May 10 in Scientology history

This video is intended to give simple and direct advice to those who have just recently left Scientology and are wondering what to do about Scientology and adjusting to the real world. This is not a comprehensive review of every possible scenario or situation, but is just a basic series of bullet points which could be helpful to anyone coming out of Scientology (or other high control groups). Links mentioned in the video: Surviving Scientology:

Tags: Audio, Former Scientologists, Growing Up In Scientology, Quicky, Scientology: A to Xenu, Steven Mango, ToryMagoo44

Hello. Recently I celebrated what has been five years out of Scientology. I've made a few videos and written articles about recovering from Scientology and everything that entails. This video is meant for anyone out there who has recently left Scientology behind too and who is wondering what's up and where to go next. It would take a book to really answer that, but I thought a short video might be helpful. All of what I'm going to say here is just my opinion. I'm not going to try to psychoanalyze or evaluate for you here and you can feel free to reject anything I say. The first thing I want to say is congratulations. Whatever the circumstances of your leaving were: whether you just left quietly, you routed off staff or out of the Sea Org, or you just blew, you did the right thing in getting away from Scientology. I know how hard it can be to step out from under the rules and controls the Church of Scientology places on a person. If you got out of the Sea Organization, you know that it's especially not easy there. You probably had to jump through a lot of hoops, or you may have just been unceremoniously kicked to the curb and you may even be a bit surprised that they would do that to you. Well, yes, the harsh truth is that they would. If you have been disconnected from anyone or declared a Suppressive Person, let me just say that I know it's not easy to lose friends and family. Disconnection is a form of emotional blackmail and David Miscavige weaponized the entire body of ethics tech by applying it in the worst possible way. His RTC Representatives and the staff in the Commodore's Messenger Org were turned into a kind of Gestapo years ago and the only thing they really do is enforce Miscavige's will on all of the Sea Org and staff. I know Gestapo is a strong word but in this case, it really does apply. They are rarely given a choice as to how they are going to treat Scientologists. There's no easy or simple way to deal with the loss of loved ones. I know it's tough and I know that this is not a lot of consolation, but what I can tell you from my experience and what I've seen with many other ex-Scientologists is that the hardest part is at the very beginning. It will get better. For every Scientology friend or family member you lose, there are easily 10 or more friends out here in the real world who will welcome you with open arms. I'm not even kidding. When I was a Scientologist, I had a few hundred Facebook friends who were Scientologists. I now have over 1400 Facebook friends, another 500 who follow my posts and thousands of people following me on Twitter and subscribed to this channel on YouTube. I'm not bragging, because compared to other YouTubers I have a pretty small channel. My point is that there are a lot of people outside of Scientology who you can connect with and who are not going to pretend to be your friend until the Ethics Officer tells them they can't be anymore. That's not true friendship. Real friends stick by you no matter what and I don't regret leaving Scientology and losing the friends I had because I've made much better ones online and in the real world who will be around for the rest of my life.

Tags: Aaron Smith-Levin, Class VIII, Commodore's Messenger Organization, David Miscavige, Disconnection, Ethics Officer, Facebook, Former Scientologists, Growing Up In Scientology, Jeffrey Augustine, OT VIII, Quicky, Religious Technology Center, Scientology: A to Xenu, Sea Org, Steven Mango, Suppressive Person, Twitter, YouTube

