BILL KURTIS: Since its emergence in the 1950s, the Church of Scientology has been a source of great fascination. It has spent many of those years at war with the U.S. government, the press, and portions of the public. But behind the headlines are real people who have experienced Scientology firsthand. In this second hour of a special A&E presentation of “Investigative Reports,” we hear directly from those who remain members of the church, and from those who have now left ...

Type: Tort, intentional infliction of emotion distress, alter ego. Bench decision: Amendment of judgment - $6,025,857 ($4,649,328 renewed judgment plus $1,376,529 accrued interest). Case/Number: Larry Wollersheim v. Church of Scientology of California / C332027. Court/Date: L.A. Superior Central / Oct. 29, 1997. Judge: John P. Shook. Attorneys: Plaintiff - Craig J. Stein (Gartenberg, Jaffe, Gelfand & Stein, LLP, L.A.); Daniel A. Leipold, Cathy Shipe, Robert F. Donohue (Hagenbaugh & Murphy, Orange); Lita Schlosser (Encino); Ford Greene (Hub Law Offices, San Anselmo). ...

VOICES: "We were saving the world, we were convinced that Hubbard was the returned saviour and that his techniques and his knowledge and his majesty would eventually bring all mankind to an enlightened state and that was what we were doing..." "There were some things about him that I do feel were rather dangerous. I felt so much under his spell that I told my room-mate that if ever I told her that I was going to marry this man, she ...

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 ...

When L. Ron Hubbard penned his ground-breaking book, Dianetics, a shot rang out in Hollywood. The book, now available in more than 32 languages, has sold over 16 million copies since 1950. It has also attracted legions of famous followers to its Church of Scientology in Hollywood and its castle-like Celebrity Centre located in the heart of Tinseltown. During John Travolta's Golden Globe acceptance speech, for example, the church member — long rumored to be gay — thanked L. Ron Hubbard ...

Two weeks ago, a man was cleared of trying to abduct Kathleen Wilson after he said he was saving her from a cult that had brainwashed her. Kathy doesn't see it that way. At the garage on the road into East Grinstead, the cashier smiles. "Scientologists?" he says. "You'll find them on the way into Turner's Hill. Just follow the road round. "It's a religious sect," he adds, politely. "Ah, yes," I say. "I'm afraid so," he replies. It isn't far. ...

IT IS portrayed as a typical private school. But the glossy Greenfields brochure, which boasts of academic success and a happy environment for children, does not tell the whole story. One important word is missing from the booklet - Scientology. It is also missing from: * The handbook issued by the Independent Schools Information Service, which describes Greenfields as inter-denominational. * The Independent Schools Yearbook, which it is listed as non-denominational. * The school's 27-page constitution lodged with the Charity Commission. ...

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 ...

Jury deliberations were to begin this morning in a lawsuit brought by an Ann Arbor Scientologist against television talk show host Sally Jessy Raphael over the airing of a secretly taped family conversation. After four weeks of testimony by dozens of witnesses, including Raphael and the plaintiff, Dorothy Jean Dickerson, attorneys Tuesday made closing arguments in a case that puts an individual's right to privacy against the public's right to know. Washtenaw Circuit Judge Melinda Morris was to give jury instructions ...

The Church of Scientology uses private detectives and bulldog litigators to pursue its numerous detractors. It also hires low-key establishment lawyers who work quietly within the system. So who is directing the $416 million libel suit against Time? On April 27, 1992, lawyers for the Church of Scientology International filed a $416 million libel action in federal court in New York against Time Warner, Inc., Time Inc. Magazine Company [Time Warner is a partner in American Lawyer Media, L.P.], and writer ...

Scientologists believe they are saving the world from insanity, war and crime. "Saving the world is an understatement," said former member Kenneth Wasserman. "Saving the universe" is more like it, he said. This intense sense of purpose explains why some Scientologists are willing to work 12-hour days for $30 a week. Others pay up to $800 for an hour of counseling, and one couple brought a $35,000 counseling package. Critics say this sense of mission has another consequence: Next to saving ...

CLEARWATER — The Church of Scientology is facing another lawsuit in the midst of an expensive nationwide campaign to bolster its image. The sect, which maintains its spiritual headquarters in Clearwater, has spent millions of dollars in recent weeks for advertising in the newspaper USA Today. In the lawsuit, a former sect member claims the church is a fraud; owes him money for counseling services he never used; and has cut him off from his two daughters, who still follow Scientology. ...

Have you ever been stopped on Dizengoff by a friendly, earnest young person inviting you to take a free personality lest? Did he or she mention the possibility of learning more about yourself at a special "college?" If the answer is yes, you may well have been stopped by one of Israel's Scientologists. "Osnat" and "Yaron" (not their real names) are two youngsters who did decide to take the test. Osnat, the daughter of an observant Jewish family, was 17 when ...

CLEARWATER — Complaints about the Church at Scientology unexpectedly surfaced again before the City Commission on Thursday, and some commissioners think they've heard enough. The commissioners two weeks ago presided over a stormy session in which a group of people spoke against the Scientologists, claiming the organisation is a cult. Scientologists denied those claims, and said they were offended by what they called attacks on their religion. On Thursday, commissioners heard a dialogue that was shorter, but similar. A Tampa couple, ...

NEWKIRK, OK – A proposed drug treatment and rehabilitation center which could be in operation on Indian land at the former Chilocco Indian School north of Newkirk by June 15th may be part of a notorious religious cult. Narconon was approved for a 75-bed facility by the State Health Planning Commission in January of this year as part of The Chilocco Development Authority. The projected cost is $400,000 for renovation and the five Indian tribes involved are projected to receive $16,000,000 ...

THE recent news reports concerning the Church of Scientology have been so damning, and the defence by members of the Church has been so unconvincing, that readers may be left wondering how some one could be so gullible as to ever become involved with such an apparently unsavory organisation in the first place. Or, once involved, how could they be deceived for so long? But the truth is not so simple and the process is more elaborate that it seems. Some ...