1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 ⇑ Latest ↑ Later Earlier ↓ Earliest ⇓ Dec 1, 1997
Distrust in Clearwater -- A special report.; Death of a Scientologist Heightens Suspicions in a Florida Town — New York TimesMore: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Douglas Frantz Source:
New York Times CLEARWATER, Fla. — Late on a November afternoon two years ago, a 36-year-old Scientologist named Lisa McPherson was involved in a minor traffic accident. She was not injured, but she inexplicably stripped off her clothes and began to walk naked down the street. A paramedic rushed her into an ambulance and asked why she had taken off her clothes. Ms. McPherson replied: "I wanted help. I wanted help." She was taken to a nearby hospital for a psychiatric examination, but several ...
Dec 1, 1997
Religion's search for a home base — New York TimesMore: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Douglas Frantz Source:
New York Times CLEARWATER, Fla. — In 1975, L. Ron Hubbard, the flamboyant founder of the Church of Scientology, was intent on finding a home base for his religion, which had come under criticism in several countries. The result was Operation Goldmine. Late that year, a dummy corporation paid $2.3 million in cash to buy the Fort Harrison Hotel, a historic building that was the symbolic heart of downtown Clearwater. The buyer was identified as the United Churches of Florida, an unknown organization. A ...
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 10, 1997
Editorial // A tale of two stories — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) The Church of Scientology's version of the circumstances surrounding the death of one of its members always raised more questions than it answered. Now Scientology's top officials cannot even keep their own stories straight, further undermining their credibility. That increases the pressure on Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe to uncover the truth about Lisa McPherson's death. Were Scientology officials right when they insisted McPherson was capable of walking when she was loaded into a van at the church's Fort Harrison Hotel ...
May 9, 1997
When did she die? — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Thomas C. Tobin Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) CLEARWATER — Was it an honest mistake, a slip of the tongue? Or was it the naked truth, carelessly uttered on camera A top official for the Church of Scientology told a German television crew recently that church member Lisa McPherson died in a room at the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater. On its face, the statement marks a major change in Scientology's version of events surrounding McPherson's unexplained death at age 36. It came in the presence of one of ...
May 1, 1997
Scientologist Lisa McPherson's tragic death — Watchman Expositor
Type: Press
Author(s):
Craig Branch Source:
Watchman Expositor The death of 36 year old Lisa McPherson while in the "care" of fellow Scientologists at the Clearwater headquarters has led to an ongoing investigation by Clearwater police and has been the focus of numerous stories in the Tampa Tribune , St. Petersburg Times , New York Times , local media, NBC Nightly News , and episodes on Inside Edition . Lisa's tragic story began when she joined Scientology upon high school graduation. But two weeks before Thanksgiving, 1995, Lisa "told friends that she was ready ...
Apr 15, 1997
Summary - Fort Harrison Guests, Telephone Summary - Andrea Catt — The Lisa McPherson Files
Mar 22, 1997
Troubles dogged 'medical liaison' — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Thomas C. Tobin Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) CLEARWATER - A Church of Scientology staff member who helped care for Lisa McPherson shortly before her death is a medical doctor whose practice in Arizona was restricted after two hospitals raised questions about her use of prescription drugs. The doctor, Janis K. Johnson-Fitzgerald, agreed to an order in October 1993 in which she surrendered her right to write prescriptions; promised not to see patients; agreed to random drug tests; and was to have her progress monitored by another doctor. At ...
Mar 3, 1997
Baker-acted Scientologist released — Tampa Tribune (Florida)More: whyaretheydead.info
Type: Press
Author(s):
Sean Lengell Source:
Tampa Tribune (Florida) CLEARWATER - A woman who was taken into police custody for a psychiatric evaluation after running barefoot from a Church of Scientology building and jumping into Clearwater Harbor has been released from the hospital, a church spokesman said Sunday. A Clearwater police officer on patrol early Saturday saw the woman sprint from the former Fort Harrison Hotel building downtown, used as a residence by the church, followed by a security guard. The officer followed the woman and offered assistance, but she ...
