$66 million judgment headed for appeals court
Oral arguments expected this summer

A jury verdict and $66 million civil judgment against imprisoned evangelist Tony Alamo will be considered by a federal appeals court in the coming months.

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals has slated the case for oral arguments that are likely to occur some time this summer. Alamo’s lawyer, John Wesley Hall of Little Rock, and Texarkana defense attorney David Carter, who represents Spencer Ondrisek and Seth Calagna, recently provided availability dates to the higher court at its request.

Last year, a jury in the Texarkana division of the Western District of Arkansas awarded Ondrisek and Calagna $33 million each as recompense for suffering they endured as children raised in the controversial group.

U.S. District Judge Harry Barnes denied a motion for a new trial Hall filed and a request to reduce the large award.

During the trial, Carter asked the jury to assess a damages award that would make Alamo’s “eyes roll back in his head.”

The judgment is the largest in Arkansas history.

Alamo, 76, was convicted in July 2009 of all 10 counts listed in a federal indictment accusing him of bringing five women he’d wed as children across state lines for sex. Later the same year, Barnes sentenced Alamo, whose given name is Bernie LaZar Hoffman, to the maximum prison term of 175 years.

Alamo took his criminal case to an appellate court and was denied relief. The U.S. Supreme Court declined to even consider it. Alamo is serving his time at a federal lockup in Illinois.

While Alamo’s fate in the criminal justice system appears sealed, his lips are not. The ministry’s Website continues to publish new writings from Alamo that espouse the government is controlled by the Vatican, polygamy is condoned by God, girls should wed at puberty and Alamo is a victim of religious persecution.

Seven women, six of whom were wives of Alamo, have filed a civil suit for damages, with Carter’s help, claiming they are victims of Alamo’s ministry.

The suit names the ministry, ministry-run businesses, several high-ranking members and the owner of a security company that once provided armed guards to patrol the perimeter of the ministry’s Fouke, Ark., compound as defendants. Some of the defendants have filed counter suits that name the plaintiffs’ parents and Alamo as defendants.

The complicated case was set Friday for an April 15, 2013, jury trial by U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey.

May 5-6, 2012

Fort Myers, Florida

In order to give more people an opportunity to have face-to-face educational experiences, ICSA is now organizing special events in various cities. Events have been held in London, New York, and Philadelphia. This is the first special event to be held in Florida. The event is designed so that each of the two days can stand alone, giving attendees the option of attending either or both days. Both days will include considerable opportunity for discussion.

Questions to Explore

Attendees and facilitators will explore questions that are often central to the concerns of former members of cultic groups and families/friends troubled about a loved one’s group involvement:

How are cultic groups different from and similar to other kinds of groups?
Why do people join (or are recruited or brought into) and remain in cultic groups?
Why do people leave?
Can departures be facilitated?
What problems do people have when they leave?
How can they manage these problems?

Program

Both days will begin at 10:00 a.m. and end at 5 p.m., with a 90-minute lunch break. We hope that attendees will chat informally during breaks, in the evening, and after the event.
Saturday will consist of directed discussions aimed at encouraging participants to describe their relevant experiences and explore their current opinions regarding the key questions listed above. (Participants may choose not to contribute to discussions, if they wish.)
On Sunday, each facilitator will give a brief presentation on one or more of the questions, taking into account the discussions of day one. There will be additional opportunities for discussion after each presentation and a wrap-up discussion at the end of day two.

In short, the event will focus on attendees’ experiences and views, not presenters’ prepared talks, so as to help attendees better understand these important questions and enhance their capacity to express themselves and help others as well as themselves.

Parents respond to lawsuit
Mothers, fathers say they shouldn’t be included with Alamo Ministries defendants against action filed by former wives of jailed leader

Several Tony Alamo Christian Ministries members named as defendants in a civil lawsuit seeking damages for former Alamo wives filed responses last week.

