CAVEAT: Wesley Fager is not an attorney and not qualified to give legal advice. He writes this study as a public service. He has looked at Straight's long history of suing people who try to expose Straight's fraud and abuse and he notes as a person using plain old horse sense that Englander got Judge Logan to issue a gag order against Ray Bradbury to prevent Bradbury from mentioning Sembler's name. The issue of Mel Sembler's former penis pump is one issue. The issue of silencing an opponent of Mel Sembler is another--seems to this writer. And since this report shows that Mel Sembler's Straight program has a history of threatening, gagging and suing opponents--that is a fact as will become abundantly clear in this report, and since we know the definition of a SLAPP suit, it seems to us, in layman terms, that Mel Sembler is using the courts to silence opponents. Of course actual determination of SLAPP will have to come from certified attorneys and legally constituted courts of law.

This document serves two purposes:

1. If your are a journalist and are preparing a story on the controversial Straight program, on one of its descendents, or on an officer in one of these programs this document will give you a heads up on what to expect from them before publishing and what to expect after. It will give you advice on how to proceed.
2. A SLAPP suit or Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation is a frivolous or malicious lawsuit or lawsuits brought on by wealthy individuals or corporations against individuals or nonprofits and social advocacy organizations for the purpose of harassing and intimidating them in order to "shut them up." One goal is to use the court system to sue opponents out of existence. The Church of Scientology™ has been acussed of using SLAPP suits. [Attorney Mark Goldowitz, Esq., Oakland, CA, is an expert in SLAPP suits, 510-486-9123.] And while we are reviewing the SLAPP suit question we must be ever mindful of related action, the tort known as Malicious Prosecution. According to the Lectric Law Library "Malicious Prosecution" is an intentional tort arising from the institution or instigation of unjustifiable and unreasonable civil or criminal litigation. An action for malicious prosecution can be brought against the underlying case's plaintiff, plaintiff's counsel and/or advisors. This papers documents the use of the court system by theStraights to the point that one can reasonably question whether Mel Sembler and theStraights are not using the courts or the threat of using the courts for SLAPP suits and/or malicious prosecution to shut up its opponents.

Purpose 1. Predicting the behavior of Straight officials about whom you write before and after publishing.

For 17 years Melvin and Betty Sembler operated a program that systematically and intentionally abused teenagers. If you are authoring a non-positive article or producing a non-positive film segment about theStraights it is highly likely that Mel Sembler or his agents will seek a temporary injunction, or threaten to sue you, or even sue you in an effort to shut you up. Historically, whenever stories of abuse at Straight have surfaced, instead of fixing the problem, the Semblers (or others at Straight) have resorted to damage control by doing things like:

• reorganizing to put themselves into positions where they cannot be personally held liable;
• offering its standard $38,000 to settle with abused kids who seek recourse;
• contributing to the campaigns of politicians in return for their endorsement of Straight;
• hiring big name medical doctors to be consultants for Straight and to be its expert witnesses in its numerous civil suits;
• encouraging kids to publicly humiliate themselves by telling their often trumped-up, dirty stories and their newfound salvation at Straight;
• encouraging unsuspecting Straight parents to make public demonstrations for Straight;
• getting prominent people like the governor on the advisory board;
• using attorneys, businessmen and politicians to lobby their position;
• building coalitions to counter charges against them;
• threatening the jobs of state workers;
• forming alliances with the very law enforcement officials who should be investigating them;
• coaxing kids into signing revealing statements about themselves;
• joing groups that paint them as great humanitarians and defenders of human rights and civil liberties;
• getting judges to issue temporary injunctions to shut up any opposition;
  

Threatening, demoting and firing government workers

Purpose 2. SLAPP suits? Documenting Sembler's/Straight's use of the courts.

There is one final bullet in the Sembler arsenal. Mel Sembler uses US government media to proclaim the righteousness of Straight while suing or threatening to sue those who would dare tell the truth about Straight. [One Sembler attorney has even threaten to make an anti-Straight activist "prey" (as in a hunted animal)!] Melvin and Betty Sembler have never been personally held accountable for their roles in the felonious activities of Straight, Inc. We at theStraights dot com feel that though Mel and Betty Sembler, or their agents, may threaten to sue or even sue NBC News, FOX News or the Montel Williams Show for publishing negative comments about Straight, Inc., we feel, with almost certainty, that the Semblers would drop any such suit before voluntarily allowing themselves to be deposed about their involvement in a widespread, criminal activity. Further, according to the Lectric Law Library, "Malicious Prosecution" is an intentional tort arising from the institution or instigation of unjustifiable and unreasonable civil or criminal litigation. An action for malicious prosecution can be brought against the underlying case's plaintiff, plaintiff's counsel and/or advisors.

The rest of this report documents Straight's use of the courts and begs the question whether Straight uses the court system as an instrument to control others from telling the truth about Straight's questionable activities.