Over the last two days, we've seen some fascinating letters made public for the first time which were written by Donald H. Rogers, an eyewitness to the earliest days of Dianetics. Rogers wrote the letters in 1984-85 to Jon Atack, who was researching his book, A Piece of Blue Sky, and who generously shared the letters with us. In his letters, Rogers covered a lot of territory regarding L. Ron Hubbard, Dianetics, and the early Scientology movement, and we asked a couple of people for their thoughts on them. We were glad to hear back from Chris Shelton, and we also received some observations from Alec Nevala-Lee, author of the upcoming book Astounding: John W. Campbell, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein, L. Ron Hubbard, and the Golden Age of Science Fiction, which will be released by HarperCollins on October 23. One of the subjects that Alec covers in the book is how much Hubbard's famous book Dianetics was really a group project, and what contributions his editor Campbell made to it. He tells us he can also see that group dynamic working when he looked at the letters of Don Rogers... Alec Nevala-Lee: When I read these letters, I was reminded of a fascinating detail in the "Affirmations," the confessional document that Hubbard produced sometime in the late forties. He says of his unpublished manuscript Excalibur: "There was one error in that book and you have psychically willed it into nothing. It was the electronic theory of the workings of the human mind. Human, material minds do work this way and you were right. Your own mind does not work this way." This implies that an "electronic theory" of the brain was present at an early stage, but it bothered him, and it doesn't show up at all in the earliest surviving descriptions of his work. Just a few years later, though, it's all over the book Dianetics, which speaks of "demon circuits" and compares the brain to a computer or an adding machine. Most of this material evidently came from John W. Campbell, but also from Don Rogers, who was the second person to be recruited into the project. It was openly influenced by Cybernetics, or Control and Communication in the Animal and the Machine, which had been published a year earlier by Norbert Wiener — Campbell's old professor at M.I.T. — and its inclusion seems to have been largely motivated by the need to position Hubbard's ideas for professional readers.

Tags: 1949, 1950, 1984, A Piece of Blue Sky, Affirmations, Alec Nevala-Lee, AMA, Bay Head, California, Chris Shelton, Christian, David Miscavige, Dianetics, Don Rogers, Excalibur, GUK, Hospital, Hypnosis, Isaac Asimov, John W. Campbell, Jon Atack, Joseph Winter, KCRW, Madeleine Brand, New Jersey, Norbert Wiener, Oak Knoll, Orlando, Quicky, Robert Heinlein, Rod Keller, Santa Monica, Scientology TV, Sea Org, UK

Next time around... Wow, that's some foresight. The Final Moment?

Tags: Andrea D'Agostini, Charter Committee, Dallas, Field Staff Member, Harlem, L. Ron Hubbard, Long Island, Michael Roberts, Mission, New Haven, Quicky, Rod Warnecke, Thursday Funnies, WISE

In Alex Gibney's 2015 documentary Going Clear, the director narrates the story of Scientologist actress Nazanin Boniadi, who was selected in late 2004 by the church for a special project: To be girlfriend to actor Tom Cruise. As he begins that narration, Gibney says that the story is backed up by FBI testimony. Now, we have that testimony. Or, at least a part of it, the portions that the FBI didn't redact when it turned over a 285-page file about the agency's 2009/2010 Church of Scientology human trafficking investigation to RadarOnline's Melissa Cronin, who has shared it with the Underground Bunker.

Tags: 2004, 2005, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2015, Alex Gibney, Celebrity Centre, Clearwater, David Miscavige, East Grinstead, England, FBI, Florida, Freedom Medal of Valor, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, Greg Wilhere, Human trafficking, International Association of Scientologists, Kirstie Alley, Knowledge Report, L. Ron Hubbard, Lawrence Wright, License, Los Angeles, Madrid, Maureen Orth, Mike Rinder, Nazanin Boniadi, New York, Office of Special Affairs, Paul Haggis, Quicky, Rehabilitation Project Force, Sea Org, Sec Check, Spain, Suppressive Person, Telluride, Tom Cruise, Tommy Davis, Vanity Fair, Yolanda Pecoraro

They will never learn. After enduring some of the worst PR in recent memory for declaring war on beloved Winter the Dolphin and Clearwater Marine Aquarium, turning their wrath on the Clearwater City Commission and then on Pinellas County — scientology pays for a press release to announce how they are bringing the Clearwater Community together. Oi vey. Can they be serious?

