CASH COWS AND MONEY-MAKING TRAILS  OF THE WATCHTOWER http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/195737/1/Atm-machines-next-to-contribution-boxes-at-2010-DC

WATCHTOWER INSTALLS MONEY MACHINES IN U.S. ASSEMBY HALLS Watchtower decided in 2011 to install debit-and-credit card money machines in assembly halls in the United States in order to get more money.  This reminds us of the Bible's account of what Christ did when he found merchants and money-changers in the great Temple in Jerusalem.  Surely Watchtower's doing this will be seen through by all and even more will quit over it due to their conscience telling them this is flat-out, 100% wrong.  Many in the Babyboom Generation born shortly after World War II became Jehovah's Witnesses after studying and being assured that UNLIKE SOME OTHER CHURCHES Watchtower was not out for the money.  They now feel betrayed about this just as also over the 1914 Generation Dctrinal being changed to the Overlap Generation Doctrine, Watchtower's Governing Body men insisting on more respect for themselves while writing Jehovah's own Son, Jesus Christ, out of the Watchtower's song book for JWs. The Watchtower organization is seen sliding farther and faster down the hill.  More and more it reminds onlookers of the Mormon church or Scientology.  The focus is no longer so much on Christ or even "Jehovah" for that matter so much as for the organization itself and especially so the heavies at the top of it like Geoffrey Jackson of Australia.  So far the adding in of the money machines does not appear to have caused a great deal of turbulence.  This could even backfire, causing more who go to the assembly hall meetings to not donate at all or to give only tiny amounts.  Likely not many JWs will come in with whip to drive out the merchants, and perhaps none will stick super glue into them, but it's not hard to predict that for every action there is a counter reaction.  As said, possibly even less in donations of money, but also of time and energy.  Shame on Watchtower.

WHERE THE MONEY IS GOING SO FAST The number one question asked is "Where's all the money going that Watchtower is raking in so fast, even by installing debit-credit card machines in U.S. assembly halls?"  That's what we read from postings at www.jehovahswitness.net Well, here you will find many theorizes and possibilities about which there may be some truth to all of them.  However what "Johnny the Bethelite" has claimed on phone conferences of www.sixscreensofthewatchtower.com is that the main money problems are mostly because of lawsuits over child abuse against children and also because of Sisters suing after they have been taken advantage of.  Johnny has also said up to about 2005 Watchtower had surpluses but after that their finances went into the red.  The year they started really going into decline would have been when the Silenlambs.org revelations broke onto Dateline NBC, that is in 2002, and eventually also CBS, ABC, BBC etc. Maybe so and maybe not, since Johnny has yet to be confirmed as a proved insider, although he well might be such.  If you have thoughts on the matter please email them to jmasonemerson@yahoo.com or post on our Guest Book.

