Scientology DOES want to make Clearwater the first Scientology city

"The church has facilities all over the world. They seem to have a large presence in Clearwater, but Clearwater's a small town," [Scientology attorney Monique] Yingling said. "It has absolutely no interest in taking over the city."

http://www.nbcnews.com/nightly-news/church-scientology-accuses-florida-city-discrimination-over-land-battle-n767946


This  quote goes against a lot of other evidence, including this page from Scientology's own Source Magazine, issue 100;

An ex-scientologist discusses the latest news

oh... THAT David Miscavige!

Scientology takes it out on downtown Clearwater businesses

http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/scientologys-uniformed-sea-org-staff-clearly-absent-from-downtown/2322777

"Mayor George Cretekos said he is not aware of any city official asking church leaders to discontinue uniforms but said the impact the Sea Org's visual presence has on downtown's vibe has been discussed over the years.
Cretekos said visitors who are not familiar with the religious garb 'think it is a military presence' in Clearwater. He said it would be unfortunate if the church has instructed parishioners to avoid downtown to make a statement to city officials.
'This is not a good way of building bridges,' Cretekos said."

So Scientology is still very angry about not getting the piece of land they desperately needed for a swimming pool.  They'll probably be lashing out at the city for a while to come.

Doreen Caudell explains why she's voting to purchase

http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/column-clearwater-should-buy-downtown-aquarium-property/2320741

"That, fundamentally, is the reason I declined the Church of Scientology's request for an individual private meeting. The development of their retail strategy included no opportunities for the public to express their desires for the plan. How can I support a plan which shunned public involvement? The people of the City of Clearwater elect me, and I intend to represent their concerns.
That is why we will vote Thursday to purchase the Clearwater Marine Aquarium parcel just south of City Hall. Imagine Clearwater, a prototypical example of the community based development approach, encourages City Council to facilitate energy and activation along Osceola Avenue."

Clearwater council votes 5-0 to purchase aquarium property

http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/live-clearwater-city-council-set-to-vote-on-land-coveted-by-the-church-of/2321083

"CLEARWATER — The City Council on Thursday voted unanimously to buy a vacant but high-profile downtown lot from the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, intercepting a crucial piece of land the Church of Scientology said it needed for its campus.

A packed auditorium at City Hall greeted the 5-0 decision with applause.
Scientology leader David Miscavige had offered to bankroll a multi-million dollar revitalization of downtown if the city stepped aside and allowed the church to buy the lot, which borders its 13-story Oak Cove religious retreat. He pitched the idea last week to a select group of downtown stakeholders with help from Scientology celebrities like John Travolta, and was willing to pay more than three times what the city was offering."

This is a wise move by the city.  I hope it is the beginning of the city standing up to Scientology's attempts to gradually take over the community.  

Ratcheting up the pressure before the big vote

http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/scientologists-and-others-step-up-the-pressure-as-clearwater-nears-vote-on/2320632

"CLEARWATER — The $19 million Skyview condo being built downtown with a penthouse for actor Tom Cruise could be the last investment developer Cleman Agami ever makes in the city.

That will be one of the consequences if the City Council votes Thursday to buy a 1.4 acre vacant lot the Church of Scientology also is lobbying to purchase, Agami warned in an email to City Council member Bill Jonson.
By buying the Pierce Street property, the city would be sabotaging' over $60 million in hard cash investments' from the church, Agami, a Scientologist, wrote, referring to a proposal by church leader David Miscavige to bankroll a retail and entertainment overhaul in downtown, provided he gets control of the waterfront parcel."

Even if the city bends to Scientology's will, it will most likely take 20 years to finish downtown redevelopment, if Scientology goes by their usual snail pace.  Consider that it took 13 years to build their own Super Power building in Clearwater.

A current example of how slowly Scientology does construction projects

http://www.birminghammail.co.uk/news/property/work-begun-church-scientology-headquarters-12885970

"Building work has begun to turn a historic building in Moseley into the main Church of Scientology in Birmingham.
In 2007, Pitmaston House was bought by the Church for £4,200,000.
Ten years later, renovations have finally begun to transform the property into a place of worship for the often controversial religion.
Graeme Wilson, the Church of Scientology’s UK-based public affairs director, commented that 'We are indeed very pleased to announce that are now moving forward with the construction of our new Church of Scientology in Birmingham.
'This is a major step forward and our intention is to complete this new Church of Scientology in the coming year.'“

This is typical of Scientology construction; long delays in starting, long delays in finishing.  Just remember Clearwater's own Super Power Building took 13 years to complete.  So how long would it take them to renovate downtown Clearwater?  What would happen if it took 20 years?

The economic impact of Scientology on Clearwater

http://tonyortega.org/2017/04/15/scientology-is-no-1-with-no-2-or-how-the-church-of-david-miscavige-stinks-up-clearwater/

"One of the ways that Scientology tries to sway locals (and it appears to be working, judging by our conversation with one local business owner, Leif Oskarsson), is by claiming that, against all visual evidence to the contrary, the church is actually a boon to the local economy and the tax-exempt organization still somehow pays more property taxes than anyone.
Well, we’re not so sure about that. We had a look at the city of Clearwater’s latest financial report, for the year 2014-2015, and it lists the top ten property tax payers in town. Here they are:"

* * *

There is a large percentage of Scientology property that is tax exempt for religious reasons.  Also, Scientology has its own hotels, restaurants, and things to occupy it's "parishioners."  There is little reason for Scientologists visiting Clearwater to ever step into a non-Scientologist business.