The 1988 Kangaroo court that tried to send Ray Bradbury to prison to silence him. Ray Bradbury has been a thorn in Mel and Betty Sembler's side longer than anyone else, exposing the fraud and abuse of their Straight program. Ray Bradbury is responsible for causing them to have to close their beloved Straight in 1993. In 1988 a kangaroo court was held in the Sixth Circuit of Pinellas County, Florida for the purpose of putting Ray Bradbury in prison to silence him. Because of public exposure of the proceedings Bradbury was placed on five years probation (later reduced to about 2.5 years) adjudication withheld, and forbidden to come into Pinellas County where he could stage further demonstrations about what was happening to kids at Straight. That story of his 1988 trial is told here. In light of the Sembler's recent gag against Bradbury, their civil suit against him, and their use of political pressure to try to get the Sheriff and State Attorney to arrest him for criminal wrong doing it is necessary to depose the Semblers, former State Attorney James T. Russell, former prosecutors Richard Ripplinger and Richard Mensch and Richard Mensch's brother former Straight board member Myron Mensch to determine what role the Sembler's played, if any, in the attempt to imprison Ray Bradbury.

Claire DeCunzo Martin of Columbia, Maryland (above).  Having been a parent in Straight - Springfield, Virginia  she knew what Maryland residents were in for in 1991 when authorities ran Straight out of Virginia allowing them to take their young clients with them into Maryland.

Gagging Tempie Fortson Worthy In 1989 Ms. Tempie Fortson Worthy went to Straight - Dallas seeking help for her 15 year old, emancipated daughter Christi Fortson. Straight later claimed they released Tempie for being violent, but Straight's own spokesperson, Joy Margolis, has publicly acknowledged pandemic violence at Straight - Dallas here. The fact is that Straight encourages kids to be violent and rarely are kids let go for violence. Ms. Worthy found out that her daughter had been abused at Straight and refused to pay Straight the remaining money owed. Following its standard procedure of suing parents who refuse to pay for child abuse, Straight sued Tempie Worthy. Appalled at what Straight was doing to children Tempie Worthy sued Straight and like like Claire DeCunzo Martin of Columbia, Maryland, Greg Reight of Maryland, Janet Kennedy, Ph.D. of El Paso Texas and Ray Bradbury of Tampa, Florida Tempie Worthy became an activist against Straight. She mailed out letters; she picketed Straight. Straight got a judge to issue an injunction to shut her up--she was bad for business. Rather than clean their act up, Straight. just kept abusing kids and sued Ms. Worthy for trying to stop the abuse.

Straight - Sarasota was the first Straight to close under investigation by state prosecutors. That one closed in 1983. Next it was Straight - Cincinnati's turn in 1987. As in Virginia in 1991 the Ohio Straight simply voluntarily closed on the day the trial was to begin. But NBC national news was looking at the very disturbing reports coming out of Straight - Cincinnati--a boy who carved on his arms to escape the abuse only to have his parents told that that's what kids do when they come down from drugs--they carve on themselves! Straight didn't fix their problems, but Anthony Battaglia, Straight's attorney, sent NBC a threatening letter demanding to see beforehand what NBC planned to show, notifying NBC that any slanderous distortions could lead to litigation.

Threatening FOX News. In May 2002 FOX News ran this front page article on Straight for several weeks before removing it after, according to the article's author Radley Balko, mysterious attorneys representing either Sembler, or DFAF, or both, complained to FOX. Rradley later wrote that his editor decided to remove the article since: (1) It had already run on the front page, and was merely in the archives when it was pulled; (2) It was easier to pull it than to fight a legal battle over a column that was only accessible through the search engine, and (3) He had neglected to place a call to either the Semblers or DFAF before submitting the piece.

Threatening Radley Balko. Subsequently Balko wrote an expanded 5,000 word article on Straight for Reason Magazine. This time he decided to give DFAF (Straight) a heads up but the Semblers refused to correspond with him over the phone or by eMail, so he sent them an advanced copy of the manuscript. DFAF responded in a certified letter, not by stating specific statements with which it had issues, but by carte blanche stating that if the article were published, they would sue. Furthermore, according to Balko, the staff a DFAF was told not to accept phone calls from Balko. The article has yet to be published.

Threatening Marc Emery. In 1993 the Semblers were forced to close there beloved Straight treatment program. It's reputation for abuse had become just too well known. In 1996 Straight. changed its name (yet again), this time to Drug Free America Foundation. One task DFAF took upon itself was to try to play a leading role in deciding national and international drug policy. To that end on April 26-29, 2001 DFAF and DPNA sponsored the "International Task Force Development on Strategic Policy" conference. One outcome of that conference was to plan another conference to be held in Vancouver, Canada in May of the next year. The Canadian Conference was cosponsored by DFAF and IDEAS, an organization formed by wealthy Canadian real-estate moguls Robert and Lynda Bentall. Mark Emory is a Canadian businessman who is for the legalization of marijuana. He is critical of some drug treatment organizations including Scientology™'s-related Narconon™ and Straight. In 2001 his magazine Cannabis Culture did a feature article on the Semblers and Straight which is found here. In 2002 he was appalled to learn that Betty Sembler was trying to bring her expertise to the aid of the Canadians. It was at that time that he made an announcement on his Pot TV Internet page that Betty Sembler was a "court-certified child-abuser." That was a false statement which he should not have made. In point of fact Betty Sembler has never even been indicted by Pinellas County State Attorney James T. Russell or his successor Bernie McCabe for her involvement in Straight, much less convicted or as Mr. Emory had claimed "court-certified". Betty threatened to sue and Mr. Emory broadcast a retraction. [See collusion between James T. Russell and Straight here and here, possible collusion between Bernie McCabe and Straight here.]

