Explain your vote, judge tells Maryland county that denied Scientology rehab | The Underground Bunker Excerpt: We’re posting the judge’s order so you can see it and judge for yourself. What he did was “remand” the matter back to the council, telling the council that he can’t render a decision in the matter because the council hasn’t provided enough information. Nicklas argues that when the council made its vote on June 2, it was acting like a court — making a “quasi-judicial” decision after holding hearings and hearing evidence. Asked to render a decision whether to uphold or reverse that vote, Nicklas says he can’t do so until the council more fully explains why it voted the way it did and what facts and which laws it relied on to do so. Is that good for Scientology? Its attorney, not surprisingly, said so, and NBC agreed. We’d like to hear from our legal experts about their own assessments of where this now stands. By having to explain itself, will the county council then make it easier for Judge Nicklas to declare that Scientology was discriminated against? Or will it give Judge Nicklas the facts he needs to affirm the council’s vote? We really don’t know, and we think it’s premature to declare victory for either side. Here’s the judge’s ruling. Tell us what you think. http://tonyortega.org/2016/01/15/ex...aryland-county-that-denied-scientology-rehab/
So, essentially the judge say "too tl,dr, I'm a lurkmoar". Really not just a good or a bad thing, right?
Aaaaand it's gone. Did someone at NBC notice that there were problems with the story and yank it? The video is still up for now: http://www.nbcwashington.com/news/l...ling-in-Maryland_Washington-DC-365351411.html
fuck! If it doesn't go in their favor they are going to sue again. costing tax payers in Md a heap load. The residents have to be made aware of what is going on and how they are paying for this. The COS is wasting the council 's time and tax payer's dollars. What did the COS have on this judge? Or what did they pay him? Hey COS, sell the land off and leave already you fuckers.
Council votes to approve historic designation of farm By Danielle E. Gaines, Frederick News-Post The Frederick County Council voted unanimously Tuesday night to add a 130-acre farm near Mount Pleasant to the county’s Register of Historic Places. The Capt. Samuel Cock Farmstead, off Dance Hall Road, will be listed in the register as an example of a county farm in the late 1700s. The council was asked to explain their vote, in light of the council’s prior disapproval for the historic designation of Trout Run, a 40-acre camp on Catoctin Mountain. The owners of that land sought the designation in an effort to open a Narconon center there. The plans were scrutinized by members of the public in part because of the program’s affiliation with the Church of Scientology. A court case over the council’s vote is pending. Council members said they believed the farmstead, which includes a house built in the 1790s, possessed more historic significance. Source: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/ne...cle_cdf61ac2-25d6-5410-b89d-2ca60525cd9c.html
Bill round-up: Frederick County Council considering medical marijuana zoning, school construction fees Frederick News-Post Excerpt: Here’s a look at what’s on the table: Historic designation Councilwoman Jessica Fitzwater has introduced a bill that would change the county’s zoning ordinance to narrow which properties may join the Frederick County Register of Historic Places and remove group homes as a use in historic properties. The bill comes after a six-month moratorium on new applications for properties seeking historic designation — which council members pursued after the controversial application by a Church of Scientology-owned camp on Catoctin Mountain — expired in December. When properties are deemed historic, they are eligible to use the land under certain “special exceptions” in the county’s zoning law. Fitzwater’s bill removes group homes as a special exception use for historic properties. The bill also deletes a reference to properties being listed on the National Register of Historic Places and Maryland Register of Historic Places. The current ordinance says that sites that can be considered for a special exception can be listed on either the national, state or county historic registers. The proposed bill will require inclusion on the local register only, which is recommended by the Frederick County Historic Preservation Commission and decided by the County Council. The bill is co-sponsored by Councilman Jerry Donald. http://www.fredericknewspost.com/ne...cle_64e2f485-4f23-567d-a599-303806ba8bf0.html
