Private

California Church Abuse Cases to Accelerate

UPDATED - Tuesday October 12, 2004 3:04am

Washington (AP) - Hundreds of sexual abuse claims targeting the Roman Catholic Church in California have converged into one of the most complex civil litigation cases the state's judicial system has ever faced.

More than 850 alleged victims are suing dioceses throughout the state, with millions of dollars in potential settlements at stake in a legal battle that involves more than 300 attorneys and dozens of church insurers. The scope is so vast that the lawsuits have been lumped geographically into three consolidated cases, known simply as Clergy I, Clergy II and Clergy III.

After nearly two years, the pace of the complicated legal drama is finally starting to accelerate. Some trial dates have been set, Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles is expected to be deposed by year's end in cases related to his tenure in the Stockton and Fresno dioceses and a hearing on public access to internal church documents is scheduled for Wednesday.

Legal analysts and attorneys agree that the developments, all of which involve Northern California cases, will affect settlement negotiations that have dragged on for months in Southern California - though exactly how is less certain.

In the two years since Cardinal Bernard Law of Boston resigned as archbishop at the height of a clergy abuse crisis there, California has emerged as the nation's new epicenter of the scandal that has shaken the church. Much of the attention results from a 2002 state law that temporarily suspended the statute of limitations for filing molestation lawsuits, opening the door for hundreds of claims by people who say they were sexually abused by Catholic clergy. The number of cases filed against the Archdiocese of Los Angeles alone is just slightly less than the number filed in Boston, where the archdiocese settled with more than 550 plaintiffs for $90 million.

"In some respects, I think this is the most complex case that state courts have had to deal with," said Ray Boucher, the lead plaintiffs' attorney in Southern California. "It is really unique to have the confluence of potentially explosive cases in one location against such a limited number of defendants - essentially one."

The judge supervising the 160 clergy abuse lawsuits in Northern California (Clergy III) has kept his docket on a steady march toward trial, while in Southern California the nearly 700 cases entered a closed-door mediation process nearly two years ago. The difference in approach was necessary because of the sheer number of cases in Southern California, Boucher said.

Yet in clearing a path for trial in Northern California in recent months, Alameda County Judge Ronald Sabraw has ruled on key constitutional questions that touch on tenets central to all California clergy-abuse litigation.

The most important question challenges the constitutionality of the state law that opened the door for the deluge of lawsuits. If the law were found unconstitutional, the nearly 860 claims statewide against the church could be thrown out.

Church attorneys say the law unfairly targets the church and was drafted by the same trial lawyers now hired by plaintiffs to press their cases. In July, Sabraw ruled that the state law was constitutional in almost all cases, and allowed all but a handful of the Northern California claims to go forward.

Sabraw also ordered confidential documents on accused Northern California priests turned over to plaintiffs' attorneys in August - a move made over freedom-of-religion objections by the church. The next day, the judge placed a temporary seal on the documents to prevent the attorneys from making them public.

That order expires Wednesday. Media attorneys representing the New York Times Corp. and the San Francisco Chronicle will ask Sabraw to give their clients' access - a move that could prove devastating for the church.

Paul Balestracci, an attorney for the Diocese of Stockton, said he worried the public would distort information should it become available.

"There's the sensationalism about the cases in general and that's a big issue," he said.

Dr. Feelscared

10/4/2004 Maia Szalavitz

On February 1, 2002, Cecil Knox was seeing patients in his Roanoke, Virginia, clinic when more than a dozen federal agents burst through the doors with guns drawn. Helmeted, shielded, and wearing bullet-proof vests, they terrified waiting patients and employees. One worker later told the Pain Relief Network, a patient advocacy group, she thought she and her husband, who was helping her in the office that day, would be shot. She looked on in horror as an agent put a gun to his head and ordered, "Get off the phone! Now!"

Knox, a pain management specialist who had been practicing medicine in Roanoke for seven years, was dragged out in handcuffs and leg irons. The local U.S. attorney�s wife, a TV reporter, was among the journalists tipped about the raid in advance. She stood outside with a gaggle of other media people to announce her husband�s triumph. Knox�s assets were frozen and bond set at $200,000. He and several employees soon faced a 313-count indictment, including charges of drug distribution resulting in death or serious bodily injury, prescription of drugs without a medical purpose, conspiracy, mail fraud, and health care fraud. Prosecutors said Knox had illegally distributed millions of dollars� worth of OxyContin, a timed-release version of the narcotic painkiller oxycodone.

William Hurwitz, a McLean, Virginia, internist and prominent pain specialist, received similarly heavy-handed treatment when he was arrested last fall. Hurwitz, who is Jewish, was visiting his children on Rosh Hashanah eve when federal agents descended upon his ex-wife�s house in McLean and took him away in handcuffs. As with Knox, the government froze Hurwitz�s assets; his bail was set at $2 million. He was charged with 49 felony counts, including drug trafficking resulting in death or serious injury, conspiracy, and running a criminal enterprise.

Like Knox, Hurwitz attracted attention largely because of his OxyContin prescriptions. Attorney General John Ashcroft said "the indictment and arrests in Virginia demonstrate our commitment to bring to justice all those who traffic in this very dangerous drug." Prosecutors said Hurwitz was "no better than a street corner crack dealer" who "dispenses misery and death." Assistant U.S. Attorney Gene Rossi had earlier declared that the feds would "root out" such doctors "like the Taliban."

Knox and Hurwitz are just two recent targets of an aggressive push by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) and the Department of Justice (DOJ) to impose their judgments about the proper use of opioid painkillers (drugs derived from opium and synthetics that resemble them) on doctors throughout the country. In their attempt to prevent prescription drug abuse, the DEA and the DOJ in effect have taken upon themselves the authority to regulate the practice of medicine, traditionally the province of the states. Worse, they have transformed disagreements about treatment decisions into criminal prosecutions, scaring physicians away from opioids and compounding the suffering of patients who have trouble getting the drugs they need to relieve their pain.

Drug Control vs. Pain Control

... Click Below for Full Text ...

Ponzi scheme suspects face bail hearing

2004-09-02 By JUDI BOWERS

Four men accused of stealing millions of dollars from senior citizens through a Ponzi scheme learn Friday, Sept. 3, if they will have their bail reduced. At present the bail amount is $144 million each.

Daniel William Heath, 47, Larre Jaye Schlarmann, 46, John William Heath, 77, and Denis Timothy O'Brien, 50, have been in a Riverside County jail since early July. Charges vary against the four, but all stem from an alleged Ponzi scheme, which takes money from later investors to pay early investors. Authorities originally estimated the amount more than 1,000 investors lost to be $144 million. The amount has since grown to close to $180 million.

Several of the companies the funds were funneled to are Big Bear Valley entities. The Club at Big Bear Village, a fractional ownership development, has been taken over by the receiver assigned to the case. Robb Evans and Associates was granted permanent receivership by the federal court after the Securities Exchange Commission began its investigation earlier this year. The Riverside district attorney's office began its investigation as a result and made the arrests of the four suspects in July.