Suing Parents and The Paul Riffle Story. The Straights have a long history of suing the parents of its students. A search of Pinellas County, Florida court records by a reporter for the Saint Petersburg Times around 1991 found that Straight had sued at least 80 families in the last 10 months alone. Few people ever actually graduated from Straight. Straight made parents sign a contract that no matter what happened in there they would not sue. Most parents eventually woke up to the fact that their child was not going to graduate in 3 months or six months, or they caught on that Straight was abusing their child, or they realized that Straight was pressuring them to enter their other kids who did not have a drug problem, or their child escaped, or they simply refused to put up with the total demands Straight placed upon their own lives to treat them for their child's illness. Straight knew this and made the parents sign a contract that the bulk of the money was due, upfront upon admissions and if you withdrew your child early they kept the money. Richard and Susan Ferris were among the 80 families sued by Straight - Saint Petersburg in one 10 month period. Straight sued them for $1,089. Mrs. Ferris says that her son had been seduced by his host mother so she refused to pay, but later settled with Straight anyway just to make them go away. Straight sued Patricia Neumann of Lake Alfred but Mrs. Neumann filed a court document stating that she had been coerced by Straight and that the coercion included being told her son would "die without Straight." Robert and Veronica McCallion of St. Petersburg wrote in a court document that Straight was "unprincipled" and "had no intention of living up to their promise of treatment and rehabilitation" Darlene Licate of Spring Hill said her daughter had been stripped-searched and verbally abused. "I don't pay for abuse," she said.

Straight - St. Pete is not the only treatment camp to use the courts to get its money. Springfield, Virginia sued too. Here are some defendants and the judgments Fairfax County judges awarded to Straight:

• Howard Shawell of Pottstown, PA ordered to pay $10,527.42
• Sandra Woodward of Pikesville, MD ordered to pay $9,268.55
• Kathleen Riffle of Burtonsville, MD ordered to pay $16,120.22
• Robert and Glenita Jones of Fort Washington, MD sued for $8,669.06
• Charles and Mary Kurtinitis of Bowie, MD ordered to pay $7,424.52
• Susan Silk of Wilmington, DE ordered to pay $12,521.05
• Marilyn Jane Carson of Baltimore, MD
• Donald Rao of Washington, DC sued for $7355.00
• Stella Moore
• Sandra Smith case L107171
• Charles Tolbert of Fairfax, Virginia,
• Alvin and Donna Sprague
• Calvin and Elmire Johnson
• Rosalyn Walker
• Charles Howard

And there are many others. Interestingly Fairfax Food Services & Caterers (In Step Corporation) was one that sued Straight. They were awarded $17,177.72 for food they had supplied plus interest, but Straight avoided collections until the judgment was eventually "discontinued and stricken" by the Fairfax County Courts.

Look at Charles Tolbert one of those who was sued by Straight. I personally witnessed Charles Tolbert at a Friday night Mic Talk trying to address his son but was repeatedly interrupted, corrected and ridiculed by the 16 year old psychiatric synamaster on how to address his own son across the picket line. Chuck Tolbert was so humiliated that left compound. His common-law wife of over 10 years was forbidden from the camp grounds because she was living in sin. Charles Tolbert is a truly fine man and I invited him over to diner one night. But even though he had been cleared to be a Straight parent with a boy and a girl in the program, they denied my request to have him over because they had character issues with him. Eventually they broke his son's arm but did not let him see a doctor until the next day (click on Virginia Department of Mental Health's inspection findings on Mr. Tolbert's son # 90010). And so he took both his kids out. Would you pay them? Straight sued him for their money!

Growing Together is a Sembler-based synanon in Lake Worth, Florida. Here are some Florida parents they have sued:

• Charles A. Parnell of Palm Beach Gardens
• Janet Knauss of West Palm Beach
• Ellie Madison of Fort Lauderdale
• Janice McIntyre of Singer Island
• Michael and Janice Peterson of Palm Beach Gardens
• Janette Thorin of Lake Worth

Straight's main selling point is that your child will die without Straight. But another big recruitment item is telling a a parent that: Psychiatrists can't relate to druggie kids, only a druggie kid in recovery can relate to another druggie kid. They will tell parents that their child will just get more drugs in a psychiatric hospital, and tell them that a kid's attitudes can't be changed in just 30 days, anyway. So you can pay a psychiatric hospital $35,000 for 30 days of baby-sitting, they say, or you can go into Straight and get several months of attitude adjustment for a fraction of the cost! What they don't tell you until you sign the papers is that you are expected to devote all your time to the program, that you are also sick because drug addiction is a total family illness, that you must bring food for resale, that a hat is passed for additional donations, that you must sale fund raising items for them, that there are hidden costs you were never informed about, that the total amount is due immediately, that if you withdraw next day you forfeit all your money, and that regardless what happens in there you will not sue. Somehow under all that persuasion and in a state of panic and haste to save their child's life it doesn't register with an unsuspecting parent that though a psychiatric stay may indeed be an outrageous $35,000, that amount is based on your health provider's coverage. The parent's out-of-pocket expense will only be about $2,000. But with hidden costs and because Straight' methods are not normally recognized as bona-fide by health insurance providers, as a Straight parent you might be paying $20,000 to $40,000 out-of pocket! So it shouldn't surprise you that when Straight - Saint Petersburg sued a woman from Gainesville, Florida for $14,251 for services rendered to the woman's daughter, that the mother claimed she went bankrupt.^(28.1) Nor should it surprise you to know that when Straight - Springfield sued Marilyn Jane Carson of Baltimore, MD she too declared bankruptcy. And then there's Kathleen Riffle of Burtonsville, MD. Like Joyce Tobias and so many others Kathleen Riffle put both her boys into Straight. They were twins. Being a single mom Ms. Riffle struggled to pay for over $14,000 Straight claimed she owed them after her boy Paul escaped. Paul Riffle took a gun and shot himself dead. But that was no concern of Straight. Straight wanted its money and started sending Ms. Riffle a series of very threatening and abusive letters.⁽²⁷⁾ Ultimately Straight got a Fairfax County judge to get them a judgment against Ms. Riffle for $16,120.22. I have lost contact with Mrs. Riffle and do not have copies of those threatening letters but I do have some threatening letters from that time period that Linda Howard, a Virginia resident, received to give you an idea of what Straight continued to put Ms. Riffle through. Mrs. Howard received two threatening form letters from a Mike Bott in November 1991, plus two letters from him and one from a Pamela Watson. Click on the Bott letter #1 and the Bott letter #2. When a Fairfax County judge ordered Mrs. Riffle to pay Straight $16,120.22, Mrs. Riffle told this writer that she had to considered bankruptcy. [Incidentally, Straight is not the only cult that has been accused of sending threatening letters to its debtors. Read this accounting from the scandal of scientology by Paulette Cooper describing a collection letter by a Scientology minister.]

