1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 ⇑ Latest ↑ Later Earlier ↓ Earliest ⇓ May 29, 2004
Scientologists settle death suit — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Robert Farley Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Terms of the unexpected settlement are confidential in the wrongful death suit brought by the estate of Lisa McPherson. A 7-year-old wrongful death lawsuit filed by the estate of Lisa McPherson against the Church of Scientology reached a surprise settlement this week, ending one of the most fiercely contested and enduring legal battles in Pinellas County history. The out-of-court agreement ends the last remaining legal threat facing the church after the widely publicized 1995 death of McPherson, a Scientologist who died ...
Mar 25, 2004
Opinion: IRS' 'chosen people' — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) What kind of special tax privileges are members of the Church of Scientology receiving that members of other religions are not? That is a question the Internal Revenue Service refuses to answer - even for a federal appeals court. The IRS claims it has a legal obligation to keep tax return information confidential, and for years it has extended that justification to the details of a 1993 agreement between the church and the IRS. Reportedly, in exchange for the church dropping ...
Aug 21, 2003
Scientology wanted millions, gets $4,500 — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Robert Farley Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Jurors don't buy the church's argument that a lawyer involved in a wrongful death case owes it more than $2-million. CLEARWATER — A tiny smile creased Ken Dandar's face as a clerk read the first count of the jury verdict. Compensatory damages he owed the Church of Scientology: $4,500. Dandar knew then he had won. The grin widened and Dandar began to playfully pat his attorney, Luke Lirot, as the clerk read through the rest of the counts. The amount he ...
Aug 20, 2003
Scientology seeks millions as punishment — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Robert Farley Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) A lawyer involved in a wrongful death suit should pay more than $2-million, the church contends. CLEARWATER — Large and imposing, Church of Scientology attorney Samuel Rosen stood before a Pinellas County jury Tuesday, arms waving, voice booming. Pointing at Tampa lawyer Ken Dandar, he growled to jurors that Dandar had taken a "garden variety" wrongful death lawsuit and allowed a church critic to turn it into "a frontal attack on an entire religion." Now, Rosen said, Dandar must be punished. ...
Aug 10, 2003
Builders find room for luxury homes — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Robert Farley Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Clearwater Village's developers envision 126 Mediterranean-style homes with a median cost of $450,000 to $500,000. CLEARWATER — Unicorns. Free lunches. Large tracts of undeveloped Clearwater land. None of those things exist, right? In fact, 24 vacant acres do exist in Clearwater, land that has been largely untouched since mules grazed there some 80 years ago. Developers snatched it up, of course. And then they thought about what to do with their blank canvas. Surrounded as it is by a church, low-income ...
Jul 6, 2003
Scientology takes mission to the streets — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Robert Farley Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) The church is buying property, increasing staff and raising its profile with TV ads and special offers. TAMPA — A group of high-ranking Scientologists, concerned the church's Tampa facilities aren't up to snuff, is investing more than $2.5-million to buy a second cigar factory in West Tampa and to lease and renovate a two-story building on one of the hottest corners in Ybor City. The church's three properties, staffed by nearly 100 people, will be the base for Scientology's most aggressive ...
Jun 11, 2003
Church withdraws venue change request — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: news.google.com , pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Robert Farley Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Scientologists will let the trial "determine the ability to empanel an unbiased jury." CLEARWATER — Church of Scientology officials thought hard before making public a survey they commissioned that found widespread negative opinions about Scientology. The church then used the survey to argue that negative media reports had prejudiced Tampa Bay area residents so badly that the church could not get a fair trial in an upcoming civil case. The trial should be moved, they said. Church officials knew the survey ...
Jun 9, 2003
Editorial: Scientology's image — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Scientology officials have gotten smarter about public relations, but they shouldn't be surprised that most local residents still remember their past tactics. Many Pinellas County residents know the story of how the Church of Scientology slipped into Pinellas under a different name in 1975 and began buying property in downtown Clearwater, where it established its international religious retreat known as Flag. They remember the clashes that followed between Clearwater city officials and Scientology, the church's penchant for secrecy and the disinformation ...
