But a judge’s ruling this week that she is entitled to worker’s compensation payments could end up costing the Watchtower Society millions of dollars.

Brenda Upton and her husband, Michael, took a vow of poverty and moved to the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Brooklyn headquarters in 1998 to work as chiropractors for other Bethelites.

She injured her spine while running to catch a bus at an upstate Watchtower compound later that year.

“They take wonderful care of you up to a point, and then you’re on your own,” Upton said. “That’s why we wound up going to court.”

She said she suffered debilitating nerve injuries that have left her barely able to carry a laundry basket. The Watchtower Society took care of her medical care until 2001, when she and her husband were asked to leave and were given a $79,000 stipend.

But Workers’ Compensation Law Judge Stephen Goldstein ruled Wednesday that Upton is entitled to $400 a week in workers’ compensation payments.

“I’m finding they were not religious volunteers,” Goldstein said. “They were engaged, particularly Dr. Brenda Upton, in a number of work-like activities.”

The Witnesses vowed to appeal the ruling, saying Upton and the other 5,800 Witnesses who live and work in the Jehovah’s Witnesses’ Brooklyn headquarters are volunteers, not employees.

But if the decision stands, the Witnesses – and other religious organizations – could potentially face millions of dollars in workers’ compensation insurance premiums and payments, said church lawyer John Miller.

“It’ll pretty much put religious orders out of business,” Miller said. “It would certainly impact whether we would ever want to continue operations” in New York.

The Watchtower Society owns about 40 properties in downtown Brooklyn and has plans to
build a huge new structure on a vacant lot.
Miller would not speculate how the workers’ compensation case would affect those plans.

“We don’t have a spiritual conflict,” said Upton, who has moved with her husband to Washington State.

“Our problem all along has been medical-legal. We are still active Jehovah’s Witnesses.”

Rewrite of a Daily News article

The WatchTower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania have initiated legal proceedings against Peter Mosier, who has been displaying “Quotes” from the Jehovah’s Witnesses publication on his website.

Peter Mosier’s site http://quotes.watchtower.ca has used excerpts from the WatchTower’s own religious literature, which has been printed and distributed free of charge for many years.

The law suit seeks a reported $100,000 in damages and a court order to silence the website.

The site in question carries a notice (in red) that states: “This research and information web site is devoted to collecting and preserving interesting and/or significant quotes from the publications of the Watch Tower Society, without additional commentary or editorial, for the purpose of scholarship and research. The quotes are accurate and verifiable, however this web site is neither affiliated with nor endorsed by Watch Tower Society.”

We understand that Peter Mosier is a former Jehovah’s Witness.

The Jehovah’s Witnesses are often considered a “cult” by many and it is not unusual to see former Jehovah’s Witnesses speaking out against this organization. It is true that they have many traditions and rules that most find strange, and in some cases unacceptable.

Our other site (Profindpages) has written a number of articles on Jehovah’s Witnesses, in particular their ban in Moscow. Covering this topic has brought us into close contact with many of its followers and we have to say that we find most of them very nice people.

However, the objections that most people have of this organization is not so much of the people that support it, but the people that run it (The Watchtower). They have been criticized for putting profit at the top of their list of priorities and there is no question that the company does indeed make a lot of money.

Is Peter Mosier just quoting quotes? Yes and No. The quotes he uses are genuine extracts from quotations found in the Watchtower’s literature, but of course he is selecting the quotes that he feels are the most interesting from his point of view.

Some of the quotations used go way back and a few have been taken from books that are no longer being printed.

One could say that Peter Mosier is “manipulating” the Watchtowers own information, but why are they so “embarrassed”, or perhaps afraid, of having these quotations published? Are the “words” of the past no longer the words of today?

The Watchtower has been accused many times of “changes” in its history and you have to wonder what other areas might be wrong and in need of change?

Many of the rules (for want of a better word) in the Jehovah’s Witnesses organization are quite good. They are against wars and follow many morally correct beliefs. Whilst there are a few “bad apples” in the faith, this is true of many other religions as well.

We tend to agree with many others that the strongest problems Jehovah’s Witnesses face is often created by their own leaders. Whilst no one expects them to change their basic beliefs, there are many areas that could be “updated” to better fit in with an ever changing world. The objections that many have to this religion are usually caused by a lack of understanding of the faith and the people who follow it.

