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Scientology library: “St. Petersburg Times (Florida)”

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ben shaw • church of scientology flag service organization (csfso) • clearwater • cost • david miscavige • death • fort harrison hotel (also, flag land base) @ 210 south fort harrison avenue clearwater fl united states • fraud, lie, deceit, misrepresentation • gabriel "gabe" cazares • internal revenue service (irs) • joan wood • lawsuit • legal • lisa mcpherson • mark c. "marty" rathbun • michael j. "mike" rinder • operation snow white • real estate • richard a. haworth • robert farley • sea organization (sea org, so) • super power/flag building (formerly, gray moss inn) @ 215 south fort harrison avenue clearwater fl united states • tax matter • the truth rundown (st. petersburg times' special report) • thomas c. tobin
Reference materials St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
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Apr 7, 2011
Welcome wagon: The Church of Scientology moves into Ybor City — Creative Loafing (Tampa, Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s): Mitch Perry
Source: Creative Loafing (Tampa, Florida)
Three days after more than 2,000 Scientologists crowded into the historic Ybor Square courtyard to celebrate the opening of the Church of Scientology Tampa's new home — a landmark 88,000-square-foot former cigar factory in Ybor City — Creative Loafing editor David Warner and I found ourselves in a COS conference room facing several of the Church's top-ranking public relations officials. They were decidedly not happy with a blog post I'd written that quoted a handful of protesters from the group Anonymous ...
Mar 5, 2011
Lawsuit claims Church of Scientology violated child labor and wage laws — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
More: "Montalvo vs. CSI, Bridge Publications" PDFs available at Marty Rathbun's blog
Type: Press
Author(s): Thomas C. Tobin, Joe Childs
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
A runaway from the Church of Scientology's restrictive religious order, the Sea Org, alleges in two lawsuits filed Friday that the church violated California laws regulating child labor, wages and school attendance. Daniel Montalvo, who turns 20 today, also contends his parents, who remain in the Sea Org, neglected him and breached their duty to protect him from harm by ceding his care to the church. Church spokesman Tommy Davis said Friday night the church had not been served with the ...
Feb 14, 2011
The Apostate // Paul Haggis vs. the Church of Scientology — New Yorker
More: Primary Sources: L. Ron Hubbard Leaves the Navy, guardian.co.uk
Type: Press
Author(s): Lawrence Wright
Source: New Yorker
On August 19, 2009, Tommy Davis, the chief spokesperson for the Church of Scientology International, received a letter from the film director and screenwriter Paul Haggis. “For ten months now I have been writing to ask you to make a public statement denouncing the actions of the Church of Scientology of San Diego,” Haggis wrote. Before the 2008 elections, a staff member at Scientology’s San Diego church had signed its name to an online petition supporting Proposition 8, which asserted that ...
Tag(s): "Blow Drill"A Piece of Blue Sky (book)AbortionAffinity, Reality, Communication (ARC)Alissa HaggisAmy ScobeeAn Introduction to Scientology Ethics (book)Anne ArcherAnonymous (group)Anti-psychiatryAuditingBare-Faced Messiah: The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard (book)Beverly Hills PlayhouseBody thetans (BTs)British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)Bruce HinesBryan R. WilsonCastile Canyon School (Happy Valley ranch) @ 45750 Castile Canyon Road Hemet CA United StatesChick CoreaChurch of Scientology Celebrity Centre International @ 5930 Franklin Avenue Los Angeles CA United StatesChurch of Scientology International (CSI)Citizens Commission on Human Rights (CCHR)Claire HeadleyCommissionsConfidential preclear (PC) folderDan ShermanDaniel MontalvoDavid MiscavigeDavid Miscavige: physical violenceDavid S. TouretzkyDeborah RennardDelphi Schools, Inc.Diane GettasDianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health (book)DisconnectionDonna ShannonE-MeterEthics (Scientology)Exscientologykids.comFederal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)Fraud, lie, deceit, misrepresentationFreeloader's debtGary Morehead (aka "Jackson")Gerald "Gerry" ArmstrongGold Base (also, "INT Base") @ Gilman Hot SpringsHaitiHomosexualityHuman