Texarkana attorney David Carter filed the suit in August 2010 on behalf of former Alamo wives Desiree Kolbek, Summer Hagan, Jeanne Orlando, Jamie Rodriguez and Amy Eddy.

Also named as plaintiff is Nikki Farr, a former member who escaped from Alamo’s house when she was a teen.

Pebbles Rodriguez, a former Alamo wife who left the ministry in the months after Alamo was sentenced to 175 years in federal prison, was added as a plaintiff after the suit was first filed in August 2010.

The defendants include ministry-run businesses, several high-ranking ministry members and Robert Gilmore, the owner of a security company that once provided guards to the ministry.

Some of the defendants have filed suit to include the parents of the plaintiffs as third-party defendants, claiming that if the case goes their way, the parents should bear some of the blame for the physical, sexual and spiritual abuses suffered by the plaintiffs as children in Alamo Ministries.

Last week, Desiree Kolbek’s mother, Jennifer Kolbek; Summer Hagan’s father, Dennis Hagan; and Eddy’s mother, Sue Davis, filed brief responses denying any wrongdoing.

Dennis Hagan’s response consists of a Feb. 2 letter from a California doctor with a handwritten note by Dennis Hagan at the bottom of the page. The doctor’s letter states Hagan has suffered a stroke and is not capable of traveling or answering questions for a deposition.

Hagan’s handwritten remarks call the allegations against him false.

“I’m just a dropout carpenter, and I had a hard time understanding this kind of stuff even before I had a stroke. The bottom line is these allegations are preposterous,” Hagan wrote.

Jennifer Kolbek’s response is the lengthiest, though only a single page. She denies any wrongdoing and describes her daughter in unflattering terms, stating that Desiree’s testimony at Alamo’s trial resulted from coercion by the FBI.

“They are made-up stories,” Jennifer Kolbek’s response states.

Sue Davis’ response consists of a single, handwritten paragraph denying wrongdoing.

The suit was scheduled for trial in May. However, delays in the taking of depositions of witnesses and the complex nature of the litigation led the parties to recently file a joint motion asking U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey for more time.

Mentioned in the motion is Alamo’s recent illness and hospitalization while in prison in Terre Haute, Ind.,

Alamo, 77, was found guilty in July 2009 of all 10 counts in a federal indictment accusing him of bringing five child brides across state lines for sex.

Alamo, whose given name is Bernie Lazar Hoffman, was sentenced to the maximum punishment later that year.

Last year, Carter successfully argued for and won a $66 million judgment on behalf of two men who suffered abuses as children in the ministry.

The award is the largest personal injury judgment in Arkansas history and among the largest awarded in the United States last year.

When: Friday 3:00 p.m., July 27 to Sunday 3:00 p.m., July 29, 2012

Where: Franciscan Retreat/Conference Center, Colorado Springs, Colorado

These workshops are for former group members only, not family or friends (ICSA has other workshops for these persons.)

Topics discussed typically include:

· The nature of psychological manipulation and abuse

· Conditions of thought reform programs

· General recovery needs of former members

· Coping with depression and guilt

· Effects of hypnosis and trance techniques

· Critical thinking

· Relationships and intimacy

· Post-traumatic stress disorder

· Boundaries: re-establishing trust

· Coping with feelings of anger

· Coping with anxiety

· Decision-making

· Reestablishing trust in yourself and others

· Dependency issues

· The grieving process

· Reintegration/identity issues

· Spiritual and philosophical concerns

· Special track for those born into or raised in a cultic group

Click on the links below for further information:

FACILITATORS

FAX/MAIL FORM

TRANSPORTATION

The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) will be conducting its 2012 Annual International Conference jointly with Info-Cult/Info-Secte and in collaboration with the Université de Montréal, The International Centre for Comparative Criminology (ICCC) of the Université de Montréal, and l’Association québécoise Plaidoyer-Victimes. The conference will be held at The Holiday Inn Select Montreal Centre Ville Downtown.

