VICTORY FOR TRUTH
When this populist newspaper first started asking
questions about a secret deal between the IRS and a cult known as the Church of
Scientology, we knew we were in for the usual charges of "bigotry" and
"extremism." What we didn't expect was the wholehearted support and
agreement of one of the bastions of the mainstream media, the Wall Street
Journal.
A synoptic recap is in order. The IRS ruled that money collected
by Scientology from its adherents, such as fees for "auditing" to "cleanse"
them of the memories of 75 million-year-old "thetans" was not
tax-deductible. That ruling was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court decades ago.
Scientology retaliated with thousands of lawsuits against the agency. Individual
members even -according to the IRS- mounted clandestine "intelligence"
raids against the agency, and a forceful campaign against the IRS was directed,
leading patriots to assume that the "church" actually opposed the
income tax in principle, not just because it couldn't get a tax exemption for
its business activities.
Then, suddenly, on October 1, 1993, the IRS
granted tax-exempt status to Scientology and over 100 of its front groups. In
return, it received a one-time $12.5 million settlement and a promise that the
cult would end its lawsuits. The IRS then announced it was looking for who
leaked the story of the secret pact. Obviously, you weren't supposed to find out
about it.
As Vince Ryan pointed out (March 24, 1997) in his "Liberty
Lobby Reports" column: "We've scooped the media for the umpteenth
time, this time with the story of the mysterious tax exemption the IRS gave the
Church of Scientology.
On March 9, 1997, in a sensational front page story,
the New York Times focused on the strange deal.
Now comes the powerful and
respected WSJ with a lead editorial (Feb. 24, 1998) titled "The Secrets of
the Universe," to detail the key points about the relationship forged by
the dynamic duo of Scientology and government.
The WSJ editorial (reprinted
here by permission) mentioned the strange death of a young female member of
Scientology in Clearwater, Florida -a death currently being closely investigated
by authorities. It also mentions the strange death of a Scientology member in
Germany who had given all his money to the cult prior to what could have been a
suicide -but might not have been.
In a concluding paragraph, the WSJ says,
in part:
"How about an auditing session? Leading off with this
question: Is there anyone at the IRS who seriously thinks that the unbelievable
sums of money Scientology spends on lawsuits meets the agency's requirement that
a charity spend funds only on charitable proposes?"
' The editorial in
the WSJ isn't a victory for us, it's a
VICTORY FOR TRUTH.
Woes continue to mount for a controversial church.
EXCLUSIVE TO THE
SPOTLIGHT BY JAMES P.TUCKER JR.
The Church of Scientology is fighting for
its life. Not only are law enforcement agencies around the world investigating
suspicious deaths of church members, but the mainstream media has been probing
Scientology's inner workings.
Last month, George, the "in"
magazine published by John F. Kennedy Jr., charged that in return for President
Clinton using his clout to pressure the German government to curtail its
campaign against Scientology, actor John Travolta (a Scientologist) agreed to
portray Clinton in a friendly way in the new film Primary Colors, which is
thinly disguised account of Clinton's "sexcapades" during the 1992
presidential campaign.
Although the New York Post erroneously reported that
Sen. Lauch Faircloth (R-N.C.) had formally called for an inquiry into Clinton's
relationship with Travolta and Scientology, there is growing interest on Capitol
Hill regarding Scientology's "sweet deal" with the IRS that resulted
in a favorable tax decision worth billions to the church.
Meanwhile, a
federal judge is considering whether to force the IRS to disclose the secret
deal with Scientology, following a lawsuit brought by William Lehrfeld of
Washington. Lehrfeld and Tax Analysts, which filed the suit, declined comment.
Although the IRS proclaimed the cult a "church," in spite of it not
recognizing divine leadership, Germany was able to distinguish between thugs and
theology.
Now the mainstream press is also inquiring about the secret deal
between the cult and the IRS. Questionable deaths, problems in Europe and the
tax deal have created what is charitably termed a public relations problem.
Scientology recruiting and funding have plunged, according to Arnie Lerma, a
former member who has a team monitoring the cult on the Internet. "They're
in deep trouble," Lerma said. "They are hurting for people. There is
no income for the 'churches,' which are no more than front groups."
Lerma is making systematic reports on the cult's inside trading involving huge
corporations to the Securities and Exchange Commission. The IRS deal identifying
Scientology's global financial empire as a "church" cost the
government more than $1 billion in unpaid taxes alone, Lerma said.
The
SPOTLIGHT exclusively reported the secret deal between ,the IRS and Scientology
on November 1, 1993. After years of fighting, the IRS secretly proclaimed the
cult a "church" -providing a multi-billion dollar windfall for the
Scientologists.
The IRS commissioner at the time, Fred Goldberg, a law
partner (while in the private sector) of New York "super-lawyer"
Kenneth Bialkin, longtime national chairman of the Anti-Defamation League (ADL)
of B'nai B'rith, was responsible for setting up the deal. It appears the quid
pro quo was that in return for the IRS deal, crafted by the ADL-linked
commissioner, Scientology's higher-ups would direct several cult members -who
were employed by the California-based Institute for Historical Review (IHR)- to
participate in an ADL sponsored scheme to eviscerate the IHR from within.
Once the ADL's goal was achieved and the IHR was successfully victimized,
however, the ADL seems to have pulled the plug on Scientology. Now the cult is
being repeatedly exposed by major newspapers such as the New York Times and the
Wall Street Journal.
A knowledgeable source advised The SPOTLIGHT that the
New York Post, which has dubbed the Clinton-Travola affair "sect-gate"
actually seems to be promoting an anti-Scientology agenda. This is interesting
inasmuch as the New York Post has long been close to the ADL and invariably
promotes the ADL's agenda as "news."
Still, even while limping
from the pain of belated public scrutiny, Scientology remains a
multi-billion-dollar global enterprise. It continues to engage in a worldwide
propaganda campaign to counter bad publicity.
As a result, the "Freedom
for Religions in Germany" group surfaced, charging Germany's Enquete
[Inquiry] Commission on Religious Sects with "intolerance" at a
Washington press conference on February 25.
The commission's sin was its
conclusion that Scientology's worldwide business empire is not a religion.
That's the same position held by the IRS for years before its secret deal.
The cult roped a Baptist minister from California, Rev. Alfreddie Johnson, into
denouncing Germany for its "intolerance" of Scientology..
"The
Enquete Commission intends to establish a permanent, government-funded witch
hunt that has absolute power to blacklist and punish any citizen who dares to
hold or share religious beliefs not approved by the state," Johnson fumed.
