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Brained — New Times Los Angeles
Sep 4, 2000
Building Scientopolis // How Scientology remade Clearwater, Florida—and what local Christians learned in the process. — Christianity Today
Type: Press
Author(s):
Jody Veenker Source:
Christianity Today By all appearances, Clearwater lives up to its name. Located just outside of Tampa Bay, the city boasts palm trees, white beaches, sun, surf, and six cruise tour companies with "dolphin sightings guaranteed." Liberally supplied with spacious hotels within driving distance of the Busch Gardens amusement park and the Salvador Dali museum, Clearwater is a tidy burg with street names like Gulf to Bay Boulevard and Sunset Point Road. Clearwater is also home to the most prestigious international instructional center for ...
Jun 13, 2000
Florida drops charges against Scientology in 1995 death — New York Times
Type: Press
Author(s):
Douglas Frantz Source:
New York Times Criminal charges against the Church of Scientology in the death of a church member who was under the organization's care were dropped yesterday because Florida prosecutors said they could no longer prove the accusations. Bernie McCabe, the state attorney for Pasco and Pinellas Counties, said in a document filed in state court in Clearwater that his office was dismissing the charges because the medical examiner had determined earlier this year that the death of the church member, Lisa McPherson, was accidental. ...
Mar 9, 2000
Scientologists decry toll of criminal case — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Thomas C. Tobin Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) More than 200 church members ask a Circuit Court judge to dismiss the Lisa McPherson criminal case, saying it is an undue burden on them. CLEARWATER — A group of more than 200 Scientologists says the criminal prosecution against the Church of Scientology has hurt them personally, and they are asking a judge to dismiss the case. In affidavits filed Wednesday in Pinellas-Pasco Circuit Court, many church members said the criminal case stemming from the 1995 death of Scientologist Lisa McPherson ...
Dec 8, 1999
When can a church be accused of a crime? — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Howard Troxler Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) There is a story about lawyers that involves a flower pot falling off a high ledge. A passer-by sues, claiming he was injured.
The defense lawyer answers:
First, it wasn't our pot.
Second, if it was, it didn't fall.
Third, if it fell, it didn't hit you.
Fourth, if it hit you, you weren't hurt.
This "flower pot strategy" is being employed by both sides in the current criminal case against a corporation of the Church of Scientology. Both sides' arguments ...
Dec 7, 1999
Belief called irrelevant in death — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Thomas C. Tobin Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) The Church of Scientology in Clearwater cannot rely on religious grounds to escape prosecution in the death of one of its members, Pinellas-Pasco prosecutors argued in a strongly worded document filed Monday.
The document referred to the church's Clearwater entity as "a multifaceted non-profit corporation" that "engages in extensive revenue sharing activity" and generates "tremendous cash flow."
The wording aims to undercut an argument by church lawyers that Scientology staffers were giving "spiritual assistance" to parishioner Lisa McPherson when she died ...
May 12, 1999
Scientology files motions to drop charges — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Thomas C. Tobin Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) The Church of Scientology in Clearwater says it is immune from criminal prosecution in the death of Lisa McPherson and wants the felony charges against it dismissed. In lengthy motions filed this week, Scientology's lawyers argue that the charges filed against the church last November "are both unnecessary and impermissible." Church staffers gave "spiritual assistance" to McPherson, a fellow Scientologist, in the days before she died, thus their actions were protected under the First Amendment and the state's new Religious Freedom ...
Dec 1, 1998
Scientology pleads not guilty in 1995 death — New York TimesMore: link
Nov 14, 1998
Florida charges Scientology in church member's death // 2-year investigation leads to felony filing — New York TimesMore: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Douglas Frantz Source:
New York Times ORLANDO, Fla., Nov. 13 — Florida prosecutors filed criminal charges today against the Church of Scientology in connection with the death of a church member while she was under the care of Scientologists three years ago. The church's Flag Service Organization, its chief operating arm in Clearwater, Fla., was charged with abuse or neglect of a disabled adult and with the unauthorized practice of medicine in the death of the church member, Lisa McPherson, 36. The felony charges were filed in ...