traffickingInside Scientology (book)InurementJames A. "Jim" LoganJanela WebsterJanet ReitmanJanis (Gillham) GradyJason BegheJeff HawkinsJenna Miscavige-HillJessica Feshbach RodriguezJim GordonJoan WoodJohn BrousseauJohn PeelerJohn SweeneyJohn TravoltaJohn Whiteside "Jack" ParsonsJulie Christofferson TitchbourneKaren HollanderKathy HaggisKirstie AlleyL Fletcher ProutyL. Ron Hubbard's credentialsL. Ron Hubbard: Messiah or Madman? (book)Lauren HaggisLawrence "Larry" WollersheimLawrence WrightLawsuitLife Repairs (Scientology course)Lisa McPhersonLucy JamesMarc HeadleyMargaret Louise GrubbMark C. "Marty" RathbunMark IshamMary Sue (Whipp) HubbardMembershipMichael J. "Mike" RinderMichelle "Shelly" Miscavige (né Barnett)Milton KatselasMimi RogersMission Earth (decalogy)MV Freewinds (formerly, La Bohème)Nerve, touch assistNew YorkerOccultOperating Thetan (OT)Paul HaggisPotential Trouble Source (PTS)Protest, picketPsychiatry: An Industry of DeathPurification Rundown ("Purif")RecruitmentRehabilitation Project Force (RPF)Religious Technology Center (RTC)SalarySaturday Evening PostScience of Survival (book)Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought (book)Sea Organization (Sea Org, SO)Security check ("sec check")SettlementSkip PressSky DaytonSlave laborSquirrelsSt. Petersburg Times (Florida)Study technology (Study tech)Supernatural abilities (aka OT powers)Suppressive person (SP)Terry JastrowThe Truth Rundown (St. Petersburg Times' special report)The Way to Happiness (TWTH)Tom CruiseTom Cruise's leaked video of 2004Tom De VochtTommy DavisTone scaleXenu (Operating Thetan level 3, OT 3, Wall of Fire)Yael Lustgarten
Feb 8, 2011
FBI investigating Scientology, defectors say — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s): Joe Childs, Thomas C. Tobin
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
FBI agents investigating human trafficking have interviewed several high-ranking defectors from the Church of Scientology who spoke out to the St. Petersburg Times over the past two years about abusive and coercive practices within the church. Five former church staffers confirmed Monday that the FBI interviewed them individually over the past 15 months about their experiences in the church's religious order, the Sea Org. They said agents asked detailed questions primarily about working and living conditions at Scientology's remote international management ...
Jan 30, 2011
Scientology founder's tenets drive Pinellas title company, under fire for rapid document processing — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
More: Who's who in Nationwide Title Clearing
Type: Press
Author(s): Susan Taylor Martin, Joe Childs
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
In 2009, a low-profile Pinellas County company drew unwelcome attention in a growing national controversy over home foreclosures. Employees of Nationwide Title Clearing, a leading processor of mortgage-related documents for banks, loan servicers and the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp., were under fire for signing paperwork as "vice president" of various banks although they actually worked for NTC. The assembly-line process in which workers scrawled their names or initials on hundreds of documents at a time — typically without reading them — ...
Nov 21, 2010
Scientology benefits when Miami dentist runs up patient bills — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
More: Church of Scientology's comment
Type: Press
Author(s): Joe Childs, Thomas C. Tobin
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
MIAMI — Rosa Hernandez remembers this about her dentist: He sure could close a deal. She and her husband, Mauricio, had gone to Dr. Rene Piedra with a host of concerns. She had sensitive gums and a paralyzing fear of dentists. He needed bonding. Piedra, dressed in a business suit instead of a dental coat, showed them computerized models of how he would fix their teeth. He offered them a discount because they came in together, and helped them with a ...
Nov 21, 2010
Scientology biographies: Piedra, Blyskal today — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Dr. Rene Piedra, 41 Dentist in Miami area since 1998. Divorced, one child. Now: His new office is a strip center in Pinecrest, just a few miles from his former office in Coral Gables. A generic sign — "The Dentist" — is mounted on the façade above the doorway. A smaller sign —no bigger than a standard street sign — juts out just above the door frame: "New Era Dentistry." A Times reporter was waiting for him on a recent morning ...