Khaled Saffuri, former deputy executive director of the American Muslim Council,
tried to persuade the press that Germany's disagreement with the IRS over the
definition of Scientology is a threat to all religions.
Here's the inside story on the recent decision by Liberty Lobby to reorganize
under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy laws.
On May 13, 1998; Liberty
Lobby, the publisher of The SPOTLIGHT, filed a petition in Washington, D.C. for
protection under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy statutes.
SPOTLIGHT
readers can rest assured, however, all operations of Liberty Lobby will
continue, including regular publication of The SPOTLIGHT. The circumstances that
led up to the bankruptcy are quite unusual indeed.
The bankruptcy filing
was necessitated by unlawful efforts to seize control of Liberty lobby and
liquidate it in an attempt to collect a large judgment rendered by a state judge
in California even before the appeal can be heard.
A special report in the
current edition of Liberty Letter, the newsletter for the members of the Board
of Policy of Liberty Lobby, summarized the situation as follows:
"It
is a conspiracy. Take a close look and you'll find not only the Anti-Defamation
League (ADL) of B'nai B'rith and the Mossad, but the CIA and the Church of
Scientology: In a bizarre tactical covert alliance these forces have banded
together in a conspiracy to destroy Liberty Lobby."
In a nutshell,
here's what happened: Manipulating a disloyal attorney and several disloyal
employees of the now-essentially defunct Institute for Historical Review (IHR)
based in Costa Mesa, California, this covert alliance orchestrated a lawsuit
against Liberty lobby and its founder, Willis A. Carto, after seizing control of
the IHR.
After that case came to trial, a superior court judge in
California -Runston G. "Tony" Maino entered judgment against Liberty
Lobby and Carto on November 24, 1996. The initial judgment totaled some $9
million, but the interest has continued to toll and the judgment now stands at
some $14 million.
The judgment lay dormant for over e year, while Liberty
Lobby filed for an appeal which still remains to be heard. However, those behind
the lawsuit pressed forward and began moving to collect on the judgment. An
attorney named Bryan D. Sampson materialized and took over the effort.
On March 27, Maino issued an order giving a receiver selected by Sampson,
Thomas Lennon, the authority to seize mail addressed to "Liberty Lobby"
and "Willis Carto" and to liquidate Liberty Lobby, thus ending the
publication of The SPOTLIGHT
Incredibly, Maino's order was secretly issued
without the presence of Liberty Lobby's California attorney, J. Brian Urtnowski,
even though the order falsely stated that Urtnowski was in attendance. The
appointment of Lennon, in itself was controversial, inasmuch as Lennon's
business practices have been questioned in other cases. That Maino appointed
Lennon to destroy Liberty Lobby fit the pattern.
Following up on Maino's
order, the receiver, Lennon, wrote a letter on April 6 addressed to "Postmaster,
Washington, D.C. 20003" and ordered the Post Office to seize the mail.
To support his position, he enclosed Maino's secret order and demanded the mail
be sent to him so he could open it and take the money. This was an attempt to
hoodwink the Postal Service since Lennon had no authority to act in Washington,
D.C. However, based upon similar behavior by Lennon in other cases, this abuse
of process was par for the course.
By happenstance, on April 10, Maino had
scheduled a hearing do a related matter, and Urtnowski and his colleague, civil
rights attorney Joe Izen, demanded Maino explain his actions. Realizing his
blunder, Maino ordered Lennon to immediately return all of the mail unopened.
However, the Postal Service had forwarded all mail which arrived in Washington
on April 9 and April 10 to Lennon in California. This mail was released to
Liberty Lobby's attorney.
According to Liberty Lobby counsel Mark Lane, "There
were many problems here, not the least of which was the attempt by government
agents to shut down a newspaper. This is directly prohibited by the First
Amendment. In addition, Lennon, in order to unlawfully seize the mail, sent a
copy of Maino's order to the Post Office. "Lennon knew, or should have
known, that the order falsely stated that Liberty Lobby had been represented
when the order was issued," he added "In addition Lennon should have
known that he had no right to seize mail in Washington, D.C. based upon an order
from a local judge in California, without a hearing before a court in
Washington, D.C.
Yet, after all of this, Maino did it again. On April 29,
again reversing himself, Maino issued an order giving Lennon the authority to
grab Liberty Lobby's mail and, once again, Lennon sent a copy of Maino's order
to the D.C. Postmaster.
(See CHAPTER, Page 20)
(Continued From Page 6)
Postal employees were clearly battled by the ridiculous antics of Maino and
Lennon but felt pressured because of the fact that there had been an order by a
judge, despite the obvious problems with the order, and again began seizing the
mail and forwarding it to Lennon.
Maino announced he would rule on May 19
as to whether Lennon would then permitted to open the mail and seize its
contents. In any case, there was no question, based upon Main's s bias, that he
would permit the mail to be stolen by the marauders.
Liberty Lobby's
counsel, Mark Lane, filed for a temporary restraining order in federal court in
Washington. He determined based on clear legal precedents:
1) that an order
from a state court in California had no validity in Washington (unless ratified
by a Washington, D.C. courts
2) that, in the absence of that ratification,
only unless the Postal Service believes that a crime is being committed, can
mail be withheld from a recipient; and
3) that, in any event, even under
those circumstances mail addressed to a newspaper or its publisher cannot be
withheld. The ADL-sponsored attorney, Bryan Sampson, came all the way to
Washington, D.C. to argue against Lane's motion. And although Liberty Lobby
presumed the Post Office was essentially disinterested, Postal attorneys
surprisingly appeared and argued against the motion, aligned with the ADL-backed
conspirators.
Yes, obviously, "someone" had gotten to the
higher-ups at the Post Office. This is ironic, since the honest, low-level
postal employees were obviously reluctant to seize the mail inasmuch as that is
the opposite of what they are employed to do -that is, deliver the mail.
On
May 11 a federal judge declined to grant a temporary restraining order but gave
counsel 10 days to respond to the Post Office motion to dismiss the application
for a permanent injunction.
While Sampson was in Washington, Liberty Lobby
learned quite a bit about him and with whom he is in contact. Sampson isn't "just
another lawyer." His connections are with persons engaged in long-term
efforts to undermine Liberty Lobby.
By this time it was clear to Liberty
Lobby that there were few options left. Filing for relief under Chapter 11 of
the federal bankruptcy statutes was the only way to stave off the efforts of the
conspirators who were bragging how they were going to directly walk into Liberty
Lobby and "take over" and destroy the populist Institution and loot
its assets.
