CLEARWATER — The lid clamped down hard Saturday at Scientology's headquarters, as church officials chased a reporter through the streets and ordered other church members not to talk to the press. The church had publicized an afternoon open house, but visitors found themselves quickly escorted into a closed room if they tried to wander anywhere in the building. Nancy Reitze, publicity director for the church, wouldn't answer any questions. No, she said, a reporter could not roam the building and talk ...

CLEARWATER — A two-page policy memo written by four top Church of Scientology officials apparently singled out for attack a former vice president of a local bank, according to documents released last week by a federal judge in Washington, D.C. The memo, included among the documents, cites Wilby F. Anderson of Buttonwood Court as an "enemy," apparently because of a speech Anderson made before the city commission in 1975. Anderson, who at one time worked in the U.S. Department of Justice, ...

CLEARWATER — Documents released Thursday by a federal judge in Washington indicate an effort to "take over" the city of Clearwater by the Church of Scientology, but most of the persons and organizations listed in those files said Friday they are not aware of any effort by church members to infiltrate or discredit their offices. The documents were part of a mountain of paper siezed by the FBI in raids on Scientology offices in Washington and Los Angeles in July, 1977. ...

JOURNALISTS PRIDE themselves on being fair and objective. Like any other profession, our barrel has its bad apples. But as a rule, we bend over backward to be fair. Seldom have I questioned my own ability to make the professional judgments required of me as a reporter, city editor, managing editor and editor. Seldom has it been charged that I did not attempt to be fair, though hindsight sometimes has shown that those attempts were somewhat less than successful. But one ...

WASHINGTON — Believe it or not, the Church of Scientology once wanted to be friends with Gabe Cazares. The former Clearwater mayor find that amusing today, having endured years of legal battles with the sect and waged bitter campaigns against its presence in Clearwater. In December 1975, when Scientology was establishing itself in the city under the guise of the United Churches of Florida, top sect officers thought Cazares would a good man to have on their side. Thus, according to ...

The following is a chronology of local events from the Scientologists 1975 purchase of the former Fort Harrison hotel to last week's release of church documents by a federal judge in Washington, D.C. 1975 Oct. 27 — Fort Harrison officials acknowledge sale of the hotel, saying the Jack Tar chain will cease operations on Nov. 30. The buyer is Southern Land Development and Leasing Corp. Nov. 5 — Citizens learn Southern Land has agreed to buy another downtown landmark, the old ...

WASHlNGTON — Documents revealing a Scientology espionage campaign against government agencies ranging from the IRS to the Clearwater City Commission were declared open to further public inspection Friday afternoon by a federal judge. Scientology attorneys had argued strenuously that the papers should be sealed because they would cause "irreparable injury" to the church. The public availability of the dozen cartons of government-seized documents — the basis of last week‘s conspiracy conviction of nine top church officials — was in doubt until ...

WASHINGTON — The Church of Scientology of California had big plans for the unsuspecting community of Clearwater when it arrived there in November 1975. In essence, the sect wanted to control the city's politicians, media and religious groups. To that end, the Scientologists have evidently failed. Hardly any Clearwater resident is not skeptical of the sect’s proclaimed goals and "reforrn" activities. Nevertheless, the church has purchased $8 million in Clearwater buildings and land and continues to work for the potential to ...

WASHINGTON — Six boxes of documents make it clear: People in Pinellas County — a newspaper editor, a reporter, a mayor, a state attorney — were targets three years ago of the "fair game" policy of members of the Church of Scientology. The documents were among thousands seized by the FBI in 1977 raids on church headquarters in Washington and Los Angeles. They were the basis for indictments against nine church leaders on charges of conspiring to steal government documents and ...

CLEARWATER — Church of Scientology documents released Thursday that outline the Scientologists' intention to control or "take over" the city left local government officials wondering Friday how the group planned to reach that goal — and what it should do about it. Mayor Charles LeCher and City Manager Anthony Shoemaker agreed the city’s first move is to seek copies of the documents released Thursday in Washington, D.C., by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Richey. "We have to find out what the ...

The Church of Scientology is an organization that fervidly shuns investigations. When probed, it attacks the investigators. When criticized, it makes the critics pay. Church attempts to stifle investigations and criticism include lawsuits, harassment, frameups and attempts to have critics jailed, or at least enjoined from talking about Scientology. If there is "a long-term threat" to Scientology, founder L. Ron Hubbard wrote in a confidential memorandum to his staff, "you are to immediately evaluate and originate a black PR campaign to ...