THE WATCHTOWER AND "HEDGE FUNDS" CLICK HERE

WATCHTOWER SUED TRYING TO TAKE OVER KINGDOM HALL PROPERTY READ FIRST: Here's the first item that was filed.  Two plaintiffs alleged Watchtower defendants tried to hostilely take over their kingdom hall in wealthy Menlo Park, California, which the two had legal charge of, defamed, committed religious fraud, a campaign of mobbing (sustained harassment) and the Circuit Overseer physically pushed down one of the two. http://ex-jw.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Lawsuit-CV10-3907.pdf  However the next document (see immediately below) shows major escalation.  The plaintiff's attorney in it calls for the judge to have Watchtower's President  testify, reveals a corporate scheme to systematically not pay all taxes lawfully owed, launder money, "Mafia Style tactics," illegal tapping of cell phones, etc similar takeovers rushed to avoid taxes across the United States.  LAWSUIT GETS BIGGER!  WATCHTOWER PRESIDENT DON A. ADAMS MAY HAVE TO TESTIFY Photo attributed to P. Vasiliadis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DonAdams_200907.png for terms Among other people this mentions Watchtower Society heavies Don Adams, his brother Joel Adams and others at Watchtower’s world headquarters in New York.  The Governing Body is mentioned but other than its President Don Adams, no other names for Governing Body members are cited yet.  Following are extracts of the “Response To Interrogatories” document going from pages 25 to the end.  In the document are calls for Watchtower’s President Don Adams to come give testimony in this case that alleges that defendants committed Wire And Mail Fraud, Religious Affinity Fraud, money-laundering, systematic major tax evasion, falsifying of evidence, witness tampering, “Mafia Style tactics,” harassment, personal threats electronically through email that “under Homeland Security Laws fall under electronic terroristic threats,”  invasion of privacy via illegal cell phone surveillance to get confidential phone conversations, etc.  Please remember and bear in mind that all defendants are to be presumed innocent until and unless they may possibly be convicted in a court of law. The document involves not only the takeover of the Menlo Park in California but it alleges Watchtower is doing such against independent high-dollar congregations across the U.S. for example in Washington D.C., New York, Kentucky and Texas.   Even the F.B.I. is mentioned.  To be more precise, the following is after Case No.: 3:10-CV-03907-MEJ “In the United States District Court For The Northern District Of California” with the Honorable Maria-Elena James presiding; and the Response To Interrogatories part of it goes from page 18 to page 54.  The document’s online address is http://ex-jw.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/50-main.pdf  To make it easier to read the extracted material is  presented here with paragraphs and some (not all) correcting of some of the original’s misspelled words.  Now, here is the extracted material: Page 25: Whenever problems arose in the affecting of their illegal takeover various phone conferences were held with Defendant Allen Shuster who gave logistical support to his fellow Defendants on what measures they should undertake to ensure that the takeover would happen.  The chain of command was as follows; Defendant Allen Shuster would give information and make plans and provide this assistance to Defendant Paul Koehler who would then provide information to his cousin Defendant Ernest Brede and then Defendant Brede would disseminate the information to the rest of his fellow Defendants.  Upon receiving the original complaint filed in August of 2010, and seeing the charge of Wire Fraud, much of the communications that occurred after that were direct.  Defendant Shuster on two known occasions boarded a flight and flew trans continentally from New York, Patterson office to California to speak directly to the Defendants here.  It is believed this was done in an effort to try to prevent any further liability for Wire Fraud. It is also surmised that any technical planning and execution of their furtherance of their original planned takeover was done at the behest of Joel C. Adams who heads the various departments that were managed by Defendant Allen Shuster.  It should be noted that Joel C. Adams is the brother of Don Adams, the current Watchtower president.  Drawing upon his extensive legal knowledge and along with his knowledge of the inner workings of the Watchtower organization from a corporate standpoint, it could easily be alleged that this planned takeover was the brainchild of Joel C. Adams with his brother, Don Adams lending assistance in the form of planning and advising due to his legal knowledge and his knowledge of the inner workings of the organization as a whole.  So tentatively, it can be surmised that Don Adams oversaw this takeover and sanctioned it, through Joel C. Adams, his brother who headed the department that Defendant Allen Shuster managed, and than Defendant Shuster carried out the plan utilizing Defendant Koehler as a pointman directing Defendant Brede.  Defendant Brede would than disseminate the plans or counter plans to the rest of the Defendants.  For this reason, the Plaintiff's feel it will be very necessary to secure testimony from Joel C. Adams to ascertain possible involvement in this ongoing situation.  It will also be necessary to call as witness Don Adams, the Watchtower president as he is the most knowledgeable about procedures within the organization.  Due in part, to his being the standing president of the Watchtower organization he is in the best position to be able to convey and explain the correct procedures with regard to corporate issues and since there is a direct separation between the corporate and religious sides to the organization, there should not be a conflict of interest in with regard to his testimony about corporate procedures within the organization.  Please refer to Exhibit G for a hierarchal breakdown and how the upper echelon of the Watchtower Corporation purport to the field operatives. With regard to secular motives which would thus invoke Serbian as a basis for this complaint, a motive can be clearly established by Defendant Brede himself.  On or about the date of June 7th 20011, Defendant Brede had been engaging in conversation with Bill Douglass, a potential witness for the Plaintiff's.  During this conversation Mr. Bill Douglas stated that he wanted to know the exact reasons for the removal of the entire elder body of Menlo Park which occurred on July 1st, 2010.  According to Mr. Douglas the reason stated by Defendant Brede for their removal was for retaliatory purposes.  Defendant Brede stated that they, meaning the entire elder body was removed because of their having to remove Peter Gallego for disciplinary measures.  Defendant Brede also went on to state to Mr. Bill Douglas, that they only wished to remove Jason Cobb and Jonathan D. Cobb, but to prevent  it from appearing as a racial issue, since both Jonathan D. Cobb and Jason Cobb are black, they in fact made the choice to remove them all.  It should be noted that Plaintiff Walter St. Clair and George Stock are in fact caucasian.  It was implied to Mr. Bill Douglas that the removal and takeover of the Congregation was for retaliatory and revenge motives, along with the furtherance of their scheme. As background information, Peter Gallego had been an elder based in the Menlo Park Congregation for many years prior to his death.  During his tenure as an elder Mr. Gallego had been involved in behavior that was unbecoming of an elder in good standing, so it was decided that Mr. Gallego had to be removed.  This was due in part to his seemingly excessive and weekly drinking, along with some issues with regard to his sons behavior that was deemed inappropirate by religious standards.  Mr. Gallego was regularly in contact with members back at the Patterson office of the Watchtower and had been engaging in collecting and documenting the movements and activities of the then elders.  Mr. Gallego had been acting more or less as a pointman, directed by parties at the Patterson office, with a clear motive to try to document in a negative way the activities of Jason Cobb and Jonathan D. Cobb with seemingly the hope of finding a way to get them removed from their positions.  Prior to Mr. Gallegos death he did divulge the names of the parties he was in contact with and the purpose of said contact.  Those parties may be called as hostile witnesses to testify to the intent and that there were various parties who conspired to find fault with Jason Cobb and Jonathan D. Cobb for the sole purpose of their removal.  With Defendant Brede establishing the true motive for this takeover it is clear that this is NOT a 1st Amendment issue but only that the Defendants are hoping to shield themselves behind the facade of this situation being an ecclesiastical issue that is not open to the scrutiny of the courts.  In actuality, the Defendants have established their true intent with the conversation with Mr. Bill Douglas, who has also stated he will testify as to the content of this conversation as well as others if called upon by the court.  With regard to Mr. Bill Douglas who resides at 735 Ramona Ave, in Palo Alto, California, he has stated that he had been threatened with (page 28) excommunication by Defendant Paul Koehler himself if he appeared to be aiding Jason Cobb or the Plaintiff's in any way.  He was expressly told to not "talk" to Jason, who is in good standing within the Congregation.  He was also told to ask no further questions in regard to this matter.  It is clear that the Defendants along with Mr. Anthony Smith are engaging in continued witness tampering in an effort to try to intimidate possible witnesses into not cooperating with any directives of the court.  Mr. Bill Douglas is considering options to secure protections from the court prior to any dates where his testimony may be needed.  The Defendants seem bent on trying to utilize religious right as a type of blanket immunity even regarding criminal activities.  Officer Jeff Keegan has stated that during the course of his initial investigation with regard to Case No. MPPD 11-973 that Mr. Anthony Smith has implied that due to the fact that this situation in ecclesiastical in nature, his Defendants seemingly do not have to cooperate with the investigation.  Again, though it should be clearly noted that religious policies do not in any way supersede the law of the land.  With three police reports filed and investigations now in the early stages for various potential offenses ranging from identity theft to fraud by the Defendants, it is obvious to the layman that no religious policies excuse one from responsibility to the law.  The Defendants are simply trying to override the law using religious procedures as an excuse.  There is a stated procedure for dealing with corporate issues.  The question based upon the preponderance of the law now is, were the Defendants aware of this procedure or not?  One cannot claim ignorance of the law which is by its very nature a basic principle of the law, since the law is readily accessible to all.  The simple principle is that the Defendants do not have the power to remove officers from a corporation.  They may have the power to remove the Plaintiff's from there spiritual responsibilities within the Congregation but they do NOT have the power to remove officers or just to simply vote themselves in, and this is what is at the core of this legal proceeding.  See attached exhibit F, which is a cop of an email from Defendant Brede to Jason Cobb which obviously shows that Defendant Brede does not understand corporation procedures. Page 29: One cannot vote oneself into a specified position within a corporation then arbitrarily use subterfuge to maintain control of that corporation and then absorb the assets of the original corporation when there are standing officers of that corporation in place.  By virtue of the documents that were filed fraudulently with the Secretary of State office it is clear this was the intent of the Defendants.  The corporate bank accounts were taken over without the Plaintiff's signing off and the fraudulent State filed documents were used to gain access to these accounts. The bank accounts themselves contain the names of Defendants Brede, Donald Showers and Glenn Watson.  The property deed was then absorbed and the names contained on the deed are Defendants Ernest Brede, Donald Showers and Larry Laverdure.  The secret bank account at Chase Bank contains the names of Defendants Ernest Brede, Donald Showers and Luis Contreras, so it is obvious they were all appear complicit in this alleged criminal activity.  They sought to take over by force alone, utilizing fraudulent documents and fraudulent filings.  Any document that contained their names was used in the effecting of this alleged criminal behavior.  When discovered they sought to then try to have Jason Cobb charged with the crime of embezzlement in a way to retroactively cover over their wrongdoing and lay blame on him.  Even going so far as to file a fraudulent police report in the hopes of possibly getting Jason Cobb arrested so as to gain leverage with the Plaintiff's.  Why else would Defendants Ernest Brede and Donald Showers file a police report claiming embezzlement for an account that they themselves opened and were aware of?  It was only when Jason Cobb became aware of this accounts existence did it become an issue.  The only question that remains is whether or not this was an idea of their creation or whether or not they were instructed to take this course of action by parties at the Patterson office of the Watchtower headquarters, through their liaison here, Defendant Paul Koehler.  The Defendants are all willing participants in this fraud and hope to hide behind religious polity to cover over their complicity in these alleged criminal acts.  (page 30)  Exhibits B, C and D are letters by the entire previous body of elders who although were removed from the religious positions did not sign over or waive their corporate positions.  These documents were at the request of the Menlo Park Police Department for that ongoing investigation and it's clear that the Defendants circumvented any legal process and opted to simply take by force and fraudulent means, the assets, accounts and property attached to the Menlo Park Corporation.  Their motives obviously being secular in fashion.  Within the scope of the Palo Alto Police Department's investigation they are concentrating on what appears to be low level money laundering on the part of the Defendants.  Which is why the Defendants need access to the accounts as part of their scheme.  The scheme has a two-fold purpose; one being the complete control by the Watchtower headquarters of all physical Kingdom Hall buildings.  Notice please Exhibit D, the Restated Articles of the Defendants corporation which state that in the event there is any default the real property of 811 Bay Road will transfer ownership to the Watchtower headquarters.  Which is akin to a modern day land grab.  The seemingly new policy in effect by the Watchtower is to gain absolute control of all the actual Congregation properties for all Kingdom Halls that are independently owned.  To do this and make it palatable for the parishioners is create the need to expand the physical size of the building itself.  Step one is to force merge two congregations into one building.  With more parishioners in attendance it becomes obvious that the physical building may not be able to accommodate the influx of new members, so a remodeling  project is then planned.  Step two is to then loan the necessary funds to that congregation to complete the remodeling work.  The property deed is then leveraged in lieu of loan payment.  This means that the Watchtower Corporation has their name placed on the deed as temporary owner until the loan is paid off.  The loans are usually exorbitant amounts, way more than what is normally needed for any remodeling project but this is done to make sure the congregation stays in debt for a longer period of time.  Thirdly, when the loan is finally paid off by the congregation who received the remodeling work, the Watchtower Corporation never remove their names from the property deed (page 31) even though they agreed to at the very beginning of the transaction. In effect the Watchtower Corporation then becomes the owner of the physical building, thus putting that particular congregation under the direct control of the Watchtower Corporation in Patterson.  On closer inspection though, it has become obvious that these remodeling projects are used as a means to launder and embezzle money.  The remodeling projects are always overpriced, this being akin to the U.S. Army charging $500 dollars for a toilet.  The remodeling projects are priced with cost overruns which allow unscrupulous parties to be able to profit and launder and or embezzle funds from within the remodeling project itself.   The embezzlement scheme is predicated on their being a need for a remodeling project and if you force merge two congregations, it instantly creates the need to remodel as the parishioners have increased.  The old building that was occupied by the merging congregation is sold at a profit, thus giving the appearance of the remodeling project being necessary to accommodate the new congregation.  The Regional Building Committee or RBC who arranges the building projects then becomes a clearinghouse for the money, but with a discretionary clause, see Exhibit H which is a letter by the RBC on the subject of building renovations and remodeling.  In paragraph four it states that due to the rising costs of building materials remodeling should not be the first thought.  Maintaining the buildings with good ventilation, care for restrooms and such is first priority.  Page 2 of the same exhibit states that even if the congregation has the funds to complete a remodeling project, that does not necessarily mean a full remodeling project should be undertaken.  This means in layman terms we are only interested in allowing a congregation to remodel if the property will garner more money in a proposed sale and that renovations and remodeling projects are primarily reserved for merged congregations due to the fact that the empty building left after the congregation assimilates into a new location is one that would have a high dollar value attached to it.  It should be also noted that Joel C. Adams heads the department that oversees the RBC, so it is likely that if any party within the Watchtower organization can testify as to why these mergers are forced he  Page 32: could.  On the surface it all seems reasonable but the whole scheme operates on one basic principle--most parishioners, who are Christians, would never think that a fellow Christian would lie.  This is the operating principle that has allowed the Defendants to seemingly act with impunity.  It is also why they would try to blame an innocent party, Jason Cobb, and make claim that he was embezzling money and placing it into an account that in fact the Defendants themselves opened on July 9th, 2010 with the help of confederates within the bank and using Jason Cobb's identity and credentials.  They sought to create a crime that they had no real intention of trying to charge Jason Cobb with but that they had planned to use as leverage an excuse to excommunicate Jason Cobb, Jonathan D. Cobb Sr. and possibly Walter Arlen St. Clair along with George Stock.  After several long moths when this account was discovered by Jason with the help of a banking agent from Wells Fargo Bank, it became clear that the Defendants in an effort to try to neutralize any criminal charges incurred from the unauthorized use of Jason Cobb's identity and credentials, the Defendants, Ernest Brede and Donald Showers sought to file a police report claiming that they in fact were the ones who "discovered" this account, when in actuality they were the ones according to Chase Bank that opened the account.  The Defendants have demonstrated that they are willing to lie, falsify documents, file false reports, fabricate evidence and deal in subterfuge, intimidations and anything else necessary in an effort to resolve this situation and not have to answer for their criminal acts.  To this end they have enlisted the help of several parties from within the confines of the religious organization to assist them in a systematic form of harassment, all designed to prevent their exposure.  The Defendants have utilized people with specific skills such as Mr. Bruce Radetich, who is an ex-police officer and now a security specialist who, it is believed has been employed in an effort to use illegal means to surreptitiously monitor phone calls in hopes of gaining information as to the possible direction the Plaintiff's are heading with regard to legal matters.  Certain personal cell phones of the Plaintiff's as well as other parties closely associated with the Plaintiff's appear as if they  (Page 33)  been monitored by parties outside.  One particular cell phone used by Jason Cobb was inspected by a cell phone specialist, named Milano at Cell Phone Repair, located at 859 W. El Camino Real, Mountain View, CA 94040 where it was determined that the phone in question had been set up to allow a remote party to be able to intercept calls and monitor them.  Milano the cell phone technician who worked on the cell phone in question has had nearly ten years of experience with various makes and models of phones and this party has agreed to testify about the state of the phone and the potential ramifications of what he discovered while working on Jason Cobb's cell phone.  The technician's expert testimony can easily show intent and how far the Defendants, acting in consort with various confederates, are willing to go in an effort to try to conceal the true nature of this situation, not to mention clearly defining Wire Fraud issues. As the Defendants seem intent on portraying this situation and being an issue of polity it lends credence to the charge of Religious Affinity Fraud.  Why do you ask parishioners of the congregation to donate money for a remodeling project that will be paid for by a loan secured from the Watchtower Corporation?  Again this demonstrates that the Defendants are part of a vast network of carefully placed individuals who are there to use their positions to influence any type of outcome they wish.  A good example of this is Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.  This bank has received several numerous subpoenas with regard to the possible accounts being used for laundering and still they have yet to comply with any subpoena in full.  The Plaintiff's have subpoenaed requesting the signature cards for th account #87894705, an account that contain the name of Mr. Glenn M. Watson who is listed as a party that any and all account information has been sought but the banks response was, that the signature cards have been lost and they no longer possess them.  Clearly subterfuge in that the signature cards are an integral part of any account but more especially for a business account attached to a corporation.  It is either a case of gross negligence or concealment as it is so believed that it was Mr. Glenn M. Watson who removed the authorized names of Jason Cobb and Jonathan D. Cobb Sr. from these accounts PRIOR to the (page 34) date of July 1st, 2010 at the time the Defendants came and claimed they were authorized to be the new officers of the corporation.  It is incomprehensible that a bank would loose the signature cards for a corporation, as it demonstrates the extreme mishandling and irresponsibility of the bank in question and if this is not the case then it is clearly subterfuge on the part of certain bank employees in trying to help the Defendants conceal their wrongdoing and possible involvement with this scheme.  Wells Fargo Bank has demonstrated a premeditated desire to aid the Defendants in covering up the fact that Jason Cobb, may have had his name removed from the accounts in question even BEFORE the Defendants arrived to the Menlo Park Congregation in an effort to lay the ground work for this takeover. This is not in any way supposition as there are facts to support this claim based upon information already obtained through other subpoenas from Wells Fargo Ban, N.A.  Refer to Exhibit I which is an actual bank statement with regard to one of the accounts in question and on page 2 it shows an annual gross sale of $150,000 dollars.  Firstly, Jehovah's Witnesses do not "sell" anything and there is the question of where did these funds originate from?  According to account historical information, this amount, $150,000 dollars came into this bank account in late 2008, yet Jason Cobb who was rightful custodian of this account during this time had no knowledge of this money.  The only way this could have occurred is if Mr. Glenn M. Watson had Jason Cobb's name removed from the account so that he would not be able to access any information or receive any statements that would have alerted him to this money much in the same way that his identity was used by the Defendants to  establish a secret account at Chase Bank that was flush with $60,000 dollars.  It could exist, if no one would know or have knowledge of its existence on the part of the rightful officers of the corporation.    Further documentation could easily ferret out, how exactly they removed Jason Cobb's name to prevent detection, and Wells Fargo Bank is aware of this as it presents a high degree of liability by the bank.  Using carefully placed confederates within the bank, the (page 35)  Defendants obviously had planned all along to effect the removal of the then elders and Plaintiff's.  Wells Fargo Bank's only interest is in concealing the fact of their liability in this situation as it is being made public would seriously undermine the publics trust in the bank overall.   Refer to Exhibit G for the diagram that outlines the inner workings of their network from within the Watchtower Corporation.  The network itself is a series of individuals who are in place and by extension have underlings working under them, the Defendants are such an example of this.  Many times they have used unwitting parties to effect their ends.  In these cases they have used religious statutes in an effort to try to convince parties that cooperating with either law enforcement or the Plaintiff's would be contrary to the laws of God and what is laid out in the bible, sadly most parties forget that a Christian's first and foremost duty is to the truth, whatever that may be.  However, the Defendants have steadfastly made claim to various individuals that providing any information to the Plaintiff's would be going against the Watchtower itself and by extension God.    Nothing could be further from the truth, it's simply a case of the Defendants trying silence individuals and block any possible testimony of parties privy to pertinent information that could expose what the Defendants have done in trying to obfuscate the lawful process with regard to the corporation itself.  Again, clear evidence of this is the private meeting that the Defendants had with Mr. Bill Douglas where they informed him that providing any information to the Plaintiff's, would result in his excommunication from the organization.  According to Mr, Bill Douglas, even AOR Anthony V. Smith had seemingly implied the same thing in a telephonic conversation with him.    The Defendants are obviously using fear tactics in trying to sway potential witnesses.  If fear does not work then direct intimidation is the next step in a systematic plan to try to render the case a moot point if parties are too afraid to come forward and tell the truth about what they in fact know, have seen, or been part to in various interactions with the Defendants at the congregational hall of meeting.  All Defendants have participated in one form or another in witness intimidation and using religion as a basis to ensure that potential witnesses will not (page 36)   cooperate any court case or with the various police agencies that are now investigating and many have come forward complaining that they are tired of being bullied and harassed by the Defendants.    The takeover of the Menlo Park Congregation Corporation was done with a series of fraudulent acts all committed by the Defendants acting as willing participants in a wider scheme.  That scheme is predicated on the forced merger of several congregations.  With the new tax laws that have gone into effect accountability of religious organizations has now increased.  When we speak of accountabilities we are speaking in a monetary sense.  With the new 990 tax laws religious organizations now must make an accounting of funds for potential taxation purposes and in doing so the Watchtower Corporation has used mergers as a way to more or less beat possible taxation.    The scheme works like this, the Watchtower Corporation has $150,000 dollars of money they do not wish to report to be taxed on, so they earmark this money to be used as a donation to a particular congregation.  That congregation is then told to merge with another congregation, which naturally will cause an instant increase in membership as in actuality two congregations are being merged into one.  With the advent of their being more members the claim is then made that due to the higher volume of members it is necessary to then build a larger congregation building.  Money that would normally have to be reported for tax purposes then in earmarked for a new project.  It is usually an amount that is higher than what is needed to do the construction project.  Meaning, if to do a basic remodeling project would cost $75,000 dollars, the Watchtower Corporation then provides $100,000 as a donation to the building project.  The congregation is then responsible for the "donation" that is also considered a loan.  The congregation then pays the funds back, supposedly the cost of the loan when in actuality the Watchtower Corporation is receiving the same money back that was initially made as a donation.  It is therefore non taxable as it appears as if its a loan payment for the remodeling work.  This also answers the question as to why the congregation also has a (page 37) building fund knowing full well it is going to get the loan from the Watchtower Corporation.   The Watchtower Corporation has its name placed on the deed as collateral for the loan and once the remodeling work is done, they never remove their name from the deed, whether the loan is paid back or not and thus the Watchtower Corporation effectively takes control of the congregational building, or Kingdom Hall and they have more or less laundered the funds that they would have been taxed.  This is nothing more than a large scheme that has its basis in tax avoidance.  The government cannot tax monies the Watchtower Corporation no longer has as it is given to congregations for the purpose of building and remodeling. In doing so, the congregation in question loses control over the actual property but as a consolation that congregation gets a newly remodeled building which is to placate anyone who may question the inner workings of the scheme.  It's an illusion, you see a new Kingdom Hall but what you do not realize is to get this new Kingdom Hall you are giving up control of it and also helping the Watchtower Corporation to effectively launder the funds that would have had to be taxed under the new taxation laws that apply to religious organizations. It is also about control of the actual congregation Kingdom Hall buildings.  The Watchtower Corporation did not want a repeat of what happened in the Bonham Texas case where it was established that the various Kingdom Halls, although they may use the name Jehovah's Witnesses are not necessarily owned by the Watchtower Corporation itself.  Thus the Watchtower Corporation sought to find a way to force all congregation Kingdom Halls under their control but do it in such a way that none of the members themselves would realize that ever merger is nothing more than a hostile takeover with the newly remodeled Kingdom Hall building being nothing more than placebo to placate anyone that may question the true intent and motives of the Watchtower Corporation.  It should also be noted that this was obviously a way to launder monies that should have been taxed by the necessary governmental agencies.  With new upcoming tax laws that will go into effect soon, the Watchtower Corporation is actively seeking to merge as many congregations, possibly as a last ditch effort to effectively operate their (page 38) "money machine" until such time as they can no longer, due to tax regulations, be able to continue it further. Due to the fact that the Menlo Park Corporation has never received any loans from the Watchtower Society Corporation, it is in no way beholden to the Watchtower Corporation, the Defendants main objective was to incur debt to the Watchtower Corporation, in the form of the remodeling work proposed for the physical building at 811 Bay Road.  The Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses is a corporation based in Patterson, New York.  It is a part of the overall Watchtower Corporation and as such has no ecclesiastical authority.  As a corporation they can't.  Yet Exhibit J clearly shows that it was in fact this part of the corporation that made the decision for the removal of the elders of the Menlo Park Congregation, namely Jason Cobb, Walter A. St. Clair, George Stock and Jonathan D. Cobb Sr.  This decision could have only come from the ruling class of the Governing Body based in Brooklyn, New York.  Mr. Anthony Smith AOR for the Defendants has tirelessly claimed that this is an ecclesiastical issue and that it has been resolved at the very highest ecclesiastical levels but yet he failed state who that is.  He would have to claim that it is Don Adams, who is the president of the Watchtower Corporation or that it was the Governing Body of the Jehovah's Witnesses.  It is established that this is not a decision by the Governing Body as no documentation bears their names or signatures, nor is there any documentations and communiques from Mr. Don Adams, so this begs the question as to who makes the decisions.  If the decision was made by the Governing Body, it can only be for an ecclesiastical issue, namely the Plaintiff's positions as elders within the congregation but this in no way also includes their positions as officers of the congregation corporation.  Although Defendant Brede stated in an email to Jason Cobb that their removal from ecclesiastical positions automatically includes removal from corporate duties, when in fact a corporation is baed upon laws of the land and not biblical laws, so therefore Defendant Brede's claim is false, please see referenced email as Exhibit F.  With all of the various intricacies to policies within the Watchtower Corporation and the fact that this part of the Watchtower is (page 39) corporate based and not particularly about religious doctrine it is obviously necessary to have Mr. Don Adams testify as an expert witness about the current policies within the organization.  The current goals of the parties involved in this network is not to control the flow of information and to try and conceal their complicity by any means necessary. An example of this is the Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. subpoena processing department.  The assigned individual who is supposed to be handling the subpoena is Miss Terry Holland, who is supposed to facilitate the dissemination of information needed as per what is described on the subpoena.  Several phone calls have been placed to her and yet she refuses to respond.  Contact has been made via U.S. Postal mail with a complete description of the items requested and yet they have not been forthcoming and their lack of cooperation clearly shows an intent to try to cover over either the banks complicity in this matter or to aid the Defendants in furthering their scheme due to the banks lack of cooperation.  When Jason Cobb began pressing the bank to request records about the account, he was summarily told to close out those accounts, which would have allowed the bank to be able to seal the records that would have indicated the participation of Mr. Glenn Watson in effectively removing the authorized names of Jason Cobb and so forth to make way for the Defendants to take over.  Defendants Brede and Donald Showers then sought to file papers with the Secretary of State listing themselves as officers of the Corporation in an effort to wrest control of the accounts and effectively prevent Jason Cobb from making further inquiry as to the nature of the account in question.  This would allow the bank to not have to reveal who handled (page 41) the account, who removed the authorized names, namely Jason Cobb and it would also protect the identity of the parties that the Defendants had worked with to facilitate this takeover.  Which would lend credence as to why now even under subpoena Wells Fargo Bank is not cooperating with the subpoena.  Although, if asked it is understood that Miss Terry Holland would state she was on vacation which would allow the bank time to prevent the Plaintiff's from getting access to these documents to keep them from being included in the interrogatories that would clearly show fraudulent activity with regard to the account in question.  This network the Defendants appear to be a part of is vast in that they have used members of their religion in various ways to further their ends.  To do this all one would have to do is use their positions from within the organization to influence someone into doing something "for the sake of the brotherhood" or in the name of the Watchtower Society.  If you simply say this person is associating with "apostates", (people who appear to not simply accept the teachings of the Watchtower without question), it is used as a code word that has the effect of automatically turning a person away from wanting to have anything to do with this person, even if it is a blood relative or relation.   It's a term used to instill fear and compliance as no person within the Jehovah's Witness faith would want to be labeled an apostate, it effectively would be the same as being treated like a leper, ones spiritual life would be over.  People, friends and association one may have had for years would abruptly end and ironically, it takes no real  proof to have someone labeled an apostate within the Jehovah's Witness Organization.  One would merely have to verbally say whatever party is an apostate and the stigma alone would effectively end a person’s spiritual existence and the Defendants have used this tool as well as other carefully placed individuals who feel they are working towards keeping the Watchtower above scrutiny but who really are acting as minions for individuals with an agenda.  Please refer to Exhibit L, you will see it is a copy of an email sent by one Mr. Neil Edwards.  On the surface it seems like a friendly email from someone willing to provide discount tickets to a sporting event, but what is interesting about this email is that it was sent by Mr. Neil (page 42) Edwards, December 12, 2010.  The significance of this date is that the Defendants had already prepared the fraudulent documents to file with the Secretary of State that they knew would allow them to takeover the control of the Menlo Park Corporation and the only thing that stood in their way was the rightful officers, namely Jason Cobb who was CEO of the Menlo Park Corporation.  In Exhibit F, Defendant Brede in an email stated that a person removed from his spiritual duties was also automatically removed from their corporate duties but this is in point of fact false according to the laws governing California corporations.  The reality is Defendant Brede needed to have Jason Cobb out of the way so that it would not be discovered that the Defendants would be filing fraudulent papers with the Secretary of State.  To do this it was important to know the whereabouts of Jason Cobb, so enlisting the help of Mr. Neil Edwards he agreed to send this email hoping that Jason Cobb would respond and give his location.  The email was nothing more than a ploy to get Jason Cobb to divulge his whereabouts so that the Defendants could file the fraudulent paperwork and hope that  it would go undiscovered by Jason Cobb.  The Defendants filed their fraudulent paperwork December 16th, 2010 just a few days after Mr. Neil Edwards made contact via email to Jason Cobb about this sporting event.  Again, the Defendants used confederates either knowingly or unknowingly to achieve their goal.  Motive in this case is important and thus far has proven to be secular and not ecclesiastically based.  Please refer to Exhibit I that in summary states the entire elder body was removed because they were no longer qualified.  However, as previously mentioned in a direct conversation with Defendant Brede, Mr. Bill Douglas was told by the Defendant himself that the elders removal was in retaliation for Mr. Peter Gallego's removal from his position.  It was also further iterated that the removal of the elders was only aimed at Jason Cobb and Jonathan D. Cobb Sr. but to prevent any potential ideas that their removal was racially motivated, all the elders of the Menlo Park Congregation were removed.  This is what Defendant Brede has stated.  That being the case then the letter listed as (page 43) Exhibit J, then would have to be a fraud designed to hide the real motives and intent.  The Defendants acting in a conspiratorial way acted on the orders of Defendant Paul Koehler, directed by Defendant Allen Shuster to find a way to remove the elders because they were aware that with their previous resistance to suggested mergers, they would effectively stand in their way of being able to complete a merger.  The merger would then allow the excuse of the remodeling work.  Defendant Steve Misterfeld, knowing the issues involved were not about theocratic things, used his position as then acting "District Overseer", which is a position higher than Defendant Paul Koehler being a "Circuit Overseer" needed Defendant Misterfeld to concur with his decision to remove the Plaintiff's and the entire elder body.  Defendant Misterfeld used his position of authority in an effort to legitimize the decision to remove the Plaintiff's and then elders giving the impression that their removal was about theocratic or ecclesiastical issues, when in point of fact, the issues were secular.  Defendant Misterfeld was a knowing accomplice before and after the fact as he sought to help Defendant Koehler in any way to affect this hostile takeover, getting any parties out of the way that would be against their interest, even if those interests were unlawful.  This was a systematic pattern of operation that parties within the Watchtower have used in the past with other congregations.  They would first seek out any parties that would object or stand in their way and they go about finding a way to neutralize them and remove them, claiming they were no longer qualified to be elders or removing them for some other infraction and then next placing parties in control who were a part of the network that would work to secure the permits to allow the remodeling work, which ultimately would give the Watchtower Corporation control of the physical Kingdom Hall or building of worship and also allow them to launder funds that would normally have been taxed.  There is a sense of urgency now for the Watchtower Corporation as new tax laws will come into effect that will call for more detailed reporting of monies.  The tactics used by the Watchtower Corporation are pure discrimination, they only target congregations that are independently owned and autonomous in (page 44) nature.  This is due to the fact that after the Bonham, Texas case one thing was established as fact, the Watchtower has no direct jurisdiction over the congregations and Kingdom Halls that are autonomous and independently owned.  The only way they can have control is through the debt of the loan.  This is because the congregation that has the remodeling work done must put the Watchtower Corporation down on their property deed and even when the loan is paid off the Watchtower Corporation never removes their name from the deed.  So they effectively now own the building.  It starts with the forced merger, but foremost the Watchtower seeks to get any persons out of the way who may object or see the mergers and remodeling work for what it is, an illusion designed to get control and launder money that should be taxed by the government.  Although the Defendants are but a cog in this money machine, they are nonetheless willing participants of this scheme which is based upon a certain measure of fraud that must occur to get control of the buildings, the fraud, such as filing false documents, or false police reports, if discovered would be explained away as issues of polity and religious right, with the use of the 1st Amendment as a blanket type of immunity from closer scrutiny by any potential governmental or law enforcement agencies as is what appears to be the case here. It starts with the forced merger, but foremost the Watchtower seeks to get any persons out of the way who may object or see the mergers and remodeling work for what it is, an illusion designed to get control and launder money that should be taxed by the government.  Although the Defendants are but a cog in this money machine, they are nonetheless willing participants of this scheme which is based upon a certain measure of fraud that must occur to get control of the buildings, the fraud, such as filing false documents, or false police reports, if discovered would be explained away as issues of polity and religious right, with the use of the 1st Amendment as a blanket type of immunity from closer scrutiny by any potential governmental or law enforcement agencies as is what appears to be the case here. Aside from that no congregations that are merged and assimilated into new Kingdom Halls have ever been informed that the Watchtower Corporation never removes their name from the property deeds, even when the loans are paid back and nor are the parishioners ever informed they are moving into congregations that carry debt that they will have to also assume as being new members of the congregations.  If these details were revealed it is likely that less congregations would agree to mergers and or remodeling projects as a whole. Although this case seems on the surface to be an isolated incident, deeper research shows that it is in fact not an isolated incident and that the Watchtower Corporation is systematically forcing congregations all over the U.S. to merge, selling off one building that was the previous parishioners place of worship to force them into crowding into a building in a location farther away, and then of course the promise of (page 45) remodeling.  Please refer to Exhibit M and you will see it is clearly a growing trend within the Watchtower Corporation, with only the choicest properties being taken over.  The Northwest Congregation in Washington, D.C. which was for sale by Century 21 Real Estate Inc.  The asking price being $2,000,000 dollars for this property in this affluent area of Washington, D.C. The Kingdom Hall in Garland, Texas that was force merged in 2005.  The parishioners got an all new Kingdom Hall building, but yet the deed reflects its under control of a Trustee group which is under the control of the Watchtower Corporation.  The Patriot Ledger, one of the leading newspapers for Massachusetts ran this article in 2009 about the Watchtower Corporation wanting to sell this particular Kingdom Hall building, a building that was considered a landmark and as such would fetch a much higher price than other properties of the same type.  Up till then there had been a congregation in existence at this location, 255 Furnace St. in Marshfield, Massachusetts for over 30 years.  Then this congregation was also force merged and relocated to Rockland, Massachusetts to 339 Summer St.  There were other congregations in and around the city area, in Hingham, Plymouth and Stoughton but yet the building on Furnace St. was chosen to sell due to the intrinsic value it held being a landmark, this would garner more profit in a potential sale.  Fort Thomas, Kentucky, the building at 1960 Memorial Parkway is being sold due to the fact that yet another congregation was force merged into another location, the remaining empty building is an asset to be profited from through sale, and the parishioners being merged into a building in a different location were also given a remodeling loan to expand their Kingdom Hall.  The value of the property in Kentucky, is listed at nearly half a million dollars as per the listing. The listing in Eaton, New York shows a retained value of just a little less than a quarter of a million dollars, but since the Watchtower Corporation did not originally pay for any of these properties any dollar value obtained is a clear profit.  In all cases parishioners were force merged into other congregation locations and some type of remodeling work was done to the building with the combined parishioners.  It is obvious by the fact that these locations are in various parts (page 46) of the U.S. this is a systematic effort.  New York, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Washington D.C., Texas and now Menlo Park, California.  In all cases the properties were assessed and any party who would give any type of resistance was removed.  Parishioners were force merged and the new congregational location was remodeled in some way and all deeds, for the new location reflected a Trustee group that is the Watchtower Corporation.  All of these congregations that were sold off or in the process being sold are congregations that are independently owned and carry no debt to the Watchtower Corporation and basically autonomous of the Watchtower, the same as the Menlo Park Congregation is.  All the Defendants have been either directed to take the course of action that would result in the takeover or the Menlo Park Congregation or did so of their own volition and to effect their plan as already stated they used various confederates, highly placed individuals within various positions.  They used their confederates either directly or in advisory capacities.  Such as Mr. Donald H. Maynor, who resides at 235 Catalpa Ave., Menlo Park, California.  All of these congregations that were sold off or in the process being sold are congregations that are independently owned and carry no debt to the Watchtower Corporation and basically autonomous of the Watchtower, the same as the Menlo Park Congregation is.  All the Defendants have been either directed to take the course of action that would result in the takeover or the Menlo Park Congregation or did so of their own volition and to effect their plan as already stated they used various confederates, highly placed individuals within various positions.  They used their confederates either directly or in advisory capacities.  Such as Mr. Donald H. Maynor, who resides at 235 Catalpa Ave., Menlo Park, California.  Mr. Donald Maynor is one such individual who, it is believed, had an advisory role in that he is a lawyer and could easily give them advices and or information in effecting this takeover.  Mr. Donald Maynor is the son of Special Agent Maynor formerly of the FBI whose assignment was to monitor and place under surveillance the Jehovah's Witnesses as an organization, as they were suspected of being a religious cult within the Federal Bureau of Investigations.  Mr. Maynor's special knowledge of the law and the inner workings of the religious organization, may have allowed him a logistical advantage of being instrumental in the progression of this takeover as a particular area of his law practice covers real estate issues.  This party consulted regularly with Defendant Paul Koehler in various private settings.  The tactics used by the Watchtower Corporation are pure discrimination, they only target congregations that are independently owned and autonomous in (page 44) nature.  This is due to the fact that after the Bonham, Texas case one thing was established as fact, the Watchtower has no direct jurisdiction over the congregations and Kingdom Halls that are autonomous and independently owned.  The only way they can have control is through the debt of the loan.  This is because the congregation that has the remodeling work done must put the Watchtower Corporation down on their property deed and even when the loan is paid off the Watchtower Corporation never removes their name from the deed.  So they effectively now own the building.  It starts with the forced merger, but foremost the Watchtower seeks to get any persons out of the way who may object or see the mergers and remodeling work for what it is, an illusion designed to get control and launder money that should be taxed by the government.  Although the Defendants are but a cog in this money machine, they are nonetheless willing participants of this scheme which is based upon a certain measure of fraud that must occur to get control of the buildings, the fraud, such as filing false documents, or false police reports, if discovered would be explained away as issues of polity and religious right, with the use of the 1st Amendment as a blanket type of immunity from closer scrutiny by any potential governmental or law enforcement agencies as is what appears to be the case here. This is but one example that shows the depth and scope of this situation as it pertains to the case overall.  Again, we make mention of Leon Opolski, who sought to help the Defendants prepare documents and papers to be filed fraudulently, with the Secretary of State that would allow the Defendants to change the deed thus giving them effective control over the physical building.  Please refer to (page 47) Exhibt E, notice, please the property deed has been changed to reflect the names of Defendants Ernest Brede and Luis Contreras, who file the fraudulent document dated April 18, 2011.  In trying to circumvent actual laws with regard to California Corporations, they acted recklessly and with wanton regard and when their illegal actions were brought to their attention Defendant Ernest Brede stated in an email to Jason Cobb, that he believed Jason Cobb had been removed from his position from within the Congregation and that it automatically terminated his position as an officer in the Corporation.  See Exhibit F. In actuality, Defendant Brede recognized Jason Cobb's authority as being the rightful CEO of the Corporation as referenced in Exhibit N, which is an email where Brede is stating that he wishes Jason Cobb to voluntarily turn over documentations and account information.  Truly, if they had a basis to take over, they would not need Jason Cobb to voluntarily turn over the items in question.  Jason Cobb refused to turn them over as he being more familiar with Corporation laws in California knew that the correct procedures had not been adhered to.  In short, the Defendants had no basis or real authority for the records they were requesting, they, however could have obtained them if they had proper authority and realizing that Jason Cobb was not going to cooperate sought to obtain the necessary access to the accounts using other means.  The fact is they did not have natural access to the information or accounts as they were not authorized.  Defendants all used strong arm tactics to achieve their end.  Even going so far as to make threats, refer to Exhibit O, and see enclosed an email from Defendant Donald Showers that clearly states if the Defendants do not get what they wanted they would, "address this issue from another direction".  Defendant Showers also goes on to say, that if they are not provided with what they wanted, account access, it would cause "unnecessary stress and frustration for not only yourself, but everyone involved".  Clearly a threat to Jason Cobb and to possibly those associated with him, such as family members and anyone else that the Defendants could use to apply pressure to Jason Cobb.  Notice also Defendant Showers tries to invoke religious right in an effort to convince Jason Cobb that what he is doing (page 48) is sanctioned by the Watchtower Corporation, as if to say if you do not comply you are going against the Organization itself, and it is this tactic that all the Defendants have continually used to browbeat, threaten, coerce and intimidate persons to cooperate with their scheme either willingly or unwillingly.  It is clear that within the Congregation Jason Cobb and his family have seemingly been singled out for intimidation tactics.  While in attendance at the Congregation Meeting on Sunday, May 15th, 2011 Defendant Lucas verbally articulated that he or his wife, Jennifer L. Cobb would not be called upon to convey scriptural thoughts which is a necessary part of the learning process as one of Jehovah's Witnesses.  Thus by doing so Defendant Aaron Lucas has shown himself to be a willing participant in this ongoing situation.  Various others from within the Congregation have acted in such a manner as to belittle, harass, intimidate or shun Mr. Jason Cobb, even though he is in no way a party to this action but the son of Plaintiff Jonathan D. Cobb Sr.  The only question now is, is this behavior sanctioned by the Watchtower Corporation president, Don Adams and as the president of the Organization would he not be aware of any legal issues that arise?  If so, does he condone such actions by parties who are not even named in a legal proceeding?  Questions that can only be answered during cross examination of what correct (page 49) procedures are within the Watchtower Organization.  All Defendants have engaged willfully and willingly in Mafia styled tactics, utilizing fraudulent documents, threats, intimidations, subterfuge and acts of concealment in the carrying out of their alleged criminal endeavor as part of a large enterprise and scheme.  A scheme being played out all over the United States in various locales and areas.  Exhibit I, shows a deposit of over $150,000 in 2008.  This deposit shows intent and motive, the motive being to find any way to take over the Menlo Park Corporation even as far back as 2008 things were set in motion by the Defendants with this end as being the chief goal and once done, to effect the remodeling work quickly which is why funds were allocated even BEFORE the Defendants came to the Menlo Park Congregation.  The money came from the Watchtower Corporation and as a "donation" it is funds that would not be taxed.  The remodeling work was to happen as soon as the takeover was complete and then the money for the remodeling work was already in pay and would therefore be considered a loan which the newly formed congregation would have to pay back, thus laundering the funds and allowing the Watchtower Corporation to take over another building.  The motive and intent was to take over the Menlo Park Corporation and then to remodel for the sole secular purpose of laundering the money so as to not report it to the proper governmental authorities and to have an entire congregation in debt so as to maintain control by the Watchtower Corporation.  To this end, the Defendants had clearly dedicated themselves to this purpose.  They have implored illegal tactics, and have sought to wrap it all under the umbrella of religious right which easily falls under Religious Fraud.  When one attempts secular things but have labeled them as spiritual things in the effort to gain exemption from the laws of the land it is clearly Religious Affinity Fraud.  Especially in light of Defendant Brede's false claim from the pulpit that there was only $3500 dollars in the building fund, when in actuality he was fully aware of the Chase account that was flush with $60,000 dollars that he opened fraudulently using Jason Cobb's credentials, a matter (page 50) that is now being investigated by the Palo Alto Police.  All Defendants have sought to exact control over the parishioners by continually using verbal expressions such as, "This is what the Society (The Watchtower) wants."  (Statement by Defendant Ernest Brede)  As well as, "if you go against what we are doing, then you are going against the Society" (Statement by Defendant Paul Koehler to parishioners within the Menlo Park Congregation).  Defendant Aaron Lucas has gone on record saying, "We can do this because we got the letter giving us the authority to take over from the Society (The Watchtower Corporation)".  A letter that one claims to give authority, even from the highest levels of a religious organization, does not give one the authority to circumvent the legal process with regard to corporations in California.  Or as Defendant Brede said, "Jason Cobb stole the money we found in the Chase account".  When in actuality it was Defendants Brede, Showers and Contreras who in point of fact, opened the account but yet told several parishioners falsehoods about the issue.  Because a party makes a claim does not necessarily validate that claim as being true.  With the exhibits placed it is clear the Defendants meant to defraud the congregation about the true nature of the accounts, money, property and merger.  It is also clear that this is some systematic plan with a twofold purpose; one being tax avoidance, if not the outright refusal to disclose the monies involved and ultimately it is about control of all properties and a direct effort to bring under control all independently owned Kingdom Hall buildings.  Due to the intricate nature of the scheme it shows clear premeditation in that all Defendants as well as confederates knowingly acted in consort with the clear objective to take over the Menlo Park Congregation and Corporation using whatever means necessary, with no regard to legal ramifications or actions, in short, to the Defendants, the end justified the means, even if those means were fraudulent.  In the effecting of this scheme various techniques were used, such as the mailing of fraudulent documents through U.S. Postal mail for the purpose of securing control of the real property.  This was done with the initial documents filed with the Secretary of State were sent via Postal mail, which constitutes Mail and Wire Fraud.  The (page 51) statements made by the various Defendants that were witnessed and heard by parties within the membership of the Menlo Park Congregation show their intent to conceal.  Their using various contacts and confederates in a conspiratorial fashion show the Defendants motives were conscious decisions that were premeditated and clear criminal intent. Their continued mob like mentality and negative treatment of those who have sought to expose this situation and bring to light the alleged illegal activity such as Jason Cobb.  The threats and intimidation tactics of Defendant Showers and Lucas show a continued motive to try to prevent exposure.  Finally, the three cases that are in the early stages of investigation by three separate police agencies all show that there is clear intent, motive and criminal activity by the Defendants, that make this case purely secular and not in any way ecclesiastical in nature.  The copious exhibits show the Defendants had no regard for law or legal procedures and sought to only gain and achieve their objectives; revenge for Mr. Peter Gallego's removal of position within the congregation by the Plaintiffs, the removal of Jason Cobb and Jonathan D. Cobb in such a way as to not raise racial suspicions, the questionable sum of $150,000 dollars that was on deposit possibly as far as 2008 which goes to motive and intent being to take over Menlo Park and begin some sort of remodeling work to effect debt and control to the Watchtower Corporation, continued harassment by members of the Menlo Park Congregation towards Jason Cobb as a way to pressure Plaintiff Jonathan D. Cobb Sr, to quash this action, continual filing of false documents in an effort to gain control of the corporation unlawfully, a case of identity theft that was effected to open an account that the Defendants claimed they "discovered" when in fact it was the Defendants who opened this secret account, personal threats made by Defendant Showers electronically through email which under Homeland Security Laws fall under electronic terroristic threats, a very serious crime.  Defendant Aaron Lucas helping to effect the takeover by being in total support of his fellow Defendants, Defendants Brede and Luis Contreras filing false documentation giving them authority on paper to change the property deed for property valued at over $2 million dollars (page 52) which is the basic theft of  property, a network of confederates who sought to track and trace all parties involved so as to commit illegal surveillance on parties associated with the Plaintiff's.  A continued campaign to discredit and slander the Plaintiff's and parties associated with the Plaintiff's in an effort to isolate them sso as to apply pressure in an effort to force them to withdraw this action, continued effort to try to find fault with the Plaintiff's to excommunicate them and thus blacklist them when in fact the Plaintiff's have acted as whistlebowers to report irregularities and wrongdoing to the powers that be within the Watchtower Society, the Defendants being party to a conspiracy to, with discrimination, malice and premeditation, effectively wipe out all independently owned Kingdom Halls using fraudulent tactics with regard to the shareholders, and trying to extort more money from the shareholders in the form of donations for a remodeling project that will be funded by a loan from the Watchtower Corporation, thus making the shareholders pay twice.  A continued effort to try to conceal the details of this scheme by all Defendants, while trying to derail the cause of actions.  As the circumstances bear out, the Defendants have no regard for the law and the only question that remains is since these actions are all continuing in furtherance of the scheme, all Defendants are accessories before and after the fact to the above described activities that appear criminal in nature.  Finally, the Plaintiff's had nothing but glowing reports as far back as 2006.  Refer to Exhibit Q and you will see that an inspection report was made on the Menlo Park Congregation under the management of the Plaintiff's Walter A. St. Clair, Jonathan D. Cobb Sr and the individuals of George Stock and Jason Cobb.  This appears to be a standard tactic used in the applying of pressure whenever the Watchtower is embroiled in some type of legal action.  Research has shown a definite pattern of action.  First being to accuse the person of being an apostate, or someone who has questionable beliefs within the Organization that are not totally in line with the standard rhetoric.   Second, is to find a way to remove that person for being an apostate, an excommunication, if you will, which is more an effort to silence a party who will not conform to the official line.  Thirdly, if a party can survive the aforementioned tactics, next is direct pressure or harassment which takes the form of non-association, where the parishioners have been instructed that the particular party is not someone to associate with.  This renders the offending party alone and isolated.  No friends, no support, and a total cutting off of this person.  This appears to be a standard tactic used in the applying of pressure whenever the Watchtower is embroiled in some type of legal action.  Research has shown a definite pattern of action.  First being to accuse the person of being an apostate, or someone who has questionable beliefs within the Organization that are not totally in line with the standard rhetoric.   Second, is to find a way to remove that person for being an apostate, an excommunication, if you will, which is more an effort to silence a party who will not conform to the official line.  Thirdly, if a party can survive the aforementioned tactics, next is direct pressure or harassment which takes the form of non-association, where the parishioners have been instructed that the particular party is not someone to associate with.  This renders the offending party alone and isolated.  No friends, no support, and a total cutting off of this person.    The only question now is, is this behavior sanctioned by the Watchtower Corporation president, Don Adams and as the president of the Organization would he not be aware of any legal issues that arise?  If so, does he condone such actions by parties who are not even named in a legal proceeding?  Questions that can only be answered during cross examination of what correct (page 49) procedures are within the Watchtower Organization.  All Defendants have engaged willfully and willingly in Mafia styled tactics, utilizing fraudulent documents, threats, intimidations, subterfuge and acts of concealment in the carrying out of their alleged criminal endeavor as part of a large enterprise and scheme.  A scheme being played out all over the United States in various locales and areas.  Exhibit I, shows a deposit of over $150,000 in 2008.  This deposit shows intent and motive, the motive being to find any way to take over the Menlo Park Corporation even as far back as 2008 things were set in motion by the Defendants with this end as being the chief goal and once done, to effect the remodeling work quickly which is why funds were allocated even BEFORE the Defendants came to the Menlo Park Congregation.    The money came from the Watchtower Corporation and as a "donation" it is funds that would not be taxed.  The remodeling work was to happen as soon as the takeover was complete and then the money for the remodeling work was already in pay and would therefore be considered a loan which the newly formed congregation would have to pay back, thus laundering the funds and allowing the Watchtower Corporation to take over another building.  The motive and intent was to take over the Menlo Park Corporation and then to remodel for the sole secular purpose of laundering the money so as to not report it to the proper governmental authorities and to have an entire congregation in debt so as to maintain control by the Watchtower Corporation.  To this end, the Defendants had clearly dedicated themselves to this purpose.    They have implored illegal tactics, and have sought to wrap it all under the umbrella of religious right which easily falls under Religious Fraud.  When one attempts secular things but have labeled them as spiritual things in the effort to gain exemption from the laws of the land it is clearly Religious Affinity Fraud.  Especially in light of Defendant Brede's false claim from the pulpit that there was only $3500 dollars in the building fund, when in actuality he was fully aware of the Chase account that was flush with $60,000 dollars that he opened fraudulently using Jason Cobb's credentials, a matter (page 50) that is now being investigated by the Palo Alto Police.    All Defendants have sought to exact control over the parishioners by continually using verbal expressions such as, "This is what the Society (The Watchtower) wants."  (Statement by Defendant Ernest Brede)  As well as, "if you go against what we are doing, then you are going against the Society" (Statement by Defendant Paul Koehler to parishioners within the Menlo Park Congregation).  Defendant Aaron Lucas has gone on record saying, "We can do this because we got the letter giving us the authority to take over from the Society (The Watchtower Corporation)".    A letter that one claims to give authority, even from the highest levels of a religious organization, does not give one the authority to circumvent the legal process with regard to corporations in California.  Or as Defendant Brede said, "Jason Cobb stole the money we found in the Chase account".  When in actuality it was Defendants Brede, Showers and Contreras who in point of fact, opened the account but yet told several parishioners falsehoods about the issue.  Because a party makes a claim does not necessarily validate that claim as being true.    With the exhibits placed it is clear the Defendants meant to defraud the congregation about the true nature of the accounts, money, property and merger.  It is also clear that this is some systematic plan with a twofold purpose; one being tax avoidance, if not the outright refusal to disclose the monies involved and ultimately it is about control of all properties and a direct effort to bring under control all independently owned Kingdom Hall buildings.    Due to the intricate nature of the scheme it shows clear premeditation in that all Defendants as well as confederates knowingly acted in consort with the clear objective to take over the Menlo Park Congregation and Corporation using whatever means necessary, with no regard to legal ramifications or actions, in short, to the Defendants, the end justified the means, even if those means were fraudulent.  In the effecting of this scheme various techniques were used, such as the mailing of fraudulent documents through U.S. Postal mail for the purpose of securing control of the real property.  This was done with the initial documents filed with the Secretary of State were sent via Postal mail, which constitutes Mail and Wire Fraud.    The (page 51) statements made by the various Defendants that were witnessed and heard by parties within the membership of the Menlo Park Congregation show their intent to conceal.  Their using various contacts and confederates in a conspiratorial fashion show the Defendants motives were conscious decisions that were premeditated and clear criminal intent. Their continued mob like mentality and negative treatment of those who have sought to expose this situation and bring to light the alleged illegal activity such as Jason Cobb.  The threats and intimidation tactics of Defendant Showers and Lucas show a continued motive to try to prevent exposure.  Finally, the three cases that are in the early stages of investigation by three separate police agencies all show that there is clear intent, motive and criminal activity by the Defendants, that make this case purely secular and not in any way ecclesiastical in nature.    The copious exhibits show the Defendants had no regard for law or legal procedures and sought to only gain and achieve their objectives; revenge for Mr. Peter Gallego's removal of position within the congregation by the Plaintiffs, the removal of Jason Cobb and Jonathan D. Cobb in such a way as to not raise racial suspicions, the questionable sum of $150,000 dollars that was on deposit possibly as far as 2008 which goes to motive and intent being to take over Menlo Park and begin some sort of remodeling work to effect debt and control to the Watchtower Corporation, continued harassment by members of the Menlo Park Congregation towards Jason Cobb as a way to pressure Plaintiff Jonathan D. Cobb Sr, to quash this action, continual filing of false documents in an effort to gain control of the corporation unlawfully, a case of identity theft that was effected to open an account that the Defendants claimed they "discovered" when in fact it was the Defendants who opened this secret account, personal threats made by Defendant Showers electronically through email which under Homeland Security Laws fall under electronic terroristic threats, a very serious crime.  Defendant Aaron Lucas helping to effect the takeover by being in total support of his fellow Defendants, Defendants Brede and Luis Contreras filing false documentation giving them authority on paper to change the property deed for property valued at over $2 million dollars (page 52) which is the basic theft of  property, a network of confederates who sought to track and trace all parties involved so as to commit illegal surveillance on parties associated with the Plaintiff's.  A continued campaign to discredit and slander the Plaintiff's and parties associated with the Plaintiff's in an effort to isolate them sso as to apply pressure in an effort to force them to withdraw this action, continued effort to try to find fault with the Plaintiff's to excommunicate them and thus blacklist them when in fact the Plaintiff's have acted as whistlebowers to report irregularities and wrongdoing to the powers that be within the Watchtower Society, the Defendants being party to a conspiracy to, with discrimination, malice and premeditation, effectively wipe out all independently owned Kingdom Halls using fraudulent tactics with regard to the shareholders, and trying to extort more money from the shareholders in the form of donations for a remodeling project that will be funded by a loan from the Watchtower Corporation, thus making the shareholders pay twice.    A continued effort to try to conceal the details of this scheme by all Defendants, while trying to derail the cause of actions.  As the circumstances bear out, the Defendants have no regard for the law and the only question that remains is since these actions are all continuing in furtherance of the scheme, all Defendants are accessories before and after the fact to the above described activities that appear criminal in nature.  Finally, the Plaintiff's had nothing but glowing reports as far back as 2006.  Refer to Exhibit Q and you will see that an inspection report was made on the Menlo Park Congregation under the management of the Plaintiff's Walter A. St. Clair, Jonathan D. Cobb Sr and the individuals of George Stock and Jason Cobb.   Paragraph 3 of that supplemental report states that the elders were to be commended for their excellent upkeep of the premises.  The attachment also is a financial report that show that the Menlo Park Congregation carried no debt to the Watchtower Society and in fact had placed money in escrow with the Watchtower as a sort of loan.  Meaning, the Watchtower could use the funds if needed but the Menlo Park Congregation would have it as a backup source of money in the event of emergencies.  All was seemingly well, (page 53) even prior to their arrival to the Menlo Park Congregation the Defendants had worked at length to lay the groundwork for their takeover.