Miscavige pushes downtown idea on businesses

http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/scientology-leader-david-miscavige-presents-clearwater-retail-plan-to/2320033

"Once they were seated in the adjoining ballroom in assigned chairs, Scientology leader David Miscavige stood before them pitching his vision for downtown with graphic renderings, a video and a nearly two-hour speech. He described the Church of Scientology's plan to revitalize downtown by paying for a total renovation of Cleveland Street's facade and using heavy-hitting consultants to recruit high-end retailers and businesses to fill vacant storefronts.
Miscavige didn't come out and say it, but according to guests, he made it clear there was a catch: The fate of this proposal hinges on the church's ability to buy a 1.4-acre vacant property the city is poised to purchase next week."

Remember how long it took to build Scientology's Super Power building in Clearwater?  13 years.  Consider any of Scientology's "Ideal org" projects around that world and how long it takes them to complete any such project. 

How long do you think it would take to rebuild downtown Clearwater?  And how do you put Scientology's feet to the fire to keep the project on track?  This is the biggest question that must be answered if Clearwater decided to let Scientology take over downtown.

Scientology REALLY, REALLY wants that piece of land

http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/church-of-scientology-ups-bid-for-clearwater-marine-aquarium-land-to-15/2319396

"CLEARWATER —The Church of Scientology has offered the Clearwater Marine Aquarium nearly four times what the city is scheduled to vote on paying later this month for a vacant downtown property.

The church offered the aquarium $15 million for the 1.4 acre lot, Scientology spokesman Ben Shaw confirmed, far exceeding the $4.25 million deal the city will decide on closing April 20.
It is the second time in three weeks Scientology leader David Miscavige has tried to outbid the city — aquarium officials passed on a $12.5 million offer the church made March 11, opting not to sell before the city has a chance to vote.
Aquarium CEO David Yates said Thursday the nonprofit is committed to selling to the city, and no outside offer, no matter the amount, has changed that."

So you think Scientology really wants that property?  I wonder why it's so important to them?  So they can make it useful for all citizens of Clearwater?  No, I didn't think so either.

A review of Scientology policy to take over

http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/in-downtown-clearwater-scientologys-bid-for-an-expanded-role-is-a-matter/2318663

"But the meaning of that and similar passages is just what it sounds like, said Mike Rinder, who spent 25 years as a senior Scientology executive before defecting in 2007. Once the church's international spokesman, Rinder said Scientology leader David Miscavige's retail plan for downtown is an embodiment and fulfillment of its preachings 'to take over governments.'
'Really it's not specifically Clearwater,' he said. 'Scientology believes that they are going to take over the world. This means bringing everybody into compliance with the goals and objectives of Scientology.'
With the church's international spiritual headquarters located downtown at the 300,000 square foot Flag Building, Rinder said insulating that footprint is a priority for church leaders.
If Miscavige succeeds and recruits retail to the struggling downtown, Rinder said he will instruct local and visiting Scientologists to frequent the shops. That, he said, would create a 'perimeter of safety' around the Flag headquarters and the Fort Harrison Hotel, so parishioners can take courses and buy church counseling sessions and not have to cross paths with outsiders."

This is a great review of  Scientology "scripture" that tells to take over the surrounding environment, including governments.  This especially targets Clearwater.

Scientology offers more for aquarium land

http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/scientology-leader-david-miscavige-ups-offer-for-aquarium-property-before/2318489

"The church has upped its standing offer for the property and threw in a 'sizable donation' to sweeten the deal, spokesman Ben Shaw confirmed Wednesday. He declined to disclose the church's new offer but said in a statement that it 'far exceeds what the city can pay.'
The City Council is scheduled to vote on its $4.25 million deal April 20.
Shaw called the new bid a win for all: The aquarium would receive a substantial amount for its property and the donation; the city would not have to expend taxpayer dollars; and the church would be able to build a swimming pool and amenities for its members at the adjacent Oak Cove religious retreat."

Boy they really want that property.  Not for the good of the city, but so they can privatize even more of downtown.

A Clearwater resident gives his views on Scientology's plans

Tampa Bay News; Clearwater leaders should stop kowtowing to Scientology

"One by one, Mayor George Cretekos and other City Council members trooped to Scientology's Fort Harrison Hotel to privately meet with Miscavige and hear his pitch. They circumvented public meetings requirements by meeting one at a time, and only City Council member Doreen Caudell had the good sense to reconsider and decline the invitation. Some who did go, including Cretekos and City Council member Hoyt Hamilton, went out of their way to be nice after their audiences with Miscavige and his consultants. Either Miscavige has had an epiphany, or city officials have decided to overlook Scientology's four decades of deceit and disingenuous dealings and are preparing to surrender.
All Clearwater residents know is what city officials recounted after their meetings. The Tampa Bay Times' Tracey McManus reported Scientology is focused on recruiting businesses to Cleveland Street rather than controlling every downtown block they don't already own. Miscavige suggested Scientology might pay for all of the facade redesign along Cleveland Street. And there apparently were some lovely renderings and video simulations.
Yet the public remains in the dark, and its elected officials should not be fooled by a slick sales pitch and Miscavige's new eagerness to collaborate. Remember Scientology bought more than $26 million in downtown properties earlier this year after Community Redevelopment Agency director Seth Taylor says he was assured by Miscavige in October that the church's plan did not include buying more property. Remember Scientology already has accumulated more than $260 million in real estate and is downtown's largest property owner. Remember Scientology already controls at least half of some 40 storefronts along a key stretch of Cleveland Street either directly or through its parishioners and Scientology-owned businesses that rent space. And remember what Miscavige really wants."