Oct 18, 2010
Louis Farrakhan renews call for self-determination among Nation of Islam followers — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s): Shelley Rossetter, Thomas C. Tobin
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Minister Louis Farrakhan urged black people to take the future into their own hands during his keynote address Sunday at the Nation of Islam's annual day of atonement. "Ain't nobody going to do something for us; we're going to have to do it for ourselves," he said to more than 8,000 people at the Tampa Convention Center. The event marked 15 years since the Million Man March was held in Washington, D.C., which Farrakhan, a polarizing figure whose remarks on Jews ...
Oct 16, 2010
Tony's Pizzeria & Ristorante moving west in downtown Clearwater — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s): Mike Brassfield
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Downtown Clearwater is becoming more Italian. A little more Greek, too. Four restaurants are either opening or moving to more spacious digs. That includes two Italian places, a Greek deli and an organic food and wine bar. They're making use of city grants to upgrade their buildings as Clearwater tries to transform its downtown into a gathering place. CLEARWATER — Tony and Jimmy Starova had no idea what to expect when they opened a hole-in-the-wall pizza joint on Cleveland Street five ...
Oct 15, 2010
Nation of Islam leaders in Tampa for 15th anniversary of Million Man March — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s): Elisabeth Parker
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
TAMPA — Leaders of the Nation of Islam are in Tampa to mark the 15th anniversary of the Million Man March. Minister Louis Farrakhan, organizer of that march, is scheduled to speak at 2 p.m. Sunday in the Tampa Convention Center's east hall, which holds up to 8,000 people. Farrakhan, 77, known as a fiery orator, has been a polarizing leader, alienating many with statements considered racist toward whites and Jews. His assistant, Minister Ishmael Muhammad, spoke about Farrakhan's message Thursday ...
Oct 13, 2010
Federal court hearing ends impasse between judges — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s): Thomas C. Tobin
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
TAMPA — An unusual impasse between two area judges came to a close after a hearing Tuesday in federal court. U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday clarified an order he issued last week, saying he never meant for it to stop Pinellas Senior Circuit Judge Robert E. Beach from withdrawing from a case involving the Church of Scientology. Merryday said he issued the order only to prevent Beach from fining and suspending attorney Ken Dandar, who Beach determined had defied him. ...
Oct 8, 2010
It's judge vs. judge in battle over over Scientology lawyer — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s): Thomas C. Tobin
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Usually it's the lawyers who tussle back and forth in court. But a dispute involving the Church of Scientology has two of the area's most notable judges locking horns, each saying the other stepped outside his jurisdiction. Pinellas judge Robert E. Beach has filed a motion in federal court in Tampa saying U.S. District Judge Steven D. Merryday erred last week when he "permanently enjoined" Beach from carrying out sanctions against lawyer Ken Dandar, who is challenging Scientology. Merryday's order appeared ...
Sep 29, 2010
Federal judge tells Pinellas judge to back off in Scientology lawsuit — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s): Thomas C. Tobin
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
TAMPA — A federal judge has ordered a Pinellas judge and the Church of Scientology to halt their efforts to severely punish Ken Dandar, a Tampa lawyer who is taking the church to court for the second time in his career. The action Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Steven Merryday involves Pinellas Judge Robert Beach, who has said he intends to impose a $130,000 fine on Dandar and possibly suspend his license to practice law. The reason: Dandar allegedly reneged on ...
Sep 4, 2010
Federal judge suspends state judgment against lawyer in dispute with Scientology — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s): Craig Pittman
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
TAMPA — Scientology's most vocal local critic, Ken Dandar, faced disaster. A circuit judge had found him in contempt of court this week and assessed a judgment of $130,000 — to be paid to the Church of Scientology. Dandar might lose his car. He might even lose his law license. All of that, he told a federal judge Friday, because Dandar isn't bowing out of a federal case against the church. But the judge may have given Dandar a reprieve. And ...