WATCHTOWER WORLD HEADQUARTERS TO MOVE FROM BROOKLYN TO WARWICK, NEW YORK (UNITED STATES)

WATCHTOWER PROPERTIES IN NEW YORK WORTH AT LEAST $1 BILLION According to the Brooklyn Heights Blog, Watchtower in mid 2010 still had 25 Brooklyn properties consisting of “brownstones, Beaux Arts multifamilies, modern high-rises and parking lots,” and the estimated value was at least $1 billion.  In recent times Watchtower has built  a new printing plant in Wallkill in upstate New York and an educational center at  Patterson, New York. They plan an $11.5 million facility in Warwick. http://brooklynheightsblog.com/archives/20524 Discussion at http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/experiences/196505/1/Brooklyn-Watchtower-properties-valued-at-over-241-billion TIMES HERALD-RECORD: "WATCHTOWER BUYS ANOTHER PARCEL. JEHOVAH'S WITNESSES TO EXIT BROOKLYN FOR ORANGE COUNTY. BY ALYSSA SUNKIN. 08/25/11 WATCHTOWER REAL ESTATE DEAL (2011) COULD BRING OVER $1 BILLION PROFIT TIMES HERALD-RECORD SAYS WATCHTOWER IS BUYING EVEN MORE LAND IN WARWICK, NEW YORK (USA) The Watchtower organization ruling over Jehovah's Witnesses is suddenly increasingly its pace for moving to Warwick, a town a little outside of New York City.  For $3.1 million it has now bought another 50 acres only about 6 miles from where it will be relocating from Brookilyn.  Click for details: http://www.recordonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20110825/NEWS/108250327/-1/SITEMAP

