Now Tony . Alamo Christian Ministries: Is He a Prophet, Promoter, or Profiteer? Los Angeles Times. Additional support provided by the Charles M. and Joan R. Taylor Foundation Inc. Many witnesses can verify that Amy has been severely beaten by Alamo on many occasions. Tony was heartbroken. Below are several (but not all) of Tony Alamos alleged wives. Welsh, Adam. I have a right to be angry, says Pebbles. Alamo quickly declared bankruptcy, and his related businesses collapsed. However, one thing is clear, only one of his children (Sion) is born from his legal wife, Sharon. But he wanted to spend his birthday with me so we got permission for him to stay two days longer. She was already married to Kenya Williams (African American) and pregnant with his child at the time. 32, testified that she was taken as Alamo's wife at age 17 and that Alamo had five other wives at the time. He eventually moved his headquarters to Arkansas with his wife, Susan, where he held secret ceremonies at his compound to authorize his marriage to girls as young as 15-years-old. He left me with all the bills, she said. When you visit this site, it may store or retrieve information on your browser, mostly in the form of cookies. Alamo was convicted on June 8, 1994, on one charge of filing a false income tax return and three charges of failing to file a tax return. Christian communities were good business in Hollywood, and The Alamo Christian foundation grew steadily over the next decade. Anti-Catholic, pro-polygamy evangelist convicted in 2009 on 10 counts of transporting underage girls across state lines for sex. She said an address on his posters the urge music fans to send in the votes for entertainer of the year is Alamos post office box in Los Angeles. 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. They were even told who they were going to marry: the 62-year-old leader of their apocalyptic group. What my mother did was wrong. But after his wife died in 1982, Alamo's behavior grew deviant and he began preaching the purported righteousness of polygamy and underage brides.In the mid-1990s, Alamo, then 62 years old . Her. Sharon Alamo seen leaving courthouse after Tony Alamo was found guilty of 10 counts of taking underage girls across state lines for sex 2009. I was at a party not long ago with Julio Iglesias and Elizabeth Taylor. The flashy evangelist did business in the backwoods of western Arkansas, but when the law caught up with him, he was living in Tampa, Florida, where he ran a restaurant and regularly broadcast religious talk shows. Specific details about his death were not immediately known, though he reportedly suffered from a number of health problems, including diabetes and a 2011 heart attack. Some sources say that they changed their names to Tony and Susan Alamo after their marriage, though Tony Alamo has claimed that he changed his own name earlier to mimic the Italian-American singers who were popular at the time. Ill get my children back, said Nick Amrhein of Huntington, West VA. Religion News Blog posted this on Sunday October 1, 1995.Last updated if a date shows here: Saturday, December 23, 2006. Benjamin Risha. In their prime during the 1970s and early 80s, the oddly paired Alamoshe a puffy Elvis look-alike and she a platinum-haired matroncommanded hundreds of followers, many of them living in what the government called a commune in Saugus remote Mint Canyon. Among the businesses which Alamo started was decorating denim jackets and airbrushing them with bright, colorful designs. Angela Marie Morales Unofficial wife of Tony Alamo When Alamo saw Amrhein at the hearing the evangelist appeared upset. Born Bernie Hoffman, the boy from Missouri wasnt an average preacher. One business was particularly successful airbrushing denim jackets to produce beautiful pop art. [9], Tony and Susan Alamo founded the Alamo Christian Foundation in 1969 in Hollywood, California. Alamo followers still pepper the IRS with legal challenges, help with his defense, and make their presence known through their trademark brochures. The 61-year-old Alamonow serving a six-year sentence in Colorado for failing to file tax returns and submitting a false onemust also arrange for her proper and legal entombment, Spears ruled. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. In 1982, the same year that Susan Alamo died,[15] the foundation was discontinued and replaced by the newly incorporated Music Square Church (MSC). Lets make the most of it.. They named the group the Alamo Christian Foundation before forming the . She left Alamo Ministries and separated from him in the summer . He called the new entity Music Square Church and filed for tax-exempt status. Lydia Unofficial wife of Tony Alamo. History: In 1993 Misheal Eden Jones-Williams became Tonys wife at 18 years old. In September 1994, Alamo was sentenced by the Federal District Court for the Western District of Tennessee to six years in the Federal Correctional Institution in Texarkana, Texas. Alamo Mansion in Disrepair, Entered Now on a Dare. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, April 9, 2017, pp, 1A, 9A. 