Tags: 1954, Aaron Smith-Levin, CCHR, City of Clearwater, Clearwater, Clearwater Marine Aquarium, Cleveland Street, Community Learning Center, Criminon, David Miscavige, David Pomeranz, Facebook, Flag Land Base, Flag Service Organization, Fort Harrison, Foundation for a Drug-Free World, Haiti, Humanitarian, Kelly Yaegermann, Mission, Narconon Suncoast, OT, Pat Harney, Pinellas County, Quicky, Sea Org, Second Chance, The Way to Happiness, United for Human Rights, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Volunteer Ministers

The portrait is one of many on display at a travelling exhibit called Psychiatry: An Industry of Death. It recently opened in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and has direct ties to the Church of Scientology — a controversial religion that actively discredits the science behind psychiatry. "It made me really angry," said Heinrichs, who has struggled with anxiety. "My family has a history of mental illness ... and it seemed like [organizers] were using scare tactics to keep people from getting help." Heinrichs isn't the only person unnerved by the anti-psychiatric display. Many mental health workers fear the exhibit could negatively sway vulnerable people living through B.C.'s deadly opioid crisis from seeking help.

Tags: Angela Ilasi, Canadian Mental Health Association, CCHR, Psychiatry: An Industry of Death, Vancouver

TV journalist Louis Theroux talks about making his documentary on the church of Scientology in My Scientology Movie (2016).

Tags: Louis Theroux, My Scientology Movie, Video

Phil and Willie Jones won't rest. Despite the success of their Echo Park billboard that got a ton of media attention, the Las Vegas couple was back in Los Angeles yesterday with another mission to raise awareness about Scientology's toxic policy of 'disconnection.' When Phil told us what they had planned, we asked him to send us a report about their latest adventure. Here's what he sent us. On Monday we did our first drive around in Los Angeles with magnetic signs on the car. We had Fred Haseney as photographer and Brett Chance doing video. These signs are a duplicate of the Call Me billboard. We started off at Big Blue, and having dropped Fred and Brett off on Fountain Ave we circled up to Sunset to come down L. Ron Hubbard way from the north. By the time we got to the outdoor cafe Fred and Brett were situated to take photos and video.

Tags: AOLA, Big Blue, Brett Chance, Bryan Seymour, Call Me, Celebrity Centre, Denver, Disconnection, Florida, Fred Haseney, L. Ron Hubbard Way, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Marion Barton, New York, Noel Barton, Perth, Phil Jones, Quicky, Ron Miscavige Sr, Russia, Sea Org, Student Hat, Willie Jones

Though this "PR Newswire release" is in ENGLISH with a title that claims "Church President Describes Basic Beliefs..." if you read the article you will see that the "President" who is doing the describing (apparently in english?) is the "President" of the church of scientology in Madrid, Spain. Once again, it highlights the huge omission of the "President Church of Scientology International". Heber Jentzsch has been disappeared in the great tradition of oppressive dictatorships through history. He is written out of history. There is no explanation for his absence at the most important events in scientology. Nor is there anyone named as his "successor."

Tags: Church of Scientology International, Heber Jentzsch, Madrid, PR Newswire, Quicky, Spain, The Hole

The Church of Scientology is run by a "sociopath" who physically and verbally abuses those around him. So says his father, who has written a book about his son and what really goes on inside the secretive group. In Australia, it's sparked calls for them to pay tax and to stop tearing apart families. Ron Miscavige joined Scientology in the 1960s, never dreaming his son David would one day run it. "I think he saw a chance to seize power and being the aggressive individual that he is, he did it," Ron said.

Tags: 1972, 2012, 2013, Abuse, Australia, Clearwater, David Miscavige, Denise Miscavige Gentile, Disconnection, Fair Game, Isaac Hayes, John Travolta, Kate Ceberano, Leah Remini, Lisa Marie Presley, Marion Barton, Nick Xenophon, Noel Barton, Private investigator, Ron Miscavige Sr, Ruthless: Scientology, My Son David Miscavige, and Me, Shelly Miscavige, Tax, Tom Cruise, Tony Ortega, UK

The latest edition of Impact magazine, the propaganda and fundraising rag of the IAS is devoted almost exclusively to the "Volunteer Ministers" and the "massive" international relief efforts they engage in "thanks to the IAS." Of course, those who are not blinded by KoolAid know this is a scam, that virtually NO money is spent on any of these things, and in fact the "relief efforts" are miniscule. Always just enough to get a photo or video or a person or two, and then everyone loses interest and moves onto the next fundraising effort. Nobody hears anything about the Philippines or Vanatau any longer, they are yesterday's news. Recently there was a massive earthquake in Nepal. Within 12 hours, the money grubbing began. See below.

