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N0KFQ > TODAY 04.10.12 17:18l 56 Lines 2551 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
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Subj: Today in History - Oct 4
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Sent: 121004/1539Z 29198@KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA BPQK1.4.53
Oct 4, 1988:
Jim Bakker is indicted on federal charges
Televangelist Jim Bakker is indicted on federal charges of mail
and wire fraud and of conspiring to defraud the public. The case
against the founder of Praise the Lord (PTL) Ministries and three
of his aides exploded in the press when it was revealed that
Bakker had sex with former church secretary Jessica Hahn.
On December 6, 1980, Bakker and Hahn had a sexual encounter in a
Florida hotel room. Although they each told different stories of
what had happened, Bakker eventually paid Hahn over $350,000 to
remain silent. When the arrangement became public, the scandal
helped to bring down the entire PTL ministry.
Hahn, who claimed that she didn't want to be in the spotlight,
became an overnight celebrity. She posed for Playboy magazine,
wrote a book about her relationship with Bakker, and even briefly
lived in the Playboy mansion. Hahn, a radio announcer in Phoenix,
Arizona, at the time of Bakker's indictment, soon became a
regular on Howard Stern's radio show and appeared in rock music
videos, as well.
Jim and his wife, Tammy Faye, were on top of the world before the
scandal first broke. They were enormously successful at raising
money for their televised religious programs, and after its 1974
debut, their cable show became the highest rated religious show
in the country. The Bakkers then added talk-show elements to
standard preaching, often featuring celebrities, music, and
comedy. With all of the money they made from their programming,
the Bakkers built a 2,200-acre resort, Heritage USA, which
featured a studio large enough to seat 1,800 people. Six million
people visited the park in 1986, placing it behind only Disney
World and Disneyland in terms of attendance.
When the Hahn scandal was leaked, other televangelists were
outraged. Jimmy Swaggart, in particular, went out of his way to
condemn Bakker. Tammy Faye responded to their critics by singing
"The Ballad of Jim and Tammy Faye" to the tune of "Harper Valley
PTA" on their show. Still, Tammy Faye could not defend the
ministry against federal charges that the funding for Heritage
USA had been acquired by defrauding their viewers and donors.
Although the evidence was not particularly strong, Jim Bakker was
convicted in 1989 and sentenced to 45 years in prison. The
sentence was later reduced to eight years, and he was released in
1994. Tammy Faye divorced Jim while he was in prison; she died in
2007.
73, K.O. n0kfq
N0KFQ @ KB0WSA.MO.USA.NA
E-mail: n0kfq@winlink.org
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