Group homes should not be allowed on historic properties, planning commission recommends Frederick News-Post The Frederick County Planning Commission recommended Wednesday that the County Council approve a zoning change that would prevent drug recovery programs from operating on historic properties. The recommendation comes in the wake of last year's fight over whether an affiliate of the Church of Scientology — Narconon — could use an old recreation camp in the Catoctin Mountains called Trout Run for a drug treatment center. The commission voted unanimously in favor of a County Council bill to remove group homes from the list of special-exception uses allowed on sites on the county's Register of Historic Places. The council has scheduled a third reading and likely will vote on the bill Feb. 16, but it may not settle what happens to Trout Run, and Narconon's plan for it. <snipped> Properties with historic designation may apply to the Board of Zoning Appeals for special-exception uses, and a group home has been among those allowed uses. If that use is eliminated and the county or court were to reverse the decision about Trout Run's historic register application, county planners were not sure Thursday what it would mean for Trout Run. “I simply don't know,” said Denis Superczynski, county planner. http://www.fredericknewspost.com/ne...cle_4902fc54-e8f2-5429-be63-e808042eed97.html
Stacy Murphy case heading for trial By Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, February 27, 2016 For several days, the Narconon watchdog website NarcononReviews.net and the Reaching For the Tipping Point forum were having server trouble and were down. But now they’re up and at NarcononReviews Mary McConnell has a piece about the unlawful deaths lawsuits and Scientology’s flagship operation in Oklahoma, Narconon Arrowhead. Mary reports that two of the cases have settled, and a third is on its way to trial. All three are being handled by former federal prosecutor Gary Richardson, who told Mary that the lawsuits regarding the deaths of Gabriel Graves, who died on October 26, 2011, and Hillary Holten, who died on April 11, 2012, have been settled and terms were not disclosed. Stacy Dawn Murphy, 20, died at the Narconon clinic on July 19, 2012, and Richardson told Mary that the case is nearing trial. We’ll try to get more information about that soon. Source and open comments: http://tonyortega.org/2016/02/27/augustine-how-scientology-makes-it-so-hard-to-get-your-money-back/
Scientology officials panicked about overdose death of star Narconon pupil: Boyfriend By Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, March 4, 2016 In November, we told you about the death of Tabatha Lynn Fauteux, a 26-year-old New Hampshire woman who was found dead in a Los Angeles apartment, apparently of a drug overdose. She had been staying at the apartment with a boyfriend for several weeks while the two of them underwent training in the Church of Scientology’s revamping of its drug rehab program, Narconon. Before they went to L.A. for the training, the two of them had been working together at Narconon’s clinic in Harlingen, Texas and had each been sober for about a year. Tabatha died on November 6, and for our story later that month, we talked to her father, Guy Fauteux, 52, who was still struggling to get details about his daughter’s death. He was unhappy that he was getting little information from Scientology and Narconon, and he also hadn’t heard from Los Angeles or California authorities. But he had heard from Tabatha’s friends that while she was in L.A. she had used an herbal drug known as kratom, a legal substance which produces a high something like the heroin addiction she had sought treatment for. As we pointed out in our story, there have been increasing reports of overdose deaths with kratom because it can be laced with powerful, synthetic drugs. Now, the Underground Bunker has spoken to Tabatha’s boyfriend, who was with her in Los Angeles. Guy Fauteux confirmed the young man’s identity for us, but we are holding back the boyfriend’s real name at his request and will refer to him as Nick. “The kratom is how it all started. There were employees at Narconon who introduced it to us,” Nick says. “It wasn’t what we thought it would be, and so then we went out and got the real thing. It wasn’t kratom that killed her. We had been using heroin.” Nick tells us that Scientology officials were well aware how bad it looked that two of Narconon’s star graduates, who had been brought to Los Angeles to help lead the rehab network’s overhaul, used heroin while staying on the church’s dime, with one of them ending up dead. But Nick says he’s angry about the way he and the Fauteux family and others are being treated in the wake of Tabatha’s death. “I want that place exposed. I can’t believe what they get away with and how manipulative and deceitful they are while they prey on the weak,” he says. “They have done some really messed up things to people I care about lately. I was able to handle what they did to me when I dealt with Tabby’s death, but to see what they are doing to others I am willing to do whatever I can to expose that organization.” Continued here: http://tonyortega.org/2016/03/04/sc...rdose-death-of-star-narconon-pupil-boyfriend/
While it might appear unimportant given what happened, also significant is: “When we went out there we were told we were going to get Sundays off. We were also getting paid — minimum wage — for 40 hours of work per week. But they kept us there for 72-hour weeks,” he says. “We finally did get our Sundays off, over their objections.” Gross wage and hour violation if they were hourly employees.