Feb 1, 1998
Scientology in Clearwater: digging in / Scientology in Clearwater — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Thomas C. Tobin Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) She is one of an estimated 3,300 Scientologists who have migrated to Clearwater in the 1990s, the most dramatic period of growth for the church during its 22 years in Clearwater. In addition, the church has said it is "deadly serious" about its plans for the year 2000, which include tripling the size of its Clearwater staff to more than 3,500; launching a local Scientology "university" that would accommodate more than 10,000 students a week; and having "Clearwater known as the ...
Jan 7, 1998
Public Eye: 17 days (transcript) — CBS NewsMore: Google video
Oct 31, 1997
In her final years, Scientologist spent $175,000 — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: lisamcpherson.org , pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Thomas C. Tobin Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Lisa McPherson turned to the Church of Scientology in her 20s as she tried to shed the emotional baggage of a rocky youth. By age 36, with a high school education, she was earning a handsome salary as a sales representative in Clearwater. Today, as the church tries to rebut assertions that it caused her sudden death, it also credits Scientology for her successes in life. But McPherson's turnaround came at a financial price. From 1991 until she died in December ...
May 2, 1995
Affidavit of Paul Maser More: groups.google.com , lisamcpherson.org
Type: Affidavit
Author(s):
Paul Maser UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT MIDDLE DISTRICT OF FLORIDA TAMPA DIVISION Case No. 94-292-CN-T-24A CITY OF CLEARWATER and SIDNEY R. KLEIN, Chief of Police, Clearwater Police Department, Plaintiffs, vs. CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY FLAG SERVICE ORGANIZATION, INC., Defendant. —– AFFIDAVIT OF PAUL MASER STATE OF FLORIDA COUNTY OF PINELLAS I, Paul Maser, being duly sworn, deposes and says of my own personal knowledge and belief that: 1 . He is employed by the Clearwater Police Department and has been, so employed for 20 ...
Aug 3, 1994
A battle of beliefs waged in megabytes — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: groups.google.com , pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Wayne Garcia Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Scientologists and their critics are colliding in cyberspace. The critics started the fight, creating an electronic bulletin board dubbed alt.religion.scientology on the Internet, a worldwide web of computer networks with an audience pushing 25-million. Then they downloaded their knowledge and opinions in e-mail messages that just about anyone with a computer, a little money and a modem can view. "As you will see, Scientology is astronomically prohibitive," one anonymous writer said on a.r.s in a message that reprinted the church's price ...
Jan 26, 1994
Scientology, county settle tax suits — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Jan 23, 1994
Scientology Files — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Ned Seaton Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) They never broke into church buildings or planted electronic bugs, but for the past 13 years, undercover Clearwater police detectives have investigated the Church of Scientology. They never developed a case against the church that was prosecuted. The work ranged from gathering Scientologists' names to seeking refunds for dissatisfied parishioners. Police once stormed Scientology headquarters after hearing anonymous allegations - unfounded, it turned out - that Scientology children were being strapped to gurneys and given electric shocks. The investigation boils down ...
Oct 21, 1993
Scientology sells... And profits // IRS files shed light on church's finances — Seattle Times
Oct 16, 1993
Letters [Richard Haworth] — Tampa Tribune (Florida)
Oct 15, 1993
Scientologists profited from new members — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: link , pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Karl Vick ,
David Dahl Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Newly released earnings reports show late founder L. Ron Hubbard's disciples can earn big money by soliciting members to Scientology. WASHINGTON — It pays to pitch Scientology, according to earnings reports the church has filed with the Internal Revenue Service. One man averaged almost $200,000 a year in commissions from the fees of new members he had solicited to become Scientologists. The church gives its proselytizers 10 to 15 percent of what newcomers "donate" for church services, such as the process ...
Oct 14, 1993
Papers detail church's finances — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: news.google.com , link
Type: Press
Author(s):
David Dahl ,
Karl Vick Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) The Church of Scientology, freed of its income tax obligations by the IRS this month, is spending $114-million to preserve the voluminous writings of deceased founder L. Ron Hubbard, the group says in newly released documents. The works will be etched into steel plates and printed in book form on natural cotton and linen fabric, according to documents. Some will be stocked in an underground vault in California that is designed, Scientologists hope, to protect the writings during a nuclear war. ...
