1 2 3 4 ⇑ Latest ↑ Later Earlier ↓ Earliest ⇓ Jun 2, 1992
Group unethical church trial told — Toronto Star (Canada)
Type: Press
Source:
Toronto Star (Canada) A Scientologist sent to investigate the head office of the church branch allegedly responsible for dirty tricks and spying says he was sickened by what he saw. "I was disgusted. I was sickened to my bones," Norman Starkey, 48, of Los Angeles testified yesterday. Starkey was a defence witness at the jury trial of the Toronto branch of the Church of Scientology and five of its members on breach of trust charges. The charges are in connection with agents infiltrating the ...
May 30, 1992
Spies 'upset' Scientology executive, trial told — Toronto Star (Canada)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Peter Small Source:
Toronto Star (Canada) A top Church of Scientology executive once married to founder L. Ron Hubbard's daughter says he had no idea about an espionage and dirty tricks campaign conducted by the church. At the trial of the Church of Scientology of Toronto and five of its members yesterday, Jonathan Horwich, 47, of Los Angeles testified he was "very upset" and "shocked" when first informed of the church's campaign. The Toronto defendants face criminal breach of trust charges in connection with agents infiltrating the ...
May 16, 1992
Scientology trial hears of intrigue and 'plants' — Toronto Star (Canada)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Wendy Darroch Source:
Toronto Star (Canada) A tale of intrigue, international espionage and blind dedication has been painted over the past month by a group of senior members with the Church of Scientology of Toronto during the 1970s. All those testifying had been expelled by the church. They were given immunity from prosecution for testifying at the trial of five members and the church on charges of criminal breach of trust. The charges concern "plants" infiltrating the RCMP, OPP, Metro police and the provincial attorney-general's office between ...
May 15, 1992
Scientologist taught crime OK — Toronto Sun (Canada)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Bill Dunphy Source:
Toronto Sun (Canada) One of Scientology's former top spy-masters testified she'd been trained to believe criminal actions which protected the church weren't violations of Scientology's moral code. Marion Evoy, a former Canadian head of Scientology's Guardian Office, made the comment yesterday at the end of four days of testimony in the trial of the Church of Scientology of Toronto Inc. and five members on charges of criminal breach of trust. The charges arise out of a Scientology spy network that in the mid-1970s infiltrated ...
May 13, 1992
Ex-cult member: Mounties targetted as enemy — Toronto Sun (Canada)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Bill Dunphy Source:
Toronto Sun (Canada) Scientologists targeted the RCMP for infiltration because their founder believed Mounties were part of a worldwide conspiracy against his church, an ex-member testified yesterday. The Toronto court heard Scientology leader L. Ron Hubbard believed the international conspiracy was run by a band of former Nazis who'd taken over Interpol — the European-based international police organization. The testimony yesterday from Marion Evoy, formerly Canada's top Scientology official, came at the opening of the fourth week of the trial of the Church of ...
May 6, 1992
Scientology trial told: 'Spies' stole key files — Toronto Sun (Canada)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Bill Dunphy Source:
Toronto Sun (Canada) A former top Scientologist testified yesterday she was put in a closet with a set of picks and told to unlock the door as part of her spy training. Marion Evoy told court she failed to get out. But the 42-year-old tutor testified to a string of successes with the Scientology spy network, which is alleged to have penetrated three police forces and three levels of government in the mid-1970s. The Church of Scientology of Toronto and five members pleaded not ...
May 2, 1992
Church lifted OPP files // Spy tells of smuggling — Toronto Sun (Canada)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Bill Dunphy Source:
Toronto Sun (Canada) A Scientology spy testified yesterday she smuggled out enough files from the OPP to make a stack about 15 feet high. The Church of Scientology of Toronto Inc. and five Scientologists face charges of criminal breach of trust in connection with a spy network that infiltrated the RCMP, Metro Police, the attorney general's department and the OPP. Kathy Smith told court that during her 2½ years as an OPP employee she smuggled out "hundreds and hundreds" of files. She was testifying ...