Tags: Environmental Protection Agency, International Association of Scientologists, Kansas, Kathmandu, Mexico, Nepal, Oklahoma, OT, OT V, Pasadena, Philippines, Quicky, Scam, Tony Ortega, UK, Volunteer Ministers

SEE BELOW FOR BIG BOOK NEWS Las Vegas attorney Ryan Hamilton is at it again, filing his 28th federal fraud lawsuit against the Church of Scientology's drug rehab network, Narconon. Once again, he's filed a lawsuit against Narconon's facility in Nevada, Rainbow Canyon Retreat in Caliente, and this time the plaintiff encountered problems with the rehab center just this year, in January.

Tags: 2008, ABLE, Anonymous, Basel, Caliente, California, Canada, Carla Savoie, Clark Carr, Colorado, Daniel Manson, David Keesling, David Miscavige, Florida, Guardian's Office, Hollywood, Huntington Beach, Huntington Harbor House, Ideal Org, James Rolshouse, Karla Taylor, Kathmandu, Las Vegas, London, Los Angeles, Louisiana, Mexico, Mexico City, Minnesota, mnql1, Narconon, Narconon Fresh Start, Narconon International, Narconon Western US, National Association of Forensic Counselors, Nepal, Nevada, Oklahoma, Paul Savoie, Quicky, Rainbow Canyon Retreat, Ryan Hamilton, Saskatoon, Savoie v. Narconon, Success rate, Switzerland, Tijuana, Topos México, Volunteer Ministers, WhyWeProtest

The Church of Scientology argues that its IRS 501(c)(3) tax exempt status is proof that Scientology is a religion. Based upon this logic, then, when the Church loses its tax exemption it will cease to be a religion. Live by tax exemption, die by tax exemption. In other words, Scientology is a religion only in legal terms and not due to any earned and accumulated virtue or goodness.

Tags: Clear, E-meter, First Amendment, IRS, Quicky, Tax exempt, Xenu

The Canberra Cavalry baseball club has cut ties with a human rights group linked to the Church of Scientology, after information of its affiliation with the religion was not disclosed to the club. Youth for Human Rights is an international non-profit organisation that purports to educate young people about human rights issues, but its funding was primarily supplied by the International Association of Scientologists. This information was not disclosed to Canberra Cavalry when the organisation's Australian arm attended Cavalry baseball games and handed out pamphlets between 2013 and 2014.

Tags: 2009, 2013, 2014, Australia, Canberra, Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King, Youth for Human Rights International

During a mesmerizing performance last night in Clearwater, Florida at the Flag Down anti-Scientology conference, Jamie DeWolf made a stunning revelation. He's authenticated bizarre writings that had been attributed to his grandfather, L. Ron Hubbard Jr., who was the son of Scientology's founder. They paint a disturbing portrait of the influence of the occult on the Hubbard men as they used Scientology in its early days to further their personal aims. We first wrote about Jamie in the summer of 2011, when we named him one of the "Top 25 People Crippling Scientology." Though he wasn't very well known even among former Scientologists, we said that the Bay Area performance artist had huge potential to make a major impact on how Scientology and his great-grandfather, L. Ron Hubbard, are viewed. Since then, Jamie has been working hard to make good on that prediction. A boost from Upworthy in March helped a lot, and he's continued to hone his writing about his family tree. Jamie revealed some of that new material last night in Clearwater in a spellbinding hour-long performance which was captured on video (it starts about 6 minutes into the clip below). During that performance, Jamie revealed that he'd only recently obtained an unpublished manuscript written by his grandfather, who went by several names — L. Ron Hubbard Jr., "Nibs," and Ron DeWolf.