Paul Riffle (left) escaped from Straight - Springfield's infamous treatment camp leaving his twin brother behind. Straight sent Paul's mother several very threatening letters demanding payment and got a court order for her pay them $16,120.22 causing her to consider bankruptcy. All this happened to her after Paul took a gun and shot himself dead.

An amazing coincidence.

Around 1991 former Straight - Springfield, Virginia client Bill Fager filed a $20 million law suit against Straight for driving him insane. The case went to trial in November 1993. While Mr. Fager was in Circuit court upstairs, his sister, a married woman, was a witness in criminal court downstaris testifying agaisnt one Michael C. Michael C. (a telephone line techinician) was being tried for stalking Mr. Fager's sister. In his own testimony Mr. C. admitted to the judge that he had approached the young lady and told her not to be frighterned; that he was not going to hurt her! The man in the center of the picture on the left is Michael C. who is leaving the courthouse after being convicted of stalking Bill Fager's sister.

Link To	PD	Party 1	Case	Action	Date	Party 2	Section	ID Nmbr
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	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER BRENT W	84008049CI	CONTRACT	07/03/84	CRAFT COLOR PHOTO INC	018	999699
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	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER COMPANY	03006049CI	NEGLIGENCE	08/04/03	GOLDBERG HELEN	015	999899
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER COMPANY	86011509CI	FRAUD	07/30/86	JPS ICE CREAM INC	018	999699
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER COMPANY	87013372CI	CONTRACT	09/10/87	FAIL ROBERT JR	014	999899
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER COMPANY	89019736CI	CONTRACT	12/14/89	TENENBAUM HILL ASSOCIATES INC	014	999899
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER COMPANY	89019834CI	NEGLIGENCE	12/15/89	MARCUS DOROTHY J	011	999899
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER COMPANY	91021282CI	NEGLIGENCE	12/11/91	BIRD BETTY PEARL	011	999799
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER COMPANY	93000621CI	DECLARATORY	02/23/93	VALENTY JOSEPHINE T CO-TRUSTEE	013	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER COMPANY	93004967CO	DELIN TENANT	08/11/93	MORRISON ARTHUR J	054	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER COMPANY	93008067CO	DELIN TENANT	12/17/93	YOUR FRIENDLY TRAVEL AGENT INC	054	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER COMPANY	94000069CO	DELIN TENANT	01/05/94	AMERICAN LEASING AND PROMOTIONS INC	054	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER COMPANY	94000217CO	DELIN TENANT	01/10/94	DIABETIC MEDICAL AND NUTRITIONAL CENTER INC	054	999999
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	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER COMPANY	96001903CI	CONTRACT	03/25/96	NORTH AMERICAN VAN LINES INC	020	999999
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER COMPANY	97003705CI	NEGLIGENCE	05/28/97	DRUCKER SUZANNE	011	999899
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER COMPANY	99007786CI	NEGLIGENCE	11/19/99	DRUCKER SUZANNE	019	999899
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER COMPANY THE	96004444CI	NEGLIGENCE	07/18/96	CERPA NATALIE J	013	999899
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER DEVELOPERS INC	93002502CI	CONTRACT	07/16/93	TLC DISTRIBUTORS INC	007	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER DEVELOPERS INC	99006196CI	MTG FORECL	09/15/99	MIANI AUDIO-VIDEO INSTALLATIONS INC	008	999599
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER ELIZABETH	92004120SC	GOODS S SOLD	06/26/92	NANNIES WHO CARE INC	048	999899
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	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER ENTERPRISES INC	01008816CI	NEGLIGENCE	11/21/01	DOHERTY ANNE P	015	999699
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER ENTERPRISES INC	02010303CI	CONTRACT	12/31/02	STAR BUFFET INC	015	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER ENTERPRISES INC	94004921CI	CONTRACT	08/23/94	GIORDANO ANTHONY J	013	999499
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER ENTERPRISES INC	95001552CI	DELIN TENANT	03/15/95	KUJUMGIEV BLAGOJ	011	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER ENTERPRISES INC	95004410CI	CONTRACT	07/28/95	MORTONS MARKET INC	008	999999
