you, my Lord.” The confession still attracts lots of hits on YouTube.

4. Jim Bakker

Arguably the best known and most successful among televangelists of the late seventies and early eighties, Jim Bakker and his wife Tammy Faye first came to prominence in Pat Robertson’s Christian Broadcasting Network. The Bakkers later moved their popular “Praise the Lord” television show to Paul Crouch’s Trinity Broadcasting Network, contributing substantially to its nationwide success. In the mid-seventies, the Bakkers launched their own network and evangelical enterprise; by 1978 they controlled a satellite network with more than thirteen million regular viewers. They also operated “Heritage USA,” a surprisingly successful evangelical theme park in Fort Mill, South Carolina. In 1987, Bakker suddenly resigned his position, admitting he had an affair with Jessica Hahn, a “PTL” church secretary, who later became Playboy founder Hugh Hefner’s frequent friend and companion. Bakker confessed paying Hahn “hush money,” and further investigation revealed he had started a ponzi-like scheme with investors in Heritage USA. Bakker served five years in a federal prison. During his term, Tammy Faye divorced him and became a popular guest on television talk shows.

5. Ted Haggard

Between 2003 and 2006, Ted Haggard served as President of the influential National Association of Evangelicals while he continued his ministry at New Life Church, a huge and politically active congregation in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Handsome, articulate, and charismatic, Haggard emerged as one of the poster boys for America’s “religious right,” and he consulted with President George Bush on faith-based initiatives and social policy. Just before the 2006 mid-term elections, CNN and several other major media outlets reported Haggard regularly had visited with a male prostitute, who, in addition to providing sexual services, introduced Haggard to methamphetamine. Haggard resigned his posts, but many pundits believe the scandal influenced voters’ choices in the mid-term elections, when the Democrats scored significant gains in Congress, state legislatures, and key gubernatorial races.

6. Tony Alamo

Currently awaiting sentencing after conviction on ten counts of transporting minors across state lines for sexual purposes, Alamo faces a jail term of more than 100 years. In September, 2008, at the behest of city officials in Fouke, Arkansas, FBI agents raided the headquarters of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries. Former members of Alamo’s congregation alleged child pornography, child abuse, other sexual abuse, and polygamy. Agents collected more than enough evidence to charge and convict Alamo, including hours of videotaped interviews with children living on Alamo’s compound.

7. Joe Barron

Among the most recent American evangelical escapades, Joe Barron made news in May, 2008, after he was arrested for soliciting sex with a minor. At the time, Barron numbered among forty ministers at prestigious Prestonwood Baptist Church—one of the nation’s largest and most profitable, counting 26,000 regularly tithing members. Police nabbed Barron after he drove from suburban Dallas to Bryan, Texas, where he expected to have sex with a thirteen-year-old girl. Police based their probable cause for the arrest on dozens of transcripts detailing explicit sexual dialogues between Barron and “the girl.” Reminiscent of investigative programs on NBC, the Bryan police used one of their own undercover detectives as the lure.

8. Paul Crouch

Was in it for the money. Founder and CEO of the world’s largest evangelical broadcasting company, Crouch hosted Trinity Broadcasting Network’s wildly popular variety show, “Praise the Lord.” In September, 2004, investigative reporters at the Los Angeles Times broke a series of stories about financial improprieties at TBN. Although the reporters found nothing criminal in the network’s fundraising and accounting practices, they did find a long list of unethical and deceptive procedures. During the investigation, a former employee also came forward, alleging he and Crouch had a long-term homosexual affair. The humiliation drove Crouch and TBN off the air.

9. John Paulk

First achieved widespread notoriety with his best-selling autobiography Not Afraid to Change. In the book, Paulk credited his conversion to Christianity as “the cure” for his homosexuality, and he immediately became the darling and big-time crony of James Dobson and associates, movers and shakers in “Focus on the Family.” In September, 2000, at the peak of his popularity and influence, Paulk saw himself splashed across front pages and television screens as he drank-up and flirted wildly with other male cruisers at a D.C. gay bar. After a few vain, silly attempts at denying the photos and charges, Paulk retreated quietly into obscurity.

