New PTL Chief Says He May Evict Bakkers

The new chief operating officer of the PTL empire said today he might have to evict fallen founder Jim Bakker and his wife, Tammy Faye, from some of their mansions to balance the beleaguered ministry’s books.

But while the Rev. Jerry Falwell was telling viewers on the PTL television network that PTL followers want only to see “the salvaging of God’s work,” a thousand of the faithful gathered to bewail the banishment of the Bakkers.

Harry Hargrave, PTL’s new chief operating officer, said the television ministry and its sprawling Heritage USA resort and theme park here will have to do some belt-tightening to get out of its $50-million financial hole.

‘The Books Are a Mess’

Hargrave, 38, a Dallas financial consultant, told UPI:

“The books are a mess, but that doesn’t mean we’re going down the tubes. There are a lot of assets here”--including homes maintained for the Bakkers and for Bakker’s right-hand man, Richard Dortch, who was forced to resign from the ministry at a Tuesday board meeting.

“We will look at all the property and we will unload any property we don’t need. That might be getting rid of some assets.

Bakkers’ salaries cut off. Page 4.