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	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER ENTERPRISES INC	97007436CI	DELIN TENANT	11/04/97	STACEYS BUFFET INC	008	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER ENTERPRISES INC	98000276CI	CONTRACT	01/15/98	US MEDICAL WEIGHT LOSS CENTERS INC	019	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER ENTERPRISES INC	98003282CI	CONTRACT	05/20/98	CHICKS R US INC	019	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER ENTERPRISES INC	99005584CI	DELIN TENANT	08/18/99	SUNRISE ST PETE INC	013	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	85004905CI	CONTRACT	04/08/85	DIVERSIFOODS INC	019	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	86019015CI	CONTRACT	12/22/86	KIMMINS PROPERTY CORP	019	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	87003772CI	CONTRACT	03/17/87	DIXON ROBERT	009	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	87005376CO	DELIN TENANT	11/12/87	COOPER J ENTERPRISES INC	040	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	87008313CI	CONTRACT	06/10/87	SPEARS JOHN	018	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	88012495CI	CONTRACT	08/09/88	FEDERAL INTERNATIONAL LEASING INC	013	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	89015101CI	CONTRACT	09/25/89	GAMMA FOODS INC	019	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	90001186CO	DELIN TENANT	03/08/90	PAPERBACK PALACE CLEARWATER COLLECTION INC	040	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	90004248CI	CONTRACT	03/08/90	PAPERBACK PALACE CLEARWATER COLLECTION INC	011	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	90007575CI	CONTRACT	05/01/90	WILLIAMS SUE ANN	011	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	90009381CI	CONTRACT	05/31/90	SEITZ LESTER	018	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	91000896CO	DELIN TENANT	02/05/91	OAKHURST TRAVEL INC	039	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	91002888SC	CONTRACT	04/18/91	MCSWIGGEN DAVID	046	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	91006143CO	DELIN TENANT	09/25/91	GIORDANO ANTHONY J	040	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	91007532CI	CONTRACT	04/30/91	CHIMENTO PAT	011	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	91008347CO	DELIN TENANT	12/31/91	MCGINTY JULIA M	040	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	91009080CI	CONTRACT	05/24/91	OAKHURST TRAVEL INC	018	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	91011502CI	CONTRACT	06/28/91	COOLE JEFFREY E	018	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	92000032CO	DELIN TENANT	01/03/92	KUJUMGIEV BLAGOJ	054	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	92001880CI	CONTRACT	04/15/92	CLEVENGER GEORGE R	011	999999
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	92003688MF	MTG FORECL	12/15/92	GREAT WESTERN BANK	015	999499
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	92005400CO	DELIN TENANT	09/01/92	GIORDANO ANTHONY J	054	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	93006317CO	CONTRACT	10/01/93	SMITHWICK A WAYNE	040	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER EQUITIES INC	94004921CI	CONTRACT	08/23/94	GIORDANO ANTHONY J	013	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP NO ONE	86002956CI	CONTRACT	03/04/86	KATINA ART INC	017	999799
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP NO ONE LIMITED	84004485CI	MTG FORECL	04/13/84	PUBLIX SUPER MARKETS INC	016	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP NO ONE LIMITED	85004706CO	DELIN TENANT	12/12/85	KATINA ART INC	054	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP NO ONE LIMITED	85016328CI	DISTRESS RENT	11/14/85	DIAMOND JEWELERS OF DOLPHIN VILLAGE INC	019	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP NO ONE LIMITED	85018047CI	CONTRACT	12/20/85	KATINA ART INC	019	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP NO ONE LIMITED	85018048CI	CONTRACT	12/20/85	FASS HENRY P	019	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP NO ONE LIMITED	86000568CO	DELIN TENANT	02/05/86	BOLDUC RAY	040	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP NO ONE LIMITED	86001636CI	CONTRACT	02/04/86	BOLDUC RAY	011	999799
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP NO ONE LTD	86009088CI	MTG FORECL	06/17/86	CARUTH W W JR	019	999699
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP NO ONE LTD	87008313CI	CONTRACT	06/10/87	SPEARS JOHN	018	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP NO 1 LIMITED	84007137SC	CONTRACT	10/18/84	LEXQUISITE JEWELRY SHOPPE INC	043	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP NO 1 LTD	91011502CI	CONTRACT	06/28/91	COOLE JEFFREY E	018	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP NUMBER ONE LTD	90007575CI	CONTRACT	05/01/90	WILLIAMS SUE ANN	011	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP 1 LTD	93006317CO	CONTRACT	10/01/93	SMITHWICK A WAYNE	040	999699
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP 14	00006396CO	CONTRACT	09/06/00	HERIG ANNA L	040	999499
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP 2 LTD	95005080CI	CONTRACT	09/05/95	KIERSH MURRAY	013	999699
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP 2 LTD	98003282CI	CONTRACT	05/20/98	CHICKS R US INC	019	998999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER FAMILY PARTNERSHIP 7 LTD	95004410CI	CONTRACT	07/28/95	MORTONS MARKET INC	008	999499
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER GREG S	84008049CI	CONTRACT	07/03/84	CRAFT COLOR PHOTO INC	018	999599
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER GREG S	84011107CI	CONTRACT	09/12/84	ATHLETES PLACE INC	011	999599
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER GREGORY	92006316CO	DISTRESS RENT	10/09/92	GUARNIERI GEORGE	039	999999
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER H V PARTNERSHIP 1 LTD PARCEL 105	00004469CI	EMINENT DOMAIN	06/26/00	FLORIDA STATE OF	011	999399
