Therapy as Religion Though the Berendo Street headquarters is the hub of Scientology activity in Los Angeles, the church's showplace is its Celebrity Center at Franklin and Bronson. A grand gothic chateau built for William Randolph Hearst in the 1920s, this complex of Scientology offices and apartments has retained much of its charm, replete with garden grounds and flowing fountains The idyllic setting is reinforced as you enter the mansion's foyer. The walls are lined with original art, and music from ...

LOS ANGELES — A U.S. District Court judge Monday dismissed a $2 million libel suit by the Church of Scientology, of California against a Boston lawyer because of the failure of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard to appear at a court-ordered deposition. Lawyers for the Church of Scientology had argued that they had no way of contacting Hubbard, who was last seen in public in 1980 while living near Hemet, 70 miles east of Los Angeles. Hubbard, 74, had been ordered ...

A former Scientologist who said he helped manage L. Ron Hubbard's bank accounts testified Monday that the Scientology founder collected income of $200,000 to $1 million per week during a six-month period in 1982. Howard D. Schoemer, who left the Church of Scientology in December 1982, told a Multnomah County Circuit Court jury that the money was routed to Hubbard through Author Services Inc., a corporation that "supposedly had nothing to do with the church." Schoemer said the income to Hubbard ...

It was just before midnight, May 28, 1984, when the orders were issued. Confidentially. "Mission information: ... recent reports from contacts made with Homer he is likely to go over to the enemy camp. He is thinking of turning against us completely. "Mission purpose: To prevent Homer from going over to the enemy camp and get him moving back onto The Bridge. "Vital Targets: ... Stay in close comm (communication) with MSN OPS (mission operations). Do not implement any decisions without ...

CLEARWATER—Possibly the highest-ranking, most influential Scientologist to defect from the Clearwater-based, international sect has sued Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard for more than $225 million. Citing physical abuse, the intentional infliction of emotional distress, false imprisonment and the violation of his civil rights, Howard D. "Homer" Schomer, the 49-year-old former treasury secretary of the sect's Author Services Inc. branch, is demanding a jury trial and damages of $226,528,200. Schomer's claims, if proved true, offer a dark view of the ...

"Corrupt, sinister and dangerous" were the words used to describe the Church of Scientology in a judgment given by Mr Justice Latey this summer. He also referred to it as "immoral and socially obnoxious". But who controls the Church now? A major Sunday Times Magazine investigation into the activities of the cult in America and Britain has uncovered a disturbing and extraordinary story — the takeover of the organisation by a small band of youthful fanatics following the disappearance of the ...

Charges by church defectors that Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard diverted more than $100 million in church funds to foreign bank accounts was described Wednesday as "garbage" by the sect's president. "I call it hyperspace junk writing," said Heber Jentzsch, president of the Church of Scientology International. The former senior church officials, who have testified about the church's inner workings in Los Angeles court, told the New York Times that Hubbard directed them to establish shell corporations to channel much of ...

Former officials of the Church of Scientology say they helped L. Ron Hubbard, the reclusive founder of the cult-like organization, to secretly divert more than $100 million from the church into foreign bank accounts he controlled. The organization, long a subject of investigations in this country, Britain, France, Australia, South Africa, Spain and elsewhere, has maintained that Mr. Hubbard cut his ties to it in the mid-1970's, that he has received only a token consulting fee of $35,000 annually since then ...

Abe Polonsky, who's spent the last few years in the groves of academe, has been signed by producer Bill Immerman to adapt L. Ron Hubbard's current best-selling "Battlefield Earth," which Ken Annakin will direct. Polonsky, 73, whose career stretches back to his Oscar-nominated screenplay for "Body And Soul" (1947) and whose most recent writing credit was "Monsignor," is working daily with Annakin in breaking down a workable screen design from Hubbard's voluminous intergalactic sci-fi adventure (No. 9 on the New York ...

In a newish sort of castle in Sussex a suite of rooms, with private bar, an electric organ, and an elegant writing desk complete with pens and an unopened pack of his favorite cigarettes, await one of the world's most prolific and richest authors. Yet the rooms, cleaned regularly, remain unused; the chair behind the desk has not been sat upon for over fifteen years, though the man for whom all this is carefully — even lovingly maintained — has sold ...

Thirty-seven investors, including some who mortgaged their homes to get money, have lost $1.5 million in a Denver scheme that promised a whopping 60 percent in annual interest. Among the big losers was L. Ron Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology, who lost almost half a million dollars. The scheme has been investigated by the state securities division, and the FBI plans to investigate. The state has found evidence of criminal conduct and will present its findings Wednesday to the ...

A best-selling adventure novel by a controversial figure who has not been seen in public for years has become the focus of concern among some book sellers. The book sellers said they belleve that "Battlefield Earth" by L. Ron Hubbard is being bought in large numbers in their stores by members of the Church of Scientology, founded by the reclusive Hubbard, as part of an effort to boost it onto the country's best-seller lists. Some book sellers and critics of Hubbard ...

Church of Scientology officials Monday produced a second letter purportedly written by church founder L. Ron Hubbard, saying he is alive and well and believes his estate to be in good hands. The handwritten letter was filed as part of a motion to dismiss the Riverside County Superior Court probate battle in which Hubbard's son, Ronald DeWolf, claims his father is either dead or incompetent. DeWolf says church officials have been stealing millions of dollars from the 71-year-old Hubbard and is ...

At first glance, the double-page ad in Daily Variety looks much like all the other congratulatory messages that routinely appear Hollywood's trade press. "Our Dear Friend Has Done Again!" the headline proclaims. Then "He has given us another incredible reason to make a fuss over him!" It's on second glance — on recognizing "our dear friend" 's name and face — that you realize how different this ad is. Instead of praising the latest effort of some show-biz functionary, this one ...

[Transcription of the meaningful parts of the 1023 form as submitted by the Church of Scientology International to the IRS. For the complete document, see PDFs] [Coming soon]