Gyllenhammar, who moved to California from Sweden 15 years ago, talked of a romance that had gone sour. [22] Many of these individuals chose to stay on to become Bible students and lay ministers. Knoxville: University of Tennessee Press, 2018. In the midst of his supposed third marriage, a 1986 Arkansas Gazette report concluded that Gyllenhammar had actually been Alamos sixth wife, as he had apparently been married four times prior to Susan. 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. Her mother, Debbie Ondrisek, is still in the group and feels privileged that her daughter is married to the World Pastor. I didnt respect anything she ever did in her life but shes still my mother and I loved her completely. Gyllenhammar is seeking a five-figure monthly alimony as part of her settlement. Alamos Pentecostal theology includeed a virulent paranoia and extreme anti-Catholicism that placed the Vatican as the real power broker behind the White House, the United Nations, and the media. This project is funded in part by a National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Sustaining the Humanities through the American Rescue Plan grant award. Lydia and Tabor are no longer in associated with the group or Tony Alamo. She believed a miracle would save her. In November of that year, the judge sentenced him to 175 years in prison. Both members of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, they were forced to follow countless rules and required permission to go outside. She married Tony, who at the time was a fugitive, in hiding from charges of felony child abuse in California. Mr. Alamo presently has the ability to have the body produced.. Some days are easier than others.. With the assistance of some church members, the Alamos produced records and tapes. U.S. District Judge Morris Arnold, finding that they had indeed been abused, later awarded damages to the boys in question. 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I made sure he was properly dressed. 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 . In 1975, the Alamos purchased land in Dyer, near Alma, and there established the main branch of the Music Square Church, which later was called the Holy Alamo Christian Church Consecrated before its present name was adopted. History: Just 13 years old when she went to Tony Alamos house and became a wife. [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. Tony Alamo talks to reporters as he is escorted to a waiting police car outside the federal courthouse in Texarkana, Ark. Many Hollywood celebrities were seen wearing them, including Michael Jackson, who wore a modified leather Alamo jacket on the cover of his album Bad. They made the trip to Las Vegas in 1966 to tie the knot, each leaving their respective spouses. "[16] MSC sued and lost in the United States Court of Federal Claims. Years earlier, sheriffs deputies showed up at Alamos Saugus, California compound. He accused me of having an ungodly statue of a man and a woman. Gordon, Ronald J. Hughes, Dave. Divorce wasnt quite as scandalous in Hollywood, where Tony met Susan met in the mid-1960s. In 1976, the U.S. Department of Labor brought charges against Alamo for violations of the Fair Labor Standard Act. Arkansas authorities report that Alamo (born Bernie Lazar Hoffman) died while in custody at the Federal Medical Center in. 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. They also ran a nationwide network of lucrative, church-owned businesses, authorities said, including a distributor of designer denim and leather jackets, studded with rhinestones, that sold for $1,000 or more. Moseley testified during the missing-body case that Alamo had phoned him after the corpses disappearance and acknowledged ordering its removal. He was heard on over a dozen radio stations in the U.S. and more in Africa, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines. By now, he was a millionaire with a large staff of workers. 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. In February 2014, a Miller County judgein the largest personal-injury judgment in Arkansas historyawarded $525 million in actual and punitive damages to seven former members of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries. But she died a hard death and what she did is between her and God, and what hes done is so apart from anything human, anything decent. Pre-European Exploration, Prehistory through 1540, European Exploration and Settlement, 1541 through 1802, Louisiana Purchase through Early Statehood, 1803 through 1860, Civil War through Reconstruction, 1861 through 1874, Post-Reconstruction through the Gilded Age, 1875 through 1900, Early Twentieth Century, 1901 through 1940, World War II through the Faubus Era, 1941 through 1967, Divergent Prosperity and the Arc of Reform, 19682022, https://www.villagevoice.com/2008/05/13/the-barely-legal-empire-of-tony-alamo/, Divergent Prosperity and the Arc of Reform (19682022). Original Design by Gurpartap Singh, Eye Witness & First Hand Accounts of Abuse. I mean, you cant put a good face on that, she continued. Creating an account gives you access to all these features. In this paragraph, we have covered all details of his relationship and wife in this article. Every day is a milestone, Amy says. Tony Alamo died in prison on Tuesday night. Twice married and with a daughter, she came to Hollywood and attempted to become an actress. One of the ex-communicated fathers also claimed Alamo had embezzled up to $100,000 in church funds from their trucking company. At one time, Alamo owned as many as twenty-nine businesses in nearby Alma, including Alamo Western Wear, as well as Alamo Restaurant and Alamo Discount Grocery. Additional support provided by the Arkansas General Assembly. July 11, 1993. Susan died in the early Spring of 1982. The other children (Tabor and Antoinette) were conceived during Alamo and Kroopfs marriage and the biological mothers (Lydia Willis and Elizabeth Mercado) are in the group and currently living with (or near) Alamo. Tony Alamo predicted that his wife would be resurrected. Both women still suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder, where seemingly normal activities can sometimes trigger panic attacks and feelings of fear and loneliness. Their ministry was part of the Jesus People movement, in which many of those involved in the counterculture of the 1960s began proclaiming a spiritual transformation and an allegiance to Jesus. Some were forced to become his wives throughout the 1990s. The U.S. State Department isnt sure either if Alamo and Amrhein are