VOLUME 8 |ISSUE 3 |2017 2729
letter to the county, Monique Yingling, a top church attorney
who assisted Scientology in securing its tax-exempt status from
the IRS in 1993, said the aquarium is ‘essentially asking to recoup’
from taxpayers the millions it turned down from the church’s offer.
Yingling said the aquarium has repeatedly depended on public
funding despite bringing in $8.8 [sic] million in revenue over the
past five years. She cited $8.8 million in ‘in-kind property, grants
and other funding from the city of Clearwater.’ But Yates said that
number is unfounded. Other than a $750,000 contribution in
2008, ‘we do not get any routine grants from the city,’ Yates said.
…Commissioner Ken Welch said he still hasn’t had time to review
the hundreds of pages of documents that were hand delivered 24
hours before Tuesday’s vote. Yates said the sale of the aquarium’s
land to the city was a show of commitment to a long-standing
partnership rather than an affront to the church. The church’s
reaction, he said, was unwarranted. ‘We didn’t get into this to have
an argument with anybody,’ Yates said. ‘When we had property to
sell, we sold the property to our partner. That’s it. … We’re very
disappointed in the approach the church has taken in this regard.
It didn’t need to be done, and it’s unfortunate, but our desire is we
do our work and we do our mission and we move on.’” (Tampa Bay
Times, 04/27/17)
School accidentally hired Church of Scientology-backed
group to teach drug education
“After a drug-related tragedy, administrators at California’s
Santa Monica High School decided the school needed a drug
education program. But the school went cold turkey on its
new drug education program after just three seminars when
parents realized the program was actually run by the Church
of Scientology. …The Foundation [for a Drug Free World]
reportedly led three seminars for students over several weeks,
before hosting a workshop with approximately 200 parents
on May 9. It was during this meet-up that parents reportedly
began questioning the group that was leading regular seminars
in the public school. While the Foundation does not advertise
its affiliation with Scientology, its connections with the church
are evident in its publicly available tax documents, and have
drawn significant media attention since the Foundation was
launched in 2006. A number of parents, made newly aware
of the group’s Scientology ties, reportedly complained to the
school’s principal, who decided to cut short the drug program
this month. The school district did not return a requests [sic] for
comment on Sunday. …A school district spokesperson told the
Hollywood Reporter that the school’s principal had ‘fully vetted this
organization and felt that it would be excellent for our students.’
Despite being sponsored by the religious organization, ‘the
presentations and materials do not have any reference or mention
of Scientology.’ …The Foundation has previously been ousted
from public schools in New York City, where it administered
a similar anti-drug program until its ties to Scientology were
revealed. In 2015, the Foundation boasted of lecturing at 30 New
York City public schools, as well as with the New York City Police
Department’s youth programs, where it reportedly led anti-drug
training for school safety officers.” (Daily Beast, 05/14/17)
Court orders Scientology church leader and members
detained in St. Petersburg, Russia
“A court in St. Petersburg on June 8 ordered the spiritual leader of
the city’s branch of the Church of Scientology held in detention
for two months. …Ivan Matsitsky, the church leader, was among
five members of the church arrested on June 6 during a raid on
the organization’s offices in St. Petersburg. …A Federal Security
Service (FSB) investigator told the court that the church’s business
activities, including offering commercial courses and scientology
programs, had netted 276 million rubles ($4.84 million), which
he called ‘a massive scale.’ In 2015, a court ordered the Church of
Scientology’s Moscow operation to be dissolved, saying it could
not be considered a religious organization.” (RadioFreeEurope/
RadioLiberty, 06/09/17)
Cult leader Tony Alamo dies former members of ministry
describe freedom, relief
“Evangelist and cult leader Tony Alamo died Tuesday in a prison
hospital in North Carolina. Alamo, whose real name was Bernie
Lazar Hoffman, was sentenced to 175 years in prison in 2009
for transporting young girls across state lines to have sex. Some
girls, as young as 8 years old, had been forced to become Alamo’s
‘wives.’ Alamo, 82, died at Federal Medical Center in Butner, N.C.,
according to an email from Justin Long, a spokesman for the
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Long said his office couldn’t reveal the
cause of death. … Former Alamo followers claimed in federal
court filings that they had been brainwashed, imprisoned,
routinely beaten, starved as punishment for perceived
wrongdoing, and forced to work long hours without pay—often
to make sequined denim jackets that were sold to Hollywood
stars. … ‘The victims I’ve spoken with are feeling a new sense of
freedom,’ Carter said. ‘A couple of them weren’t even sure this
day would come. They were raised to believe Tony Alamo was
a prophet and that he spoke for God. In some cases, their own
parents handed them over to Alamo rather than face eternal
damnation for disobeying the “prophet.”’ …‘In the end, Alamo
was nothing more than a narcissistic pedophile who wrapped
his sadistic abuse in the cloak of religion.’ … Rebecca Gay, 42,
who now lives in Georgia, spent the first 14 years of her life at
the compound on Georgia Ridge, just north of Dyer. She posted
a message Wednesday on Facebook about Alamo’s death. …
Dorothy Curry, 72, of Fort Smith, said she had mixed emotions.