Prestige Resort Development is the developer of The Club at Big Bear Village. Heath and Associates loaned $22 million to Prestige Resort Development, which is owned by Private Capital Management, TITL and Pamela Jandt. The construction lender for The Club project, Capital Source Finance, LLC, of Maryland, holds the first trust deed on the project. Capital Source is owed $17.2 million, according to a report issued by Evans.
The United States District Court has allowed Capital Source Finance to begin foreclosure proceedings and a notice of default has been filed to proceed with a nonjudicial foreclosure.

It's unclear at this time exactly what the foreclosure proceedings mean to the 57 fractional owners in The Club at Big Bear Village. Calls to Capital Source Finance and its attorney, Patton Boggs, LLC, in Dallas, Texas, were not returned as of press time.

The Prestige Resort Development office in Big Bear Lake, located at The Club at Big Bear Village site, has been closed for about a month. The creditors have all been notified of the closure.

Besides Prestige, Schlarmann and the Heath companies are also tied to Northwoods Resort, Quiznos, Bear Manor and the former Janet Kaye's Bed and Breakfast, all in Big Bear Valley. Kenton Johnson, of Robb Evans and Associates, said Northwoods Resort is not in receivership, only the ownership of the hotel is under investigation. "The hotel has not done anything wrong. Tom Johnson and his company that manages the hotel, the Alderwood Group, are not included in the receivership," Kenton Johnson said. "The hotel operates pretty much on its own," he added.

Johnson said there has been little change since the last report issued by the receiver in July. That report stated the investigation into the assets and investments belonging to Schlarmann was ongoing. Johnson said it's still unclear whether the liability will increase or be offset by additional assets. "But it looks like the liability will be increased most likely," Johnson said.

Evans' July report cited best and worst case scenarios for recovering funds from the investments made through Heath and Associates companies. The best case scenario for recovery of the $22 million invested into Prestige Resort Development/The Club at Big Bear Village is listed as $1.5 million. Worst case is zero.

Older Americans arming themselves

August 28, 2004 By Mark Wheeler / Hi-Desert Star

"Senior." An older citizen who's easy pickings for thieves, thugs and badmen. "

"Packing heat." Carrying a concealed weapon, usually a loaded gun.

"Seniors packing heat." An older citizen who may not be such easy pickings after all.

For all the stereotype and tongue-in-cheek tone of this lead, the fact is, seniors are often rated right at or near the top of national victim lists for criminal activity. Lately, though, since a 2002 poll done by the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago, seniors have also become the age group most likely to be armed.

Pro-gun publicity is announcing loud and clear that this is changing the way criminals think about the older generation.

The number of gun owners 65 and older now accounts for 37 percent of a national total, and this is up from 30 percent in 1980. Sixty percent of the guns today's seniors are buying are handguns.

"They're scared," says a whole volume of media stories on the trend. Tired of being victimized, more seniors are taking up the gun, showing some revival of the weapon's Old West reputation for being the "the great equalizer."

Vivian Jarrell is a 75-year-old single who just traded her automatic for a five-shot .38 revolver. "I didn't like the slide on the auto," she explained. "It was too hard to operate. But, with the revolver," she continued, "I just have to pull the hammer back and squeeze the trigger."

Jarrell isn't new to guns, but she's taking instruction at the Morongo Valley shooting range, and intends to gain the proficiency needed to qualify for a concealed weapons permit. "I feel safer with it," Jarrell confided, and when asked if she could actually pull the trigger on someone, she didn't hesitate. "Definitely."

Crime against seniors has actually declined since 1973, or so says a U.S. Bureau of Justice finding. In that year, 9.1 percent of seniors 65 and older fell victim to criminal activity, while the last nationwide poll, taken in 2002, showed a much lower incidence of 3.4 percent.

Whether gun ownership has anything to do with the decline in victimization has not been determined, judging at least from the absence of published data on the subject. Increase in raw numbers for the age group could easily be responsible for the percentage changes, or any number of other variables could have caused it.

In any event, seniors are buying more weapons these days, showing preference for the lighter guns their lighter muscles can handle more easily. Yucca Valley gun shop owner Ann Mistal, though, has been noting a new trend in sales. A lot more women of all ages are buying .410 shotguns for the home. "For the snakes," they tell her. "For the snakes."

County ranked among poorest in California

U.S. poverty levels continued to rise in 2003

August 27, 2004 - 2:13:24 PM PST By EVAN LaGASSE

The number of Americans living in poverty and without health insurance climbed for the third straight year in 2003, and San Bernardino County ranked as one of the most impoverished places in California. Roughly 15 percent of the county's families live in poverty, nearly 3 percent higher than the national average, a study released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau and the American Community Survey shows.

Barbara Halsey, director of the county Jobs and Employment Services Department, said while employment opportunities are rising, many of the available jobs are low-paying, part-time positions with no benefits. The best jobs generally come after development not before or during and for a county dealing with so much new construction and gaining so many new residents, there's really no quick fix, she said.

"Our challenge is to work through economic development, education, to make sure that we're preparing the work force in the way it needs to be prepared to get these higher paying jobs when they come."

About 13.7 percent of Riverside County households live at or above the poverty level, considered about a $15,000 annual income or less. That's also higher than the national average of 12.5 percent, or 35.8 million people. That number rose from 12.1 percent in 2002. California ranked 17th worst with 12.9 percent of its households living in poverty. The state was an astonishing fourth worst tied with Oklahoma in percentage of residents with no health insurance. The situation is even more dire for the younger generation.

Perhaps the most alarming statistics come from Children Now, a children's advocate group based in Oakland.

The group found that San Bernardino County children living in poverty has steadily risen since 2001 from 17.9 percent then to 24.1 percent in 2003.

"This is not a surprise," said Catherine Teare, policy director for Children Now, pointing out that the county is generally one of the poorest in the state. "Even though we do see some increase in jobs, clearly these jobs are not good enough to pull families out of poverty."

Nationally, 17.6 percent of children live in poverty. The hardest hit group has been children of Latino immigrants. Latino children coming to California from other countries mostly Mexico had a bloated poverty rate of 46 percent, Children Now reported.

For children of immigrants who speak no English, the poverty rate was 66 percent.

"For immigrant families in particular, we need to make sure (programs and resources that could help) are available in languages other than English," Teare said.

All of Halsey's department's resources are available in both Spanish and English.

About 8,000 people come through Halsey's doors every month looking for job opportunities, training and educational resources.

The report also found that more people lacked health insurance about 45 million in 2003, or 15.6 percent, compared with 43.5 million in 2002.

The rate of uninsured children was relatively stable at 11.4 percent, probably the result of recent expansions of coverage in government programs covering the poor and children, such as the state Children's Health Insurance Program, analysts said.

Meanwhile, the median household income, when adjusted for inflation, remained basically flat last year at $43,318. Whites, blacks and Asians saw no noticeable change, but Latinos' median income fell 2.6 percent, to $33,000.

Asians had the highest median income, at more than $55,000, nearly $8,000 more than whites and $26,000 more than blacks. The higher income for Asians is due in part to higher education levels.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

19 charged in bail scheme

12:26 AM PST on Friday, January 30, 2004 By JOHN F. BERRY / The Press-Enterprise

The San Bernardino County District Attorney's Office, after a two-year investigation into a bail-bond kickback scheme, filed charges Thursday against 19 people, including three bail-bond company owners, a former sheriff's deputy and an attorney.

The scheme involved bail agents paying inmates for referrals while they were in jail, Deputy District Attorney Cheryl Kersey said by phone.

