TV Evangelist Gets 175 Years for Child 'Brides'
Former TV evangelist-cult leader Bernie LaZar Hoffman, AKA Tony Alamo, has been sentenced to 175 years in prison for having sex with underage girls, but there is more to the story....
Tony was convicted of 10 counts of Interstate Transportation of Minors for Illegal Sexual Purposes, Rape, Sexual Assault and Contributing to the Delinquency of Minors. According to testimony he had taken girls as young as 9 as his underage brides by using his position of authority and threatening the girls.
The conviction was based on the testimony of 5 women who said that Alamo "married" them in private ceremonies while they were children.
Before sentencing, Alamo offered a brief statement to the court in which he praised God and said "I'm glad I'm me and not the deceived people in the world." Alamo's lawyers said they will appeal the verdict.
Now for the rest of the story....
Bernie LaZar Hoffman was born into a Jewish family in 1934 and changed his name while pursuing a career in music where he claimed to have found Jesus and converted to his own brand of Christianity. In the 60's he was a relatively well-known and successful entertainer, record producer, and health club owner in California. His first wife was also born into a Jewish family, as Edith Opal Horn, and changed her name to Susan Lipowitz while pursuing an acting career.
Tony and Susan were married in 1966, and shortly after formed Alamo Christian Ministries (ACM). They started off preaching in the streets of California with a standard evangelical brand of religion but gradually starting mixing in UFOs and assumed a standard cult philosophy in which members of their church had to turn over all of their possessions and most aspects of member's lives were controlled by Tony and Susan.
In 1973 Tony was arrested in Los Angeles for receiving stolen weapons and spent 3 months in jail.
In 1975, the Alamos established their headquarters in the small town of Alma, Arkansas where they built a 16,500-square-foot mansion and basically took over the town. At one point they owned 29 of the businesses in the community and staffed them with church members. At the peak of their empire they operated a printing shop, grocery store, service station, restaurant, hog farm, trucking firm, and manufactured their own line of clothing called “Alamo.” Many of their business endeavors were somehow very successful, despite the lunacy of Tony & Susan. One of the big money makers was their TV program in which Tony would sing and Susan would preach.
The federal government first started going after ACM in 1976 when it charged the organization for labor law violations for not paying church members who had volunteered to work in the church's business.
In 1985 the IRS revoked ACM’s tax-exempt status as a religious organization and imposed taxes, which Tony refused to pay. In 1990 the IRS filed tax liens and seized ACM property. In 1994, Tony Alamo was convicted on charges of filing a false income tax return and for not filing any return for three years. He was given 6 years but was released in 1998.
Tony was a supporter of David Koresh and the Branch Davidians and promoted the plausible theory that the US government was behind the OKC Federal Building bombing and the 911 attacks.
The latest conviction will certainly be Tony's last. At age 74 he won't likely be around too much longer, especially in prison. While Tony's guilt may be contested by his followers, he has all but admitted his relations with underage girls and the evidence clearly shows that he is a delusional cult leader who probably belongs in prison.
The questions that remain:
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Former TV evangelist-cult leader Bernie LaZar Hoffman, AKA Tony Alamo, has been sentenced to 175 years in prison for having sex with underage girls, but there is more to the story....
Tony was convicted of 10 counts of Interstate Transportation of Minors for Illegal Sexual Purposes, Rape, Sexual Assault and Contributing to the Delinquency of Minors. According to testimony he had taken girls as young as 9 as his underage brides by using his position of authority and threatening the girls.
The conviction was based on the testimony of 5 women who said that Alamo "married" them in private ceremonies while they were children.
Before sentencing, Alamo offered a brief statement to the court in which he praised God and said "I'm glad I'm me and not the deceived people in the world." Alamo's lawyers said they will appeal the verdict.
Now for the rest of the story....
Bernie LaZar Hoffman was born into a Jewish family in 1934 and changed his name while pursuing a career in music where he claimed to have found Jesus and converted to his own brand of Christianity. In the 60's he was a relatively well-known and successful entertainer, record producer, and health club owner in California. His first wife was also born into a Jewish family, as Edith Opal Horn, and changed her name to Susan Lipowitz while pursuing an acting career.
Tony and Susan were married in 1966, and shortly after formed Alamo Christian Ministries (ACM). They started off preaching in the streets of California with a standard evangelical brand of religion but gradually starting mixing in UFOs and assumed a standard cult philosophy in which members of their church had to turn over all of their possessions and most aspects of member's lives were controlled by Tony and Susan.
In 1973 Tony was arrested in Los Angeles for receiving stolen weapons and spent 3 months in jail.
In 1975, the Alamos established their headquarters in the small town of Alma, Arkansas where they built a 16,500-square-foot mansion and basically took over the town. At one point they owned 29 of the businesses in the community and staffed them with church members. At the peak of their empire they operated a printing shop, grocery store, service station, restaurant, hog farm, trucking firm, and manufactured their own line of clothing called “Alamo.” Many of their business endeavors were somehow very successful, despite the lunacy of Tony & Susan. One of the big money makers was their TV program in which Tony would sing and Susan would preach.
The federal government first started going after ACM in 1976 when it charged the organization for labor law violations for not paying church members who had volunteered to work in the church's business.
In 1985 the IRS revoked ACM’s tax-exempt status as a religious organization and imposed taxes, which Tony refused to pay. In 1990 the IRS filed tax liens and seized ACM property. In 1994, Tony Alamo was convicted on charges of filing a false income tax return and for not filing any return for three years. He was given 6 years but was released in 1998.
Tony was a supporter of David Koresh and the Branch Davidians and promoted the plausible theory that the US government was behind the OKC Federal Building bombing and the 911 attacks.
The latest conviction will certainly be Tony's last. At age 74 he won't likely be around too much longer, especially in prison. While Tony's guilt may be contested by his followers, he has all but admitted his relations with underage girls and the evidence clearly shows that he is a delusional cult leader who probably belongs in prison.
The questions that remain:
- How was someone so delusional as Tony Alamo able to amass and maintain a large fortune when intelligent and hard-working people can barely make ends meet?
- Are there really so many people willing to give up all their possessions to someone like Tony and do his bidding without question?
- ACM had many of the characteristics of a govt. mind control cult. Was ACM just another CIA or Mossad controlled mind control cult?
Copyright: arcticle: NewsMuse
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