Jun 7, 2003
Scientologists agree to tame Ybor recruiters — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Cory Schouten Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) TAMPA — How many roving Scientologists are too many? The church, which has been criticized for aggressive canvassing in Ybor City, met with its neighbors this week and discussed that very question. After the meeting, Ybor civic leader Vince Pardo was pleased. The Scientologists, he said, had agreed to dispatch no more than two people at a time to recruit new members from the streets of Ybor. But church spokeswoman Ana Tirabassi didn't remember it that way. She said the church ...
Jun 6, 2003
Ybor adds Scientolgy to the mix on Saturday — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Cory Schouten Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) The church will use the renovated building to sell books, administer IQ tests and offer courses. But some merchants are grumbling about canvassing tactics. The Church of Scientology will raise its Ybor City profile with the grand opening Saturday of a building it renovated next to Centro Ybor. Scientology of Tampa spokeswoman Ana Tirabassi said the church wants to be a good neighbor. But some merchants and community leaders have raised concerns about canvassing tactics. The church spent $200,000 renovating the ...
May 23, 2003
Church requests that trial be moved — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Robert Farley Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) The church says a survey shows that Pinellas jurors have been heavily influenced by media reports. Respondents used words such as "cult" and "evil" frequently. CLEARWATER — Earlier this spring, as the Church of Scientology prepared for its biggest trial in recent history, professional researchers combed Tyrone Square Mall asking Pinellas residents what they thought of the church. "A cult," said person after person. "Scam," said one. "Crooks," said another. The researchers, hired by the church, questioned 300 people. Their findings ...
Apr 18, 2003
Letters to the Editor // Recent articles disturb an active Scientologist — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: cs.cmu.edu
Type: Press
Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Recent articles disturb an active Scientologist There are two points I would like to state about your recent articles on Scientology missions and the Scientologist landlord. I have been active in Scientology since 1969. I have lived in Clearwater since 1989. I have worked in the church from 1971 to 1981, as well as having worked with (Scientology founder) L. Ron Hubbard on a few occasions. I feel I have enough background to understand people's responses to these articles. 1) Scientologists ...
Apr 13, 2003
Letters: Tax dollars should not go to Narconon — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Re: Detox center seeks acceptance, story, March 30. Narconon, a Scientology drug treatment program, wants taxpayers' dollars by having the local court system order people into the program at a cost of $7,500 per client. The article goes on to state that the "political elite" - such as Clearwater Mayor Brian Aungst, Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Judges Linda Allan and Linda Babb (how can judges endorse a $7,500-per-client religious program?) and County Commissioner Susan Latvala - are impressed, and Pinellas Public Defender Robert ...
Mar 30, 2003
Detox center seeks wider acceptance — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Robert Farley Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Narconon, a drug treatment program with Scientology backing, now wants taxpayer assistance. CLEARWATER – At Tampa Bay's newest alternative to mainstream drug treatment, the license issued by the state hangs next to commendations from the Church of Scientology. Narconon, a controversial drug treatment program based on techniques developed by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, has opened its first Florida facility in Clearwater in a commercial park off U.S. 19. Past the meticulously clean lobby are classrooms where recovering addicts take a ...
Mar 1, 2003
Scientologists establish missions in their back yard / A Belleair storefront opened more than a year ago to spread "hope for man." Four more sites are planned in Hillsborough and Pinellas counties — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Feb 26, 2003
Charges dropped in case of taped-up wife — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Dec 17, 2002
Lawsuit blames medical examiner — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Nov 7, 2002
Trio arrested after wife's wrists are bound — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Chris Tisch ,
Robert Farley Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) A man says he and two friends restrained his wife for a trip to the doctor. Instead, they earn a trip to jail. LARGO — A man was arrested Tuesday and accused of enlisting two friends to help him tie up his wife so he could take her to the doctor. Largo police arrested Terry Ray Hemphill, 54, on charges of felony false imprisonment and misdemeanor domestic battery. Jamie J. Popa, 33, and Laurie Lynn Miller, 32, also were arrested on ...
