WASHINGTON -- An Arkansas man who stole property decades ago from evangelist Tony Alamo has received a pardon from President Barack Obama.
Allen Wayne Parker of Fort Smith was one of 78 people to receive presidential pardons Monday, administration officials said. Obama also granted 153 commutations. Parker couldn't be reached for comment Tuesday.
In 1991, Parker, a former Fort Smith police officer, admitted to stealing property that had been seized from Alamo by federal law enforcement officials.
The goods were supposed to be auctioned off to raise money to help satisfy a $1.8 million judgment against Alamo brought by former followers.
Alamo's denim jackets, often dotted with rhinestones and sequins, were in demand at the time, fetching hundreds of dollars each.
Parker had been hired to guard the warehouse where the goods were being stored. Instead, he took some of the jackets, jeans, shoes and other apparel, items that he planned to give to his family members, law enforcement officials said.
Parker pleaded guilty to "converting the property of another while an employee of the U.S. Marshal's Service," according to a news account at the time.
He was sentenced to three years' probation and a $1,000 fine as well as "an undetermined term of home confinement and five weekends of intermittent confinement," the White House said.
Alamo, whose real name is Bernie Lazar Hoffman, was convicted in 2009 of transporting five underage girls across state lines for sex. Now 82 years old, he is serving a life sentence and is being held at a federal facility in Butner, N.C.
White House Counsel Neil Eggleston said Obama's actions demonstrate the president's belief that "America is a nation of second chances."
Each of those being pardoned has "led a productive and law-abiding post-conviction life, including by contributing to the community in a meaningful way," Eggleston wrote on the White House's website.
Metro on 12/21/2016