The ongoing investigation so far has focused on two companies: Tidwell Bail Bonds in San Bernardino and Boone's Bail Bonds, which has offices in San Bernardino and Fontana.

Daniel and Shirley Tidwell, who are husband and wife, co-own Boone's Bail Bonds. Daniel Tidwell, 59, was charged with embezzlement. Shirley Tidwell, 43, was charged with a notary violation and filing a forged document. They were both charged with unlawfully soliciting bail.

Steve Tidwell, owner of Tidwell Bail Bonds, was charged with unlawfully soliciting bail.

Brothers Daniel and Steve Tidwell are the sons of former San Bernardino County Sheriff Floyd Tidwell, Kersey said.

The Tidwells could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The other 16 people face a variety of charges, ranging from conspiracy to solicit bail to possession of an assault weapon.

Most of the 19 charged were inmates or worked for bail-bond companies, officials said. Also among them were Attorney Geoffrey Newman, of Rancho Cucamonga, and Mike Steele, of Hesperia, a former sheriff's deputy. They could not be reached for comment Thursday.

Notices were sent to the 19 to appear in court on Feb. 18 or had warrants issued for their arrests.

Honest bail firms lost business because of the kickback scheme, Kersey said. The investigation is continuing, she said.

Six San Bernardino County sheriff's officials and two investigators from the California Department of Insurance have been working on the case for about a year, she said.

Average California County Inmate's Local Call Home Costs More than $3.50

August 22, 2004 By Kim Curtis and Bob Porterfield ASSOCIATED PRESS

SAN FRANCISCO � Telephone companies and California counties have made hundreds of millions of dollars from some of the state's poorest people through high, unregulated phone rates for calls from local jails, an Associated Press investigation has found.

The average California county jail inmate's local call home costs more than seven times as much as a 50-cent pay phone call. It adds up to more than $120 million a year in phone bills for families and friends of county inmates statewide. The inflated rates they pay make service contracts with jails so lucrative that carriers offer counties signing bonuses, nearly $17 million in the case of Los Angeles County.

For many, the cost of contact with loved ones is a hardship. And while counties are supposed to spend their share of the money on inmate welfare, the law gives sheriffs wide discretion and much of the money goes to salaries.

"It's a gouging of family members, those who have never committed a crime," said Charles Carbone, a lawyer with Prison Focus, a prisoner rights group in San Francisco.

Inmates and their families have few options. Regular contact is possible only through highly restricted visits and phone calls out, which must be made by inmates, either collect or with special calling cards.

Jail phone contracts, unlike those governing the rates of residential users, are not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission or the Federal Communications Commission.

California counties received more than $303 million in revenue from collect calls, calling cards and signing bonuses over five years, according to information the AP gathered through the California Public Records Act from each of the 57 California counties with jails.

Telephone companies defend the high charges, claiming specialized equipment and security features such as call blocking and monitoring are needed in jails. Six companies provide most of the phone service to California's county jails; San Antonio-based SBC Communications is the largest.

SBC spokeswoman Bridget Stachowski refused to further explain the higher rates, saying only that jail telephone systems are "more complex."

Financial records gathered under the Public Records Act show the phone calls provided counties with income that ranged from $100 to $1,376 per inmate in 2002-03, the last fiscal year AP examined. The counties receive about half the profit from each call.

Many sheriffs see the phone money as an easy way to fill budget gaps, San Francisco County Sheriff Michael Hennessey said. "(Some sheriffs say), 'Why do I care what the rates are? I don't have to pay them.' " he said.

Inmate welfare funds were established by law in 1949 to use phone and commissary revenue to remedy a lack of jail programs such as education, drug and alcohol treatment, counseling and chaplain services. Amendments in 1993 and 2000 allow the money to be used for jail maintenance if the sheriff decides inmate welfare needs have been satisfied.

Nick Warner, legislative director for the California Sheriffs Association, said mundane expenses like fixing plumbing or repairing a roof also contribute to an inmate's well-being.

The state's limited oversight ended in 1998. While sheriffs must submit a yearly report to county supervisors, it's unclear whether the boards examine them. Some of the few audits done by counties in recent years raised concerns about inadequate spending controls and bookkeeping.

Arrests made in alleged scheme

2004-07-08 By JUDI BOWERS

Four arrests have been made in the alleged financial Ponzi scheme which charges that more than 800 people were bilked out of their life savings in the investment fraud.

Daniel William Heath, 47, his father John William Heath, 77, Denis Timothy O'Brien, 50, and Larre Jay Schlarmann, 46, were arrested July 1. They are due to appear in Riverside Superior Court Wednesday, July 7.

All four have been charged with 233 counts of elder abuse, grand theft, money laundering, burglary and several securities violations, said Ingrid Wyatt, public information officer for the Riverside District Attorney's office. Bail has been set at $144 million for each of the suspects, which is the amount the district attorney's office says the investments scheme claimed from its victims.

If convicted, Daniel Heath and Schlarmann each face up to 200 years in prison.

The Ponzi scheme allegedly ran through Heath and Associates and related financial companies owned by the four suspects. The victims, mostly senior citizens, invested with Heath and Associates with promised of returns between 5.5 and 8 percent.

A receiver was appointed in May by the Securities Exchange Commission, which sued Heath and the associated companies alleging fraud. Of the $144 million, one of the largest investments made by Heath was $15.8 million into the Club at Big Bear Village. Schlarmann is a partner in Prestige Resort Development, developers of the Club at Big Bear Village. Schlarmann is also connected to Northwoods Resort. Assets of the suspects have been frozen by the receiver until the investigation is complete.

The Riverside district attorney's office served search warrants against the suspects and the number of victims continues to grow, according to Wyatt. As of press time Tuesday, she said there were more than 1,000 victims, "and counting."

Whether the victims will recover their money, for many their life savings, remains to be seen. "I don't know how

Heath companies probe continues

2004-06-24 By JUDI BOWERS

The Riverside district attorney's office, as well as the Securities Exchange Commission and an appointed receiver are continuing their investigation into companies owned by Daniel William Heath and Denis O'Brien. The investigation revolves around an alleged Ponzi financial scheme.

Investments into several Big Bear companies came to light during the early stages of the investigation, including a $15.8 million investment into Prestige Resort Development, LLC, which is developing The Club at Big Bear Village.

Also listed on the balance sheet for Private Capital Management, Inc., in a report issued by Robb Evans, LLC, the permanent receiver appointed by the SEC to investigate the assets of Heath and associated companies, are several Big Bear Valley companies, including three escrow companies and a title company. They are shown as assets of PCM.

Two of the escrow companies are listed under a section titled Long Term Loans, while the other and the title company are listed under Other Assets. Kenton Johnson, deputy to the receiver with Robb Evans, said his office has not thoroughly investigated the companies listed with smaller dollar amounts in the reports, but are working to do so. The three escrow companies and the title company each are listed as assets for PCM in amounts ranging from $15,000 to $323,000.

Johnson said what is being learned is that in some cases, the companies listed with the larger figures on the balance sheet were listed as an asset rather than payment for a property, for example. He said the investigation is discovering that many times a check was written and listed on the balance sheet instead of another accounting line item. It might have been payment for something and might not have been an asset at all, Johnson said. He said that most likely the figures associated with the escrow companies fall into the same category, and are not investments or assets of the PCM or Heath companies.

Johnson told The Grizzly that the investigation is ongoing and at this point the receiver's office has not had time to get down to the details of the smaller balance sheet listings.

Tina Thompson, owner of Silver Pines Escrow, Inc., which was listed in the Big Bear Grizzly story appearing June 16, said in a phone conversation with The Grizzly June 18 that her company has never had a loan with any of the Heath companies under investigation. She said Silver Pines Escrow, Inc., has done escrows for the company, but never dealt with any loans. When asked what company, Thompson declined to answer. In a letter to The Grizzly publisher in reference to the phone conversation with this reporter regarding the question about which company Silver Pines may have processed escrows for, Thompson stated fiduciary responsibility of an escrow officer prohibits her from discussing the affairs of a client.

"An escrow company's main function is to safeguard people's money," Thompson said in the June 18 phone conversation with The Grizzly. She added that she is audited regularly and the story in The Grizzly was devastating to her business. "Integrity is what I have to offer," Thompson said.

Silver Pines Escrow, Inc., is not part of any of the conglomerate of companies associated with Prestige Resort Development, LLC, Larre Schlarmann, Northwoods Resort and Conference Center, The Club at Big Bear Village, Alderwood Management or Hotel Management, Inc., which Thompson said The Grizzly of June 16 story grouped her with.

Schlarmann is involved in the investigation of the Heath companies, as he or his company Schlarmann and Associates, is listed as being part owner in many of the companies allegedly invested in by Heath. According to Mark Mandio, Riverside deputy district attorney, both Heath and Schlarmann were served with Desist and Refrain orders in 1998. Information as to what the orders involved was not available as of press time.

Mandio said the case involving the Heath companies is a complex one that will take some time to review. He said there is no timeline as to when the investigation should be complete, as it is driven by the facts as they are uncovered.

Evans issued a statement dated June 15 and currently posted on his Web site stating, "My colleagues and I are currently analyzing and evaluating the recovery potential for every asset in which Mr. Heath invested. I anticipate filing a comprehensive report with the U.S. District Court in the next several weeks. That report will be posted on this website and will be mailed to all investors."

Kenton Johnson of Evans' office told The Grizzly the goal is to clarify as much as possible within 30 days.

SEC investigates The Club

Prestige Resort Development and others placed under receivership

By JUDI BOWERS

The future of The Club at Big Bear Village may be in jeopardy based on a federal investigation into the finances of the parent company, Prestige Resort Development. In question: a $15.8 million investment by PCM Fixed Income Fund, one of several companies owned by Daniel William Heath, 47, of Chino Hills.

D.W. Heath & Associates, Inc., Private Capital Management, Inc. (PCM), Private Collateral Management, Inc., and PCM Fixed Income Fund I, LLC, and two individuals, Heath and Denis Timothy O'Brien, 49, of Yorba Linda, are under investigation by the Securities Exchange Commission. The investigation alleges that more than 800 elderly investors were targeted through a multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme.

A Ponzi scheme is a pyramid investment scheme named after Charles Ponzi who duped investors in a stamp speculation scheme in the 1920s. It's often called a rob-Peter-to-pay-Paul type of investment, where returns to early investors are paid with investment funds from later investors rather than from actual returns on investments. Not disclosing this type of payment plan is considered a Ponzi scheme.

The SEC investigation has resulted in the companies, and all the assets of those companies, being frozen and placed under the management of a permanent receiver, Robb Evans and Associates, LLC.

The $15.8 million investment in Prestige Resort Development is the single largest investment of the receivership estate, according to a report issued by Evans. The investment gave PCM 80 percent ownership of Prestige Resort Development. Pamela Jandt owns 10 percent and TITL Equities, L.P. owns 10 percent. Evans' report stated that Heath has a 37 percent personal financial interest in Prestige Resort Development.

Besides The Club at Big Bear Village/Prestige Resort Development, the companies under investigation also have financial ties to Northwoods Resort, Hotel Management, Inc., and Accommodations by Reservations, as well as Alderwood Management and Schlarmann and Associates. There are also several other companies listed as assets that are based in Big Bear, but the exact relationship is stil being investigated, according to the receiver's office.

The Evans report states that $13.2 million of the loan to Prestige is multipurpose and may have been used by Northwoods Resort. The report also states that Heath claims that Hotel Management, Inc., is a "Schlarmann managed entity" and that PCM is the primary source of capital for Hotel Management, Inc. Tom Johnson, an owner and general manager for Northwoods, said he has no record of a $13.2 million investment by PCM, according to information contained in Evans' report.

Accommodations by Reservations, Hotel Management, Inc., NADM Equities, Northwoods Resort Hotel Limited Partnership, Prestige Resort Development, Schlarmann and Associates and the Alderwood Group are listed as assets for the Heath companies in the report issued by Evans.

Evans told The Grizzly that each of the companies is included in the receivership action in some way. "It could mean we annex them or we own them," Evans said. "But just because we own them, it doesn't mean we are managing them."

Johnson confirmed The Club's involvement and the receivership. He said The Club is still operating and is open for business as usual. He said the clubhouse is open and the board of directors is still in place. Johnson is one of four directors on the board.

Evans said essentially it is true that business continues as usual, but the receivership allows him to step in with the authority of the federal court to protect the investors."It's early in the process," Evans said. "We are analyzing things to determine the best course of action ... what's best for the investors."

The Heath companies have allegedly targeted their elderly investors for $144 million. The money was raised through PCM with the promise of a guaranteed return of 5.5 to 8 percent annually. Evans' report shows that PCM lost about $41.8 million during the life of the company, with about $1 million in total income. The defendants claimed the investors' dollars would be used for secured loans provided to businesses, like Prestige Resort Development.

In investigating the Club at Big Bear Village, Evans' report shows that 14 of the 180 units are complete and furnished. The units are sold as fractional ownership investments, with 10 owners per unit. To date, 56 fractional shares have been sold.

Evans' report also notes that Prestige Resort Development has no liquid assets and Capital Source Funding, which provided construction and development financing, has declared its note in default and demanded payment of $17.3 million.

When asked about the loan with Capital Source, Evans said he couldn't comment any further than what is in the report.

Evans said as receiver, he cannot comment on any criminal charges that might stem from the investigation into the Heath companies and the associated entities under his receivership. "We are only involved with the assets," Evans said.

Schools Duped by Scientologiests - Bar Anti-Drug Program

L.A. district warns against the use of presentations by a group linked to the Church of Scientology. The state plans an investigation.

June 24, 2004 By Duke Helfand and Cara Mia DiMassa, Times Staff Writers

Los Angeles school officials are warning campuses not to use a drug prevention program linked to the Church of Scientology while California's schools chief has ordered an investigation to determine whether the anti-drug presentations are scientifically sound and free from the religion's influence.

The target of the district and state actions is Narconon, a drug prevention and rehabilitation program that bases its ideas partly on the research and controversial teachings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.

Narconon has conducted educational assemblies and classes, usually one session of about an hour each, in some schools in Los Angeles, San Francisco and other cities.

In the "Truth About Drugs" lectures, Narconon "presenters" tell students about the negative mental, emotional and physical effects of drugs (including theories on how they are stored and metabolized in body tissue and how drugs deplete vitamins and nutrients).

In a memo sent to schools last week, Los Angeles Unified School District Assistant Supt. Maria Reza said the Narconon presentations are "not based on science" and warned schools to use only drug prevention materials that are "research validated" and approved by the district.

L.A. Unified's chief operating officer, Tim Buresh, said in an interview Wednesday that the district would conduct a review of the program and decide soon whether to issue a more forceful statement against Narconon. "If we become aware of a program that has questionable content, we will advise people against that," Buresh said.

Narconon leaders said they offered the program free. Buresh said the district would look at whether any school funds had been spent on the lectures or related materials.

District officials said the lectures had been given at about 15 Los Angeles district schools, but they were uncertain which ones.

Similarly, state Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O'Connell said his office had no way to know how many California schools played host to Narconon because individual teachers may have invited speakers without formal approval or records. Narconon leaders said presentations had been given at more than 350 California schools since 2000.

O'Connell expressed concern about the lectures after learning about Narconon's activities in some schools from a series of articles earlier this month in the San Francisco Chronicle. He asked his staff to evaluate the program, a probe that is expected to take several months.

"We want information disseminated in our schools to be factual, accurate and helpful," O'Connell said Wednesday. "We certainly don't want untested and unscientific theories presented as truthful."

Clark Carr, president of Hollywood-based Narconon International, said the that school presentations were based on sound principles and that the program had no motive beyond wanting to keep youngsters off of drugs. He insisted the classes did not include any proselytizing for Scientology.

"If people had never heard of Mr. Hubbard, the lectures would still stand up, because they are based on real science," Carr said. "We don't use scare tactics. We come in with the straight facts. We're helping kids get off drugs. We've been doing it for a long time. We're going to continue doing it."

Carr said the organization approaches individual school health teachers or principals, informs them of the program and asks if they are interested in a presentation.

The Narconon program dates to the mid-1960s, when an Arizona prison inmate used Hubbard's teachings to battle his heroin addiction.

Inspired by Hubbard's belief that personal abilities can help people overcome their problems, William Benitez founded Narconon in 1966 and eventually helped spread the program with others influenced by Hubbard. Hubbard died in 1986.

Narconon later built on Hubbard's research into drug withdrawal and detoxification to establish rehabilitation procedures, including the use of vitamins and mineral supplements to ease symptoms and intensive sweating in saunas to reduce the residual effects of drug use, according to a Narconon website and interviews. The site provides links to several studies that the group says support Narconon's procedures.

Carr said that Narconon presenters deliver a narrow piece of the overall approach in their school lectures, focusing on prevention and leaving out information about rehabilitation techniques, such as sweating in saunas.

Narconon's educational programs are now one part of a vast enterprise that includes drug rehabilitation and treatment centers and a series of books and videos aimed at helping people live drug-free.

The debate over Narconon began after officials in the San Francisco Unified School District raised questions about the program's scientific validity and its presentations at more than two dozen schools there.

San Francisco officials sent Narconon Drug Prevention and Education Inc., a Narconon affiliate, a letter in February asking the Los Angeles-based group to clarify several aspects of its classroom presentations, including a statement that "all drugs are basically poisons."

In a written response, the group's director, Tony Bylsma, insisted that the statement was accurate based on "recognized and professional sources."

Narconon has surfaced in other school districts, including Santa Ana, where the group presented a lecture to a health class at Saddleback High School in 1996 and has not returned since, said district spokeswoman Lucy Arajuo-Cook.

Arajuo-Cook said district Supt. Al Mijares was concerned about the issue when he learned about it Wednesday. She said the district would issue a notice to ensure that "no one does anything on their own" and that the group is not invited to any future classes.

Times staff writer Joel Rubin contributed to this report.

Inmate Challenges Religion-Based Recovery Program as Parole Condition

Prison officials are promoting faith-based, 12-Step programs for inmates -- and pushing religious belief and dependence. But one Atheist "Refusnik" wants a secular alternative...

Web Posted: January 16, 1998

New Hampshire prison inmate has become the latest nonbeliever "refusnik" to challenge participation in a religion-based alcohol treatment program as a condition of parole and sentence reduction. Bill Yates, a former heroin addict now serving time in the New Hampshire State Prison, wants the secular Rational Recovery program available for inmates, and has refused to participate in an Alcoholic Anonymous 12-step program administered by a group called Summit House. He charges that prison officials will not reduce his sentence until he submits to the "spiritual" recovery program, and will probably be turned down next October when his case is brought up before the parole board.

Yates told the Concord (N.H.) Monitor newspaper this past week, that "Alcoholics Anonymous is religious, and the prison cannot hold anybody back from freedom because they failed to attend an unequivocally religious process." He also criticized the AA view that all addictions involve a life- long recovery process, and says that he has simply "quit" his addiction cycle.

The justices noted that "God" is mentioned in five of the twelve steps which are included in the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program, and that AA meetings were "heavily laced with at least general religious content..."

That's the view of Rational Recovery; the group's co-founder, Lois Trimpey, told the Monitor that, "The worst way to quit something you love is to do it one day at a time. You have to take the high dive and get it over with."

Regardless of which view is correct, though, secularists charge that the state -- and the prisons -- have no business promoting religious belief as a condition for parole or other consideration. But prison officials claim that the AA program is not religious, but "spiritual." That doesn't stop Steve Kenney, director of substance abuse services for the New Hampshire Department of Corrections from criticizing a program which doesn't acknowledge the ultimate power of a deity. "The people who created Rational Recovery, as far as I can see, have problems with God," he said. "They can't separate out God from spirituality. They don't like the idea of being powerless. If you're an alcoholic, the fact remains, you are powerless."

Courts: AA Is Religion Based

The courts have taken a different view, however, and inmates across the country are lodging cases -- and winning -- against 12-step programs that refer to higher powers, god and spirituality. In June, 1996, for instance, the New York State Supreme Court upheld the case of David Griffin, an atheist, who said that government was promoting religion by requiring participation in Alcoholics Anonymous as a condition for parole. In a 5-2 decision, the justices found that Alcoholics Anonymous "engages in religious activity and religious proselytization," and that prison officials violated Griffin's constitutional rights by trying to coerce him to participate.

"A fair reading of the fundamental AA doctrinal writings," said the majority, discloses that their dominant theme is unequivocally religious... Adherence to the AA fellowship entails engagement in religious activity and religious proselytization."

The Justices noted that "God" is mentioned in five of the twelve steps which are included in the Alcoholics Anonymous recovery program, and that AA meetings were "heavily laced with at least general religious content." Judge Howard A. Levine, writing for the majority, said that the decision was not meant to end AA programs for inmates who voluntarily participated but was designed to uphold the rights who had their civil liberties violated by prison officials.

Yates: Fighting Drugs and Religion

Mr. Yates, 38, says that he has had an on-and-off relationship with drugs, but due to choice, not "powerlessness" before an addiction. He says that Rational Recovery worked for him, and cites the prevalence of drugs behind prison walls as an example of how he can so "no" to the substances. He applauds the RR program since it doesn't require endless "support group" sessions.

But nationwide, prisons are not enthusiastic about the Rational Recovery approach. According to the Monitor, no prison system in the U.S. has instituted an RR program, although religion and "spirituality" based programs such as Alcoholics Anonymous abound.

Lois Trimpey of Rational Recovery told AANEWS today that her organization has received information requests from "thousands of inmates" who are seeking information on the program, and an alternative to the religion-based "brainwashing" of Alcoholics Anonymous. She estimates that inmates are currently operating over two-dozen self-help programs throughout the nation's prison system which are based, in part, on the Rational Recovery teachings.

Trimpey also says that the AA program is far from a success. "Based on their own figures, it's estimated that out of every 100 persons who start off in an Alcoholics Anonymous 12-Step program, 50 are gone by the end of the first month, and 75 by the third month. Five out of 100 complete the full program."

"Alcoholics Anonymous is a counterfeit religion," said Trimpey. "It's corrupted the medical establishment, psychology and the penal system with its claim that alcoholism is a 'disease' before which we are 'powerless.'"

She noted that in the case of Mr. Yates, in order to fulfill the requirement of State Prison officials, he would have be in the AA program for up to a year. But that program -- administered by a group called Summit House -- has a 24-36 month long waiting period. "Bill Yates would have to be in prison for another three or four years before he could get out, even though he has a clean record and has been an exemplary inmate."

Other Court Challenges

On November 10, 1997, the Tennessee Supreme Court ruled that the Alcoholics Anonymous 12-Step programs "indisputably raise the question of establishment of religion." In EVANS v. THE BOARD OF PAROLES, state justices noted the coercive elements involved in the AA program, and reversed a lower court ruling which required inmates to participate in the 12-Step regiment.

Another case occurred in June, 1997. The Federal District Court of Southern New York reinstated the earlier decision, WARNER vs. ORANGE CO. DEPT. OF PROBATION, and said that the plaintiff's rights were violated by forcing an Alcoholics Anonymous program on him. Judge Gerald Goettel described AA as "deeply religious," and singled out the County's stubborn refusal to acknowledge the religious elements in the 12-Step program. "I am at a loss to understand this," said the judge.

WARNER involved the 1994 conviction of a New York man who had been convicted of a drunk driving offense, and was sentence to an Alcoholics Anonymous program as an "alternative" to a prison sentence. The court ruled that his First Amendment rights had been violated since the State was "coercing the plaintiff to participate in religious exercises, an act which tends toward the establishment of a state religious faith."

A Larger Trend... Back To Goddism!

Penal authorities and politicians seem to approve of the wider use of religious ideology at "treating" and "reforming" inmates; but critics charge that these 12-Step programs, with their emphasis on acknowledging deities and believing in one's "powerlessness," are a form of control and even brainwashing. And important constitutional questions are involved; should government be establishing a religious litmus test for inmates as a condition of parole?

There is also a question of funding. In the New Hampshire case, the Summit House program is reportedly funded with public Medicare monies. There is the prospect of wider abuse, though, as prison gates swing open to "faith based" ministries, like Chuck Colson's Prison Fellowship Ministry. In Texas, the Colson group now has control of the Jester Unit of the state prison system, where it is operating a religion-based rehabilitation program for select inmates. While the initial costs of the program could run as high as $1.5 million and are being "donated" by Colson's outreach, there are rumblings that following the trial run at Jester, costs may be shifted to the state. The State of Texas already covers some peripheral expenses, such as the housing, foods and security for the 100 to 200 inmates participating.

Colson and other religionists say that their Bible-based rehab programs are "restorative justice," not a violation of the First Amendment.

"Faith-Based Treatment" Director Boasts Conversion of "Completed Jews"

Web Posted: May 28, 2001

Despite President Bush's claims that his faith-based initiative is not intended to promote religion or evangelize those seeking social services, the director of a prominent drug rehab program told a congressional group on Wednesday that Jewish clients in his program were converted to fundamentalist Christianity.

John Castellani, executive director of Teen Challenge International, a Christian substance abuse program, made the offensive remarks before a panel of the House Government Reform subcommittee which has been exploring the effectiveness of faith-based social programs. Rev. Mark Souder (R-IN) asked Mr. Castellani if the group employees non-Christians on its staff, or accepts clients of other religious persuasions. Castellani then commented that some of the Jews who complete the Teen Challenge program become "completed Jews," a phrase common in fundamentalist circles to refer to those who convert to Christianity.

Castellani also told officials that while Teen Challenge welcomes government funding, the group would not take public money if it was required to change the structure of its program which includes emphasis on religious conversion.

"We're out to tell them (addicts) what we feel is correct as far as we understand Christianity, and that Christianity is a big part of our therapy..."

Following his congressional testimony, a nervous Castellani was in spin mode over his insensitive and sectarian remarks. "In a sense, it's a compliment," he told reporters. "They're not a Christian, they're still a Jew. They've just found another part of themselves. I thought I was being kind ... Evidently I'm in error, I apologize for that."

Jewish leaders immediately criticized Castellani. Rabbi David Sapperstein of the Religious Action Center for Reform Judaism said that the comments made it clear that the Bush faith-based initiative would lead to public funding of activities which stressed religious conversion.

"They engage in activities aimed at bringing them (clients) to Jesus. That's fine, but it shouldn't be done with government money.

Abraham Foxman of the Jewish Anti-Defamation League told the New York Times that Castellani's testimony "clearly illustrates the concern we have that there is no way to separate the efforts to proselytize from the efforts to reform people."

BUSH -- GOVERNMENT CHEERLEADER FOR FBOs, TEEN CHALLENGE

As Governor of Texas and a candidate for the White House in 2000, Mr. Bush was a staunch supporter of the Teen Challenge organization, and cited its religion-based rehabilitation program as proof of the efficacy of FBOs or "faith-based organizations." Addressing a church audience during the recent campaign, Bush declared: "We need to have mentoring programs energized by government, paid for by government, but who exist not because of government. Teen Challenge is a way to get people off drugs and alcohol. Teen Challenge is a faith-based program that changes people's hearts..."

"WE'RE OUT TO TELL THEM (addicts) THAT WHAT WE FEEL IS CORRECT AS FAR AS WE UNDERSTAND CHRISTIANITY, AND THAT CHRISTIANITY IS A BIG PART OF OUR THERAPY..."
-- John Castellani, Teen Challenge Executive Director

Bush began supporting Teen Challenge when in 1995 a state regulatory agency sought to close a rehab center operated by the group for various violations. The governor then sponsored a series of laws exempting faith-based drug recovery programs from state scrutiny, and regulations that apply to their secular counterparts.

There have been serious questions, though, about Teen Challenge's claims of high success rates, and its accountability. A report on the beliefnet.com web site last September, for instance, noted "Of the 130 Teen Challenge centers in the United States, only 14 elected to join the Washington, DC-based Evangelical Council for Financial Accountability, a sort of Consumers Union for evangelical charities."

An administrative assistance at one Teen Challenge office declared that financial accountability "isn't our priority."

The various Teen Challenge centers report directly to a national office in Pennsylvania, and last year raised about $50 million. It is not known, though, how much of this comes from a bewildering array of state "faith-based partnership" grants and other programs that direct public money into FBOs.

Questions have also been raised about Teen Challenge's astounding claims of success in treating drug and alcohol addiction. Broadsides from the group claim "widely-heralded success spanning more than 40 years" since the organization was founded in 1958 by a minister, David Wilkerson.

Wilkerson, a self-described "country preacher" from rural Pennsylvania said that he saw a story in "Life" magazine about urban street gangs, and "felt a compelling urge to go to New York" and open up a ministry. The outreach began as an evangelization effort, but Wilkerson quickly fused his hard-shell Bible message with efforts to wean drug and alcohol addicts. Teen Challenge cites studies indicating that 88% of program graduates consider the outreach "the most beneficial in their lives." The religious nature of the rehab regimen is clear, though; according to Teen Challenge, sixty percent of program graduates become members of a local church, and 76% attend church services on a regular basis. A report by Capitol Research noted:

"Ninety-two percent claimed that Teen Challenge had a great impact on their lives. Eighty percent credited their ability to abstain from drugs to a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The statistic that speaks volumes, however, is the abstention rate. A full 67% of respondents were completely abstaining from drugs and alcohol..."

As with other FBOs, though, sanguine claims of high success rates inevitably depend on anecdotal accounts, or "cooked" statistics coming from the service providers themselves.

"Nobody knows whether FBOs work even as well as traditional drug rehabilitation programs, which all have a high rate of recidivism," noted the beliefnet.com profile on Teen Challenge.

"There has not yet been any research that gives clear evidence that faith-based partnerships are more effective than current models," adds Dr. Mark Chaves, a sociologist at the University of Arizona who has been scrutinizing claims by religion-based social service groups. "Powerful voices are saying that it's OK to be marginalized, and we'll publicly fund you."

Similar concerns are raised by sociologist Fred DeJong of Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Though he considers himself to be an evangelical Christian, DeJong and colleague Beryl Hugen say that in cases where they have examined the claims of phenomenal success from faith-based program, all contained serious flaws in the methodology and reporting.

BUSH -- A SPECIAL RELATIONSHIP WITH TEEN CHALLENGE

All of this suggests that President Bush's faith-based initiative may be not only constitutionally suspect, but a huge entitlement program lacking in rationale and oversight. Bush has repeatedly insisted that his effort to involve churches and other houses of worship is "the next step in welfare reform," and could even replace the traditional model of having government provide an array of services to those in need. On Thursday, for instance, Bush told an audience at a Roman Catholic school in Cleveland, "We should fund the armies of compassion, we should not discriminate against faith-based programs."

"My administration will be more supportive of the good works done here than any administration in the history of this country because I understand the power of faith, that faith can change lives."

Faith-based groups, though, like Teen Challenge may be asking for federal tax dollars, and an exemption or legal shield from the sorts of inspection and accountability measure that secular providers must endure. Under the 1996 welfare reform act, "charitable choice" programs were open to religious groups who were empowered to seek public funding of their faith-based outreaches. Teen Challenge and other sectarian providers, though, can flaunt a number of anti-discrimination statutes, by using religion as a litmus test in hiring practices, and even require participants to practice a certain religion. Jerry Nancy, a Teen Challenge CEO told the House Subcommittee on Criminal Justice on February 17, 2000 that all of the ministry's treatment centers "require mandatory chapel time" and other religious practices.

"I'm hoping that Teen Challenge will not have to go through the licensing procedures that clinical organizations have to go through," John Castellani told the Assemblies of God "Mission America' meeting last year. "President Bush loves any program that helps people change their lives," he added. "That's why he loves Teen Challenge."

Church Groups Operating Halloween Hell Hoaxes

Web Posted: October 24, 1999

Halloween... It is a time of year that conjures up images of carved pumpkins, kids trick or treating, and people of all ages dressed up in outlandish, spooky costumes.

For some, though, it is a much darker occasion, like the two men dressed in trench coats who charge into a library, their guns firing.

"Any Christians and jocks in here?"

A victim is selected, a young girl. One of the gunmen grabs her and demands to know if she believes in God. She replies, "Yes!"

"Kill her!" A shot echoes throughout the room.

The scene is eerily reminiscent of what some say took place in Columbine High School last April, when two student gunmen went on a rampage and murdered 13 people before committing suicide. One of the victims was Cassie Bernall, a 17-year old who allegedly was confronted by a shooter and asked if she believed in God. Bernall was reportedly shot in the face after saying that she did. A subsequent investigation raises doubts about whether this confrontation took place as claimed, but for many in America's religious community, Cassie Bernall has become a modern-day martyr for her Christian faith.

Now, what some say are the circumstances for her death has been transmogrified into a dramatic tableau being reenacted each night in hundreds of Christian "Hell House" performances throughout the country. Other exhibits depict abortions, gays burning in the fires of hell, the consequences of drunk driving, the temptations of premarital sex, the lure of the occult and the eternal reward of heaven. What is remarkable, though, is that this holiday pageant-noir is sometimes presented as a "haunted house" event similar to those staged by commercial vendors or community groups raising money for philanthropic activities. The hard shell religious message is often masked until people have paid their money and begun the tour of "Hell House" events.

The hell houses have also been criticized for their stereotyping of gays and lesbians, single moms and others. The man responsible for promoting the hell house fad, pastor Keenan Roberts of the Abundant Life Church in Arvada, Colorado, is blunt in defending this latest tool for religious proselytizing. "We're not doing this to win a popularity contest," he told National Public Radio. "We're saying look, sin is hurting our nation and Jesus Christ is the answer to what you're going through."

Roberts crafted the script for the congregation's first Hell House seven years ago. The idea was borrowed from Jerry Falwell who put on a similar display in the late 1970s at his church. Since then, the Halloween spectacle has thrived, and hundreds of "Hell House Outreach" kits have been sold to interested religious groups. Each includes a lavish 263-page manual on everything from media publicity to casting and costuming, a video of the Arvada Hell House in operation, and a "special effects" CD which includes "the voice of suicide, the voice of God, and the bone-chilling demon declaration of 'HELL HOUSE' in the opening scene..." The latest version of the "Hell House Outreach" package sells for $199 plus shipping.

RELATED STORY:

At The Cusp Of Halloween, A Nod To Religious Origins

In 1995, "Hell House" received its first boost of national publicity when Roberts appeared as a guest on the "Phil Donahue Show," paired with another evangelical pastor along with a lesbian cleric and a representative for Planned Parenthood. (Roberts insists that a "Holy Ghost glass enclosure" protected him during the taping.) The London Times, New York Times, Newsweek and Ms. Magazine were among those soon dispatching reporters to cover the annual Arvada Hell House show, and since then the popularity and controversy surrounding the Halloween spectacle have mushroomed.

Last year, as many as 450 "Hell Houses" were operating throughout the United States. One production staged by a charismatic youth congregation in Tulsa, Oklahoma attracted such interest that it resulted in mile-long traffic jams. In London, Kentucky, over 2,100 trekked through the Calvary Baptist Church Hell House. In Salt Lake City, an Assembly of God production added scenes about gang warfare, while a Texas Hell House included a segment depicting a crack house. In another Hell House presentation, a man argues with his wife and is supposedly left vulnerable to the seductions of his secretary.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Visitors encounter a 'demon' who prances around the coffin of an AIDS victim, declaring I tricked him into believing he was born gay! Have you ever heard something so silly?

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Other Hell House presentations can vary, but most include thematic presentations about AIDS, suicide, drinking, sex and drugs. In a Vacaville, California Hell House, visitors are led into a darkened room where a casket sits on a stage surrounded by faux flames. A "demon" leading the tour says that it is a funeral for a gay man who died from HIV. In an adjoining "abortion room," a woman lies on a hospital gurney screaming. "A small TV shows videotaped footage of a real fetus inside a womb, until at the last moment when doll parts are discarded into a metal bowl and the screen goes blank," noted an AP story.

The pastor of the Hell House church declares, "If showing a simulated abortion keeps one young lady out of the back seat of a Camaro with her boyfriend, we've done our job."

But there's competition for the job of scaring people back to church. The "Judgment House" is operated by Calvary Baptist Church of Clearwater, Florida, and like its "Hell House" counterpart, sells a kit for those hoping to terrorize their neighbors back to church. Offered by New Creation Evangelism, Inc., Judgment House "is an 8 scene drama that makes people aware of the reality of heaven and hell." It promises to "show them the joy of having a relationship in Heaven with Jesus," and that "hell is the ultimate haunted house, which is where they will spend eternity if they do not accept Jesus Christ as their personal Savior..."

Groups signing up for the Judgment House package become known as "Covenant" churches. The $250 tab includes a new script each year "that has been fully tested and includes color photographs of each scene, prop and costume, along with a set diagram," and a how-to manual with instructions.

Many churches freelance their Halloween presentation offering variants of Hell House and Judgment House. In Pell City, Alabama, the Eden Westside Baptist Church offers "Revelation Walk," which a spokesperson describes as "an outdoor drama that will show what the end times will be like for those who are left behind when Jesus 'raptures' the church." Themes of the apocalypse are attracting more public interest, especially with the success of the "Christian thriller" movie Omega Code, and the popularity of the "Left Behind" series of novels by Tim LaHaye which portray the final days and Second Coming of Jesus Christ.

Rev. Jacky Connell of Eden Westside Baptist told the Birmingham Post-Herald newspaper that the goal of "Revelation Walk" is to "evangelize the sinner, to edify the saints and to exalt the savior."

The 12 scenes in the "Walk" are supported by over 180 members of the church's congregation who handle everything from parking to set construction. According to the Post-Herald, one segment depicts a traffic accident illustrating the chaos that will occur when Christ "raptures" millions of Christians, whisking them off to heaven. Other scenes depict the rapture event, hell, heaven (with Jesus sitting on his throne) and even the Antichrist.

While many church leaders see "Hell House" and similar presentations as effective tools for evangelizing families, the Christianized spook shows are not without critics. The recreation of the Columbine shooting seems to have piqued even some former supporters of these Christianized Halloween displays. Pastor Dave McPherson who has been close to the Columbine tragedy as pastor of West Bowles Community Church in Littleton told the Dallas Morning News that the latest "Hell House" drama is "too close to home."

"But even though it's not my style, I can see it can serve a purpose," claims McPherson.

Rev. J.T. Tucker, director of Youth Ministries at Northway Christian Church in Dallas, Texas is more direct. "I detest those things," he said, referring to the "Hell House" exhibitions. He suggested that any shock value wears off quickly in a society saturated with violent images.

"Trying to scare people into a decision is very wrong," he adds. "If you consider all the money, along with ministry hours ... if they would refocus those areas on missions in urban Dallas, I think they would have a lot bigger return..."

Other critics, including the Human Rights Campaign, point to the frequent demonization of gays and lesbians that have become stock-in-trade for Hell House and Judgment House dramatic performances, such as one operating in Florida. There, visitors encounter a "demon" who prances around the coffin of an AIDS victim, declaring "I tricked him into believing he was born gay! Have you ever heard something so silly?" The demon adds how the dead man's soul is now suffering in hell.

HRC spokesperson Wayne Besen calls such displays "pornography for the soul."

"It's poising the minds of people," he told the St. Petersburg Times newspaper. "It's especially hurting gay and lesbian youth who are already under pressure."

"You look at the attitudes, the pack mentality and what happened in Wyoming to Matthew Shephard. They want to say they aren't responsible when their rhetoric gives someone license to commit these horrendous acts?"

Appeals for moderation, though, often fall on deaf ears, and "Hell House" promoters continue spreading their message of fear and ####ation in hopes of harvesting souls for Jesus. One pastor declared, "It's what we believe, and we don't make any apologies. Satan is The Tempter, he is real, and it's so easy to fall prey."

Stealth Evangelists in Our Schools

by Glenn Free Thought Society of Wisconsin

A "big man on a big mission" is coming to a school near you, if he has not already invaded. I had received a notice previously about this evidently very popular touring anti-drug speaker named Milton Creagh. But little info was provided and I had other things going on so I let it pass. It did however strike me as possibly one of the many "consultants" that speak to Public Schools to promote Christianity while hiding the agenda in front. Then today I received a full color promotion of his upcoming talk at my children's High School, funded in part by my children's school district. So I decide to see what I could find out about him.

As I mentioned before, there was something that raised a red flag about what his true agenda was. One of the main things is no web site is listed. Actually no specific details are provided about him at all. Everything is promotional fluff. e.g. he is 6'7" tall and is "the best kept secret in America" speaking at thousands of schools. Why would a person that earns their living talking to the public, not have a web site? This would
obviously be a bad business move from a visibility stand point. Perhaps he does not want to be "visible". Perhaps he wants to hide what he is doing until it is too late. But I amd very adept at doing internet searches. I eventually found his web site! Now I find it even more amazing that he HAS a web site, but does not promote it! Red flags all over the place!

So I visit the web site at: www.big-milt.com

The info that would be presented to a search engine is "My Frames Page". Again hiding that this is HIS web site! More red flags. So I read thru his site finding nothing specifically addressing any mention of religion, until I come to the bottom of one page and find:

(Wake up call) "Dads, "This is your wake-up call!" Any child can be drawn into the drug web at any time. It is imperative that we get on the battlefield immediately and begin to fight! We are currently right in the
middle of the most serious surface war this country has ever faced -- the war on drugs! It is also essential that we learn to discern that the root cause of this war is spiritual, and can only be truly won on a spiritual
battleground. As believers, we have a winning arsenal of weaponry. II Corinthians 10:4 reveals that all we have to do to win this war in America and in our homes, is to learn where the battleground is, get there, and use our weapons."

Checking further I find a guest log and find such comments from visitors as:

"I'm now in Barrow Alaska doing GOD work at Barrow High School. "

"Thank you for coming out to Newbury Park High School on Wednesday, February 6th, 2002. I'm praying that we will get more Dads out there so they can help out the Moms with the great kids God gave us to raise up. "

"I've had the chance to hear you on Focus on the Family and have such resources as "Masquerade." Our battle against the evils of drug and alcohol abuse is about getting our families, schools, and churches on the same page with the Lord. Look at what's happened when we have the attitude of not needing God and His Word."

I couldn't count how many times people were imploring god to bless him, even in one message!

We need to expose these Stealth Evangelists. They are using public tax dollars to intentionally promote Christianity. And they have no shame in using intentional lying by omission. They hide their agenda so no one will stop the Public Schools from bringing them in, then it is too late!

I hope you individuals and organizations that are receiving this will help find a way to expose and stop this blatant violation of Church State Separation.