Trial set in New York on April 7 over Narconon drug rehab hiding connection to Scientology By Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, March 22, 2016 In September 2014, we told you about a lawsuit against a Scientology “Narconon” drug rehab facility in Florida that was filed by a New York couple, Heidi and Nathaniel Gore. At that time, the lawsuit had survived a challenge by Narconon’s attorneys, who said it didn’t make sense for the Florida rehab to be sued in a New York court. Here’s what we said about it then: They were convinced to send their family member to a Narconon center in Destin, Florida, but first they were asked to deposit $40,000 to “save a spot” for the patient. They did so, using their American Express card.But then, after dropping off their relative, they learned the truth — that the program isn’t about drug counseling, it’s about giving patients Scientology training.Upset, the Gores confronted a Narconon employee who told them the patient could leave and the fee would be pro-rated.The patient did leave just two days after arriving, but the Gores couldn’t get their money back.Responding to their lawsuit, the church filed a motion to dismiss, arguing that the Gores couldn’t sue in New York state court because the site of their so-called injury was in Florida. But Judge Carol R. Edmead disagreed — evidence showed that the Gores had paid the $40,000 from their American Express card while they were in New York, not Florida. We’re bringing it up again because just a few days ago, Judge Edmead set the case for trial in her New York court, and the date is coming up fast — April 7. Also, the Gores were asking for sanctions against the defendants, and they were making some pretty interesting allegations. They say that the owners of the particular Florida franchise they are suing dropped out of Scientology’s Narconon network in October 2013 and as a result were then instructed by the licensing company, Narconon International, to burn everything that said “Narconon” on it in a fire. That was the defendant’s explanation, anyway, for why they couldn’t respond to certain requests for information about Narconon and its ties to Scientology. Continued here: http://tonyortega.org/2016/03/22/tr...-drug-rehab-hiding-connection-to-scientology/
so then....errmmmm... fire is the COS's defense? Cool Here is a vid from that Narconon center with COB on the right giving orders. He does kind of look like him
Scientology files second action over Trout Run By Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, March 25, 2016 We’ve been keeping an eye on the unfolding mess in Frederick County, Maryland, where Scientology’s subsidiary, Social Betterment Properties International (SBPI) has been fighting over a $5 million parcel it bought and wants to put a Narconon drug rehab center on. After the county counsel voted not to put the parcel on its historic list, which would have given SBPI a loophole to put the center there, SBPI filed a complaint with the local district court. A judge asked the county to review its decision, and we’re still waiting for that to develop. In the meantime, SBPI has filed a second action. It didn’t like that while the first action is ongoing, the county proposed an ordinance that would close the loophole SBPI wanted to exploit. So now SBPI is suing for records about the ordinance and how it emerged. Our thanks to Mary McConnell for obtaining a copy of the latest court complaint. You may enjoy the usual rhetoric about religious discrimination in it. Continued here: http://tonyortega.org/2016/03/25/at...reatens-lawyer-running-anti-narconon-website/
I guess they are up to their good old play-book and try to start more fires than the town council can put out at once.
Your proprietor talking Scientology on the Ed Opperman Report By Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, March 22, 2016 Private investigator Ed Opperman had us on his Saturday evening radio show last night, and we talked about Scientology for two full hours. He stumped us with a couple of his questions, but all in all it was a lot of fun.