‘I don’t rejoice, but I’m kind of glad,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to
celebrate somebody’s death. I’m not jumping up and down. ...
We were all hurt by that ministry—spiritual abuse is what you
call it. Some people have gotten over it and some haven’t.’ …
Tony Alamo was born Sept. 20, 1934, in Joplin, Mo [sic]. His father
was a Jewish immigrant from Romania who, Alamo claimed,
had been dance instructor for Rudolf Valentino, according to the
Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. … Alamo claimed he
recorded a hit record single in the early 1960s called ‘Little Yankee
Girl’ and was even asked to manage musical acts including the
Beatles, the Doors, and the Rolling Stones. There is no evidence
of those claims. … While in a business meeting in Beverly Hills,
Alamo claimed, Jesus came to him and told him to preach about
Christ’s second coming. He and Susan, who was also of Jewish
descent, converted to Christianity and began a Hollywood street
ministry, preaching particularly to drug addicts, alcoholics and
prostitutes. In the mid-1970s, they moved the ministry to western
Arkansas, where Susan Alamo had grown up. … Alamo was found
guilty July 24, 2009, on 10 counts of taking underage girls across
state lines for sex. Four months later, he was sentenced to 175
years in prison and fined $250,000. In February 2014, a Miller
County judge awarded $525 million in damages to seven former
members of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries. It was the largest
letter to the county, Monique Yingling, a top church attorney
who assisted Scientology in securing its tax-exempt status from
the IRS in 1993, said the aquarium is ‘essentially asking to recoup’
from taxpayers the millions it turned down from the church’s offer.
Yingling said the aquarium has repeatedly depended on public
funding despite bringing in $8.8 [sic] million in revenue over the
past five years. She cited $8.8 million in ‘in-kind property, grants
and other funding from the city of Clearwater.’ But Yates said that
number is unfounded. Other than a $750,000 contribution in
2008, ‘we do not get any routine grants from the city,’ Yates said.
…Commissioner Ken Welch said he still hasn’t had time to review
the hundreds of pages of documents that were hand delivered 24
hours before Tuesday’s vote. Yates said the sale of the aquarium’s
land to the city was a show of commitment to a long-standing
partnership rather than an affront to the church. The church’s
reaction, he said, was unwarranted. ‘We didn’t get into this to have
an argument with anybody,’ Yates said. ‘When we had property to
sell, we sold the property to our partner. That’s it. … We’re very
disappointed in the approach the church has taken in this regard.
It didn’t need to be done, and it’s unfortunate, but our desire is we
do our work and we do our mission and we move on.’” (Tampa Bay
Times, 04/27/17)
School accidentally hired Church of Scientology-backed
group to teach drug education
“After a drug-related tragedy, administrators at California’s
Santa Monica High School decided the school needed a drug
education program. But the school went cold turkey on its
new drug education program after just three seminars when
parents realized the program was actually run by the Church
of Scientology. …The Foundation [for a Drug Free World]
reportedly led three seminars for students over several weeks,
before hosting a workshop with approximately 200 parents
on May 9. It was during this meet-up that parents reportedly
began questioning the group that was leading regular seminars
in the public school. While the Foundation does not advertise
its affiliation with Scientology, its connections with the church
are evident in its publicly available tax documents, and have
drawn significant media attention since the Foundation was
launched in 2006. A number of parents, made newly aware
of the group’s Scientology ties, reportedly complained to the
school’s principal, who decided to cut short the drug program
this month. The school district did not return a requests [sic] for
comment on Sunday. …A school district spokesperson told the
Hollywood Reporter that the school’s principal had ‘fully vetted this
organization and felt that it would be excellent for our students.’
