Religion Briefs : Attorney Says PTL Owes Him $500,000
Attorney Roy Grutman is seeking nearly $500,000 from the PTL ministry for his services while the Rev. Jerry Falwell was in charge. The New York attorney was one of the most prominent lawyers in the ministry’s affairs since founder Jim Bakker resigned last March.
A U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Columbia, S.C., has issued a notice of a hearing on March 2 to determine payment for legal fees and expenses for Grutman and other lawyers.
Bakker and his lawyer, Ryan Hovis of Rock Hill, S.C., have said that Grutman misrepresented himself as Bakker’s personal attorney in a March meeting in Palm Springs. After that meeting with Falwell, Bakker announced his resignation from PTL because of an extramarital sexual liaison. Grutman insisted that he told Bakker that he was representing PTL, not the Bakkers.
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