I just don't understand why the city representatives pretend like they are dealing with any other economically powerful entity. THIS entity has since 1975 had the stated goal of taking over Clearwater.  THIS entity has used nefarious and illegals methods to accomplish that goal.  Why pretend that is not a part of Clearwater history?  What advantage can be gained for the city by doing that?

Article; the history of Scientology in Clearwater

http://www.fsunews.com/story/life/2017/03/19/history-scientology-clearwater-florida/99381438/

"Four decades ago, the Church of Scientology began planning to take over the city of Clearwater, Florida by infiltrating local government and other influential non-government entities in the city. Now it appears that the Church’s plan has come to fruition. With control over more than a quarter billion dollars of real estate in the downtown area, Scientology has the largest influence on city officials in regards to development. Scientology’s presence has for decades casted a shadow over Clearwater, and has led to the city being known for its geographic concentration of Scientology rather than its miles of pristine beaches. This article is intended to summarize the sordid history of the relationship between the city of Clearwater and the Church of Scientology."

Nice summary.

Religious organizations allowed to own commercial businesses

http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology/scientology-retail-plan-is-rare-as-few-churches-back-non-religious/2317024

"The largest-scale retail development known to be backed by a religious organization in the U.S. is the City Creek Center built in downtown Salt Lake City in 2012.
The development of 104 stores, seven restaurants and 536 condos and apartments was financed by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
The development is owned by the church's for-profit real estate arm, City Creek Reserve, and managed by Taubman Inc., so there is no ecclesiastical oversight...

The project is credited with turning around the struggling downtown that was reeling from the recession and lingering disruption from a massive 2002 freeway construction project.
Its opening in 2012 prompted about $3 billion in additional private development in the city, according to Salt Lake Chamber CEO Lane Beattie."

Clearwater and Salt Lake City are much different from each other.  The question for Clearwater is, what is Scientology trying to get out of their new proposals?  Is it what's good for the city, or what's good for Scientology?  This should be the point of research.

City Council defends their meetings with Scientology, ignores the elephant in the room

This is all well and good, and yes freedom of religion is important.  But the council seems quite deliberately to be ignoring the fact that since 1975 Scientology has wanted to and even tried to take over Clearwater.  Mark Bunker even spoke at this meeting and brought that up clearly.  Why are they ignoring this important point?  Surely they must know at least some of the history of Clearwater - Scientology relations?  That they tried to smear a former Clearwater mayor as a bigamist, and set up a fake hit-and-run to get him in trouble?  That a Scientology magazine says precisely that their goal is to "make Clearwater the first Scientology city"?  So why this deliberate blindness on the part of this council?

Scientologyville, otherwise known as Clearwater

http://www.tampabay.com/news/business/economicdevelopment/trigaux-from-infrastructure-to-scientologyville-four-issues-that-are-now/2316893

"This is just the beginning. Clearwater was long shunned by expanding businesses and other because of the overwhelming presence of Scientology. Now it may win too much attention as the city that couldn't, the downtown that failed to hold its own. Is downtown Clearwater about to become the Scientology version of Vatican City?
Heads up, Tampa Bay. The broader region may not remain immune to the radical rebranding of one of the three cities that make up the Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater metropolitan area. Businesses, millennials, retirees, tourists: They will all take notice. Some, perhaps many, will ponder alternative destinations."

Doesn't anybody in Clearwater remember Scientology's Super Power building?  Construction began in 1998.  It was opened in 2013.  So how long do you think construction on Scientology's grand economic zone will take?

Even bricks are controversial in Clearwater; 2000 article

http://www.skeptictank.org/gen3/gen01939.htm

"A secret committee of the Citizens for a Better Clearwater rejected the McPherson brick along with two other bricks ordered by members of a Scientology watchdog group called the Lisa McPherson Trust. Suddenly, whether you could buy a brick depended on who you were, what you had to say and why you were buying it."


 Clearwater was raising funds for a tiny alley park downtown by selling bricks that you could put a message on.  I chose "remember Lisa McPherson" and the committee (perhaps with ties to Scientology?) rejected my brick. After a little cajoling, the brick was accepted. It was placed below a bench where someone sitting there might put their feet.  After a while it looked like this;

Another kerfuffle ensued, and finally the brick was replaced, much closer to the city sidewalk so it would be harder to deface without someone noticing.  This brick was the only one defaced, and in fact the company that makes these told me this is the first time they know of where a brick was intentionally defaced.

Hopefully the brick is ok now.  You can read about Lisa McPherson here.

City leaders meet one by one with David Miscavige - to kiss his ring?

Clearwater police bias on the side of scientology, 2000 documentary

a video by Mark Bunker, at that time videographer of the Lisa McPherson Trust

Clearwater hearings 1982, videos

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgKni85tiHE&list=PLB8A8C6C0BFB607D1

In 1982 the City of Clearwater held hearings on Scientology. They flew in ex-Scientologists, victims of Scientology, and even L. Ron Hubbard's son.  This is a lot of information that is even pertinent today.

Here is Paulette Cooper speaking about her experiences as a critic of scientology;

St. Petersburg Times 1980 series on Scientology and Cleatwater

https://www.antisectes.net/sp-times-scientology-special-report-pulitzer-price.pdf

"THERE WAS such contrast between what Scientology did publicly in its first few

months in Clearwater, and what went on secretly in the Guardian office in the Fort

Harrison.