Tags: 1934, 1936, 1952, 1959, 1963, 1970, 1981, 1982, 1983, 1986, 1991, 2010, 2011, Arnaldo Lerma, Clearwater, Dianetics, Flag Down, Florida, Golden Dawn, Jamie DeWolf, Jeffrey Augustine, Karen de la Carriere, L. Ron Hubbard, Margaret Grubb, Michael Flynn, Penthouse magazine, Philadelphia, Quicky, Riverside County, Ron DeWolf, Saint Hill Manor, UK, Washington

Tags: David Miscavige, Quicky

We would NEVER photoshop a picture of our Dear Leader (unless we planned to use it somewhere). Now would we overstate the attendance at one of these events... (every scientologist is so ethical ad capable they count for at least 3 normal persons). And you can rely on the FACT that 57 new public just walked into the org on Monday, because we said it.

Tags: Auckland, Ideal Org, Melbourne, OT, Perth, Quicky, Sydney

Excerpt from Chapter One of The Enemy Formula: Chapter One The Zen of Basketball

Tags: 2009, Clearwater, David Miscavige, Florida, Joe Childs, Quicky, St. Petersburg Times, Tampa Bay Times, Tom Tobin, Tommy Davis

A report just in from Tampa. Quentin Strub, CO WISE EUS, flew into town to deliver a "KSW Seminar." Here is the invitation to this spectacular, must-attend event sent out by Kent Oliver the Director of Public Booksales Tampa Day (fast becoming the poster child for hey-you "org boarding"):

Tags: Ethics Officer, Florida, Freewinds, Fundraising, Ideal Org, International Association of Scientologists, Keep Scientology Working, Miami, New York, Office of Special Affairs, Orlando, Portland, Quentin Strub, Quicky, Saint Hill, Starbucks, Tampa, WISE

Portland Mercury photo by Dirk Vanderhart Scientology leader David Miscavige began opening "Ideal Orgs" about a decade ago. In each case, local church members are pressured to raise huge amounts of money to replace perfectly adequate church facilities with much larger, more elaborate palaces that tend to stand empty. It's a controversial plan that has exacerbated splits in the church membership — there's lots of evidence that founder L. Ron Hubbard actually preferred more modest facilities and always stressed the need for new members, not new buildings. But for whatever reason, Miscavige has banked the future of the church on his Ideal program, and seems to think tomorrow's grand opening in Portland is the most important one yet. We've been marveling recently at the effort going into tomorrow's big show, and we have some more updates for those thinking of stopping by for a gander. First, we keep getting asked by Portlanders where this thing is going down. As the Portland Mercury pointed out, with some photos (see above), the podium for the big celebration has been set up on the west side of SW 3rd Avenue, just a little south of the intersection with SW Oak Street. We're hearing that SW 3rd Avenue will be closed off for tomorrow's celebration, which is happening at 1 pm. Knowing Scientology, a small army of local law enforcement and rent-a-cops will prevent you from getting very close, but we have several folks who are going to try and get us some photos of the ceremony. We're especially interested, as always, to know which local dignitaries get roped into participating.

Tags: 1985, 2004, Angry Gay Pope, BBC, Cardiff, Celebrity Centre, Church of Scientology International, David Miscavige, Heber Jentzsch, Hollywood, Ideal Org, Int Base, International Association of Scientologists, J. Swift, Jeff Pomerantz, John Sweeney, Jon Atack, Karen de la Carriere, Los Angeles, Marty Rathbun, Mike Rinder, Portland, Portland Mercury, Quicky, Religious Freedom Crusade, Silver, Skeptics, The Church of Fear: Inside the Weird World of Scientology, The Hole, UK

Based on more than two hundred interviews with current and former Scientologists and years of archival research, Lawrence Wright discussed his book Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, which offers an exhaustive account of the church, from its founding by L. Ron Hubbard to its present-day leadership. In a conversation with Library Director Mark Updegrove, Wright explained why celebrities like Tom Cruise and John Travolta are drawn to Scientology and discussed the future of Scientology. Wright is a playwright, screenwriter, and staff writer for The New Yorker. He won the Pulitzer Prize in 2007 for his book The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11. Co-sponsored by the Texas Book Festival.

