7/21/09 – John Kolbek could be found liable in civil suit
Texarkana Gazette
July 21, 2009
By: Lynn LaRowe
Fugitive follower could be found liable in civil suit
A fugitive associate of Tony Alamo may soon be liable for damages in a civil lawsuit filed by two ex-members who claim to have been beaten, starved and forced to labor unpaid.
John Kolbek hasn’t responded to newspaper notices of the suit filed by Texarkana lawyer David Carter on behalf of two 18-year-old men. Alamo and Kolbek are named as defendants.
Monday the court clerk in the Western District of Arkansas filed a notice of default in the case. Carter said he will soon file motions for a default judgment and to sever the civil case against Kolbek from that of Alamo.
Doing so will allow him to more quickly acquire a judgment from Kolbek, Carter said. Any property bearing Kolbek’s name can be liquidated to satisfy the judgment, Carter said.
Kolbek is wanted by state authorities in Fort Smith, Ark., for battery involving one of the men and for unlawful flight from prosecution by federal officials. He allegedly used a long wooden paddle to beat children and adults in the ministry at Alamo’s direction, at times until they were bleeding and unable to stand.
Kolbek’s 18-year-old daughter is one of the Jane Does listed in Alamo’s federal indictment. She was allegedly forced to marry Alamo when she was 8.
FBI Special Agent Randall Harris testified Monday that after a September 2008 raid on church property in Fouke, Ark., the girl was moved from a foster home in rural Oklahoma for her safety.
Five days later, Kolbek, who’d had no contact with his daughter in two years, appeared at a restaurant where the girl had been working in the small town.
Last week the girl testified her parents continue to choose Alamo over her to this day.