Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation abduct 2 children
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CAN (Cult Awareness Network) News
February 13, 1988
In: 1980-1989
Tony Alamo won’t surrender; denies affiliation with the Alamo Ministries churches
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The Newhall Signal
October 13, 1989
In: 1980-1989
Tony Alamo is a fugitive on the run
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Arkansas Democrat
October 9, 1989
In: 1980-1989
FBI raids fugitive Tony Alamo’s religious cult after charges of child abuse
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CAN (Cult Awareness Network) News
August 1, 1989
In: 1980-1989
Tony Alamo’s history of rape, burglary, theft and receiving stolen weapons charges
Argus Investigation Findings on Tony Alamo
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ARGUS INVESTIGATION and SECURITY RESEARCH AGENCY, INC.
Tony Alamo’s “The Polygamists” Tract
POLYGAMISTS by Tony Alamo
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Due to copyright laws we are not able to post verbatim the entire contents of the document. However, we are attaching it for your reading pleasure as per the request at the bottom of the article which states:
Tony Alamo entangled in child custody dispute
Chicago Sun Times
October 13, 1987
The leader of a fundamentalist Christian sect, notorious for his anti-Roman Catholic propaganda and attempts to raise his first wife from the dead, is entangled in a child custody dispute in which an Elk Grove Village has been unable to find her children.
Mary Lou Weinzetl, 23, is trying to find her children, 4-year-old Jacquelyn M. Amundson and 2-month-old Brendan M. Broderick, whom she left this summer at the Tony and Susan Alamo Christian Foundation of Alma, Ark., when she broke from the sect. She was unable to find them when she returned for them this month.
In: 1980-1989
Alamo followers arrested in abduction of child
Newsday Inc.
August 17, 1989
He insists his faith is firmly rooted in the good book, but critics of Tony Alamo – the self-anointed leader of a Christian sect – contend his is the handiwork of the devil.
The saga of Tony Alamo and his Holy Alamo Christian Church is unfolding in rural country towns and major cities, fueled by impassioned anti-Catholic rhetoric and a rigid adherence to the Bible.
In: 1980-1989
Mother reunited with child abducted by Tony Alamo’s cult
Los Angeles Times
August 17, 1989
A mother was reunited with her 2-year-old son Tuesday in New York City after trying for two years to get him back from his father, who authorities said is a member of an unorthodox Christian sect led by fugitive Tony Alamo.
Mary Lou Weinzetl, 25, of Waukegan, Ill., appeared with her son at a Manhattan news conference and denounced Alamo’s church, which has a branch in Saugus, as well as branches in Illinois, Arkansas and Tennessee.
In: 1980-1989
Child kidnapped by Tony Alamo cult found living in car
Chicago Tribune Co.
August 17, 1989
A young mother whose newborn son was allegedly abducted by his father when she left a religious cult’s camp in Arkansas two years ago returned to the Chicago area with the child Wednesday, one day after they were reunited.
Mary Lou Weinzetl, 25, carried Brendan Broderick in her arms as she walked down the rear steps of an American Airlines jetliner at O’Hare International Airport and into a Chicago police squad car.