WATCHTOWER SUED TRYING TO TAKE OVER KINGDOM HALL PROPERTY READ FIRST: Here's the first item that was filed.  Two plaintiffs alleged Watchtower defendants tried to hostilely take over their kingdom hall in wealthy Menlo Park, California, which the two had legal charge of, defamed, committed religious fraud, a campaign of mobbing (sustained harassment) and the Circuit Overseer physically pushed down one of the two. http://ex-jw.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/Lawsuit-CV10-3907.pdf  However the next document (see immediately below) shows major escalation.  The plaintiff's attorney in it calls for the judge to have Watchtower's President  testify, reveals a corporate scheme to systematically not pay all taxes lawfully owed, launder money, "Mafia Style tactics," illegal tapping of cell phones, etc similar takeovers rushed to avoid taxes across the United States.  LAWSUIT GETS BIGGER!  WATCHTOWER PRESIDENT DON A. ADAMS MAY HAVE TO TESTIFY Photo attributed to P. Vasiliadis http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:DonAdams_200907.png for terms Among other people this mentions Watchtower Society heavies Don Adams, his brother Joel Adams and others at Watchtower’s world headquarters in New York.  The Governing Body is mentioned but other than its President Don Adams, no other names for Governing Body members are cited yet.  Following are extracts of the “Response To Interrogatories” document going from pages 25 to the end.  In the document are calls for Watchtower’s President Don Adams to come give testimony in this case that alleges that defendants committed Wire And Mail Fraud, Religious Affinity Fraud, money-laundering, systematic major tax evasion, falsifying of evidence, witness tampering, “Mafia Style tactics,” harassment, personal threats electronically through email that “under Homeland Security Laws fall under electronic terroristic threats,”  invasion of privacy via illegal cell phone surveillance to get confidential phone conversations, etc.  Please remember and bear in mind that all defendants are to be presumed innocent until and unless they may possibly be convicted in a court of law. The document involves not only the takeover of the Menlo Park in California but it alleges Watchtower is doing such against independent high-dollar congregations across the U.S. for example in Washington D.C., New York, Kentucky and Texas.   Even the F.B.I. is mentioned.  To be more precise, the following is after Case No.: 3:10-CV-03907-MEJ “In the United States District Court For The Northern District Of California” with the Honorable Maria-Elena James presiding; and the Response To Interrogatories part of it goes from page 18 to page 54.  The document’s online address is http://ex-jw.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/05/50-main.pdf  To make it easier to read the extracted material is  presented here with paragraphs and some (not all) correcting of some of the original’s misspelled words.  Now, here is the extracted material: Page 25: Whenever problems arose in the affecting of their illegal takeover various phone conferences were held with Defendant Allen Shuster who gave logistical support to his fellow Defendants on what measures they should undertake to ensure that the takeover would happen.  The chain of command was as follows; Defendant Allen Shuster would give information and make plans and provide this assistance to Defendant Paul Koehler who would then provide information to his cousin Defendant Ernest Brede and then Defendant Brede would disseminate the information to the rest of his fellow Defendants.  Upon receiving the original complaint filed in August of 2010, and seeing the charge of Wire Fraud, much of the communications that occurred after that were direct.  Defendant Shuster on two known occasions boarded a flight and flew trans continentally from New York, Patterson office to California to speak directly to the Defendants here.  It is believed this was done in an effort to try to prevent any further liability for Wire Fraud. It is also surmised that any technical planning and execution of their furtherance of their original planned takeover was done at the behest of Joel C. Adams who heads the various departments that were managed by Defendant Allen Shuster.  It should be noted that Joel C. Adams is the brother of Don Adams, the current Watchtower president.  Drawing upon his extensive legal knowledge and along with his knowledge of the inner workings of the Watchtower organization from a corporate standpoint, it could easily be alleged that this planned takeover was the brainchild of Joel C. Adams with his brother, Don Adams lending assistance in the form of planning and advising due to his legal knowledge and his knowledge of the inner workings of the organization as a whole.  So tentatively, it can be surmised that Don Adams oversaw this takeover and sanctioned it, through Joel C. Adams, his brother who headed the department that Defendant Allen Shuster managed, and than Defendant Shuster carried out the plan utilizing Defendant Koehler as a pointman directing Defendant Brede.  Defendant Brede would than disseminate the plans or counter plans to the rest of the Defendants.  For this reason, the Plaintiff's feel it will be very necessary to secure testimony from Joel C. Adams to ascertain possible involvement in this ongoing situation.  It will also be necessary to call as witness Don Adams, the Watchtower president as he is the most knowledgeable about procedures within the organization.  Due in part, to his being the standing president of the Watchtower organization he is in the best position to be able to convey and explain the correct procedures with regard to corporate issues and since there is a direct separation between the corporate and religious sides to the organization, there should not be a conflict of interest in with regard to his testimony about corporate procedures within the organization.  Please refer to Exhibit G for a hierarchal breakdown and how the upper echelon of the Watchtower Corporation purport to the field operatives. With regard to secular motives which would thus invoke Serbian as a basis for this complaint, a motive can be clearly established by Defendant Brede himself.  On or about the date of June 7th 20011, Defendant Brede had been engaging in conversation with Bill Douglass, a potential witness for the Plaintiff's.  During this conversation Mr. Bill Douglas stated that he wanted to know the exact reasons for the removal of the entire elder body of Menlo Park which occurred on July 1st, 2010.  According to Mr. Douglas the reason stated by Defendant Brede for their removal was for retaliatory purposes.  Defendant Brede stated that they, meaning the entire elder body was removed because of their having to remove Peter Gallego for disciplinary measures.  Defendant Brede also went on to state to Mr. Bill Douglas, that they only wished to remove Jason Cobb and Jonathan D. Cobb, but to prevent  it from appearing as a racial issue, since both Jonathan D. Cobb and Jason Cobb are black, they in fact made the choice to remove them all.  It should be noted that Plaintiff Walter St. Clair and George Stock are in fact caucasian.  It was implied to Mr. Bill Douglas that the removal and takeover of the Congregation was for retaliatory and revenge motives, along with the furtherance of their scheme. As background information, Peter Gallego had been an elder based in the Menlo Park Congregation for many years prior to his death.  During his tenure as an elder Mr. Gallego had been involved in behavior that was unbecoming of an elder in good standing, so it was decided that Mr. Gallego had to be removed.  This was due in part to his seemingly excessive and weekly drinking, along with some issues with regard to his sons behavior that was deemed inappropirate by religious standards.  Mr. Gallego was regularly in contact with members back at the Patterson office of the Watchtower and had been engaging in collecting and documenting the movements and activities of the then elders.  Mr. Gallego had been acting more or less as a pointman, directed by parties at the Patterson office, with a clear motive to try to document in a negative way the activities of Jason Cobb and Jonathan D. Cobb with seemingly the hope of finding a way to get them removed from their positions.  Prior to Mr. Gallegos death he did divulge the names of the parties he was in contact with and the purpose of said contact.  Those parties may be called as hostile witnesses to testify to the intent and that there were various parties who conspired to find fault with Jason Cobb and Jonathan D. Cobb for the sole purpose of their removal.  With Defendant Brede establishing the true motive for this takeover it is clear that this is NOT a 1st Amendment issue but only that the Defendants are hoping to shield themselves behind the facade of this situation being an ecclesiastical issue that is not open to the scrutiny of the courts.  In actuality, the Defendants have established their true intent with the conversation with Mr. Bill Douglas, who has also stated he will testify as to the content of this conversation as well as others if called upon by the court.  With regard to Mr. Bill Douglas who resides at 735 Ramona Ave, in Palo Alto, California, he has stated that he had been threatened with (page 28) excommunication by Defendant Paul Koehler himself if he appeared to be aiding Jason Cobb or the Plaintiff's in any way.  He was expressly told to not "talk" to Jason, who is in good standing within the Congregation.  He was also told to ask no further questions in regard to this matter.  It is clear that the Defendants along with Mr. Anthony Smith are engaging in continued witness tampering in an effort to try to intimidate possible witnesses into not cooperating with any directives of the court.  Mr. Bill Douglas is considering options to secure protections from the court prior to any dates where his testimony may be needed.  The Defendants seem bent on trying to utilize religious right as a type of blanket immunity even regarding criminal activities.  Officer Jeff Keegan has stated that during the course of his initial investigation with regard to Case No. MPPD 11-973 that Mr. Anthony Smith has implied that due to the fact that this situation in ecclesiastical in nature, his Defendants seemingly do not have to cooperate with the investigation.  Again, though it should be clearly noted that religious policies do not in any way supersede the law of the land.  With three police reports filed and investigations now in the early stages for various potential offenses ranging from identity theft to fraud by the Defendants, it is obvious to the layman that no religious policies excuse one from responsibility to the law.  The Defendants are simply trying to override the law using religious procedures as an excuse.  There is a stated procedure for dealing with corporate issues.  The question based upon the preponderance of the law now is, were the Defendants aware of this procedure or not?  One cannot claim ignorance of the law which is by its very nature a basic principle of the law, since the law is readily accessible to all.  The simple principle is that the Defendants do not have the power to remove officers from a corporation.  They may have the power to remove the Plaintiff's from there spiritual responsibilities within the Congregation but they do NOT have the power to remove officers or just to simply vote themselves in, and this is what is at the core of this legal proceeding.  See attached exhibit F, which is a cop of an email from Defendant Brede to Jason Cobb which obviously shows that Defendant Brede does not understand corporation procedures. Page 29: One cannot vote oneself into a specified position within a corporation then arbitrarily use subterfuge to maintain control of that corporation and then absorb the assets of the original corporation when there are standing officers of that corporation in place.  By virtue of the documents that were filed fraudulently with the Secretary of State office it is clear this was the intent of the Defendants.  The corporate bank accounts were taken over without the Plaintiff's signing off and the fraudulent State filed documents were used to gain access to these accounts. The bank accounts themselves contain the names of Defendants Brede, Donald Showers and Glenn Watson.  The property deed was then absorbed and the names contained on the deed are Defendants Ernest Brede, Donald Showers and Larry Laverdure.  The secret bank account at Chase Bank contains the names of Defendants Ernest Brede, Donald Showers and Luis Contreras, so it is obvious they were all appear complicit in this alleged criminal activity.  They sought to take over by force alone, utilizing fraudulent documents and fraudulent filings.  Any document that contained their names was used in the effecting of this alleged criminal behavior.  When discovered they sought to then try to have Jason Cobb charged with the crime of embezzlement in a way to retroactively cover over their wrongdoing and lay blame on him.  Even going so far as to file a fraudulent police report in the hopes of possibly getting Jason Cobb arrested so as to gain leverage with the Plaintiff's.  Why else would Defendants Ernest Brede and Donald Showers file a police report claiming embezzlement for an account that they themselves opened and were aware of?  It was only when Jason Cobb became aware of this accounts existence did it become an issue.  The only question that remains is whether or not this was an idea of their creation or whether or not they were instructed to take this course of action by parties at the Patterson office of the Watchtower headquarters, through their liaison here, Defendant Paul Koehler.  The Defendants are all willing participants in this fraud and hope to hide behind religious polity to cover over their complicity in these alleged criminal acts.  (page 30)  Exhibits B, C and D are letters by the entire previous body of elders who although were removed from the religious positions did not sign over or waive their corporate positions.  These documents were at the request of the Menlo Park Police Department for that ongoing investigation and it's clear that the Defendants circumvented any legal process and opted to simply take by force and fraudulent means, the assets, accounts and property attached to the Menlo Park Corporation.  Their motives obviously being secular in fashion.  Within the scope of the Palo Alto Police Department's investigation they are concentrating on what appears to be low level money laundering on the part of the Defendants.  Which is why the Defendants need access to the accounts as part of their scheme.  The scheme has a two-fold purpose; one being the complete control by the Watchtower headquarters of all physical Kingdom Hall buildings.  Notice please Exhibit D, the Restated Articles of the Defendants corporation which state that in the event there is any default the real property of 811 Bay Road will transfer ownership to the Watchtower headquarters.  Which is akin to a modern day land grab.  The seemingly new policy in effect by the Watchtower is to gain absolute control of all the actual Congregation properties for all Kingdom Halls that are independently owned.  To do this and make it palatable for the parishioners is create the need to expand the physical size of the building itself.  Step one is to force merge two congregations into one building.  With more parishioners in attendance it becomes obvious that the physical building may not be able to accommodate the influx of new members, so a remodeling  project is then planned.  Step two is to then loan the necessary funds to that congregation to complete the remodeling work.  The property deed is then leveraged in lieu of loan payment.  This means that the Watchtower Corporation has their name placed on the deed as temporary owner until the loan is paid off.  The loans are usually exorbitant amounts, way more than what is normally needed for any remodeling project but this is done to make sure the congregation stays in debt for a longer period of time.  Thirdly, when the loan is finally paid off by the congregation who received the remodeling work, the Watchtower Corporation never remove their names from the property deed (page 31) even though they agreed to at the very beginning of the transaction. In effect the Watchtower Corporation then becomes the owner of the physical building, thus putting that particular congregation under the direct control of the Watchtower Corporation in Patterson.  On closer inspection though, it has become obvious that these remodeling projects are used as a means to launder and embezzle money.  The remodeling projects are always overpriced, this being akin to the U.S. Army charging $500 dollars for a toilet.  The remodeling projects are priced with cost overruns which allow unscrupulous parties to be able to profit and launder and or embezzle funds from within the remodeling project itself.   The embezzlement scheme is predicated on their being a need for a remodeling project and if you force merge two congregations, it instantly creates the need to remodel as the parishioners have increased.  The old building that was occupied by the merging congregation is sold at a profit, thus giving the appearance of the remodeling project being necessary to accommodate the new congregation.  The Regional Building Committee or RBC who arranges the building projects then becomes a clearinghouse for the money, but with a discretionary clause, see Exhibit H which is a letter by the RBC on the subject of building renovations and remodeling.  In paragraph four it states that due to the rising costs of building materials remodeling should not be the first thought.  Maintaining the buildings with good ventilation, care for restrooms and such is first priority.  Page 2 of the same exhibit states that even if the congregation has the funds to complete a remodeling project, that does not necessarily mean a full remodeling project should be undertaken.  This means in layman terms we are only interested in allowing a congregation to remodel if the property will garner more money in a proposed sale and that renovations and remodeling projects are primarily reserved for merged congregations due to the fact that the empty building left after the congregation assimilates into a new location is one that would have a high dollar value attached to it.  It should be also noted that Joel C. Adams heads the department that oversees the RBC, so it is likely that if any party within the Watchtower organization can testify as to why these mergers are forced he  Page 32: could.  On the surface it all seems reasonable but the whole scheme operates on one basic principle--most parishioners, who are Christians, would never think that a fellow Christian would lie.  This is the operating principle that has allowed the Defendants to seemingly act with impunity.  It is also why they would try to blame an innocent party, Jason Cobb, and make claim that he was embezzling money and placing it into an account that in fact the Defendants themselves opened on July 9th, 2010 with the help of confederates within the bank and using Jason Cobb's identity and credentials.  They sought to create a crime that they had no real intention of trying to charge Jason Cobb with but that they had planned to use as leverage an excuse to excommunicate Jason Cobb, Jonathan D. Cobb Sr. and possibly Walter Arlen St. Clair along with George Stock.  After several long moths when this account was discovered by Jason with the help of a banking agent from Wells Fargo Bank, it became clear that the Defendants in an effort to try to neutralize any criminal charges incurred from the unauthorized use of Jason Cobb's identity and credentials, the Defendants, Ernest Brede and Donald Showers sought to file a police report claiming that they in fact were the ones who "discovered" this account, when in actuality they were the ones according to Chase Bank that opened the account.  The Defendants have demonstrated that they are willing to lie, falsify documents, file false reports, fabricate evidence and deal in subterfuge, intimidations and anything else necessary in an effort to resolve this situation and not have to answer for their criminal acts.  To this end they have enlisted the help of several parties from within the confines of the religious organization to assist them in a systematic form of harassment, all designed to prevent their exposure.  The Defendants have utilized people with specific skills such as Mr. Bruce Radetich, who is an ex-police officer and now a security specialist who, it is believed has been employed in an effort to use illegal means to surreptitiously monitor phone calls in hopes of gaining information as to the possible direction the Plaintiff's are heading with regard to legal matters.  Certain personal cell phones of the Plaintiff's as well as other parties closely associated with the Plaintiff's appear as if they  (Page 33)  been monitored by parties outside.  One particular cell phone used by Jason Cobb was inspected by a cell phone specialist, named Milano at Cell Phone Repair, located at 859 W. El Camino Real, Mountain View, CA 94040 where it was determined that the phone in question had been set up to allow a remote party to be able to intercept calls and monitor them.  Milano the cell phone technician who worked on the cell phone in question has had nearly ten years of experience with various makes and models of phones and this party has agreed to testify about the state of the phone and the potential ramifications of what he discovered while working on Jason Cobb's cell phone.  The technician's expert testimony can easily show intent and how far the Defendants, acting in consort with various confederates, are willing to go in an effort to try to conceal the true nature of this situation, not to mention clearly defining Wire Fraud issues. As the Defendants seem intent on portraying this situation and being an issue of polity it lends credence to the charge of Religious Affinity Fraud.  Why do you ask parishioners of the congregation to donate money for a remodeling project that will be paid for by a loan secured from the Watchtower Corporation?  Again this demonstrates that the Defendants are part of a vast network of carefully placed individuals who are there to use their positions to influence any type of outcome they wish.  A good example of this is Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.  This bank has received several numerous subpoenas with regard to the possible accounts being used for laundering and still they have yet to comply with any subpoena in full.  The Plaintiff's have subpoenaed requesting the signature cards for th account #87894705, an account that contain the name of Mr. Glenn M. Watson who is listed as a party that any and all account information has been sought but the banks response was, that the signature cards have been lost and they no longer possess them.  Clearly subterfuge in that the signature cards are an integral part of any account but more especially for a business account attached to a corporation.  It is either a case of gross negligence or concealment as it is so believed that it was Mr. Glenn M. Watson who removed the authorized names of Jason Cobb and Jonathan D. Cobb Sr. from these accounts PRIOR to the (page 34) date of July 1st, 2010 at the time the Defendants came and claimed they were authorized to be the new officers of the corporation.  It is incomprehensible that a bank would loose the signature cards for a corporation, as it demonstrates the extreme mishandling and irresponsibility of the bank in question and if this is not the case then it is clearly subterfuge on the part of certain bank employees in trying to help the Defendants conceal their wrongdoing and possible involvement with this scheme.  Wells Fargo Bank has demonstrated a premeditated desire to aid the Defendants in covering up the fact that Jason Cobb, may have had his name removed from the accounts in question even BEFORE the Defendants arrived to the Menlo Park Congregation in an effort to lay the ground work for this takeover. This is not in any way supposition as there are facts to support this claim based upon information already obtained through other subpoenas from Wells Fargo Ban, N.A.  Refer to Exhibit I which is an actual bank statement with regard to one of the accounts in question and on page 2 it shows an annual gross sale of $150,000 dollars.  Firstly, Jehovah's Witnesses do not "sell" anything and there is the question of where did these funds originate from?  According to account historical information, this amount, $150,000 dollars came into this bank account in late 2008, yet Jason Cobb who was rightful custodian of this account during this time had no knowledge of this money.  The only way this could have occurred is if Mr. Glenn M. Watson had Jason Cobb's name removed from the account so that he would not be able to access any information or receive any statements that would have alerted him to this money much in the same way that his identity was used by the Defendants to  establish a secret account at Chase Bank that was flush with $60,000 dollars.  It could exist, if no one would know or have knowledge of its existence on the part of the rightful officers of the corporation.    Further documentation could easily ferret out, how exactly they removed Jason Cobb's name to prevent detection, and Wells Fargo Bank is aware of this as it presents a high degree of liability by the bank.  Using carefully placed confederates within the bank, the (page 35)  Defendants obviously had planned all along to effect the removal of the then elders and Plaintiff's.  Wells Fargo Bank's only interest is in concealing the fact of their liability in this situation as it is being made public would seriously undermine the publics trust in the bank overall.   Refer to Exhibit G for the diagram that outlines the inner workings of their network from within the Watchtower Corporation.  The network itself is a series of individuals who are in place and by extension have underlings working under them, the Defendants are such an example of this.  Many times they have used unwitting parties to effect their ends.  In these cases they have used religious statutes in an effort to try to convince parties that cooperating with either law enforcement or the Plaintiff's would be contrary to the laws of God and what is laid out in the bible, sadly most parties forget that a Christian's first and foremost duty is to the truth, whatever that may be.  However, the Defendants have steadfastly made claim to various individuals that providing any information to the Plaintiff's would be going against the Watchtower itself and by extension God.    Nothing could be further from the truth, it's simply a case of the Defendants trying silence individuals and block any possible testimony of parties privy to pertinent information that could expose what the Defendants have done in trying to obfuscate the lawful process with regard to the corporation itself.  Again, clear evidence of this is the private meeting that the Defendants had with Mr. Bill Douglas where they informed him that providing any information to the Plaintiff's, would result in his excommunication from the organization.  According to Mr, Bill Douglas, even AOR Anthony V. Smith had seemingly implied the same thing in a telephonic conversation with him.    The Defendants are obviously using fear tactics in trying to sway potential witnesses.  If fear does not work then direct intimidation is the next step in a systematic plan to try to render the case a moot point if parties are too afraid to come forward and tell the truth about what they in fact know, have seen, or been part to in various interactions with the Defendants at the congregational hall of meeting.  All Defendants have participated in one form or another in witness intimidation and using religion as a basis to ensure that potential witnesses will not (page 36)   cooperate any court case or with the various police agencies that are now investigating and many have come forward complaining that they are tired of being bullied and harassed by the Defendants.    The takeover of the Menlo Park Congregation Corporation was done with a series of fraudulent acts all committed by the Defendants acting as willing participants in a wider scheme.  That scheme is predicated on the forced merger of several congregations.  With the new tax laws that have gone into effect accountability of religious organizations has now increased.  When we speak of accountabilities we are speaking in a monetary sense.  With the new 990 tax laws religious organizations now must make an accounting of funds for potential taxation purposes and in doing so the Watchtower Corporation has used mergers as a way to more or less beat possible taxation.    The scheme works like this, the Watchtower Corporation has $150,000 dollars of money they do not wish to report to be taxed on, so they earmark this money to be used as a donation to a particular congregation.  That congregation is then told to merge with another congregation, which naturally will cause an instant increase in membership as in actuality two congregations are being merged into one.  With the advent of their being more members the claim is then made that due to the higher volume of members it is necessary to then build a larger congregation building.  Money that would normally have to be reported for tax purposes then in earmarked for a new project.  It is usually an amount that is higher than what is needed to do the construction project.  Meaning, if to do a basic remodeling project would cost $75,000 dollars, the Watchtower Corporation then provides $100,000 as a donation to the building project.  The congregation is then responsible for the "donation" that is also considered a loan.  The congregation then pays the funds back, supposedly the cost of the loan when in actuality the Watchtower Corporation is receiving the same money back that was initially made as a donation.  It is therefore non taxable as it appears as if its a loan payment for the remodeling work.  This also answers the question as to why the congregation also has a (page 37) building fund knowing full well it is going to get the loan from the Watchtower Corporation.   The Watchtower Corporation has its name placed on the deed as collateral for the loan and once the remodeling work is done, they never remove their name from the deed, whether the loan is paid back or not and thus the Watchtower Corporation effectively takes control of the congregational building, or Kingdom Hall and they have more or less laundered the funds that they would have been taxed.  This is nothing more than a large scheme that has its basis in tax avoidance.  The government cannot tax monies the Watchtower Corporation no longer has as it is given to congregations for the purpose of building and remodeling. In doing so, the congregation in question loses control over the actual property but as a consolation that congregation gets a newly remodeled building which is to placate anyone who may question the inner workings of the scheme.  It's an illusion, you see a new Kingdom Hall but what you do not realize is to get this new Kingdom Hall you are giving up control of it and also helping the Watchtower Corporation to effectively launder the funds that would have had to be taxed under the new taxation laws that apply to religious organizations. It is also about control of the actual congregation Kingdom Hall buildings.  The Watchtower Corporation did not want a repeat of what happened in the Bonham Texas case where it was established that the various Kingdom Halls, although they may use the name Jehovah's Witnesses are not necessarily owned by the Watchtower Corporation itself.  Thus the Watchtower Corporation sought to find a way to force all congregation Kingdom Halls under their control but do it in such a way that none of the members themselves would realize that ever merger is nothing more than a hostile takeover with the newly remodeled Kingdom Hall building being nothing more than placebo to placate anyone that may question the true intent and motives of the Watchtower Corporation.  It should also be noted that this was obviously a way to launder monies that should have been taxed by the necessary governmental agencies.  With new upcoming tax laws that will go into effect soon, the Watchtower Corporation is actively seeking to merge as many congregations, possibly as a last ditch effort to effectively operate their (page 38) "money machine" until such time as they can no longer, due to tax regulations, be able to continue it further. Due to the fact that the Menlo Park Corporation has never received any loans from the Watchtower Society Corporation, it is in no way beholden to the Watchtower Corporation, the Defendants main objective was to incur debt to the Watchtower Corporation, in the form of the remodeling work proposed for the physical building at 811 Bay Road.  The Christian Congregation of Jehovah's Witnesses is a corporation based in Patterson, New York.  It is a part of the overall Watchtower Corporation and as such has no ecclesiastical authority.  As a corporation they can't.  Yet Exhibit J clearly shows that it was in fact this part of the corporation that made the decision for the removal of the elders of the Menlo Park Congregation, namely Jason Cobb, Walter A. St. Clair, George Stock and Jonathan D. Cobb Sr.  This decision could have only come from the ruling class of the Governing Body based in Brooklyn, New York.  Mr. Anthony Smith AOR for the Defendants has tirelessly claimed that this is an ecclesiastical issue and that it has been resolved at the very highest ecclesiastical levels but yet he failed state who that is.  He would have to claim that it is Don Adams, who is the president of the Watchtower Corporation or that it was the Governing Body of the Jehovah's Witnesses.  It is established that this is not a decision by the Governing Body as no documentation bears their names or signatures, nor is there any documentations and communiques from Mr. Don Adams, so this begs the question as to who makes the decisions.  If the decision was made by the Governing Body, it can only be for an ecclesiastical issue, namely the Plaintiff's positions as elders within the congregation but this in no way also includes their positions as officers of the congregation corporation.  Although Defendant Brede stated in an email to Jason Cobb that their removal from ecclesiastical positions automatically includes removal from corporate duties, when in fact a corporation is baed upon laws of the land and not biblical laws, so therefore Defendant Brede's claim is false, please see referenced email as Exhibit F.  With all of the various intricacies to policies within the Watchtower Corporation and the fact that this part of the Watchtower is (page 39) corporate based and not particularly about religious doctrine it is obviously necessary to have Mr. Don Adams testify as an expert witness about the current policies within the organization.  The current goals of the parties involved in this network is not to control the flow of information and to try and conceal their complicity by any means necessary. An example of this is the Wells Fargo Bank, N.A. subpoena processing department.  The assigned individual who is supposed to be handling the subpoena is Miss Terry Holland, who is supposed to facilitate the dissemination of information needed as per what is described on the subpoena.  Several phone calls have been placed to her and yet she refuses to respond.  Contact has been made via U.S. Postal mail with a complete description of the items requested and yet they have not been forthcoming and their lack of cooperation clearly shows an intent to try to cover over either the banks complicity in this matter or to aid the Defendants in furthering their scheme due to the banks lack of cooperation.  When Jason Cobb began pressing the bank to request records about the account, he was summarily told to close out those accounts, which would have allowed the bank to be able to seal the records that would have indicated the participation of Mr. Glenn Watson in effectively removing the authorized names of Jason Cobb and so forth to make way for the Defendants to take over.  Defendants Brede and Donald Showers then sought to file papers with the Secretary of State listing themselves as officers of the Corporation in an effort to wrest control of the accounts and effectively prevent Jason Cobb from making further inquiry as to the nature of the account in question.  This would allow the bank to not have to reveal who handled (page 41) the account, who removed the authorized names, namely Jason Cobb and it would also protect the identity of the parties that the Defendants had worked with to facilitate this takeover.  Which would lend credence as to why now even under subpoena Wells Fargo Bank is not cooperating with the subpoena.  Although, if asked it is understood that Miss Terry Holland would state she was on vacation which would allow the bank time to prevent the Plaintiff's from getting access to these documents to keep them from being included in the interrogatories that would clearly show fraudulent activity with regard to the account in question.  This network the Defendants appear to be a part of is vast in that they have used members of their religion in various ways to further their ends.  To do this all one would have to do is use their positions from within the organization to influence someone into doing something "for the sake of the brotherhood" or in the name of the Watchtower Society.  If you simply say this person is associating with "apostates", (people who appear to not simply accept the teachings of the Watchtower without question), it is used as a code word that has the effect of automatically turning a person away from wanting to have anything to do with this person, even if it is a blood relative or relation.   It's a term used to instill fear and compliance as no person within the Jehovah's Witness faith would want to be labeled an apostate, it effectively would be the same as being treated like a leper, ones spiritual life would be over.  People, friends and association one may have had for years would abruptly end and ironically, it takes no real  proof to have someone labeled an apostate within the Jehovah's Witness Organization.  One would merely have to verbally say whatever party is an apostate and the stigma alone would effectively end a person’s spiritual existence and the Defendants have used this tool as well as other carefully placed individuals who feel they are working towards keeping the Watchtower above scrutiny but who really are acting as minions for individuals with an agenda.  Please refer to Exhibit L, you will see it is a copy of an email sent by one Mr. Neil Edwards.  