This image could be improved if the organization was perhaps run more like a religion and less like a business? If the Watchtower are “embarrassed” about quotes from their own literature being published (in whatever form), perhaps there is something wrong with the quotations in the first place? No one is perfect in this world (certainly not humans) and there is no disgrace in admitting to errors. Surely, Jehovah’s Witnesses will not think less of the Watchtower if they accept that some older literature was less than correct and change it, some would probably see this as an act of strength not weakness. Do they think the organization will crumble if they admit to being human?

Perhaps the best option would be to correct the areas that create criticism, rather than try to gag those that are critical. This tactic is not so different to the way the Soviet Union was run. Censoring people’s views usually indicates there is something to hide!

Our article is not meant as an attack on those that belong to this faith, but we are concerned that the large number of decent, honest and trusting members involved are given the respect they have earnt with their loyalty.

Source

(I-Newswire) – For over 125 years the Watchtower Bible & Tract Society has been proclaiming the end of the world is nigh. It is to be replaced with a New Order where only those espousing their beliefs will live.

Yet the Watchtower Society continued to build in Brooklyn, expanding their smaller headquarters to contain several large properties in the exclusive Brooklyn Heights section next to the Brooklyn Bridge. In spite of several failed prophecies for the end of the world, the last disappointment being the year 1975, the Watchtower is a multi-billion dollar landowner all over the world. Income from their New York City corporation ( one of many they own ) is one of the top 40 in New York City, with just under $1 billion per year.

Not content with owning large blocks of properties and a 30-story residential building in Brooklyn, the Watchtower Society is planning to build a large 20+ story complex in DUMBO ( Down Under the Manhattan Bridge Overpass ), a trendy neighborhood that is not happy with their plans.

A watchdog organization called 85 Jay Street.org was formed to oppose this major influx of non-taxpaying residents, who want the project scaled down and altered to at least reflect part of the local community instead of having another huge religious dormitory like the large factory and residential buildings already dominating Brooklyn Heights.

Why So Much Construction When the End is Near?

Currently Jehovah’s Witnesses are attending summer conventions all over the world, and part of the scripted assembly program is focused on this “time of the end” we are living in. One play drama focuses on not worrying so much about getting a higher education because the “end is near.”

Why are so many buildings being erected when the numbers are down and Witnesses are apathetic about pressure to do more?

It could be an advance move to make sure their are enough funds to cover the ongoing litigation over child abuse scandals now mounting.

The large payouts the Catholic Church has made in the last few years over pedophile priests and those who cover them up has Watchtower attorneys worried for similar reasons. This is largely due to a “biblical dictate” that says in order to take action against any allegations of sexual misconduct or pedophilia there must be “two witnesses” to the alleged crime. Since that is rarely the case in the real world with pedophiles, large numbers of them have been left unpunished and go unreported, even though the elders and the leaders of the Watchtower Society often have knowledge of such allegations, and in fact have covered over many confessions of sex abusers – not wanting adverse publicity on their organization. This “ecclesiastical privilege” means that the Witness coming to your door to talk about the Bible may in fact be a known pedophile among his elders but has never been prosecuted by the sect OR the law, and they are out there talking to your children.

The law firm of Love and Norris is currently seeking prosecution for several such cases among the Witnesses, hoping to build a class-action suit that will force the Watchtower to change its policies ( they are still holding to the “two witnesses” rule ). The Watchtower Society is building all of their new properties to be easily converted into luxury apartments should the need arise. They already have several large properties up for sale in this multimillion dollar neighborhood. Buy low and sell high! But if the end is near, Why?

Source

Vicki Boer, 32, who says she suffered sexual assaults between ages 11 and 14, sought $700,000 from the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Canada and three of its elders in a 1998 civil suit that claimed they were negligent and breached their duty. A judge awarded her $5,000 in June, but no criminal charges were ever laid in the assault allegations.

“It’s really a slap in the face for them to think that I should be paying for costs,” Boer said in an interview Wednesday from Fredericton.

“I paid for the abuse, I paid for everything happening, and now they still want me to pay again.”

She had previously asked Watch Tower to cover her legal costs, which she estimated as $90,000.

