A 69-year-old Texas man trying to leave the Church of Scientology in a taxicab was kept from doing so by sect members until Clearwater police intervened, according to police records. Sect member William B. Wilson of Midland, Texas, was trying to leave the sect's headquarters at 210 S. Fort Harrison Ave., at 4 p.m. Monday when a car and a pickup truck blocked the cab's path, reports state. Police said the driver of one of the cars — Henry C. Billings, ...

CLEARWATER — The Church of Scientology plans a $3-million restoration of the former Fort Harrison Hotel and the church-owned Sandcastle Motor Inn. Speaking before television cameras at a press conference called in the ornate hotel lobby, church spokesman Richard Haworth said the project indicates that "we are obviously in Clearwater to stay." But the church's upbeat affirmation of its downtown presence brought chuckles of skepticism and moans of disapproval from some local officials and civic leaders. The controversial sect's reasons for ...

CLEARWATER — In Pinellas County — with its 7 percent unemployment rate the signs on the four Church of Scientology buildings draw attention. Two say simply, "Now Hiring." Others promise a job with "low pay — great future." One along busy U.S. 19 touts jobs for "kitchen personnel." Two others boast: "We are recruiting." What the signs don't say is that the Church of Scientology isn't looking for employees. It is trying to recruit members. The signs also don't say that ...

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 ...

The founder and spiritual leader of the Church of Scientology diverted millions of dollars in church funds into his own personal accounts, it was reported Sunday. L. Ron Hubbard, the reclusive leader of the Clearwater-based church, used a "dummy" foreign corporation as a funnel for the funds, the St. Petersburg Times said in a copyright story. Church officials denied the charges. But the newspaper said court files in the United States and Canada show Hubbard collected money worldwide through the Religious ...

NEW YORK — A new group of leaders has emerged with a plan to purge what it calls deviationists from the ranks of Scientology, a magazine report says. "The 'anything goes' days are over," David Miscavige, 22, told a San Francisco conference of 70 local Scientology leaders, who gathered to hear him and eight other young leaders last October, People magazine said Sunday. The nine new leaders have assumed quasi-military titles and speak a special jargon composed of computerese and ...

Defections by older members and publicity given a legal battle over control of hundreds of millions of dollars are believed to be cutting into the membership of the Church of Scientology. The church, which has a headquarters in Clearwater, is described by its leaders as a religion and by its critics as a highly profitable business with cult-like overtones. The church claims a worldwide membership of 6-million, although former officials say the number of adherents is probably fewer than 700,000. According ...

Throughout its nearly 30 years of existence, the Church of Scientology has had problems with its image in the media. Newspaper articles have called it a "bizarre brain-washing cult" founded by a former science fiction writer. Television coverage of recent hearings in Clearwater, Florida — home of the Church's U.S. headquarters — emphasized testimony that the group's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, is in hiding and, according to his son, might even be dead. And the Reader's Digest recently printed two controversial ...

CLEARWATER—Four doctors, a certified public accountant, a lawyer and a businessman have offered the Church of Scientology $3.25-million in cash to buy the former Fort Harrison Hotel and Sandcastle Motel. The offer was made Tuesday, one day after the Clearwater City Commission ended its public hearings on Scientology. The church has 60 days to respond. Church spokesman Hugh Wilhere said he does not plan to meet with the group. "We get offers all the time" to buy property, he said, but ...

CLEARWATER — The Church of Scientology promised Monday to give citizens of Clearwater "adequate information" about itself, but some people already are accusing the group of distributing misleading material. Others say the church's new policy of openness is merely an old policy to appear to be open and above-board. The skirmishing came as the Clearwater City Commission wrapped up five days of public hearings on Scientology and the church launched a media blitz intended to win over the public. The information ...

The 16 witnesses who testified in Clearwater's public hearings on Church of Scientology activities provided the first-hand information city officials will use if they decide to design ordinances to regulate the sect. Boston attorney Michael Flynn, who gathered the witnesses, said he questioned them extensively about their Scientology experiences and people they knew in the sect. He confirmed that information through other witnesses and contacts inside the church, he said. If they had not been in the sect, Flynn said, "I'd ...

The Clearwater City Commission's Scientology hearings ended Monday with searing criticism from the church and a vow from commissioners that their efforts to regulate Scientology have only begun. Church lawyer Paul B. Johnson told commissioners they had conducted a biased "Roman circus" that has unjustly Scientology hearings end "embarrassed and scandalized" Scientology across the country. Though the city had offered the church four days to rebut witnesses and documents presented by Boston lawyer Michael J. Flynn, Johnson announced that the church ...

The Church of Scientology has embarked on a citywide publicity campaign in the wake of five days of public hearings on the sect by the Clearwater City Commission, a church minister said Monday. At a 10:30 a.m. press conference, Scientology spokesman the Rev. Hugh Wilhere announced the beginning of an "open house" publicity campaign. Less than an hour earlier church attorney Paul B. Johnson of Tampa had told the Commission he would not use the four days set aside for church ...

Calling Clearwater's public hearings on the Church of Scientology a "Roman Circus," the sect's lawyer walked out on the proceedings Monday. "The Church of Scientology has been embarrassed and scandalized," said Tampa attorney Paul B. Johnson before leaving. In a brief presentation as Monday's session began, Johnson chastised city commissioners for what he said was their lack of objectivity. He also questioned the selection of Boston attorney Michael Flynn as the city's consultant and the credibility of "handpicked" witnesses Flynn provided. ...

CLEARWATER — The way Leon Haigler tells it, Scientology is just about as contagious as the common cold. In his family, it started with his daughter Karen, spread to his son Donald and then afflicted his youngest child David. Haigler, a retired U.S. government geologist, came to Clearwater last week from his home in Fairfax, Va., to witness the Clearwater City Commission's public hearings on Scientology. EACH DAY he came to City Hall with a large black briefcase out of which ...

Clearwater city commissioners received a warning and some advice Saturday as witnesses gave final testimony against the Church of Scientology during public hearings on the sect's activities. Scientologists' four-day time slot to present their side in the controversy begins Monday. Church spokesman Hugh Wilhere said Saturday night it has not been decided whether the sect will take advantage of its rebuttal time. The warning came near the end of the hearings as consultant Michael Flynn, the Boston attorney hired by the ...

The Clearwater City Commission opens the second half of its public hearings on the Church of Scientology at 9 a.m. today. The next four days have been set aside for the sect to present its side of the story. As of Sunday, however, church spokesman Hugh Wilhere said no decision had been reached as to whether the organization will take advantage of its half of the forum. This past week, Tampa attorney Paul B. Johnson, the sect's attorney, said it is ...

CLEARWATER — Why, Robert Dardano was asked, had he done it — why had he participated with other Scientologists in burglaries and theft of documents and smear campaigns against the church's perceived enemies? Because he was convinced, the slender, soft-spoken Dardano told Clearwater city commissioners, "that Scientology was going to save the planet and free the world. "That we were right and everyone else was wrong," Dardano, a 31-year-old Boston resident, was one of eight witnesses to testify Saturday during commission ...

In a story of international intrigue, a former senior executive of the Church of Scientology testified Saturday about a worldwide sect network involving infiltrations, conspiracies and smuggling. Scott Mayer, 38, told Clearwater city commissioners "I have personal experiences of all of these," in the forth day of the city's Scientology hearings, where legal consultant Michael Flynn paraded seven of his most damaging witnesses. Commissioners heard also from a former Guardian Office worker who said she used the sect's "confessional files" during ...