On the surface it seems like a friendly email from someone willing to provide discount tickets to a sporting event, but what is interesting about this email is that it was sent by Mr. Neil (page 42) Edwards, December 12, 2010.  The significance of this date is that the Defendants had already prepared the fraudulent documents to file with the Secretary of State that they knew would allow them to takeover the control of the Menlo Park Corporation and the only thing that stood in their way was the rightful officers, namely Jason Cobb who was CEO of the Menlo Park Corporation.  In Exhibit F, Defendant Brede in an email stated that a person removed from his spiritual duties was also automatically removed from their corporate duties but this is in point of fact false according to the laws governing California corporations.  The reality is Defendant Brede needed to have Jason Cobb out of the way so that it would not be discovered that the Defendants would be filing fraudulent papers with the Secretary of State.  To do this it was important to know the whereabouts of Jason Cobb, so enlisting the help of Mr. Neil Edwards he agreed to send this email hoping that Jason Cobb would respond and give his location.  The email was nothing more than a ploy to get Jason Cobb to divulge his whereabouts so that the Defendants could file the fraudulent paperwork and hope that  it would go undiscovered by Jason Cobb.  The Defendants filed their fraudulent paperwork December 16th, 2010 just a few days after Mr. Neil Edwards made contact via email to Jason Cobb about this sporting event.  Again, the Defendants used confederates either knowingly or unknowingly to achieve their goal.  Motive in this case is important and thus far has proven to be secular and not ecclesiastically based.  Please refer to Exhibit I that in summary states the entire elder body was removed because they were no longer qualified.  However, as previously mentioned in a direct conversation with Defendant Brede, Mr. Bill Douglas was told by the Defendant himself that the elders removal was in retaliation for Mr. Peter Gallego's removal from his position.  It was also further iterated that the removal of the elders was only aimed at Jason Cobb and Jonathan D. Cobb Sr. but to prevent any potential ideas that their removal was racially motivated, all the elders of the Menlo Park Congregation were removed.  This is what Defendant Brede has stated.  That being the case then the letter listed as (page 43) Exhibit J, then would have to be a fraud designed to hide the real motives and intent.  The Defendants acting in a conspiratorial way acted on the orders of Defendant Paul Koehler, directed by Defendant Allen Shuster to find a way to remove the elders because they were aware that with their previous resistance to suggested mergers, they would effectively stand in their way of being able to complete a merger.  The merger would then allow the excuse of the remodeling work.  Defendant Steve Misterfeld, knowing the issues involved were not about theocratic things, used his position as then acting "District Overseer", which is a position higher than Defendant Paul Koehler being a "Circuit Overseer" needed Defendant Misterfeld to concur with his decision to remove the Plaintiff's and the entire elder body.  Defendant Misterfeld used his position of authority in an effort to legitimize the decision to remove the Plaintiff's and then elders giving the impression that their removal was about theocratic or ecclesiastical issues, when in point of fact, the issues were secular.  Defendant Misterfeld was a knowing accomplice before and after the fact as he sought to help Defendant Koehler in any way to affect this hostile takeover, getting any parties out of the way that would be against their interest, even if those interests were unlawful.  This was a systematic pattern of operation that parties within the Watchtower have used in the past with other congregations.  They would first seek out any parties that would object or stand in their way and they go about finding a way to neutralize them and remove them, claiming they were no longer qualified to be elders or removing them for some other infraction and then next placing parties in control who were a part of the network that would work to secure the permits to allow the remodeling work, which ultimately would give the Watchtower Corporation control of the physical Kingdom Hall or building of worship and also allow them to launder funds that would normally have been taxed.  There is a sense of urgency now for the Watchtower Corporation as new tax laws will come into effect that will call for more detailed reporting of monies.  The tactics used by the Watchtower Corporation are pure discrimination, they only target congregations that are independently owned and autonomous in (page 44) nature.  This is due to the fact that after the Bonham, Texas case one thing was established as fact, the Watchtower has no direct jurisdiction over the congregations and Kingdom Halls that are autonomous and independently owned.  The only way they can have control is through the debt of the loan.  This is because the congregation that has the remodeling work done must put the Watchtower Corporation down on their property deed and even when the loan is paid off the Watchtower Corporation never removes their name from the deed.  So they effectively now own the building.  It starts with the forced merger, but foremost the Watchtower seeks to get any persons out of the way who may object or see the mergers and remodeling work for what it is, an illusion designed to get control and launder money that should be taxed by the government.  Although the Defendants are but a cog in this money machine, they are nonetheless willing participants of this scheme which is based upon a certain measure of fraud that must occur to get control of the buildings, the fraud, such as filing false documents, or false police reports, if discovered would be explained away as issues of polity and religious right, with the use of the 1st Amendment as a blanket type of immunity from closer scrutiny by any potential governmental or law enforcement agencies as is what appears to be the case here. It starts with the forced merger, but foremost the Watchtower seeks to get any persons out of the way who may object or see the mergers and remodeling work for what it is, an illusion designed to get control and launder money that should be taxed by the government.  Although the Defendants are but a cog in this money machine, they are nonetheless willing participants of this scheme which is based upon a certain measure of fraud that must occur to get control of the buildings, the fraud, such as filing false documents, or false police reports, if discovered would be explained away as issues of polity and religious right, with the use of the 1st Amendment as a blanket type of immunity from closer scrutiny by any potential governmental or law enforcement agencies as is what appears to be the case here. Aside from that no congregations that are merged and assimilated into new Kingdom Halls have ever been informed that the Watchtower Corporation never removes their name from the property deeds, even when the loans are paid back and nor are the parishioners ever informed they are moving into congregations that carry debt that they will have to also assume as being new members of the congregations.  If these details were revealed it is likely that less congregations would agree to mergers and or remodeling projects as a whole. Although this case seems on the surface to be an isolated incident, deeper research shows that it is in fact not an isolated incident and that the Watchtower Corporation is systematically forcing congregations all over the U.S. to merge, selling off one building that was the previous parishioners place of worship to force them into crowding into a building in a location farther away, and then of course the promise of (page 45) remodeling.  Please refer to Exhibit M and you will see it is clearly a growing trend within the Watchtower Corporation, with only the choicest properties being taken over.  The Northwest Congregation in Washington, D.C. which was for sale by Century 21 Real Estate Inc.  The asking price being $2,000,000 dollars for this property in this affluent area of Washington, D.C. The Kingdom Hall in Garland, Texas that was force merged in 2005.  The parishioners got an all new Kingdom Hall building, but yet the deed reflects its under control of a Trustee group which is under the control of the Watchtower Corporation.  The Patriot Ledger, one of the leading newspapers for Massachusetts ran this article in 2009 about the Watchtower Corporation wanting to sell this particular Kingdom Hall building, a building that was considered a landmark and as such would fetch a much higher price than other properties of the same type.  Up till then there had been a congregation in existence at this location, 255 Furnace St. in Marshfield, Massachusetts for over 30 years.  Then this congregation was also force merged and relocated to Rockland, Massachusetts to 339 Summer St.  There were other congregations in and around the city area, in Hingham, Plymouth and Stoughton but yet the building on Furnace St. was chosen to sell due to the intrinsic value it held being a landmark, this would garner more profit in a potential sale.  Fort Thomas, Kentucky, the building at 1960 Memorial Parkway is being sold due to the fact that yet another congregation was force merged into another location, the remaining empty building is an asset to be profited from through sale, and the parishioners being merged into a building in a different location were also given a remodeling loan to expand their Kingdom Hall.  The value of the property in Kentucky, is listed at nearly half a million dollars as per the listing. The listing in Eaton, New York shows a retained value of just a little less than a quarter of a million dollars, but since the Watchtower Corporation did not originally pay for any of these properties any dollar value obtained is a clear profit.  In all cases parishioners were force merged into other congregation locations and some type of remodeling work was done to the building with the combined parishioners.  It is obvious by the fact that these locations are in various parts (page 46) of the U.S. this is a systematic effort.  New York, Massachusetts, Kentucky, Washington D.C., Texas and now Menlo Park, California.  In all cases the properties were assessed and any party who would give any type of resistance was removed.  Parishioners were force merged and the new congregational location was remodeled in some way and all deeds, for the new location reflected a Trustee group that is the Watchtower Corporation.  All of these congregations that were sold off or in the process being sold are congregations that are independently owned and carry no debt to the Watchtower Corporation and basically autonomous of the Watchtower, the same as the Menlo Park Congregation is.  All the Defendants have been either directed to take the course of action that would result in the takeover or the Menlo Park Congregation or did so of their own volition and to effect their plan as already stated they used various confederates, highly placed individuals within various positions.  They used their confederates either directly or in advisory capacities.  Such as Mr. Donald H. Maynor, who resides at 235 Catalpa Ave., Menlo Park, California.  All of these congregations that were sold off or in the process being sold are congregations that are independently owned and carry no debt to the Watchtower Corporation and basically autonomous of the Watchtower, the same as the Menlo Park Congregation is.  All the Defendants have been either directed to take the course of action that would result in the takeover or the Menlo Park Congregation or did so of their own volition and to effect their plan as already stated they used various confederates, highly placed individuals within various positions.  They used their confederates either directly or in advisory capacities.  Such as Mr. Donald H. Maynor, who resides at 235 Catalpa Ave., Menlo Park, California.  Mr. Donald Maynor is one such individual who, it is believed, had an advisory role in that he is a lawyer and could easily give them advices and or information in effecting this takeover.  Mr. Donald Maynor is the son of Special Agent Maynor formerly of the FBI whose assignment was to monitor and place under surveillance the Jehovah's Witnesses as an organization, as they were suspected of being a religious cult within the Federal Bureau of Investigations.  Mr. Maynor's special knowledge of the law and the inner workings of the religious organization, may have allowed him a logistical advantage of being instrumental in the progression of this takeover as a particular area of his law practice covers real estate issues.  This party consulted regularly with Defendant Paul Koehler in various private settings.  The tactics used by the Watchtower Corporation are pure discrimination, they only target congregations that are independently owned and autonomous in (page 44) nature.  This is due to the fact that after the Bonham, Texas case one thing was established as fact, the Watchtower has no direct jurisdiction over the congregations and Kingdom Halls that are autonomous and independently owned.  The only way they can have control is through the debt of the loan.  This is because the congregation that has the remodeling work done must put the Watchtower Corporation down on their property deed and even when the loan is paid off the Watchtower Corporation never removes their name from the deed.  So they effectively now own the building.  It starts with the forced merger, but foremost the Watchtower seeks to get any persons out of the way who may object or see the mergers and remodeling work for what it is, an illusion designed to get control and launder money that should be taxed by the government.  Although the Defendants are but a cog in this money machine, they are nonetheless willing participants of this scheme which is based upon a certain measure of fraud that must occur to get control of the buildings, the fraud, such as filing false documents, or false police reports, if discovered would be explained away as issues of polity and religious right, with the use of the 1st Amendment as a blanket type of immunity from closer scrutiny by any potential governmental or law enforcement agencies as is what appears to be the case here. This is but one example that shows the depth and scope of this situation as it pertains to the case overall.  Again, we make mention of Leon Opolski, who sought to help the Defendants prepare documents and papers to be filed fraudulently, with the Secretary of State that would allow the Defendants to change the deed thus giving them effective control over the physical building.  Please refer to (page 47) Exhibt E, notice, please the property deed has been changed to reflect the names of Defendants Ernest Brede and Luis Contreras, who file the fraudulent document dated April 18, 2011.  In trying to circumvent actual laws with regard to California Corporations, they acted recklessly and with wanton regard and when their illegal actions were brought to their attention Defendant Ernest Brede stated in an email to Jason Cobb, that he believed Jason Cobb had been removed from his position from within the Congregation and that it automatically terminated his position as an officer in the Corporation.  See Exhibit F. In actuality, Defendant Brede recognized Jason Cobb's authority as being the rightful CEO of the Corporation as referenced in Exhibit N, which is an email where Brede is stating that he wishes Jason Cobb to voluntarily turn over documentations and account information.  Truly, if they had a basis to take over, they would not need Jason Cobb to voluntarily turn over the items in question.  Jason Cobb refused to turn them over as he being more familiar with Corporation laws in California knew that the correct procedures had not been adhered to.  In short, the Defendants had no basis or real authority for the records they were requesting, they, however could have obtained them if they had proper authority and realizing that Jason Cobb was not going to cooperate sought to obtain the necessary access to the accounts using other means.  The fact is they did not have natural access to the information or accounts as they were not authorized.  Defendants all used strong arm tactics to achieve their end.  Even going so far as to make threats, refer to Exhibit O, and see enclosed an email from Defendant Donald Showers that clearly states if the Defendants do not get what they wanted they would, "address this issue from another direction".  Defendant Showers also goes on to say, that if they are not provided with what they wanted, account access, it would cause "unnecessary stress and frustration for not only yourself, but everyone involved".  Clearly a threat to Jason Cobb and to possibly those associated with him, such as family members and anyone else that the Defendants could use to apply pressure to Jason Cobb.  Notice also Defendant Showers tries to invoke religious right in an effort to convince Jason Cobb that what he is doing (page 48) is sanctioned by the Watchtower Corporation, as if to say if you do not comply you are going against the Organization itself, and it is this tactic that all the Defendants have continually used to browbeat, threaten, coerce and intimidate persons to cooperate with their scheme either willingly or unwillingly.  It is clear that within the Congregation Jason Cobb and his family have seemingly been singled out for intimidation tactics.  While in attendance at the Congregation Meeting on Sunday, May 15th, 2011 Defendant Lucas verbally articulated that he or his wife, Jennifer L. Cobb would not be called upon to convey scriptural thoughts which is a necessary part of the learning process as one of Jehovah's Witnesses.  Thus by doing so Defendant Aaron Lucas has shown himself to be a willing participant in this ongoing situation.  Various others from within the Congregation have acted in such a manner as to belittle, harass, intimidate or shun Mr. Jason Cobb, even though he is in no way a party to this action but the son of Plaintiff Jonathan D. Cobb Sr.  The only question now is, is this behavior sanctioned by the Watchtower Corporation president, Don Adams and as the president of the Organization would he not be aware of any legal issues that arise?  If so, does he condone such actions by parties who are not even named in a legal proceeding?  Questions that can only be answered during cross examination of what correct (page 49) procedures are within the Watchtower Organization.  All Defendants have engaged willfully and willingly in Mafia styled tactics, utilizing fraudulent documents, threats, intimidations, subterfuge and acts of concealment in the carrying out of their alleged criminal endeavor as part of a large enterprise and scheme.  A scheme being played out all over the United States in various locales and areas.  Exhibit I, shows a deposit of over $150,000 in 2008.  This deposit shows intent and motive, the motive being to find any way to take over the Menlo Park Corporation even as far back as 2008 things were set in motion by the Defendants with this end as being the chief goal and once done, to effect the remodeling work quickly which is why funds were allocated even BEFORE the Defendants came to the Menlo Park Congregation.  The money came from the Watchtower Corporation and as a "donation" it is funds that would not be taxed.  The remodeling work was to happen as soon as the takeover was complete and then the money for the remodeling work was already in pay and would therefore be considered a loan which the newly formed congregation would have to pay back, thus laundering the funds and allowing the Watchtower Corporation to take over another building.  The motive and intent was to take over the Menlo Park Corporation and then to remodel for the sole secular purpose of laundering the money so as to not report it to the proper governmental authorities and to have an entire congregation in debt so as to maintain control by the Watchtower Corporation.  To this end, the Defendants had clearly dedicated themselves to this purpose.  They have implored illegal tactics, and have sought to wrap it all under the umbrella of religious right which easily falls under Religious Fraud.  When one attempts secular things but have labeled them as spiritual things in the effort to gain exemption from the laws of the land it is clearly Religious Affinity Fraud.  Especially in light of Defendant Brede's false claim from the pulpit that there was only $3500 dollars in the building fund, when in actuality he was fully aware of the Chase account that was flush with $60,000 dollars that he opened fraudulently using Jason Cobb's credentials, a matter (page 50) that is now being investigated by the Palo Alto Police.  All Defendants have sought to exact control over the parishioners by continually using verbal expressions such as, "This is what the Society (The Watchtower) wants."  (Statement by Defendant Ernest Brede)  As well as, "if you go against what we are doing, then you are going against the Society" (Statement by Defendant Paul Koehler to parishioners within the Menlo Park Congregation).  Defendant Aaron Lucas has gone on record saying, "We can do this because we got the letter giving us the authority to take over from the Society (The Watchtower Corporation)".  A letter that one claims to give authority, even from the highest levels of a religious organization, does not give one the authority to circumvent the legal process with regard to corporations in California.  Or as Defendant Brede said, "Jason Cobb stole the money we found in the Chase account".  When in actuality it was Defendants Brede, Showers and Contreras who in point of fact, opened the account but yet told several parishioners falsehoods about the issue.  Because a party makes a claim does not necessarily validate that claim as being true.  With the exhibits placed it is clear the Defendants meant to defraud the congregation about the true nature of the accounts, money, property and merger.  It is also clear that this is some systematic plan with a twofold purpose; one being tax avoidance, if not the outright refusal to disclose the monies involved and ultimately it is about control of all properties and a direct effort to bring under control all independently owned Kingdom Hall buildings.  Due to the intricate nature of the scheme it shows clear premeditation in that all Defendants as well as confederates knowingly acted in consort with the clear objective to take over the Menlo Park Congregation and Corporation using whatever means necessary, with no regard to legal ramifications or actions, in short, to the Defendants, the end justified the means, even if those means were fraudulent.  In the effecting of this scheme various techniques were used, such as the mailing of fraudulent documents through U.S. Postal mail for the purpose of securing control of the real property.  This was done with the initial documents filed with the Secretary of State were sent via Postal mail, which constitutes Mail and Wire Fraud.  The (page 51) statements made by the various Defendants that were witnessed and heard by parties within the membership of the Menlo Park Congregation show their intent to conceal.  Their using various contacts and confederates in a conspiratorial fashion show the Defendants motives were conscious decisions that were premeditated and clear criminal intent. Their continued mob like mentality and negative treatment of those who have sought to expose this situation and bring to light the alleged illegal activity such as Jason Cobb.  The threats and intimidation tactics of Defendant Showers and Lucas show a continued motive to try to prevent exposure.  Finally, the three cases that are in the early stages of investigation by three separate police agencies all show that there is clear intent, motive and criminal activity by the Defendants, that make this case purely secular and not in any way ecclesiastical in nature.  The copious exhibits show the Defendants had no regard for law or legal procedures and sought to only gain and achieve their objectives; revenge for Mr. Peter Gallego's removal of position within the congregation by the Plaintiffs, the removal of Jason Cobb and Jonathan D. Cobb in such a way as to not raise racial suspicions, the questionable sum of $150,000 dollars that was on deposit possibly as far as 2008 which goes to motive and intent being to take over Menlo Park and begin some sort of remodeling work to effect debt and control to the Watchtower Corporation, continued harassment by members of the Menlo Park Congregation towards Jason Cobb as a way to pressure Plaintiff Jonathan D. Cobb Sr, to quash this action, continual filing of false documents in an effort to gain control of the corporation unlawfully, a case of identity theft that was effected to open an account that the Defendants claimed they "discovered" when in fact it was the Defendants who opened this secret account, personal threats made by Defendant Showers electronically through email which under Homeland Security Laws fall under electronic terroristic threats, a very serious crime.  Defendant Aaron Lucas helping to effect the takeover by being in total support of his fellow Defendants, Defendants Brede and Luis Contreras filing false documentation giving them authority on paper to change the property deed for property valued at over $2 million dollars (page 52) which is the basic theft of  property, a network of confederates who sought to track and trace all parties involved so as to commit illegal surveillance on parties associated with the Plaintiff's.  A continued campaign to discredit and slander the Plaintiff's and parties associated with the Plaintiff's in an effort to isolate them sso as to apply pressure in an effort to force them to withdraw this action, continued effort to try to find fault with the Plaintiff's to excommunicate them and thus blacklist them when in fact the Plaintiff's have acted as whistlebowers to report irregularities and wrongdoing to the powers that be within the Watchtower Society, the Defendants being party to a conspiracy to, with discrimination, malice and premeditation, effectively wipe out all independently owned Kingdom Halls using fraudulent tactics with regard to the shareholders, and trying to extort more money from the shareholders in the form of donations for a remodeling project that will be funded by a loan from the Watchtower Corporation, thus making the shareholders pay twice.  A continued effort to try to conceal the details of this scheme by all Defendants, while trying to derail the cause of actions.  As the circumstances bear out, the Defendants have no regard for the law and the only question that remains is since these actions are all continuing in furtherance of the scheme, all Defendants are accessories before and after the fact to the above described activities that appear criminal in nature.  Finally, the Plaintiff's had nothing but glowing reports as far back as 2006.  Refer to Exhibit Q and you will see that an inspection report was made on the Menlo Park Congregation under the management of the Plaintiff's Walter A. St. Clair, Jonathan D. Cobb Sr and the individuals of George Stock and Jason Cobb.  This appears to be a standard tactic used in the applying of pressure whenever the Watchtower is embroiled in some type of legal action.  Research has shown a definite pattern of action.  First being to accuse the person of being an apostate, or someone who has questionable beliefs within the Organization that are not totally in line with the standard rhetoric.   Second, is to find a way to remove that person for being an apostate, an excommunication, if you will, which is more an effort to silence a party who will not conform to the official line.  Thirdly, if a party can survive the aforementioned tactics, next is direct pressure or harassment which takes the form of non-association, where the parishioners have been instructed that the particular party is not someone to associate with.  This renders the offending party alone and isolated.  No friends, no support, and a total cutting off of this person.  This appears to be a standard tactic used in the applying of pressure whenever the Watchtower is embroiled in some type of legal action.  Research has shown a definite pattern of action.  First being to accuse the person of being an apostate, or someone who has questionable beliefs within the Organization that are not totally in line with the standard rhetoric.   Second, is to find a way to remove that person for being an apostate, an excommunication, if you will, which is more an effort to silence a party who will not conform to the official line.  Thirdly, if a party can survive the aforementioned tactics, next is direct pressure or harassment which takes the form of non-association, where the parishioners have been instructed that the particular party is not someone to associate with.  This renders the offending party alone and isolated.  No friends, no support, and a total cutting off of this person.    The only question now is, is this behavior sanctioned by the Watchtower Corporation president, Don Adams and as the president of the Organization would he not be aware of any legal issues that arise?  If so, does he condone such actions by parties who are not even named in a legal proceeding?  Questions that can only be answered during cross examination of what correct (page 49) procedures are within the Watchtower Organization.  All Defendants have engaged willfully and willingly in Mafia styled tactics, utilizing fraudulent documents, threats, intimidations, subterfuge and acts of concealment in the carrying out of their alleged criminal endeavor as part of a large enterprise and scheme.  A scheme being played out all over the United States in various locales and areas.  Exhibit I, shows a deposit of over $150,000 in 2008.  This deposit shows intent and motive, the motive being to find any way to take over the Menlo Park Corporation even as far back as 2008 things were set in motion by the Defendants with this end as being the chief goal and once done, to effect the remodeling work quickly which is why funds were allocated even BEFORE the Defendants came to the Menlo Park Congregation.    The money came from the Watchtower Corporation and as a "donation" it is funds that would not be taxed.  The remodeling work was to happen as soon as the takeover was complete and then the money for the remodeling work was already in pay and would therefore be considered a loan which the newly formed congregation would have to pay back, thus laundering the funds and allowing the Watchtower Corporation to take over another building.  The motive and intent was to take over the Menlo Park Corporation and then to remodel for the sole secular purpose of laundering the money so as to not report it to the proper governmental authorities and to have an entire congregation in debt so as to maintain control by the Watchtower Corporation.  To this end, the Defendants had clearly dedicated themselves to this purpose.    They have implored illegal tactics, and have sought to wrap it all under the umbrella of religious right which easily falls under Religious Fraud.  When one attempts secular things but have labeled them as spiritual things in the effort to gain exemption from the laws of the land it is clearly Religious Affinity Fraud.  Especially in light of Defendant Brede's false claim from the pulpit that there was only $3500 dollars in the building fund, when in actuality he was fully aware of the Chase account that was flush with $60,000 dollars that he opened fraudulently using Jason Cobb's credentials, a matter (page 50) that is now being investigated by the Palo Alto Police.    All Defendants have sought to exact control over the parishioners by continually using verbal expressions such as, "This is what the Society (The Watchtower) wants."  (Statement by Defendant Ernest Brede)  As well as, "if you go against what we are doing, then you are going against the Society" (Statement by Defendant Paul Koehler to parishioners within the Menlo Park Congregation).  Defendant Aaron Lucas has gone on record saying, "We can do this because we got the letter giving us the authority to take over from the Society (The Watchtower Corporation)".    A letter that one claims to give authority, even from the highest levels of a religious organization, does not give one the authority to circumvent the legal process with regard to corporations in California.  Or as Defendant Brede said, "Jason Cobb stole the money we found in the Chase account".  When in actuality it was Defendants Brede, Showers and Contreras who in point of fact, opened the account but yet told several parishioners falsehoods about the issue.  Because a party makes a claim does not necessarily validate that claim as being true.    With the exhibits placed it is clear the Defendants meant to defraud the congregation about the true nature of the accounts, money, property and merger.  It is also clear that this is some systematic plan with a twofold purpose; one being tax avoidance, if not the outright refusal to disclose the monies involved and ultimately it is about control of all properties and a direct effort to bring under control all independently owned Kingdom Hall buildings.    Due to the intricate nature of the scheme it shows clear premeditation in that all Defendants as well as confederates knowingly acted in consort with the clear objective to take over the Menlo Park Congregation and Corporation using whatever means necessary, with no regard to legal ramifications or actions, in short, to the Defendants, the end justified the means, even if those means were fraudulent.  In the effecting of this scheme various techniques were used, such as the mailing of fraudulent documents through U.S. Postal mail for the purpose of securing control of the real property.  This was done with the initial documents filed with the Secretary of State were sent via Postal mail, which constitutes Mail and Wire Fraud.    The (page 51) statements made by the various Defendants that were witnessed and heard by parties within the membership of the Menlo Park Congregation show their intent to conceal.  Their using various contacts and confederates in a conspiratorial fashion show the Defendants motives were conscious decisions that were premeditated and clear criminal intent. Their continued mob like mentality and negative treatment of those who have sought to expose this situation and bring to light the alleged illegal activity such as Jason Cobb.  The threats and intimidation tactics of Defendant Showers and Lucas show a continued motive to try to prevent exposure.  Finally, the three cases that are in the early stages of investigation by three separate police agencies all show that there is clear intent, motive and criminal activity by the Defendants, that make this case purely secular and not in any way ecclesiastical in nature.    The copious exhibits show the Defendants had no regard for law or legal procedures and sought to only gain and achieve their objectives; revenge for Mr. Peter Gallego's removal of position within the congregation by the Plaintiffs, the removal of Jason Cobb and Jonathan D. Cobb in such a way as to not raise racial suspicions, the questionable sum of $150,000 dollars that was on deposit possibly as far as 2008 which goes to motive and intent being to take over Menlo Park and begin some sort of remodeling work to effect debt and control to the Watchtower Corporation, continued harassment by members of the Menlo Park Congregation towards Jason Cobb as a way to pressure Plaintiff Jonathan D. Cobb Sr, to quash this action, continual filing of false documents in an effort to gain control of the corporation unlawfully, a case of identity theft that was effected to open an account that the Defendants claimed they "discovered" when in fact it was the Defendants who opened this secret account, personal threats made by Defendant Showers electronically through email which under Homeland Security Laws fall under electronic terroristic threats, a very serious crime.  Defendant Aaron Lucas helping to effect the takeover by being in total support of his fellow Defendants, Defendants Brede and Luis Contreras filing false documentation giving them authority on paper to change the property deed for property valued at over $2 million dollars (page 52) which is the basic theft of  property, a network of confederates who sought to track and trace all parties involved so as to commit illegal surveillance on parties associated with the Plaintiff's.  A continued campaign to discredit and slander the Plaintiff's and parties associated with the Plaintiff's in an effort to isolate them sso as to apply pressure in an effort to force them to withdraw this action, continued effort to try to find fault with the Plaintiff's to excommunicate them and thus blacklist them when in fact the Plaintiff's have acted as whistlebowers to report irregularities and wrongdoing to the powers that be within the Watchtower Society, the Defendants being party to a conspiracy to, with discrimination, malice and premeditation, effectively wipe out all independently owned Kingdom Halls using fraudulent tactics with regard to the shareholders, and trying to extort more money from the shareholders in the form of donations for a remodeling project that will be funded by a loan from the Watchtower Corporation, thus making the shareholders pay twice.    A continued effort to try to conceal the details of this scheme by all Defendants, while trying to derail the cause of actions.  As the circumstances bear out, the Defendants have no regard for the law and the only question that remains is since these actions are all continuing in furtherance of the scheme, all Defendants are accessories before and after the fact to the above described activities that appear criminal in nature.  Finally, the Plaintiff's had nothing but glowing reports as far back as 2006.  Refer to Exhibit Q and you will see that an inspection report was made on the Menlo Park Congregation under the management of the Plaintiff's Walter A. St. Clair, Jonathan D. Cobb Sr and the individuals of George Stock and Jason Cobb.   Paragraph 3 of that supplemental report states that the elders were to be commended for their excellent upkeep of the premises.  The attachment also is a financial report that show that the Menlo Park Congregation carried no debt to the Watchtower Society and in fact had placed money in escrow with the Watchtower as a sort of loan.  Meaning, the Watchtower could use the funds if needed but the Menlo Park Congregation would have it as a backup source of money in the event of emergencies.  All was seemingly well, (page 53) even prior to their arrival to the Menlo Park Congregation the Defendants had worked at length to lay the groundwork for their takeover.

