Leader of Cult Evades FBI, Keeps Selling Glitzy Jackets

FBI agents may be hot on his trail, but fundamentalist cult leader Tony Alamo is still selling $600 designer jackets that can be found in Melrose Avenue boutiques and upscale clothing stores across the country.

Alamo, 54, has evaded arrest on felony child-abuse charges since October. Authorities say he directed the beating of an 11-year-old boy struck with a 3-foot wooden paddle more than 140 times at the Saugus commune of the Holy Alamo Christian Church.

His flight from justice, however, apparently has not prevented Alamo from continuing to make a small fortune on his designer denim jackets, a business former cult members say he operates with some of his approximately 500 church followers doubling as employees.

Stays in Public Eye

To push his jackets in the competitive clothing market, Alamo appears to have maintained an increasingly public life, despite the federal manhunt. FBI agents say he has been spotted selling his jackets in Las Vegas stores. And he has even paid a quick visit to the Los Angeles City Hall to have his picture taken with Mayor Tom Bradley.

The sequined jackets--painted with air-brushed images of the New York skyline, Hollywood and Rodeo Drive--are believed by some industry watchers to be among the hottest items in the Los Angeles fashion market. Fashion industry insiders say annual sales of sequined jackets by “Tony Alamo of Nashville” total anywhere from $500,000 to $1 million.

“He makes jackets for all the stars,” said Shirley Blenner, a saleswoman at Twist, a boutique on Melrose Avenue where three Alamo jackets were on sale last week for prices ranging from $360 to $680. Blenner pointed to a display of photographs behind the cash register of Mr. T., Mike Tyson, Hulk Hogan and Dolly Parton, all wearing what appear to be Alamo-designed jackets.

Sends in Sketches

“The clothing is so groovy, everyone wants it no matter what they think I am,” Alamo said in a telephone interview from an undisclosed location. “No matter what, the superstars are going to want my jackets.”

Alamo said he designs the jackets himself, using a fax machine to send in sketches from his hide-outs. “Everything I do is a work of art,” Alamo said. “I do the designs wherever I’m at.”

The ability of Alamo to conduct business while being sought by federal authorities has angered some former church members and others who have monitored the cult group’s activities. Some are critical of the FBI for not being determined enough in its search.

FBI spokesman Jim Neilson confirmed that a search for Alamo is continuing but refused to elaborate on the investigation.

“He apparently has a whole system in place to do all the marketing,” said Rachel Andres, director of the Jewish Federation Council’s Commission on Cults and Missionaries, which monitors Alamo’s group. “He has enough people in power who will follow his orders, and he has contact with them. Even though he’s not there, he’s still clearly in charge.”

Branches in 3 States

Several members of the cult--which has branches in Saugus, Arkansas and Tennessee--have been involved in bitter child-custody disputes with former spouses who have stayed in the church. Former members of the foundation’s 150-acre Saugus commune say some church followers have been held at the compound against their will, deprived of mail and forced to hand over all their earnings to the Tony and Susan Alamo Foundation.

About 60 Los Angeles County sheriff’s deputies raided the Saugus commune in March, 1988, after allegations of child abuse surfaced. Deputies confiscated paddles and speaker phones that Alamo is said to have used to direct the punishment of the 11-year-old child, left bloodied and badly bruised by the beating. The child was being disciplined in what Alamo later insisted was “a very light spanking.”

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office later dropped child-abuse charges for lack of evidence but reinstated them in October when a former Alamo church member who saw the attack cooperated with authorities. Besides Alamo, five other commune members charged in the case remain at large.

Deputy Dist. Atty. Robert Foltz said Alamo’s decision to evade arrest may have been prompted partly by concerns that publicity from a trial would affect the marketing of his products.

“I think the real desire of the Alamo Foundation is to protect the clothing business and not some religious principle.” Foltz said.

