Advertisement

NATION IN BRIEF : FLORIDA : Top Aide to Bakker Starts Prison Term

From Times Staff and Wire Reports

Richard Dortch, the former top deputy to Jim Bakker at the PTL ministry, arrived at the minimum-security federal prison at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida to begin serving an eight-year sentence for fraud and conspiracy. Dortch, 58, who was also fined $200,000, pleaded guilty last August. Under a plea bargain, Dortch testified against Bakker at his trial in Charlotte, N. C. Bakker was convicted on 24 counts of fraud and conspiracy and is serving a 45-year sentence in Minnesota.

Advertisement