In the late 1960’s, Hollywood Boulevard was filled with people carrying flyers that said “Repent or Perish.” These people were members of The Alamo Christian Foundation, a ministry led by husband and wife, Tony and Susan Alamo. The two called themselves prophets and said that God spoke directly to them. What started as a chance meeting in a bar led to the formation of one of the most notorious cults in America. To many onlookers, the “foundation” just appeared to be a strange type of ministry. Little did they know that behind closed doors and away from the cameras, there was rampant physical assaults, child abuse, sexual abuse, and child pornography. The man who stood at the head of the foundation and referred to himself as the “teflon pastor” soon dug his own grave and unraveled in front of America, with no one to blame but himself.
The Era of Tony Alamo
Life with Susan and Tony was bad, but once Susan died, Tony became a true monster. The spankings increased in severity and frequency. Tony had a paddle that he used to beat the children. It was a long wooden paddle with a handle and holes drilled into it. It was referred to as “the board of education.” Grown men would hold and lift the child into the air while another man held the board like a baseball bat. Tony, who would often be on speaker phone in the room, but not in the actual room, would instruct them to “chop wood” and they’d swing the paddle with all of their might.
By this time, Tony had created another source of income. He was advertising and selling handmade jean jackets. These jackets were created by hand, airbrushed and bejeweled. Obviously, none of this work was done by Tony. The followers worked on them and then Tony decided to have the children do the work. They had smaller hands and were able to apply the jewels and rhinestones more precisely. This essentially created a sweatshop. After the evening prayer meeting, the children were bussed to a location to work on jackets until late into the night. The jackets became extremely popular, even with celebrities. He sold them in mainstream stores and photos were published in magazines of celebrities sporting their Tony Alamo Design. Dolly Parton, Mike Tyson, Brooke Shields, Sonny of Sonny and Cher, and Mr. T. This kind of celebrity support of his designs validated his foundation to the public and gave him more avenues to continue making money. The children were never paid for their work.
In 1985, Tony lost the labor suit that was filed against him and was forced to pay wages to his followers. Four months later, the IRS revoked the foundation’s tax exempt status, leaving him owing approximately 7.9 million dollars. He told Birgitta that nothing was in his name, that it was all part of the foundation, and that if she ever left him, she’d get nothing and God would kill her. He tried to strangle her multiple times. Finally, after two years of marriage, Birgitta filed for divorce from Tony. Birgitta said that Tony was crazy and had her followed for years after.
Polygamy
Tony began to preach the Old Testament to his followers, saying that the Bible told him that he could have several wives, that God would send them to him. He was all mighty to his followers and he knew it. He said that he could slit someone’s throat in front of the church, let them bleed out, and everyone would think it was okay because he was the prophet.
Tony wanted to expand the church to Miami. Carey believed this was because of the influence from a new television show: Miami Vice. They rented a building in Miami and began working to recruit more followers. A young boy, Justin Miller noticed the group and began following Carey around while he was there. Justin mostly spent his time alone, as his single mother was addicted to drugs. Justin craved the adult influence that Carey gave him. He called him Uncle Carey. With the mother’s permission, they brought Justin with them to Arkansas for a few weeks. Soon after, they found out that Justin’s mother had died. Carey and his wife Carol adopted Justin. Justin was something strange to the kids at the foundation. He came from the outside world and brought a different perspective to the kids. They quickly grew close to him because he was always happy and was a fun kid to be around.
People Are Like Nahhh
In 1987, Carey and his brother Bob started a truck company that quickly became very lucrative. Unfortunately, they were pretty much forced to cash their checks and hand the money over to Tony. Carey was on the road a lot, which left Justin home alone with Carol. Since Carey hadn’t had children before he adopted Justin, he was in the dark about the abuse that went on. When he returned from a trucking trip, he walked into a room and saw a child being paddled. He immediately told Carol that they had to leave. She cried, screaming that she didn’t want to burn in hell. Bob agreed with Carey and wanted to leave, but neither could convince their wives to join them. One night, Carey and Bob snuck off the ridge and into the woods. People began running after them and they heard multiple gunshots in their direction. They had no doubt that the men would’ve shot and killed both of them without hesitation. Tony always told followers that if they ever left, their families and loved ones would be the ones to suffer.