Bankruptcy is only a temporary measure but it could cost as
much as $300,000 in fees and other expenses; this above and beyond liberty
Lobby's normal operating costs.
Liberty Lobby Board of Policy Chairman
Vince Ryan emphasizes the need for united support for liberty Lobby from all
patriots at this time. "If the enemies of freedom are able to bring down
Liberty Lobby, rest assured they will quickly begin moving on all other
independent voices in the patriot movement in America."
Arnie Lerma, a former Scientologist was the first hour guest of Tom Valentine on
Radio Free America (RFA) on Sunday, May 17. Lerma is now battling the cult via
the Internet in an effort to show they are a "scam."
Lerma told
his personal story and added other facts from court records to make his case. He
said he is trying to prevent other people from being caught up in the appeal and
false promises so they don't lose everything to the organization that is bent on
utter control over its members. He gave his telephone number as: (703) 241-1498.
In the second hour, Willis Carto, founder of Liberty Lobby and The SPOTLIGHT,
was the guest. Carto explained the legal manipulations involving the takeover of
the Institute of Historical Review that also affected Liberty Lobby. Pointing
out that in the courts there is a thing known as the "Liberty Lobby factor"
wherein rule of law does not always apply because of the power of the enemies
list. Carto explained why Liberty Lobby had filed for Chapter 11 protection
under the federal bankruptcy laws.
RFA is now carried on two short-wave
signals: MUM on 5.745 mhz and WGTG over 5.085 mhz. Internet users can hear Radio
Free America live every Sunday night by purchasing Real Audio software and then
clicking in to either one of two web sites: orbit7.com or the WHRI site at
www.whr.org, both provide the show for the Internet. Telephone contact for Orbit
7 network is 1-888-4 ORBIT 7; for WHRI in South Bend, Indiana, it's (219)
291-8200.
For audio tapes of RFA programs call 1-888-31-RADIO to order with
a credit card. Both hours are $15, which includes shipping and handling. A
4-tape, 8-hour presentation on The History of Money in the U.S. with Stephen
Zarlenga is $24 s&h included.
(A digest of significant news items that failed to appear in most of the
nation's press.)
ANOTHER VICTIM. Philip C. Gale at 19 had had a life of
outstanding accomplishment. He entered MIT at 15 and at 19, when he killed
himself, knew 20 computer languages fluently and was also outstanding in every
field he entered. His mother, Marie, was a well-known Scientology activist and
had raised her son inside the "church." Philip never took to
Scientology in spite of his mother's dedication. Caught between two worlds and
undergoing great stress, Philip apparently saw no other way to resolve the
conflict. The Boston Herald reported that Scientologists are taught that
when they leave the church they will kill themselves or have a serious accident.
Will "reinvention" of the IRS include a probe of the Scientology tax
deal?
By ROBERT S. MINTON
The Internal Revenue Service (IRS) is
undergoing major changes, according to Vice President Al Gore's new plan for the
agency, "Reinventing Service at the IRS."
After a 10-month IRS
study and the Senate Finance Committee hearings last fall that revealed IRS
abuses of taxpayers' rights, the Clinton administration seems committed to
effect change in the agency Charles Rossotti is already in place as the agency's
new commissioner, and new changes are on the way to improve customer service.
But if this commitment to change the IRS is genuine, the agency should consider
remedying what may be one of its largest blunders ever: its secret 1993 tax
settlement with Scientology in which the IRS granted Scientology tax-exempt
status and cut its estimated billion-dollar tax debt to about 1 percent of that
amount. Not only was this deal a reversal of the IRS's 25-year policy regarding
the cult's improper, illegal tax procedures, but it also cost taxpayers almost
$1 billion in unpaid taxes and gave Scientology private/religious education tax
exemptions not given to any religion.
DEAL EXPOSED
This 1993 tax deal
was secret until recently exposed by the Wall Street Journal and New York Times
(SPOTLIGHT, July 8, 1996 and others) and has since captured the interest of tens
of millions of U.S. taxpayers, major worldwide corporations with U.S. tax
liabilities, and diverse special interest groups with concerns ranging from
taxation to religion to separation of church and state.
After repeatedly
and justifiably denying Scientology's tax-exempt status, the IRS suddenly
reversed its position in 1993 with the secret settlement which granted
Scientology religious status and canceled most of the organization's huge tax
debt. The mysterious and shocking reversal for the U.S. tax agency came after 25
years of steadfastly refusing to provide Scientology with the tax exemption
given to normal bona fide churches.
Many believe that the scope of what was
given away by the IRS to the multi-billion dollar Scientology organization, in
financial benefit and other special considerations, is far beyond anything that
has been given to any other religious group, corporation, or normal taxpayer.
As outrageously unfair as this secret deal appears, the means by which
Scientology obtained it may be even worse -from filing 2,200 lawsuits against
the IRS, to sending private investigators to pry into the personal lives of IRS
employees, to hiring an IRS-insider, to filing an application experts say is
riddled with fraud.
An IRS staff member who claims to have worked on the
case called the secret deal a sell-out by higher management. Speaking on the
condition of anonymity, the individual said that agents working on the case had
endured frightening calls to their homes and disappearing pets, and that
Scientology should have never 'been given what was given.
NINE GUILTY.
Scientology has a history that attests to such behavior. In 1979, nine top
leaders of Scientology pled guilty to criminal charges for their involvement in
the infiltration of over 100 U.S. government agencies. A federal prosecutor in
the case wrote, "The crime committed by these defendants is of a breadth
and scope previously unheard of. No building, office, desk, or file was safe
from their snooping and prying. No individual or organization was free from
their despicable conspiratorial minds. The tools of their trade were miniature
transmitters, lock picks, secret codes, forged credentials and any other device
they found necessary to carry out their conspiratorial schemes."
Scientology's background makes the IRS's radical and unexpected reversal of its
position on Scientology's tax status even more baffling. Lawrence B. Gibbs, IRS
commissioner from 1986 to 1989, calls the settlement "a very surprising
'decision." He said, "When you have as much litigation over as much
time, with the general uniformity of results that the service had with
Scientology, it is surprising to have the ultimate decision be favorable. It was
even more surprising that the service made the decision without full disclosure,
in light of the prior background."
Did Scientology bludgeon the IRS
into complying with its will at a huge cost to all other taxpayers? Who was
involved? Clinton recently showed complicity with Scientology by promising actor
John Travolta to assist his cult's situation in Germany possibly in exchange for
a more positive portrayal in the film Primary Colors. Given these events, one
must now also wonder if the Clinton administration's accommodations to
Scientology could date back to 1993 when Scientology received the huge
sweetheart IRS tax deal.