10. Robert Tilton

Linking religion with success and wealth, Robert Tilton drew millions of viewers to his weekly broadcasts. In 1990, at the peak of its popularity, “Success-N-Life” commanded big ratings in all 235 American television markets, earning approximately $80 million per year. In 1991, ABC investigative reporter Diane Sawyer exposed a long list of Tilton’s shady practices, none of which were criminal but all of which were dishonest, crass, and decidedly unholy. By the end of 1993, Tilton and his show were off the air everywhere.

Child Labor Made These Jackets

Locking Away Evil – Finally

On this Thanksgiving weekend I want to tell you about a group of young people who are giving thanks for the first time in their lives. This year they are extremely thankful that their tormentor, the self proclaimed preacher Tony Alamo, has finally been brought to justice.

In U.S. District Court in Texarkana, Arkansas the 75 year old Alamo was recently sentenced to 175 years in prison on charges of engaging in sex with minor members of his so-called “church.” One of the five brides identified was just 8 years old. My sources, escapees of the church, tell me there were many more Alamo brides.

Alamo’s real name is Bernie LaZar Hoffman. He was a phony from the get-go. Back in the early 70’s he and his wife, Susan, dreamed up the “Alamo Christian Ministries” to rescue drugged out homeless people from the streets of Hollywood. They gave the unfortunates a cot to sleep on, food to eat, a rousing sermon and an odd job or two to perform as payback. City fathers donated money to show appreciation for the more tourist friendly streets. Those first Alamo followers settled in, coupled up and gave birth to a second generation. The poor kids never had a chance.

The Alamos had up to three dozen money making enterprises – from restaurants to hog farms –and their loyal disciples were their workforce. Instead of a salary the workers got meager living arrangements, irregular meals (many consisted of whatever food had been donated to the ministry) and all the preachin’ about Jesus the Alamos could muster.

The Alamos got rich. When Susan began to suffer from cancer they moved their headquarters to a hilltop near tiny Fouke, Arkansas – far away from the prying eyes of outsiders.

A big source of income was the uber-expensive, handmade rhinestone and sequined studded denim jackets the disciples churned out. In the day it seemed all of Hollywood was wearing one! Dolly Parton, Brooke Shields, Mr. T, among others, wore the flashy fashion statements and sales sky-rocketed.

In 1994, Alamo went to prison for failure to pay taxes on the jacket earnings. At the time of the trial there was evidence that children at the compound were being brutally beaten, held aloft by four burly church men while Alamo beat them bloody, “baseball style” with a wooden paddle. However, that testimony was never allowed at the tax trial. Once in prison Alamo still ruled his flock with an iron fist.

In a series of exclusive interviews with those born into the Alamo cult I’ve heard unforgettable horror stories.

The children were schooled but now realize, as adults, that on orders from Alamo their education was sorely lacking. If they asked an inappropriate question about the day’s lesson they were beaten. If they were tardy, laughed too loud or wore the wrong clothing they were beaten. After classes they were ordered into hours of mandatory prayer. One young man named Jared remembers after Susan died of cancer in 1982 all followers were ordered by “Papa Tony” to keep up a round-the-clock kneeling prayer circle for her “certain resurrection.” Alamo kept Susan’s corpse for 16 years until a court finally ordered him to return it to her family.

These Alamo captives now reveal it was them – the exhausted, terrorized children of the group who often worked until midnight laboriously turning out those denim jackets. A young mother named Becca tells me that growing up in the ministry brought no joy – ever. She worked in the communal kitchen cutting away the rotten parts of donated food. She fantasized about Papa Tony’s promise to get her a “jar of pickles for my birthday.” There was no real medical care, not even for one poor epileptic child. Jared remembers watching the girl beaten every time she had a seizure. Several other former Alamo Ministry children who wish to remain anonymous told me how underage girls were routinely married off to much older male church members. After Alamo got out of prison in 1998, they say, Papa Tony chose multiple underage brides for himself.

Finally in September 2008, at a roadside stop in Arizona, Alamo was arrested with 6 girls in his vehicle and charged with transporting them across state lines for sexual purposes.

I tell you this story because society needs to learn from it. Our justice system took way too long to stop this monster, knowing since the early 90’s that children were suffering at his hand. The doctrine of separation of church and state caused authorities to shy away.

