CLEARWATER — Residents Friday denounced the Church of Scientology after documents released by a federal judge a day earlier showed the cult wanted to "take control" of Clearwater. Many of the residents interviewed were not familiar with details of the case, but most expressed a strong hostility toward church members. "l only know that I don’t believe a dam thing they say," said W. B. McFalls, asked his opinion as he shopped at a local supermarket. "lf you want to know ...

WASHINGTON — The Church of Scientology of California had big plans for the unsuspecting community of Clearwater when it arrived there in November 1975. In essence, the sect wanted to control the city's politicians, media and religious groups. To that end, the Scientologists have evidently failed. Hardly any Clearwater resident is not skeptical of the sect’s proclaimed goals and "reforrn" activities. Nevertheless, the church has purchased $8 million in Clearwater buildings and land and continues to work for the potential to ...

WASHINGTON — Six boxes of documents make it clear: People in Pinellas County — a newspaper editor, a reporter, a mayor, a state attorney — were targets three years ago of the "fair game" policy of members of the Church of Scientology. The documents were among thousands seized by the FBI in 1977 raids on church headquarters in Washington and Los Angeles. They were the basis for indictments against nine church leaders on charges of conspiring to steal government documents and ...

If the Church of Scientology aimed to "take control" of Clearwater, it has succeeded, former Clearwater Mayor Gabe Cazares declared Friday. "Clearwater is the first city to be occupied . . . by a master plan by a destructive cult," he said. "Until recently, the Scientologists had won the battle over the minds and hearts of Clearwater residents," said Cazares, who has long been an outspoken critic of the church, which has a headquarters in Clearwater. But Cazares said recent revelations ...

CLEARWATER — Church of Scientology documents released Thursday that outline the Scientologists' intention to control or "take over" the city left local government officials wondering Friday how the group planned to reach that goal — and what it should do about it. Mayor Charles LeCher and City Manager Anthony Shoemaker agreed the city’s first move is to seek copies of the documents released Thursday in Washington, D.C., by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Richey. "We have to find out what the ...

WASHINGTON — (AP) Leaders of the Church of Scientology considered the American Medical Association (AMA) and the National Institute of Mental Health enemies and infiltrated the AMA as part of an effort to discredit it, according to documents made public yesterday. The documents released by a federal judge show that the church planted spies and had a "doom program" aimed at the AMA. Church leaders also planned to "take over control" of the National Institute of Mental Health near Washington, the ...

Because they don't have to file annual financial reports with the IRS, unscrupulous sects can — and do — ignore the law with impunity. Let's close this tax loophole HOW CULTS BILK ALL OF US SOME THREE MILLION AMERICANS have joined cult churches in the last decade, a phenomenon attributed to everything from the breakdown of the family to loss of faith in traditional institutions. One thing is certain: these cults could not have experienced their spectacular rise to wealth and ...

WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal judge convicted nine members of the Church of Scientology on Friday, including the wife of the founder — of taking part in a conspiracy to steal government documents about the church. Judge Charles Richey of district court set no date for sentencing the defendants, who included Mary Sue Hubbard, wife of church founder L. Ron Hubbard. Mrs. Hubbard and six others were convicted of conspiracy to obstruct justice, which carries a maximum penalty of live years ...

WASHINGTON — Nine Church of Scientology leaders were convicted Friday on charges stemming from a four-year church program to burglarize, bug and infiltrate various federal agencies with which Scientology has battled for two decades. On two occasions during the four-hour court proceeding, a fragile plea-bargaining agreement between the defendants and federal prosecutors almost collapsed. But finally all the legal obstacles presented by defense attorneys were overcome and U.S. Dist. Judge Charles R. Richey pronounced all nine defendants guilty of one count ...

WASHINGTON — (AP) — A federal judge Friday convicted nine members of the Church of Scientology, including the wife of the founder, of taking part in a major conspiracy to steal government documents about the church. As the defendants and their lawyers clustered in front of him, U.S. District. Judge Charles Richey said the evidence "establishes each and every element" of the crimes that resulted in convictions. RICHEY SET no date for sentencing the defendants, who included Mary Sue Hubbard, wife ...

WASHINGTON — A plan by the Church of Scientology to infiltrate federal agencies with "covert agents" and steal thousands of government documents over a period of nearly four years was outlined Thursday in an unusual document filed in federal court by prosecution and the defense. The 284-page "stipulation of evidence" against nine Scientology leaders was filed with U.S. Dist Judge Charles R. Richey, who is expected to render a verdict today. The defendants have said they expect to be found guilty ...

WASHINGTON (UPI) — Nine scientologists, who faced a 28-count indictment on charges of stealing government documents, each would plead guilty to only one count of conspiracy under an agreement upheld by a federal judge. U.S. District Judge Charles Richey ruled Monday that the disputed plea arrangement between defense and prosecution attorneys is valid. Chief prosecutor Raymond Banoun promptly said the U.S. attorney's office would file a notice of appeal. Richey had held closed hearings for nearly two weeks on the defense ...