Especially in light of the sweeping IRS changes
Clinton and Gore have promised, the new IRS commissioner needs to initiate a
review of this seemingly outrageous secret settlement as soon as possible.
Justice demands it. Public confidence in fairness needs to be restored.
Re-evaluating Scientology's questionable deal for wrongdoing and/or fraud will
go a long way toward proving the reinvention of the IRS is not just a publicity
stunt.
WHAT TO DO
What you can do about this outrageous secret IRS
deal with Scientology: Forward this editorial alert to all individuals and
organizations concerned with issues related to taxes, religious education, and
separation of church and state. All have an interest in seeing that this secret
IRS deal is reviewed. Parents paying for their children's private religious
education may then be able to deduct its full cost from their taxes. Write the
new IRS commissioner, Charles 0. Rossotti (who was not involved in the secret
deal), and ask him to open an investigation into the secret agreement, the
process of its approval, and the alleged fraud in Scientology's original
application. Tell him you believe this special Scientology secret deal gives
grossly unfair and inappropriate tax considerations to one church over another
and appears to pierce the separation of church and state. Write the commissioner
at: Charles O. Rossotti commissioner, Internal Revenue Service, Department of
the Treasury, 500 N Capitol St, NW, 1st Floor, Washington, D.C. 20221. Learn
more about the capitulation of the IRS to Scientology's alleged coercion.
For details on the secret deal and its background, see give-away.htm. For more
information on Clinton's Cultgate affair with Primary Colors, see
cultgate_head-lines.html. For the text of the secret settlement deal, see:
agreemnt.html. For the Wall Street Journal article that revealed the secret
deal, see: wj301297.htm1 For the New York Times article, see: ny311297.html.
This editorial opinion was provided by FACTNet, Inc., Robert S. Minton, director. FACTNet is a nonprofit Internet library dedicated to protecting freedom of mind by reducing harms caused by cults and mind control. FACTNet's web page is located at www.factnet.org. FACTNet, Inc., P0, Box 3135, Boulder, CO 80307-3135.
July 23, 1998
Dear Ms. Janette:
Since Fred Blahut knows very well that bylines are not added to articles in The SPOTLIGHT without permission, and Mr. Minton's byline was not on the subject article, we cannot explain how the error occurred.
Fred, who is supposed to know these things, also tells me that he has never heard of Mr. Minton!
We are running a correction in this issue which will be on the press tonight. I'll tell him to send you one,
Sincerely,
W. A. Carto Treasurer
Fight Against Coercive Tactics Network, Inc.
A global nonprofit organization protecting freedom of mind by reducing harms caused by cults & mind controlPO Box 3135, Boulder, CO 80307-3135 email: factnet@factnet.org web site: www.factnet.org
July 14, 1998
Fred Blahut Spotlight
300 Independence Ave, SE Washington, DC
20003 Dear Mr. Blahut,
I am writing in response to "What's Scientology-IRS `Mystery'?" in Spotlight's July 6, 1998 issue. The article is a reprint of an editorial written by Lawrence Wollersheim, President and Director of FACTNet, Inc.
Our concern is not that the editorial was reprinted, or even that it was reprinted without notifying FACTNet. In fact, all editorials that FACTNet catalogs on our Internet library at www.factnet.org include the statement, "Re-distribution and proper re-posting of this document are appreciated." What concerns us is the misleading information Spotlight added to the editorial without contacting FACTNet, the most flagrant of which is Spotlight's attributing the article to Robert S. Minton. Although a FACTNet director, Mr. Minton did not write or contribute in any way to this editorial, and does not write editorials for posting on the FACTNet web site.
In our telephone conversation today, you said that if Spotlight does not know the author's name, it usually uses "the name of the person identified as responsible for the group." However, Mr. Minton is only one of three directors responsible for FACTNet. And in our list of board directors on the web site (from which the editorial was taken), he is listed neither first, nor as FACTNet's president. And yet, not only did spotlight print "BY ROBERT S. MINTON" at the top of the article, but also added, "Robert S. Minton, director" to our information box at the end. FACTNet clearly advertises contact addresses - postal and email -- on the web page. If including an author was so vital, why did Spotlight not attempt to contact FACTNet for that information, especially since the information involves a legal issue of authorship?
FACTNet was alerted to Spotlight's printing of this article when top Scientology officials presented it to Robert Minton, possibly in an effort to cause divisiveness between Mr. Minton and FACTNet. It is possible that a Scientology operative is secretly at work within your organization; such activity has historical precedent on the part of Scientology.
Or perhaps, since Mr. Minton has gained wide publicity recently for his opposition to Scientology (on Dateline and in numerous newspapers), his name was used as an attempt to gain credibility or notoriety for Spotlight. (Note that Spotlight added a reference to itself in the body of the article, appearing to be part of the original).
Unfortunately, providing inaccurate information compromises not only Spotlight's credibility, but also its integrity. Fabricating information to fill in the blanks is not acceptable journalism. And your declining to look into the matter, as you did today, is simply a baffling response for a journalist. I would ask you to reconsider.
I would also request that you retract and correct the attribution for this article in a timely manner in an upcoming issue of Spotlight,. and that you send FACTNet a copy of the issue, so that our records may reflect the correction.
Sincerely,
Justine Janette
Executive Director
Boulder, CO
www.factnet.org
CC: Willis Carto
Board of Directors Lawrence Wollersheim Denver, Colorado
Robert S. Minton Boston, Massachusettes
Stacy Young Vashon, Washington
Board of Advisors
Scientific Advisor
Margaret Singer, Ph.D. Emeritus Professor, Psychology Univ. of California, Berkeley
Medical Advisor
Edward A. Lottick, M.D. Kingston, Pennsylvania
Health Industry Advisor
Patricia Ryan, M.P.A. Sacramento, California
Media Advisors
Steve Allen
Van Nuys, California
Eugene H. Methvin
Senior Editor, Reader's Digest Washington, D.C.
Andrew Skolnick
Associate Editor, JAMA
Forrest Park
Illinois Interfaith Advisor
Kent Burtner, M.Div.
Portland, Oregon
Legal Advisor
Ford Greene, Esq.
