ODIT/UNews: Bob Minton, In The News Again?

I was surprised to see this name in this mornings google news search. Bob Minton. Talk about news- necromancy. I really don't know if this is a recent news item from allafrica.com, or just a server refresh that google happen to catch.

Nigeria: Fashanu in Public Court
19 August 09: "...Robert Minton, whom Fashanu had accused of serving as a front for the Federal Government, had accused him of being sponsored by Scientology organisation, a cult group Minton had brought into critical light.

Minton said: "Fashanu has been used by the Scientology organisation that considers me to be their greatest enemy in the world. There is no chance Fashanu investigated it on his own. His investigator is a full-time worker for Scientology. This is a vendetta on Scientology's part against me and they are using Fashanu and Nigeria as a tool to beat me on the head. That is the bottomline."

Whether these inconsistencies were the creation of the media or self-inflicted is a question only Fashanu himself can answer..."

What About Bob
No, not the movie, but a little history lesson in the battle with the litigious Church of Scientology. I don't know the full story on all the circumstances of the rise and fall of this well-off protester, but it does make for some intriguing reading.

From wikipedia: Minton spent over $10 million fighting Scientology. He also participated in demonstrations in front of the Boston Headquarters of the Church of Scientology near his Beacon Hill home.

• This included about $2 million he spent on the Lisa McPherson wrongful death case.
• Minton offered a reward of $360,000 to anyone who would leave Scientology with enough information to cause the organization to lose its federal tax exemption. The amount of money was based on the amount of money critics say Scientology charges for courses.
• On November 1997, he spent $260,000 to buy a house for a cat sanctuary for former Scientologists Vaughn and Stacy Young.
• Minton also has given money to a number of other church critics, including three people who Scientology accuses of infringement of its copyrights.

After reports by Scientology alleging fraud in his Nigerian businesses, Minton successfully sued two German Scientology entities and a spokeswoman for a permanent injunction preventing them from repeating the libel.

It is not exactly clear why Minton suddenly stopped his criticism of Scientology and attempted to stop the Lisa McPherson wrongful death case he had funded. Critics of Scientology believe that Minton was blackmailed by the Church of Scientology.

In contrast, Mark Bunker, a former worker of the LMT, wrote "Blackmail didn’t turn Bob to Scientology’s side. The relentless on-going global assault of Scientology wore Bob down, along with attacks from former friends who felt Bob wasn’t doing enough in funding the Lisa case."

You can find more about Bob Minton and the LMT from from Mark Bunker's site xenutv.com

PBS: Greater Boston - Bob Minton Interview Part 1