2009.11.06
The day Pat Robertson's bodyguard pulled a gun on me (part 1)
Marion G."Pat" Robertson / AP
This is one of my favorite "war stories" from journalism.
It took place at the end of 1994 and continued into 1995, and involves televangelist and Christian Broadcasting Network founder Marion G. "Pat" Robertson, a mansion he built on a mountain north of Roanoke, and the extreme efforts he took to keep The Roanoke Times from taking a picture of it.
It also involves the National Enquirer and one of its ace reporters, the late, great David Duffy. He was one of the most extraordinary characters I've met in this business (mostly, we're a hideously boring lot). But we'll get to that part a bit later.
I and my wife and our (then) three kids moved to Roanoke from Annapolis in June 1994, when I started my new job as the City Hall reporter for The Roanoke Times. A few months after we arrived, Donna and I got away for a few nights up in Bath County, (i.e. Deeds Country) at a bed and breakfast in Warm Springs. It is a bit more than a 2-hour drive north of Roanoke.
This was in October of 1994, and Bath County at that time had zero stoplights, a population of about 5,100, gorgeous mountains and valleys, and the grand old hotel and golf resort known as The Homestead, in Hot Springs. (Donna and I were back there in September -- nothing in Bath has changed). More than 80 percent of the county is national forest. Here is a map.
One morning at this B&B during breakfast, another guest mentioned a strange conversation he had overheard the day before during lunch at a local cafe. Two volunteer firefighters were talking about how they'd had to go up to the top of Warm Springs Mountain a couple of nights earlier because they'd received calls about a 'glow' up there - a possible fire.
Now Warm Springs Mountain tops out at around 4,000 feet above sea level, and it's a long damn mountain. There is only one way to get up it on a paved road. That is, more or less, on the southern end. The town of Warm Springs is on the northern end of that mountain. So it's a long drive up there. First you have to head south down the valley along U.S. 220 for about 12 miles, THEN you start up the mountain. And then it's 2-3 more miles to the top, where the potential fire was sighted.
It turned out to be no fire. Instead, some construction workers had left lights on at a construction site, and that caused the glow. It was a big mansion someone was building, and boy, those firefighters were peeved. Because this was not the first time those dumb workers had left those construction lights on.
It was at this point that our gracious hostess, the owner of the B&B, spoke up.
"You know whose mansion that is, don't you?" she asked.
"Whose?" we said.
"It's Pat Robertson's," she replied. "He traded his place at The Homestead for some land up on the mountain and he's building a great big house there."
The house above is Pat Robertson's old house in Hot Springs, Va., the one he used to go to before he built his mountaintop villa on nearby Warm Springs mountain. The Roanoke Times/File.
My reporter's ears pricked up because it sounded like there might be a neat little story there. And so when Donna and I got back to Roanoke and I got back to the newspaper, I pitched some editors on letting me look into it.
Even though it was off my then-beat, that area wasn't any other reporter's beat, either. So they were willing to let me see what I could find out, in my spare time -- of course, City Hall was my priority.
So over the next couple months I pulled the building permit for that house -- it was listed at 11,000+ square feet, not including the kidney-shaped pool, the separate changing house, and the 2,000-square-foot guard shack.
The garage itself was 1,100 square feet -- bigger all by itself than three-bedroom townhomes the Roanoke Redevelopment & Housing Authority was rehabbing for low-income renters at the time.
I got some other permit -- perhaps for the septic system (I can't quite recall).
All of this was situated on 25 acres Pat had bought and/or traded for (can't remember that sale price). But the value of the construction, in 1994 dollars, was around $1.2 million, excluding the land.
Because Bath County was 2 hours away, another way I reported the story was a bunch of phone calls. I didn't know anybody up there, and I couldn't really drive 2 hours up there and start knocking on doors, because that is not "spare time" reporting. So I grabbed the newsroom copy of the Bath County phone book. And every now when I had a little downtime, I'd pick a name at random and cold-call somebody in it from my desk in the newsroom.
