In October of 1989, a private detective was called into the Church of Scientology's offices in Los Angeles and asked to conduct an investigation in Northern California. Ted Heisig, a non-Scientologist based in Orange County, said he was led into a room and shown five file cabinets filled with documents Scientology had been collecting for years. The subject: Werner Erhard, founder of the worldwide self-awareness movement known as est. "They had contacts (in the file cabinets) dating back to his childhood ...

A man who called a news conference Monday in Los Angeles on the 13th anniversary of the Jonestown massacre told reporters that he had falsely claimed to be a survivor of the Guyana tragedy in order to raise "hundreds of thousands of dollars" for the Cult Awareness Network in Chicago. Gary Scarff said that network personnel encouraged him to tell untrue stories about surviving the blood bath that claimed 914 lives in order to finance their cult deprogramming work. Cynthia Kisser, ...

A four-year investigation into the negligent practices of a former Vacaville dentist has left two dentists without their licenses and two more reprimanded by the Board of Dental Examiners. Former dentist Gregory Hughes' license was revoked because of "numerous counts of unprofessional conduct, including gross negligence, incompetence, repeated negligent acts, dishonesty, fraud, deceit and patient adandonment, involving 15 orthodontic patients," according to the board's press release distributed Tuesday. Hughes, who made waves in the local dental community in the mid-1980s with ...

The Church of Scientology is a "church like any other church," a Vancouver politician said yesterday. Social Credit MLA John Reynolds said he doesn't understand why there is so much fuss over Narconon's links to Scientology. "They (Narconon) have operated here in B.C for many years, and I think they have a reputation of doing a good job," Reynolds said. Reynolds recently wrote a letter to Narconon praising the program on its silver anniversary. The letter was included in a package ...

Two local teenagers who raised money for Narconon — a drug rehabilitation program linked to the Church of Scientology — say they were told they'd make more money fund-raising than going to school this fall. Adam Blackburn and Dale Fairfax, who are no longer fund-raising for Narconon, said their supervisor told them they likely wouldn't want to go back to school if they continued to work as salesmen. "He said 'You won't be going back to school after you see the ...

About 30 teenagers hired to raise funds for Narconon — a drug rehabilitation program linked to the Church of Scientology — picketed The Sun's offices yesterday to protest news reports on Narconon and the church last week. Several teenagers — accompanied by an adult spokesman bearing press kits — complained a recent Sun story linking Narconon to the alleged cult left the perception the teen salespeople are linked to the cult as well. "All we were trying to do was get ...

If you have a drug problem, Narconon isn't the answer, some experts say. "As far as I'm concerned, it's bad news, and I would not advise anyone to go near it," says UCLA psychiatry professor Dr. Louis West, who has studied the church since 1950, when it was L. Ron Hubbard's Dianetics, and not a recognized religion. "If someone needs help, they (Narconon) are taking the time and money away from a program that could actually help them," West said yesterday. ...

The director of public affairs for the Church of Scientology in Western Canada denied yesterday it misled about 60 Winnipeg teenagers, hired to raise funds for a drug rehabilitation program linked to the church. "I just think it's very much a tempest in a teapot. This (project) employed a lot of kids," Robbie Hepburn, who flew in to Winnipeg from British Columbia, said. "Yes, there's a connection, but it's not some kind of covert or bad connection." Just because Narconon uses ...

When Narconon comes to town, the Church of Scientology — and trouble — follows, residents of Newkirk, Okla. warned yesterday. Newkirk civic leaders were threatened and harassed by the controversial church and its private investigators after they opposed a Narconon treatment centre set up on Indian territory near the small, rural town in 1989, Mayor Gary Bilger said. "We had three investigators in our little town of 2,300 off and on for weeks," he said. "My little boy was 11 years ...

CLEARWATER — The Church of Scientology is facing another lawsuit in the midst of an expensive nationwide campaign to bolster its image. The sect, which maintains its spiritual headquarters in Clearwater, has spent millions of dollars in recent weeks for advertising in the newspaper USA Today. In the lawsuit, a former sect member claims the church is a fraud; owes him money for counseling services he never used; and has cut him off from his two daughters, who still follow Scientology. ...

MILAN, Italy (AP) — A Milan court has acquitted 67 Scientology followers of charges ranging from criminal association to tax evasion, but it convicted six others of deceiving confused people. While not ruling that the group is a church, as Scientologists contend, the court said Wednesday that it is a non-profit organization and thus need not report to the Italian tax office. The trial was brought after a five-year investigation into activities of Scientology centers in Italy after disenchanted followers filed ...