Oh, the church lost no time in letting the community know that its velvet glove

concealed a rock-hard fist. On Feb. 6, just a week after Maren's announcement, the

church filed a $1 -million lawsuit against Mayor Gabriel Cazares — a consistent critic

of the secrecy with which United Churches came to Clearwater — accusing him of libel,

slander and violation of the church's civil rights. But five days later, the public was invited

to an open house at the Fort Harrison. About 500 people showed up and they found the old

hotel looking better, cleaner."

 

This was the first large attempt by local media to cover what had been happening between Clearwater and Scientology.

Tampa Bay Times 2009 series on Scientology and Clearwater

http://www.tampabay.com/news/scientology-the-truth-rundown-part-1-of-3-in-a-special-report-on-the/1012148

"Fall 1975. An outfit calling itself the United Churches of Florida announced it would rent the Fort Harrison Hotel from the Southern Land Development Corp., a company with plans to buy the historic building.
No one — not even lawyers for the seller — could find out anything about Southern Land. Not even a phone number.
When the sale closed on Dec. 1, Southern paid $2.3 million in cash for the landmark property, where for 50 years locals held weddings, New Year's bashes and civic events.
The newcomers promptly closed the hotel to the public. Uniformed guards armed with mace and billy clubs patrolled the entrance.
On Jan. 28, 1976, a public relations team from Los Angeles came to Clearwater and announced that the real buyer was the Church of Scientology of California.
The deception put a scare into the sleepy town with gorgeous beaches. Clearwater Mayor Gabe Cazares was incensed by the group's evasive and then heavy-handed tactics.
'The Fort Harrison has been here for a half century and now, for the first time, it is actually a fort,' he lamented. 'It's frightening.'
Locals grew anxious as they heard that Scientology was a cult with a belligerent streak. It had sued the State Department, the Justice Department, the IRS, the CIA, the LAPD — any agency that pried or denied its requests."

This is an excellent series  that will get you up to speed on the relationship between Clearwater and Scientology.

Ray Emmons, former Clearwater detective, tours Scientology properties in Clearwater

While he was a detective, Ray Emmons compiled the Emmons Report, which is a huge file of information on Scientology.  Part of the goal was to interest the FBI into investigating Scientology's activities in Clearwater.  This was unsuccessful.

Clear Expansion Committees; turning the world into Scientologists

https://wikileaks.org/wiki/Scientology_cult_Clear_Expansion_Committee_documents

These documents pertain to the Clear Expansion Committees of Scientology.  Their goal, as shown above, is to turn every person on earth into a Scientologist.  There is a Clear Expansion Committee in Clearwater whose goal is to convert Clearwater citizens into Scientologists.  

A history of Clearwater-Scientology relations 1975-1996

Compiled by Maggie Council DiPietra and Jeff Lee

A Brief History of Scientology in Clearwater: 1975 to 1995

Compiled from records of the Clearwater Courthouse, files seized from Scientology by the FBI, and archives of the St. Petersburg Times (now Tampa Bay Times), and the now-defunct Tampa Tribune and Clearwater Sun. The newspaper archives from which much of this page was derived only extended to 1995 at the time research was conducted.
 

1975   
Scientology buys the historic Fort Harrison Hotel in downtown Clearwater under the name “United Churches of Florida.”

1976   
Before the press can reveal the purchaser's true identity, Scientology announces its presence in Clearwater.

Scientologists release a "fact sheet" on Mayor Cazares and his wife,accusing them of all manner of business and personal crimes.

During this time, there are attempts to discredit Cazares with rumors pertaining to his sex life, an attempt to frame him in a hit-and-run accident, and an attempt to destroy his campaign to unseat Bill Young in a Senate race (see Nov. 1979).

1977   
  The FBI raids church offices and seizes thousands of documents. Among items the raids uncovered included details on specific operations undertaken by the Guardian’s Office against perceived threats to Scientology’s goals:

• Scientology's Operation Snow White, an elaborate plan to infiltrate various government and business offices and destroy negative or incriminating files pertaining to Scientology and/or its founder;
• Operation PC Freakout, a project to present Paulette Cooper, the author of a book critical of Scientology, as insane and discredit her through various overt and covert illegal activities;
• Operation China Shop, a project to gain control of the Clearwater Sun;
• Project Vatican Passport, which was a series of actions designed to establish legitimacy for the United Churches of Florida, one of the fictitious names used by Scientology when they first arrived in Clearwater; and
• Operation Tricycle, or Hubbard's Guardian Office Program Order 261175, which instructs Scientologists to work to "take control of key points of Clearwater," including the Sun and Channel 13 TV.

1979   
  Eleven high-ranking church officials are convicted and imprisoned as a result of the 1977 FBI raids on church offices, exposing the church's intelligence and espionage arm's illegal covert operations and other crimes.

It was claimed that the eleven were acting independently, and Scientology claimed that they would be forever barred from serving as Scientology staff.
However, in 1995, one of the eleven, Richard Weigand was listed in internal Scientology publications as currently heading up a project in Colombia, and was active on TNX-L, a private Scientology Internet mailing list, as recently as April of 1995.

November, 1979:

The CW Sun reports that “Dunedin Police Chief Edward Smith was investigated by the Church of Scientology because he seemed “prejudiced” against the sect.”

According to an April 1977 memo between Guardians Office employees Brian and Joe, Smith was considered “prejudiced” because in the course of his duties he asked questions at the Ft. Harrison pertaining to four guns that were found at King Arthur Courts Apartments, one of which was engraved with the initials LRH.

Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney James Russell was also branded an ‘enemy’ of the church because he pushed for an investigation of the guns’ ownership. It was also revealed that “extensive data had been collected on the police chief and his department over the last year.”

