When the end finally came for the old Cult Awareness Network, it happened fast. Cynthia Kisser, CAN's executive director, struggled to stay calm as she sat in federal bankruptcy court in Chicago late last October waiting for the auction to begin. Kisser, who had spent the past nine years leading CAN's efforts to inform the public about dangerous cults, had hoped that she wouldn't have to pay much for her group's assets that day. Nor did she want much, she claims ...

TILDEN, NEB. — In a no-stoplight town on the American plain, in a house where the King James Version lies open in the entryway, a woman unfolds her newspaper and begins to read. The headline in the Tilden Citizen announces, "New Park Groundbreaking Ceremony Held." A picture shows 13 people posed shoulder to shoulder, their grins as frozen as the February soil. The mayor, a construction foreman on his afternoon break, has the familiar job of holding the shovel. A banner ...

CLEARWATER — Was it an honest mistake, a slip of the tongue? Or was it the naked truth, carelessly uttered on camera A top official for the Church of Scientology told a German television crew recently that church member Lisa McPherson died in a room at the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater. On its face, the statement marks a major change in Scientology's version of events surrounding McPherson's unexplained death at age 36. It came in the presence of one of ...

The death of 36 year old Lisa McPherson while in the "care" of fellow Scientologists at the Clearwater headquarters has led to an ongoing investigation by Clearwater police and has been the focus of numerous stories in the Tampa Tribune, St. Petersburg Times, New York Times, local media, NBC Nightly News, and episodes on Inside Edition. Lisa's tragic story began when she joined Scientology upon high school graduation. But two weeks before Thanksgiving, 1995, Lisa "told friends that she was ready ...

A visitor to the Internet World trade show in Los Angeles last month would have come away with the impression that Luckman Interactive was an industry powerhouse. The 3-year-old firm, which makes software and Internet directories, hung a giant banner on the side of the Los Angeles Convention Center—the only company to spring for the expense. Its booth was among the biggest at the show, rivaling those of Netscape, Apple Computer and Sun Microsystems. The company has raised more than $20 ...

As no doubt befits a society founded by Pilgrims, America has a long tradition of controversial movements maturing to success, whether Mormons or Christian Scientists or Jehovah's Witnesses. Today, the latest cult forcing itself to our attention is the Church of Scientology. Scientology was founded in the early 1950s by L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer. He fashioned a creation myth around Xenu, who froze and transported thetan souls to volcanoes in Teegeeack, now earth. The creed holds that humans ...

Most taxpayers would not be rewarded if they tried to intimidate the Internal Revenue Service into giving them a break. They also would be kicked out the door if they barged into the office of the head of the IRS and demanded to be seen without an appointment. But most taxpayers are not the Church of Scientology, which succeeded in doing both. The decision by the IRS in 1993 to give the Church of Scientology the tax exemption granted to churches ...

For years, Scientology has gone to great lengths to defend itself from critics. Often its defense has involved private investigators working for its lawyers. While the use of private investigators is common in the legal profession, some instances involving the church have been unusual. Scientology officials said that the investigators operated within the law and that the tactics were necessary to counter attacks made over the years by Internal Revenue Service agents and the press. "When people stop spreading lies about ...

CLEARWATER — Five pathologists say it is clear from key lab results that Lisa McPherson was severely dehydrated when she died after a 17-day stay at a Church of Scientology retreat. The Times interviewed the doctors after the much-publicized disagreement between the church and Pinellas-Pasco Medical Examiner Joan Wood over how McPherson died. None of the doctors were previously familiar with the case. While many of their conclusions echo what Wood has said about McPherson's death, most of the doctors said ...

On Oct. 8, 1993, 10,000 cheering Scientologists thronged the Los Angeles Sports Arena to celebrate the most important milestone in the church's recent history: victory in its all-out war against the Internal Revenue Service. For 25 years, I.R.S. agents had branded Scientology a commercial enterprise and refused to give it the tax exemption granted to churches. The refusals had been upheld in every court. But that night the crowd learned of an astonishing turnaround. The I.R.S. had granted tax exemptions to ...

A web of intrigue surrounds the high-stakes legal brawl between FACTnet and the Church of Scientology. Strange things happen around Lawrence Wollersheim. His businesses collapse. His Boulder apartment gets raided by federal marshals, his computers seized. When college students offer to help him rebuild his computer bulletin-board system, they receive threatening phone calls–anonymous voices urging them to stay away from Larry. A California judge who presided over a lawsuit in which Wollersheim was the plaintiff told reporters he'd encountered a lot ...

Mar. 4—MicroHelp, a promising Marietta software company, was shut down last month amid allegations its Los Angeles owners have "looted assets," lavishing corporate funds on friends, stereos and the Church of Scientology. The company, which had more than 60 employees just a few months ago, closed in mid-February, about three months after being bought by Luckman Interactive of Los Angeles. Monday, Luckman officials said they were betrayed by MicroHelp's four major shareholders, the company's top management. "Basically, we paid them $4 ...