IN THE PAST WATCHTOWER MORE OPENLY ADMITTED TO BEING A BUSINESS Credit Marvin Shilmer for putting these revealing oldies (1928) on the JWD forum.

TACOMA DOME SCANDAL ILLUSTRATIVE OF DOINGS IN THE U.S. AND OTHER NATIONS Tacoma Dome Tacoma neighborhood The following has been made freely available on the website of former Watchtower staff researcher Barbara Anderson, that is watchtowerdocuments.com.  It was originally found in the Tacoma Reporter newspaper of Washington state, on the date of July 12, 2000. The article notes that Bruce Baker was a Jehovah’s Witness elder serving on the Watchtower Convention Committee over seeing three day conventions at the Tacoma Dome in Seattle.  He was told by elder Mark Lahfdany, also of the WCC, that WCC's contract with the Tacoma Dome specifically stated Watchtower cannot charge for parking, and yet JWs were often being told that not to pay a "contribution" was a sin!  Further, a February letter from Watchtower's world headquarters in New York referred to a "per-day suggested parking contribution" but also mentioned that there was a ticket that could be acquired in advance for all three days. If one figures over 10,000 attendees at each of four three-day conventions, then it appears Watchtower was collecting over $120,000 from the so-called donations at each of the conventions in just the one city of Seattle.  Thus $120,000 multiplied by 4 years equals some $480,000.  Therefore Bruce Baker informed then city mayor Brian Ebersole, City Manager Ray Ropus, and City Council member Kevin Phelps. As a result Watchtower enacted disfellowshipping (cruelly applied shunning) against Bruce Baker.  This meant an end to normal ties with his oldest daughter and 19 month old granddaughter.  The Watchtower organization thus destroyed his family but not his relationship with God. The following has been made freely available on the website of former Watchtower staff researcher Barbara Anderson.  It was originally found in the Tacoma Reporter dated 7-12-2000. Bruce Baker was a Jehovah’s Witness elder serving on the Watchtower Convention Committee over seeing three day conventions at the Tacoma Dome in Seattle.  He was told by elder Mark Lahfdany, also of the WCC, that WCC's contract with the Tacoma Dome specifically stated Watchtower cannot charge for parking, and yet JWs were often being told that not to pay a "contribution" was a sin!  Further, a February letter from Watchtower's world headquarters in New York referred to a "per-day suggested parking contribution" but also mentioned that there was a ticket that could be acquired in advance for all three days. If one figures over 10,000 attendees at each of four three-day conventions, then it appears Watchtower was collecting over $120,000 from the so-called donations at each of the conventions in just the one city of Seattle.  Thus $120,000 multiplied by 4 years equals some $480,000.  Therefore Bruce Baker informed then city mayor Brian Ebersole, City Manager Ray Ropus, and City Council member Kevin Phelps. As a result Watchtower enacted disfellowshipping (cruelly applied shunning) against Bruce Baker.  This meant an end to normal ties with his oldest daughter and 19 month old granddaughter.  Thus his family was destroyed by the Watchtower Society but he could be consoled for having stood up for moral conduct in exposing the organization's greed. http://watchtowerdocuments.com/documents/2000_Stealing_The_Collection_Plate.pdf

HOW WATCHTOWER'S MONEY PROBLEMS ARE Joel Meares wrote in "The New York Review of Magazines 2010" concerning the Watchtower Bible and Tract Society: http://nyrm.org/2010/05/13/the-most-widely-read-magazine-in-the-world/  "The mammoth operation is funded by donations, mainly from Witnesses leaving anonymous contributions in boxes titled 'Worldwide Work' at the back of Kingdom Halls. The money is funneled to the U.S. world headquarters to fund the publishing empire, as well as disaster relief. Just how much moolah makes that journey is unknown — as a religious organization, the Tract Society does not have to file an annual return with the IRS — but in 2001, Newsday listed the Tract Society as one of New York City’s 40 richest corporations, with revenues of $951 million. Last year, a report stated that the Society had pulled in $125 million for the fiscal year ending in August." Usually the word "revenue" refers not to properties such as skyscrapers, printing presses and land but to liquid cash that is made, for example, when a business gets money by selling publications, receiving donations, making gains in the stock market.  Therefore the article by Meares appears to mean that in a twelve month period of time, that is in the fiscal year ending in August 2009, the Watchtower organization that had collected almost $1 billion back in 2001 by 2009 was taking in only $125 million!  This also appears to be independent confirmation of what the purported Bethelite insider "Johnny" has stated.  He noted on the Six Screens  phone conference in early January 2011 that he had seen a document showing ten years of Watchtower finances being secure followed by about five years of being in the negative.  He also said that in 2010 finances were so bad the Governing Body considered selling stock in the organization but did not because that would have caused them to lose their tax exemptions. Where did all the liquid cash go?  One can only conjecture lawsuit settlements regarding deaths after people bled to death, lawsuits from trying to quietly settle with victims of child abuse, lawsuits from sisters whom elders took sexual advantage of, bad stock market investments, unhappy Jehovah's Witness members decreasing or cutting out donations, requests by Watchtower officials and attorneys to have their expenses paid such as for document fees, airline tickets, hotel lodging and meals; perhaps even some of the money has been siphoned off to secret foreign bank accounts in Switzerland or the Carribean.  Watchtower's Governing Body members should dig into their own organization's treasury, auditing, stock brokerage and other general financial affairs to see what the real problems are.  If any of the money is being misused or stolen, it almost certainly would be an insider job and the Governing Body members should not assume that insider culprits would tell on themselves! Today as I write is January 30, 2011.  Until Watchtower's Governing Body men look into these matters, they have absolutely no business to be pressuring regular Jehovah's Witnesses for more and more in donations.