CW Sun reprints an Associated Press report from Washington, DC that Scientology had planned to blackmail the IRS. This plan, “Juicy Clanger,” was outlined in papers seized by the FBI in 1977 and admitted in court, released in November 1979 by U.S. District Judge Charles R. Richey.

According to the files, church operatives stole IRS records of famous Americans and planned to threaten to release them unless an IRS audit was found favorable to the church. A church memo dated December 1975 states, “Legal could also inform the IRS of the receipt of the data and that we are holding off on using it as an added pressure on them to finish the audit (favorably).”

There was no indication that the plan was ever launched. But the intelligence was gathered.

Another memo said “We have the intel on [former California governor] Edmund Brown, Jr. [Calif governor at the time] and Tom Bradley [who was mayor of Los Angeles]. The church reportedly also had information on Frank Sinatra.

1980-1982   
  Tanja C. Burden of Las Vegas says that L. Ron Hubbard, his wife Mary Sue, and the Clearwater church enslaved her for more than four years. The case eventually settles in 1986, at which point Scientology attorneys have the files sealed. The papers in this court case are among the sealed cases the Times tries to have opened in 1988.

1982   
  The City Commission of Clearwater holds hearings about Scientology, concerned about complaints that the church was a cult. Over 500 people signed petitions in support of the hearings. The Scientologists sue to block the hearings and lose. Scientology lawyer Paul B. Johnson walks out of these
meetings without presenting his church's side.

1983   
  Police raid more Scientology offices, this time in Canada, and discover about 2 million stolen government documents. Scientology lawyers say they will donate money to charity if the charges are dismissed; Ontario Attorney General Ian Scott declines their offer.

1984   
  Clearwater passes an ordinance that officials said was designed to reduce fraud by any group claiming to be charitable. It meets strong resistance from Scientology; after an eleven-year legal battle, the church finally gets the ordinance repealed in late 1995.

1985   
  Scientology lawyer Paul B. Johnson is brought to trial in Orlando for allegedly bribing Hillsborough County commissioners to favor his client, Hubbard Construction Company. Johnson is later defended by F. Lee Bailey.

1986   
  Summer -- Scientology purchases an apartment complex to house staff members, serving the existing tenants notice to leave when their leases expire.

  August -- Scientology settles four lawsuits out of court:

• Gabe and Maggie Cazares sue the Church of Scientology for invasion of
  privacy and malicious prosecution (a slander lawsuit which was thrown out of
  court as frivolous).
• Tanja Burden sues for "fraud, breach of contract and intentional
  infliction of emotional distress."
• The McLeans sue, alleging invasion of privacy and malicious prosecution
  (as in the Cazares case, a slander suit filed by the church was dismissed as
  frivolous). 
• Margery Wakefield sues, claiming the church "fraudulently promised to
  cure her mental illness and instead mentally abused her."

The files were sealed over the plaintiffs' objections.

  September -- Scientology purchases the Boheme cruise ship and sails it away, leaving St. Petersburg, Florida's small port facility tenantless.

  December -- More than 400 current and former Scientologists file a $1-billion class-action suit against the church alleging that the church tried to compromise or pay off two Florida judges and divert $100-million to foreign bank accounts.

The suit contends that church officials or their representatives committed fraud and breached fiduciary duties. It alleges further that information obtained from members during "auditing" (confessional-like, purportedly private church 'service' sessions costing thousands of dollars) is used for
"purposes of blackmail and extortion."

The suit also alleges that in April of 1982, David Miscavige (Chairman of the church's Religious Technology Center) ordered the payment of $250,000 to "set up" and frame US District Judge Ben Krentzman (of Clearwater) in a scheme to compromise his integrity with drugs and prostitutes. It similarly
contends that thousands of dollars were ordered spent to "pay off" Florida Circuit Judge James Durden, who was presiding over a Scientology-related case.

  The church reached out-of-court settlements for undisclosed amounts with at least fourteen former members, and settled a suit brought by Gabe and Maggie Cazares.

1987   
  A project is launched to discredit California lawyer Charles O'Reilly, who represented Lawrence Wollersheim in his winning case against the church; according to former Church lawyer Joseph Yanny, plans were made to steal O'Reilly's confidential files from the Betty Ford Center and other
substance-abuse treatment centers. Yanny said the Scientologists figured that such records could be used to blackmail O'Reilly.

  In an article in the business section of the St. Petersburg Times on 1 July 1987, a Largo shredder dealer talks about his business:

"I've sold the Church of Scientology several shredders," said Becklund. "They shred everything. As a matter of fact, when the city of Clearwater was investigating them they bought shredders from us. They'd bring in 15, 20, 4-drawer legal files and they'd shred them. Oh, yeah. Lots of maintenance."

  The Times reports that every year since 1982, Scientology has sought a tax exemption and Pinellas County property appraiser Ron Schultz has denied it. "The Church of Scientology ... was the first instance in my office where I found an institution calling itself a church that the courts agreed was not
a not-for-profit institution," Schultz said.

  A representative of CoS hand-delivers a letter to the St. Pete Times that threatens to sue the newspaper if it writes a story about the book L. Ron Hubbard: Messiah or Madman? by Bent Corydon. The letter accuses the paper of intending to "attack and denigrate the Church through any vehicle you find
available." The letter, signed by Scientology lawyer Timothy Bowles, threatens action against the Times for libel, slander, conspiracy and violation of civil rights if it should "forward one of [Corydon's] lies."
The letter concluded with "we know a lot more about your institution and motives than you think."