San Anselmo, California
SLAPP Advisor
Mark Goldowitz
Oakland, California
Few Americans are aware of it, but one of the most powerful behind-the-scenes
pressure groups influencing the Clinton administration today is the Church of
Scientology Under the Clinton regime, the Internal Revenue Service granted a
highly controversial tax break to Scientology, first exposed by The SPOTLIGHT
and now widely written about in -among other places- the New York Times and the
Wall Street Journal.
In addition, it has been alleged that actor John
Travolta, a prominent member of the Church of Scientology, agreed to soften his
portrayal of the president in the film Primary Colors, in return for President
Clinton using his clout to pressure the German government to cease and desist in
its legal actions against Scientology.
Despite all this, very little is
known about the inner workings of Scientology, except from what has been
revealed by former devoted Scientologists who have gone public Among the former
Scientologists now speaking out against the group is Arnaldo Lerma who was the
guest on the May 17 broadcast of The SPOTLIGHT's weekly call-in talk forum,
Radio Free America with host Tom Valentine. On many previous occasions Valentine
featured interviews with representatives of organizations affiliated with the
Church of Scientology, belying current claims by Scientology that The SPOTLIGHT
is "bigoted" and "biased" against the group for "religious
reasons."
In fact, although "The SPOTLIGHT and its publisher,
Liberty Lobby, had been friendly to various projects of Scientology, such as its
(earlier) fight against the IRS and dangerous drugs, agents of the Church of
Scientology played a key part in launching a conspiracy that led to the ongoing
lawsuit against Liberty Lobby that has forced the populist Institution to file
for protection under Chapter 11 of the federal bankruptcy statutes. Since that
conspiracy was first unveiled on October 1, 1993 -on the very day the IRS gave
Scientology its lucrative tax break- The SPOTLIGHT has been investigating what
critics of the Church of Scientology, such as Lerma, have to say.
What
follows is an abbreviated transcript of the interview. Questions by Valentine
and callers appear in boldface. Lerma's responses are in regular text.
Would you call Scientology a church or a cult?
I would call it
something that deceives the public.
You've been taking your fight against Scientology on the Internet. The
leaders of the Church of Scientology are a dangerous bunch of people to
challenge, the way you have challenged them.
Well, they use a technique
similar to the IRS. They depend on intimidation and fear to keep most people
silent.
And you're not going to be intimidated?
Well, they haven't
succeeded yet, and they spent $1.7 million in direct costs and litigation in
trying to get me and I've managed to survive thus far.
There was a time when you were quite caught up with the philosophy of L. Ron
Hubbard, founder of the Church of Scientology, and you probably felt that you
were going to improve yourself tremendously.
I was going to save the
world. I thought Scientology had the secrets to the universe. I thought Hubbard
was a Navy war hero. I thought he cured himself of being blinded and crippled
from wounds he received during World War II.
Is that the story that the Church of Scientology tells about its founder?
Correct. They've reworded that slightly and softened it up because too
many people know the truth now. But not enough. And I won't stop until everyone
does.
How long ago was it that you were caught up in all this?
I got
sucked into Scientology when I was a teenager. I was first exposed to it perhaps
when I was 15, fought it off for a year or so and then got into it when I was 16
years old. I'm now 47.
Did you ever meet L. Ron Hubbard? I didn't actually meet him, no.
But you worked your way up inside the Church of Scientology, did you not?
I got up to the level where you're exposed to the story of Xenu and the space
aliens. I ended up in Scientology's Sea organization as a financial manager
running the organization that prints and distributes all of the books and
printed materials.
Well, that's how they make their money.
They make a considerable
amount of money selling books. The book pricing, I think, is five or seven times
the cost.
And that's not their big income. That's one of their big incomes, I would
assume.
Right. That's actually a side line, compared with being able to
offer the public the "secrets of the universe."
So then, that's when you pay them to go through what Scientology refers to
as "auditing"?
Correct.
Is that their big money maker?
I believe so.
The Wall Street Journal kind of hinted at that, didn't they, when they
reported on the secret deal between the IRS and Scientology (and that was first
exposed in detail nationally by The SPOTLIGHT)?
Absolutely.
When did you finally begin to see problems with Scientology and conclude
that it wasn't right for you?
It took occasional tough situations to
get it through my skull that perhaps I had been deceived. It built up over time.
There was a final "last straw" and then I think I stayed in just long
enough to accumulate the wherewithal to get together a few dollars in order to
escape.
Escape? Now that's an interesting word. You can't just up and walk out of
Scientology?
That doesn't happen. You don't just say you're going to
leave, though a few people have managed to do that. But when you read their
stories, its quite a thing trying to just say you're going to leave and then go
through all of the hoops they try to make you jump through and the pressure
they're going to bring to bear.
What year was it that you decided to try to escape?
It was 1977.
That was a long time ago, but you didn't start speaking out publicly against
Scientology for some time.
Yes, it was. The plan of this particular
fraud includes provisions that will keep the "average Joe" silent for
a considerable length of time before he might decide to speak out. In 1977 I was
very grateful to have escaped with my mind intact. I actually would have been 27
at the time, and I made one phone call to my mom and I just said, "Mom,
life doesn't make a whole lot of sense. I think I'll come home and sleep on the
couch for awhile, and think about things." And then shortly thereafter
there was a criminal trial: U.S. vs Mary Sue Hubbard -that's Hubbard's wife- and
she and a half dozen or so other fellows actually ended up doing jail time. Some
of those guys I knew when I was in, so I wasn't in any mood to come forward and
say anything about them.
When did you start exposing Scientology as a scam?
In 1994. In 1994
1 was on America On-Line and it was, I think, that spring of '94 that America on
Line opened up themselves and connected to the outside world. You could get onto
the Internet. And when I got onto the Internet, I ended up meeting folks. I
contacted a fellow named Joe Harrington who lives up in Portland, Maine. I
hadn't talked to Joe in 25 years up to that time. We started talking again and
it was terrific. We picked up right where the conversation had left off 25 years
before. And he had been in Scientology when I was in.
And that's how you started connecting with other former Scientologists who
were also disillusioned with Scientology and who wanted to make their
experiences known to the public?
Joe and I exchanged personal stories
of the things that had happened to us, and realized that a lot of the things
that happened didn't just happen to me; they also happened to him. We then
started comparing notes with other folks who had gotten out.
Now, with this
magic tool called the Internet, we were able to compare notes with ex-members
all over the world. I found that some of the things that happened to other
people were even stranger than what had happened to me.
And the more I
found out, the more disturbed I became that Scientology, in fact, misrepresents
itself to the public in order to get the naive to believe that perhaps they do
have the secrets of the universe.