In 1988, Carey and Bob snuck back onto the ridge in the middle of the night in hopes of getting their children. Carey woke Carol up and she screamed at the top of her lungs for the guards. Without seeing Justin, Carey fled once again. In an attempt to continue punishing Carey, Tony relocated Carol and Justin to the Saugus, California compound. Once they arrived there, Tony began to make accusations that Justin had the devil in him because he still loved his father. On speaker phone, from an adjacent building, Tony ordered a public beating of Justin. He was just 11-years-old. Several men took turns holding Justin in place and beating him with a paddle. There was blood everywhere. He had to receive 150 hits. Carol and the other mothers watched to ensure that the punishment was carried out. Justin couldn’t understand why his mother wasn’t protecting him. For days after, he laid on his stomach on the floor, fading in and out of consciousness.
After three months of searching, Carey and Bob found that their children were at the Saugus compound. This meant that the foundation and the children’s mother were guilty of kidnapping and bringing the children over state lines. In March of 1988, they got a court order for custody for their children. Police went into the compound to retrieve them. The followers hid Justin, but one finally pulled him out from under a bed. They told him that his father was there and he’d be safe now. During the raid, Tony was in New York City promoting his jackets. Justin told the police about the beating he’d received. Police gathered the rest of the children to check them for abuse. In October of ‘88, Tony was charged with child abuse for the beating of Justin Miller. Tony, of course, didn’t turn himself in. The media quickly became involved, interviewing Justin and Carey, and getting the story about what the foundation was truly like behind closed doors. Carey and Bob brought a civil suit against Tony in Arkansas. Tony ran. Despite being in hiding, he continued to run his church by speakerphone.
Tony would record 2-3 hour tapes of himself giving sermons. He continued to give more frequent instructions to followers to move people, separate them from their families, beat other followers, and to punish people for no reason at all. His sermons grew increasingly more rageful and aggressive. He repeatedly told his followers that the police and government would kill them if they could. He constantly threatened to exile people from the church, which was a horrifying prospect for followers, because they believed that if Tony exiled them, they’d burn in hell.
Finally in 1989, Sue had enough. Her son was accused of throwing a grapefruit from a bus window, hitting and shattering a car window. They told her that they could either leave the church or her son would be publicly beaten. They decided to leave.
Still Being a Little Bitch
In 1990, Tony had been in hiding for two years. Carey and Bob’s civil suit went to court and Tony didn’t show. He was now a federal fugitive and found liable for defrauding, emotionally tormenting, and physically abusing the Miller families. They were awarded $1.8 million in damages. Law enforcement went to the Georgia Ridge compound in order to seize property to pay what was owed to the Millers. A message had gotten out to the followers that the FBI was raiding the ridge. They were told they’d be killed if they stayed. In the early morning, after getting a court order to seize property, the US Marshals breached the compound. Followers were running in all directions to get away from law enforcement. After searching the buildings, law enforcement noted that Susan’s mausoleum was empty. Tony had ordered two construction men to break the mausoleum open, take her coffin, and drive it off the property. Chris, Susan’s daughter, heard that Tony had stolen her mother’s body. Despite what Susan had put Chris through, she said that it was still her mother, and she sued Tony for return of her mother’s remains. The Marshalls ended up having most of his belongings, including his store, compound, and his jackets auctioned off. In the end, Carey said that they saw about $7,000 from the $1.8 million settlement.
A week after the raid, Tony called a local journalist. He told him how angry he was with the judge who had ordered seizure of his property. He told the journalist that the judge was going to be tried in God’s court, found guilty, and be publicly hanged. DON’T THREATEN A FEDERAL JUDGE DING DONG. The journalist was quick to publish a newspaper article about Tony threatening the judge. With this, Tony became a priority fugitive and a nationwide manhunt was begun. In 1991, law enforcement and FBI launched a national media campaign to assist with the manhunt. Tony then called back the same journalist and told him that he had Susan’s body and he was keeping it, that the casket and the body belonged to him.
