This is the story of Ursula Caberta. In August of 2000, Hamburg Scientology commissioner Ursula Caberta went to Florida to visit the Lisa McPherson Trust. For some reason, she ended up being questioned by Scientology attorneys, where she admitted to having accepted money from Robert Minton. That was all Scientology wanted and needed.
FREIHEIT.
Deluded Scientologists mob
Ursula Caberta in Florida
Chase scene on video
Hate the cult tracker
Clearwater, USA
August 23, 2000
Hamburger Morgenpost
A Hamburg Scientology chief had warned Ursula Caberta against flying to Florida
because, she said, it would be unpleasant for her. But the director of the "Work
group on Scientology" flew there anyway - and will not quickly forget her
trip to the home of the monster cult.
About 30 Scientology disciples were waiting at the Tampa, Florida airport for
the visitor from Hamburg. Ursula Caberta was wildly mobbed, heckled and spat
at. The wild chase scene in the Sunshine State is shown on a video sent to
MOPO [this newspaper] by U.S. Scientology opponents. [The video is also on the
net:
http://www.lisatrust.net/Ursula-072200.htm]
Caberta, who had traveled to the USA at the invitation of the Lisa McPherson
Trust, which helps Scientology victims, had to listen to malicious insults.
Scientologists screamed over and over at the top of their voices, "Nazi go
home!" and "Nazi criminal, go back to Germany!" German
Scientologists were also in the "Welcoming Committee." One German
woman shorted, "You are a killer, you are. You're killing people in
Germany!"
When the staff member of the Hamburg Interior Agency picked up her baggage after
the first three minutes of the vicious tirade, leaving the cult mob behind, they
broke out in howls and laughter. One woman called, "Hey that was great, we
really got her. That'll show her!"
The courageous combatant also reported that she was hounded and insulted by
Scientologists in restaurants and in her hotel. Over and over - as can also be
seen from the videos - Scientologists appeared with posters. The cult adherents
had written "Nazi go Home" and "Take fascism back to Germany!"
Caberta ended up leaving Florida one daily earlier than planned. "It was
getting too hot for me there. I was happy to get back to Germany," she
said. What had been especially surprising about the type of treatment she had
received, said Caberta, was that the German Scientologists always claim they are
being hounded here. Caberta, "But no Scientologist in Germany has ever been
treated like I was in the USA."
Mike Rinder, one of the top Scientologists in Clearwater, Florida, even repeated
the accusations on local TV, that Caberta was a Nazi and had fascistic ideology.
The sect commissioner would really have like to have laughed about this "insanity,"
"but the matter is much too serious for that!"
jel
Clearwater, USA
August 7, 2000
DER SPIEGEL 32/2000
Ursula Caberta, Director of the Work Group on Scientology in the Hamburg
Interior Agency, had to leave the USA in a hurry. Caberta had wanted to spend a
one-week vacation in Florida during which time she met with Scientology
opponents Stacy Brooks and Bob Minton and took part in a press conference on the
practices of the psycho-concern. Then she unexpectedly left the country one
day earlier than planned. The journey to the Sunshine State had turned out to
be a horror trip: Caberta had no sooner landed at the airport in Tampa than she
was received by Scientologists screaming "Nazi go home"; she was
subsequently followed at every turn. Then German software businessman Hubert
Heller, who lives in the USA, sued Caberta for 75,000 dollars in damages.
Allegedly a major contract from German company POS Partner Gmbh had slipped
through his fingers after the company had presented him with a so-called "sect
filter" - a "security statement" (Caberta) in which the signer
asserts that he does not operate according to the "technology" of
Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.
The German consul general in Florida urged that she leave: Caberta had had a
summons to a deposition by Scientology attorneys shoved under her hotel room
door. It said she would have to sit through a five-hour hearing in the
business's center in Clearwater.
It had to do with the case of Lisa McPherson, who died under unexplained
circumstances in the USA, to which Caberta said she could not make a statement.
She left the country in secret "before anything worse happened."
Caberta lost her belief in the American legal system. She had never experienced
anything like that before. "One hears about that only in dictatorships."
In related news ...
