Scientology and Tom Cruise Sued

Get your popcorn - this will be fun to watch! Tom Cruise is named in this lawsuit which looks like it might give us a glimpse into some of the dirty tactics used by scientologists, especially against former members. The New York Daily News writes

Tom Cruise is named in a $250 million federal lawsuit that is using the RICO statute against the Church of Scientology. Ex-Scientologist Peter Letterese, a longtime critic of the church, filed suit in Southern District Court in Florida on July 15 alleging, among other things, that members of the church harassed him after he left.

In court papers provided to The News by investigator Paul Barresi, Letterese claims a member of the church phoned his lawyer at home, and when the lawyer's wife answered, said he was her husband's homosexual lover.

Unfortunately, there's really not much here that's new and it's not likely the suit will get very far. We don't know, for instance, if restraining orders have been requested, if there's sufficient proof of harassment, or even if harassment warrants a $250 million dollar lawsuit. The news is relatively sparse here and, even though I don't doubt that the Church of Scientology can be vindictive, I'm not willing to say that they are on par with the mafia. Of course, I might change my mind if I start getting weird phone calls at 3 in the morning....