The hotel is right next to Chinatown and one block from historic Old Montreal’s attractions and shops and minutes’ walk away from the renowned Montreal International Jazz Festival which takes place from June 28 – July 7, 2012.

Hotel rooms in Montreal are in great demand during the summer period. Therefore, we suggest you reserve your rooms as soon as possible!

Note: In addition, the International Centre for Comparative Criminology (ICCC) at the Université de Montréal will organize a scientific conference entitled, “Manipulation and Victimization in a Religious Context: Understandings and Controversies.” This conference will run parallel to ICSA’s annual conference. Both conferences will be open to registrants of either conference.

When: Friday 3:00 p.m. March 30, 2012 to Sunday 2:00 p.m. April 1, 2012

Where: Workshop Location: Trinity Conference Center, 79 Lower River Road, West Cornwall, CT 06796 (860-672-1000).

The conference center is located on a bend in the Housatonic River, just a half-mile from the covered bridge in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains, on 500 forested acres. The Center is two hours from New York, an hour-and-a-half from Albany, three hours from Boston, and an hour from Hartford and Bradley International Airport (BDL).

Info: The International Cultic Studies Association (ICSA) has run workshops for former members of high-demand, “cultic” groups for many years. In recent years increasing numbers of people born or raised in such groups (i.e., “second generation adults” – SGAs) have attended these workshops. These ex-members have special needs, which can be most effectively addressed through a workshop that focuses on them. SGAs do not have a “pre-cult identity” to which they can return. SGAs raised in fringe subcultures have to learn the implicit rules and expectations of mainstream culture. SGAs frequently have educational and other skill deficits that interfere with adjustment to mainstream culture. Having grown up in high-control groups that are often based on irrational belief systems, SGAs tend to struggle with issues of dependency, self-esteem, and social conflict. Because many SGAs were physically or sexually abused, they often have to deal with anger, resentment, and other emotions related to trauma.

This workshop will address the needs of SGAs through a series of brief didactic presentations (supplemented by written handouts) followed by discussions, to which attendees may contribute according to their comfort levels. Specifically, the workshop will address:

Critical Thinking

Socialization, culture shock, and acculturation

Psychological development, child abuse and neglect, parenting styles, boundaries, and trust

Long-term psychological, educational, and emotional effects of growing up in a culture of abuse and neglect

Relationships with families and others

Click on the links below for information on the ICSA website:

FINANACIAL AID

AGENDA

FACILITATORS

FEES

REGISTRATION
FAX/MAIL FORM

ONLINE

Judge denies venue change for defendants in Alamo case

A federal judge has denied a request by several defendants to move a civil lawsuit seeking damages for former wives of Tony Alamo.

The defendants argued trying the case in Texarkana wouldn’t be fair because publicity surrounding Alamo has tainted the potential jury pool against anyone associated with the imprisoned evangelist.

But U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey ruled Tuesday the defendants’ request for a change of venue is unwarranted.

Hickey’s ruling states informative news stories featured in the Texarkana Gazette and on a local television station may have created an awareness of Alamo Ministries and the facts surrounding Alamo’s 2009 sex-crimes convictions and sentence of 175 years. But the media coverage does not mean that the high-ranking ministry members and ministry-run businesses named as defendants cannot get a fair trial in Texarkana.

“While members of the community may be aware of Tony Alamo’s legal history through the large amount of media coverage, awareness alone does not necessitate a change of venue. Movants have not alleged that the media coverage here has been particularly inflammatory or accusatory,” Hickey’s opinion states.

Nine affidavits from area residents who state they don’t believe a reasonable jury can be chosen in the Texarkana division of the Western District of Arkansas did not convince Hickey.

“The court is also not persuaded by the nine affidavits submitted … A sampling of only nine individuals is simply not definitive enough to presume prejudice throughout the entire chosen forum,” Hickey wrote.