From: Bob Minton
Newsgroups: alt.binaries.scientology
Subject: Al
Buttnor "on the cans" - Buttnor-on-cans.jpg (0/1)
Date: Wed, 02
Aug 2000 10:57:42 -0400
Message-ID: <5hdgoss0lto0arq8u4efhdkjvm9vcvph16@4ax.com>
When Ursula Caberta arrived in Tampa 10 days or so ago, OSA's Al Buttnor was
running the airport operation. This is a picture of him running said operation
from the "Office of Special Affairs."
Bob Minton
A vacation to Florida turns into a horror trip for a Scientology critic
"Nazi go home", shout Scientologists
Clearwater, USA
August 11, 2000
Tagesanzeiger Zurich
by Hugo Stamm
Ursula Caberta, Director of the Hamburg Agencies' Work Group on Scientology,
did not believe her eyes and ears when she arrived at the airport in Tampa,
Florida. About 50 Scientologists were shouting "Nazi go home" at her,
as proved by video tape recordings. The Hubbard adherents were also holding up
signs in the air which said the same thing. "How the Scientologists
learned of my arrival in Florida is a mystery to me." Florida is the
location of an international Scientology headquarters.
The psycho-terrorism continued at her hotel. "They followed every move I
made," said Caberta of the Hamburg SPD administration, who is involved with
Scientology as a result of her office. Nevertheless she still met with American
Scientology critics. The Scientologists' attorneys took their revenge with an
operation of a curious kind. They shoved a court summons under her hotel door.
The attorneys had managed to motivate a judge to order an immediate deposition.
"It was a five-hour hearing like the Stasi used to have," stated
Caberta. A German Scientology attorney had traveled from Munich for the
occasion.
Lawsuit for Damages
The operation was rounded out with a lawsuit for damages from a
Scientology-affiliated businessman who demanded 75,000 dollars. The businessman
claimed Caberta ruined a major contract for him with her information work. "It
has become painfully clear to me why the Scientologists are able to operate
unhindered in the USA," said Caberta, "They can take care of any
critic they want by using these court and legal proceedings."
The German Consul General urged Caberta to depart ahead of schedule because he
was concerned about further actions from the Scientologists. Caberta didn't have
to think it over long: "Unbelievable what they can do in the USA with
tourists," she said. "And of all countries, this is the one which
regularly accuses Germany of violating human rights because we dare to talk
about Scientologists." She lost her faith in the American legal system.
Juerg Stettler, spokesman from Scientology, defended Scientology's action by
saying that Caberta held a press conference and wanted to organize a
demonstration in front of the Scientology buildings. He said that Caberta had
provoked the reaction, the more so since various Scientologists had taken refuge
from her in the USA. Those people, he said, were allergic to Caberta and would
consider her now becoming active there as impudence.
From: kontakt at menschenrechtsbuero.de
Newsgroups: de.soc.weltanschauung.scientology,
alt.religion.scientology
Subject: FWD:Korruptionsskandal in Hamburg
Date: 14 Sep 2000
Message-ID: <39C09604.109A70D6@menschenrechtsbuero.de>
From a special edition of "Freiheit" available at
www.menschenrechtsbuero.de/freiheit.htm
Scientology Church files criminal complaints against Ursula Caberta and Bob
Minton
for Soliciting and Accepting Favors*, Bribery and Money-Laundering
*[Vorteilsnahme/Vorteilsgewaehrung]
Hamburg. This morning the Scientology Church filed criminal complaints at
the Hamburg State Attorney's Office against Ursula Caberta for suspicion of
taking favors, accepting a bribe and money-laundering, as well as Robert Minton
for suspicion of soliciting favors and bribery.
In the past weeks, Ursula Caberta, the Director of the Work Group on
Scientology, a tenant of the Hamburg Interior Agency, has repeatedly complained
in public that, on the occasion of her visit to Florida, she had bad experiences
with U.S. Justice and "had lost her belief in the constitutionality in the
USA." She said the German Consul in Miami stated that he could no longer
guarantee her safety and that she had left the country prematurely. As Caberta
put it, it was inconceivable how one treated tourists in the USA.
That was not even half of the truth. Caberta had traveled to the USA to
demonstrate, with a sign in her hand, before the Scientology Center in
Clearwater, Florida, and to speak as the star guest of a press conference staged
by Minton. A U.S. Civil Court judge ordered that she be deposed in the scope of
a civil trial. Although Caberta wanted to use all means available to prevent
the hearing and persistently avoided the questions, she finally had to meekly
admit: Yes, I have accepted private money from Bob Minton, he gave be a loan.