Colin Stevenson, the lawyer representing Watch Tower, confirmed Wednesday that the religious group is asking Boer to pay part of its legal tab.

Stevenson said Watch Tower is not being vindictive.

“Watch Tower is not on any vendetta to try to collect costs from Vicki Boer,” Stevenson said.

Justice Anne Molloy is expected to make a decision on the awarding of legal costs, if any, in late August.

In the civil suit, Boer claimed that rather than immediately notify the Children’s Aid Society, elders told her not to seek outside help or report the alleged abuse. She also said they made her confront her father to allow him to repent his sins in accordance with biblical principles.

But Justice Anne Molloy ruled that while Boer was certainly put through a traumatic experience, the church was ultimately not responsible for all of her pain and suffering.

Molloy cleared the three elders of wrongdoing, but ruled that the church pay Boer $5,000 because one of its elders – who was not named in the suit – talked her into the confrontation with her father, which was an inaccurate application of their faith.

Molloy ruled the church never told Boer not to seek medical help, nor was she told the alleged abuse should not have been reported.

While victims of sexual abuse normally aren’t identified in public, Boer agreed to allow her name to be publicized as part of her effort to promote what she has alleged was abuse within the confines of the church’s congregations.

The potential sale of the nearly 1 million-square-foot building at 360 Furman St., a structure that many expect would be converted to luxury lofts, has local Realtors abuzz.

Some 400 to 500 condominium apartments could have views of Brooklyn, Manhattan, New York Harbor and the East River.

“The potential gross sellout price as condos could be half a billion dollars,” said one appraiser, who asked that his name not be used.

“Some of the top apartments will have 180-degree views, from the East River to the Verrazano Narrows [Bridge],” he said. “Those could sell for $4 million to $5 million.”

Melinda Magnett, president of the Brooklyn Corcoran Group, said a low asking price of $50 million would set off a bidding war.

” Waterfront properties are in demand,” she said, adding that a $50 million tag is “hypothetical – they might end up selling the building for a lot more.”

Realtors said that between DUMBO and Red Hook, there is nothing else quite like the structure, which eventually will be surrounded by the planned 67-acre Brooklyn Bridge Park.

Realtors compared the potential condo conversion of 360 Furman St. to the successful 126-unit conversion done at the Clock Tower at 1 Main St.

Apartments in the DUMBO building are now selling for between $500 and $625 a square foot and have appreciated as much as 40% from the original 1998 sale prices, said Domenick Neglia of Neglia Appraisals Inc. in Dyker Heights.

Witnesses shift

Built in 1928, the 12-story warehouse at 360 Furman St. sits between Atlantic Ave. and Joralemon St. The Watchtower Bible and Tract Society, also known as Jehovah’s Witnesses, purchased it 20 years ago.

The society used the building as its principal shipping facility for Bibles and publications – and has for years been plagued by community complaints of truck pollution and noise.

Last fall, the Jehovah’s Witnesses decided to shift the shipping facility to their Wallkill, N.Y., center and other facilities around the world, said Daniel Rice, a spokesman for the group.

Of selling 360 Furman St., Rice said, “We don’t need it any more.”

While the group – one of Brooklyn Heights’ largest property owners – posted a press release on its Web site announcing the potential sale, the building is not formally on the market.

By MELISSA GRACE
DAILY NEWS STAFF WRITER

by The Associated Press

DEER LODGE (AP) – Two Jehovah’s Witness church elders who fleeced a 100-year-old Deer Lodge woman out of her life savings and family ranch were sentenced Monday to 25 years in prison with 10 suspended.

District Judge Ted Mizner sentenced Darryl Willis, 64, of Helena, and Dale Erickson, 54, of Missoula, in what prosecutors called the biggest theft case in Montana history.

The men – who pleaded guilty to conspiracy, theft and securities fraud – were ordered to pay $6.5 million in restitution.

The thefts included taking a nearly $400,000 brokerage fee for illegally and secretly selling Una Anderson’s $5.3 million Powell County ranch for $4 million.

More than $2 million went to finance a failed effort to establish Montana’s first foreign capital depository, which would offer a place for the super-rich to stash their money similar to Swiss-style or offshore banks.