Despite the nationwide fucking manhunt going on in search of Tony, he was still leading his church and staying in touch with followers. Inside of the Georgia Ridge compound, investigators found detailed lists of all of the foundation’s followers, including names, phone numbers, dates of birth, social security numbers, and license plate numbers. With this information, the FBI was able to track Tony’s phone to a house in Tampa. A newspaper was dropped off at the front porch of the home and a man walked out of the home to collect it. He looked just like Tony. They breached the door after there was no response to knocking. Tony was sitting at the kitchen table eating breakfast, with a large amount of cash on the table. He asked the team how they found him and an officer told him that it was divine intervention, that the lord had led them to him. When they led him out in handcuffs, he was wearing a tie dyed shirt with aviator sunglasses that he always seemed to have on. (i.e. he looked like a real fucking loser)
Susan’s body was not at the home and Tony said he had no knowledge of its whereabouts. He said that the charges were false and he was framed. Tony was brought back to Arkansas where he stood trial in front a jury for the child abuse charge and threatening a federal judge. HE WAS FOUND NOT GUILTY. Some of the jurors said that they were hesitant to encroach on his freedom of religion. He called himself the teflon pastor. There were more charges pending against him, but he was released on a 200K bond, since he was clearly not a flight risk.
Tony wasted no time and ordered his close group of followers to regroup in Fort Smith, Arkansas. He had them buy a building and open up a new church.
Investigatros hadn’t forgotten about Tony. He still had charges pending against him, but they wanted to prioritize their strongest case, with the best chance of putting him in jail. They wouldn’’t be able to get too much out of the child abuse accusation since Tony was not technically in the room. The only way to put him in prison for a significant amount of time was through the IRS. In the summer of 1993, Tony went on trial in Memphis for tax evasion and fraud. At the time, he was still free on bond. During the trial, Tony invited several followers to dinner in Memphis. At dinner, Tony was surrounded by several 15-16 year old girls. He said “come here my wives,” to the girls and put his arms around them, kissing them.
On June 8, 1994, Tony was found guilty on all of the tax charges and sentenced to six years in federal prison. Tony was housed at the Texarkana Federal Prison. He continued to lead the church from prison. Ironically, him being imprisoned didn’t diminish his power. It made him stronger. Everything that he’d told his followers was going to happen seemed to actually be happening. It reinforced to them that he was right and was being persecuted for being a prophet. The followers continued to work and make income, donating everything to the ministry. Tony ordered them to purchase a property in Fouke, Arkansas. It was a small community and close to where Tony would be released. It would be easy to gain influence and go undetected. He said that anyone who had children had to move to Arkansas. He continued to record sermons and send them to the followers.
There were multiple young girls who worked in Tony’s office/house, who were believed to be his wives. The mothers were super excited when their daughters were brought to live in Tony’s house and be a wife. It was an honor. His wives would visit him in prison and bring photos of other children so he could pick his new wives. He gave the current wives instructions to find out if the new wives were virgins or not. He said that the girls in his church would come tell him when they reached puberty and asked if they could now be his wife.
In 1998, the authorities prepared to release Tony, but Susan’s body had to be returned first. The judge told him that if he didn’t return the body, he would be re-arrested and sit in jail until it showed up. Shortly after, Susan’s body was anonymously delivered to a funeral home.
The Heebie Jeebies
Unfortunately, Tony was from prison. He became more secretive and began to focus on what he could control inside of the walls of the compound. He knew that no one could say no to Tony, the prophet of God.
Tony took his wives into his room and put a ring on their finger and told them they were married. He then told them they had to consummate the marriage, before raping them. The youngest child that Tony took as a wife was EIGHT-YEARS-OLD. He had a total of 24 wives, with at least nine of them being underage. People who had been exiled or left the church began to take to the internet to tell their stories about the foundation and what was happening, particularly the abuse and polygamy. The FBI read about the allegations of child abuse and knew that this was something they could get Tony on. But first, they needed one of his “wives” as a witness.
Shortly after being released from jail, Tony had a security system installed with closed circuit televisions in his house. There was no way to go undetected in the compound. His “wives” were rarely let out of the house. They were schooled, slept, and ate inside of Tony’s house. Despite the increasing sexual, physical, and mental abuse, the majority of the foundation’s followers still put their utmost faith in Tony being God’s prophet.
