Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

Apparently there is something in the water in Memphis, TN affecting Pentecostals.

Right on the heels of the current scandal involving a well known Pentecostal pastor in that town (see other thread) comes word that a prominent member of another Memphis Pentecostal church (this one not UPC because the UPC is too liberal) was arrested on Halloween for laundering around $3 million dollars of drug money through a car dealership or two he owns.

I know someone who personally knows this person and they are totally shocked and hoping that somehow the money laundering was the deed of two employees who were arrested along with him and that he is innocent.

The arrested man is very conservative and is very involved with this ultra con church so this is quite a shock to everybody that knows him.

You can google "car dealership drug laundering arrest Memphis TN" for news stories of the arrest but nothing really about the connection to the church other than one TV station news report where friends insist he must be innocent because they have known him for years to be an upstanding Christian man.

Bottom line is if you are Pentecostal and live in Memphis, TN do not drink the water!!!!

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

I wonder if he will shave his face in prison.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

Thank God CC1 is here to spread gossip.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

He isn't spreading gossip. It's in the News

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

You might want to check the definition of gossip.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

I'm having my water tested. And I don't even live in Memphis.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

1Ti 6:10 For the love of money is a root of all evils, of which some having lusted after, they were seduced from the faith and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

Lord help Memphis...

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

This is nothing compared to my section in Louisiana back around 1979-1980. In about one years time our section (yes the section not the district) had lost our sectional presbyter, sectional youth director, and sectional Sunday School director to adultery. Back then I jokingly told my pastor he had better not drink the water!

To go along with his sagging pants.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

This is my Uncle, this story is WRONG!! They are saying he laundered drug money by selling cars to Drug Dealers, when he owns a business in Downtown Memphis. He has been in that location for almost 20 years. The Wendy's on the corner sells food to the drug dealers, the Exxon on the corner sells gas, smokes, and beer to the drug dealers, however they are not on the news.

INSTEAD OF BASHING A PENTECOSTAL BROTHER YOU NEED TO BE ON YOUR KNEES IN PRAYER FOR HIM, HIS FAMILY, AND HIS CHURCH. This is a work of the devil, keeping a life long Saint of God, from helping the Kingdom of GOD. He has given, selflessly to the Church and the work of God, world wide.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

Jason,

The news stories quite clearly say it was more than just drug dealers happening to buy cars from him. The accusation is that the transactions were made using names other than the actual names of the buyers to avoid the reporting law for cash transactions over $10,000. This did not happen just once or twice. Over $2.9 million dollars changed hands this way.

The person I know who is a friend of your uncle is praying that somehow he was oblivious to what was going on and that it was the two employees that were also arrested who are guilty. It does seem a stretch though to think the owner would not realize three million dollars in sales over a few years were shady.

I do hope that your uncle is indeed innocent and you are correct that we need to be praying for him and the situation. If he is guilty I hope the full weight of the law is brought to bear on him but if he is innocent I pray the truth will come out and he will be exonerated.

In the meantime the facts are that he has been arrested and charged as indicated in my initial post. That information is taken from published news stories.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

CCI, Just to make everything clear, my Uncle is Brian Bowman, who was part owner of Pyramid Used Car Sales. Wayne McAlpin Jr., is his brother-in-Law, and part owner of Budget Auto Sales, the other parts of both businesses were owned by the Late Wayne McAlpin, Sr. The Indictment was for One Count of Conspiracy to Launder Money, that they say was known to be proceeds of illiegal drug activity (i.e. from Drug Dealers). They, the Law Enforcement Officials, only have proof this happened once, (i.e. only one count of Conspiracy to Launder Money), the rest of all the treanscations arenjust the LE officials assuming. All of this is coming from two article I have found on the Web, and my personal relationship with my Uncle. The $3,000,000 in transcations, according to the articles was over a period of six years, from both Car Lots, one of which my Uncle has NO Control Over.