Sep 1, 2010
Lawyer in Scientology case is stuck between state and federal judges — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s): Craig Pittman, Curtis Krueger
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
LARGO — One of the Church of Scientology's most vocal critics, Tampa lawyer Ken Dandar, is in a pickle. Six years ago, he settled a wrongful death case against the church on behalf of the family of Lisa McPherson, who died in 1995 after 17 days in the care of church members in Clearwater. Part of the settlement agreement, approved by a judge in state court, required Dandar to never again represent anyone suing Scientology. But last year, Dandar took on ...
Aug 30, 2010
Deeper look at how Wall Street's self-dealing led to housing bubble cites role of Clearwater financier — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s): Robert Trigaux
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Wake up and good morning. If some of you wonder why the business media is not taking a deeper "what the heck happened" look at the financial meltdown of recent years, take heart. ProPublica, an independent, non-profit newsroom that produces investigative journalism in the public interest. has begun publishing a series about how, in the middle of America's housing bubble, Wall Street bankers perpetrated one of the greatest episodes of self-dealing in financial history. And in the latest part of ...
Aug 6, 2010
Judge dismisses two lawsuits aimed at Scientology — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
More: Court ruling, Church of Scientology's response
Type: Press
Author(s): Thomas C. Tobin, Joe Childs
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
The Church of Scientology won an important victory in federal court Thursday when a judge dismissed two lawsuits that accused the church of labor law violations, human trafficking and forced abortions. Claire and Marc Headley, who left Scientology in 2005, said the church controlled them with threats of harsh punishment and other tactics that prevented them from leaving the Sea Organization, Scientology's religious order. But U.S. District Judge Dale S. Fischer ruled that the Sea Org is protected by the First ...
Jul 31, 2010
Scientology church finds new home in Queen Anne neighborhood — Seattle Times
Type: Press
Author(s): Janet I. Tu
Source: Seattle Times
[Ongoing censorship of critical views in the comments section, as confirmed by a Seattle Times official: "Dear readers, As many of you have noticed, many comments have been suppressed in this comment thread. This has not been due to an editorial decision by The Seattle Times, but rather has been due to other readers reporting and flagging abuse. I have gone into the problem queue and unflagged all appropriate comments. Nikolaj Lasbo Online News Producer seattletimes.com"] —– For the Rev. Ann ...
Jun 19, 2010
Letters to the Editor // Saturday letters: The realities of Scientology are being distorted — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Once again you try to paint an ugly picture of a religious movement that has helped hundreds of thousands — if not millions — of people lead happy and successful lives. So let me address your latest falsehoods. My experience in Scientology has been incredible. I have been a member of the Church of Scientology since 1973. I met and married my husband while working for the church. I have raised two sons in the church. They are both practicing Scientologists. ...
Jun 15, 2010
Editorial: Scientology's family-friendly image contrasts with pressure for abortions — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Among the beliefs listed in the "Creed of the Church of Scientology": "All men have inalienable rights … to the creation of their own kind" and "no agency less than God has the power to suspend or set aside these rights, overtly or covertly." Yet a very different picture emerges from women who became pregnant while working for the church. They relate painful stories of intimidation, shaming, shunning or outright coercion by the church until women agreed to abortions or were ...
Jun 14, 2010
She fought Scientology for the child they wanted to abort — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
More: Church of Scientology's response
Type: Press
Author(s): Joe Childs, Thomas C. Tobin
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Twenty years ago, when Natalie Hagemo was 19, pregnant and working for the Church of Scientology, she couldn't wait to be a mother. She was near the end of her first tri­mester, she says, when colleagues in Scientology's military-style religious order, the Sea Organization, began pressuring her to get an abortion. Two high-ranking officers said terminating the pregnancy would allow her to keep working. They berated her when she said no. Supervisors told her to hide her expanding belly lest co-workers ...
Jun 13, 2010
Inside Scientology: No kids allowed — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
More: Church of Scientology response, Church spokesman Tommy Davis' letter to the Times, Declarations from Scientology members
Type: Press
Author(s): Joe Childs, Thomas C. Tobin
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Laura Dieckman was just 12 when her parents let her leave home to work full time for Scientology's religious order, the Sea Organization. At 16, she married a co-worker. At 17, she was pregnant. She was excited to start a family, but she said Sea Org supervisors pressured her to have an abortion. She was back at work the following day. Claire Headley joined at 16, married at 17 and was pregnant at 19. She said Sea Org supervisors threatened strenuous ...