FIDELITY GROUP INSURANCE & WATCHTOWER Gene Duncan and Dwayne Samuels (substitute Circuit Overseer) were two bigshot elders in New York City were in on the Fidelity Group Insurance scandal.  Many JWs were working for the company when it went broke, but no one served any time due to an agreement to pay back the victims.  Rumors were that there were kickbacks with some of the money going to Watchtower officials. Volume 7 Number 12 Wednesday, March 21, 2001 Page 387 ISSN 1528-9435 Legal News "Enforcement Labor Department Obtains Judgments Restoring Up to $8 Million to Health Plan The Labor Department obtained consent judgments Feb. 6 providing for restoration of between $500,000 to $8 million to the International Workers' Guild health plan by the principals of Fidelity Group Inc. and health plan trustees (Chao v. Fidelity Group Inc., E.D.N.Y., CV-98-7683, 2/6/01), according to a department news release. The judgments also bar the Fidelity Group principals from having any dealings with or receiving compensation from employee benefit plans governed by federal employee benefit law. According to a department representative, the range for restoration is based on the defendants ability to pay, from full restitution of $8 million to a minimum amount of restitution of $500,000. The department seeks to recover the full amount but if the defendants can prove they don't have the ability to pay the full amount, then they must pay what they can but no less than $500,000. The judgments resolve a lawsuit filed by the Labor Department alleging that nine of the defendants permitted plan assets to be diverted for purposes other than to pay health benefits and underfunded the plan, thereby leaving participants with between $8 to $28 million in unpaid medical claims, the news release said. According to the news release, the plan, created in 1995, was marketed to small employers through consultants, insurance agents and related professionals. The department alleged that IWG was a "sham union" which operated the health plan for employers through "bogus" collective bargaining agreements with the National Association of Business Owners and Professionals, a sham "employer association." The plan was administered by Fidelity Group Inc., of Great Neck, N.Y. At its peak, it had over 10,000 participants in 32 states. Under the judgment with Eugene Duncan and Dwayne Samuels-the principals of the Fidelity Group-the defendants must each restore $250,000 under a payment schedule and restore annually to the plan 50 percent of their net income over a $50,000 threshold for 15 years, up to an $8 million cap, the news release said. They also are barred from serving as fiduciaries, receiving compensation, marketing services, and having business dealings with any plan governed by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act. According to the Labor Department news release, the settlement with Yvonne Duncan and Carol Samuels requires the defendants to restore annually to the plan 50 percent of their net income over a $50,000 threshold for 10 years, up to a $3.8 million cap. They also are permanently barred from acting as fiduciaries or service providers to any ERISA plan. In addition, separate settlement agreements were obtained with Fidelity Group, Inc. and NABOP, which have ceased doing business and turned their assets over to the plan. Earlier settlements with plan trustees Paul Askew, Charles Bradley, Terence Rhue and Noel Shaw, as well as two Fidelity Group management-level employees, David Spooner and Lee Jarmolowsky, provided various injunctive relief against doing business with ERISA-covered plans. Original Lawsuit The department originally filed its lawsuit on Dec. 15, 1998, alleging that the trustees and others violated ERISA when they: paid excessive administrative fees from health plan assets to Fidelity for its service as the third-party administrator; diverted assets of the health plan to IWG and NABOP in the form of sham union and association fees; failed to monitor and administer the fund's claims processing system and adjudication system, thereby resulting in a $25 million backlog of unprocessed health claims; failed to assure the financial soundness of the plan through the use of adequate underwriting and sound actuarial analysis; failed to establish adequate contribution rates and maintain cash reserves to assure the payment of claims; allowed the plan to become insolvent and used plan money for prohibited purposes; and permitted NABOP and IWG to be created or operated primarily to divert plan assets from the payment of health benefits. Under a temporary restraining order entered on Dec. 15, 1998, the court removed the plan administrator, Fidelity Group Inc., its officers Eugene Duncan, Dwayne Samuels, and its employees Lee Jarmolowsky and David Spooner; NABOP and its officers Yvonne Duncan and Carol Samuels; and the trustees from their positions with the health plan. The case resulted from an investigation conducted by the New York Regional Office of the department's Pension and Welfare Benefits Administration into alleged violations of ERISA. Bureau of National Affairs, Inc., Washington D.C." http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/scandals/24855/1/Is-This-True-Fidelity-Group-Insurance-and-WT

SOME OF THE MANY FINANCIAL FACES OF THE WATCHTOWER SOCIETY http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/132991/1/List-of-100-Watchtower-Corporations-Reposted-and-Updated WATCHTOWER, 317 Auburn Rd, Lansing, NY 14882 WATCHTOWER EDUC CTR, 100 WATCHTOWER DR., PATTERSON, NY 12563 MOUNTAINBROOK LTD PARTNERSHIP, 100 Watchtower Dr., Patterson, NY 12563 (Investment operation of Patterson site, including hotel) WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC., 25 COLUMBIA HTS,. BROOKLYN, NY 11201 WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA, 25 COLUMBUS HEIGHTS, BROOKLYN, NY 11201 WATCHTOWER ASSOCIATES LTD, 147 HOLIDAY DR, WOODBURY, NY 11797 WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY THE, 121 N WILLOW ST, ONEIDA, NY 13421 WATCH TOWER SOCIETY, 1971 STRAUSS ST., BROOKLYN, NY 11212 (1971 BUSINESS COMMITTEE OF JEHOVAH WITNESSES) WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK INC, 800 RED MILLS RD., WALLKILL, NY 12589 WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC., 86 MONTAGUE ST # 98, BROOKLYN, NY 11201 WATCHTOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY OF NEW YORK, INC., 117 ADAMS ST, BROOKLYN, NY 11201 (Branch Location) WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY OF PENNSYLVANIA, 5550 BERGEN AVE., MATTITUCK, NY 11952 (Branch Location) WATCHTOWER BIBLE, 16100 RIV AVE, BRONX, NY 10451 {FORMERLY} WATCHTOWER BIBLE & TRACT SOCIETY INC), W RIVER RD N ROUTE 85, FULTON, NY 13069 WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY, FOOTS CORNERS RD & ROUTE 96, INTERLAKEN, NY 14847(Headquarters location) WATCH TOWER BIBLE AND TRACT SOCIETY, 4208 NATIONAL ST, FLUSHING, NY 11368GENERAL PA CORPORATE HEADQUARTERS, BRANCHES, & SUBSIDARIES: STATE BRANCHES or SPECIAL OPERATIONS IN STATES: Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc Brooklyn, NY Branch Jehovah's Witnesses Crown Point (Inc) (dba "Watchtower Society") Crown Point, IN Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Emmett, ID Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Hernando, FL Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Clearfield, PA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses Brklyn") Brooklyn, NY Branch Watchtower Society (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Cleveland, OH Watchtower And Bible Society (Inc) (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses W S Spanish") Ocala, FL Watchtower Bb Tract Soc Of Ny Jasper, GA Branch Watchtower Bb Tract Soc Of Ny (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Libby, MT Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Baker, MT Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witness Lake Mangoni") West Palm Beach, FL Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc Saint Paul, MN Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses(Inc)") Ashland, WI Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Charlotte, MI Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc West Palm Beach, FL Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") El Toro, CA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Bishop, CA Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Soquel, CA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Fort Myers, FL Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Toms River, NJ Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc Pottstown, PA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Yakima, WA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Bemidji, MN Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Clarkesville, GA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") West Des Moines, IA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses-Mont") Montgomery, TX Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc Knoxville, TN Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Crystal Lake, IL Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Watchtower Bible And Track") Tijeras, NM Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc Memphis, TN Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses," "Jehovah S Witnesses") Honolulu, HI Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc Anchorage, AK Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Portland, OR Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc Cleveland, OH Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc Saraland, AL Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses," "Jehovah S Witnesses") Reedley, CA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Austell, GA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc Conyers, GA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Sandusky, OH Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovah Witnesses East") De Leon Springs, FL Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc Yerington, NV Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") San Antonio, TX Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovah Witnesses") Denver, CO Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses Sandusky") Sandusky, MI Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") San Antonio, TX Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Vancouver, WA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Dowagiac, MI Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Brookville, PA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc Boynton Beach, FL Branch Watchtower Bible And Trackt Society (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses Bandera Soc") Bandera, TX Watchtower Bible And Tract Society Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Springfield, MA Watchtower Bible Society Of Pa (Inc) (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses Hillsboro") Hillsboro, TX Watchtower Bible Trac Society (Inc) (dba "Jehovahs Wtnesses Kingdom Hall") Kent, OH Watchtower Bible Tract Of Pennsalvania (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Pottsville, PA Watchtower Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") San Jose, CA Watchtower Society (Inc), The (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Plano, TX Wheaton Congrg Of Jehovah Inc (dba "Watchtower Bible And Track Soc") Wheaton, MN SPECIAL OPERATIONS BRANCHES USING KINGDOM HALLS: Jehovah’s Witnesses Kingdom Hall (dba "Watchtower Bible & Tract Soc") Metuchen, NJ Watchtower Society (dba "Kingdom Hall," "Jehovah's Witnesses") Phoenix, AZ Kingdom Hall Of Jehovah's Witnesses (dba "Watchtower The," "Jehovah's Witnesses") BELFAIR, WA Watchtower Bible & Tract Society (dba "Jehovahs Wtnesses Kingdom Hall") Laurel, MD Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York (dba "Kingdom Hall Jhovahs Witnesses," "Jehovah's Witnesses") Lompoc, CA Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses Kingdom Hall") Yukon, OK Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdom Hall Jehovahs Witness") Mc Cormick, SC Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Cortez Cngrgtion Jhvah Wttness") Cortez, CO Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdom Hall Of Jehovahs") Woodward, OK Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdom Hall Jhovahs Witnesses") Levelland, TX Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses-Folsom") El Dorado Hills, CA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdom Hall Jehovahs Witness," "Kingdom Hall Jehovah S Witness") Wauchula, FL Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witness Kingdom Hall") Durango, CO Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Elk Rapids Congrtn Jehova") Kewadin, MI Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Columbus Cngrgtn Jehovahs") Lynn, NC Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Wtness S Congregation") Live Oak, FL Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Congregation Of Jenovahs") Lake Wales, FL Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Winterpock Congregation") Chesterfield, VA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdom Hall Of Jhvahs Wtness") Lindsay, CA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdom Hall Of Jhvahs Wtness") Minneapolis, MN Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdom Hall Of Jehovahs," "Kingdom Hall Of Jehovah S") Gallup, NM Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdom Hall," "Jehovah's Witnesses") Palestine, TX Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdom Hall Jhovahs Witnesses") Maquoketa, IA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdom Hall Jehovahs Witness") KYLE, TX Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Watch Tower Bible Track Soc Ny," "Kingdom Hall") NAPA, CA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Wtnesses Kingdom Hall") Alhambra, CA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdom Hall Jhovahs Witnesses") Norfolk, VA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdom Hall Jehovah Witness") Atoka, OK Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovahs Wtnesses Kingdom Hall") Orlando, FL Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdom Hall Jhovahs Witnesses") Saint Edward, NE Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdom Hall Jhovahs Witnesses") Wahoo, NE Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdom Hall Jhovahs Witnesses") Spring Hill, FL Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdom Hall Jhovahs Witnesses") Schoharie, NY Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Jehovah S Witness Kingdom Hall") North Wilkesboro, NC Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Northwest Cong Jehovahs," "Jehovah's Witnesses") Nashville, TN Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of New York Inc (dba "Kingdomhall Jehovahs Witnesses") Scottsville, VA Branch Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of Ny Inc (dba "Jehovahs Witnesses") Klamath Falls, OR Watchtower Bible & Tract Society Of Pennsylvania (dba "Jeovahs Witnesses Kingdom Hall") Buford, GA Branch Watchtower Bible Tract Society (dba "Kingdom Hall," "Jehovah's Witnesses") Hart, MI Single Watchtower Corp (dba "Jehovahs Wtnesses Kingdom Hall") Macon, GA

ABUSE OF AUTHORITY AND TAX EXEMPTIONS IN THE WATCHTOWER ORGANIZATION ON THE WAY OUT notes in “Abuse of Authority and Tax Exemptions in the WT Organization” “I will relay this as hearsay as I was not personally involved, but perhaps some of you can personally attest to such abuses for the apologists out there.  Even this "hearsay" was verified by another person who was involved to some extent.  This Spanish former elder told a two-fold story about abuse of authority and abuse of the tax exemption that WTS has. Tax exemption- His story was about how, in the building of an Assembly Hall in Illinois, the people in charge of various portions of the project bought materials and automobiles with the tax exemption number given to them.  Among their materials and automobiles were materials and automobiles for their home and personal use.” ..... The Hall was built about 1993 and this took place shortly after, say 1995.  It is a double hall on the near south side of Chicago (18th Street).  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/199115/1/Abuse-of-Authority-and-Tax-Exemptions-in-the-WT-Organization

REMODELING SWEET DEAL$  TERRY EXPLAINS “Let's say they (Watchtower Society) loan $200,000 to a local congregation for building a Kingdom Hall. After the loan is paid back, they now have $275,000 (let's say) in the bank, and they also have a brand new Kingdom Hall, build with FREE labor and using other people's tools, worth probably $400,000. Their original $200,000 has been turned into $675,000 in cash and assets, assets which they are free to do with as they please (and they do, believe me.) That is an AMAZING rate of return on investment, isn't it? For a remodel, the local congregation might borrow $75,000, pay back $100,000, and increase the value of the Kingdom Hall the Society already owns by $100,000. The rate of return here isn't quite as good, but turning $75,000 into $200,000 is nothing to sneeze at, either, and these projects are much more common and numerous than new Halls. And now you know, dear friends, why the Witnesses are always building new Kingdom Halls and remodeling the ones they already have. It is an enormous cash cow, a huge source of income.” http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/190092/2/Door-to-Door-Message-A-DIVERSION-Where-does-the-MONEY-go

WATCHTOWER INTO MAJOR REAL ESTATE TRANSACTIONS The Watchtower Society has built an Assembly Hall in Casa Grande, Arizona, which cost them $7 MILLION or more, which would have been a much higher figure except their 4000 workers are mostly volunteers giving up their time and labor for free as Jehovah's Witnesses.   JWs believe Watchtower is the earthly representative of God's kingdom on earth.  Comment: hearsay is that Watchtower has had plans for building scores of such new assembly halls as a major real estate investment along with other investments.  Scriptures say God doesn't need material things but evidently Watchtower's Governing Body heads like Splane, Loesch and Herd feel they themselves do.  They may be hoping to build other such wondrous, powerful works after the U.S. (and worldwide) recession rolls back, possibly in 2011 after the wars in both Iraq and Afghanistan are slated to have ended.    http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/local/articles/2010/07/29/20100729arizona-volunteers-build-worship-center.html http://www.trivalleycentral.com/articles/2010/07/09/maricopa_monitor/religion/doc4c3629b66de3f020301784.txt

"INTERNATIONAL CASH MANAGEMENT"  ROOM 215 wrote “I know from first-hand sources that the WT has at least two Bloomberg financial terminals that cost at least $20,000 a year per subscription. Their main purpose is to analyze fiancial markets, notably bonds. I was handed a business card by a Bethelite which bears the title "international cash management."” http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/190092/4/Door-to-Door-Message-A-DIVERSION-Where-does-the-MONEY-go

WATCHTOWER SOCIETY ON LIST OF 350 HEDGE FUND DELEGATES Scroll down to near the end of the alphabetical list and that’s where they are listed: http://www.hedgefundintelligence.com/Product/12525/Forthcoming-Events/InvestHedge-Forum-2010.html?ElementId=9148 This is also being discussed in the section of jehovah-witness.com called “Scandals”: Place for the meeting to be: the British Museum in London; Dates September 21-22, 2010.  COMMENTS: Word now from several sources is they have also gone heavily into gold.  Past Awake! articles speak glowingly of the aviation industry, copper mining and European cheeses; so guess where their past stock may have been.  Might some have also gone into stock for artificial blood companies and bloodless surgery businesses if not directly then through other parties?  See. Too bad they don't go into helping abused JW children a whole lot, etc, etc.  Did Christ ask his Faithful and Discreet Slave to invest money in businesses or to invest in what is spiritual in heaven where neither moth nor rust can get to it?  Christ invested in helping people have happier lives.  That's what it means to be Christian, to be like Christ, and Christ helped those who were tossed about and harmed.  Shame on Watchtower for saying that to follow its Governing Body men equals following Christ! (Sept 15, Watchtower magazine.)

WATCHTOWER'S BUILDINGS SOLD AND YET TO BE SOLD IN BROOKLYN The source for the following is the online encyclopedia wikipedia.org which in turn refers to various news articles.  The sale of the first four listed properties netted Watchtower some $287.6 million.  In 2004 the society began transferring its printing operations to its Wallkill factory complex.[79][80] The move triggered the sale of a number of Brooklyn factory and residential properties including: 360 Furman St, sold in 2004 for $205 million;[81] 67 Livingston St, (nicknamed the Sliver)[82] sold in 2006 for $18.6 million.[81] 89 Hicks St, sold in 2006 for $14 million.[81] Standish Arms Hotel, 169 Columbia Heights, sold in 2007 for $50 million.[83] Bossert Hotel, 98 Montague St, for sale since 2008.[76] Media reports in 2008 claimed a deal had been struck for more than $100 million,[84] although the deal later fell through.[77] 161 Columbia Heights, bought in 1988 and offered for sale in 2007.[80] 165 Columbia Heights, offered for sale in 2007.[80] 183 Columbia Heights, bought in 1986 and offered for sale in 2007.[80] 105 Willow St, offered for sale in 2007.[80] 34 Orange St, offered for sale in 2007.[80] In 2006 the Watch Tower Society was reported to still own about 40 properties in Brooklyn;[16] a 2009 report calculated "a dozen or more" properties in the Brooklyn area, including two large parking lots with a residential zoning.[76] In a 2010 news report the Watch Tower Society said it was "not actively promoting" the sale of eight Brooklyn properties still on the market.[77]

WATCHTOWER AND STOCK IN MILITARY AND TOBACCO INDUSTRIES IT DIDN'T WANT YOU TO KNOW ABOUT Watchtower's stock ownerships have as documents prove involved military equipment and cigarettes.  However it is also very likely that also involve items that have appeared in Watchtower's Awake! magazine.  For example friendly articles have been written then distributed to millions around the earth concerning copper mining, goat cheese, and aircraft.  It is also said that in the stock market crash of 2008 or so, the Watchtower lost heavily.  One possibility is that they invested in the fraudulent Ponzzi scheme of Bernard Madoff, and if so that money will never come back.

WATCHTOWER AND MILITARY STOCK The following excerpts are from the full documentation at http://www.secinfo.com/dVgzt.619z.htm which is headed: U.S.SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION  WASHINGTON, D.C. 20549  _______________________________ FORM 10-KSB/A AMENDMENT NO. 1 TO  ANNUAL REPORT PURSUANT TO SECTION 13 OR 15(d) OF THE  THE SECURITIES EXCHANGE ACT OF 1934 For the Fiscal Year Ended April 30, 1999  COMMISSION FILE NO. 0-23920 REGI U.S., INC. (Name of small business issuer as specified in its charter)     OREGON                                      91-1580146 (State or other jurisdiction of                 (I.R.S. Employer    incorporation or organization)               Identification Number) 185 - 10751 SHELLBRIDGE WAY RICHMOND, BRITISH COLUMBIA V6X 2W8, CANADA  (Address, including postal code, of registrant's principal executive offices)                                                                                                                   PERCENTAGE OF                                                                                                                CLASS A       CLASS A    NAME                                                                                        SHARES OWNED  SHARES OWNED                                                                                       John G. Robertson, Chairman of the Board of Directors,                                President and Chief Executive Officer (1) (2)                                             5,680,050       58.9%     The Watchtower Society (3)                                                                     5,371,900       57.5%     James McCann (4)                                                                                   5,371,900       57.5%     Rand Energy Group Inc. (5)                                                                      5,371,900       57.5%     Brian Cherry, Vice President, Secretary and Director (6)                              300,500        3.2%     Jennifer Lorette, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (7)                       60,500           *       Patrick Badgley, Vice President, Research and Development                              --               *       ALL EXECUTIVE OFFICERS & DIRECTORS AS A GROUP (FOUR                                   INDIVIDUALS) (8)                                                                                  6,041,050      61.4%   Rand Cam Engine Corp. is a privately held company whose stock is reportedly owned 50% by The Watchtower Society, a religious organization, 34% by James McCann and the balance by several other shareholders. Mr. McCann has indicated that he donated the shares held by The Watchtower Society to that organization but has retained a voting proxy for those shares. Accordingly, in Notes (3) and (4) above, beneficial ownership of the 5,371,900 shares registered in the name of Rand Energy Group Inc. has been attributed to The Watchtower Society and Mr. McCann. The Company believes it would be misleading and not provide clear disclosure to list as beneficial owners in the table the other entities and persons discussed in this paragraph, although a strict reading of Rule 13d-3 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 might require each such entity and person to be listed in the beneficial ownership table.  Comment: James McCann is an attorney who has helped Watchtower. Very Helpful Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayZpOSA9Lgw COMMENT: The narrator says he thinks Watchtower may not be aware it has military stock.  Wrong!  Its financial heads and McCann have to be aware. This explains military applications http://www.watchtowerhypocrisy.com/rand%20cam%20and%20watchtower%20society.txt http://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/922330/000106299302000371/form10k.txt

DOCUMENTS HELPING SHOW WATCHTOWER AND TOBACCO STOCK Comments on the stock holding: (Note Alice attempts to defend Watchtower but the others blow that view away) http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/scandals/198482/1/The-H-M-Riley-Trust

“THE WATCHTOWER CASH COW” By Brenda Lee   This is an excellent article with great photo illustrations, too:   http://www.outofthecocoon.net/blog/file.axd?file=2009%2F9%2FTHE+WATCHTOWER+CASH+COW.pdf