Aug 23, 2002
Scientologists donate funds to firefighters — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Robert Farley Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) The church's check will pay for double-breasted jackets with brass buttons for Clearwater Fire Department's Honor Guard. CLEARWATER — A new ceremonial unit of the Clearwater Fire Department will now be fully uniformed, thanks to a $3,300 contribution from the Church of Scientology's Volunteer Ministers. City manager Bill Horne, who was asked by the fire chief to okay the donation presented to firefighters Thursday, said he thinks this is the first monetary donation Scientologists ever have made to the city. After ...
Aug 16, 2002
Death of a Scientologist — Chicago ReaderMore: scientology-lies.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Tori Marlan Source:
Chicago Reader Greg Bashaw's father respected him and trusted him to make wise choices. Even after he chose to devote his life to Scientology. While the shock and grief of his son's suicide were still fresh, Bob Bashaw read back through their decades-long correspondence, looking in particular for references to Scientology. "I wanted to see what there was here I missed," he says. His son Greg had been a member of the Church of Scientology for more than 20 years. During that time ...
Tag(s):
American Psychological Association (APA) •
Anti-psychiatry •
Auditing •
Blackmail •
Body thetans (BTs) •
Chicago Reader •
Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization (CSFSO) •
Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) •
Communications Course •
Confidential preclear (PC) folder •
Cost •
Cult Awareness Network (CAN) (earlier form, Citizen's Freedom Foundation) •
Cynthia Kisser •
Dead agenting (Black PR, smear campaign) •
Death •
Deprogramming •
Disconnection •
Divorce •
E-Meter •
Engram •
Erich Fromm •
FACTNet •
Fair game •
False imprisonment •
Freedom (Scientology magazine) •
Greg Barnes •
Greg Bashaw •
Internal Revenue Service (IRS) •
International Association of Scientologists (IAS) •
Introspection Rundown (also, "Baby watch") •
Jason Scott •
Jim Beebe •
Lawrence "Larry" Wollersheim •
Lawsuit •
Lisa McPherson •
Lisa McPherson Trust •
Margaret Thaler Singer •
Mary Anne Ahmad •
Mental illness •
Nazi labelling •
Noah Lottick •
Operating Thetan (OT) •
Operation Snow White •
Philip Gale •
Potential Trouble Source (PTS) •
Protest, picket •
Quentin Geoffrey MaCauley Hubbard •
Reader's Digest •
Reg Alev •
Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF) •
Release contract, form, waiver •
Religious Technology Center (RTC) •
Scientology's "Clear" state •
Scientology: The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power (article) •
Sea Organization (Sea Org, SO) •
Security check ("sec check") •
Silencing criticism, censorship •
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) •
Steven Hassan •
Sue Strozewski •
Suicide •
Supernatural abilities (aka OT powers) •
Suppressive person (SP) •
Tax matter •
Tori Marlan •
Wedding •
Xenu (Operating Thetan level 3, OT 3, Wall of Fire) Jul 28, 2002
Unmistakable presence — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Deborah O'Neil Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Scientology's largest facility in the world, still more than a year from completion, has altered the Clearwater skyline. CLEARWATER – From arched 31-foot windows to the 1,140-seat dining room, there is much that will be grand in the Church of Scientology's new downtown religious center. It will have 889 rooms, 447 windows, 42 bathrooms. A two-story lighted cross will perch atop the highest tower, 150 feet up. The building even has a hefty nickname, "Super Power." In recent weeks, the building's ...
Jul 7, 2002
How Scientology turned its biggest critic — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Deborah O'Neil Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) For years, Bob Minton was the principal opponent in one of the church's nastiest public battles. Now, in a stunning reversal, Minton's testimony is helping the church fight the Lisa McPherson wrongful death lawsuit. The handwritten list ran three pages long, an account of the trouble and expense Robert Minton had caused the Church of Scientology. * Fighting the Lisa McPherson wrongful death case: $14.4-million. * Dealing with lawsuits around the globe: more than $6-million. * Paying security to protect Clearwater ...