And so I began a quest to collect court
records, scan them onto a computer and turn them into text, rather than image
documents, and then put the text onto the Internet so that other folks could
have the benefit of testimony sworn under penalty of perjury concerning the true
nature of Scientology. Little did I know that within a few years the documents I
would be scanning would be from my own court case with Scientology.
When did Scientology sue you?
They threatened litigation in
November 1994. I had been posting affidavits for a few months, and I got a knock
at my door on November 4, and there were two fellows out front who just said "Hello.
We represent the Church of Scientology. We'd like to speak to you."
I
said, "I don't think so fellas," and closed the door. Strangely
enough, they looked like "Men in Black." There was an affidavit stuck
in the door and after they left I looked at the affidavit, and evidently it was
something they had hoped to get in the house -two on one- and then pressure me
to sign this thing. And this thing would have admitted that because of my low
ethical standards I had been thrown out of Scientology.
And they might have done something had they been able to strong-arm you to
get you to sign that?
Perhaps, yes.
They're not above that sort of thing?
Oh, absolutely not.
Intimidation is the name of the game that they play. Plague anybody who connects
enough dots to realize that these people are in fact a threat to democracy.
If there are people out there who are struggling with Scientology, how do
they reach you if they haven't found you on the Internet?
My phone
number is 703-241-1498. My address is Lermanet.com. That will get you to a page
and it has my phone number and address if you want to get hold of me.
Are you still in litigation with Scientology?
No. My litigation is
finished. We decided
SPOTLIGHT July 13, 1998-15
not to appeal in my case, and I had to pay a $2,500 fine. That was the end of
that.
A $2,600 fine? Was that some kind of criminal charge?
No. It was
civil. There was a statutory crime for copyright infringement. There were five
files on my hard disc when they seized it - and between the hard disc and the
400 floppy discs that were seized in the raid, they found five files that
contained copies of their copyright stuff.
Three of those files, I believe,
were just -and for those of you who know how this works- from having the log
function turned on while reading a news group when some of this stuff had been
posted to news groups previously. Just from reading it, if you have logging
turned on, it just keeps a record of what you looked at.
So somebody else put it out there, but you ended with it on your disc and
that's it?
Exactly, and then two of the files were Windows temporary
files, and there were some articles written about that. Windows has some
temporary files that it uses just doing routine operations.
Now normally, something like this wouldn't be important enough to be on the
air and talking about it. I mean there are all kinds of cults that people get
into and then leave and so on. But the Scientologists have some kind of a real "hand-in-glove"
situation going with the powers that be today and they're an extremely powerful
organization. In a country that is supposed to be of the people, by the
people and for the people, Scientology is taking advantage of the existing
condition in this nation, where it is government of the money, by the money and
for the money.
Now you are saying it's a scam. Let's see if we can tell the people who are
tinkering with it, or are on the outside of it, what they're heading for.
Well, what you're heading for is this. You're heading for a pattern where all
your secrets will be recorded just in case they'll need them at some time in the
future to intimidate you into silence. You're going to end up having some
experiences that will be transitorily very pleasant. The auditing experience
results in a transitory high. It could be described as a release of endorphins.
I mean if you were to become convinced that you could discover the truth about
yourself and the universe using this auditing technology, you might get pretty
enthusiastic about Scientology. I mean, you have to understand that I myself
thought that perhaps it would be a way to make this a better world. That's why I
decided not to go to college and joined them and gave them 10 years of my life.
Did you actually believe that you were infested with the spirits of dead
space aliens?
That's a tough call, my friend. When I got to the OT-3
level and read that stuff, that was quite a day because on the one hand this was
the big big secret. On the other hand, it was about the evil emperor Xenu and a
plan to end overpopulation in this sector of the galaxy 76 million years ago.
You and some other fellows are continuing the fight through FACTNet and you
need support. That's one of the reasons you come on radio talk shows.
Absolutely. There's a fellow named Robert Minton, an investment banker in
Boston, Massachusetts. This fellow read some of the things that I'd written on
the and read about my court case which was in the Washington Post with 95 column
inches covering it.
As a matter of fact the Washington Post got added, in
an amended complaint, to the lawsuit against me for quoting 41 words of this
particular document. The Post won their part of the lawsuit. They finished that
litigation, but the Post won outright and I believe had their attorneys' fees
paid for.
Recently, Bob Minton found private eyes following his 10- and
12-year-old daughters down the street in Boston on the way to school.
Scientology has been out picketing his home and distributing leaflets saying
that this fellow is supporting hate mongers and is a bigot against religion.
For the record, neither he nor anybody I'm associated with is in any way, shape
or form "anti-religion." That is the point of most everything I write:
that Scientology is in fact a fraud being perpetrated on the American people and
there are many court opinions to support that contention to the point that you
can't be sued for saying this anymore.
Well, that is a good piece of news because this idea of their being a church
and getting all of the deductions that they got from the IRS raises some
questions.
Oh, absolutely They have an internal public relations policy
to attack institutions that folks don't like, like the Internal Revenue Service
or like psychiatry. It is part of their plan to gain public acceptance to pick
unpopular institutions and attack them publicly and very noisily so that folks
will think that these people do have good intentions.
The rank and file
member in Scientology, in my opinion, is a good person trying to do the right
thing, but has fallen into the grip of what I consider a completely corrupt
organization that lies about the founder and lies about what can be had in
Scientology in order to keep the person in for years, until every dime they have
or their life has been extracted.
There's a doctoral thesis entitled "Brainwashing
in Scientology, Rehabilitation Project Force" by Dr. Stephen Kent. It's
fully documented and its based on interviews with ex-members who survived these
rehabilitation project force things, which in my opinion are nothing more than
brainwashing a la the Manchurian Candidate.
Now you went into detail, I imagine, on this case down in Clearwater,
Florida about Linda McPherson.
Yes. That's extraordinarily ugly. Here
you have a lady who is in fine health, who lost 45 pounds being held by them
during a 17-day period, and then died. They drove past three hospitals to take
her to a hospital where there was a Scientologist working in the emergency room.
She was pronounced dead on arrival.
Evidently the authorities went after the Scientologists on this one.
There is a grand jury convened on this. Just a few weeks ago, certain people in
the police force were asked for more information, but it is still continuing.
There is a civil trial brought about by her grandmother who isn't in it for the
money, and who states publicly that she's in it for justice. She doesn't want
people to be able to be treated this way anymore.
Well, they shouldn't he able to, and they shouldn't get away with it. They
shouldn't be able to have so much control.