You might be surprised at the kind of information a little charm and phone moxie can turn up.
Bath County, you see, is made up of a bunch of very rich people who either live there or have large and grand weekend homes, and a whole lot of blue-collar types who work two and three jobs to make ends meet. Few of the rich folks have listed numbers, but LOTS of the other folks do. And they were the ones I found myself talking to.
Lots of people I called had a cousin, or a brother, or a neighbor who had worked on that mansion. And most of them were free with names and phone numbers of those folks. So it didn't take me too long to get a pretty good idea of this place, even though I had never been there.
Late December rolled around, and my editor started breathing down my back for this story -- because that is one thing editors are real good at (I was one for many years). But we had no picture of the place, and it would be journalistic heresy to do a story of this nature with no picture. Besides that, I had not yet talked to Pat.
So I picked up the phone again -- and called 411information.
I have no idea whether this is still true, but back then I quickly learned that 2 or 3 different small phone companies provided the service up there. That was unusual -- I had to call different operators to look up phone numbers.
My first pass, asking for "Pat Robertson" turned up zilch. Then I realized that "Pat" was a nickname -- his real name is Marion G. Robertson. So I tried that name. No luck again.
So I made a third pass, asking for M. G. Robertson. And it was on the second call for that name that I struck pay dirt.
"I have an M.G. Robertson listed at Higher Ground," the operator said. "There are two phone number, a listed one and an unlisted one."
"I'll take that listed one," I told her. And she gave me the number, which I promptly called.
"Hello?" said a male voice on the other end.
"Pat Robertson, please," I said.
"Uh, uh, who is calling?" the man on the other end said. I recognized that voice, it was Pat himself!
"Mr. Robertson!" I said. "How are you today, sir. Dan Casey from The Roanoke Times here."
"Hello. What can I do for you?" Robertson said.
"Well, Mr. Robertson," I began, "I'm a reporter here at the newspaper, and I'm doing a story on the house you have built up there. I've heard many wonderful things about it, and a photographer and I are coming up there tomorrow, and we'd be real pleased if you could show us around so we could get some real nice pictures."
(The reporter whose desk was next to me was listening in, and he was balled up in laughter listening to my end of this conversation).
"How did you get this phone number?" Robertson asked.
"Well, Mr. Robertson, we have our ways, you know," I replied. "I don't really like to talk about those. What I'd rather talk about is your house, and some pictures."
"I'm afraid that's going to be impossible," Robertson said. "This is a rather remote, private place I come with my family. We don't want any pictures."
He and I chatted for about 10 minutes, about what how he relaxed there (hiking trials on the mountain), how often he visited (about once a month), and stuff like that. I already knew that he flew in on a private jet, to Ingalls Field (now Bath County Airport), which is on top of that mountain about a 5-minute drive from his place. It's the highest-elevation airport east of the Mississippi, and it has an enormous runway - big enough to land a 727.
"What is the news value in this house?" Robertson asked. That was a fair question, I thought.
"Mr. Robertson," I said, "you're a former presidential candidate. And you're vacationing in our back yard. I think our readers would be interested in that. It's nothing personal; I can assure you that if Jesse Jackson had a house up there on the mountain, our readers would be interested in that, too."
More than once during our conversation, Pat had described the place as "like a little beach house, on the Outer Banks." I laughed a bit under my breath when he said that, because I already knew it was more than 5 times bigger than my 4-bedroom home. So I picked up the building permit.
"You described it as a little beach house," I said. "How many bedrooms does it have?" (The answer was 6 or 8 -- I can't recall exactly -- but it was right there on the building permit).
"Uh, I'm afraid I'm going to have to cut this conversation short," Robertson said politely. "Good bye."
I hung up the phone and burst into laughter; so did the reporter next to me.
I had a strong hunch that the next day, going up there with a photographer, was going to be a whole lot of fun.