Mar 2, 1997
Scientologist hospitalized after jump into harbor — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: rickross.com , pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Thomas C. Tobin Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) CLEARWATER — A barefoot woman ran between two Church of Scientology buildings early Saturday before jumping into Clearwater Harbor, where police took her into protective custody for a psychiatric evaluation. As the incident unfolded over more than three city blocks downtown, a patrol officer tried twice to ask the woman if she needed help, police said. They said she and a Church of Scientology security guard behind her kept running and eventually she was found by police in shallow Clearwater Harbor. ...
Jan 11, 1997
Scientologists promised to care for woman who later died — Tampa Tribune (Florida)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Cheryl Waldrip Source:
Tampa Tribune (Florida) CLEARWATER — On the day Lisa McPherson signed herself out of Morton Plant Hospital's emergency room, fellow Scientologists promised to take good care of her. "Her friends at Scientology will watch her 24 hours a day and be sure that she gets the care that they want her to have and the patient wants to have," physician Flynn Lovett wrote in McPherson's medical records on Nov. 18, 1995. "I told them I felt this was OK." McPherson left with members of ...
Dec 22, 1996
Scientologist's death / A family searches for answers — Tampa Tribune (Florida)More: link
Dec 22, 1996
Scientology and Germany: Falling back into the past — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Dec 21, 1996
Testimony / The Autobiography of Margery Wakefield (book): Chapter 11 - Offloaded
Dec 15, 1996
Mystery surrounds Scientologist's death — Tampa Tribune (Florida)More: scientology-lies.com , rickross.com , link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Cheryl Waldrip Source:
Tampa Tribune (Florida) CLEARWATER — After spending half her life as a member of the Church of Scientology, Lisa McPherson told friends she was ready to get out. At 36, she yearned to reunite with her mom and old friends and start a new life in Dallas. She hoped to visit them at Thanksgiving and vowed to be home for good by last Christmas. "She said she couldn't get into it over the phone but she said she had a lot to talk about," ...
Dec 25, 1994
Scientology fiction: The church's war against its critics -- and truth — Washington PostMore: link
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 28, 1993
Clearwater to see changes — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: link , pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
David Dahl Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) WASHINGTON — Since coming to Clearwater in 1975, the Church of Scientology has grown into a dominating presence in the city and now owns 11 properties in the area. Clearwater, known as Flag Land Base in Scientology jargon, is considered the international spiritual headquarters of the religion. The church has 750 or so staff members based in Clearwater, and hundreds more come from around the world to take part in Scientology religious services. Even before the IRS granted tax-exempt status to ...
Oct 28, 1993
Scientology has $297-million growth plan — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: link , pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
David Dahl Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) A new six-story training and counseling center is planned for Clearwater. WASHINGTON — Hoping to expand to "every city on earth," the Church of Scientology plans to spend $185-million during the next five years to renovate and acquire properties, plus another $112-million on a campaign to spread its message around the world. The Scientologists' spiritual headquarters in Clearwater would get the biggest chunk of construction money over the next few years, the Church of Scientology said in documents filed with the ...
Oct 14, 1993
Church declared tax-free — Tampa Tribune (Florida)
Oct 14, 1993
Ruling may doom Pinellas tax suit against Scientology — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: news.google.com , link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Wayne Garcia Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) The IRS' exemption of the Church of Scientology may doom the county's effort to collect a tax bill exceeding $7.9-million. CLEARWATER — Pinellas County's property tax lawsuit against the Church of Scientology is badly wounded by an Internal Revenue Service ruling that exempts the organization from federal income taxes, Property Appraiser Jim Smith said Wednesday. The two sides are headed back to mediation that likely will result in many, if not all, of the Scientology properties being removed from the property ...