Tags: 2007, 9/11, Al-Qaeda, Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood, and the Prison of Belief, John Travolta, Lawrence Wright, New Yorker, Pulitzer Prize, Quicky, Texas, Tom Cruise

Brian Culkin The Church of Scientology has filed a motion to disqualify the attorneys for Luis and Rocio Garcia in their federal fraud lawsuit against the church. Scientology has a long history of this kind of legal maneuver, and it's not surprising that they would make a motion like this in a case which has not gone their way to this point. (At any moment, we were expecting a ruling from federal Judge James Whittemore about the church's argument that the case go to its internal arbitration and be dismissed from federal court. Whittemore hadn't given away which way he was leaning, but the church may have felt it was about to be denied.) In its motion, the church says that Garcia's counsel — led by Ted Babbitt — has improperly relied on the help of an attorney who formerly represented the church, Robert Johnson, and two former church executives, Marty Rathbun and Mike Rinder.

Tags: 2011, Allan Cartwright, Brian Culkin, Glen Stilo, Judge James Whittemore, Judy Fontana, Luis and Rocio Garcia, Marty Rathbun, Mike Rinder, Peter Mansell, Quicky, Robert Johnson, Sarah Heller, Tampa Bay Times, Ted Babbitt

May 9, 2013: In breaking Scientology news today from Vancouver, Canada, Anonymous members "Night Owl" and "Mrs. Night Owl" have just completed a covert photo mission. They captured shocking images of public safety issues resulting from what can be viewed as negligent staff practices and a building that stands in a desperate state of disrepair and is visibly dangerous. Approximately 58 high resolution images were taken over several months. LInk to Wire Service story: http://www.wireservice.ca/index.php?m...

Tags: Anonymous, Canada, OT, Quicky, Scientology Exposed, Vancouver

Serious allegations are being made against the Church of Scientology and the anti-drug programmes it runs in New Zealand. Green MP Kevin Hague has used the protection of Parliamentary privilege to launch a blistering attack on the church, calling its actions repugnant, and accusing it of fleecing the vulnerable and the desperate.

Tags: Drug Free Ambassadors, Kevin Hague, Mike Ferriss, New Zealand

Over the past three decades Scientology Inc head David Miscavige has proudly and increasingly implemented what he calls the 'ruthless, cold, chrome steel' personality 'necessary' to manage Scientology. It started with Religious Technology Center (RTC, the top of Scientology Inc's chain of command). Cold, chrome steel has made its way all the way down to local churches of Scientology. More and more cops to prevent more and more potential 'crime.' More and more cops policing more and more dynamics. Public Scientologists taking on the valence of cops, confronting and informing upon friends and family members for creating an independent thought, for example. Look at the end product. L. Ron Hubbard tells us why this has had such disastrous effects, and why the independent Scientologists movement has thrived and can be counted upon to continue to do so. Fittingly, from the 4th of July, 1958 in a lecture titled The Fact of Clearing: Man definitely has a right to certain happiness. He isn't going to experience that right under the circumstances of his own past. He can't. He's too wound up in this and that. It's not the mores of the society that prevent him . It's all of these delusions about how bad the other fellow is.

Tags: 1958, Clear, David Miscavige, Quicky, Religious Technology Center

Did Tom Cruise and Washington Redskins owner Dan Snyder band together to bankrupt an alt-weekly newspaper and falsely label it anti-Semitic? That's the titillating suggestion made by Tablet magazine, a Jewish news and culture site, in an article published today.

Tags: Dan Snyder, DC, Simon Wiesenthal Center, Tom Cruise

Congratulations to Amy on the publication of her new book, Abuse at the Top. A bunch of us gathered to celebrate the occasion, some of whom are pictured above. A great group. Some are still flying under the radar and chose not to have their picture on the internet! It's a great book - if you don't have a copy yet, you can order it here. May 9 - wasn't that also some other special occasion? Trying to remember...oh yes, Mothers Day! Happy Mothers Day everyone. (function(g){g.__ATA.initAd({sectionId:26942, width:300, height:250});})(window);

Tags: Abuse at the Top, Quicky

The crowd, wearing British folk-hero Guy Fawkes masks in the style of the book and film V for Vendetta, surrounded the bronze man with a parasol and were heading towards a clash with the disciples of Hubbard and Cruise. "We are Anonymous, we are legion, we do not forget," they proclaim.

