one of them. Punishing or disregarding dissent is another. Uncritical adulation of the leader is another. Exploitation, financial or sexual or labor, is another."

The teenage leader of a vampire cult was sentenced to death by a judge in Florida. Rod Ferrell, 17, pleaded guilty to murdering the parents of a cult member in late 1996 with a crow bar. The couple, Richard Wendorf and Naoma Ruth Queen, were killed in their home in Eustice, Florida, about 30 miles northwest of Orlando, when Ferrell and other "vampire" cult members arrived from Kentucky to help the couple's daughter run away with them. The daughter, Heather, was acquitted of charges by a grand jury, but the judge who sentenced Ferell urged that further attempts be made to prosecute her.

On Scientology
Despite the United States' inclusion of Germany's policies on Scientology in its annual report on worldwide human rights abuses, a United Nations human rights inspector found that "Undeniably, Germany is today a democratic liberal state based on sound democratic institutions, legislation that conforms to international law and a vigorous international human right policy." Abdelfattah Amor, a former dean of the University of Tunis law faculty who serves as UN special rapporteur on religious intolerance, called Scientology's comparisons of Germany's position on Scientology to Nazism "meaningless and puerile." Amor did urge Germany to educate youth "to prevent them from falling victim to manipulation, extremism and fanaticism" [Reuters, March 5, 1998]. The United States report was issued in late January. The country report for Germany noted that most political parties "exclude Scientologists from membership, arguing that Scientology is not a religion but a for-profit organization whose goals and principles are antidemocratic." German officials reacted sharply to the US report and cite not only the antidemocratic principles of Scientology but also its own long list of human rights abuses and the fact that Scientology is banned altogether from a number of European countries.

TradeNet Marketing, Inc. denied having any ties to Scientology when it purchased its headquarters building last summer in Dunedin, Florida. Now, while under government investigation by several states, the company is selling the building, citing hard financial times. TradeNet sold blue plastic balls that were supposed to replace laundry detergent and a product said to improve car's engine performance. TradeNet emphasized that the company is run by individual Scientologists rather than by the Church of Scientology. However, all employees - even non-Scientologists - are required to take Scientology-based training courses, and TradeNet made regular reports to Scientology headquarters in Clearwater. According to the St. Petersburg Times [February 22, 1998], the investigation by Forida's Attorney General's Office is nearing conclusion, and records show that "investigators have spent months interviewing former TradeNet employees and logging complaints from TradeNet customers and distributors who say they were denied refunds and commissions."

Mary Murzynski claims she was fired from Health, Education & Research Services, Inc. (HERS) at the bequest of a Scientology-based consulting firm brought into her organization, not for reasons related to job performance but because she opposed Scientology. HERS provides physical therapy services; its president Brenda Jones hired Murzynski to collect delinquent accounts. Murzynski's success in collecting on such accounts and improving income was rewarded with a promotion. Staff were required to take Scientology-based courses, which Murzynski feels contributed to low staff morale, morale she believes she helped to improve during her time there. Shortly after Jones hired Power Management, Inc., a consulting firm affiliated with Scientology, to evaluate her company, the firm suggested Murzynski be fired. Following this advice, Jones fired Murzynski. Murzynski then sued Power Management for wrongful interference with her employment. According to the Georgia Employment Law Letter [July 1997, Volume 9, Issue 12], "Both the trial court and the Georgia Court of Appeals refused to dismiss the suit, allowing Murzynski's claim to proceed... The court...believed that the facts could show that Halverson [Power Management] induced Jones to discharge Murzynski not as a result of his evaluation of her job efficiency or performance but, rather, because of her hostility toward the Church of Scientology and his concern with HER's continuing monetary payments to church related organizations... A jury could find that in instructing Jones to discharge Murzynski, Halverson acted without legal justification or excuse and just maliciously caused Murzynski's termination on pretextual grounds."

Other News Briefs: Headlines on the FACTNet Web Site

• Cultgate Updates [March 23, 1998] cultgate_headlines.html
• Will "reinvention" of IRS include Scientology tax deal probe? irs_reinvention.html
• President Travolta: Another actor in the White House? president_travolta.html
• Scientology Unmasked: Boston Herald series [March 1, 1998 - March 5, 1998] scientology
• Internation Protest against Scientology in Los Angeles and around the World: March 13-14, 1998. protest_march98.html
• Taiwanese cult in Garland, TX [February 14, 1998] brief
• Branch Davidians Recruiting [January 28, 1998] brief
• Church Universal and Triumphant leader ill [January 15, 1998]. brief
• Canary Islands police foil supposed cult suicide plot [January 10, 1998]. brief