Jun 12, 2010
Church of Scientology: The Headley lawsuits — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Former Scientologists Claire and Marc Headley are suing the Church of Scientology in separate actions in federal court in Los Angeles. Marc Headley, 37, alleges he was the victim of unfair business practices, labor law violations and forced labor, or human trafficking, during his 15 years in the church's Sea Organization. Claire Headley, 35, alleges the church forced her to have two abortions during her 13 years in the Sea Org. She also claims working conditions at the church's international management ...
Jun 12, 2010
Scientology and abortion — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
The Church of Scientology does not take a position on abortion. However, the subject comes up in the writings of church founder L. Ron Hubbard, which the church regards as sacred scripture. Scientology counseling seeks to rid the mind of "mental image pictures" or "engrams" created during painful moments in one's past — including previous lifetimes and time spent in the womb. Hubbard expressed concern about the "prenatal child" and how the emotional traumas of "attempted abortion" can cause problems after ...
May 10, 2010
10-year-old Haitian earthquake survivor dies after fall from roof — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s): Rodney Thrash
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
CLEARWATER — Ten-year-old Anais Jean made it out of one the world's worst natural disasters, a magnitude 7 earthquake that killed more than 220,000 people and crippled her Caribbean nation of Haiti. Her father hoped they could rebuild in Clearwater, where they settled after the quake. But tragedy has stricken the Jean family once again. Anais died May 3, four days after she fell from the roof of Mike and Mary Campbell's Chateauwood Drive home, Clearwater public safety spokeswoman Elizabeth Watts ...
May 1, 2010
CL’s new landlord? Church of Scientology in negotiations to buy Ybor Square — Creative Loafing (Tampa, Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s): David Warner
Source: Creative Loafing (Tampa, Florida)
Last week, as Creative Loafing was preparing to move from temporary quarters to permanent office space in Ybor Square (right), we heard the rumors: The historic former cigar factory, built in 1886 by Vicente Martinez Ybor, was up for sale — and the prospective buyer was The Church of Scientology. Whoa. We looked into it. No one could confirm. Calls weren’t returned. Then I checked with the City of Tampa’s zoning office, and there it was in black and white: In ...
Apr 28, 2010
Scientology run-ins bring warnings — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s): Joe Childs, Thomas C. Tobin
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
With two recent public confrontations, a year-long, highly publicized drama in the world of Scientology has spilled into the streets of Clearwater. The latest incident occurred Friday afternoon as seven members of the Church of Scientology — including five senior members of its California-based international management team — surrounded and screamed at a former church executive, then loudly carried the dispute into the office of an unsuspecting and startled doctor. The former executive was Mike Rinder, 55, Scientology's longtime spokesman, whose ...
Mar 19, 2010
Arrest puts familiar Tarpon Springs name Fred W. "Bill" Howard back in news — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Type: Press
Author(s): Rita Farlow
Source: St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
TARPON SPRINGS — Fred W. "Bill" Howard made a name for himself in his native Tarpon Springs as a real estate developer in the 1980s. But he left the area after a series of controversies, from his dealings with the Church of Scientology to a failed business venture that ended in bankruptcy, several longtime Tarpon Springs residents said this week. "He disappeared off the face of the Earth," said City Manager Mark LeCouris. "I hadn't seen him in over 20 years." ...
Mar 9, 2010
Today show and New York Times profile Scientology defector — St. Petersburg Times (Florida)
Feb 25, 2010
Scientology hires reporters to investigate St. Petersburg Times — Scott Finn
Type: Radio
Author(s): WUSF Radio
Source: Scott Finn
TAMPA (2010-2-25) - The Church of Scientology is deploying a new weapon in its three-decade battle with the St. Petersburg Times: award-winning investigative journalists. Those reporters completed their own review of the newspaper's coverage of Scientology, but church officials won’t release it. In 1980, The St. Petersburg Times won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the secretive religion, headquartered in Clearwater. Since then, church officials have said the newspaper’s coverage is unfair. So church officials decided to do something about ...
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