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. This is how he shows his gratitude? Our website includes affiliate links, which means we get a small commission -- at no additional cost to you -- for each qualifying purpose. It also operated a drug rehabilitation facility, and those who were involved in the church developed several businesses in the Alma area. [11] Individuals who sought to join the church and become involved in its rehabilitation program took a vow of poverty and agreed to turn all of their money and property over to the church. He remained in prison until his death in May 2017 . Misheal Eden Jones-Williams Unofficial wife of Tony Alamo. The trial included testimony from church members who proved Alamo Ministries had accumulated $9 million in income for three years when he paid zero taxes. The CALS Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. He was working as a music promoter. Alamo Christian Foundation zeroed in on street kids, and there were no shortage in 1960s Hollywood. Elizabeth Mercado Unofficial wife of Tony Alamo. His efforts succeeded in having the high-end jackets designed by Tony Alamo and manufactured by unpaid cult members removed from a majority of clothing stores on Hollywood Boulevard and in bringing the abuses of the cult to the attention of the local media. People may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. All Rights Reserved. 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 . Shown here pregnant with Alamos son, Tabor. Association chose him as entertainer of the year in 1985. The church quickly expanded its holdings, buying several businesses and establishing a compound in nearby Saugus. Many Hollywood celebrities were seen wearing them, including Michael Jackson, who wore a modified leather Alamo jacket on the cover of his album Bad. It was also extremely anti-Catholic, only accepted the King James Version of the Bible, and its members adhered to a moral code which condemned and forbade the use of drugs, homosexuality, adultery, birth control, and abortion. Now Tony Alamo is also a grave robber-at least in the eyes of an Arkansas judge, who has . Today, the girl born into the Alamo church is a grown woman, as is her younger sister, and Coies pride in both her daughters is immense. Alamo, who was born Bernie Lazar Hoffman, died Tuesday at the age of 82 while in custody at a federal prison hospital in Butner, N.C., the Bureau of Prisons said, according to the Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. She said Alamo had sent her a telegram saying they were divorced, but she has been unable to get a divorce decree either in Van Buren or Nashville because he will not appear in court. The documentary series also features archival footage, including Tony Alamo's videotaped deposition, as well as interviews with former members of the cult and the FBI agent who brought Alamo down.[23][24]. Does Mike Murdock's 58 days seed covenant really work? Lydia was in her early 30s. His skin is very white and clammy. Pebbles was 12. He lost the suit as well as an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court in 1985, the same year that the IRS retroactively revoked the tax exempt status for his church for the years 1977 to 1980. The term 'cult expert' is not protected. Nickys birthday is on January 4, and he was staying with me for a few days before then. He also built a Christian empire on sex trafficking, embezzlement and lies. Its embarrassing to have a husband who gives stupid interviews and gives out crazy literature, she went on, referring to his statements that the country is run by the Vatican. One of the fathers, Robert Miller, had previously overseen the churchs trucking company and alleged that Alamo had embezzled $100,000 from it. Hed lost his best friend, business partner and favorite wife and she was only 56. Troubles continue to mount for Tony Alamo Christian Foundation. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2018. Kenny Feldman (no relation) of the Sunlight Mission of Santa Monica. Alamos first wife, Susan, had died of cancer the year before. According to the Sept. 14 ruling by Arkansas Chancery Court Judge Jim Spears, Alamo illegally removed his wife Susan Alamos body from its mountaintop mausoleum in Dyer, Ark., four years ago, and will be held in contempt of court until he produces it. 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. He and his wife legally changed their names to Tony and Susan Alamo after they married in Las Vegas in 1966. Misheal is still in the group and often reads the responses on Tonys radio broadcast. But after Susan died in 1982, Alamos behavior turned more deviant as he extolled the righteousness of polygamy and marrying young girls. Acting upon reports of child abuse, on March 25, 1988, sheriffs deputies raided the Saugus, California, compound in order to reunite three boys with their natural fathers; the fathers had been members of the Arkansas compound but had been excommunicated. Ten would be convicted on ten counts, all related to trafficking underage girls across state lines. 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. In 1976, a few unhappy followers reported him to the U.S. Department of Labor, who investigated. Rate and review titles you borrow and share your opinions on them. Tony allegedly threatened to kill Arnold but was never held legally accountable. Even in his later years, when the feds were pursuing him for charges ranging from embezzlement to child abusethe man calling himself Tony Alamo didnt try to hide. Communal living was a staple of the Music Square Church. Give a donation in someones name to mark a special occasion, honor a friend or colleague or remember a beloved family member. Nicky, 12, and Amanda, 10, but apparently she violated conditions placed on her by the court. His father was a Jewish immigrant from Romania who, Alamo claims, had been dance instructor for Rudolf Valentino. Tony Alamo (1934-2017), American founder of the Alamo Christian Foundation Antonio Alamo, Jr., known as Tony Alamo, American physician and Nevada gaming official This disambiguation page lists articles about people with the same name. Tony was found guilty of 10 charges of transporting minor females across state borders for sex after being brought to court and sentenced to 175 years in prison in 2009. 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