Sale prompted by fear, Elks say

By Jeff Mangum, Sun staff writer
Clearwater Sun - January 27, 1983

Fear of legal reprisal by the Church of Scientology prompted the Clearwater Elks Club to sell its downtown lodge to the controversial sect, three ranking club members said Wednesday.

"The fear of litigation was definitely in the back of people's minds," said one Elk who voted against the deal Tuesday night. The club voted 74 to 15 to sell the lodge at 516 Franklin St., to the sect for $240,000.

Elks Exalted Ruler Edward G. Stein said members were informed fully during their closed-door session Tuesday about a "slight chance" of being sued. But Stein disputed the notion that members voted out of "fear."

"If you talk to different members, you get different answers," Stein said.

According to Elks sources, who requested anonymity, members rejected a last-minute offer from developer Charles Rutenberg to buy the lodge because there was no guarantee Rutenberg's company would pay legal fees if the Church of Scientology decided to sue the Elks for "backing out."

Legally known as "indemnification," such a guarantee could have made Rutenberg's firm, not the Elks, liable for any legal challenges, one source said.

But Elks members were vague about what kind of legal challenge the church could have mounted, and none of the Elks members interviewed said the Scientologists threatened to file suit.

The Elks sources said Rutenberg offered approximately $230,000 for the lodge.

Rutenberg's attorney, Timothy Johnson Jr., declined to discuss details of the proposal, other than to say the offer was between $228,000 and $240,000. The $228,000 figure is significant, because that is how much the Elks actually will reap; Clearwater Realtor Al Rogero will get $12,000 for handling the sale for the Elks.

Besides concern about a possible legal challenge from the Scientologists, one member said some Elks were afraid of "knifing Rogero in the back of we didn't go through with the deal."

Rogero confirmed the amount of his fee Wednesday. He said he would not have been offended if the Elks had accepted Rutenberg's offer.

"If they had wanted to sell it to someone else for a better deal, I would have said amen to them," Rogero said.

Scientology spokesman Hugh Wilhere said the church did not consider filing a lawsuit in the event that the Elks rejected its offer.

"I think they had the right to get the best price," Wilhere said. "To me, there was never any question of a lawsuit."

The Elks lodge has been on the market for about a year. Church officials first expressed interest in buying it in early December.

If a panel of Elks Grand Trustees in Chicago approves the sale of the two-story, cinderblock lodge, the building will be the eighth property in or near downtown Clearwater purchased by the church since 1975.

No date has been set for the church to move into the lodge, Wilhere said, adding that it wants to move in as soon as possible.

Elks officials have not purchased land for a new clubhouse, although they have said they want to move to the Countryside area in northeast Clearwater.

The church is involved in a long-running legal battle with Pinellas County to win exemption from paying taxes on its properties, worth some $9.5 million.

Rutenberg said he wanted to turn the lodge into an office building, keeping it on the tax rolls.

Founded in 1954 by science-fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard, the Church of Scientology offers counseling, called auditing. The church contends that the counseling frees believers from harmful mental imprints, called "engrams."

Wilhere said the church wants additional space in Clearwater to provide counseling and classroom space for the 300 to 500 parishioners who visit Clearwater each week.

The church contends it has 2.5 million followers worldwide, with about 700 church members living in Clearwater year-round.