Jim Bakker Dies: Televangelist’s Rise, Fall Captivated America
Jim Bakker turned television preaching into a multimillion-dollar empire before a spectacular downfall made him a household name for very different reasons.
The televangelist died Monday, Oct. 5, at 86. His wife, Lori, announced his death. A cause was not disclosed.
Bakker and his first wife, Tammy Faye, rose to national prominence through “The PTL Club,” blending faith, music, and celebrity interviews with appeals for donations.
Their ambitions stretched beyond the television screen. They built Heritage USA, a Christian vacation destination in Fort Mill, South Carolina, featuring a hotel …
Dead Passengers, Fake Drivers: NJ Woman, Colombian Lover's $13M Scheme Unravels
Some of the passengers were dead. Some of the drivers had never driven a car.
But a New Jersey woman and her Colombian lover apparently had no trouble taking taxpayers for a ride.
For years, prosecutors say, Jael Watts, 45, of Alloway, operated Pearl Transit Corporation, a New Jersey-based company that purported to have drivers scattered across the country giving rides to elderly and disabled people while also conducting outreach for homeless Americans.
Watts and Luis Pino-Copete, 42, of Bogota, Colombia, were convicted following a multi-week federal trial in Utica of orchestrating a spraw…
Driver Accused Of Exploiting Elderly Lancaster Woman After Gaining Her Trust, Pawning Rings: PD
A Pennsylvania man hired to drive an elderly woman to medical appointments gained her trust before taking thousands of dollars, pawning her rings, and misusing her credit card, police say.
Timothy Hollis, 52, of Fleetwood, was arrested by West Lampeter Township and Strasburg Borough police around 7:20 p.m. Wednesday, Sept. 30, in the 1200 block of Historic Drive in Strasburg, according to an updated release issued Friday, Oct. 2.
The investigation began July 28, when a West Lampeter Township officer was called to the 600 block of Willow Valley Square for a report of ongoing financial exploi…
White Plains, Millwood USPS Workers Stole 200-Plus Gift Cards From Mail, Feds Say
Two former postal workers in Westchester County are facing federal charges for stealing more than 200 gift cards from the mail and using them for their own benefit, prosecutors said.
Pian Pian Wong-Tam, 59, and William Wong, 57, both of New York City, were presented on Friday, Sept. 25, before Chief US Magistrate Judge Judith C. McCarthy on charges stemming from the alleged scheme, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced.
Wong-Tam formerly worked as a mail processing clerk at the US Postal Service's White Plains Processing & Distribution Cent…