Sep 18, 1993
Scientologists concealing cameras while counseling — Tampa Tribune (Florida)More: link , groups.google.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Ardon M. Pallasch Source:
Tampa Tribune (Florida) CLEARWATER — Church of Scientology officials are installing concealed cameras and microphones in at least 69 counseling rooms where church members reveal their innermost thoughts, a church spokesman confirms. What transpires behind the closed doors of an auditing session — one-on-one counseling — is as confidential as a confession from a parishioner to a priest in the Roman Catholic Church, said Scientology spokesman Richard Haworth. "It's subject to what's called the priest-penitent privilege," Haworth said. Occasionally, be said, sessions are videotaped ...
Nov 10, 1992
Group seeks money to expand — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Curtis Krueger ,
Wayne Garcia Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) The Church of Scientology is asking its members for $40-million in donations so it can pay for the new building it plans to put up in downtown Clearwater. The church has received at least $7.4-million, including three donations of more than $1-million each, according to a flier mailed recently by the church. But the flier asks members to contribute more, because the building would help expand Scientology worldwide. The Church of Scientology has its international spiritual headquarters in Clearwater. Some denounce ...
Nov 11, 1991
Scientology's children: "They took our lives" — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: whyaretheydead.info , scientology-lies.com , pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Curtis Krueger Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Eleven-year-old Laura Hutchinson went to Girl Scout camp scared. Not scared of camp. Camp would be fine. Laura was scared that when she returned, Mom and Dad might be divorced. Tom and Carol Hutchinson, self-employed commercial artists in the Atlanta area, had been having marital problems. When Tom started getting counseling at Atlanta's Dianetics center, affiliated with the Church of Scientology, Carol objected. The parents fought as Laura left. But when Laura came back, her parents were together. By then, both ...
Nov 10, 1991
Scientology's children: 'I still have nightmares' — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: link , pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Curtis Krueger Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) [Picture / Caption: Kristi, left, and Beth Erlich grew up in the Church of Scientology, but eventually left. In the top photo, taken by their mother when Kristi and Beth were children, the two girls perform TR-Zero, Scientology drill that calls for two people to stare at each other "without any compulsions todo anything." The routine is designed to improve communication skills.] When Beth Erlich was 11, she signed her first contract. A billion-year contract. Beth didn't understand it too well. ...
May 7, 1991
County, Scientology continue tax talks — Tampa Tribune (Florida)More: link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Kevin Shinkle Source:
Tampa Tribune (Florida) CLEARWATER — No end is in sight in negotiations between Pinellas County and the Church of Scientology over the church's $5 million tax bill. Neither side would talk about the negotiations taking place in front of a court-appointed mediator. Mediator William Fleece adjourned the talks Monday, and the two sides may not meet again for months. "If we had reached something, obviously we wouldn't have adjourned," Pinellas Property Appraiser Jim Smith said. "I don't think we will lose anything by talking, ...
May 5, 1991
Mediator will hear tax fight — Clearwater Times (Florida)More: pqasb.pqarchiver.com , link
Type: Press
Author(s):
Curtis Krueger Source:
Clearwater Times (Florida) Attorneys for the Church of Scientology and Pinellas County will meet Monday to see if they can avoid a lengthy court battle. CLEAR WATER — Pinellas County and the Church of Scientology have been facing off for years, preparing for an epic court battle over whether the Scientologists should pay millions in local property taxes. Attorneys for the county and the Scientologists will meet Monday, but not before a judge. Instead, they will meet behind closed doors, before a mediator. Both ...
Mar 21, 1991
County, church talking secretely — Tampa Tribune (Florida)
Feb 9, 1991
Group's tax status in question — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)More: pqasb.pqarchiver.com
Type: Press
Author(s):
Curtis Krueger Source:
St. Petersburg Times (Florida) Alan Zimmet, an attorney hired by the city of Clearwater, said Scientology officials seem to admit in the new court ruling that they are not tax-exempt. The court ruling upheld a Clearwater city ordinance that requires churches to file financial disclosure forms. While the ruling was not really about taxes, it did say that donations to the Church of Scientology for auditing and training were not covered by the ordinance, because courts have said that those donations are not tax exempt. ...
Sep 29, 1989
Affidavit of Monica Pignotti (29 September 1989)
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