The two-story brick building at N. Ballenger Hwy. and Sloan St. looks as if it should house an insurance agency or doctor's office. It is a well-built, well-kept structure. Inside, quality furniture and a quiet, professional greeting welcome the visitor. But this building houses a center related to a church that is under fire from federal agencies. Early this month, the FBI used crowbars and sledgehammers to enter offices of the Church of Scientology in Hollywood and Washington, D.C. Agents were ...

LARGO—An 80-year-old Largo man who did not find the solution to his memory lapses in Scientology courses got his money back Tuesday. Hours after the Clearwater Sun contacted the Church of Scientology of Florida in Miami to ask about Erich Abraham's refund, a Scientologist called the retired machinist from Milwaukee to say his money—$3,691.73 for 60½ hours of training—would be refunded immediately. A Scientologist brought a check to his door Tuesday afternoon, Abraham said. Abraham, a 17-year resident of Largo, had ...

TALLAHASSEE—Some call it the Scientology Bill, although its subject is Interpol, the international police organization. Rep. Eric Smith, D-Jacksonville, the bill's sponsor, calls it privacy insurance for all Florida residents—including Scientologists. A separately developed but mutual interest has brought the Church of Scientology, headquartered in Clearwater, and a group of law enforcement activists together supporting the bill that would forbid law enforcement agencies in Florida to cooperate with Interpol, Smith said Monday. "I don't care if a person is a Scientologist, ...

Police confiscated a cache of weapons in a temporary Church of Scientology headquarters in Dunedin after the Scientologists abandoned the base, the Clearwater Sun has learned. All but four of the weapons, found "about 60 days ago" in the King Arthur Courts condominiums off State Road 580 just west of U.S. 19, are being held by Dunedin police. State and federal authorities are investigating. The one weapon sent elsewhere was a short-barreled Mauser, which was turned over to the U.S. Treasury ...

Attorneys representing Mayor Gabriel Cazares in his $8-million libel suit against the Church of Scientology have served the other side with a series of questions that, if answered, would resolve many of the doubts still lingering about the group. Perhaps the most bizarre question sent to the Scientologists' counselor, Sarasota attorney Clyde H. Wilson, involves Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. Clearwater attorney Patrick D. Doherty has asked that representatives from the organization that owns the former Fort Harrison hotel and the ...

Charging a reporter's enrollment in one of its courses caused members "extreme mental anguish, suffering and humiliation," the Tampa mission of the Church of Scientology sued the Clearwater Sun and a Sun employe Wednesday for $250,000. Bruce Harrell, direector of the mission, charged that Sun Assistant City Editor Tom Coat enrolled in the Tampa mission for the purpose of writing articles about the controversial group that has purchased the former Fort Harrison hotel. "Coat's unwarranted and surreptitious intrusion and invasion of ...

CLEARWATER — The Church of Scientology filed a $250,000 damage suit in Tampa Wednesday against Tom Coat, assistant city editor of the Clearwater Sun, and Clearwater Newspapers Inc., publishers of the newspaper, charging that Coat violated the "privacy and confidentiality" of the church by "joining" it under false pretences and then taking part in its "advanced training." Announcement of the suit, filed in Hillsborough Circuit Court, was made at a news conference in the former Fort Harrison hotel, now owned and ...

There can be no doubt Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard believes in heaven. He says he has been there—twice. In a 1963 bulletin, Hubbard wrote that although he had once been skeptical, his travels had convinced him heaven was real. "For a long while, some people have been cross with me for my lack of cooperation in believing in a Christian Heaven. God and Christ," he wrote. "I have never said I didn't disbelieve in a Big Thetan (Scientology's 'soul') but ...

Through "auditing" (counseling), a Scientologist strives to separate the spirit from the body. The most mysterious — and potentially most macabre — auditing process is R2-45. Though a Scientology spokesman says it should not be taken seriously, auditing process R2-45 is a special order directing scientologists to shoot disruptive foes. John McLean, a former Scientologist, said he saw the order while a member and believed that is what it meant. His mother Nan, also a former Scientologist, said she was told ...