Caberta's deposition was broken off after a good five hours and was supposed to
have continued the following Friday. Caberta preferred to leave the USA
prematurely, thereby escaping further testimony through flight. This left
speculation as to what else she might have had to hide.
The connection between Caberta and Minton is not at all of a private nature. To
almost all questions about details of this connection, Caberta refused to answer
with the reason that it had to do with official matters and that she was not in
possession of a permit to make a statement.
In view of the close official connection between Caberta and Minton, the
Scientology Church sees a connection between money being used and official
business. Therefore, criminal complaints were placed against Caberta for suspicion
of accepting favors/a bribe, and against Minton for suspicion of offering favors
and bribery. Because Minton did not obtain his fortune in an honorable
fashion, further complaints were placed against Caberta for suspicion of frivolous
money-laundering.
The process of the U.S. Justice agencies against Caberta presumably holds water.
Basically Caberta was only upset that politicians and government office-holders
in the USA are not treated with kid gloves like they are here at home. It would
be highly desirable for the German court to diligently apply the appropriate
laws without regard for the person when it comes to discovering corruption and
misuse of office in our state presence. Therefore Caberta was entirely correct
when she asserted, "In Germany this would not have been possible."
For more information:
Sabine Weber/Georg Stoffel, [telephone number
given, see www.menschenrechtsbuero.de/freiheit.htm]
FREIHEIT - Special Edition
Published by the Scientology Church
Note: This is not an
official translation
Munich, Germany
The original German text was downloaded on
September 14,
2000
from http://www.menschenrechtsbuero.de/freiheit.htm
Latest news: March 27, 2001
Bob Minton won a court case against Scientology.
Scientology presented false information about Bob Minton.
Compare this page with a previous
article on Nigeria and you can see the difference.
Corruption Scandal in Hamburg's Interior Agency
Ursula Caberta under oath in U.S. Court
Yes, I have taken private money
From Bob Minton
[image of Bob Minton and Ursula Caberta with bottom 1/3 of picket sign]
sub-text:
In short sleeves with money falling out of his pockets: Bob Minton (left,
loan provider) and the Department Director of the Hamburg Interior Agency
Caberta (middle, loan debtor) in Florida.
Ursula Caberta, Director of the Work Group on Scientology, a tenant of the
Interior Agency, who had traveled to the USA, tried everything to stop her
deposition in a U.S. court. Mighty curious, the summons which had been served
upon her came right back to the process server as a paper projectile.
None of her tricks helped her. To avoid a warrant for her arrest, Caberta
finally appeared before the Tampa District Court in Florida, accompanied by two
lawyers.
[image of Bob Minton and Ursula Caberta sitting at table facing audience]
sub-text:
Bob Minton as guest of honor of the Interior Agency in Hamburg in early
April of 2000. His deals with the former military dictator in Nigeria had been
uncovered shortly before. The Interior Agency was aware of that.
The court had previously ordered her deposed in an oral hearing and had
dismissed as unfounded objections which had been brought forward.
Caberta's lawyers tried loquaciousness at the last minute to prevent the
hearing. They said their client was a completely normal tourist from Germany
and demanded to be treated as such.
But the more they railed against the deposition, the more grew the visible
mistrust in Judge Moody. He decided quickly and conclusively that the
deposition would take place. Caberta was sworn in, her statements were taken
down on video and on tape, was well as word for word by a stenographer.
Therefore there was no question as to the documentation of her statements.
The big bang went off in the middle of the deposition: to the question of
whether she had obtained money from the U.S. American Bob Minton, with whom she
was in official contact in her capacity as an employee of the City of Hamburg,
Ursula Caberta was caught short. First she tried to deviate persistently.
Finally there was nothing left for her to do but to answer the question, "Bob
Minton gave me a loan." No written loan contract existed and Bob Minton
had nothing in his hands in writing which would put him in the position to get
his money back from her again. She had not informed her employer about this.
She said that was her personal business and therefore did not concern her
employer at all. To the question of the amount of the load, she persistently
refused to answer despite being asked multiple times.
Therefore it has been determined: Ursula Caberta has accepted "private"
money from Bob Minton.
