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New and Updated Information at Scientology LiesWall Street Journal: Scientologists and IRS settled for $12.5 million
December 30, 1997: The Church of Scientology paid the federal government $12.5 million as part of a broad 1993 settlement with the Internal Revenue Service under which the church's main branch secured its tax-exempt status.
New York Times: The Shadowy Story Behind Scientology's Tax-Exempt Status
March 9, 1997: For 25 years, IRS agents branded Scientology a commercial enterprise and refused to give it the tax exemption granted to churches. The refusals had been upheld in every court. But then came an astonishing turnaround. The IRS had granted tax exemptions to every Scientology entity in the United States.
St. Petersburg Times: For the Disadvantaged and Against Scientology
June 25, 2006: Former Clearwater Mayor Gabe Cazares, a civil rights advocate, champion of the disadvantaged and archenemy of the Church of Scientology, died Friday, September 29, 2006, at the age of 86.
St. Petersburg Times: Hardball
January 28, 1998: When Scientology goes to court, it likes to play rough - very rough. In a 14-month, worldwide survey, the St. Petersburg Times documented a consistent pattern of church officials relentlessly pursuing its critics in legal actions that some charge are designed as much to harass as to achieve legal victory.
Washington Post: The Life and Death of a Scientologist
December 6, 1998: After 13 years and thousands of dollars, Lisa McPherson finally went 'clear.' Then she went insane.
St. Petersburg Times: Weakening McPherson Fought Food, Medicine
July 10, 1997: Fourteen days after entering a Church of Scientology retreat in good physical health, Lisa McPherson was so weak she couldn't stand, according to church records - yet for three days after that, church staff members continued to care for her in a room at the Fort Harrison Hotel instead of seeking hospital care.
St. Petersburg Times: Scientology Had Woman in Isolation
February 21, 1997: In the days leading up to her unexplained death, a 36-year-old member of the Church of Scientology was being kept in isolation at the church's Clearwater headquarters and had started banging her fists against the wall, a Scientology lawyer now says.
New York Times: Scientology Faces Glare of Scrutiny After Florida Parishioner's Death
December 1, 1997: After Scientologist Lisa McPherson was kept under 24-hour watch at Scientology headquarters, she died in their custody. Her family sued the church on behalf of her estate, claiming McPherson was held.
St. Petersburg Times: Scientologist's Death Differs in Two Tellings
September 4, 1997: The Church of Scientology's original portrayal of how a 36-year-old woman died under its care bears little resemblance to the sobering tale unfolding this summer with the release of the church's own internal records.
Tampa Tribune: Mystery Surrounds Scientologist's Death
December 15, 1996: After spending half her life as a member of the Church of Scientology, Lisa McPherson told friends she was ready to get out. She hoped to visit them at Thanksgiving and vowed to be home for good by last Christmas. But on Thanksgiving a couple of weeks later, McPherson was at the Fort Harrison Hotel, Scientology's world spiritual headquarters, taken there Nov. 18 by Scientologists for "rest and relaxation." Seventeen days later, she was dead.
San Francisco Chronicle: Narconon Banned from S.F. Schools
August 25, 2004: Narconon, an anti-drug program with ties to the Church of Scientology will be barred from San Francisco classrooms because of concerns about its scientific accuracy, city schools Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said Tuesday.
San Francisco Chronicle: Narconon Put on Notice by Schools
June 10, 2004: A popular anti-drug program with ties to the Church of Scientology will be ousted after 13 years in the San Francisco schools unless it agrees to stop teaching what the district calls inaccurate and misleading information, Superintendent Arlene Ackerman said Wednesday.
San Francisco Chronicle: Scientology Link to Public Schools
June 9, 2004: As early as the third grade, students in S.F. and elsewhere are subtly introduced to church's concepts via anti-drug teachings.
Scientology's Crimes
Learn about allegations - and convictions - of criminal activity by Scientology organizations and executives.
Los Angeles Times: Scientologists Win a Battle in Long War
October 31, 1992: Founded in 1978, the nonprofit Cult Awareness Network provides callers and media representatives with information about Scientology and other groups, and it suggests ways of evaluating any organization to determine if it is a destructive cult. Eight Scientologists won the right to attend a CAN conference.
Los Angeles Times: Cult Fighters' Future in Doubt
June 29, 1996: Plagued by numerous lawsuits from religious groups and fighting a $1.1-million judgment against it, the Cult Awareness Network filed for bankruptcy.
Los Angeles Times: Tom Cruise Control
November 29, 1992: Tom Cruise, when he considers himself crossed, can get very, very angry.
Los Angeles Times: Lawyer Buys Rights to Anti-Cult Organization
December 1, 1996: For 20 years, the Cult Awareness Network ran the nation's best-known hotline for parents who grew distraught when unconventional religious groups they neither trusted nor understood suddenly won the allegiance of their children. Now its name, logo, post office box and telephone number have been sold to the highest bidder: a Los Angeles lawyer named Steven L. Hayes, who is a Scientologist.
Clearwater Sun: Scientology Faces Rival for Elks Club
January 18, 1983: A private developer wants to buy the downtown Clearwater Elks Club, if the city of Clearwater will issue $600,000 in industrial revenue development bonds. The Church of Scientology offered the Elks $240,000 for the building in December.
Clearwater Sun: National Image of Suncoast Clouded by Sect
January 30, 1983: For many in Clearwater, the Church of Scientology and 1,500 disciples of L. Ron Hubbard said to live here still inspire widespread apprehension, distrust and even fear.
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