1988   
  St. Pete Times seeks to unseal files in four lawsuits against Scientology that settled in 1986. Although court files are normally open, the judge granted the church's request to seal these cases over the objections of opposing lawyers. The Church wanted to keep them closed.

Times lawyers argued in a motion in October that closing the files violated the First Amendment, interfering with the newspaper's right to gather and publish news. The suits alleged that Scientologists invaded the plaintiff's privacy and abused the courts by filing malicious injunctions.

Earle C. Cooley, national counsel for the Church of Scientology said, in reference to Scientologists opposing the Times' motion to unseal the files, "I don't know where the press gets the idea that it has a right to intervene in an agreement entered into by both parties and approved by the court."

"Mr. Cooley's memory is failing him," responded plaintiff's attorney Walter D. Logan. "We never agreed to seal the court files."

Patricia Fields Anderson, an attorney for the Times, said case law requires that court records be open, "and the burden of proof is on them to show why these cases should be closed."

1989   
  U.S. Magistrate Paul Game unseals the 1986 files, saying that they were sealed without following federal rules for closure that allow ten days for response.

  Tax case is filed in US District court in Tampa (IRS v Church of Scientology Flag Service Org, Inc.), seeking financial records to determine if they've been involved in commercial operations which should be taxed. The inquiry concerns 1985, 1986, and 1987.

  June -- Pinellas County tells the church that if it does not pay its tax bill for 1986, five of its twelve properties in downtown Clearwater will be auctioned to the highest bidders.

  July -- Scientology asks a federal judge to jail, fine and make Margery Wakefield repay $240,000 from an out-of-court settlement for talking to reporters and talk-show hosts. The settlement was supposed to lay to rest her charges against Scientology of fraud, breach of contract, false
imprisonment, and practicing medicine without a license. Within the settlement, Wakefield was to receive $200,000, but was gagged from even talking about the amount of the settlement.

In interviews aired on Tampa public radio stations WUSF-FM and WMNF-FM, the $200,000 amount was disclosed. Wakefield did not know why Scientology was asking for another $40,000.

She also discussed the secret Operational Thetan upper training levels of Scientology, which are not discussed in any of Scientology's introductory "public" material.

  August -- More City Commission hearings on Scientology. Again, the church attempts to shut them down, but fails.

  October -- Secrecy order lifted in Scientology tax case.

  The Supreme Court refuses to revive a copyright lawsuit over an unauthorized biography of L. Ron Hubbard by Jon Atack; the justices let stand a decision throwing out allegations of copyright infringement against the publisher.

1990   
  Scientologists sue Gabe Cazares for tossing them out of a Democratic Party meeting.

  Scientology is in court with the county over $4.5-million in unpaid back taxes, which Scientology refuses to pay. Clearwater's 1990 budget is $113.5-million, $17.1-million of which is raised through property taxes.

  January -- Cazares calls for a grand jury investigation of Scientology from the State's Attorney's office.

  February -- The IRS brings its long court battle with the Church of Scientology to federal court in Tampa. The IRS contends that the Clearwater organization may be involved in commercial activities that should be taxed.

  May -- The Clearwater Sun, one of the targets in Scientology's initial attack on the city, folds.

  July -- Clearwater Chamber of Commerce president David Stone reacts to the church's announcement that they plan to build a $1-million Scientology museum downtown: "I certainly don't view it as any kind of an asset to the community."

City Commissioner L. Regulski says, "I think it's a far-out situation for a so-called religious organization to use to promote its product." He said the museum would put "an emphasis on something that the downtown doesn't need emphasis on."

  August -- "Affinity Publications" beings to publish a weekly Scientology-oriented community newspaper to "fill the void" left by the departure of the Clearwater Sun.

  December -- Five local companies sue the CoS for more than $127,000, claiming that the organization has failed to pay its bills for work and construction equipment. Besides these lawsuits, the Scientologists have settled five others in the previous two years from companies that claimed they were owed more than $39,000 for items ranging from travel services to construction materials.

Companies involved in suit:

• APG Electric, Inc. (claims it is owed $35,391 plus interest forelectrical work at the Sandcastle and Coachman buildings)
• J.R. Industrial contractors (construction bills)
• Twincraft, Inc. (specialized toiletry items)
• Sun Services of America (laundry equipment)
• Bill Byington and Associates (remodeling work in Coachman building)

In one of the above court cases, records showed a 1987 credit statement for the organization that listed "Estimated annual sales" of more than $90-million. This was apparently the first time such information was made public, according to the Times. The 1987 statement also listed estimated
annual purchases of $13-million.

The Scientologists had previously said in court filings that their annual operating expenses were about $26-million.

Each of these figures apply only to the main Clearwater-based Scientology group, called the Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization, not to the others based in California and abroad.

1991   
  February -- A Federal judge upholds the City of Clearwater's ordinance requiring nonprofit organizations to report fundraising activity within city limits. Scientology appeals.

  A bomb threat evacuates several hundred people from Ft. Harrison Hotel; police report that the threat was phoned in to the Church of Scientology switchboard. After 40 minutes of police and Scientology staff searching the building, the occupants return without incident.

  May -- TIME magazine prints the issue in which Scientology makes the cover: "The Thriving cult of Greed and Power," and Time-Warner is immediately sued. (In 1995, 90% of Scientology's case is thrown out of court)

  June -- Church of Scientology International President Heber Jentzsch, when asked about some of his organization's unpaid bills in the Clearwater area: "Thanks for bringing this to our attention."

