Clearwater Sun alum says City Desk clerk was a spy for Scientology

All acknowledgement to Poynter's Jim Romenesko, whose blog alerted me to the Reporter's Notebook Web site, which contains a compelling collection of memories by alums of the long gone Clearwater Sun newspaper. While I'm not so sure about the contention that a newspaper 25 miles away can't provide comprehensive coverage of a community, it is illuminating and sobering to read about the Sun's glory days.

A particular standout is the essay crafted by Mike Pride, a well-regarded, recently-retired editor of the Concord Monitor, who worked at the Sun through the '60s and '70s. He writes that the newspaper didn't learn for years that the reason Scientologists seemed to know so much about their efforts to investigate them, is because a clerk at the paper was a spy for the church.

Pride writes: "Besides their secretive ways, two things made covering the Scientologists hard. First, they were confrontational and unpleasant (Hubbard’s doctrine described journalists as "Merchants of Chaos"). Second, our city desk clerk was a Scientology spy. We wrote nearly 200 stories during the year after we disclosed the Scientologists’ presence, and they always seemed to know what we were up to. They publicly humiliated Tom Coat, a desk editor who had agreed to go to Tampa to take the first Scientology course for a Sun series (his outing made for a better series, actually). They attacked Sableman’s reputation. They threatened lawsuits. With pages-long accounts of "errors," they challenged the accuracy of every substantial story we did. And more than once Fred Rock, a Scientology press-office hack, stood over my desk badgering me as I edited a story for that day’s edition. One morning I got in a shoving match with Rock. We knew the newsroom had been infiltrated, but we never guessed the spy was the friendly, efficient, sympathetic "June Phillips." We learned this only years later from FBI files."

Read the rest here.

Comments

[Quentin Hubbard]

Ron Hubbard's justification for committing crimes and harassment is expressed in his statement, "Never fear to hurt another in a just cause." That could just as well be the motto of a terrorist group.

[beltwaybandit]

Russian Law?

Good one.

[Russian Law]

Russian Law expressly states that Scientology is a dangerous cult. For instance, the Order no.254 of Russian Health Ministry directly prohibits promotion and use of Scientology and Dianetics methods. The official "Handbook of destructive religious cults" also states that CoS is the "Destructive cult of satanic orientation"

[Hitler anyone?]

Hubbard had fondness for the number 8 and used it extensively in scientology, as in Hubbard's books named Technique 88, Scientology 8-80, and one called 8-8008. There are also 8 dynamics, and the their gradation chart of awareness, is set up on 8s too, there are 8 levels to "Clear" and then 8 levels to OT8..now jump back to the 1930's, Hitler's SS - SS is the closest approximation in letters to 88. Note the colors and feeling of the Scientology Management logo below from their own pages.

Long before Hitler's SS gained power over the German government, to keep from getting into trouble for saying, "Heil Hitler" in their correspondences, they would sign them 88, because "H" is the 8th letter of the alphabet, hence 88 became the secret signature, at the end of letters sent my supporters and members of the Nazi Party, for
Heil Hitler.

Deaths in Scientology's Fort Harrison Hotel
Flag is the abbreviation of Flag Land Base, Scientology's presence in Clearwater. The first building they bought was the 272-room Fort Harrison hotel.

Lisa McPherson (36)
Room 174?

On December 5, 1995, Lisa McPherson died. Scientology had held her against her will for 17 days. During that time, she tried to leave, became violent, and refused to eat. At the time of her death, she had bruises and abrasions on her body, and she had lost over 30 pounds in just 17 days.

Heribert Pfaff (31)
Room 758

According to the records, Heribert P. died august 28, 1988, during the night from a heavy epileptic attack. He hit his head on the night table. The scientology doctor reports that he prescribed vitamins for his patient -dispite regular attacks- in stead of treating him with proper medication. Such medication was indeed not detected in his blood during the post-mortem examination.

Josephus Havenith (45)
Room 771

An autopsy report lists his death as "probable drowning" but notes that his head was not under water. He died in February 1980 at the Scientology Fort Harrison Hotel in a bathtub filled with water so hot it had burned his skin off.

Unknown
Boilerroom

1989, dead in the basement, next to the heating boilers. Carbon-monoxide poisoning . Ex-scientologists have alleged in affidavits and a declaration that the boiler room was used for Scientology's Rehabilitation Project Force (gulag).

[Torsten]

SCIENTOLOGY: Operational constructs: a blending, with repetitive reinforcement (a form of hypnosis), i.e., indoctrination of the following:

1] Pavlovian conditioning
Brainwashing — Cultist reinforcement, separation from society

2] Dale Carnegism
Positive reinforcement — Cultist reinforcement, separation from society

3] The Emperor’s New Clothes
Fantasy and make believe — Cultist mystique / ideology, separation from society

[Alice]

Scientology is the biggest threat to freedom that this world has faced. OBL could learn espionage & terrorism tricks from this scary, insular,and deadly organisation. Which is why I boycott Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Jason Lee etc. Why put money in the pockets of the cult and allow the continued destruction of Clearwater?

[jups]

Sounds like you were a casualty of Scientology's ‘Project Normandy’. Creepy operation names, media and government infiltration; Scientology couldn't be more Orwellian if it tried. It's B grade movie crazy.

[Royal Prince Xenu]

There are those of us who "yawn" because it comes as no surprise. "Operation Snow White" was officially terminated, but like "Fair Game", the cult continues to practise it.

[LaNon]

Scientology is a dangerous cult and it is high time that authorities across the nation and around the world begin to take seriously this threat to free speech. I hope to read more details of this infiltration in the national dailies and weekly news magazines. This is an important story to tell.