The suit, filed in 2010 by Texarkana lawyer David Carter, seeks damages for six former Alamo wives and a woman who testified she was being groomed to be a wife when she escaped from Alamo’s house as a teen. Alamo was found guilty by a jury of bringing five women he’d wed as children across state lines for sex. “We are pleased the Court rejected the notion that this case should moved from Texarkana,” Carter said. “We are also confident that the jury selected to hear this case will be fair and base its verdict on the evidence presented in the courtroom.” Hickey’s opinion does leave the door open to moving the trial if during the jury selection process it “… becomes clear at that time that an unbiased jury cannot be seated.”

The case is currently scheduled for trial in May but the parties have filed a joint motion asking Hickey to give both sides more time to prepare. Just last week several of the plaintiffs’ parents filed answers to the complaint. An in-prison deposition of Alamo had to be delayed last year because he was hospitalized with pneumonia.

Hickey has not yet rescheduled the trial.

Judge rejects venue switch in Alamo suit

A judge has denied a request for a change of venue in a lawsuit that accuses members of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries of failing to protect young girls from sexual abuse.

Three defendants in the lawsuit filed the request for the change of venue, citing “persistent and extensive media coverage” of civil and criminal cases related to Alamo and the ministry.

In denying the request Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Susan Hickey noted that the defendants had not alleged the coverage of the cases had been “particularly inflammatory or accusatory.”

The lawsuit was filed in federal court in Texarkana in August 2010 by six women against several ministry members and ministry-affiliated businesses.

Five of the women say they were taken as Alamo’s “wives” at a young age, and one says she escaped before a “marriage” could take place. Another woman who says she is a former wife was added as a seventh plaintiff in December 2010.

Alamo, 77, was convicted in 2009 of taking five of the women across state lines for sex when they were underage and was sentenced to 175 years in prison.

Although some potential jurors may have been exposed to coverage of other cases that involved Alamo, those who harbor prejudice against him can be weeded out during jury selection, she wrote.

The request was filed by attorneys for Steve Johnson, identified in the lawsuit as a member of the church, as well as for the ministry-affiliated businesses Jeanne Estates Apartments Inc. and Advantage Food Group, both based in Fort Smith.

Dennis Chambers of Texarkana, Texas, one of the attorneys for Johnson, said the ruling can’t be appealed until the trial has concluded, and his client hasn’t decided whether to do so. The case is set for trial the week of May 21.

A federal appeals court on Wednesday upheld a judge’s order dismissing a lawsuit filed by Tony Alamo Christian Ministries over the removal of children from its compound in 2008.

The 8th U.S. Court of Appeals in St. Louis said U.S. District Judge Harry Barnes was right to dismiss the suit, which alleged violations of the ministry’s constitutional rights, because the suit would have interfered with state proceedings that at the time were still ongoing.

At least 36 children were removed from the ministry’s compound in Fouke and placed in foster care. Officials with the state Department of Human Services said the children were the victims of physical and sexual abuse, including forced marriages between underage children and adults.

Alamo was sentenced in November 2009 to 175 years in prison on charges that included taking minors across state lines for sex.

The ministry and two church members, Albert Ralph Krantz and Gregory Scott Seago, filed a lawsuit alleging that DHS officials violated their constitutional rights, including their First Amendment right to freedom of religious expression and their Fourth Amendment right to freedom from unreasonable search and seizure.

Barnes dismissed the suit in February 2010. The ministry, but not the individual plaintiffs, filed an appeal, and on Wednesday a three-judge panel of the 8th Circuit said it agreed with Barnes’ ruling.

The appeals court said the U.S. Supreme Court has established, in its 1971 ruling in Younger v. Harris, that federal courts must abstain from considering any civil claims brought by plaintiffs who are being prosecuted at the state level for matters related to their claims.

Barnes had cited Younger v. Harris only in regard to the individual plaintiffs and had dismissed the ministry’s claims because he said the ministry lacked standing. The ministry argued on appeal that it did have standing, but the 8th Circuit said Wednesday that the abstention rule set forth in Younger v. Harris was equally applicable to the ministry, so the issue of standing was irrelevant.