  During the past year, the Times reports, Scientology settled or obtained voluntary dismissals of at least 10 lawsuits from plaintiffs that sued for more than $300,000. Most of the creditors suing said Scientology simply left them with unpaid bills for construction work, equipment, furniture, and more than $125,000 worth of food supplies.

Other suits include those of Michigan resident Mark Lewandowski and Maria Echavarria of California, who both sued the church to get their money back: Mark for $13,300 and Maria for $28,000.

  October -- Deputy Sheriffs notice deplorable conditions while performing an anti-drug presentation for children at the Scientology Cadet Org school. An HRS investigation ensues, and Scientology successfully has the results legally sealed.

1992   
  January - City officials begin inspecting Hacienda Gardens (a Clearwater
apartment complex the church purchased to serve as staff berthing) after
receiving reports that too many people are living there. Inspectors find 34
of around 200 apartments to be overcrowded.

  13 members of Church of Scientology in France are charged with fraud and practicing medicine illegally in Paris. (In 1990, the Lyons branch of the CoS was similarly charged and their bank accounts frozen).

  Howard Mintz sues the church in Clearwater for failing to refund $68,764.

  April -- Scientology is again cited for overcrowding at Hacienda Gardens.

1993

April 1993 - CoS retools designs for the $40-million Super Power building. Super Power was developed in 1978 by the late LRH, but has remained confidential to most Scientologists. The building was first 
proposed in 1991, saying construction could begin as early as that year. Later mailings to church members solicited contributions for the facility and drew large contributions from such widely known Scns as John Travolta.

May 1993 - CoS adds a 13th property to its list of CW holdings and unveils plans for a 2,500-seat auditorium that will be available for public rental most of the year. The auditorium is designed as part of the Super Power building planned. The Church claims the building will help revitalize downtown CW. The Downtown Development board president Phil Henderson remarks that the need for convention/meeting rooms outweighs the current need for auditorium space, and does not believe the "Church of Scn is a factor for downtown development."

The new parcels of land were purchased by T.J.M. Holdings of St. Petersburg. This same company purchased the Super Power site before turning it over  to the CoS Religious Trust in August of 1991. The total price for the new parcels as purchased by T.J.M. - $687.500. T.J.M's owner, Terence J. McCarthy, had recently pled guilty to two charges in a scheme to falsify federal home loan applications and had agreed to pay a $100,000 fee.

June 1993 - The SP Times and the CoS go to the Florida Supreme Court after the church got an injunction blocking public discourse of police records pertaining to a child abuse investigation at a Scientology school. CoS attorney Paul B. Johnson said Pinellas County Sheriff Everett Rice notified 
his client that the records had been requested by the Times and gave the church time to take the issue to court. A spokesperson for the sheriff's office said Rice didn't notify the church and doesn't know how the church discovered that the Times had requested the records.

August 1993 - CoS purchases 14th property in CW, one of the city's most historic storefronts, and swaps it for a parcel needed to complete their ownership of the entire block that once held the Gray Moss Inn.

-CoS beings major renovations at the Heart of CW Motel at Cleveland St. and Greenwood Avenue.

Sept 1993 - Fla Supreme Court rules to block the release of police records involving the CoS. The Times and Pinellas County Sheriff Rice ask for a new hearing. The Times motion claims that "This is not a case about children’s privacy, but about institutional secrecy."

Oct 1993 - CW City leaders agree to close Ft. Harrison Avenue on one day's notice to accommodate the safety of 3,000 Scientologists attending a large event.

-The IRS says the CoS and its myriad entities don't have to pay federal income taxes, ending a 40-year battle with the CoS. 30 "determination letters" were issues by the agency that exempted 153 Scn missions, churches, and corporations from paying federal corporate income taxes. The Times
reports that this decision could "tip the balance in the organization's efforts to avoid paying property taxes on its CW holdings, a tab that is nearing $7-million after more than a decade of withholding the payments."
Pinellas County property appraiser remarked, "The fact remains:  They [Scientology] are a for-profit corporation.

-The IRS decision is seen as having a potential negative impact upon Clearwater by some city officials and local businesspersons. One downtown business owner is quoted in the Times, "In 10 years, you might as well call this Hubbardville." This businessperson was one of the few willing to talk on the record about Scn, the Times stated. One business owner tried to rip pages out of a reporter's notebook after a discussion of the effects of the IRS decision.

Anything that cuts city revenues limits the city's ability to fund projects to upgrade the downtown area, especially when more funds are tied up in litigation. City Commissioner Fred Thomas states, "the citizens of Clearwater are going to pay through the nose for this."

-The Pinellas County appraiser and CoS go back to mediation over the $7.9-million in back taxes and penalties the county claims the church owes. Scn lawyer Paul Johnson tells the Times , "If we were to try this case now, it would cost thousands and thousands of dollars. Both the county and my 
client benefit [from mediation]."

-The church announces it will spend $114-million to preserve the writings of LRH. Photos of work on the underground vaults constructed to contain steel plates etched with Hubbard's work, already in progress, were submitted to the IRS with papers requesting tax exemption.

-The Times reports that the highest-paid Scientologists are recruiters and fundraisers who are not on church staff. Field Staff Managers, or FSMs, earn a commission of money they collect from new Scns and donors, according to IRS records. ""This practice...extends the influence of the church into society by encouraging individual proselytization," Scn lawyers explain.

-CoS says it will spend over $38-million on its Clearwater properties in renovation and new construction [As recently as 1994, contractors who worked on these renovations were complaining about not being paid].