Scientologists Take Maryland Zoning Spat to Court | Courthouse News Service Blaming Scientology opponents for blocking its opening of a Narconon drug-rehabilitation center, the church's real estate arm filed suit for public records. Filed earlier this month in Frederick County Circuit Court, the Church of Scientology affiliate Social Betterment Properties International says it has had its eye trained for at least three years on converting "Trout Run," a piece of property at 12929 Catoctin Hollow Road, into a Narconon facility. A 40-acre property near Thurmont, Md., Trout Run lies in the Cunningham Falls State Park, just 7 miles from the famed presidential retreat Camp David. Social Betterment says designation of Trout Run by the Frederick County Historic Register "is a crucial step" toward opening the Narconon, but that its religious affiliation has denied it a fair shake in the zoning process. Frederick County Attorney John Mathias emphasized in an email that Social Betterment's lawsuit does not raise any "planning, zoning or land-use issues." Before the dispute became a referendum on Scientology, Social Betterment says it had made headway in its 2013 application for a special exemption that would let it convert the existing historic site at Trout Run into an addiction-treatment facility and group home. In addition to a 2013 finding of eligibility by the county Historic Preservation Commission, Social Betterment says the county board of appeals unanimously granted its special-exemption application that year. The commission recommended Trout Run's placement on the historic register to the county council in 2014, and the placement earned support last year from a county planning board, according to the complaint. Social Betterment says critics of Scientology changed the tenor of the case once the council held public hearings on the matter in April 2015. "I don't know what you all know about that, but that is a cult," one resident said of Scientology at the first hearing, as quoted in Social Betterment's complaint. "Please do not allow this nefarious organization to set up shop in our beautiful county," one email to a council member said, as repeated in the complaint. Another allegedly warned that "the Narconon program is notorious for it [sic] use of highly questionable, if not illegal, Scientology methods to treat its inmates." The council denied placing Trout Run on the historic register in June, and Social Betterment says the council simultaneously voted for the county executive to put future applications in this vein on ice. The county executive signed the moratorium on future applications for placement of properties on the historic register one week later, June 9, according to the complaint. Social Betterment says the council went a step farther earlier this year with its introduction of a bill that would eliminate "group home" use at properties listed on the Historic Register. "The bill is targeted at a single entity, Social Betterment, and a single proposed use, group homes, because of improper and illegal bias ... [toward] the Church of Scientology," according to the complaint. Even council member Billy Shreve noted in June, the complaint states, that Social Betterment's "application has been clouded because the record does reflect that there was testimony based on Narconon and Scientology." In addition to appealing the council's decision last year, Social Betterment asked the county for various communications on the bill. The suit challenging this document production is dated March 9. Social Betterment says it paid $1,218 for document production but that the county answered its records request with 27 emails missing attachments, and 62 documents that included unexplained partially or wholly blank pages. The county also "withheld 59 documents claiming they were privileged." Mathias, the Frederick County attorney, has defended the response to Social Betterment's records request under the Maryland Public Information Act, or MPIA. "The county has provided a substantial number of documents to Social Betterment," Mathias said in an email. "For a limited number of documents, the County has complied with the MPIA by asserting one or more of the many exceptions to disclosure contained in the MPIA. The county is confident that a court will uphold its assertion of these exceptions." Jennifer Kneeland and Marguerite DeVoll, attorneys for Social Betterment with the firm Linowes and Blocher in Bethesda, Md., have not returned requests for comment. The complaint notes that Trout Run was "developed in the 1920s as a fishing camp for an affluent family [and] stands today as a remarkably well-preserved, early 20th century mountain retreat with beautifully crafted mason-work and wood buildings." Two weeks after the lawsuit's filing, two groups filed a federal trademark complaint in Fort Wayne, Ind., over Narconon marketing. Taking aim at 40 defendants, the National Association of Forensic Counselors and the American Academy of Certified Forensic Counselors dba American College of Certified Forensic Counselors say the Church of Scientology, David Miscavige and Narconon International are misusing their marks, certifications and logos. Source: http://www.courthousenews.com/2016/03/28/scientologists-take-md-zoning-spat-to-court.htm
"Social Betterment says it had made headway in its 2013 application for a special exemption that would let it convert the existing historic site at Trout Run into an addiction-treatment facility and group home." errrrr.... they do not treat drug addiction. It's like a place calling themselves a drug treatment facility and their treatment is hitting someone in the head with a bat every time one of their "patients" wanted to "use". Would it stop them from using? Well, yeah, if they weren't offered more drugs by the people who are hitting them with the bats and they don't die in the process. Would it be illegal for a "treatment" center to hit people with bats and offer their patients drugs? Hell yeah! Because it is harmful and illegal. duh.... But so is putting an addict in a sauna for hours a day for days at a time with a compromised liver and feeding them high doses of niacin and making them swallow oil. Not to mention that the patients were tricked into thinking they would actually get help for their addiction. Nope! they will not get proper help. Which is fraud. Not told they will be taught Scientology and that Narconon is actually ALL Scientology. Which is also fraud. Patients being told they are being helped by medically trained staff. Which is a bold faced lie. Which is also fraud. Telling potential patients the center is accredited, when they are not. Which is fraud. Telling potential patients that treatment is covered by their insurance companies. Which most are not. Which is fraud. And illegally billing insurance companies. Which is fraud. So tell me, what is wrong with this picture? I BLAME "THE POWERS THAT BE" FOR NOT PUTTING A STOP TO THIS ABUSIVE PRACTICE THAT HAS ALREADY KILLED MANY PEOPLE AND WHILE I AM AT IT ... WHY ARE THEY STILL OPEN?
