For over 25 years, Kirtananda Swami Bhaktipada attracted thousands of followers (Hare Krishna's) around the world, filled his coffers with millions and millions of dollars and built a glorious golden palace that would make kings jealous.
While running his not-so-holy realm, the homosexual guru masterminded at least two murders and the sexual molestation of children. He financed his dynasty by selling black market souvenirs, making international drug deals and turning the palace grounds into a tourist attraction, dubbed by followers as "the spiritual Disneyland."
Beginning in the mid-80's, Hare Krishna officials as well as local, state and federal investigators uncovered trouble in paradise, which led Krishna leaders to kick the megalomaniac swami out of the faith. The swami was linked to molesting two boys at the ashram. And when a mother reported that her son had been molested, he told her: "You stupid woman! Sex is sex. How much have you had?"
Over just four years, say investigators, the swami's illegal schemes raised more than $10.5 million. Some of the fortune came from drug trafficking, cocaine from Colombia and hash oil from Afghanistan.
When two commune members threatened to blow the whistle on the swami, he recruited a Krishna Vietnam veteran to kill them both. The assassin fatally shot one man in the head twice. He shot the second victim, then stabbed him with a screwdriver and beat him with a hammer. The assassin was convicted of both murders. And a cohort in one homicide testified against the killer in return for pleading guilty to voluntary manslaughter.
After years of legal wrangling, the swami pleaded guilty to one count of racketeering, which included the black market scams and the murders. He was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison, served 12, and settled in New York City until March, when he joined a commune of his remaining followers in India.
On October 24th, he passed away at age 74.
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