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER H V PARTNERSHIP 1 LTD PARCEL 103	00004469CI	EMINENT DOMAIN	06/26/00	FLORIDA STATE OF	011	998699
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER INVESTMENTS	93002160CI	WRONGFUL ACT	06/18/93	FERDINAND JAMES V		999998
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER M STEVEN	84008049CI	CONTRACT	07/03/84	CRAFT COLOR PHOTO INC	018	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER M STEVEN	84011107CI	CONTRACT	09/12/84	ATHLETES PLACE INC	011	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER M STEVEN	96007814CI	CONTRACT	12/10/96	IACOLINO PHILLIP	011	999999
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER M STEVEN	98004600CI	CONTRACT	07/16/98	LOFTIN JERRY D	019	999799
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER MARK STEVEN	02004760CI	NEGLIGENCE	06/17/02	EDWARDS DANIEL	019	999699
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER MARTIN STEVEN	02004760CI	NEGLIGENCE	06/17/02	EDWARDS DANIEL	019	999899
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN	03006649CI	INJUNCTION	08/26/03	BRADBURY RICHARD R	013	999999
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER MELVIN	51019674CI	CONTRACT	03/05/70		000	999599
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER MELVIN	77005684CI	CONTRACT	06/21/77		000	999699
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER MELVIN	83006590SC	CONTRACT	10/07/83	CRAWFORD WILLIE STELE	044	999699
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN	92006316CO	DISTRESS RENT	10/09/92	GUARNIERI GEORGE	039	999699
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER MELVIN	97008639CI	QUIET TITLE	12/29/97	PINELLAS COUNTY	021	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	75008215CI	LAND LIEN	09/04/75		000	999399
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	76001127CI	CONTRACT	02/09/76		000	999699
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER MELVIN F	76002810CI	MTG FORECL	03/26/76		000	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	77010898CI	LAND LIEN	11/21/77		000	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	79013924CI	DECLARATORY	12/19/79		015	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	84007137SC	CONTRACT	10/18/84	LEXQUISITE JEWELRY SHOPPE INC	043	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	84008049CI	CONTRACT	07/03/84	CRAFT COLOR PHOTO INC	018	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	84011107CI	CONTRACT	09/12/84	ATHLETES PLACE INC	011	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	85000726CI	CONTRACT	01/16/85	ISAAC THOMAS A	019	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	85004706CO	DELIN TENANT	12/12/85	KATINA ART INC	054	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	85004805CO	DELIN TENANT	12/20/85	FASS HENRY P	054	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	85016328CI	DISTRESS RENT	11/14/85	DIAMOND JEWELERS OF DOLPHIN VILLAGE INC	019	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	85018047CI	CONTRACT	12/20/85	KATINA ART INC	019	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	85018048CI	CONTRACT	12/20/85	FASS HENRY P	019	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	86000568CO	DELIN TENANT	02/05/86	BOLDUC RAY	040	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	86001636CI	CONTRACT	02/04/86	BOLDUC RAY	011	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	86002956CI	CONTRACT	03/04/86	KATINA ART INC	017	999999
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER MELVIN F	86013313CI	MTG FORECL	09/02/86	FLORIDA NATIONAL BANK NA	013	999699
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	89019141CI	CONTRACT	12/05/89	T G AND Y STORES CO	011	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	90005591CO	DELIN TENANT	10/23/90	GUARNIERI GEORGE	040	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	91001506CO	DELIN TENANT	03/01/91	DERUSSO LINDA M	054	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	91003391CI	DISTRESS RENT	03/01/91	CHICKEN SWISS CHALET INC	019	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	91003484CO	CONTRACT	05/31/91	GENERAL HOST CORPORATION	040	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	91005287CO	DELIN TENANT	08/20/91	GUARNIERI GEORGE	054	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	91006648CI	CONTRACT	04/17/91	SHEPHERD CHARLES G	017	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	91007092CI	CONTRACT	04/23/91	MIGLIETTA GIGLIO JOHN JR	008	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	91009771CI	CONTRACT	06/05/91	T G AND Y STORES CO	008	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER MELVIN F	93003288SC	NEGLIGENCE	07/12/93	SFERIOS EMANUEL	044	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER RETAIL INC	00006396CO	CONTRACT	09/06/00	HERIG ANNA L	040	999999
	DEFENDANT	SEMBLER RETAIL INC	03005146CI	NEGLIGENCE	06/30/03	ANGWIN MARILYN	011	999799
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER RETAIL INC	99003330CI	PERFORMANCE	05/13/99	KANE T E	007	999999
	PLAINTIFF	SEMBLER STEVEN	89004521CO	AUTO NEG	09/11/89	HALL ESKO	041	999799