[image of a portion of a hotel advertisement showing a picture of a hotel and
the words "Tour the Belleview Biltmore and take your..."]
sub-text: Only the finest: Agency representative Caberta resided in
luxurious lodged known across America. Minton paid.
From her refusal to answer the question about the amount of the loan, it is not
difficult to guess that it must have been a stately sum. But who takes out such
a loan without a written loan agreement and with security, and probably without
interest? Businessman Minton, who has done business in all types of places,
would have in all probability verified the loan in writing if he would
have had the intention of ever demanding it back.
The false declaration of a loan would always have the "advantage" of
not having gift tax in the amount of approximately 17% levied. If the payment
would have been a compensation for services of any sort at all, even though
disloyal, it would have to have been reported for income tax.
One way or another: a loan is essentially an even more perfidious instrument of
bribery than is a "generous" gift. The provider of the loan always
has the official or employee right where he wants them, under control. With any
display of a lack of well-being by the state service, the loan can been called
in at any time - quite naturally, if no written agreement about the duration of
the loan exists. The official cannot conduct a refund process since the fact of
bribery would be apparent to the court.
Therefore the provider of the loan has the official in the palm of his hand and
can have him dance to his own tune at his leisure.
And Bob Minton did just that, too.
First, however, he let himself be spoiled by Caberta after he had been received
officially as a state guest of the Hamburg Interior Senate in early April. In
Leipzig he was solemnly bestowed an "Alternative Charlemagne Award"
in early June (FREIHEIT reported) because Minton - according to the Award
Committee - was more deserving of such an award than U.S. President Clinton. He
had just received the real Charlemagne Award of the City of Aachen.
Caberta gave the award winner the Laudatio personally, and she appeared in all
the literature of the Award Committee with full official title. It's just not
clear whether the granting of the surreptitious loan took place before or after
the "Leipzig goings-on," i.e., whether the bestowal of the award
influenced the "private" loan or vice versa. Either one would be
equally obscene.
The Human Rights Award-Money Connection surely involved obligations - for Ursula
Caberta, anyway. Namely, Bob Minton was in a jam while the home-made award was
being presented. He had invested over one million dollars in the so-called "Lisa
McPherson Trust," which, in turn, used this money to finance a
profit-bearing compensation procedure. If this procedure were to miscarry, then
Minton's million dollar investment would be down the drain. And things are not
going well with this procedure (see box to the right). What better for Minton
than for him and the government representative from Hamburg, Caberta, to carry
out some "flanking public information work" in the jurisdiction of the
U.S. court. Bob Minton called - and Caberta came. As a "tourist"
demonstrator in the USA, she did not stray any more from the side of her
sponsor.
In spite of the alleged private character of her trip to the USA, she invoked
the right associated with her office to not answer questions related to
Scientology in the court hearing. She also left the question of which
information she had forwarded to Minton unanswered, since that was a part of her
official business. The only thing recognizably private about Caberta's trip to
Florida was the circumstance in which she let Minton pay for her luxury hotel.
Before Caberta's USA trip, Hamburg's Interior Senator Wrocklage was clearly
instructed about the circumstances in matters of Minton in several attorney
letters. He was made aware of the original text of the criminal complaint filed
against Bob Minton on June 23, 2000 by the Republic of Nigeria with the State
Attorney General in Geneva. According to the text of this complaint, Bob Minton
was said to have caused Nigeria damages in the hundreds of millions of dollars
through fraud, falsification of documents and money-laundering. Nigeria also
demanded that Minton's foreign accounts in Switzerland be frozen. Wrocklage was
very clearly reminded that it is intolerable when an Interior Agency maintains
connection to someone who has been incriminated in the most severe white-collar
crimes by a foreign state and several foreign media. All the same, Wrocklage
saw no need to handle.
In doing that, he has taken personal responsibility for what he is answering to
today. The impression was and is being given that official business is
influenced in an unfair way by the payment of money and the appearance that
official deals are for sale. Caberta, described by the media as "Scientology
Opponent Nr. 1," has accepted money from Bob Minton. That is indisputable.
She, who is supposed to exercise "unbiased discretion," thereby is
practically on the payroll of one of the two parties.
More than that, though, is the question of what moral scruples a leading staff
member of the Interior Agency must have in order to take money which, according
to the government of a foreign state, has come from a criminal hand.
