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Clearwater
Sun
March 11, 1979
Scientologists plot city takeover
by Richard Leiby, Sun Staff Writer
WASHINGTON - The Church of Scientology of California had big plans for
The unsuspecting community of Clearwater when it arrived there in November
1975.
In essence, the sect wanted to control the city's politicians, media
And religious groups.
To that end, the Scientologists have evidently failed. Hardly any
Clearwater resident is not skeptical of the sect's proclaimed goals
and "reform" activities.
Nevertheless, the church has purchased $8 million in Clearwater
buildings and land and continues to work for the potential to exert the
political pressure it needs to gain acceptance.
Documents released here, as well as activities of Clearwater
Scientology groups, indicate the sect has no intention of letting up in its quest
To somehow "take control."
In December 1975, top church leaders were plotting to use the United
Churches of Florida, their front group, as an instrument to "make
allies of religious and local government opinion leaders," according to the
documents.
The next step, Scientology correspondence shows, was to attempt to
discredit or alienate groups or persons who did not support the United
Churches.
"If we unite all groups into an interplay and use all forces... and
channel them, we have a very big chance of winning. So we can and
must take the lead. And we will ourselves develop many leaders," the
documents quote leaders as saying.
But secrecy was the prerequisite for achieving the goal, and that
meant controlling local media. As one guardian order states, Scientologists
must begin to "proof up ourselves against any threat by taking control
of the key points in the Clearwater area."
Of course, once local papers began investigations that culminated in
the disclosure of the Scientology link to the United Churches in January
1976, that part of the plan was useless.
Scientology, criticized in other parts of the nation and the world as
a mind-control cult, certainly was not to be welcomed with open arms by
political and religious leaders in Clearwater.
The failure of those early public relations attempts apparently led to
the development of a news scheme: Operation "Snow White", part of a larger
worldwide Scientology drive to eliminate all negative publicity about
the group.
Documents show that in November 1976, and in the following months,
Scientologists sought to uncover what they said were "false" sect
activity reports allegedly contained in the files of scores of local, county
and state government agencies.
The documents indicate the targets included the Clearwater and Dunedin
city commissions, the mayors' offices, the city attorneys' offices,
police departments and even planning and zoning boards. Also put under
surveillance were county agencies, including the health department,
the department of consumer affairs and the school system, according to the
documents.
The cult demanded numerous state agencies - even the Division of
Hotels and Restaurants - relinquish Scientology files. And the documents
indicate Scientologists were planted in the agencies to ensure
compliance.
In most cases - the Dunedin mayor's office, for example, no files on
Scientology existed, but church officials vowed to press on.
"These guys are clean," a sect member wrote in appraising the Dunedin
mayor's office. "But the Dunedin Police Department and city attorney
definitely are not."
No documents indicated why the latter offices were not "clean."
Even a concerned citizen's letter to the Clearwater City Commission
was reason enough for a full-scale probe. A Clearwater couple wrote on
Feb. 17, 1976, that they were suspicious of the Scientologists' motives and
wondered what could be done. The church officials who obtained a copy
of the letter termed that attitude a "false report... which could stand
to be corrected."
The documents now on public file at the U.S. Courthouse here do not
precisely detail the xtent of the Scientologists' attempt to
infiltrate offices in Clearwater. But larger scale disclosures are expected to
result as thousands of more documents are cleared for release by U.S.
District Judge Charles R. Richey.
Because the most recent documents on file here are dated 1976 and
1977, it also is unclear whether clandestine "Snow White" operations continue
today in the old Fort Harrison hotel and Bank of Clearwater buildings.
But recently, Scientology-affiliated groups have launched local
extensive investigative campaigns against private agencies and some state
officials.
The "elimination of false reports" is the goal of the Clearwater-based
American Citizens for Honesty in Government, which as boasted recently
of its investigations into State Department of Transportation and local
IRS and FBI activities.
ACHG is headed by Milton Wolfe, who arrived in Clearwater in late 1975
as a spokesman for the United Churches, the Scientology front group.
Another group, the Committee for the Protection of Mental Patients'
Rights, has probed alleged abuse at local hospitals such as Anclote
Psychiatric Center and Horizon Hospital.
Both groups say they are dedicated to "social reform."
But critics, such as former Clearwater mayor Gabe Cazares, himself a
target of a Scientology smear effort, call such groups a "front for
continuing illegal Scientology activities."
"They exploit people and intimidate public officials for political
ends that further the goals of (L. Ron) Hubbard, their illustrious
founder," Cazares said earlier this week. "They have become a politically
fascist organization."
A documented dated Nov. 4, 1974, and signed by Mary Sue Hubbard, the
founder's wife, explained to church officials how Scientology must
avoid being labeled a political group. The solution: "All political
activity is to be carried on via front groups."
While local church spokesmen say they cannot speak for convicted
leaders such as Mrs. Hubbard, the documents make clear there always has been a
connection between the guardian offices in England, Los Angeles and
presumably Clearwater.
An undated memo from Jane Kember, the worldwide guardian, indicted for
conspiracy and awaiting extradition in Englad, tells of a
"nonexistance" policy to be used when eliminating "false reports." In Scientology
terms, this apparently means church members should do all they can to fight
negative publicity. The letterhead on Miss Kember's memo reads: "The
Church of Scientology of California - Your Guardian Angel To Complete
Success."
Cazares has said the only way the Clearwater community can fight
Scientology is to "alienate them completely. Ostracize them. This
will destroy their power."
Such vehement resistance apparently was anticipated by Hubbard
himself. In a 1976 policy statement included in a package summarizing local
"Snow White" efforts Hubbard declared:
"This one we win. No matter was skill, exactitude, cleverness or
boldness is required, this one we win.
"We never had any real opponents, technically or ethically. Now we
will have a long hard-fought battle and we will have no opponents at all."
Scientologists find few sympathizers after latest revelations
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