WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court Monday let stand the convictions of two former leaders of the Church of Scientology, rejecting their final efforts to contest the legality of the FBI's search of the church's Los Angeles offices in 1977. The court's action apparently clears the way for Mary Sue Hubbard - the one-time "controller" for the church group and wife of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard, who was not charged in the case—to begin serving a five-year prison term on a ...

Eighteen months ago, the U.S.-based Church of Scientology launched a global—and unsuccessful—campaign to prevent publication of a Reader's Digest report called "Scientology: Anatomy of a Frightening Cult." The church engaged a detective agency to investigate the author, Digest Senior Editor Eugene H. Methvin. Digest offices in a half-dozen nations were picketed or bombarded with nuisance phone calls. In Denmark, South Africa and Australia, the church sued unsuccessfully to prevent publication. In the months since the article appeared, in May 1980, a ...

A 13-year veteran Los Angeles police officer was fired from the force for protecting drug dealers and helping run a house of prostitution. Sgt. Eugene M. Ingram, 35, was found guilty of seven of 15 misconduct charges by a departmental board of rights which recommended [...]

The woman would be "very tough," "obviously pregnant" and a "good actress." She would storm into the Sacramento office of the state attorney general, the boss of Deputy Atty. Gen. Lawrence Tapper of Los Angeles. "I told Larry I wouldn't do this but he gave me no choise (sic)," she would shout, following the "Operation Snapper" scenario written for her by someone connected with the Church of Scientology in Los Angeles. "I don't care about his career anymore! I mean look ...

Church of Scientology members planned to discredit a high-level official in the California attorney general's office in Los Angeles with a bizarre undercover operation involving a pregnant woman, a phony nun and a fake bribery kickback, according to documents obtained by the Herald Examiner. The church's records of "Operation Snapper" — part of 100,000 pages of documents seized by the FBI in Los Angeles three years ago — identified the target at Lawrence Tapper, deputy attorney general in charge of the ...

RIVERSIDE (AP)—Charges against five Scientologists accused of grand theft and conspiracy in an alleged multimillion-dollar loan fraud scheme were dismissed by a Riverside Municipal Court judge. Judge John H. Barnard made the ruling Monday at the conclusion of a two-day preliminary hearing in which the five, all former high-ranking members of Scientology's Riverside Mission, had been accused of either lying or counseling others to lie on loan applications to nine banks and loan companies. The money assertedly was to go to ...

AFFIDAVIT OF ANNE ROSENBLUM In December, 1972, after my first semester of college (in the state of Washington), I was introduced to Scientology when another Scientologist encouraged me to take a "Personality Test" at the Portland "Org". I was given a poor evaluation on the test. I later learned, however, that it is a customary practice of the "Church" to give one a poor evaluation on the test in order to induce the person into Scientology processing. The Scientologists also told ...

WASHINGTON — Nine Church of Scientology leaders were convicted Friday on charges stemming from a four-year church program to burglarize, bug and infiltrate various federal agencies with which Scientology has battled for two decades. On two occasions during the four-hour court proceeding, a fragile plea-bargaining agreement between the defendants and federal prosecutors almost collapsed. But finally all the legal obstacles presented by defense attorneys were overcome and U.S. Dist. Judge Charles R. Richey pronounced all nine defendants guilty of one count ...

WASHINGTON — A plan by the Church of Scientology to infiltrate federal agencies with "covert agents" and steal thousands of government documents over a period of nearly four years was outlined Thursday in an unusual document filed in federal court by prosecution and the defense. The 284-page "stipulation of evidence" against nine Scientology leaders was filed with U.S. Dist Judge Charles R. Richey, who is expected to render a verdict today. The defendants have said they expect to be found guilty ...

WASHINGTON — Nine leaders of the Church of Scientology, in a rare legal maneuver, have agreed to be found guilty by a federal judge on reduced charges of conspiracy and theft as an outgrowth of their long battle with the federal government over allegedly stolen U.S. documents. Under a procedure called a "stipulated record," the defendants agreed to be found guilty after the government presented its case in a written court record without challenge or a trial, which could have lasted ...

WASHINGTON — A federal judge ruled Friday that the U.S. government had "illegally and unconstitutionally" seized documents during a raid on the Church of Scientology here in 1977. U.S. Dist. Judge William J. Bryant ordered the government to return all of the documents seized by 25 FBI agents during their search on July 8, 1977. Asst. U.S. Atty. Raymond Banoun said that the government would appeal Bryant's ruling and that it would have no effect on an up-coming criminal trial of ...

WASHINGTON — With a phone call to a pharmaceutical firm in New Jersey, American Citizens for Honesty in Government, an affiliate of the Church of Scientology, obtained a small amount of BZ, a hallucinogen used by the Army in the 1960's for chemical warfare tests. A spokesman for the drug firm, Hoffmann-La Roche, Inc., acknowledged that it had furnished the drug to the Scientologists and said steps had been taken to strengthen drug distribution security. The Scientologists, who said BZ is ...

Church failed to fulfill promises of improving life, she claimed; also said she suffered emotional distress PORTLAND, Ore. (AP) — A jury awarded more than $2 million in damages Wednesday to a 22-year-old woman who claimed the Church of Scientology defrauded her by failing to fulfil promises of improving her life. The jury deliberated 18 hours over two days before reaching its unanimous decision. In her suit, Julie C. Titchbourne, 21, of Portland, alleged she suffered emotional distress as a result ...