An Inclusive Litany
9/19/94
After New Yorker Alphonso Pecou hacked his wife to death and set
her body on fire in front of his four children a decade ago, he was
found not guilty by reason of insanity and committed to a state
mental institution. Pecou recently requested spiritual counseling
in addition to psychiatric treatment. After Jewish, Catholic and
Protestant clergy on the hospital staff failed to make any headway
with Pecou, authorities contacted Alpha Omega Bundu, self-described
"primate and pastor" of the United Church of Salvation in
Brooklyn. The Kingsboro Psychiatric Center paid Bundu the standard
fee of $500 for his counseling and "diagnosis" after Bundu
declared that Pecou was possessed by a pack of demons and performed
an exorcism on the spot. Bundu then presented the state Department
of Mental health with an additional bill of $12,000.