“Abstention applies to TACM because it alleges standing based on injuries that are either directly or indirectly derivative of those of the individual plaintiffs,” Judge Susan Nelson, a U.S. district judge from Minnesota specially appointed to hear the case along with two 8th Circuit judges, wrote in the opinion.

The appeals court also said the constitutional arguments in the federal lawsuit have been raised by members of the ministry in state court proceedings, including by Krantz and Seago, and state courts have rejected those arguments.

In April 2011, the state Supreme Court affirmed several circuit court decisions terminating various church members’ parental rights, including those of Krantz and Seago. The appeals court acknowledged Wednesday that the state proceedings apparently were concluded at that point, but it said they were still ongoing when Barnes dismissed the federal lawsuit in 2010, so the judge ruled appropriately.

The appeals court also rejected the ministry’s argument that the state seized the children as an act of harassment and intimidation. Given that the state Supreme Court upheld the children’s removal and the termination of church members’ parental rights, the argument was not plausible, the 8th Circuit said.

Joining Nelson in the opinion were 8th Circuit Judges James Loken and Steven Colloton.

Court upholds suit’s dismissal in Alamo case
8th Circuit finds for state agency

A federal appeals court Wednesday upheld the dismissal of the Tony Alamo Christian Ministries’ lawsuit against the state Department of Human Services — but for a different reason from the one the trial judge cited in dismissing the church’s claims in 2010.

The lawsuit, filed in April 2009 by the church and two members, accused the Human Services Department of a campaign of “harassment” that included the removal of 36 children from their homes in the ministry amid an investigation into allegations of physical and sexual abuse.

In a ruling Wednesday, a three-judge panel of the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the church’s claims are barred because they are connected with proceedings in state court that were pending when the suit was filed.

Susan Richard Nelson, a federal district judge in St. Paul, Minn., who served on the panel, wrote for the judges that the federal courts couldn’t interfere with state court proceedings unless it was shown that the proceedings were initiated in “bad faith.”

That hadn’t been proved by the Alamo ministry, Nelson wrote. She noted that decisions on the removal of the children and the termination of members’ parental rights had been upheld by the state Court of Appeals and state Supreme Court.

“Contrary to TACM’s argument that we must accept as true all of the allegations as pled, the numerous state appellate decisions undermine the plausibility of such allegations,” Nelson wrote.

The Human Services Department began seizing children from their homes in the ministry in Fouke and Fort Smith in 2008, saying they were endangered by practices that included allowing underage girls to marry and punishing misbehavior with beatings.

Tony Alamo, the ministry’s leader, was convicted in federal court in 2009 of taking underage girls across state lines for sex and was sentenced to 175 years in prison.

The pending state child welfare proceedings were also cited by U.S. District Judge Harry Barnes as a reason to dismiss claims in the lawsuit by the two church members, Greg Seago and Bert Krantz.

Barnes noted that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1971 that federal courts should not interfere with state court proceedings except in unusual circumstances, such as when state authorities have acted in bad faith.

As for the church itself, however, Barnes said it did not have the standing to file the suit because it did not allege an “injury to a legally protected interest.” Seago and Krantz did not appeal Barnes’ dismissal of their claims.

In the ruling Wednesday, Nelson wrote that the panel didn’t need to address the standing issue because the church’s claims, like those of the church’s members, are barred under the doctrine stemming from the 1971 Supreme Court ruling.

Although the church was not a party to the state child welfare proceedings, Nelson wrote, its claims stemmed from the complaints of members who were parties.

The other members of the panel were appeals court Judges James Loken of Minneapolis and Steven Colloton of Des Moines, Iowa.

Little Rock attorney John Wesley Hall Jr., who represented the church in the appeal, said he didn’t know Wednesday whether the church would ask for a rehearing before the full 11-member appeals court or seek a review by the U.S. Supreme Court.