An Update

Since this book was first published, there have been a number of very important developments in the business of faith healing. Some are a direct result of the book, and others can be attributed to an increased interest in the subject caused by the various scandals in the evangelical world that have since come to light. With Jimmy Swaggart demonstrating that no matter how damning the evidence is against his divinity, the faithful will continue to believe, we should not be surprised that my book caused nary a ripple in the religious lake in which Oral Roberts continues to be a very big fish. Some organizations are so well established, and have so much “old” money in them, that nothing will shake them up. Richard Roberts continues to talk to God in his televised services, and Oral is doubtless preparing some fresh assault on the credulity of his followers. Even Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker, after the incredible worldwide exposure of their fabulous and immoral life-styles, made a comeback—still asking for donations, of course—in spite of such startling, well-researched and incriminating books as Professor Joe Barnhart’s Jim and Tammy, which examined in depth the new “Gospel of Prosperity” that suddenly became the new philosophy of so many Americans. The Shroud of Turin is now, in the view of the Roman Catholic church, an icon rather than a genuine relic of Jesus Christ, though that decision hardly surprised such scholars as Joe Nickell, who long ago laid that ghost to rest without the advantage of carbon-dating techniques. For anyone who had really looked into the matter without prejudice, the dating of the shroud was ho-hum. Currently, the Happy Hunters are not happy. They are being hounded by skeptics in every state to prove their claims, and reporters are beginning to pay attention to their wild stories, and to demand proof. The Hunters throw scripture at their detractors and are still on the gospel trail, whoopin’ and hollerin’. Father Ralph DiOrio was finally cornered by Providence Journal reporter C. Eugene Emery, Jr., who investigated 28 cases in which healing had been claimed by the charismatic Catholic priest. Ten of those cases were supplied by DiOrio himself. Not one case produced evidence of a cure brought about by divine means. Concluded Emery, “... Dead men (and women) tell no tales.” In April 1986, a group of concerned persons visited Joseph Russoniello, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California. They gave him details of the various religious healing scams that were being perpetrated in his jurisdiction. Peter Popoff and Joseph Bugarin were specifically discussed. In response, Mr. Russoniello informed the group that he hadreferred the matter to the FBI with a request for input from the Postal Inspectors and Internal Revenue Service.

Mr. Russoniello said he expected an answer from them within a few days. Meanwhile, Peter Popoff entered bankruptcy court and stated that he was broke and had to pawn his Rolex wristwatch to pay some bills. His former “front man,” Reeford Sherrill, was off working for Leroy Jenkins, who had filled the void left by Popoff. The judge granted Popoff his bankruptcy, and less experienced persons would have thought they’d seen the last of Peter. But only a couple of months after he left court, he was back in business, holding meetings with carefully selected old fans—gleaned from his attrited mailing list—in hotel rooms, hitting them up for donations in the same old style. Although he is no longer on television, W. V. Grant is still out there on the auditorium circuit. His crowds have dwindled, a fact that he attributes to Satan’s influence. The press is asking him harder questions, and he’s putting on weight again. But he’s still rich, and getter richer. In Pompano Beach, Florida, not far from where I live, “Reverend” Alexis Orbito, one of the most notorious of all the Philippine “psychic surgeons,” regularly visits a church and performs his sleight-of-hand to the tune of $100 a minutes. When a citizen complained to me about this outrage, by means of which her sister had been relieved of $600 and had continued to suffer, I tried to interest the Broward District Attorney in the matter. He sent me to the Broward Medical Association, who asked me if Orbito was a registered physician. Informed that he was not, they told me that I should go to the newspapers. The Miami Herald, the Fort Lauderdale News, and the Palm Beach Post said they had no interest. With nowhere else to go, I visited the local police department in Pompano Beach. After speaking to increasingly amused officials, I sat and waited. For 40 minutes, I warmed a bench while the officer behind the glass called his fellow officers aside to point out the eccentric man who wanted to have a man of God investigated. Finally, a bewildered rookie was assigned to me, and in his good time we visited the church, only to have the office? turn away at the door, refusing to go inside. I was treated as if I were the criminal. Reverend Orbito has returned several times since to Pompano Beach, because he knows it is safe for him to swindle the citizens there. The police are too busy laughing. The church continues to accept their cut of Orbito’s wealth. And his victims continue to die. The evidence seems all the plainer: The laws of this country will do little to protect us against flummery when it uses the veneer of religion as a disguise. Acts that would land the ordinary citizen behind prison bars are often ignored by willingly blind authorities. But that’s not always the case. Following the meeting with U.S. Attorney Russoniello, months passed, and nothing had been done, but then in Sacramento, California, “Brother Joe” Bugarin performed a “psychic surgery” operation on a plainclothes detective, who went to him at the direction of Deputy District Attorney David Druliner. A complaint had been brought by a city official, and while previous complaints had been ignored, this one was acted upon. Seized during the performance, Bugarin was charged with conspiracy, bogus cancer cures, and practicing medicine without a license. In his pocket was found a plastic container with some cotton balls containing dried blood—the apparatus used in such fakery. After a few more months, Bugarin finally came to trial on the single charge of practicing medicine without a licence. His female assistant turned state’s evidence. He pleaded no contest, and was sentenced to nine months in prison. The psychic periodicals of California lauded the faith-healer because he refused to reveal the trick methods that he and other claimed healers were using. He was extolled for sacrificing himself to protect them. Dainel Atwood, who had pretty well faded from sight, was arrested and tried for swindling two elderly women out of more than $20,000 for healing services. After a lengthy trial, he received nine to eighteen years in federal prison. They’re still out there. They lie and they cheat, they confound and trick their victims, and they usually get away with it. No amount of evidence will dissuade the faithful, and officials turn their backs.   James Randi February 1989