Well, that is the nature of
Scientology. It is completely controlled internally. When you're in, you can't
even disagree with anything Hubbard says or it's just amazing the number of
problems created for you. Hubbard is described internally as being their "source"
for all of their knowledge and no one else is source, only Hubbard. Yet in my
opinion, there is some workable stuff in Scientology, but it was stolen by
Hubbard from Descartes. It's stolen from prior art. There's a free association
form of psychoanalysis which is very similar. The regression therapy is very
similar to what is currently offered as Dianetic auditing.
Even the core
secret OT-3 and Xenu and all this stuff in fact Hubbard states that he "discovered"
this in 1967 and he described it as a "wall of fire."
This wasn't
even discovered by Hubbard. He stole it. He lifted this out of a book called
Oahspe. Oahspe is a book that has resulted in many many cults. You can find in
Oahspe, in a section of that book called "the Book of the Magicians,"
a section that describes this particular incident as "The Wall of Fire."
It talks about spirits being packaged up in vessels and transported to earth,
which is part of this story that Hubbard says he discovered.
Scientologists say there was no Jesus?
Right. In some confidential
materials that are not normally let out to the public, except through the
efforts of some folks on the Internet, it has come to our attention that in fact
Hubbard did say that them was no Christ.
Over in Europe, the Scientologists are really having a heck of a time,
aren't they?
The Germans as a nation experienced the rise of the
National Socialist Party, the - Nazis- and barely survived. There's an
organization that, after all these millions of people are dead, is fighting in
the last bunker at the end. Having survived that, the Germans as a nation have
antibodies to anything that smacks of totalitarian fascism. And it is because of
this sort of mental antibodies of the Europeans as a society that they're having
an allergic reaction to Scientology at this time. America, having never actually
experienced such a thing as Nazism or a fascist regime, is very slow in
awakening. I would call myself and some of the activists on the advance guard of
the first wave of antibodies to this scam.
Americans are very tolerant of the metaphysics and the so-called "new
age" and Scientologists got themselves in there. A lot of people link them
in with the Children of God. Do you remember that group, the cult that was
running around in the late '60s and early '70s?
Right. And also the
Process Church. Scientology states that they have a bridge to total freedom.
I've talked to a few people who've done everything available in Scientology and
gotten up to their level 8, like this friend of yours in Australia. One of these
people who did this told me that there's an end phenomenon for each of these
secret levels. The end phenomenon for doing everything in Scientology is - "I
now know what I am not, and I'm interested in finding out what I am."
If they used brainwashing techniques, then why are they funding the Citizens
Commission on Human Rights (CCHR) which is opposed to psychiatry and the use of
psychiatric drugs?
When Hubbard was in the Navy he got sent off to Oak
Knoll Medical Hospital. Oak Knoll Psychiatric Hospital is a facility for people
who start "losing it." He was sent there after an incident in which he
reported that he had found a bottle with gasoline in it, and a rag with some
materials that were being loaded onto his ship.
The boat he was on was
about to go out to active duty and he reported that he had found a bomb. You
know, a bomb threat. As the navigator on board, well, it turns out that a few
days later he was relieved of duty there and sent to Oak Knoll Hospital. I think
he had a less than pleasant experience there. And I think he held that grudge
for many many years.
I always thought that Hubbard had put himself out as a psychologist and a
psychiatrist, and he was trying to take credit for the idea of being the first
person who would regress into the womb.
Hubbard made up stories as he
needed to. He was a science fiction writer and if you view everything you read
in Scientology, including the claims of CCHR based on the fact that it was
developed by a science fiction writer, then it begins to make a little more
sense.
Representatives from CCHR had been guests on my show and I felt that they
had done a fine job in combating abuses by the psychiatric community and the
drug industry.
Well, there are psychiatric abuses. There are a lot of
things wrong in this country and across the world. But it is written in
Scientology's own public relations materials to find unpopular institutions and
attack them publicly in order to get and maintain public sympathy and support.
Well, Scientology has done very well public relations-wise with that CCHR.
Well, that was the plan. CCHR used to be run out of Scientology's "dirty
tricks" division called the Guardians Office, which has now been renamed
OSA -Office of Special Affairs- but it was always classically run out of their
secret police division.
Cult Defector Sues
A disillusioned Scientologist is in court making charges and looking for
restitution.
By THE SPOTLIGHT STAFF
Former Scientology "celebrity"
member Michael P. Pattinson has filed a lawsuit against the Church of
Scientology in Los Angeles federal court. The suit is Pattinson v. Church of
Scientology International, Case No. 9&3985. After spending more than
$500,000 to improve himself and discover the secrets of the universe since 1973,
after 25 years and after reaching the cult's highest level, OT VIII, he realized
that he had been defrauded.
In addition to being a paying customer,
Pattinson was also a staff member and worked hard to draw others into the cult.
Cult members get a commission on the fees paid by those they recruit.
Pattinson's lawyer is Graham E. Berry, a veteran foe of Scientology, having been
active in a number of major actions against the cult in the past seven years.
Ironically, one of Pattinson's friends was Lisa McPherson, who died in
Clearwater, Florida in December 1995 while under the "care" of fellow
cultists. Her body showed evidence of serious abuse.
Another friend was
David Miscavige, senior boss of Scientology.
The suit also names various
federal officials as "relief defendants," including the connection
with the corrupt granting of tax exemption to the cult by the IRS -a matter
fully reported on in past issues of The SPOTLIGHT.
The lawsuit alleges
racketeering, fraud, false advertising, assault, false imprisonment, defamation
and conspiracy. He also claims that cult members tried to strip him of his
Christian beliefs, contrary to Scientology's claim of compatibility with other
faiths.
SPOTLIGHT August 24, 1998 -27
OBJECTION
Your recent articles on
the Church of Scientology have contained a number of serious factual errors, far
too many to discuss in one letter. For example you reported that President
Clinton discussed German discrimination against Scientologists with actor John
Travolta during a meeting in Philadelphia -as noted originally by George
magazine (See "The Secrets of the Universe," March 16, 1998 and "Scientology
Skids on World Stage," March 23, 1998).
However, you neglected to
report that Travolta's movie, Primary Colors, had already been completed prior
to that meeting, making it impossible for Travolta to agree to soften his
presidential performance in the movie in exchange for the president's help on
Germany. The U.S. State Department, by the way, had determined years prior to
that meeting, that the German government's discriminatory actions against law
abiding Germans and Americans simply because they are members of the Church of
Scientology are wrong.