Mizner said the sentence represents a “small measure of justice” for Anderson, whose life savings and 6,400-acre family ranch were lost in a befriend-and-betray scheme that played out from 1995 to 2002.

The men used a complex system of trusts and interlocking companies to steal Anderson’s money while living in expensive homes, driving luxury cars and traveling extensively, court records said.

Anderson, who is now 101, said she is glad that justice was served, but is sad for the men who made poor decisions and ruined their lives.

“It’s sad to think of those two young people,” she said of Erickson and Willis. “My life has been good, but it’s almost over. They had everything ahead of them.”

During the sentencing hearing, family members and a social worker for Adult Protective Services, Janel Pliley, asked the court to impose the maximum sentence allowed by law _ which would have totaled 40 years.

Kelson Colbo, whose grandfather was Una Anderson’s first cousin, said Erickson and Willis used Anderson’s trust with the church as leverage to convince her to trust them with her finances.

The case was brought to the attention of authorities in September 2001 by members of Anderson’s family and Pliley.

Financial consultant and ex-missionary Raymond L. Knowles, a former resident of Pembroke Pines and Opa-locka and more recently San Antonio, Texas, was sentenced to 57 months in federal prison in January by U.S. District Judge Donald L. Graham for defrauding elderly and financially unsophisticated investors during a multimillion-dollar securities fraud scheme. He was convicted last October of 16 counts of mail fraud, four of wire fraud and four of securities fraud.

Many victims were fellow members of the same Jehovah’s Witnesses congregation where he was an elder.

According to a statement by South Florida U.S. Attorney Marcos Daniel Jimenez, Knowles used his position as an elder to sell millions of dollars worth of risky promissory notes to worshipers, falsely representing that the investments would return between 8.5 percent and 20 percent. He also was accused of diverting investor funds to lease luxury cars, pay personal, business and other expenses including trips to South Africa and Disney World near Orlando.

A Ponzi scheme is named after Charles Ponzi, an immigrant who ran such a scheme in 1919-1920. It involves an investment scheme in which returns are paid to earlier investors, entirely out of money paid into the scheme by newer investors.

Copyright © 2003, South Florida Sun-Sentinel

Source: South Florida Sun-Sentinel

(B J Kotwall; INVESTIGATOR MAGAZINE No. 73  2000 July pp. 48-51)  

The Watchtower Society (WTS) has often criticized other churches for passing collection plates during meetings. Churches that organize bingo, party games and other fund-raising efforts have also been repeatedly condemned. At the same time the WTS has emphasized that Jehovah’s Witnesses do not solicit donations! Comments like the following were common in WTS publications like The Watchtower (WT) and Awake! before 1990.

 w1987 12/1 30-31
‘Where do such funds come from?’ is an often-asked question. Unlike the churches of Christendom, Jehovah’s Witnesses do not take up collections or send out envelopes to solicit donations. Rather, contribution boxes—like the treasury chests of Biblical times—are set up at their Kingdom Halls.

  g1975 9/8 26
…is it not a comfort for them to know that in the local congregation of Jehovah’s witnesses they will never be tithed to pay out a percentage of their income? Nor will unscriptural money-raising schemes be imposed on them. It is at the Kingdom Hall that an unobtrusive contribution box is located for use by those who wish voluntarily to give money to support the work of the congregation. Donations mailed to the headquarters of the Watch Tower Society are also unsolicited and entirely voluntary.

  w1974 9/15 559
The Kingdom Halls of this happy group are open to you and you may attend free of charge, without having to suffer embarrassment by a request for contributions or the passing of a collection plate.

  w1971 8/15 506
The emphasis in all giving among the Witnesses is that it must be voluntary and spontaneous, from the heart. In fact, ever since the earliest days of the modern witnesses of Jehovah it has been their policy that never should there be any passing of collection plates or similar solicitations for money.

  w1962 5/1 278  How May I Contribute?
Jehovah’s witnesses have never gone begging for finances.

  Boasts like the above stopped after 1990. Why? Because the WTS began to openly solicit donations not only from its own people but also door to door from the public—and not only on Sundays but every day!  How did this happen?

