Bishop Eddie Long Demands Return of $900K in Hush Money From Each of the Three Accusers Who Violated Confidentiality Agreement

Bishop Eddie Long is gon' fight -- finally. Attorneys for the Atlanta megachurch pastor have sent letters to three of the five men who accused the pastor of sexual coercion that they intend to recover nearly $1 million from their financial settlement because they spoke publicly about the settlement -- which was a clear violation of the terms of the non-disclosure agreement outlined in the settlement with Bishop Long and New Birth Missionary Baptist Church the parties agreed to last May. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the demand letter was sent this week by the Atlanta law firm Drew Eckl & Farnham to Jamal Parris, Spencer LeGrande and Centino Kemp. The firm is seeking at least $900,000 -- a portion of the total settlement -- already paid the three accusers. Financial terms of that settlement have not been disclosed, but based on the letter and the fact each of the young men were paid equitably, the total comes to at least $1.5 million. Centino violated the non-disclosure agreement last August when he gave a radio interview in which he claimed, among other things, Bishop Long raped him the first time they met (he was 16 yeas old), then they became lovers for six years. Also in August, Jamal and Spencer gave a slew of interviews in which they spoke about Bishop Long, their plans to write an explosive tell-all -- and threatened to burn the hush money. Centino also plans to write a book about his tumultuous relationship with the bishop. As of this writing, Jamal, Spencer and Centino are keeping mum on Bishop Long's letter demanding the return of his money.



source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution