Tallahassee Democrat from Tallahassee, Florida • Page 13

Tallahassee Democrat Sunday, December 21, 199713A Natiox MASSACHUSETTS One man's war with Scientology comes at a price INSIDE I When the Mississippi Delta comes to your back door, you're "kissing the devil to survive." ISA I The growing popularity of artificial Christmas trees has created: fake fir guilt. 18A I In the JonBenet Ramsey case, police reportedly ask neighbors about stun guns. 19A I "Big Daddy," creator of cool bikes with a Rat Fink on the side, is getting married. Bye-bye, rat boy.20A church's mission. In the spring of 1996, Minton posted a $360,000 reward on the Internet for information leading to the revocation of the tax exemption that Scientology received in 1993 after a two-year inquiry by the Internal Revenue Service determined that it was a bona fide church.

The reward expired unclaimed that fall, but by then Minton was committed. What Minton said particularly struck him as excessive was a series of court-authorized raids by church lawyers and U.S. marshals on private homes in 1995. Computers and related material were confiscated from former Scientologists who had published high-level church scriptures on the Internet The raids were part of copyright-infringement suits filed by the church against the former members. Though Scientology disseminates much of its voluminous scripture to the public, certain high-level documents describing its religious techniques are copyrighted and protected by extensive security.

The church won a $2,500 judgment against one person whose home was raided and preliminary injunctions to stop publi cation in the other cases. Scientologists believe that people live many lifetimes and accumulate many traumas. They believe that counseling courses, known as auditing, can clear away those old traumas and help Scientologists lead more productive lives. Church members often pay substantial fees for the sessions, which has generated debate about the I A Ml K)iP TiM Pll FINE JEWELRY I JK .4 b2 4 01 If Ife? 4 vC Bob Minton is out to get Scientology; and from picket lines and fliers to dredged-up histories, the crusade has become personal. By Douglas Frantz NEW YORK TIMES NEWS SERVICE Leaving her home in Boston one morning early this month, Therese Minton was shocked to find her husband's photograph on fliers stuck to cars and trees in their Beacon Hill neighborhood.

Beneath the photo was text that began: "The face of religious bigotry. Your neighbor Bob Minton is not all that he seems." A few nights later, as children arrived for the birthday party of one of the Mintons' two young daughters, three Scientologists picketed quietly outside the home, handing out the same flier. And the same night of his daughter's party, Minton was among about 40 anti-Scientologists marching in front of the church's spiritual headquarters in Clearwater. It was to mark the second anniversary of a Scientologist's death, for which the protesters blamed the church. These are among the latest skirmishes in an escalating war between the Church of Scientology and Robert Minton, a retired investment banker, who has spent $1.25 million to finance some of the church's most outspoken critics.

Minton became a dedicated foe of the church after learning of what he considered its heavy-handed efforts to silence the critics. The battleground in this conflict is varied, running from the streets of Boston and Clearwater to the Internet, and its oratory is a clear illustration of the fervor on both sides. In addition to the fliers, the church has private investigators digging through Minton's past, and Minton says he suspects that two men he saw following his school-age daughters twice in October were church operatives, though he says he has no proof. "I realize that these are the tactics that this church uses to try to intimidate people it can't control," Minton said. "They do intimidate me.

I'm not a total fool. But I'm not going to walk away either." Church officials vehemently denied authorizing anyone to follow Minton's children and said that he made up those incidents to get press attention. But they acknowledged picketing his house and using private investigators to examine his background. They said both steps were legal and necessary. "Sometimes it requires aggressive litigation and investigation to uncover the depths of the nefarious plots that have been attempted to destroy Scientology," said Michael Rinder, a director of the Church of Scientology International.

Rinder and other church officials questioned Minton's motives and contended that his actions and those of the people he is helping constitute hate crimes that would not be tolerated against another religion. "The people that we know of whom Minton has funded have expressed their intentions to destroy the Church of Scientology, not merely to Rinder said. "If he wants to fund it, fine. He will have to live with the bigotry he foments and be accountable for the harm he enables to occur." In a letter to Minton last month, a church lawyer demanded that he stop financing opponents of Scientology and warned that his actions had "crossed the threshold of legality." After consulting his own lawyers, Minton said he was told that he had done nothing illegal. He said he remained determined to continue his financial campaign.

Minton seems an unlikely participant in this battle over the nature and practices of Scientology. He retired in 1992, at age 46, after earning a fortune trading in the debts of Third World countries. He and his wife had planned a quiet life with their two daughters. He is an assistant Little League coach and is active in raising money for his daughters' private school. Minton said he had never heard of Scientology until the spring of 1995 when he learned of the church's activities through the Internet.

Although he said he did not question Scientology's beliefs, he said he objected to its treatment of some members and its efforts to silence critics on the Internet. "The more I learned about the Church of Scientology," he said, "the more I couldn't believe that this organization existed in the United States." 50 Off Diamonds Gold Reg. 160.00-4400 SALE 80.00-2200 Reg. 160.00-800.00 SALE 80.00-400.00 'V si f. ff 50 Off Precioul 50 Off Slides 50 Off Pearls Reg.

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