Randall Terry's notoriety as the founder of Operation Rescue has always had a predictable pattern: Followers praise him while opponents watch his every move. The latest flash point is a 119- acre farm in Upstate New York that Terry's wife bought for $275,000 last April. How could the Terrys afford it? The question is relevant, critics say, because of the secrecy that shrouds Operation Rescue's finances.
The house deal is complicated. Real estate documents show that in July 1990 Cindy Terry bought a two-story colonial in Harpursville, N.Y., valued at $90,000. She took out a $50,000 mortgage on the house. That loan was retired in January. But in March, Cindy Terry took a $75,000 second mortgage on the house. One month later, she bought the farm in Windsor with that loan and a $35,000 mortgage, held by the farm's previous owner.
Where did the rest of the money come from? "The money my wife used to buy this house," says Randall, "was her money." According to Randall, Cindy relies on three sources of income: $1,000 monthly checks she gets for caring for three foster children; profits from the sale of some 2,000 shares of an unnamed stock after it vaulted from $1 a share to $9 a share; and thousands of dollars from supporters sympathetic to the stresses caused by Randall's work. The new farm is a beautiful spot, but Randall Terry won't be enjoying it for a while. This week, he begins a five-month jail term for a contempt-of-court violation.
