published October 12, 1998

Scientology saga far from complete

To the Editor: Your story on Grady Ward's settlement with Scientology may have left readers with the wrong impression.

Although Ward chose to settle, he maintains that he did not violate Scientology's copyrights in any way. According to the settlement agreement, Scientology and Ward explicitly agreed that there was no admission of liability on Ward's part.

No judge or jury has ever ruled that Ward infringed copyright.

On the other hand, newspaper articles, sworn affidavits, and court testimony reveal allegtions that Scientology itself is committing frightening criminal acts including false imprisonment, fraud, and extortion (see members.aol.com/jour0/investigation.html [my web site in 1998 - now at http://www.scientology-lies.com/investigation.html ] ) as directed by Scientology policy. While these diturbing accusations go uninvestigated, Scientology sics its juggernaut of well-paid attorneys on its critics.

I've made sure that California's present attorney general and my congresspeople know about Scientology's repugnant criminal record.

I hope that our next attorney general will do the right thing and fully investigate these charges. And I hope that when the IRS reviews Scientology's status as a tax-exempt nonprofit during the coming year, it will take into account not only these allegations, but also the convictions of high-level Scientologists in other countries and the recent conviction of Scientology itself in Canada.

Kristi Wachter
San Francisco