The Stacy Murphy case rolls on By Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, March 30, 2016 An update and correction: We talked yesterday with Gary Richardson, the former federal prosecutor who has been handling some of the wrongful-death lawsuits resulting from patients dying at Scientology’s flagship drug rehab facility, Narconon Arrowhead, in 2011 and 2012. While the others have settled, the lawsuit over the death of Stacy Murphy, who died in July 2012 and whose death set off the largest press reaction, is still working its way through the court system. Earlier, we had repeated something reported elsewhere that the Murphy lawsuit had been set for trial. But after checking with the clerk of the court and following up with Richardson, we have learned that that’s not the case. Gary tells us that he’s still taking depositions, and plans to file a pre-trial motion in May. But even though no trial has been set, this is the one he’d really like to get before a jury, Gary says. We’d really like to see that, if it happens. http://tonyortega.org/2016/03/30/sc...anta-on-saturday-can-you-feel-the-excitement/
There's another overview of this, here: Church of Scientology claims religious discrimination in Trout Run case By Patti Borda Mullins, Frederick News Post http://www.fredericknewspost.com/ne...cle_92d67ec7-9108-5820-a4dc-a0ba0e0222e5.html
NarCONon is not supposed to be a religious organisation, so why does NarCONon now scream religious discrimination? Hey Ronbots! You can't have it both ways. If NarCONon is "faith-based", then there is no science behind it, so you cannot file insurance claims. If it is not "faith-based" that is, not scientology, then you can't scream about religious discrimination. A high court needs to knock scientology off its high horse.
Hudson couple seeks justice against friend of deceased daughter | WMUR ABC 9 Krystal Gentley charged with theft by deception from scam charity account For Hudson couple Guy and Sheila Fauteux, their nightmare started in November, when their 26-year-old daughter, Tabatha, was found dead in California, where she was completing training to become a drug addiction counselor. But sadly, it did not end there. Within hours of Tabatha’s death, her friend of eight years, Krystal Gentley, of Nashua, started a GoFundMe account to help her parents bring Tabatha home to New Hampshire. In their grief the Fauteuxs welcomed the support. “I had thought that was nice of her to try to help out, I really did,” said Guy Fauteux. “So we had friends and family that just started donating into the account,” Sheila Fauteux said. “I had talked to Krystal many times, thanking her for what she did. Krystal said, ‘I’ve always tried to be there for her.’” Sheila decided to throw a celebration of life party in memory of Tabatha, and asked Gentley to attend. “I said, ‘Absolutely, I would hope you would be there, for everything that you have done for us,’ and (she said), ‘Oh yeah, I’ll be there,’ and never was there,” Sheila said. “That was kind of like, yeah – the ball dropped. You know, like, why wouldn’t she come?” And then, Sheila said, the dance began between the family and Gentley – unanswered phone calls and text messages, and excuses as to why Gentley wouldn’t be able to close the GoFundMe account to help with Tabatha’s funeral expenses. Finally, Sheila said she contacted GoFundMe herself, only to hear the account had been cleared out. “And I just dropped,” Sheila recalled. “I said, ‘I knew it, but I gave her the benefit of the doubt.' And I said, ‘What do I do from here?’ Because it’s not about the money; it’s about what she did to Tabatha. She was using us at our lowest, and Tabatha, for her advantage.” And then, Guy said, salt to the wound – after seeing Gentley post troubling messages on social media. “Bragging about the awesome Christmas that they are having, and they are going out buying a $1,500 dog or something – you know, really?” he said. Finally, the family went to Nashua police and got the help they needed to bring charges against Gentley. “And I said, ‘It can’t happen. If she walks away from this, that means she can do it again,’” Sheila said. Gentley is charged with theft by deception for allegedly using the $4,900 that had been donated to the GoFundMe account. She is free on bail and will be in court in May. http://www.wmur.com/news/nashua-woman-stole-money-meant-for-childs-funeral-costs-police-say/38859144 Another article about this that was published today mentions Narconon, but you have to log in or subscribe to read more than this: Woman allegedly stole funeral money | Nashua Telegraph Sheila Fauteux was still struggling to come to grips with the unexpected death of her 26-year-old daughter, Tabatha Lynn, when one of Tabatha's longtime friends stepped up and offered to create a GoFundMe account to help the family out financially. Fauteux gratefully accepted Krystal Gentley's offer, and 12 hours later the fund was up and running, Fauteux said Monday at her Hudson home. But now, five months later, Fauteux says she gets "very sick to my stomach" when she looks back at what is alleged to have happened to the more than $5,000 that was donated to the account in her daughter's name. http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/news/1079085-469/woman-allegedly-stole-funeral-money.html