Tags: Anonymous, Disconnection, Fair Game, Gwen Mayfield-Barnard, Portland

Scientologists view Hubbard's writings as scripture, which gives what he said in The War a lot of weight. Psychiatry, he wrote, is "a vehicle to undermine and destroy the West!" Hubbard vowed that Scientology will "take over total control of all mental healing in the West." In 1987, the CCHR undertook a major campaign against Ritalin. "There is a war, by Scientology, against psychiatry," Kent says, "and the CCHR is just part of that war."

Tags: CCHR, George Mentis, National Parents Association, Quebec, Raphaël Huppé, Richer Dumais

Nearly 22 years ago, Lawrence Wollersheim, a disaffected member of the Church of Scientology, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles accusing the church of mental abuse that pushed him to the brink of suicide. Teams of lawyers and various rulings came and went, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Judgments against the church hit $30 million, then dropped to $2.5 million. But the Church of Scientology never paid -- until Thursday, when officials wrote a check for more than $8.6 million to end the case, one of the longest- running in California history.

Tags: FACTNet, Ford Greene, Lawrence Wollersheim, Legal, William Drescher

Nearly 22 years ago, Lawrence Wollersheim, a disaffected member of the Church of Scientology, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles accusing the church of mental abuse that pushed him to the brink of suicide. Teams of lawyers and various rulings came and went, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Judgments against the church hit $30 million, then dropped to $2.5 million. But the Church of Scientology never paid -- until yesterday, when officials wrote a check for more than $8.6 million to end the case, one of the longest-running in California history.

Tags: Lawrence Wollersheim

Nearly 22 years ago, Lawrence Wollersheim, a disaffected member of the Church of Scientology, filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles accusing the church of mental abuse that pushed him to the brink of suicide. Teams of lawyers and various rulings came and went, all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. Judgments against the church hit $30 million, then dropped to $2.5 million. But the Church of Scientology never paid -- until yesterday, when officials wrote a check for more than $8.6 million to end the case, one of the longest-running in California history. "They stalled it and stalled it and stalled it," said Wollersheim, 53, now of Nevada. He called his victory a landmark for former members of the church, which is known for heated and protracted legal battles.

Tags: 1950, 1969, 1980, 1986, 1989, 1994, California, Church of Scientology of California, FACTNet, Ford Greene, L. Ron Hubbard, Lawrence Wollersheim, Los Angeles, Los Angeles Superior Court, Nevada, Quicky, Scientology practice, US Supreme Court, William Drescher

The Church of Scientology's version of the circumstances surrounding the death of one of its members always raised more questions than it answered. Now Scientology's top officials cannot even keep their own stories straight, further undermining their credibility. That increases the pressure on Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney Bernie McCabe to uncover the truth about Lisa McPherson's death.

Tags: 1995, Bernie McCabe, Clearwater, Clearwater Police Department, Florida Department of Law Enforcement, Fort Harrison, Joan Wood, Lisa McPherson, Medical, Mike Rinder, Pasco County, Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney

The mayor of Newkirk said Tuesday he believes there is nothing people in this community can do to prevent a drug and alcohol treatment facility from being locatedon Indian land near here by an organization critics claimis tied to the Church of Scientology.

Tags: Bob Lobsinger, Chilocco Development Authority, Chilocco Indian School, Garry Bilger, John Duff, Kaw, Narconon, Narconon Chilocco, Narconon International, Newkirk, Oklahoma Health Planning Commission, Snow White Program, W.A. Mehojah

LOS ANGELES -- A Superior Court judge denied the Church of Scientology's 26th motion for a mistrial in the trial of a $25 million fraud suit brought by a disaffected former member, despite the appearance of actor John Travolta. Travolta strode down a courthouse hallway lined with finger-snapping Scientologists Friday. When he rose in court to make a statement Judge Ronald Swearninger told him to sit down, and he did. 'It's very important for me to express my satisfaction with the results of being involved with Scientology these last 11 years so the court knows I represent a person involved with Scientology and that it works 100 percent for me,' Travolta said outside the courtroom.

Tags: Earle Cooley, John Travolta, Judge Ronald Swearinger, Lawrence Wollersheim, Quicky