Further, the issue of religious discrimination in
Germany does not begin and end with the Church of Scientology. Despite the
misreporting of The SPOTLIGHT on this issue ("UN Report Slaps Cult, Doesn't
Find Discrimination," April 20, 1998), a recent UN report noted an
atmosphere of intolerance against a number of religious denominations in Germany
including the Church of Scientology and urged the German government to take
steps to correct it.
ALEXANDER R. JONES Washington, D.C.
(The writer is the public relations spokesman for the "Founding
Church of Scientology" in Washington, D.C.-Ed.)
2- SPOTLIGHT .: September 28; 1998
NO DEAL.
The city commissioners
of Clearwater, Florida, have rejected a settlement that would have ended a
four-year legal battle with the Church of Scientology. The deal concerned a
federal lawsuit between the city and the group over the future of 40 boxes of
intelligence files on Scientology gathered by Clearwater police for 13 years in
the 1980s and 1990s. The deal fell apart over an unusual provision that would
have required the police to notify the group's lawyers immediately by phone or
fax when anyone requested the records.
20- SPOTLIGHT, November 30, 1998
There's both good news and bad news for the Church of Scientology in a criminal
case arising from the strange death of a dissident church member.
EXCLUSIVE TO THE SPOTLIGHT BY H. B. CODIER
CLEARWATER, Florida- On Nov. 13,
Bernie McCabe, the state attorney for Pasco and Pinellas counties, Florida,
filed felony criminal charges against the Flag Service Organization -the
so-called "elite corps" of the Church of Scientology.
The
organization has been charged with abuse or neglect of a disabled adult and with
the unauthorized practice of medicine in a case stemming from the Dec. 5, 1995,
death of long-time Scientologist Lisa McPherson.
The charges followed a
two-year joint investigation by the Florida State Department of Law Enforcement
and the local police department in Clearwater where Scientology maintains a
major base of operations.
Throughout the period of the inquiry, leaders of
Scientology cried that they were being subjected to religious discrimination by
Clearwater officials including the state attorney, the coroner, the mayor and
myriad others.
The 36-year-old McPherson, who spent half her life as a
member of Scientology (but who was preparing to bolt from the church), died
under what can most charitably be described as "strange circumstances."
Following a minor traffic accident, the young lady reportedly began acting
strangely and was taken to a hospital where a doctor wanted to conduct a
psychiatric investigation of her behavior. However, a group of Scientologists
removed her from the hospital and took her to a church-owned facility where she
was placed under round-the-clock watch.
An affidavit filed by A. L. Strope,
a special agent involved in the inquiry, presented a bizarre account of the
treatment accorded the young woman during what was her virtual imprisonment by
the Scientologists.
According to the Pinellas County medical examiner (whom
Scientologists claim is a bigot and a liar), Miss McPherson had gone for some
five to 10 days without water and, as a consequence, died of a blood clot caused
by dehydration. She also reportedly lost some 40 pounds. Scientology lawyers
dispute these accusations.
On the evening of her death, Scientologists
contacted a Scientologist, Dr. David I. Minkoff, who was an emergency room
physician at a hospital 45 minutes away. Minkoff told investigators that he
suggested the woman be taken a nearby hospital, but instead of taking her to a
hospital which was only a few blocks away, her captors instead drove her the
45-minute distance to Minkoff's hospital where she died.
The "good
news" for Scientology in all of this is:
• The authorities chose
not to file charges against individual Scientologists involved in the affair;
• Under Florida law, the maximum penalty is a $5,000 fine for each charge;
and,
• The authorities did not charge the church or any members with
intentionally causing harm to Miss McPherson. The final point is significant in
that Miss McPherson's family and friends think otherwise. They believe that
because Miss McPherson had become disenchanted with Scientology and was
preparing to leave the church that she was intentionally mistreated.
But
the bad news for Scientology outweighs the good news:
• Under Florida
law, the courts may impose additional penalties;
• The Scientology
organization could be subject to forfeiture of property, and in Clearwater the
Scientology organization is a major property holder, including the Fort Harrison
Hotel where Miss McPherson was held under restraint;
• The upcoming
criminal trial will shed much unwanted negative publicity upon the operations of
Scientology;
• Miss McPherson's family has filed a multi-million
dollar wrongful death lawsuit against Scientology that will create additional
unfriendly press coverage for the already embattled organization;
•
Fact-finding inquiries and testimony under deposition and in court in both the
criminal and civil inquiries will subject the Scientology operations to
additional scrutiny that it has otherwise withstood in the past;
•
Scientology's long-standing claim that it "helps" its members will be
cast in a new light, whatever the consequences of both the criminal and civil
cases;
• Former Scientologists who have left the church and have
become some of its biggest critics have been energized by the McPherson scandal
and have gained much new ground as a consequence in their efforts to expose
Scientology;
• Other less vocal critics of Scientology, who have, in
the past, been fearful of speaking out publicly, will be more inclined to speak
out;
• In the same vein, media outlets that have been hesitant to
expose Scientology will be less hesitant to launch their own inquiries into
Scientology's activities; and
• Foreign governments that have already
launched numerous criminal and civil investigations of Scientology's worldwide
affairs will be likely to take a nod from the Clearwater affair and reinvigorate
their own inquiries.
Already, Scientology's highly-paid public relations
spinmeisters have gone into overdrive attempting to orchestrate a counter-effort
against the nationwide bad press they had already expected (and received) as a
result of the conclusion of the two-year-long investigation.
For example,
David Miscavige, who is billed as the "chairman of the board" of the
Religious Technology Center (which controls the lucrative copyrights to all of
the works of Scientology's founder, the late L. Ron Hubbard) recently emerged
from the shadows and gave an unprecedented interview with The St. Petersburg
Times (published on Oct. 25, 1998) in an effort to explain away the scandals and
intrigue surrounding the church.
FRONT MAN
Many Scientology critics
(particularly former members) say Miscavige is no more than a corporate front
man for a more powerful, far more secretive, behind-the-scenes clique that
seized control of the church and its lucrative assets during the final years of
L. Ron Hubbard's life. Ultimately, this clique allegedly ousted Hubbard's wife,
Mary Sue Hubbard, from her position of influence in the church.
One of the
church's behind-the-scenes controllers, Los Angeles attorney Lawrence Heller
(who is reportedly not even a Scientologist) has been pinpointed as one of the
prime players in a long-term effort to wreck Liberty Lobby, the publisher of The
SPOTLIGHT See the Oct, 26 issue of The SPOTLIGHT for further details.