On June 9, 2006, a teenager named Amy escaped the foundation. She was one of Tony’s “wives” and couldn’t stand the abuse anymore. She said that he would beat them for minor mistakes, like running late to breakfast or listening to music he didn’t like. He would rape Amy and tell her that it was between him, her, and God. Though she was able to escape successfully and reunite with her father, she still feared that God was going to kill her. Another “wife,” 15-year-old Desiree found and contacted her aunt who agreed to pick her up at a designated spot outside of the compound. On November 3, 2006 at 11:30PM, Desiree ran through the woods of the compound, dodging guards and cameras and successfully made it to her aunt. The girls had been brainwashed into believing that if they left Tony’s house and the church, they were going to hell. Some of them made the choice that going to hell was better than living the way they were.
Ex-members were quick to tell the authorities that several of Tony’s former “wives” had escaped the compound. Unfortunately, as the police went to these women, hoping they’d tell their story and testify against Tony, they found that just because they left the foundation didn’t mean that they didn’t still believe Tony was the prophet. Amy refused to testify, but Desiree agreed. She still had a little sister living in the compound and wanted to keep her safe. She gave the investigators names and ages of the other wives, and mentioned that Tony would often take Polaroid photos of the girls while they were nude. He would use a machine to magnify the photos because he had glaucoma. This changed the game: child porn comes within federal jurisdiction.
The FBI found out about one of Tony’s “wives” named Summer. Summer was 11-years-old when Tony took her on a bus trip from Fouke, Arkansas to LA. He sexually assaulted her in the back of the bus. This confirmed that Tony had transported a minor across state lines for illegal purposes. This gave them what they needed to execute a search warrant on the residence in Fouke. When they breached the premises on September 20, 2008, they found at least six underage girls living in Tony’s house, including a 7-year-old and an 11-year-old. The girls were frightened because Tony had convinced them that police were intent on murdering them. He had shown the church videos and documentaries of Waco, saying that the people in Waco had done nothing wrong, and that the police will do that to them. They cleared the rest of the house, but Tony was nowhere to be found. Their main priority was to locate the nude Polaroids that Desiree had told them about, but they were unable to find them. They did however find 2 Polaroid cameras and film. Tony had heard rumors about a possible raid to his home in Fouke and ran. He instructed his wives destroy any evidence, including the Polaroids. Along with the cameras, they found Viagra, ovulation tests, and multiple sets of wedding rings.
Over the next several weeks, investigators used the evidence they’d collected to seek custody of the children that were within the church. The children were taken and put with Child Protective Services and eventually being placed into foster care. Police told parents that if they agreed to raise their children outside of the foundation, their children would be returned to them. Some parents agreed. Some did not. This showed investigators how truly strong the hold was that Tony had on his followers. News outlets began to explode with the new information about the allegations of child abuse inside of the foundation.
WHERE THE FUCK IS HE?
Tony had a “secret” cell phone number that he believed no one knew about. He used this to stay in touch with his followers. What he didn’t know is that the FBI knew about the phone and had put a trace on the number. They were able to find Tony at a hotel in Flagstaff, Arizona. By law, he had to be indicted within 30 days of being arrested, or he’d be released. They weren’t able to charge him with child abuse since they were still unable to locate any of the photos. They felt their best bet was to charge him with transporting Summer across states for illegal purposes.
A total of five “brides” were willing to testify and Tony was indicted on 10 counts of interstate transportation of a minor for sex. He was moved to Arkansas to await trial. By the time they went to trial, the prosecution had 25-30 witnesses to testify against Tony. These witnesses had been “wives,” former members who had witnessed the abuse, and even endured abuse.
In July of 2009, the trial began at the Texarkana Federal Courthouse. Witnesses were terrified that he’d be found innocent AGAIN. FORTUNATELY, Tony was found guilty on all ten counts. The judge sentenced him to 175 years in federal prison, which was the max sentence he could receive. Over four decades, Tony had been named in 18 lawsuits. In 2012, during his testimony in a child abuse suit, he said to the court, “I’m a dangerous dude, man.” He told them that if he got out of prison, he’d do the same thing again.
In 2017, at 82-years-old, Tony Alamo died at the Federal Medical Center in Butner, North Carolina. His cause of death was not released. The Tony Alamo Christian Ministry still exists and has a website with recordings of Tony’s sermons and his and Susan’s stories of becoming prophets of God. They still hold meetings and continue to recruit nationwide. As far as I’ve been able to research, there haven’t been any more allegations of abuse.
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