The above table is based on a search of the name "Sembler" and shows litigations where a defendant or plaintiff is from the Sembler clan But the Semblers are behind or are partners in many ventures like STP Redevelopment which don't use the family name. The following table includes suits involving STP. [Source: Pinellas County Clerk's Office official web site.]

Link To	PD	Party 1	Case	Action	Date	Party 2	Section	ID Nmbr
	PLAINTIFF	STP CORP	51026365CO	CONTRACT	12/19/68		000	999999
	DEFENDANT	STP CORP	73000098CO	NEGLIGENCE	02/07/73		000	999899
	PLAINTIFF	STP INC	93006868CO	CONTRACT	10/26/93	C U FOOD CO	054	999999
	PLAINTIFF	STP INC	95001376CI	DISTRESS RENT	03/08/95	LICKITY SPLITZ INC	008	999999
	PLAINTIFF	STP INC	98002284CI	LIEN FORECL	04/07/98	UONITES FLOYD	019	999999
	PLAINTIFF	STP INC	98004326CI	CONTRACT	07/06/98	JIANG ENTERPRISES INC	007	999999
	PLAINTIFF	STP REDEVELOPMENT INC	01005307CO	DELIN TENANT	07/20/01	PEOPLES POTTERY INC	054	999999
	PLAINTIFF	STP REDEVELOPMENT INC	02003030CI	CONTRACT	04/15/02	TOWN TAVERN OF ST PETE INC	013	999999
	DEFENDANT	STP REDEVELOPMENT LIMITED	03006049CI	NEGLIGENCE	08/04/03	GOLDBERG HELEN	015	999799
	PLAINTIFF	STP REDEVELOPMENT LTD	01001536CI	CONTRACT	02/27/01	FMM INC	008	999999
	PLAINTIFF	STP REDEVELOPMENT LTD	01005307CO	DELIN TENANT	07/20/01	PEOPLES POTTERY INC	054	999799
	PLAINTIFF	STP REDEVELOPMENT LTD	02003030CI	CONTRACT	04/15/02	TOWN TAVERN OF ST PETE INC	013	999799
	THIRD PARTY	STP REDEVELOPMENT LTD	02007186CI	NEGLIGENCE	09/09/02	MUAR MICHAEL	011	999799
	PLAINTIFF	STP REDEVELOPMENT LTD	02007984CI	DELIN TENANT	10/08/02	GRAND GRILL BAYWALK LLC	008	999999

To get a fuller grasp of where Sembler enterprises have sued or been sued (just in Pinellas County alone) one would have to search the on-line database for the following Sembler companies like Drug Free America Foundation, Brandon Crossings and Lithia Management.

SLAPP SUITS? No one has gained more from Straight than Mel and Betty Sembler. When his company is discussed in the papers about some shopping center being built, the reporter rarely fails to mention "Ambassador" Melvin Sembler. Mel and Betty host spectacular parties out of their Magic Kingdom in Rome. Governor Bush calls Betty Mrs. Ambassadorable; he even named a day in Florida in her honor. Mel and Betty won't hesitate to tell you today they they are responsible for Straight. When the state of Florida tried to close Straight, it appears that Mel Sembler used his political connections to stop it. For years thousands of former Straight clients have suffered, never knowing who was behind the program that caused them so much grief. Now thanks to talk radio shows, TV shows, books, newspaper and magazine articles, conferences, activist groups like ISAC and SAFETY, and most importantly, Internet newspapers, web pages and discussion forums, Straight survivors and activists have been able to slowly piece together what happened to them and why, and who the players are behind it all. Like the Jewish Holocaust in Nazi Germany, more and more survivors from the camps are coming forward and telling their horrific stories. As the momentum grows and the stories get told, the civil suits and threats of civil suits against the story tellers grow too. But are the suits genuine, or are they part of a scheme to use the courts as an instrument to silence those who know what happened there and are willing to exercise their First Amendment right to tell what happened there? After all Straight has a pattern of misleading parents into believing their Straight experience will probably last a few months when they know almost everyone who stays till graduation will be there for almost two years. Straight makes parents pay most of the money upfront and make them sign a statement that if they leave the next day they forfeit all the money. Straight does not inform parents about hidden costs. Straight makes parents sign statements that regardless what happens in Straight they will not. And when parents finally catch on they have been deceived and yank their kid, refusing to pay any money remaining, Straight uses the courts to sue them.

In 1994 Vice President Al Gore got into trouble because he was calling potential campaign contributors asking for monetary donations for the next election. Why? Because elected officials are paid money by the taxpayers to do the work of the government. Elected government officials can not be paid their government salary while working on work to get reelected. They can do that after they get off work from their homes or private offices, but they can not use government phones, faxes, computers and their salaried time to work to try to get reelected at the next election. This is a violation of theHatch Act which limits the activities of government employees involved in political election campaigns.

In the last few years there has been a grass roots movement in America to curtail our rising prison population by allowing judges to offer certain drug users the option to receive humane treatment in lieu of prison. The backers of the movement have sought to place their plan as ballot initiatives on general state elections. Now you you might think that with their experience in drug abuse treatment that the Semblers would be the people behind this gallant grass roots movement to get first-time offenders treatment instead of saddling them with a prison record. But they are not. In fact they are amongst the biggest opponents of such a plan! The originators of the movement are drug policy reformers and civil libertarians. Mel Sembler is for the privatization of the government. Why? He wants to bid on and manage government jobs. Mel Sembler backs Lamar Alexander, the former governor of Tennessee who was behind the privatization of prisons in his state. Mel Sembler, who always makes money for his partners, is for the privatization of prisons. The more drug offenders are locked up in private prisons the more money investors in private prisons will make. This is another reason why Sembler's financial records must be subpoenaed in his law suit with Bradbury. He is portrayed as an honorable businessman who has been made an ambassador for the charitable work he does, but we need to know the full extent to which his own personal investments in private prisons is. In other words the DFAF charity is opposing the movement for treatment Vs incarceration so it is necessary to show whether the Semblers (including his sons, daughters-in-law and all their varied business enterprises) have a financial reason for doing so. [The author has problems with "humane treatment" and with incarceration of drug users.]