It's funny how reporters are so curious about a TV preacher like Pat Robertson and so uninterested in the President of the United States. And they believe that anyone who is as interested in the President as they are interested in a TV preacher must be some kind of nut.
Comment by Henry — November 6, 2009 @ 7:49 am
Gotta love the elusive habits of the rich and famous, or the wealthy and infamous, or the just plain nuts. I bet he built the house with diamond money, anyone else remember that 'little' operation?
http://www.sullivan-county.com/news/pat_quotes/diamonds.html
Comment by Other John — November 6, 2009 @ 8:24 am
Fascinating! Can't wait for Part 2. Dan, you have some good stories. I guess any "observer" does. You report, we decide
Comment by Sandi Saunders — November 6, 2009 @ 8:25 am
Oh, and don;t forget, he used his tax-exempt Operation Blessing planes to move the goods too.
http://www.baptistpillar.com/bd0043.htm
Comment by Other John — November 6, 2009 @ 8:28 am
That's just silly, Henry.
Do you have any idea how many more stories have been written about Barack Obama's house in Chicago than Pat's in Hot Springs?
Comment by Dan Casey — November 6, 2009 @ 8:37 am
Im not sayin nuttin till part2..interesting so far..
Comment by Tony — November 6, 2009 @ 8:51 am
Sandi, Dan doesn't work for Fox and I thought you loathed them. Why would you insult the man by saying that?
Comment by mattyr — November 6, 2009 @ 8:55 am
I looked at his place on Google Earth, and he's got it set up like drug dealers in Colombia. House perched on top of a mountain, with the land cleared on all sides for clear line-of-sight to shoot intruders, or in the case of Colombia, rival drug lords. It looks like he's added a small watercourse and pond between that kidney shaped pool and his tennis court. The house looks rather monsterously large, a good 7 times bigger than ours. I've always wondered what people do with all that space, especially when it's not a primary residence. Talk about excessive.
Comment by Other John — November 6, 2009 @ 8:58 am
Dan is jsut jealous!!:)
Comment by Joe — November 6, 2009 @ 8:59 am
I'm sure all the faithful who "donated" to Robertson's "ministry" are pleased to know that he put their money to such good use.
Comment by Kristen — November 6, 2009 @ 9:03 am
His house in Chicago? Let's hear more about the President's house in Chicago. Surely, you can find time away from a 1990's TV preacher's house to talk about the current president's house. By the way, did you hear that the Clown-in-chief went off the teleprompter yesterday? He gave a shout-out, crediting some guy with a Medal of Honor who didn't have one. Good one, Mr President. If you are through "shouting out" to your buddies, let's see if we can divert your attention to that Ft Hood massacre.
Pat Robertson is so 1992, sitting up in Monticello pretending to be Kingmaker.
Comment by Henry — November 6, 2009 @ 9:07 am
I know you haven't gotten to the gun part, Dan, but just think. If you were carrying that day you could have a had a good old shootout. That would have been great fun.
Comment by gdad — November 6, 2009 @ 9:34 am
BTW, Dan, in my days as a reporter, I also had a gun pulled on me. And for a few weeks I kept a borrowed one under the bed after a story I wrote about a man who tried to kill his daughter and her boyfriend, but ended up killing two other people instead. Word came to me that he had told his son to find me and kill me (nothing ever came of it). Other than that, never felt the need to own a gun.
Comment by gdad — November 6, 2009 @ 9:38 am
It always boggles my mind how many fools and their money are parted. Robertson and his ilk are the scum of the earth. Why on earth do we continue to allow these scams masquerading as churches to avoid taxation?
Comment by NRV — November 6, 2009 @ 10:14 am
Just an fyi, folks:
This post is the first of 4 parts that I intend to present each Friday morning through Nov. 27.
Part 2 will be about the incident with the gun.
Part 3 will be the behind-the-scenes story of how a similar story ended up in the National Enquirer.
Part 4 will be a reprint of my story in The Roanoke Times that resulted form all of this. I'm not sure if the original pix will be available for that -- it was back in the old pre-digital photography days of this newspaper. But I'll try to get them.