Jun 13, 2002
Scientology turncoat taken to task — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Deborah O'Neil Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) The millionaire testifying on behalf of the church "is in all manner of trouble," a judge says. ST. PETERSBURG — New England millionaire Robert Minton came forward recently to say he wanted to set the record straight about lies he told in a wrongful-death lawsuit against the Church of Scientology. But his confessions and testimony may bring him a heap of new legal problems. Judge Susan Schaeffer said Wednesday that Minton could be in serious trouble with her, the State Attorney's ...
Jun 11, 2002
Scientology hearing plods along — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Deborah O'Neil Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Monday was supposed to be Day One of the long-delayed wrongful death trial against the Church of Scientology. Instead, it was Day 22 of a hearing to throw out the lawsuit that blames the church for the 1995 death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson. The hearing, which began May 2 and now boasts nearly 300 exhibits, is not nearly over. Judge Susan Schaeffer has set aside most of this week and next for the proceeding. The church is accusing attorney Ken Dandar, ...
Jun 2, 2002
Separating belief and business — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Deborah O'Neil Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Home is a pair of waterfront mansions valued at $3.8-million on a gated Belleair island. His ride to work is a sleek Mercedes S600. Retail: $100,000. He has a $6.6-million getaway in Aspen, Colo. He's refurbishing two New York City office buildings he bought for $41-million. Bryan Zwan has become wealthy since founding Digital Lightwave 12 years ago. Last fall, he joined Bill Gates and Warren Buffett on the Forbes list of the 400 richest Americans. Zwan, 54, exudes the friendliness, ...
Jun 2, 2002
The CEO and his church — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Deborah O'Neil ,
Jeff Harrington Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Months of interviews and thousands of pages of court papers show the effect that influential church members had on a Clearwater company that was a darling of the dot-com boom. It was New Year's Eve 1997 when Digital Lightwave's chief, Bryan Zwan, made his biggest deal: a $9-million contract for his signature product, a 10-pound device that tests telephone lines. At 5:30 p.m., Zwan phoned his production staff and gave them a tall order: Ship the 308 units right away. It ...
May 3, 2002
Allegations won't alter church suit — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Deborah O'Neil Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Regardless of legal misconduct claims, a judge says a wrongful death suit against the Church of Scientology is going to trial. ST. PETERSBURG — A wrongful death lawsuit against the Church of Scientology probably won't be dismissed because of recent allegations of legal misconduct, a judge indicated Thursday. A hearing resumes this morning on a motion to remove attorney Ken Dandar, who represents the estate of Lisa McPherson, a church member who died in 1995 while in the care of Scientologists ...
Apr 30, 2002
Medical examiner needs to rebuild credibility of office — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) It is unknown whether [Wood] and [Marie Hansen]'s conduct simply was inept or disturbingly conspiratorial in the zeal to hold someone accountable for the death of a child. Their sloppy records in the Long case include listing the wrong gender for the baby and contradictory accounts of the existence of subarachnoid hemorrhage - bleeding in the brain. Inexplicably, the autopsy report contains no documentation of the baby's pneumonia-filled lungs. Wood, who approved Hansen's autopsy of Long, has little credibility left. Her ...
Apr 29, 2002
Church targets lawsuit attorney — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Deborah O'Neil Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Scientology tries to end a lawsuit by having the plaintiff's attorney in the case removed. CLEARWATER – The Church of Scientology is rolling out an aggressive set of legal maneuvers aimed at wiping out one of its biggest headaches: the lawsuit blaming the church for the 1995 death of Lisa McPherson. The church is zeroing in on Tampa attorney Ken Dandar, who in representing McPherson's family has mustered an unrelenting challenge costing the church millions and fueling unending bad publicity. Accusing ...
Feb 8, 2002
Scientology reaches out to troubled with ad campaign — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Deborah O'Neil Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Billboards are going up in major U.S. cities claiming to have an answer for those in distress. Some mental health experts question the church's motive. For Americans troubled by economic uncertainty, fear and grief, 1,100 Church of Scientology billboards going up in major U.S. cities claim to have an answer. "No matter how bad it is ... SOMETHING CAN BE DONE ABOUT IT." The billboards are part of an unprecedented national media campaign by Scientology to reach what it calls "a ...
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