WASHINGTON — Nine leaders of the Church of Scientology, in a rare legal maneuver, have agreed to be found guilty by a federal judge on reduced charges of conspiracy and theft as an outgrowth of their long battle with the federal government over allegedly stolen U.S. documents. Under a procedure called a "stipulated record," the defendants agreed to be found guilty after the government presented its case in a written court record without challenge or a trial, which could have lasted ...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 8 (UPI) — A Federal judge today upheld a disputed agreement under which nine leaders of the Church of Scientology would plead guilty to a single count in connection with an alleged conspiracy to steal Government documents. District Judge Charles Richey entered his ruling just 24 hours before the church members were to stand trial on a 28-count indictment. He ordered the opposing lawyers to appear Friday, "whereupon the court will pronounce its findings with respect to guilt or ...

How a Portland jury got a crash course in one of the oddest "religions" ever created and awarded the plaintiff more than $2. million Note: This summer, a jury in Portland spent a month listening to testimony in a $4 million lawsuit over the practices of the Church of Scientology there. The plaintiff: Julie Christofferson, a young Portland woman who was a follower of Scientology in 1975 and 1976. The defendants: three local Scientology organizations and one of their leaders. ''Richard ...

EDMONTON (CP) — The Church of Scientology lodged a formal complaint Friday with the provincial attorney-general against the RCMP, which it accused of spreading false and misleading information about the church to files of Alberta government agencies. In a letter delivered to the office of Attorney-General Neil Crawford, the church asked for an investigation to stop the RCMP from interfering with the process of government. The letter, signed by Rev. Raymond Rockl, national director of public affairs, said the church "has ...

WASHINGTON — A federal judge ruled Friday that the U.S. government had "illegally and unconstitutionally" seized documents during a raid on the Church of Scientology here in 1977. U.S. Dist. Judge William J. Bryant ordered the government to return all of the documents seized by 25 FBI agents during their search on July 8, 1977. Asst. U.S. Atty. Raymond Banoun said that the government would appeal Bryant's ruling and that it would have no effect on an up-coming criminal trial of ...

WASHINGTON — With a phone call to a pharmaceutical firm in New Jersey, American Citizens for Honesty in Government, an affiliate of the Church of Scientology, obtained a small amount of BZ, a hallucinogen used by the Army in the 1960's for chemical warfare tests. A spokesman for the drug firm, Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., acknowledged that it had furnished the drug to the Scientologists and said steps had been taken to strengthen drug distribution security. The Scientologists, who said BZ is ...

PORTLAND, Ore. (UPI) — A 22-year-old woman whose attorney claimed she "lived through an Orwellian horror story" as a Church of Scientology member was awarded more than $2 million in court Wednesday. Julie Christopherson Titchbourne charged in her suit that the church engaged in unlawful trade practices, fraud and outrageous conduct, damaging her psychologically. A jury of seven women and five men deliberated 18 hours before awarding her $3,000 as compensation for the cost of Scientology courses she took and $150,000 ...

PORTLAND, Ore. — (AP) — A jury awarded more than $2 million in damages Wednesday to a 22-year-old woman who claimed the Church of Scientology defrauded her by failing to fulfill promises of improving her life. The jury deliberated 18 hours over two days before reaching its unanimous decision. In her suit, Julie C. Titchbourne, 21, of Portland, alleged she suffered emotional distress as a result of her experience with the church in 1975-76. She had sought $2 million in punitive ...

Church failed to fulfill promises of improving life, she claimed; also said she suffered emotional distress PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A jury awarded more than $2 million in damages Wednesday to a 22-year-old woman who claimed the Church of Scientology defrauded her by failing to fulfil promises of improving her life. The jury deliberated 18 hours over two days before reaching its unanimous decision. In her suit, Julie C. Titchbourne, 21, of Portland, alleged she suffered emotional distress as a result ...

RIVERSIDE — A Superior Court judge here upheld a search warrant Tuesday used by authorities to raid the local mission of the Church of Scientology in search of evidence of possible bank loan fraud. But at the same time, Judge Ronald Deissler delayed action on a church motion that the 17 boxes of Scientology records seized during the June 13 raid be returned. A hearing on that matter has been set for Aug. 20. More than two dozen Riverside County sheriff's ...

Toronto ON — Narconon, a Toronto drug rehabilitation centre that uses the controversial techniques of the Church of Scientology, is seeking a provincial grant of $256,000. David Kerr, the Narconon board chairman, has asked for a meeting with Health Minister Dennis Timbrell to discuss how the money could be obtained through various Government departments. The centre, run by volunteers out of a three-story house on Spadina Avenue, has struggled for the past seven years without Government help to provide addicts with ...

RIVERSIDE (AP) —The Church of Scientology has filed suit to retrieve documents seized in a sheriff's raid on the church's Riverside Mission and to quash a search warrant used in the June 13 raid. "The seizure," said Christopher Ashworth, a Los Angeles attorney representing the church, "was offensive to the Fourth Amendment rights of citizens who were part of the church." The suit contends: — That most of the information used in support of the warrant was more than a year ...