Also, a note: Some years ago Pat put this property up for sale. I don't know whether or not he managed to sell it; he may not be the owner any more.
Thanks for reading!
Comment by Dan Casey — November 6, 2009 @ 10:57 am
Henry
Pat Robertson is relevant since the current VA governor was 'educated' at his 'college'.
Kinda like being educated at Liberty U, I know, thus the qualification. Feel free to read 'educated' as indoctrinated and 'college' as diploma mill.
Comment by VVarlock — November 6, 2009 @ 11:19 am
Good way to run a mini-series Dan! I remember many year ago when I was still in high school, the date I had for the ring dance (basically, jr. prom) had made reservations at Robertson's 'Founder's Inn' restaurant before the dance. I wasn't really enthused about going there, not long before it was made quite public that they had refused to hire a non-Christian soley on the basis of her religious beliefs, and she had sued because of that. The food wasn't worth the exhorbitant price, and the place was stuffier than an oversized couch cushion. That was the one and only time I have ever set foot on his complex.
Comment by Other John — November 6, 2009 @ 11:46 am
Love the serial, but I doubt the typical American has the attention span to handle a weekly serial anymore.
Luckily the Gonzo's at least all read, so maybe we are up to it.
Comment by VVarlock — November 6, 2009 @ 11:52 am
I can't imagine why Pat wouldn't have just invited Dan on in. After all, what's the point of nice house if you can't let all the ne'er-do-well class warriors in the country point fingers and indignantly tut-tut about your success? I don't blame Pat or the guard one bit for their response (although it would have been better to simply display the holstered weapon; drawing in this situation could have been a brandishing violation).
This story and many of the comments encapsulate the foremost delusion of the left: the belief that "I could have been that successful, I'm just too moral." Get real. People who succeed in this country frequently do so because of their focus, determination and superior personal habits. Unsurprisingly, some of those who miss out will try to reassure themselves that it is their pious morality, not their failure in a competitive world, that explains the situation. And unfortunately, sometimes the intensity of self-righteous resentment is such that hiring a personal bodyguard is not unreasonable.
I don't know much about Pat Robertson's background. If he's achieved his wealth by illegal or unethical means, then the laws of our country and perhaps God himself will deal with that, and neither process needs the help of a defiant, wanna-be paparazzi reporter confirming the square footage of the garage. What I do know is that it's possible in this country to do well by doing good. You only accomplish one thing in hating the successful: cementing your own continued mediocrity.
Comment by Matt Shelburne — November 6, 2009 @ 11:59 am
Sure they do VVarlock, why else do things like American Idol or The Real Housewifes of Atlanta do so well?
Comment by Other John — November 6, 2009 @ 12:19 pm
I don't hate the successful and never have...just the hypocritical ones who preach doing the right thing, but then use charitable fronts to move millions of dollars worth of diamonds out of a country run by a thug military dictator.
Comment by Other John — November 6, 2009 @ 12:30 pm
Note: I reviewed how Pat achieved his great wealth for the story I wrote in 1995, and I came to the conclusion that it involved nothing illegal. It's an interesting story, nonetheless. You can read about that in part 4, if you can wait that long. If not, I'm sure you can find it in other places on the Web.
Comment by Dan Casey — November 6, 2009 @ 12:31 pm
Oh, and don't think my ire is aimed only at one side of the political spectrum. Al Gore is another complete hyocrite, going around touting how evil carbon emmissions are and how we all have to cut back our lifestyles to save the planet. Meanwhile, he's got several large homes, flies on private jets, and has a fleet of large SUV's. Ok, he did token things like install solar on his mansion, but he still uses something like 20 times more energy than even the average American, who uses like 10 times more than an average person in the rest of the world. I'd buy his rhetoric a little more if he lived in a smaller home, drove a Prius, and flew coach like the rest of us who actually are making changes.