The California Board of Equalization wanted to assess sales tax on the sale of books, tapes and other items by the Jimmy Swaggart ministry. The WTS filed amicus curiae (a friend of the court legal brief) in support of Swaggart’s stance that a religious organization should be exempt from such taxation.  (The WTS considers all other religions to be under the influence of the devil, but in this case it joined hands with the devil!). On January 17, 1990 the Supreme Court in California Board of Equalization vs. Jimmy Swaggart Ministries ruled against Swaggart.
One month after the Supreme Court ruling the WTS announced a new policy—that in the USA its literature which was heretofore sold at a fixed price should be offered free to the public and a donation solicited.

  The WTS introduced this new donations policy evidently to avoid tax on the sale of its publications. Asking for donations – something condemned for a century – had become acceptable.

  Moreover, detailed appeals for donations appeared in WTS publications. Notice how no avenue is left uncovered:

  How Some Make Donations to the Kingdom-Preaching Work

  • CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE WORLDWIDE WORK: Many set aside or budget an amount that they place in the contribution boxes labeled: “Contributions for the Society’s Worldwide Work—Matthew 24:14.” Each month congregations forward these amounts either to the world headquarters in Brooklyn, New York, or to the nearest branch office.

  • GIFTS: Voluntary donations of money may be sent directly to the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania, 25 Columbia Heights, Brooklyn, New York 11201-2483, or to the Society’s office that serves your country. Jewelry or other valuables may also be donated. A brief letter stating that such is an outright gift should accompany these contributions.

  • CONDITIONAL-DONATION ARRANGEMENT: Money may be given to the Watch Tower Society to be held in trust until the donor’s death, with the provision that in the case of personal need, it will be returned to the donor.

  • INSURANCE: The Watch Tower Society may be named as the beneficiary of a life insurance policy or in a retirement/pension plan. The Society should be informed of any such arrangement.

  • BANK ACCOUNTS: Bank accounts, certificates of deposit, or individual retirement accounts may be placed in trust for or made payable on death to the Watch Tower Society, in accord with local bank requirements. The Society should be informed of any such arrangements.

  • STOCKS AND BONDS: Stocks and bonds may be donated to the Watch Tower Society either as an outright gift or under an arrangement whereby the income continues to be paid to the donor.

  • REAL ESTATE: Salable real estate may be donated to the Watch Tower Society either by making an outright gift or by reserving a life estate to the donor, who can continue to live therein during his or her lifetime. One should contact the Society before deeding any real estate to the Society.

  • WILLS AND TRUSTS: Property or money may be bequeathed to the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania by means of a legally executed will, or the Society may be named as a beneficiary of a trust agreement. A trust benefiting a religious organization may provide certain tax advantages. A copy of the will or trust agreement should be sent to the Society.

  • PLANNED GIVING: The Society has assembled information on “Planned Giving.” Those who are planning to make a special gift to the Society now or to leave a bequest at death may find this information helpful. That is especially true if they wish to accomplish some family goal or estate-planning objective while using tax benefits to minimize the cost of the gift or bequest. This information can be obtained by writing to the Society at the address shown below.
(The Watchtower 1994 12/1 page 19)

  With shameless appeals like this, one wonders how the WTS could ever have chided other churches! And one wonders how many JWs have willed their few possessions to the multi-billion dollar WTS while leaving their own dependents stranded.
A further point is that 6 million JWs donate their time to distribute WTS publications door to door in what is called “field service” or “witnessing” or “ministry”. This activity is said to be “voluntary” but the teaching is that JWs who don’t do it will be executed by God at Armageddon.  JWs who regularly miss field service for entire months also face ostracism in their congregation and – if they try to justify their slackness – excommunication.

  Despite WTS writers often implying that the main source of funding is “contribution boxes” in Kingdom Halls, most comes from the efforts of six million JWs who trudge the streets and knock on doors to offer WTS literature.

  Furthermore, these same JWs are obliged to buy personal copies of all magazines and books the WTS puts out. The WTS has millions of captive buyers expected to purchase the publications without even looking at the contents!

  The WTS produces its literature at minimal cost. Materials are bought in bulk and every step in production is by “volunteers”.

  Whereas free-literature-for-donations came into force in the USA in 1990, it came into effect in Australia from January 1, 2000.  Apparently, the Goods and Services Tax, effective in Australia from July 1, 2000, was the catalyst.