Nov 1993 - CW businessman F. Gordon Charles writes to the Times , "For 3 months I have been trying to obtain a loan to hold onto the building I have been leasing for 12 years. Seven banks have turned me down and every private investor I've spoken to has told me that he would not invest in downtown 
Clearwater for the obvious reason that it's a loser...Scientology is a business and it should be taxed accordingly, as my business is and all legitimate businesses are."

Dec 1993 - Groundbreaking for the Super Power building has been pushed back several Times since its announcement in March 1991. The new date is March 13, 1994. A fund-raising letter to Scns says another $6.2-million in donations is needed by the end of the year to meet that groundbreaking 
target.

Jan 1994 - Scn complains that Scns have filed reports on incidents of harassment and the police didn't investigate them. The Times reports about a 1991 incident where a man stuck his head and shoulders out of a car window while passing a group of uniformed Scns and yelled "you goofy f---ers". An 
18-year-old man was arrested for disorderly conduct." Any harassment is motivated by the hatred stirred up in the media and by those who have a hidden agenda", says Scn spokesperson Richard Haworth.

-CW City Commissioner Fred Thomas calls for a new State law that would allow cities to stop tax-exempt groups from expanding their land holdings - and taking that property off the tax rolls.  Unless it caps the amount of land tax-exempt groups can own, Thomas said, the city's ability to provide services will gradually erode. 'We're bleeding to death as a city," Thomas said. "How do you stop the bleeding?"

-CoS settles with property appraiser Jim Smith after a battle lasting over a decade. The appraiser agreed to take most of CoS's property -- about $19-million worth-- off the tax rolls. In return, Scn will pay $2.5-million in back property taxes.  The county will give up in its effort to collect another $5.5-million in back taxes and interest. Sc will start paying roughly $186,000 a year in property taxes.  The deal ends 13 separate lawsuits filed since 1983 against the Pinellas County property appraiser.

-Scn lawyer writes an "urgent request" to CWPD Chief Sid Klein, asking to keep closed city police investigation files detailing a 13-year investigation into Scn, complete with police reports alleging fraud and other crimes. The Times had already reported the existence and content of the files, having 
gained access to them through the State's public records law. Scn also obtained the files but then said they should be kept closed based on the constitutional rights of individuals. The organization threatened a civil rights lawsuit; the city voted unanimously to hire a lawyer to take the case to Pinellas County Civil Court. The files are the most extensive in CWPD on any one organization.

Feb 1994 - CoS wants to loosen city housing codes to allow more Scientologists to be housed in their Hacienda Gardens apartment complex. The change would cut in half the required living space and eventually provide homes for the 300 new Scn staff members needed for the Super Power building. 
Groundbreaking for the building is set for March 1994, but Scn has yet to submit construction plans to the city.
The request is later withdrawn when CW officials questioned whether Scn had shown a hardship that would justify cutting in half the housing code's standards for living space. Neighbors to Hacienda Gardens had also expressed concern that the extra Scns would overwhelm an already malfunctioning sewer lift station in the neighborhood.

April 1994 - Scn spokesperson Richard Haworth got off with a warning from CWPD Chief Sid Klein not to interfere with a police investigation again. Klein said in a letter that Haworth could have been booked into a county jail for obstructing an investigation into an alleged battery of a Scientologist.

According to a police report, Haworth intervened when police were investigating a shoving match between a Scientologist and a man identified as a transient. Haworth demanded that the transient be arrested for assault and battery. Police said there had been no battery, and they could make no 
arrest because they hadn't seen any crime. Haworth was told several Times to 
stop interfering with the investigation, the report said.

The next day, Haworth met with Lt. Frank Daly, asserting that officers were not doing their job and an arrest should have been made in the case. In a memo to Klein, Daly said he told Haworth "'we can't just arrest everyone we suspect of a crime.' At that, Mr. Haworth became very irate and slammed his 
fist onto the table stating 'I don't want to hear can't'." 

Klein's letter to Haworth says, "In the future, if you have doubts about the conduct of a CW police officer, then you should learn to control yourself in a civil, lucid manner."

In the police report, three Scientologists describe the incident this way: the transient asked the Scientologist for money, was denied, and bumped and pushed and insulted the Scientologist. The Scientologist pushed back and a shoving match developed. The Scientologist feared a fight would break out, and phoned a CoS security guard.

The transient's version goes like this: he asked the Scientologists for work, didn't get any, and the next thing he knew, he was detained by a CoS guard, who told him he was under arrest. Klein's letter addresses this incident and points out that "to pose as, or take actions that may be construed as those of a police officer is not only dangerous, it is illegal."

Nov 1994 - Brian Anderson is by this time the PR spokesperson for the Church of Scientology in Clearwater. Richard Haworth is not heard from in the press until April of 1995.

-Liberty Mutual Insurance Company claims in a lawsuit that CoS's Flag Service Organization owes $378,873 in premiums and fees assessed after an audit turned up employees who had been covered under the policy, but were "not yet paid for."

1995  

October - The head of security at the Clearwater church, Bill Johnson, allegedly chases a former member through the streets, screaming death threats. He stops only when she ducks into a martial arts academy and he is barred from following. Scientology Attorney Paul B. Johnson explains that the threats were only a figure of speech.

1996  

  March -- Internet critics from all over the United States come to Clearwater to protest the church's policies of harassment. Other pickets occur in other cities in the United States, England and Australia. This is the first internet-inspired picket. Although the church attempts to dismiss the picketers in Clearwater as insignificant, top officials in the church fly in from Los Angeles and Washington to handle damage control with the press.

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