Comment by Other John — November 6, 2009 @ 12:35 pm
Ok, so it wasn't illegal. It sure has the appearance of impropriety, and that's usually sufficient to draw wrath, though maybe not a criminal investigation.
Comment by Other John — November 6, 2009 @ 12:36 pm
Robertson is "successful" sort of the way John Gotti is "successful". Or, maybe more analogous, the head of a drug cartel.
Comment by Kristen — November 6, 2009 @ 1:27 pm
But Pat's energy shakes will allow you to leg press 2,000 lbs!!!!
He must be tight with god.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/05/26/national/main1662789.shtml
Comment by NRV — November 6, 2009 @ 1:35 pm
Don't forget Pat's vitamin shakes, aside from the grace of God, he attributes a good deal of his vitality to his special formulation. I'm sure the profit from that little niche business would be more than enough to build a castle on the hill. He picked a beautiful spot, that's for dang sure.
Pat has amassed quite a tidy amount of money since he visualized the potential of modern broadcasting had to siphon money from willing viewers. I suppose it's still rolling in. Now a days, I only see Pat on YouTube after he goes temporarily insane on the air and says something goes beyond his usual craziness. If, for some reason, I want to watch religious programming that completely fries my brain, I channel surf to TBN. It's programming is reliably and consistently nuts. If you get up early enough, you can usually find a Peter Popov Miracle Spring water commercial too.
Comment by Mike Scott — November 6, 2009 @ 1:36 pm
Boy, you sure nailed us Matt, we are all just jealous. There is no right or wrong only money, power and influence. Without those three you are a loser just looking for a some cheerios to piss in. I am so wounded to be found out. Ever heard of any successful or wealthy Liberals? Course not, that screws with your "theory".
Comment by Sandi Saunders — November 6, 2009 @ 2:21 pm
Aww, don't mind Sandy. She's just mad that Ann Coulter and Michelle Maulkin won't return her girl crush.
Comment by IaMoL — November 6, 2009 @ 3:00 pm
As a matter of fact, I do have a "girl crush" on Rachel Maddow. I freely and openly adore her. Those other hussies are NOT on my radar except as targets. Guess I am just "jealous" of them too, Huh?
Comment by Sandi Saunders — November 6, 2009 @ 3:14 pm
@laMoL and she's stuck pissing in cheerios watching Rachel Maddow.
Comment by mattyr — November 6, 2009 @ 3:17 pm
This is almost as good as hearing it in person....thanks Dan.
Comment by Chris — November 6, 2009 @ 3:58 pm
I have to admit being attracted to Rachel too, despite that I do not fit her type at all and she does not fit into what I consider my standard physical type.
Perhaps it is her wit and intellect, she is quite sharp and I do typically gravitate to smart, educated women.
Comment by VVarlock — November 6, 2009 @ 4:19 pm
Re: successful liberal figureheads
They may be the televangelists of our time. Much as with Pat Robertson, whether or not I believe in what they preach and sell, I at least admire them for their ability and drive. In both cases, whatever money they've made by attracting willing but possibly naive followers in a legal manner is theirs and reflects a difficult achievement. They can do as they please with it and I'll never suggest that their wealth indicates insincerity, dishonesty or intellectual error.
As for breakfast cereal, some people get their kicks succeeding materially, some get their kicks wagging a finger at those who succeed, others neither. Hard to say which is more rewarding, but there is no dispute that the first is more challenging than the second.
Comment by Matt Shelburne — November 6, 2009 @ 4:30 pm
Huh. Apparently "Marion" wasn't masculine enough, so he butched up by using "Pat" instead..
Comment by Milo Johnson — November 6, 2009 @ 4:40 pm
Looks the readership of this blog is going to up soon. Pharyngula has the story linked. I love it when these guys check in.
Comment by Mike Scott — November 6, 2009 @ 4:43 pm
This is great! Found it though the Pharyngula site. I've always despised Robertson and his fleecing of ignorant people like the rest of the tele-preachers... If only more people would expose this shyster's true form.