After their daughter died at Scientology training, a friend makes off with the funeral money | The Underground Bunker Last paragraph: The theft is getting a lot of attention from local news outlets, and Guy has been directing local reporters to our stories. Some of the press reports have mentioned where Tabatha died, but we haven’t seen the word “Scientology” in any of them yet. It will be interesting to keep an eye on. http://tonyortega.org/2016/04/05/af...ng-a-friend-makes-off-with-the-funeral-money/ New Hampshire woman is charged after stealing $5,300 from GoFundMe account she set up for family of friend who died during a Scientology training program | New York Daily News A New Hampshire woman is accused of raising $5,300 with a GoFundMe account for her dead friend's grieving family, then clearing the account and spending the cash. Krystal Gentley, 26, was charged with a felony count of theft and deception after relatives of Tabatha Fauteux found the account empty. Tabatha Fauteux had died at 26 of a drug overdose while on a training in Los Angeles for a drug rehab program run by the church of Scientology. “I was angry. We were both very angry,” Guy Fauteux, Tabatha’s father, said of himself and his wife, Sheila. “To take advantage of a friend like that is not acceptable,” he told the New Hampshire Union Leader. Tabatha Fauteux worked for a Scientology drug rehab center in Texas after going through the program as a patient. She was sent to California for a training program with the enigmatic church's Association for Better Living and Education in November, 2015 when she died. Continued here: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/nat...ged-stealing-gofundme-money-article-1.2588868
Fitzwater pulls bill addressing county historic designations | Frederick News Post Frederick County Councilwoman Jessica Fitzwater on Tuesday withdrew her bill that would have prevented group homes from opening on county properties deemed historic. County properties added to the Frederick County Register of Historic Places can be used for certain “special exceptions,” such as a restaurant, inn, antique shop, museum or business office, among others. Fitzwater's bill would have deleted a group home as a special exception use in the county's zoning law. The move comes as the Church of Scientology’s real estate arm, Social Betterment Properties International, is taking steps toward a lawsuit against Frederick County, alleging "improper, illegal and discriminatory treatment” in court filings. Social Betterment purchased Trout Run, a 40-acre camp near Thurmont, in September 2013 with the intent of founding a group home for drug and alcohol addiction treatment. It would be operated by Narconon, a program based on the techniques of Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard. The County Council voted against designating Trout Run historic, which prevents the site from being used as a group home. Social Betterment has claimed the decision was rooted in religious discrimination. Fitzwater's bill also targeted Social Betterment, the organization alleged in Circuit Court filings. Through a public hearing on the bill, the County Council heard quite a bit of feedback and questions on special exceptions and historic designation in general, Fitzwater said. “We just haven't been able to, in the timeline of the bill, to get some answers and have the time to have a workshop,” Fitzwater said. “Rather than potentially have something voted down, we just thought it'd be better to let the bill go and potentially bring it back in a different form. It's still something I'm interested in and looking at. I think it's just not quite the right timing, and we have a little bit more research to do.” Asked about Social Betterment's accusations, Fitzwater said she would not comment on legal matters. Continued here: http://www.fredericknewspost.com/ne...cle_1498a590-e113-5c0f-80f6-fb2a845b17c9.html
Why would Fredrick County want a potential deadly program to sink their fangs into their community? I would rather say "no you can't move in assholes, so sue me", rather than deal with parents mourning over a death of a child and blaming the County for letting them open a Narconon when the County was warned and knew about the risks of letting a dangerous cult move in with an unproven, non medical and deadly program. Wouldn't want that over my head!