DECLINE OF THE WATCHTOWER SOCIETY OVER JEHOVAH’S WITNESSES (1997-2010) The following pertains to just the Watchtower Bible And Tract Society of Pennsylvania, not the other sister corporations.  The assets of all those together, some have said, may come to about $2 billion dollars.  Still the precious information we do have for the one sister corporation is doubtlessly instructive financially in regard to its sisters as well as the entire umbrella of Watchtower corporations overall. Subtracting what’s on the very last line of  Watchtower’s Balance Sheet for 1997-1998, Watchtower’s net assets fell in just that one year from $634,223,848 to $557,404,351 which means by $76,819,497.  Also, $76, 819, 497 divided by $634, 223, 848 = 0.121123634 or in other words Watchtower’s assets fell about 12% during just the one year of 1997-1998. That was about 12 years ago, and from then on theire assets fell even more, and they began selling real estate such as farm property, skyscrapers and branch facilities.  They also laid off large numbers of Bethelites, and split Watchtower assets among some new corporations likely created just to protect their assets against large court settlements they foresaw that they would sustain because of Watchtower elders and ministerial servants committing pedophilia.  Further, the stock market crashed, and Watchtower is said to have been heavily invested in it.  Frankly, does this sound like Watchtower has been a “Wise and Faithful Slave”? Although their apartments are in older buildings, the Governing Body members definitely do get luxurious apartments, all the food and drinks they want.  The old skyscrapers they have been staying in will be sold as the United States economy improves, and they are already getting a new building complex built at a town just outside New York City.    They get perks like free health care, dental care, free use of luxury cars, Bethelites to drive the cars around for them and keep them cleaned up, free maid service, six week vacations, trips “on business” to anywhere they want to go around the globe.   How do we know their assets kept dropping after 1998?  As said, everyone knows the stock market crashed, and we see all the money-cutting they have done and plan to do.   Some additional telling points are that in 1999 there was a big drop in membership and Watchtower put the first ever African-American on the Governing Body, likely to help get more growth from among other African-Americans and Africans in Nigeria etc.    In 2000 membership (and donations with it) fell after the Y2K scare about Armageddon did not happen.  Supposedly it shot back up in 2002 (doubtfully true).  In 2002 Milton George Henschel resigned as President of the Governing Body over Jehovah’s Witnesses; Don Alden Adams took his place although the real “boss” was said to be Ted Jaracz.  Jaracz was and is not only a Governing Body member but also has headed Watchtower’s powerful Service Department.  It appoints, trains, deletes all Watchtower elders around the globe.  He had for a long time been in a position to groom other elders whom he wanted put on the Governing Body. Also in 2002 former Jehovah's Witness elder, Bill Bowens then of Draffensville, Kentucky, led a Silentlambs demonstration into Brooklyn protesting Watchtower’s protecting of pedophiles.  Pat Garza alleged that standing Governing Body member Ted Jaracz had sexually molested her and some other Jehovah’s Witness children when he was District Overseer in Los Angeles, California.  Later an investigative reporter from Australia tried to get him to talk but he refused and fled. Watchtower had had a direct ten year liaison with the United Nations, and that was also exposed, forcing it to withdraw its direct liaison but then re-establish liaisons via other Watchtower staff persons and corporations.  In 2007 it had to pay millions of dollars to “quietly” settle child abuse cases in the Napa Valley of California.  The story was told on some television channels and via the Associated Press.    In 2007 Watchtower tried various gimmicks to make its membership growth seem better than it was.  For example, the hours needed for a person to be called a “pioneer” (full-time door-to-door preacher) was cut.   By 2008 and onwards into 2010, social networking via Facebook had grown a lot.  This made it much easier to communicate around the earth quickly about Watchtower’s darker doings including elders spying on and stalking active and former Jehovah’s Witnesses.   Former Jehovah’s Witnesses were also using free Telephone Conferences which were started by Rick Fearon of Tewksbury, Massachusetts.  Youtube videos were appearing regularly, improving more and more in quality.   These and other factors were helping drive down growth of new members, and this also meant fewer donations were being collected.  It was said that Watchtower’s main financial person reported that donations were down as much as 60%.   Darker allegations were occurring.  One concerned possible wiretapping of bedrooms.  Another was that Watchtower had for possibly a decade been under investigation of murder.  Allegedly two elders had conspired with the fleshly sister of David Carter of Roanoke, Virginia, to give him rat poison.  According to Carter he had gone public about their sexually abusing him. After battling a rare genetic condition that would have made him easier prey for molesters, David Lynn Carter ultimately died, it is alleged, from the poisoning in early 2010.  A world class Private Detective named Scott Bernstein confirmed that not only federal authorities such as marshals had long been involved but he himself was also investigating.  Before dying David Carter had also cryptically mentioned that "Watchtower is no longer fully in charge of itself," fueling speculation that it might be in secret receivership perhaps over some tax issues. Another big news item was that in 2009 Watchtower told Jehovah’s Witnesses that none of the people alive in the “marked year” of 1914 might ever see The End, that is Watchtower’s long-time prophecy of Armageddon followed by a Paradise earth.  Instead they taught in the Watchtower magazine and at conventions that Jehovah’s Witnesses anointed for heaven who had been born after and seeing those living in 1914 would see the End. Most Jehovah’s Witnesses including many older ones saw through the farce.  Already, for a decade if not longer, most young Jehovah’s Witnesses had quit the organization.  Now it was possible the older ones might not quit openly due to Watchtower shunning policy that destroyed normal family ties for those who quit it, but they might also stop donating so much of their time, money and energy to Watchtower.   During this time period Watchtower was printing and giving talks saying the membership must obey the Governing Body and its appointed elders no matter what.  There was talk of coming protests via the internet and in the real world.

Watchtower money woes became more evident by 1998 when it took out a full page advertisement in the New York Times protesting that the government of France was taxing and penalizing it.  To work against the government of France, Watchtower moved its printing across the channel to the U.K. and later sent France's JWs out protesting against the Government.  JWs in other lands such as the United States were misinformed by Watchtower that Watchtower was being "persecuted."  In fact it and its "Faithful and Discreet Slave" Governing Body were being unfaithful and indiscreet, not obedient to the "higher authorities" in heaven or those on earth.

Watchtower filed a letter pro-Swaggart re taxes When Swaggart lost, the 1990 case so did Watchtower Click to see Watchtower's letter that it filed on behalf of the ultimately losing effort of Swaggart (and itself) to evade paying taxes: http://www.bibletopics.com/biblestudy/84a.htm Watchtower filed a "friend of the court" paper in the Jimmy Swaggart Ministry case which is where Swaggart claim he didn't have to pay taxes on literature sales.  When Swaggart lost the case, by extension Watchtower also lost.  It had to order JWs presenting magazines etc at the doors to not say the literature was for a definite amount of money.  For a while it went to telling JWs to say the literature was for a "suggested" price of such-and-such an amount.  The IRS may have viewed this as another effort at tax-dodging.  Uncle Sam always gets his money. Watchtower's Governing Body had yet again proved itself to not be the "Faithful and Discreet" (some Bibles say "Loyal and Wise" Slave of God, trying to dodge taxes in the U.S. as well as in France and not improbably other lands. With time Watchtower assets such as an upstate New York farm, giant skyscrapers in Brooklyn, numerous kingdom halls etc have been sold off.  Especially around the time of the Stock Market crash we have seen even more selling and moves to do future selling. Naturally the question arises: might Watchtower be quietly in receivership from the U.S. Government, keeping it quiet so that tens of thousands of the least mentally stable JWs in the U.S. and worldwide might not think it's Armageddon and suicide? Regardless, the Watchtower Society and its Governing Body men are proved Unfaithful and Indiscreet, Disloyal and Unwise.

POINTS RE WATCHTOWER RECEIVERSHIP POSSIBLY BEING KEPT CONFIDENTIAL Must receivership as when IRS gets financial control of an organization, or the terms for such receivership, etc always have to be made public?  Note that law has stated "In the absence of objection, the entire decision will be made public" which conversely means that when there is valid reason presented in an objection then such matters indeed can be sealed.  Apart from law on receivership, when lives are at stake, such as when dealing with the organization of an Armageddon group like the Watchtower Society, the weight for saving lives would seem to out-weigh the usual disclosures to the public.  However, I am not an attorney and so you and others are invited to examine details seen on the link I've put a little farther below here.   Law does normally require full disclosure but as with all things there can be unusual circumstances and/or the disclosing of a matter may be delayed, possibly for decades so as to protect life and limb. And, going back to receivership, sometimes an organization itself may prefer to not have matters disclosed openly and therefore object.  If, theoretically-speaking, Watchtower didn't want it known that it was under receivership, it might be for any number of reasons.  One might be out of concern for those who might suicide, but another reason might be because it knew that once it became clear that it had not managed stewardship as a "Faithful and Discreet Slave" (Mt 24), then others would call it to task. http://www.uscourts.gov/rules/supct1106/CV_CLEAN_FINAL5-30-07.pdf  (b) Decisions of special masters and judges. When a decision of a special master or of the court is filed with the clerk, each party will be afforded 14 days in which to object to the public disclosure of any information furnished by that party– (1) that is trade secret or commercial or financial information and is privileged or confidential, or (2) that are medical files and similar files the disclosure of which would constitute a clearly unwarranted invasion of privacy.  If the party furnishing information objects to disclosure, that information shall be redacted prior to public disclosure of the decision. In the absence of objection, the entire decision will be made public.

THE FOLLOWING SHOULD ALL BE VIEWED AS “THEORETICAL” OR SPECULATIVE-ONLY, OF COURSE TYPICAL DOOR-TO-DOOR PRESENTATIONS Before the Supreme Court ruling over the Swaggart case a typical door-to-door magazine presentation ran thusly, "The magazines are just 25 cents each!” Right after the Supreme Court ruling against Swaggart (and thereby also Watchtower), the typical presentation was more like "The magazines are for just a ‘suggested contribution’ of 35 cents each.”  After the federal authorites were informed that the presentation was being deliberately worded to dodge paying taxes as seen in the preceding, they would have put Watchtower into receivership, meaning begun controlling its overall finances and selling off some assets to pay the back taxes and penalties.  From that time forward the presentation would be more like " “The magazines are for any amount you may wish to contribute for the Worldwide Work.” OBSERVED RESULTS Watchtower has drawn closer to the U.N. hoping to get a bigger “cannon” to deal with the U.S. federal “cannon” of receivership and any other actions that might be taken to farther penalize or dismantle it Due to less and less money and imposed court direction, Watchtower’s publications would have had to be made more cheaply (seen), it would have had to lay off Bethelites (seen), had to sell some branch presses and buildings (all seen), had to sell huge skyscrapers (seen), compact kingdom halls (seen), sell its upstate New York farm (done some time back), sell some kingdom halls in the U.K. (done), etc.   Uncle Sam always gets his money.  (A given)  Due to the recession or depression due to the Stock Market collapse, Uncle Sam needs even more money than usual (definite), hence the quickened pace at which Watchtower property assets have been sold off. (logical and seen)  Watchtower heads have stubbornly, stupidly  resisted inevitable doctrinal reforms about blood and their two-witnesses policy on pedophilie elders (trying to show it has some ability despite the financial receivership -- seen), but the mounting fees of attorneys and sharply cut donations from regular JWs (seen) have caused them to make some minor changes (seen) and still more are rumored coming. (heard coming)    ExJWs have increasingly reported being stalked and harassed (seen and read), attempts made to disrupt phone calls and conferences etc that are local, multi-state and sometime interenational. (yes) Some now fear for personal safety and safety of loved ones.  (yes)  The Feds appear to be coldly ignoring this. (yes) JWs are increasingly upset seeing a lot of weird "New Light" doctrinal changes.  Armageddon has in essence been "delayed."  Still, paranoia about "apostates" is at a fever pitch and only grows.  Watchtower needs a scapegoat, so blames everything on ExJW apostates.  Of course the biggest cannon isn't exJWs but the authorities, but Uncle Sam.  As David said things aren't always what they appear to be.  Yet JWs have up to now not known what was going on so readily worked against and blamed anything and everything against "evil" anti-God apostates (ExJWs).   Also acted increasingly forcefully, physically against perceived foes.  WHY KEPT QUIET AND OUT OF THE MEDIA SO LONG, HOW IT LASTED AND HOW IT IS ENDING The suicides and fiery deaths that occurred in regard to the Heaven’s Gate cult and the Branch Davidians at Waco, Texas, clearly would have convinced Federal authorities of the need to keep the receivership quiet as long as possible.  Watchtower’s top-most officials would have hoped that if they played along quietly in time they might just as quietly get out of receivership. Federal authorities asked David to not blow the lid to the media so as to protect lives so he went easy but, as he could feel death coming, he insisted that he as a free, law-abiding and dying citizen get to express his proper indignation against Watchtower. They assented.  He was right, plus there was no way to lawfully keep him from doing so and since he knew he was dying there was simply no power over him except that if they went along and appeared to be treating him fairly they could prolong keeping him from going to the "General" Public rather than just the community of Ex-JWs and Friends. They helped him put up and defend the watchtower.cc website.  On facebook.com he put up a website for venting and letting off steam and they humored his request that they be among his Facebook friends there with their photos showing them in Judges' robes.  Now, this theory or exercise in speculation-only concludes with "how it ends."  The information is out there.  Although Watchtower has tried to keep it quiet, this has failed.  The authorities also wanted to keep it quiet, but that didn't work either.  Word has only spread. Therefore effort must now shift to preparing the general Jehovah's Witnesses and the local elders with the realities.  Too, there are Bethel workers of many years who were laid off.  By now some, having been insiders, will have for example informed European Union officials of various matters along with confirming documents.  All these things will hit the general news and simultaneously also get to the ears of regular JWs around the world.  Some, being depressed persons also upset that Armageddon hasn't come, may suicide.  Therefore, there is great need for U.S. federal officials to prepare for such possibilities and definitely to find ways to educate JWs so as to make for a softer landing. The only questions are if they will do so quickly, urgently, right now as needed, or if they will think they can keep prolonging the charade?  We shall see what we shall see. Again, theory or speculation only.....  Time will tell us more.

Remember when looking at the following that the Watchtower Society is not just this one Pennsylvania corporation but multiple corporate entities including in New York, Florida, etc.  There are said to be some 100 such entitites. Watchtower Bible and Tract Society of Pennsylvania Pensylvania Reg. # 11-1857820 Year Ended August 31, 1998 BALANCE SHEET...............................1998 / 1997 Assets Cash and short-term investments........$296,522,535 / 209,383,368 Current receivables......................10,849,287 / 7,078,760 Long-term receivables...................277,421,320 / 267,435,970 Property and equipment..................120,697,680 / 120,547,679 TOTAL ..................................705,130,822 / 604,445,777 Liabilities Accounts payable & accrued liabilities...$2,414,924 / 794,524 Conditional donations.....................7,489,654 / 8,743,636 Long-term payables.......................61,002,396 / 37,503,266 TOTAL LIABILITIES........................70,906,974 / 47,041,426 NET ASSETS.............................$634,223,848 / 604,445,777 COMBINED STATEMENT OF REVENUES AND CHANGES IN NET ASSETS Revenues Donations................................47,443,713 / 54,722,984 Interest.................................24,925,594 / 20,504,081 Kingdom Hall Assistance Fund..............3,218,791 / 3,900,595 Royalties, Rent and Other.................3,519,062 / 2,928,113 TOTAL REVENUES...........................79,107,160 / 82,055,773 Expenses Kingdom Hall Assistance ..................2,123,945 / 2,485,514 Relief Fund..................................21,182 / 170,507 Convention Fund.................................430 / 0 Administrative Services.....................142,106 / 14,304 TOTAL EXPENSES............................2,287,663 / 2,670,325 CHANGE IN NET ASSETS.....................76,819,497 / 79,385,448 Net Assets At Beginning of Period.......557,404,351 / 469,616,477  Prior period adjustment...........................0 / 8,402,426 NET ASSETS AT END OF PERIOD............$634,223,848 / 557,404,351 http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/beliefs/194069/1/The-one-thing-that-might-bring-down-the-Watchtower Again, this is for just one of the numerous Watchtower Society entitites.

WATCHTOWER $OCIETY CA$H COW$! Watchtower has not only lost a lot of money but over the years they also got a lot of money.  This is to help follow their cash cows and money trails. Here will be put links that once clicked reveal Watchtower's ways of getting money in additional to what's given them in the Kingdom Halls and from magazine pleas for money to be willed to them etc.  They have had a lot of ways to milk money. SCORES OF CORPORATIONS = MONEY, MONEY, MONEY http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/132991/1/List-of-100-Watchtower-Corporations-Reposted-and-Updated $$$ THE INTERNATIONAL CONVENTIONS $$$ http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/132991/1/List-of-100-Watchtower-Corporations-Reposted-and-Updated

WATCHTOWER WANTS MEMBERS TO DONATE TO ITSELF NOT THE NEEDY http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UE3sRzgOJhg&feature=related

ARTICLE ETC ABOUT HOW WATCHTOWER GETS EVEN MORE MONEY FROM CONVENTION$ http://watchtowerdocuments.com/downloads/2000_Stealing_The_Collection_Plate_R.pdf

FINANCE$ FOR WATCHTOWER'S U.K. BRANCH Some 10% of total income for the Watchtower branch in the United Kingdom is from legacies, that is moneys, estates etc willed to Watchtower by older Jehovah’s Witnesses.  Revenues appear in decline but still strong enough to get them through a number of additional years.  Read the comments, click the links for more details: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/scandals/198611/1/Some-Financial-Info-Regarding-the-London-Branch

WATCHTOWER'S PRINTING STARTS FADING OUT OF U.S. INTO CANADA Watchtower appears fading out of printing in the United States to print in Canada which provides national health care for the Bethelites; workers in the U.S. will be required to pay for health insurance and that would mean if printing stayed in the U.S. they would have to come up with the money.  See other comments on this at: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/198582/1/announcement-printing

WATCHTOWER WILL CLOSE IRISH BRANCH; SERVICES  WILL COME FROM BRITAIN It's no longer rumor!  Ireland's branch is going to be closed as stated at a recent convention.  The congregations of Jehovah's Witnesses in Ireland will instead have to receive services from Britain.  http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/197998/1/Watchtower-closing-Ireland-branch

SAYS WATCHTOWER MUST CLOSE CZECH BRANCH  That's what the following string says anyway: http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/jw/friends/199157/1/Great-news-Bethel-in-my-country-is-closing-down  Other branches closed recently in Europe: Spain, Italy, Switzerland, Austria.  The Central American branches are also being closed.  COMMENTS: It's hard to keep track of all the branch offices that Watchtower is having to close.   Why does it to come up with so much money so fast?  Who has the kind of clout needed in order to force Watchtower to pay money?  About two Decembers back, Watchtower was warning Bethelites in New York that "Gog of Magog" might come in at any time there.  Now who would that represent in the U.S. in terms of money owed?

AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL GOVERNMENT MOVES TOWARD ENDING WATCHTOWER'S TAX EXEMPT STATUS AND HAVING ITS CONDUCT EXAMINED  An Australian senate committee is urging the new government to set up an independent charities commission to see which groups do or don't merit tax-exemptions.  It may be modelled after that of Britain which does not give tax exemptions to Scientology.  The committee has also recommended that the federal Attorney-General examine the monitoring of cults by the French agency Miviludes. http://www.theage.com.au/national/call-for-independent-charities-commission-20100912-1570g.html Comment by GeeVee: "A while ago someone got a copy of the WT 2005  company tax statement in Australia. $16 million donated and it listed $1500 as being disposed of in "charitable" works! We all know how much money they give in this way. Even some little old lady down to her last penny is first sent back to beg from her family before she is helped out, and then it will usually be by an individual and not the cong! No one gets their hands on that cash!" http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/scandals/198813/1/Oz-Govt-following-UK-French-lead-on-Tax-Charity-status

C.T. RUSSELL'S LOOK INTO GOLD MINING Watchtower founder Charles Taze Russell was not only into religious but also many business projects and investments.  One that is little known is that during the last year of his life, he went west not just for religious reasons but to inspect a gold mine to possibly invest in.  A.H. Macmillan wrote in a lecture called “The History Of The Society From 1910 to 1920” about this: “Then he began going into details about how the work was to be carried on. How he was going away to California on a trip (from which he never returned alive). Some brothers developed the idea that they could dig up millions of dollars down in the southern part of Nevada at a place called Soda Lake. They had rich deposits of gold, mercury and quicksilver and they wanted Brother Russell to come out and look it over.” At Soda Lake and Little Soda Lake, near Fallon in the U.S. state of Nevada are found two recent volcanoes of a type called “maars” that may have erupted less than 1,500 years old.  Soda Lake Basin was, in fact, created when an ancient volcano collapsed.  Today, too, exploration is going on for gold and silver.  For example a 2010 news article quotes Kenneth B. Liebscher, the CEO of Lucky Boy Silver Corporation, as telling of his company’s continuing efforts to find gold and silver in “Nevada’s historic major gold trends.” There have also been mines in the area for rholite aggregate, gravel, and limestone.  The area has basalt bombs, petroglyphs, fossils of fish, hot water springs, deposits of manganese, salt and soda, etc.  Later the famous writer Mark Twain or Samuel Clemens passed through the desolate area and mentioned it in Roughing It.  The U.S. state of Nevada leads the nation in terms of gold and silver production.  It accounts for about 10% of world gold production. Not far away a nuclear bomb was tested on October 26, 1963. By Russell's 1916 trip the Paymaster or Whitney Mine in the northern part of Old Dad Mountain (halfway about 17 miles between Soda Lake and Marl Springs) had the biggest name among area mines.  Gold had been discovered about 1900 and there was a camp called Seventeen Mile Point.  So, we will never know for sure, of course, but if Russell had not died on Halloween night aboard a train in 1916, it is possible that the Watchtower Society might have wound up investing in the gold-mining industry.  It is a fact that Nevada’s mines produce well over $2.5 billion in gold every year.  So perhaps “the brothers” of Russell’s day who wanted him to come look into the possibility of investing gold were not at all misleading him, and if he had not died, the Watchtower Society would have eventually mined enough gold to build its own small “paradise on earth,” or, say, a grand temple rivaling anything built by the Mormons. At least we assume that Watchtower never invested in gold mining in the area.  If so it would have been during the time after Russell's death when Joseph Franklin Rutherford took over the Watchtower Society.  We do know that Russell has some doings with the coal mining industry; the Awake! magazine of the Watchtower Society has positively featured the copper mining industry, and, coming up to date, after the stock market crash of 2008 hearsay was that the Watchtower turned gold investment. http://www.jehovahs-witness.net/watchtower/bible/209647/1/Russell-Gold-Mine-and-The-history-of-the-society-from-1910-to-1920 http://www.nevadaappeal.com/article/20110130/NEWS/110129445 http://www.nbmg.unr.edu/dox/e28/guide.htm http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tonopah_and_Tidewater_Railroad http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Soda_Lakes http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fallon,_Nevada http://mojavedesert.net/desert-fever/avawatz.html