married. ET) on Investigation Discovery. He and his wife legally changed their names to Tony and Susan Alamo after they married in Las Vegas in 1966. In addition, the judgment against Alamo showed him owing another $5 million to former church members for unpaid work. He was 82 years old. Sadly, there are many more under age children that were forced by Alamo to be another one of his wives. Widely regarded as a cult, Tony Alamo Christian Ministries was at the center of a number of lawsuits and government actions, and its leader was jailed on a variety of charges, including income tax evasion, the theft of his late wifes body, and taking underage girls across state lines for sex. Both Tony and Susan were impressive on the stage: he with eye-catching outfits and musical ability, she with fiery sermons and deep faith. Says Randall Harris, a retired FBI agent who investigated the case: The world revolved around Tony Alamo.. They also had a knack for finding young people who needed help. "They did not leave a paper trail," said Tampa police Detective Grady Snyder. [11], Seventeen days before her 57th birthday, Susan Alamo died of breast cancer on 8 April 1982 in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at the City of Faith hospital. Nailing Tony Alamo. This Rock 1 (October 1990). Gyllenhammar and Alamo were married in June 1984 in Los Angeles by Rev. Theyd been tipped off by three former members, all men whose sons had been taken to California after their ex-wives married other Alamo Church members. By the time the church was at its height in 1980, they had their own television ministry and were bringing in tens of thousands of dollars each week. He left me with all the bills, she said. Then in 1991, as federal authorities moved to seize the churchs myriad assets, the mausoleum in Dyer was broken into and Susan Alamos body disappeared. Also he owned the Little Mark, Alamo, and Talamo Records record labels. Alamo Mansion in Disrepair, Entered Now on a Dare. Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, April 9, 2017, pp, 1A, 9A. After years of legal troubles during which he was accused of engaging in abusive behavior against his followers,[3] Alamo was convicted of ten child rape offenses in 2009. Theyre messed up children, Amrhein said. After he hooked up with Susan, his ambition, combined with her knowledge of Pentecostal life, along with the burgeoning pro-Jesus counterculture movement of the mid-1960s, resulted runaway success. Additional support provided by the Arkansas Community Foundation. In September 1994, the Federal District Court for the Western District of Tennessee sentenced Alamo to six years in federal prison in Texarkana, Texas. Probably the strangest incident surrounding Tony Alamo Christian Ministries had to do with the body of Susan Alamo, who died of cancer on April 8, 1982. All Rights Reserved. Pebbles Rodriguez claims Alamo married her in 1999 when she was 12. It would be three more years before Alamo followers would finally deliver Susan Alamos remains to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for proper burial under Coies supervision. [17][18][19][1][2], In June 2013, the federal government filed forfeiture and collection actions in federal court on 27 properties which were owned by members of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries, in an attempt to collect $2.5 million in restitution that Alamo was ordered to pay to his victims. Alamo quickly declared bankruptcy, and his related businesses collapsed. Sharon Ast-Kroopf-Hoffman Legal wife of Tony Alamo. Davis, Andy. Dear Abby advises a woman whose boyfriend is using her. Bernard was born in 1934 and took a bus to Hollywood before graduating high school. Online at https://www.villagevoice.com/2008/05/13/the-barely-legal-empire-of-tony-alamo/ (accessed February 23, 2023). That was part of our custody agreement. Tony Alamo was born Bernie Lazar Hoffman on Sept. 20, 1934, to a Jewish family in Joplin, Missouri. He was born Bernie Lazar Hoffman on September 20, 1934, in Joplin, Missouri. Lydia was in her early 30s. All Rights Reserved. [11], In 2016, award-winning playwright Ernest Kearney produced his one-man show My Alamo War for the Hollywood Fringe Festival in Los Angeles, California. Im not worried. The Barely Legal Empire of Tony Alamo. Village Voice, May 13, 2008. Again, followers worked in these businesses for practically nothing. On the cover of his album Bad, Michael Jackson is wearing an Alamo-painted jacket. 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. When it became clear she wouldnt survive, she told church members she believed she would rise from the dead. Through this church, the Alamos perpetuated some of their many. Offers may be subject to change without notice. When he announced to his followers they would all need to leave the compound in 1991, certain the feds were about to raid the place, Tony took Susans body along. He was walking down the hallway in his black regalia and five-inch elevator shoes, Amrhein recalls. He became unhinged and, convinced he could raise her from the dead, kept her embalmed body on display for six months with members of his church praying around it. But look who he married? Were free! Amrhein is involved in a custody fight over her two children from a previous marriage but her marriage to the Alama-based minister is being called into question because Alamos second wife, Birgitta Gyllenhammar, 43, says she is still waiting for him to sign the divorce papers. 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 . Tony renamed the business and ran the organization as a benevolent and energetic father figure. They legally changed their names to Tony and Susan Alamo. Her. McNeil, Betsy. The girls grew up in Fouke, Arkansas, where they lived on a compound. Sign up to receive breakingFront Page Detectivesnews and exclusive investigations. 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. If an internal link led you here, you may wish to change the link to point directly to the intended article. Factories are calling me and asking me why he doesnt pay his bills. The two immediately clicked, having much in common from midwestern, Jewish roots to a talent for showmanship and within months, Susan converted Bernie/Mark to hard-core Protestantism. She left Alamo Ministries and separated from him in the summer . Alamo, whose real name is Bernie Lazar . Soon, the organization established yet another compound in Nashville, Tennessee. Tony also faced charges relating to his late wifes body. 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