Bakker Cellmate Denies Evangelist Is ‘Raving Lunatic’

Jim Bakker’s cellmate today denied tabloid reports the evangelist has turned into a raving lunatic behind bars and said he spends his days comforting the sick and dying at a federal prison hospital.

David Miskavige, in a letter to a reporter, said tabloid reports that the PTL founder is suffering hallucinations and preaches to imaginary congregations are blatant lies.

“I can state with absolute certainty the press accounts of Jim Bakker’s alleged activities are not only inaccurate but are pure fabrications,” Miskavige said. “In fact, I would go so far as to suggest the author of such stories is himself given to hallucinations.”

Bakker, 50, was found guilty last year of fraud and conspiracy stemming from the way he raised and spent money at PTL, the Ft. Mill, S.C., ministry he founded and lost over a sex scandal. He was sentenced to 45 years in prison and is being held at the Federal Medical Center in Rochester, Minn.

“He is a considerate roommate who is in full control of his faculties,” said Miskavige, whose letter did not mention what crime he committed. “All reports to the contrary are sheer fantasy.”