‘Nobody Gets Paid’

Former cult members said Alamo’s clothing business operates out of small manufacturing shops in California, Arkansas and New York, with the largest shop in Alma, Ark. “Nobody gets paid,” one former member said. “It’s more or less like sweatshops.”

The foundation has a history of labor violations. The U.S. Labor Department filed a lawsuit in 1976 alleging that the foundation exploited church followers who worked from 12 to 15 hours a day, six or seven days a week at foundation-owned businesses. Several workers testified at a 1982 trial that they did not expect salaries because of their religious beliefs.

The case reached the U.S. Supreme Court, which ruled unanimously that the workers were entitled to minimum wage and overtime benefits.

One former member who left the cult last year said working conditions at Alamo clothing manufacturing shops had changed little since the ruling. The former member, who asked not to be identified, said he had seen children working in the shops with their parents. Workers were paid only a $5-per-week stipend for their work, plus room and board at an Alamo commune, he said.

“They’re a bunch of brainwashed people who think they’re working for God,” the former member said.

‘Christian Soldiers’

Although he declined to say how much money his clothing business brings in each year, Alamo said profits from the business help fund the work of his “Christian soldiers.” The small army of followers distribute leaflets in Southern California that tell Alamo’s version of the events in the Saugus child-abuse case.

The leaflets’ rambling denunciations claim that the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office, the Internal Revenue Service and the Labor Department are linked with a “terrorist plot” against the Alamo church led by Pope John Paul II.

The leaflets bear the same Saugus telephone number as the glossy brochures used by “Alamo Designs” to promote the sequined jackets.

The manager of a store in the Beverly Center said he orders jackets through the Saugus telephone number. The merchandise arrives in the mail or is delivered personally by a “very professional” Alamo salesman.

At Twist, the Melrose Avenue boutique, saleswoman Blenner said the store sells one or two of the jackets each week. Blenner said she owns an Alamo jacket herself. “Everywhere I go, people tell me how beautiful it is.”

Business May Be Hurt

Despite the continuing popularity of his jackets in some chic clothing stores, there are signs that Alamo’s run-in with the law may start to hurt his business. Andres, director of the Jewish Federation’s Commission on Cults and Missionaries, said her group is trying to persuade merchants to remove the jackets from the shelves.

“Child abuse is one of the worst crimes a person can commit,” she said. “Stocking or buying his product is helping to support him financially and allows him to continue the group.”

Amid the allegations, Alamo manages to stay in the public eye. He grants telephone interviews with the media--he can be reached by leaving a message at his Saugus commune--and usually returns the call in a few hours.

Alamo brought up his recent visit to Los Angeles City Hall in one of those interviews.

In a photo Alamo sent to The Times, Bradley is shown shaking hands with Alamo and is wearing an Alamo-designed denim jacket with red, white and blue sequined sleeves.

Mayor’s Aide Explains

Bill Chandler, the mayor’s spokesman, said Alamo came to the mayor’s office as part of a public photo session with a jacket he wanted Bradley to pose in. “I guess Alamo is known for his sequined jackets,” Chandler said, adding that the mayor knew of Alamo “simply because of the sequined jackets.”

In response to a reporter’s question, Chandler said he was unaware that Alamo was wanted by the FBI and that the mayor could not remember when the picture was taken. Alamo said it was taken “a few months ago.” It was unclear whether the mayor posed for the picture before or after Alamo had become a fugitive.

Those who have followed Alamo’s career say the impromptu visit to City Hall is not unusual. Alamo, they say, craves attention and publicity. The same desire for fame prompted him decades ago to change his name from Bernie Lazar Hoffman to embark on a short-lived career in show business.

“This is what he revels in,” said Deputy Dist. Atty. Billy Webb. “If he’s picked up somewhere, then we’ll extradite him. Until that happens, he will continue to play his game. It’s somewhat childish, but everyone has something they get their kicks from.”

Times staff writer Lynn O’Shaughnessy contributed to this story.