The Nation - News from Jan. 27, 1986

For the record:

12:00 a.m. Feb. 5, 1986 Report Erred on TV Evangelist’s Spending United Press International
Los Angeles Times Wednesday February 5, 1986 Home Edition Part 1 Page 5 Column 1 National Desk 5 inches; 155 words Type of Material: Correction; Wire
FORT MILL, S.C.--United Press International reported incorrectly last week that PTL Club television evangelist Jim Bakker used donations to foreign relief programs to buy personal luxuries, and that a PTL check was used in the purchases.
The UPI report, carried by The Times in editions of Jan. 27, was based on articles published in the Charlotte (N.C.) Observer, which obtained Federal Communications Commission reports on the agency’s investigation of the South Carolina-based TV ministry.
The FCC investigated PTL activities in the 1970s and forwarded its findings to the Justice Department, which decided not to prosecute. Bakker has contended that the Justice Department’s lack of action vindicated PTL.
UPI reported incorrectly that a $25,000 PTL check was used to buy a mink coat and a sports car. In fact, the FCC report on which the story was based quoted a PTL official as saying that a PTL check for $2,500 was used to purchase a mink coat for Bakker’s wife, Tammy.
UPI also incorrectly reported that Bakker used viewers’ donations intended for South Korean and Brazilian relief programs to buy the personal items.
Descriptors: MISAPPROPRIATION OF FUNDS