Narconon lawsuit settles as trial loomed By Tony Ortega, The Underground Bunker, April 7, 2016 Our thanks to the reader who pointed out that a trial was scheduled this morning in New York in the lawsuit filed by Heidi and Nathaniel Gore against a Narconon facility in Florida. We had planned to go, but we checked with the clerk before heading to the courthouse. “It’s settled,” the clerk told us. Yeah, that figures. As one attorney told us, Scientology can never really let any case get to trial because the facts are always so stomach-turning, and juries will find it hard to believe what’s going on at Scientology facilities. The Gores were appalled when they realized, after sending a loved one to the Narconon facility, that it turned out to be a Scientology outfit. When they asked for a refund on the $40,000 they had paid up front, they were denied. Scientology tried to get the case thrown out because they said a New York court shouldn’t be hearing a Florida matter, but Judge Carol Edmead ruled that because the Gores had made the payment while they were in New York, it could be heard in New York. And now it won’t, because Scientology cut a big check. Congratulations to the Gores. http://tonyortega.org/2016/04/07/ph...dedication-of-his-anti-scientology-billboard/
GoFundMe gives Fauteux family money that was stolen from them Wow, what a startling development in a terrible story. Here’s what a GoFundMe spokesman told a Boston TV station last night: “GoFundMe is providing the family of Tab[a]tha Fauteux with the money raised on her behalf,” a company spokesperson said in an email. “We want to make sure they receive the help they need during this distressing time.” “Fraud is very rare on the GoFundMe platform, but when it does happen, we do everything we can to make sure that those affected get the help they need,” the spokesman added. We’ll see if we can get a word about it from Guy Fauteux later today. Source: http://tonyortega.org/2016/04/08/br...gys-disconnection-in-unique-and-unusual-ways/
Council issues Trout Run findings, nearly a year later Frederick News Post: Council issues Trout Run findings, nearly a year later http://www.fredericknewspost.com/ne...cle_bd16416b-7eb4-5dc6-8e8e-a9b317c194d2.html * * * * * BEGIN EXCERPT * * * * * Council issues Trout Run findings, nearly a year later By Danielle E. Gaines dgaines@newspost.com Five Frederick County Council members signed a seven-page document Tuesday afternoon to explain their 2015 decision that ultimately blocked the opening of a Church of Scientology-affiliated substance abuse treatment center on Catoctin Mountain. The written findings are required as a result of a religious discrimination case filed in Frederick County Circuit Court by Social Betterment Properties International, which acts as the church's real estate arm. In January, Judge William R. Nicklas Jr. ruled that he could not consider the claims of religious discrimination without having the written findings of facts and conclusions from the council. The council voted 6-1 in June against a historic designation that would have allowed a Narconon center to open on the property. The resolution signed Tuesday is similar to the county's filings in the court case, which was closed after Nicklas remanded the issue to the council. Tuesday's resolution outlines the history of the property since Social Betterment applied for a historic designation in 2013. Social Betterment bought the 40-acre camp south of Thurmont that September. Its aim was to open a group home for drug and alcohol abuse treatment operated by Narconon, a program based on the writings and techniques of L. Ron Hubbard, Scientology’s founder. The Trout Run property is zoned for resource conservation, and a group home would not have been allowed. However, properties with historic designation may apply to the Board of Zoning Appeals for special-exception uses, and a group home has been among those allowed uses. Social Betterment has alleged that the council's decision not to designate the site as historic was not based on its history, zoning and legal grounds. The council made its decision after receiving oral and written comments critical of the Church of Scientology. Social Betterment alleges that the decision was influenced by religious discrimination. The council addressed that argument in Tuesday's resolution. “As it has been advised by its Attorney, the Council did not consider any of the testimony or documents related to the 'Narconon' or 'Scientology' entities or programs, because it was not relevant to making a decision on whether the Applicant had established that the site met the selected criteria for placement on the County Register of Historic Places,” Tuesday's resolution read. Five council members — Democrats M.C. Keegan-Ayer, Jerry Donald and Jessica Fitzwater and Republicans Tony Chmelik and Bud Otis — voted to sign the resolution. [SNIP] Follow Danielle E. Gaines on Twitter: @danielleegaines * * * * * END EXCERPT * * * * *