In: 1980-1989
Mother lashes out at cult leader, Tony Alamo
Untitled Article
August 16, 1989
Byline: AP Two years ago, Mary Lou Weinzetl fled the Holy Alamo Christian Church in Alma without her 17- day-old son, Brendan Broderick. Shortly after she left, a judge awarded her custody of the child, but even with the help of the FBI, she was unable to track down her son. The search ended Tuesday. At a New York City press conference, a teary Mary Lou Weinzetl sharply criticized the church she once attended and its controversial leader, Tony Alamo. She called Alamo’s church a cult, claimed that it abused children, and said Alamo forced her to give up her son before she could leave. ” I thought I’d never see him again,” Weinzetl, 25, told the news conference as Brendan Broderick, 2, ate M&Ms from a paper cup. The mother and son were reunited after a resident noticed the child in a disabled car on a New York street with two men Aug. 3. The resident called the police, who questioned and arrested the men. Both suspects, Jim Wahl, 20, of Alma, and Ray Arauz, 39, of California, are members of the Holy Alamo Christian Church. Several hours later the boy’s father, Brian Michael Broderick, 27, of Alma, was arrested when he came to the police station to claim his son. Broderick allegedly told the police Weinzetl had abandoned him and the boy shortly after Brendan’s birth. He refused to provide any identification papers. Wahl and Arauz have been charged with endangering the welfare of a child, a misdemeanor. Broderick, who is being extradited to Van Buren (Crawford County), faces charges of interfering with custody, a felony. At the news conference, Weinzetl, who now lives in Illinois, said she left the Alma-based church because leader Alamo ordered severe spankings of children. She said she once watched three cult members use a paddle known as “the board of education” to strike a cult member’s son 60 times for talking about racism. Alamo, she said, claimed the child “had the devil in him and it had to be beaten out.” Alamo retaliated Tuesday, saying Weinzetl “has the devil possessing her.” ” People at our church use their hands, or straps, or sticks to spank their children,” Alamo said. ” We don’t just use a board.” Weinzetl said that before she could leave the group, Alamo, who chose and married the couple in an unordained ceremony, forced her to sign over custody of her son to Broderick. She also had to sign over custody of a daughter from a previous marriage, she said. The daughter was returned to her shortly after she left the church and won the custody of both children. However, Broderick kept their son and eventually went into hiding with him. ” What burst my bubble was I found out that my marriage wasn’t legal,” Weinzetl said. She said Alamo refused to let her remarry in a civil ceremony, telling her, ” We were married in the eyes of God.” ” We don’t arrange marriages,” Alamo said. ” Of all the wildest lies told about us, that’s got to be in the top 20.” Alamo, reached Tuesday by phone in California, said he had never seen Weinzetl until she appeared at the church with state police officers to search for her children. ” I never married them,” Alamo said. ” Brian told me he wanted to marry her, but I was totally against the marriage. She had only been saved three or four months.” Alamo’s fundamentalist church, which has branches in California, Nebraska and Illinois, has roughly 500 members in Arkansas. He said that his church does condone spanking children, as prescribed in the Bible. ” If God says you spank the children, you better spank the children, regardless of what our so- called laws say,” Alamo said. The FBI says Alamo is breaking those laws. According to New York District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, Alamo is wanted for interstate flight to avoid prosecution for child abuse in California. The vehemently anti-Catholic Alamo said he is preaching in California and has not been contacted by authorities, who he described as “tools of the Vatican.” Associated Press and United Press International contributed to this article.
This story was published Wednesday, August 16, 1989
In: 1980-1989
Kidnapped child found in disabled car – Alamo Ministries cult involved
Chicago Sun Times
August 17, 1989
“I thought I’d never see him again,” said Mary Lou Weinzetl through tears as her son, missing for two years, sat next to her and munched candy from a paper cup.
The boy, Brendan, was abducted by his father when he was 17 days old and both parents were members of an Arkansas religious cult.
In: 1980-1989
Woman who fled Tony Alamo cult reunited with son
Patriot News Company
August 16, 1989
NEW YORK – A 2-year-old kidnapped by his father when he was 17 days old has been reunited with his mother after he was spotted hiding in the back seat of a parked car in Manhattan by a passer-by.
The child’s father, who was arrested along with two other men, abducted the boy after his wife fled a religious cult to which they belonged.
In: 1980-1989
Tony Alamo’s poster campaign against Catholics
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The Washington Times
May 25, 1984
By William E Willoughby
RELIGION TODAY
Say it ain’t so, Tony, my friend. Say it ain’t so.
I speak of my dearly beloved friend. Tony Alamo. We’ve had some side-splitting good times together two quite different people, on different wavelengths about lot of things. Different in almost every way, but kindred in spirit in ever so many delightful ways.
In: 1980-1989
Seige of the Alamo Ministries compound
Seige of the Alamos by Chet Flippo
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People Weekly
June 13, 1983
by Chet Flippo
In: 1980-1989
Alamo foundation’s finances stir criticism
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New York Times
January 21, 1979
Foundation’s Finances Stir Criticism
In: 1970-1979
The Alamo Christians. Do they have a right to be weird?
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Voice
October 24, 1977
The Alamo Christians – Do they have a right to be weird?
In: 1970-1979
Tony Alamo’s second wife says they’re not divorced
1986-03-06 – Press Argus Courier – Alamo’s second wife says they’re not divorced
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Press Argus Courier
March 6, 1986
In: 1980-1989
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