Ex-Cons for Christ : Born-Again Former Smuggler Reaches Out to Help

Until a federal drug trafficking sentence cut him off, William Sultzer, 57, was cruising the fast lane as a millionaire cocaine smuggler.

Four years in prison and a series of spiritual revelations later, the Garden Grove man said he became a born-again Christian. Since 1984, Sultzer has led Psalms 146:7, an interdenominational prison ministry that provides religious services, based on music and testimony, to incarcerated men and women.

In 1989, he expanded the mission and opened a halfway house for Christian men recently released from prison. Last December, he opened another house just for women in Anaheim.

“We are here for dedicated Christians coming out of prison who want to work, to be responsible for rent and to work for Jesus by helping others in the ministry,” Sultzer said.

To qualify, an ex-offender must be devoutly Christian and drug-free, help with rent payments and remain for at least six months, he said. About 25 men have lived in the house over the years.

“He has very specific house rules,” said Chaplain Richard Jordan of the California Institution for Men at Chino. “They’re strict, but they give the men the opportunity to orient themselves to society. He helps them make the transition.”

Currently six men, including Sultzer and a pastor, share the ranch-style, four-bedroom house. Rent is $280 a month for each resident, a resident said.

Two bedrooms are designed for double occupancy and two others are singles. There is a large living room with four sofas and a television for Christian broadcasts only. Meals are often eaten together in the large kitchen, which has a freezer, a refrigerator, a washer and a dryer. The same rules apply to the home for women.

Each Sunday, the group holds a celebration for newly released inmates called the “Ex-Offenders Reunion.” Volunteers typically pick up the inmates at various “work-furlough homes” where they have been spending the end of their prison sentences and take them to the service. As many as 75 people attend the weekly gatherings.

“A lot of people don’t care too much about released prisoners, but we celebrate their release,” Sultzer said.

Musicians perform music inspired by religion, and guests offer religious testimony. Volunteers serve home-cooked food. After the meal, the ministry offers the men and women free clothing--dress shirts, suits, dresses, shoes and ties--donated by manufacturers, churches and individuals, he said.

“We give them clothes so they can look for a job, go to church dressed nicely and see their family in something besides their prison blues,” Sultzer said.

One resident, Richard Kingsbury, credits the home with helping him adjust to life outside prison.

“Being in the house, having a residence and the opportunity to get phone calls, getting clothes--it all helped,” said the 36-year-old man, who served seven years for attempted robbery and now works as a salesman.

“William is a very special person,” Kingsbury added. “He’s a very good supervisor and a good steward. He’s very ‘business’ about his work for Jesus.”

Sultzer’s first successful business venture was in 1967, when he opened the Outer Limited, a women’s clothing store in Laguna Beach, and, later, a second store in Newport Beach.

With the success of his clothing business, in 1970 he opened the Orphanage, a trendy restaurant and nightclub in Laguna Beach. A year later, he opened a sister club with the same name in San Francisco.

The San Francisco restaurant was a popular gathering spot for celebrities, such as members of Santana, the Grateful Dead, Van Morrisson and Jefferson Starship.

Later, he began experimenting with cocaine, he said.

When he met someone from Peru who offered him the opportunity to import cocaine, he jumped at the chance, having decided that anti-drug laws were similar to those that once prohibited alcohol.

“In those days, it wasn’t in the schools. It was used only among the hippest of the hip, and I was a hero,” he said.

Sultzer and his two partners arranged to receive cocaine from a Costa Rican diplomat who worked at an embassy and could enter the country with immunity, he said. Each delivery reportedly earned them big profits, and they averaged one delivery every six months for almost four years.

Sultzer’s first religious experience occurred one night when some of his associates wanted to kill a man who had run away with $110,000.

“I didn’t want to be involved,” he said. “I realized my life was out of control. I asked Jesus for forgiveness and turned my life over to him.”

When he was finally alone that night, Sultzer began praying. An ecstatic experience, which he described as “waves of love,” swept over him and he spoke in tongues, he said.

Sultzer said he quit using drugs and left the drug trade after that night. He moved to Big Bear to become a land developer. But only a few months later, he was arrested on drug charges by federal authorities who had long been on his trail.

No matter the circumstances, Sultzer said he is grateful he left the drug trade when he did.

“It was just before the Colombians took over,” he said. “They would have killed us, or I would have had to become a killer.”

Sultzer said that his new work is emotionally satisfying and that he feels happier than ever before.

“The excitement of today and the hope of the future is great,” he said. “I wouldn’t have any part of my past life exchanged for the peace and the joy that I have today.”