[image of Jesse Prince and Ursula Caberta seated at a table. Empty glasses are
visible.
sub-text: His hand on her shoulder tells the photo story on
the internet: Jesse Prince and Ursula Caberta in Leipzig in early June 2000.
then there's an inset image, a mug shot of Jesse Prince accompanied by "Pinellas
County Sheriff's Office" and a star with personal info on a booking record
sub-text: August 11, 2000: Jesse Prince mug shot at a police station]
It's certain that this is a case for the state attorney. Therefore, a criminal
complaint has been filed against Minton and Caberta at the Hamburg State
Attorney's Office for bribery, soliciting favors and money-laundering.
The Scientology Church demands immediate public explanation of the following
items:
-
How high was the loan given to Caberta by Minton?
-
When and where was it paid?
-
In which form or under which accompanying circumstances was it paid?
-
What securities did the loan giver receive?
-
When is the loan supposed to be paid back?
-
Was the loan made with interest?
-
Why was no written agreement made?
-
For which purpose was the loan made?
-
In which agencies decisions has Caberta had an effect since she received the
loan?
-
Have staff of the Interior Agency been instructed to report bequests of money of
this type to the agency chief?
-
Have payments of any other sort been made to other staff of the Work Group on
Scientology?
-
Is Interior Senator Wrocklage aware of the payment of money to Ursula Caberta?
Obviously Caberta must be relieved of all duties, effective immediately, as
Director of the Work Group on Scientology, until the criminal complaints have
been cleared up. It would be simply unbearable if, out of inner party loyalty
or for some such reason or another, crass accusations of corruption were to
become the daily routine.
.
Accusations of corruption against Caberta
Scientology files complaint against the sect opponent
Hamburg, Germany
September 19, 2000
Hamburger Abendblatt
Serious accusation against Ursula Caberta: the Director of the Work
Group on Scientology of the Interior Agency, according to statements
by the sect, has accepted private money from American businessman and
Scientology opponent Bob Minton. The Scientology organization has,
as a result, filed a criminal complaints at the Hamburg State
Attorney's Office for suspicion of accepting favors and bribes, et al.
Caberta did not want to make a statement on the subject herself.
She gave the matter over to the Department of Internal Affairs for
investigation, she told the "Abendblatt," and would not say anything
until the investigation was closed. The Scientologists also filed a
complaint against Minton for suspicion of soliciting for favors and
offering a bribe.
The story behind the incident occurred in Caberta's trip, at the end
of July, to Clearwater, Florida, where Scientology has one of its
headquarters. Caberta stated that she went on the trip during her
vacation at Minton's invitation. She paid the ticket herself and
Minton paid the hotel bill.
The purpose of the trip to the USA was to report on her anti-Scientology
work in Germany and to support Minton in his fight against the
organization. But that was not all that happened. Caberta,
completely unexpected for her, had to subject herself to a court-ordered
five-hour interrogation by three Scientology attorneys. A
non-disclosure agreement was made as to the content of the hearing.
Now Scientology has published an alleged excerpt from it. "Bob
Minton have me a loan," Caberta allegedly conceded. The
Scientologists demonstrated yesterday with about 80 people in
front of the Interior Agency and demanded "frank explanation of
the accusations of corruption against Caberta."
(scho)
From Hamburger Abendblatt of June 27, 2002, Hamburg, Germany
The legal proceedings that have been in process against Scientology tracker Ursula Caberta since September 2000 for corruption and accepting favors are over for the time being. For accepting favors she was fined 7,500 Euro by the Hamburg Office Court, payable monthly in the amount of 1,250 Euro.
Caberta had been accused by the Scientology organization of receiving 75,000 dollars from US businessman Bob Minton. She herself described the sum as a private loan, but the Scientologists saw it as bribery and accepting favors, because Caberta dealt with Minton professionally and could no longer be impartial towards him.
The decision for a fine is apparently a settlement between prosecution and defense. According to information received by the Abendblatt, the state attorney had originally filed for criminal charges, but did not want to pass up the fine. In the case at hand Caberta will not be regarded as a convicted criminal.
Legally the criminal proceedings will be seen as "provisionally suspended." Court spokesperson Sabine Anette Westphalen said, "If Mrs. Caberta accepts the fine, the proceedings will be difinitively over."
USA