Maryland county explains why (don’t call it Scientology) can take a hike By Tony Ortega, June 17, 2016 The county council in Frederick County, Maryland, is fighting the Church of Scientology in court to keep the church from putting one of its quack drug rehab centers in a former fish camp known as Trout Run. Readers know we’ve been following this dispute for some time, and that it’s a bit technical. But it’s another great example of how Scientology tries to run roughshod over local government officials and local courts, and so we’ve been keeping an eye on the case, step by step. And now, we think there’s an interesting new wrinkle you’d want to hear about. <snipped> Here’s the county filing: Trout Run: County Findings More here, with open comments: http://tonyortega.org/2016/06/17/friday-2/
The best sthing is Ortega found the "historical expert" having a personal economic interest in the place being designated "historical". This is going to put a spanner in the cult's works! "Muahaha" doesn't even begin to cover it!
I am watching 20/20 and its about a guy named Chris Bantham who runs like 25 drug rehabs across the country. He is a former criminal and a real piece of work. He is very rich, owes 70% of the centers, gets high on meth and heroine, he has sex with his patients. Victimizes them. All this a According to former patients. hmmmmmm Sound familiar at all? Hey 20/20! Why not talk to former Narconon patients? (who didn't settle and have a gag order) and about Narconon's dangerous quack rehab Scientology methods? TODAY IS JUNE 17th, WHY ARE NARCONONS STILL OPEN?
Big heroin ring busted in Frederick Maryland Guess they REALLY don't need Narconon . http://foxbaltimore.com/news/local/...ug-distribution-ring-bust-in-frederick-county
Nearly four years after Stacy Murphy’s death, Scientology files motion to kill much of lawsuit By Tony Ortega, June 21, 2016 It’s been nearly four years since Stacy Dawn Murphy, 20, was found dead at Scientology’s flagship drug rehab center, Narconon Arrowhead, in Oklahoma. Two other patients at the clinic had died in just the previous nine months, but it was Stacy’s death that particularly shocked local and national media, leading to a new focus on the problems at Scientology’s rehabs. The lawsuits in those other Narconon Arrowhead deaths of 2011 and 2012, of Gabriel Graves and Hillary Holten, have been settled. But the lawsuit filed by the parents of Stacy Murphy — Robert Murphy and Tonya White — not only hasn’t been resolved, now two of the defendants in the case have asked Judge Jim D. Bland to grant them summary judgment. Narconon International (NI) and the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE), the two Scientology umbrella groups which license and oversee Narconon clinics, have submitted a lengthy brief to the court, asking the court to find for them without having to go to trial. They argue that Murphy and White have not been able to prove the assertion in their complaint, that NI and ABLE not only license Narconon centers but also exert enough control over them to have been liable in Stacy Murphy’s death. Stacy, who had struggled with a serious drug addiction, had managed to procure prescription pills on a home visit from the clinic. When she returned to the Narconon, staff observed that she was obviously high, and so they put her into Arrowhead’s “withdrawal unit” — and then left her unattended for hours. She was then found dead. The lawsuit alleges that Narconon had promised that it had medical staff on hand, which turned out not to be the case, and led, Murphy and White believe, to their daughter’s death. But Narconon International and ABLE say they shouldn’t be held liable for what happened at a clinic they merely license, and don’t run on a day to day basis. We asked attorney Scott Pilutik his thoughts about the argument that NI and ABLE make in this motion Continued here: http://tonyortega.org/2016/06/21/ne...ntology-files-motion-to-kill-much-of-lawsuit/