We need to do better. While the second Alamo generation is now thankful he’s locked away authorities admit there are other religious based predators out there. No one wants to curtail freedom of religious practice but allowing charlatans to victimize the innocent and enslave people isn’t acceptable either.

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Alamo dispatches are poor window dressing

It would be reasonable to assume with the conviction of Tony Alamo to 175 years in prison that the activities of his supporters would quickly cease. After all he was larger than life to his followers, and beyond challenge. Without his active participation, what would hold his band together? Wouldn’t they scatter to the four winds?

But there is nothing reasonable about Alamo or his remaining followers.

Even today his supporters are wailing about what they consider a travesty of justice. They seem as invisible as ever, but just as effective at getting his message out.

They are still papering parking lots in Texarkana with propaganda on windshields. And they still use the Internet to muddy the water of what happened with conspiracy theories.

They said they were going to come en masse to both his trial and his sentencing, but never did. It makes you wonder just how many people still buy into his church and way of life. But the ones that do are still capable of making plenty of noise.

When he went to jail in the mid-’90s for tax evasion, he was still able to maintain control of his operations. However, he (and they) knew he would be out at some point. There was a reason to hang on.

And last year and this year while he was being housed in Texarkana waiting trial for sex crimes with minors, he still had the clout to intimidate any disenchanted followers and keep them under his thumb. But again, there was a chance he would be acquitted and be free again.

Now, failing appeals, there is no chance he will ever leave prison. What is the incentive to continue to do his bidding? It serves no purpose.

The problem with these zealous followers is their whole life is built around his controlling, antiestablishment ministry. It is all most of them know. While most reasonable people would see his conviction as a reason to abandon the cause, it is not so easy for them.

To believe in something, even wrongly, and then to find out it is not what you thought it was leaves a terrible void. (Remember, some of these folks were rescued from the streets. They had no hope and no structure when they threw in their lot with him.)

It is often easier to cling blindly to what you know, to find some strange validation in it, than to acknowledge that much of what you believe in is a lie and you are left adrift with no anchor.

Alamo, as a leader, in the context of his church was seen as infallible by his followers. If God commanded him to take a child bride, then parents of the child risked both Alamo’s wrath and, in their minds, God’s wrath if they dared defy him.

People who gave up so much to belong to this fellowship did not wish to be separated from it either. They complied.

Alamo’s greatest gift was his ability to create and sustain an us-against-them mentality. The attacks from the mainstream only brought his followers closer to him and each other.

In the past, the charismatic cult leader managed his fiefdom from prison by phone. While Alamo will be afforded phone privileges, he now lacks the leverage that a future release date once provided.

This suggests that Alamo’s organization might peter out at some point. It just hasn’t done so yet.

The Gazette was faithful in its coverage of the Alamo trial, and other media outlets provided the same reports, basically collaborating the primary reporting. So there is no reason not to believe what you read in the newspaper or to believe the nonsense that gets hawked on the Internet or pinned under windshield wipers.

The latest press release, as he calls them, is not a rerelease. It is new material. But it is still the same strange mixture of piety and politics, prayer and prickliness, protest and posturing.

One of Alamo’s strengths has always been his ability to persuade weak minds and to find unique ways of disseminating his message. Alamo newsletters, forums for his rants against the U.S. government and the Vatican, were windshield dressing long before he was let out of prison the first time. Over the years, the same message, old as it was, was churned out again and again. It didn’t matter that some of the material had dates more than a decade old.

The newest Alamo propaganda does not claim a different conclusion than the mainstream media, only that key prosecutorial witnesses lied. The Alamo newsletter gives the backstory of why they lied, and the motives behind those lies. To believe this you would have to believe the media is also involved in the same conspiracy as a corrupt Vatican and U.S. government.

It is unlikely that the Internet will ever be free of the shadow of Tony Alamo, his outlandish claims, his theological manifestos, his supporters crying foul, his willingness to play the martyr. The Internet is ripe for this kind of abuse.

But it would be nice if we could just get his trash—his newsletter—off the streets. There is enough litter tossing around Texarkana parking lots without adding these unsolicited fliers to the top of the heap.