Dan Forbes is the highly respected freelance writer of political and social policy who broke the story on Salon Magazine (the Internet's most read magazine) about a secret plan by the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy to sink $2 billion into TV programs and commercials to plug its anti-drug use message. In 2002 Mr. Forbes, working for The Institute for Policy Studies, wrote the article The Governor's Sub-rosa Plot to Subvert an Election in Ohio. [A condensed version of this very long, highly documented report is here.] From documents obtained by Freedom of Information, Forbes found that Ohio Governor Bob Taft, his wife Hope, his chief of staff and others in his office used government time in a months-long effort to subvert the state's electoral process. What they had done was to work on a sub-rosa campaign to defeat a drug treatment rather than incarceration amendment that was likely to appear on the next election ballot.

Last December the Marijuana Policy Project filed a formal "complaint of possible prohibited personnel practice" with the federal Office of Special Counsel, charging White House Drug Czar John Walters with violating federal law by using "his official authority and influence for the purpose of ... affecting the result of an election" -- specifically, the election that included a ballot initiative in Nevada to legalize marijuana use under certain conditions. Again a government official had been accused of violation of the Hatch Act.

According to Dan Forbes' well documented report when Governor Taft was doing his work to subvert an election he corresponded with several individuals who might would share his interest in stopping the Ohio initiative. Two individuals with whom his staff spoke were Betty Sembler and Calvina Fay. While what Governor Taft was doing might be illegal, what Calvina Fay and Betty Sembler were doing was not. They are not elected officials. At that point Ginger Warbis of www.fornits.com published the following statement:

What Ms. Warbis was trying to say, as I read it, is that there are those in government that use their salaried positions to work on election matters and that in one specific instance Calvina Fay and the Drug Free America Foundation were consulted by the Governor's office in Ohio who was using his salaried time illegally to work on an election issue. Under such an interpretation Ms. Fay, as a private citizen, would not be breaking the law, but Governor Taft might be. Well Ms. Fay did not interpret it that way and William Benett, an attorney with Englander and Fischer, sent Ms. Warbis and her husband (using the incorrect names Mr. and Mrs. Fornits) a letter dated April 16, 2003 threatening to sue for defamation, giving them 30 days to print a retraction and make a public apology. This was done, and as far as I know Englander has taken no further action against Warbis. Here is the letter, page 1 and page 2.

Threatening Marti Heath Less than two months later the threats were directed at Marti Heath. Like Ms. Fornits, Ms Heath is another former Straight survivor. Today she is the executive director of ISAC, a group that advocates for the rights of kids in destructive rehabilitation programs. On June 12, 2003 she got an almost laughable letter from an attorney representing Father Cassian. Father Cassian is the former national clinical director of Straight when he was then known as Reverend Doctor Virgil Miller Newton. The story of Dr. Newton's abuses at Straight and at his own second-generation Straight known as KIDS is here and here. Furthermore, there is reason to suspect that Dr. Newton never completely severed all ties with Straight when he was run out of Florida in 1983 which is documented here.

We are trying to get a copy of the letter Ms. Heath received. Following is an uncorrected conversion in pdf format from ISAC's web page. Please note that there are uncorrected errors from the pdf conversion process:

Excerpts from the uncorrected pdf version of the letter follow:

In 1996 Dr. Newton settled with the federal government for $45,000 in return for not being prosecuted for 254 counts of insurance fraud. In 1999 he and his team of psychiatrists settled with former client Rebecca Erlich for $ 4 million for abuse she sustained at KIDS. And then, in July 2003, less than a month after threatening to sue Ms. Heath, Dr. Newton and team settled with former client Lulu Corter for $ 6.5 million for the abuse he metted out to her. Where is Dr. Newton getting the money to sue Marti Heath? Who is behind his suit? There is a clear reason to depose the Semblers, Newton, Fay, Englander, and Newton's attorney to see whether any conversations, planning or financing has been done by the Semblers for this potential suit.

Gagging of Ray Bradbury and the active civil suit to sue him out of existence. Earlier in this report it was disclosed that there was an attempt in 1988 to have Ray Bradbury imprisoned in order to silence him. Ray Bradbury has been Mel and Betty Sembler's principal detractor longer than anyone else. Ray Bradbury is responsible for causing them to have to close Straight. For fifteen years the Semblers have no doubt hoped for a way to silence this man who has done so much to expose the fraud and abuse of the Straight program that they so unabashedly like to boast they founded. Now they think they have found that way. They think Bradbury has finally committed an action which they can convince a Florida judge and jury has nothing to do with exposing the fraud and abuse their Straight program has committed and perhaps the criminal act that Mel Sembler has committed. Bradbury's act? The advertisement on eBay of a penis pump that Mel Sembler readily admits once belonged to him. The Ray Bradbury gag order and the penis pump civil case is discussed at great length at www.thestraights.net under the orange section PumpGate.

Also see Straight court cases at http://www.thestraights.net/legal/matrix-civil-criminal.htm.