Despite being sponsored by the religious organization, ‘the
presentations and materials do not have any reference or mention
of Scientology.’ …The Foundation has previously been ousted
from public schools in New York City, where it administered
a similar anti-drug program until its ties to Scientology were
revealed. In 2015, the Foundation boasted of lecturing at 30 New
York City public schools, as well as with the New York City Police
Department’s youth programs, where it reportedly led anti-drug
training for school safety officers.” (Daily Beast, 05/14/17)
Court orders Scientology church leader and members
detained in St. Petersburg, Russia
“A court in St. Petersburg on June 8 ordered the spiritual leader of
the city’s branch of the Church of Scientology held in detention
for two months. …Ivan Matsitsky, the church leader, was among
five members of the church arrested on June 6 during a raid on
the organization’s offices in St. Petersburg. …A Federal Security
Service (FSB) investigator told the court that the church’s business
activities, including offering commercial courses and scientology
programs, had netted 276 million rubles ($4.84 million), which
he called ‘a massive scale.’ In 2015, a court ordered the Church of
Scientology’s Moscow operation to be dissolved, saying it could
not be considered a religious organization.” (RadioFreeEurope/
RadioLiberty, 06/09/17)
Cult leader Tony Alamo dies former members of ministry
describe freedom, relief
“Evangelist and cult leader Tony Alamo died Tuesday in a prison
hospital in North Carolina. Alamo, whose real name was Bernie
Lazar Hoffman, was sentenced to 175 years in prison in 2009
for transporting young girls across state lines to have sex. Some
girls, as young as 8 years old, had been forced to become Alamo’s
‘wives.’ Alamo, 82, died at Federal Medical Center in Butner, N.C.,
according to an email from Justin Long, a spokesman for the
Federal Bureau of Prisons. Long said his office couldn’t reveal the
cause of death. … Former Alamo followers claimed in federal
court filings that they had been brainwashed, imprisoned,
routinely beaten, starved as punishment for perceived
wrongdoing, and forced to work long hours without pay—often
to make sequined denim jackets that were sold to Hollywood
stars. … ‘The victims I’ve spoken with are feeling a new sense of
freedom,’ Carter said. ‘A couple of them weren’t even sure this
day would come. They were raised to believe Tony Alamo was
a prophet and that he spoke for God. In some cases, their own
parents handed them over to Alamo rather than face eternal
damnation for disobeying the “prophet.”’ …‘In the end, Alamo
was nothing more than a narcissistic pedophile who wrapped
his sadistic abuse in the cloak of religion.’ … Rebecca Gay, 42,
who now lives in Georgia, spent the first 14 years of her life at
the compound on Georgia Ridge, just north of Dyer. She posted
a message Wednesday on Facebook about Alamo’s death. …
Dorothy Curry, 72, of Fort Smith, said she had mixed emotions.
‘I don’t rejoice, but I’m kind of glad,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to
celebrate somebody’s death. I’m not jumping up and down. ...
We were all hurt by that ministry—spiritual abuse is what you
call it. Some people have gotten over it and some haven’t.’ …
Tony Alamo was born Sept. 20, 1934, in Joplin, Mo [sic]. His father
was a Jewish immigrant from Romania who, Alamo claimed,
had been dance instructor for Rudolf Valentino, according to the
Encyclopedia of Arkansas History and Culture. … Alamo claimed he
recorded a hit record single in the early 1960s called ‘Little Yankee
Girl’ and was even asked to manage musical acts including the
Beatles, the Doors, and the Rolling Stones. There is no evidence
of those claims. … While in a business meeting in Beverly Hills,
Alamo claimed, Jesus came to him and told him to preach about
Christ’s second coming. He and Susan, who was also of Jewish
descent, converted to Christianity and began a Hollywood street
ministry, preaching particularly to drug addicts, alcoholics and
prostitutes. In the mid-1970s, they moved the ministry to western
Arkansas, where Susan Alamo had grown up. … Alamo was found
guilty July 24, 2009, on 10 counts of taking underage girls across
state lines for sex. Four months later, he was sentenced to 175
years in prison and fined $250,000. In February 2014, a Miller
County judge awarded $525 million in damages to seven former
members of Tony Alamo Christian Ministries. It was the largest