Oct 13, 1993
IRS: Scientology is tax-exempt religion — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: link , pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Wayne Garcia Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) The agreement ends a fight that lasted decades. And the deal may help Scientologists avoid paying millions of tax dollars in Clearwater. The Internal Revenue Service says the Church of Scientology and its myriad entities don't have to pay federal income taxes, ending a 40-year battle with the controversial church over its purpose and methods of dealing with opponents, which included burglary and intimidation. In the past week, the Internal Revenue Service issued 30 "determination letters" that exempted 153 Scientology churches, ...
Aug 28, 1993
Scientology's words to hit the airwaves — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Now [Nancy] Cartwright is appearing on television in another role: a 30-minute television program that the Church of Scientology hopes will expose more people to [L. Ron] Hubbard's message and increase the number of people seeking Scientology counseling. Now, next to those telephone-order woks and real-estate courses comes Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health , the 1950 self-help classic from Hubbard, whose writings and research are the gospel of Scientology. The group has its spiritual headquarters in Clearwater. Scientology is never ...
Aug 12, 1993
Scientologists buy historic building — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Wayne Garcia Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) The Church of Scientology now owns one of this city's most historic storefront buildings but might not for long if it completes a land-swap deal. The Los Angeles-based Church of Scientology Religious Trust bought the J. D. Baskin Building, 115 S Garden Ave., in June for $500,000 from Imre and Anne Tozser of Clearwater, courthouse records show. The [Jefferson Davis] Baskin building, Scientology's 14th purchase in Clearwater, is being traded for a parcel controlled by the Indiana-based Mitchell Foundation, said Richard ...
Apr 5, 1993
Counseling center redesigned / Groundbreaking for the Scientologists' domed, $40-million center in Clearwater is expected by the end of the year — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Wayne Garcia Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Church of Scientology officials are retooling designs for their $40-million counseling and training center on the site of the old Gray Moss Inn, across the street from the Fort Harrison Hotel religious retreat. A model of the six-story Technical Delivery Building features a broad domed roof and concentric white concrete circles around one side that recall the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Guggenheim Museum in New York City. Scientologists expect to break ground on the new building at 215 S Fort Harrison Ave. ...
Aug 27, 1991
Scientology plan called tax avoidance — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: news.google.com
Apr 4, 1991
Scientologists file 11 suits to get access to IRS audit records — Tampa Tribune (Florida)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Tom Brennan Source:
Tampa Tribune (Florida) TAMPA — Scientologists filed 11 federal lawsuits Wednesday against the Internal Revenue Service seeking information about agency audits of them. The group claims the IRS has ignored its requests to obtain the records filed under the federal Freedom of Information Act and is asking the court to force the agency to turn over the documents. Among the things the lawsuits are seeking are the IRS audits and any instructions, memorandums or directives by the agency relating to the treatment of Scientologists. ...
Jan 30, 1991
Men guilty of money laundering — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Bruce Vielmetti Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) A defunct Clearwater rare coin, bullion and currency exchange, along with three former employees, pleaded guilty Tuesday to federal money-laundering charges. The business, Bernstein, McCaffrey & Lee, was at 601 Cleveland St. in downtown Clearwater, but has been closed since authorities raided the office and confiscated inventory in December 1989. Ronald W. Bernstein, who founded the business, and former salesmen Grant Boshoff, 20, and Lawrence Spencer, 44, each face a maximum of 20 years in prison, but likely will receive much ...
Jan 1, 1991
Scientologists are sued for $127,000 — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Curtis Krueger ,
Teresa Burney Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Five companies are suing the Church of Scientology for more than $127,000, claiming that the organization has failed to pay its bills for construction work and equipment. Besides those lawsuits, the Scientologists have settled five others within the past two years from companies that claimed they were owed more than $39,000 for items ranging from travel services to construction materials. Scientology was founded by science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, the author of Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. Scientologists ...
Dec 31, 1990
Church of Scientology facing suits / Five companies say Scientologists haven't paid their bills. The group denies it is having financial difficulties. — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: news.google.com
May 20, 1990
Scientology church feud with anti-cultists heats up — Chicago Sun TimesMore: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Daniel J. Lehmann Source:
Chicago Sun Times A festering dispute between a nontraditional religion and an anti-cult group has escalated to the point where each camp is accusing the other of using Nazilike tactics. Chances of a truce between the Church of Scientology and the Cult Awareness Network appear slim. Each denies the other's allegations of employing techniques that fleece victims of money and inflict psychological damage. The two have been at odds for at least a decade. The faceoff heated up in a recent solicitation letter from ...
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