Apr 30, 1992
Scientology trial: Secret files reported — Toronto Sun (Canada)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Bill Dunphy Source:
Toronto Sun (Canada) A former top Scientologist testified yesterday his intelligence office had copies of Ontario cabinet documents stored in a secret hideaway code-named "The Garden." Emile Gilbert, former executive director of the Church of Scientology of Toronto, told a jury yesterday "The Garden" contained 40 or 50 filing cabinets of intelligence files on Scientology's targets. "We had all kinds of files," Gilbert said, "some from Premier Bill Davis' cabinet meetings." Gilbert also said the agents had amassed so much material dealing with the ...
Apr 28, 1992
Church 'altered minds' trial told — Toronto Star (Canada)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Paul Moloney Source:
Toronto Star (Canada) Church of Scientology intelligence officers in the 1970s were "complete zealots" prepared to use illegal means to attack critics, a former official has testified. "Within Scientology, we were completely indoctrinated and did believe that everything we did was 100 per cent right. Our minds were completely altered," Bryan Levman told an Ontario Court, general division, jury. Testifying in return for immunity from prosecution, Levman said he thought at the time it was justified in having "plants" infiltrate Metro police and other ...
Apr 27, 1992
L. Ron Hubbard blamed for spying on 'enemies' — Toronto Star (Canada)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Bruce DeMara Source:
Toronto Star (Canada) In the summer of 1973, dedicated Scientologist Bryan Levman left the yacht of church founder L. Ron Hubbard with a new title and a mandate he believed allowed him to infiltrate police agencies and steal government files. For three years, Levman oversaw a series of covert intelligence operations as deputy guardian for Canada, aimed at attacking the "enemies" of Scientology, founded by Hubbard in the mid-1950s. Levman left the church in 1976 in some disillusionment — "it didn't deliver what it ...
Apr 24, 1992
Scientologists infiltrated Metro police, trial told — Toronto Star (Canada)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Bruce DeMara Source:
Toronto Star (Canada) Church of Scientology "plants" infiltrated Metro police and the Ontario Provincial Police and succeeded in obtaining copies of investigators' files, a trial has been told. A church member also obtained a file from the attorney-general's office by telephoning a central registry, pretending to be a government lawyer and sending a phony secretary to pick it up, witness Bryan Levman testified. "It was considered a big win. Everybody was very happy," Levman testified yesterday. He added that a Scientology plant later obtained ...
Apr 24, 1992
Trial told of break-ins, esponiage // Sounds like Spy-entology — Toronto Sun (Canada)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Bill Dunphy Source:
Toronto Sun (Canada) Scientology engaged in worldwide break-ins and espionage because its founder believed he was the focus of a global conspiracy, court heard yesterday. At least 12 police forces and government agencies in Canada were targeted for penetration by Scientology spies in the mid-1970s, Bryan Levman, a former top Scientology official, testified. Levman, testifying under immunity, said L. Ron Hubbard, a former science fiction writer who founded the organization, believed mental health professions were behind a conspiracy to destroy Scientology in concert with ...
Apr 23, 1992
Ex-Scientology boss testifies // She 'ran the agents' — Toronto Sun (Canada)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Bill Dunphy Source:
Toronto Sun (Canada) The former head of Scientology's Canadian intelligence network has identified one of his underlings as being responsible for "running" agents the church had planted in several police and government agencies. Bryan Levman was testifying yesterday at the criminal trial of the Church of Scientology of Toronto and five Scientologists. Levman said defendant Jacqueline Matz "ran the agents" who got jobs in the mid-1970s with the RCMP, the OPP, Metro Police and the attorney-general's office in order to pass information back to ...
Apr 23, 1992
Scientology testimony marked by jargon — Toronto Star (Canada)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Bruce DeMara Source:
Toronto Star (Canada) A bewildering array of jargo and termnology characterize the first day of testimony at the trial of the Church of Scientology's Toronto chapter and five of its members on breach of trust charges. The opening witness, Bryan Levrnan, left Mr. Justice James Southey of Ontario Court, general division, confused and frustrated as he tried to explain the organization's complicated management structure. Southey stopped the proceedings several times to ask the crown and the witness to slow down so he could complete ...