Comment by Aron Perkins — November 6, 2009 @ 6:32 pm
I lived down the street from the compound that was Joyce Meyers. She built homes all around her own. Had a large privacy fence and gate. Later the county looked into the financing of the property. It seems it was church property. Doesn't surprise me about Pat either. Why does anyone listen to these people? Clearly they want nothing but the money.
Comment by claude angeli — November 6, 2009 @ 6:58 pm
and...? and...?
Comment by Lynda K — November 6, 2009 @ 9:59 pm
Sigh. My cousin, the religious one, sends all her money to them; lives in a studio apartment.
Comment by Monado — November 6, 2009 @ 10:32 pm
Matt #34: I guess it is my stupid Liberal brain but I fail to see how your post has anything to do with "successful liberal figureheads".
You are free to admire anyone you like, that is no shield from criticism of them. It is not a matter of whether YOU "believe in what they preach and sell" but whether you have the capacity to understand that many people (and the Bible he pretends to preach from) condemn the abuse of the faith of his followers for his own enrichment. Since some people are so fond of calling me a hypocrite at the slightest chance, surely anyone with an objective glance can see that a man preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and exhorting his "followers' to send him money for his ministry and the wondrous works he is doing for the Lord who then takes so much wealth and "worldly" pleasures for himself and his family while many of those "followers" actually sacrifice to make that contribution is a messed up value system. It is taking advantage, it is, in essence, 'selling snake oil' and it is not "just another hard day at the office" to many people who actually value the teachings of Jesus Christ. Do you admire the drive and ability of Bernie Madoff? Is it only when they break the legal standard that you see a problem?
"I'll never suggest that their wealth indicates insincerity, dishonesty or intellectual error." Again that is your choice, but it is totally unfair to insult those who do see a problem with this.
I agree that for many people "succeeding materially" is the be all and end all but that does not denigrate a path that is less "successful" by your standards but still holds value, worth and joy for others. Mother Teresa would be an extreme but certainly not a "success" by your measure. I also agree that "some get their kicks wagging a finger at those who succeed" but I would add the caveat that sometimes there is a valid reason for the finger to wag. I submit that no path is moonlight and roses, but to each their own.
We are all well aware that our rants, praise and insults on this blog amount to a pleasant diversion and not world changing action. No need to read more into it and malign folks for having a perfectly valid opinion.
Comment by Sandi Saunders — November 6, 2009 @ 10:52 pm
I think this is the place.
Comment by BruceH — November 7, 2009 @ 1:17 am
Milo...I did wonder about Pat's aversion to unambiguously masculine names.
Guess Pat's better than calling himself Leslie or Francis.
Comment by Kristen — November 7, 2009 @ 7:36 am
One of Jesus' messages was poverty, giving away your wealth and helping others with it.
For all those right wing conservatives this is redistribution of wealth.
I know there are a couple of verses that can be used to say money is not all bad or that it is love of money not having money itself which damns men, but there was a larger undertone that it was better to have nothing materially in Jesus' message.
Pat's excesses are not rewards from god, but they are him taking from the works he could have been doing to give luxury to himself. This is in direct to the words he supposedly believed in.
Sandi is right, Pat is a snake oil salesman no better than Swaggart or Hinn and worse than the many good-hearted pastors who work locally actually helping people.
Comment by VVarlock — November 7, 2009 @ 8:16 am
By and large Robertson has made his money by defrauding people and pushing his bronze age superstition on those who have no interest in it. His Kalo Vita' vitamin scam cost many their life savings. They trusted Robertson because he was a 'christian.' Much like charlatan Kevin Trudeau he is a sociopath without a shred of conscience and his 700 club is little better than Trudeau's fraudulent informercials. He has also dealt in blood diamonds and was a supporter of the genocidal Liberia president George Taylor.He has also been connected with central American dictator Rios Mont. Talibangelist Robertson and his followers and minions are the scum of the earth!
Comment by j davis — November 7, 2009 @ 7:09 pm