We remember that scientology was behind the largest infiltration of key federal government agencies when they worked to manipulate their tax-exempt status as a "church."

[Body Thetan]

Who would yawn at the revelation that COS would plant a spy in a local newspaper and glowingly review a Hubbard quote? Could it be . . . a Scientologist?

How many spies are still left in Clearwater government, news, police?? Bet you can't eat just one!

[mja]

Can someone please answer a question for me:

How much property does the Church of Scientology actually own in downtown Clearwater now?

Just curious. Was wondering what the tax revenue would be otherwise...

While outreach programs are generally helpful, maybe it's a good thing COS isn't doing that...it would be an opportunity to proselytize to a vulnerable population.

[Gabe's Going To Even The Score Soon]

Yes, this comes as no surprise. They got their start in Clearwater as a shady, suspicious organization.

Having clowns -- actors, but in this case , clowns -- trying to establish Scientology in Hollywood has not done much for their image either. Tom and John are fairly pathetic representatives, as is most of Tinseltown.

When the smoke clears, new names will surface, and don't be surprised by who gets 'outed' in the current Clearwater political scene.

[Quaoar]

If an investigative journalist wants to wind his/her spurs, investigate why, just why, the Fed's cases against Scientology in the Snow White crimes resulted in very little damage to the cult of Scientology.

In particular, why L Ron Hubbard was not hunted down and imprisoned with his wife, who took the fall.

Why, given the thousands of documents removed from Scientology offices, were not more charges filed for their crimes against their membership?

Why so many obvious crimes documented in the files the FBI removed were never prosectuted?

Q

[Dave]

Scientology doesn't build homeless shelters and soup kitchens, because Scientologists believe that if you are poor, it's your fault, and only L. Ron Hubbard can help you.

So all they do is hawk Dianetics, in the hope they can find a few more suckers out there.

Their pool of candidates is drying up though. Too many people know their dirty little secrets now. Only the extremely gullible, the paranoid, or those with remarkably inflated egos are susceptible to Hubbard's cookbook of lies.

[JeraldR]

I agree with you Reality, but the people of Clearwater can also reclaim their city.
I think a great first step would be to forbid off duty police from working for them. It's impossible for the police to do their jobs fairly when someone other than taxpayers are paying a good part of their income.

Do the people of Clearwater even know they have lost the right to protest in some area's of downtown?

scientology asked for and recived special no protest zones against a now disbanded group. Yet the court order remains in place.

It's one thing to lose your downtown tax base because they are buying up downtown. Another to lose your civil rights to this so called religion.

Ask scientology, where are your good works? Show us the homeless shelters and soup kitchen's. Show us the health clinic's for the poor.

But scientology can't show them because they don't have any. All they bring to Clearwater is darkness.

again, learn more at xenu.net and xenutv.com

[Reality]

They took over a long time ago, where have you been Jerald?

Ask Gabe how it felt to speak out against them....

[JeraldR]

This should worry the people of Clearwater even more now as scientology has had decades now to get it's people into not only businesses but also your goverment offices.
Learn more about the takeing over of Clearwater at xenu.net and xenutv.com

"Name one church that doesn't subscribe to rediculous stories about where we came from or why they need followers."

Did you even read the article? The article is about infiltration and spies, not the beliefs of Scientologists.

[Dave]

To become a Scientologist in this day and age reveals a very strong deficit in critical thinking skills, and an extreme susceptability to basic psychological and hypnotic tricks.

They are to be pitied more than they should be ridiculed. Sad, gullible fools.

[Anonymous]

"Name one church that doesn't subscribe to rediculous stories about where we came from or why they need followers."

you scientologists crack me up. No one cares that you believe in the made up story of Xenu or in non-existent body thetans. What people are against is the evil slimy tactics of your cult, case in point- a spy-entilogist (If I may so say) at the city desk.

the cult disgusts me. Poor Clearwater citizens! How that cult is just destroying that town.

[Peter Mansell]

Does YOUR church have an INTELLIGENCE DIVISION?

The CULT of scientology does...

[Ron S]

Operation Snow White was (is?) world-wide, and even the actions against just the Clearwater Sun spread as far as Toronto, Canada.
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/MediaNews/2007/10/28/4612417.html

Name one church that doesn't subscribe to rediculous stories about where we came from or why they need followers.

Be careful what you say about the cult oooops church of Scientology they are really sweet church going evil oooops again nice people and don't get the least bit offended when some thing unkind is written about them.

[Kerry]

It sounds like this was in connection with "Project Normandy" (the planned take over of Clearwater, Florida by the Church of Scientology by infiltrating government offices and media centers, that was uncovered by the FBI during a raid in the late 70s.)

[Kerry]

Given the scale of government infiltration by Scientologists during "Operation Snow White" and "Operation Normandy", infiltration of a local newspaper is small potatoes. It seems to be the modus operandi for the organization. Similar behavior has resulted in Scientology being banned in Greece and currently facing indictment in Belgium.

[Patrick]

I prefer laughing at them as they scurry across Ft. Harrison like little animals.

[drinklime]

why anyone gives 2 craps about Scientology really baffles me

[Dave]

I bet they do at the SPT and the TT even today.

[markus]

Yawn.....
The best part is the description as "Merchants of Chaos"....quite apropos. "No bad news bad enough not to print".

[markus]

Yawn.....
The best part is the description as "Merchants of Chaos"....quite apropos. "No bad news bad enough not to print".

[markus]

Yawn.....
The best part is the description as "Merchants of Chaos"....quite apropos. "No bad news bad enough not to print".

[Lin]

Well, I'm not surprised to learn this about the Scientologists and they aren't the only "church" that plants spies either. But any organization that calls itself a "church" and spies on people is one sicko institution.