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Press in the News

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March 29, 1989 75 Scientologists Go On Trial Today Seventy-five members of the Church of Scientology's Italian operation go before a Milan court to face a long list of charges ranging from fraud, extortion and tax evasion to the illegal practice of medicine and taking advantage of incapacitated people. crimes, Press
March 18, 1989 Consulting Firm Aims Pitch at Dentists A California-based consulting firm run by disciples of the Church of Scientology is staging a seminar in Atlanta this weekend, hoping to attract attention - and business - from 15,000 dentists in town for a convention. Press
January 5, 1989 Scientology Official Is Granted Control of Hubbard Estate The once-contested multimillion-dollar estate of Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard has been settled, and control of it was given to the top church official Hubbard had named as executor. Superior Court Judge Fredman ordered the estate turned over to Norman F. Starkey, who besides his position in the church was a longtime friend of Hubbard. The estate is valued at more than $26 million, but the value of the assets that Hubbard placed in a trust for his family is not on public record. L. Ron Hubbard, Press
December 27, 1988 Scientology: Still The Same Revenues and taxes are only two of the many issues that make Floridians uneasy about the secretive organization with headquarters in Clearwater's massive Fort Harrison Hotel. Over the years the Scientologists have been charged with a variety of bizarre crimes. In Canada, for instance, federal authorities are bringing the sect to trial for stealing 2,000 government documents. In Spain, 11 Scientologists are out on bail, facing the possibility of charges that include coercion and fraud. Clearwater, crimes, Gabe Cazares, Press, Scientology and Society, taxes
December 23, 1988 Changing Strategy: Scientology Now Steps Right Up To Controversy After years of sparring with the townsfolk and veiling itself in secrecy, the Church of Scientology has succeeded in turning Clearwater into its spiritual mecca. Scientologists quietly run teen nightclubs, schools, day-care centers, management consulting firms and other businesses, records and interviews show. Now the strategy of the organization, longtime observers say, is to confront controversy, gain converts and make money - lots of it. Scientology's Clearwater operation brings in $1.5-million to $2-million a week, say church watchers who include Clearwater police, former Scientology security chief Richard Azneran and former Scientologist-turned-author Bent Corydon. Clearwater, Press, Scientology and Society
December 23, 1988 Xemu's Cruel Response To Overpopulated World It was like something out of a science fiction script - but L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, claimed it was fact. "Xemu," he called the central character. Xemu ruled the 90-planet Galactic Confederation 75-million years ago, when overpopulation was a problem. So Xemu solved the problem: He trapped selected beings and flew them to volcanoes on Earth, then called Teegeeach. He then dropped powerful H-bombs on the volcanoes. The beings were destroyed in a wall of fire. However, their spirits, or "thetans," weren't. Gathering them into clusters, Xemu trapped the thetans in frozen alcohol and glycol. OT III, Press, Xenu
December 22, 1988 Dozens of Groups Operate Under Auspices of Church of Scientology Operating under auspices of the Church of Scientology are dozens of groups, many of them separate legal entities. Untangling Scientology's lines of organizations can be difficult; even the sect's own charts that have been used in court cases are complex. Here are some of Scientology's organizations. front groups, Press
December 22, 1988 Scientology Church Faces New Claims Of Harassment The year was 1976, one year after the Church of Scientology had secretly moved its spiritual headquarters to Clearwater, and Mayor Gabe Cazares was complaining too loudly for the church's comfort. So, as documents seized by the FBI would later show, the church's Clearwater office devised a scheme to "ruin Mayor Gabriel Cazares' political career by spreading scandal about his sex life." Church officials came up with ways to get Cazares' school records, birth records, anything - from checking with the Catholic Church to looking in graveyards for headstones with Cazares' name - that might discredit the mayor. Clearwater, Gabe Cazares, harassment, Press
November 29, 1988 Lawsuit Is Dropped Over Insurance Money In Murder Attorneys for Continental Assurance Co. and Constitution Life Insurance Co. charged that "Father" John W. Kramer Sr., a self-professed minister of Scientology, and Samuel G. Lombardo, a former Lancaster businessman, had arranged Artz's murder to collect the $1.75 million in insurance money. The lawsuit charged that Kramer had engaged in a pattern of insurance fraud in Pennsylvania and Florida over a period of 15 years. Press
November 27, 1988 Andretti Orders Dianetics Logo Taken Off His Car A book logo linked to the Church of Scientology has been removed from the car of racer Mario Andretti, who said he did not want to be associated with the book when he drives in the GTE World Challenge of Tampa. The veteran driver said he "had nothing to do with (the Dianetics sponsorship) in the first place. It's not something I believe in, so I don't want to make it appear like I'm endorsing it." 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