Apr 22, 1992
Church spy web alleged / Scientologists' trial — Toronto Sun (Canada)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Bill Dunphy Source:
Toronto Sun (Canada) The Church of Scientology of Toronto and five adherents are on trial on charges they ran a spy network that infiltrated three police forces and the attorney-general's office. A jury yesterday heard Crown attorney James Stewart outline a spy network that saw members of the church spiriting files out of police and government buildings for copying. The five counts of criminal breach of trust faced by Scientology and the five co-accused stem from activities alleged to have occured from 1974 to ...
Apr 7, 1992
Scientology not-guilty pleas — Toronto Sun (Canada)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Bill Dunphy Source:
Toronto Sun (Canada) The Church of Scientology of Toronto Inc. and five members pleaded not guilty to criminal charges of breach of trust yesterday before a panel of 200 prospective jurors. The charges, Mr. Justice James Southey explained to the panel, arise from allegations Scientologists got jobs with the RCMP, the OPP, the attorney general's office and Metro Police so they "could act as a spy or a plant." These "spies", Southey said, are alleged to have "obtained information for the church and passed ...
Mar 12, 1992
Judge adds $500,000 to record libel award — Toronto Star (Canada)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Tracy Tyler Source:
Toronto Star (Canada) The highest libel award in Canadian history just got sweeter for a top crown attorney. In a ruling yesterday, a judge rejected the Church of Scientology's bid to slash the record $1.6 million damage award for libelling Crown Attorney Casey Hill. Instead, Mr. Justice Douglas Carruthers ordered the church and lawyer Morris Manning, a co-defendant, to pay pre-judgment interest to Hill on a portion of the damages, calculated at 10 per cent a year since 1985, when the lawsuit was launched. ...
Mar 12, 1992
Scientology libel loss confirmed // Judge rejects request to reduce $1.6-million award to Crown lawyer — Globe and Mail (Canada)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Thomas Claridge Source:
Globe and Mail (Canada) Canada's costliest libel loss became even costlier yesterday when an Ontario Court judge not only confirmed a $1.6-million jury award but tacked on legal fees and about $560,000 in interest. In a written decision, Mr. Justice Douglas Carruthers rejected arguments by lawyers for the Toronto-based Church of Scientology and lawyer Morris Manning that he should reduce the jury award to S. Casey Hill on the grounds that it was unreasonably high. Judge Carruthers of the Ontario Court's General Division said he ...
Jan 28, 1992
Seized church papers returned Scientology members hail 'win' in 9-year fight — Toronto Star (Canada)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Tracy Tyler Source:
Toronto Star (Canada) Nine years, several sledgehammers and one battering ram later, it was time for a massive celebration at the Church of Scientology's Yonge St. headquarters. Hundreds of jubilant church members, clutching sparklers and blowing noisemakers, spilled on to the sidewalk and cheered yesterday as a rented truck pulled up with a delivery from Ontario Provincial Police headquarters. Inside the truck were more than 2 million church documents seized from Scientology's Toronto offices on March 3, 1983, in the largest police raid in ...
May 6, 1991
The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power — TIME Magazine
Type: Press
Author(s):
Richard Behar Source:
TIME Magazine By all appearances, Noah Lottick of Kingston, Pa., had been a normal, happy 24-year-old who was looking for his place in the world. On the day last June when his parents drove to New York City to claim his body, they were nearly catatonic with grief. The young Russian-studies scholar had jumped from a 10th-floor window of the Milford Plaza Hotel and bounced off the hood of a stretch limousine. When the police arrived, his fingers were still clutching $171 in ...
Apr 23, 1991
Scientology church on trial in Canada — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
W. Richard Reynolds Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) The Church of Scientology goes on trial here this morning, charged with stealing thousands of documents from government offices and law firms. It is the first time that a church has been put on trial in Canada. The trial is expected to be long and drawn-out. Various motions on legal technicalities must be dealt with first, a process that could take months. The trial is the result of eight years of legal wrangling. It began in 1983, when 110 police officers ...
