Press

Press in the News

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November 8, 2002 Trio Arrested After Wife's Wrists Are Bound A man was arrested Tuesday and accused of enlisting two friends to help him tie up his wife so he could take her to the doctor. Largo police arrested Terry Ray Hemphill, 54, on charges of felony false imprisonment and misdemeanor domestic battery. Jamie J. Popa, 33, and Laurie Lynn Miller, 32, also were arrested on false imprisonment charges. Clearwater, false imprisonment, Press
October 21, 2002 Scientologists Bar Negativity, Interviewing Given nearly 50 years of controversy, it's probably fitting that a Sunday visit to the Church of Scientology began in the office of a steamed church official, Pat Post. Post didn't know I got permission last week to attend the church - much less interview members, who follow the teachings of science fiction writer and all-around Renaissance man L. Ron Hubbard. In six years of covering religion, from mainline churches to witches' covens, this was the first time I was forbidden to interview members. Denver, Press, Scientology and Society
August 16, 2002 Chicago Reader: Death of a Scientologist Greg Bashaw was a Scientologist for more than 20 years. In the end, he took his own life. hurting people, Press
January 9, 2002 Icon Accused of Fleecing Celebrities U.S. security regulators trying to piece together an investment scam that reached the highest levels of Hollywood - and a number of unsuspecting Canadians - have banned the alleged operator from ever associating with a financial advisor. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission handed down the punishment following negotiations with former Wall Street icon Reed E. Slatkin, who is accused of running one of the largest Ponzi schemes in American history. Authorities say Mr. Slatkin, an ordained minister in the Church of Scientology, offered people huge returns on investments. crimes, Press, Reed Slatkin
December 9, 2001 Church Loads Up For One Last Fight A civil wrongful-death lawsuit, itself now almost 5 years old, alleges church workers let McPherson die Dec. 5, 1995, in the Fort Harrison Hotel, where she spent the last 17 days of her life being cared for by fellow Scientologists. The lawsuit contends that church staffers allowed McPherson, 36, to become so dehydrated she was too weak even to stop cockroaches from biting her. Paperwork alone has swelled to near epic proportions. The case now sports 194 volumes - stacked up, they're as tall as a two-story building. Clearwater, lawsuits, Lisa McPherson, Press
November 2, 2001 Church Abandons Tenderloin Mission Only weeks after opening an Ikea-furnished, dot-commy new branch in San Francisco's South of Market area just as the neighborhood once again goes to seed, the Church of Scientology has quietly placed its downtown headquarters up for sale amid a devastating slump in property prices. Jenna Elfman, Press, San Francisco
September 27, 2001 Sympathy For The Devil: The Tory Bezazian Story Tory Bezazian was a veteran Scientologist who loved going after church critics - until she met the darkest detractor of all. More than a year after her very public defection - the first in memory to occur on the Internet - Bezazian is still adapting to her transformation. She has quickly become a highly visible foe of the church she served for three decades. Andreas Heldal-Lund, disconnection, harassment, Los Angeles, CA, Press, Scientology's Chilling Effect on Free Speech, Suppressive Person
September 22, 2001 Sentencing in Trial Against Scientology After 7 months of trial, thousands of written pages, hundreds of people investigated and 12 Scientologists accused, the judge now has to decide whether the 12 members of Scientology are guilty of conspiracy, a crime for which the public prosecutor asked for three months in prison for each. crimes, Madrid, Press
June 27, 2001 Tass: Khabarovsk Sect Chief Convicted for Money Laundering Olga Ukhova, director of the regional Dianetics scientology centre, was sentenced to six years imprisonment conditionally for illegal entrepreneurship and money laundering. crimes, Press
April 14, 2001 Scientology Protester's Court Motion Is Denied A Riverside County Superior Court judge on Monday denied Church of Scientology opponent Keith Henson's motion to dismiss the entire district attorney's office from his terrorist-threats case. In the motion, Henson accused the Riverside County district attorney's office of bias in favor of the Scientologists. harassment, Hemet, Keith Henson, Press

Press in the News

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May 12, 2006 Polish Scientologists Ordered to Remove Tents When Scientology erected tents in Warsaw's city center to attract new members, city officials ordered them taken down. Press
September 30, 1996 Patrice Vic Trial Begins - Scientology Executive Charged with Manslaughter Trial begins in the death of Patrice Vic. Scientology executive Jean-Jacques Mazier is charged with manslaughter, and 22 other Scientologists also face charges. crimes, deaths, France, Patrice Vic, Press