You also need to understand what "Indictment" and "Conspiracy" mean.

If you really have a friend that is a friend of My Uncle, you should know that all this sitiuation, is not TRUE.

You should have started this thread with: "Pray for a Pentecostal Brother during this time in his life", instead of Bashing him, and linking him to another so-called scandel.

You can go to HELL just as fast for Gossiping as Money Laundering! Just because the Newspaper and the other Media say it's true don't mean it's FACT!!

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

Maybe this car dealer was under the mindset that as long as he was selling cars to real people, in the name of the actual real person, it didn't matter what the real person he sold the car(s) to actually did with the cars once they left the lot.

Maybe he thought this was an example of the wicked laying up their riches for the righteous.

Prayer is necessary, but so is a good lawyer. This accusation might be very difficult to prove in court.

I am indulging my own speculations.


If this car dealer sold cars to the real people who can be positively identified by the real names used, how can he be held legally liable for what the real people did with their cars?

It is not against the law to sell a car to someone with the knowledge that the buyer is going to give that car to someone else.

Facilitating the giving of gifts is not money laundering.



The above is typed from the point of view of a person who believes that heaven and hell will be decided on a few technicalities.

Even if he knowingly facilitated this kind of "gift giving", he may be unethical, but is he a law breaker?

Does the law hold drug needle makers and bong makers liable for what their end users do with the needles and bongs?


Capitalism rarely involes a sense of ethics that would hold the manufacturer or even seller of goods responsible for the actions of the end user.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

Jermyn, that is my Uncle's thoughts they are just people, with I.D.s saying their names are ________. He has been doing business in the Downtown Memphis area for twenty years. The Law told him, after this came out, that to sell a car to someone who is go to give it to someone else is a crime. He has sold thousands, up on thousands of cars in Memphis over the last twenty years, and less than 1% are seized annually in relation to drug activity. You can't regulate what people do with the cars you sell them.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

German, hard to believe I know but you are totally missing the point. The issue is not what people did with the cars once they left the lot. The indictment is accusing them of false paperwork with the vehicles titled in names other than the actual people who bought them. Do a google search of the news stories and you will have a better understanding of the situation.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

Oh. Oh wow.

Jason, it is probably best that you don't comment on this publicly any further. Your uncle is in serious trouble.

You had better pray for him and get the best lawyer your family can buy.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

Prayers for your uncle! A good and godly reputation can be ruined by a single false accusation. I hope for his sake, he is only guilty by association.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

Not my uncle, Jason Shelby's uncle.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

Well, you know what they say about used car salesmen, almost as bad as democrats!


























J/K

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

Life is rife with irony.

Thank God for Grace.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

said more than one obama voter after they voted in 2008 !

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

Only you FCF & nfcf folks remember me. I haven't posted in a long time, but I can tell you I would stake my life on Brian Bowman's integrity. Personally, he is only indicted in a peripheral way. In other words, there is no indictment that he was personally involved in anything.

You can't know that from the news report.

Again, I'm only offering my personal feeling that this man's life and integrity is beyond reproach in my mind and experience. I, too, ask you to pray for this humble and fine man.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

And here I thought this thread was going to be like 'Don't drink the water in Lufkin, TX' where the water smells (and tastes) like rotten eggs!

Don't remind me...

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

:thumbsup

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

Bwahaha, I forgot about your bad experience!

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

You seem to be enjoying this.

Yeah. That was something.

Re: Pentecostals Don't Drink The Water in Memphis!
 

You may be called for a deposition regarding character!

I really hope this gentleman is innocent. If the charges are correct it seems hard to believe that he is totally innocent, that at best there is gross negligence involved in not knowing what is going on in your business.

Growing up in conservative old time Pentecost I knew plenty of men who kept every standard under the sun and would not dream of saying a curse word but would cheat on their income taxes and other business dealings. Some people live compartmentalized lives where their Christianity is in one box and their business life in another. Hopefully not the case here.