Apr 6, 1991
Mom, daughter launch lawsuit against Church of Scientology — Edmonton Journal
Type: Press
Source:
Edmonton Journal A mother and daughter have slapped the Church of Scientology of Alberta with a multimillion-dollar lawsuit. The mother and daughter are each claiming millions of dollars in general and punitive damages as well as unspecified special damages. Also named in the lawsuit, filed Friday in Court of Queen's Bench , are church official Allan Buttnor and another man. The three are being sued jointly and individually. The defendants or through others "coerced and frightened" the girl into writing and publishing statements ...
Jun 25, 1990
The Scientology Story: The Selling of a Church // Church Markets Its Gospel With High-Pressure Sales — Los Angeles Times (California)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Joel Sappell ,
Robert W. Welkos Source:
Los Angeles Times (California) Behind the religious trappings, the Church of Scientology is run like a lean, no-nonsense business in which potential members are called "prospects," "raw meat" and "bodies in the shop." Its governing financial policy, written by the late Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, is simple and direct: "MAKE MONEY, MAKE MORE MONEY, MAKE OTHERS PRODUCE SO AS TO MAKE MONEY." The organization uses sophisticated sales tactics to sell a seemingly endless progression of expensive courses, each serving as a prerequisite for the ...
Jun 25, 1990
The Scientology Story: The Selling of a Church // Shoring Up Its Religious Profile — Los Angeles Times (California)
Type: Press
Author(s):
Joel Sappell ,
Robert W. Welkos Source:
Los Angeles Times (California) The church has adopted the terminology and trappings of traditional theologies. But the IRS is not convinced. Since its founding some 35 years ago by the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology has worked hard to shore up its religious profile for the public, the courts and the Internal Revenue Service. In the old days, for example, those who purchased Hubbard's Scientology courses were called "students." Today, they are "parishioners." The group's "franchises" have become "missions." And Hubbard's teachings, ...
Jul 18, 1989
Church group plans to expand: Scientology courses to be taught in new building — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: news.google.com
Jul 6, 1989
Scientology faces new charges of harassment — Newkirk Herald Journal (Oklahoma)More: link
Dec 22, 1988
Scientology church faces new claims of harassment — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: scientology-lies.com , pqasb.pqarchiver.com , link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Stephen Koff Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) The year was 1976, one year after the Church of Scientology had secretly moved its spiritual headquarters to Clearwater, and Mayor Gabe Cazares was complaining too loudly for the church's comfort. So, as documents seized by the FBI would later show, the church's Clearwater office devised a scheme to "ruin Mayor Gabriel Cazares' political career by spreading scandal about his sex life." Church officials came up with ways to get Cazares' school records, birth records, anything — from checking with the ...
Jul 26, 1988
Scientology church offers to aid poor if charges dropped — Globe and Mail (Canada)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Peter Moon Source:
Globe and Mail (Canada) In what may be an unprecedented legal manoeuvre, the Church of Scientology of Toronto has offered to make substantial cash donations to community agencies working with the elderly and the poor if criminal charges against it are dropped. The offer was made yesterday in a letter written by the church’s lawyer, Clayton Ruby, and delivered to Ontario Attorney-General Ian Scott’s office. The church is charged with several counts of theft by church members of photocopies of confidential documents from Ontario Government ...
Apr 4, 1986
Inside Scientology — Finally [A history of controversy] — L.A. Weekly (California)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Ron Curran ,
Jennifer Pratt Source:
L.A. Weekly (California) A History of Controversy As anyone who follows the news knows, Scientology has been involved in a series of controversial cases, many of them involving vengeful church actions against its critics. (More on this below.) Although the church always paints itself as the victim, its critics suggest that Scientology hasn't been persecuted from the outside, but rather is the victim of warped and misplaced priorities inside the church. The critics — and there are more than the church is willing to ...
Jan 5, 1986
Lawyer seeks publication ban in Church of Scientology case — Toronto Star (Canada)
Type: Press
Source:
Toronto Star (Canada) The Church of Scientology and some of its members who were charged after a raid on its headquarters are asking for a publication ban on a guilty plea by one of the co-accused. Kathleen Lepp, 37, of Niagara-on-the-Lake, charged with possession of stolen property, appeared in Provincial Court at old city hall Friday. Defence counsel Clay Ruby, on behalf of the church and other lawyers representing some of the co-accused, asked Judge Robert Dnieper to impose a ban on the proceedings ...
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