Twin sister of Scientology leader 'arrested for possession of marijuana and owned house used as drug den' DESPITE her religion's strict prohibition on street drugs
- Denise Gentile enjoys favored status within the Church of Scientology as the sister of David Miscavige
- The church teaches that all drugs - including street drugs like marijuana - are evil
- Gentile was arrested January 22 for drug driving and possession nine marijuana blunts
- She denies the charges
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Denise Gentile was arrested on January 22 on charges of drunk driving and possession of marijuana
The twin sister of Scientology leader David Miscavige is fighting drug possession charges after she was arrested earlier this year when police allegedly found with nine marijuana-filled 'blunts' in her SUV.
It is also claimed that Denise Gentile knowingly allowed a rental property she owned in St Petersburg, Florida, to be used as a drug den and allowed one of her tenants to pay his utility bills by giving her drugs.
Gentile is accused of using marijuana, despite the Church of Scientology's strict prohibition of street drugs and millions spent on anti-drug education programs.
The Tampa Bay Times reports that on January 22, a police officer stopped Gentile's SUV after she was seen leaving a 'known drug house.' The house in question was her own rental property.
According to charges filed against her, the officer found nine marijuana blunts in her car.
When she was given a breathalyzer test, she registered a 0.11 to 0.12percent blood alcohol content - 50percent higher than the 0.08 legal limit for driving, according to the charges.
Gentile has hired Jo Ann Palchak, an attorney from Zuckerman Spaeder - the same firm that has previously represented the Church of Scientology in court.
Palchak told the Times that her client denies receiving drugs and did not know that drugs were being dealt out of a the property she rented out to tenants.
Miscavige has declined to comment.
The Times alleges that Gentile had full knowledge that police had raided her home because of drug activity.
'Drug den': Police repeatedly raided this St Petersburg house owned by Mscavige's sister and recovered drugs and weapons being kept by the tenants
Gentile and her husband, Gerald Gentile, own the St Petersburg property, which is divided into several apartment that they rent out to tenants.
They live in a $335,000 home in nearby Clearwater - about three and a half miles from the Church of Scientology's 'worldwide spiritual headquarters.'
Former tenant Roreco Currie, who was arrested on drug charges in October 2012, told the Times that he lived in an apartment owned Gentile for several years. Eventually, he turned to selling drugs and running an illicit strip club out of the property to make money, he said.
As the sister of church leader David Miscavige, Gentile enjoys favored status
He claims that Gentile asked him on several occasions to sell her drugs.
Eventually, she began taking drugs from him as payment for his utility bills, he said.
The arrangement began when Gentile stopped by her rental property and saw Currie outside smoking marijuana.
'She asked me, did I have any more?' he told the Times.
Later, she called him as asked what he had been smoking. He told her marijuana.
He said: 'She was like, "Well, can you hook me up?"'
Currie says he knows Gentile was smoking the marijuana herself because she remarked about the taste of the blunts.
The Church of Scientology's prohibition on drug use is a cornerstone of the religion.
As Miscavige's twin sister, Gentile enjoys a favored status in the church.
David and Denise Miscavige were the youngest of four children. They were raised outside Philadelphia until their parents moved them to England to study at a Scientology institution outside London.
Both became 'auditors' - spiritual counselors - by the time they were teenagers.
At one point, Denise Gentile progressed in the church to 'Operating Thetan VI' - two levels from the top of the church's Bridge to Total Freedom.
Gerald is Gentile's second husband. They met while Gentile was working at a New Hampshire company owned by a prominent Scientology. They were both married to other people at the time, according to the Times.
Denise and Gerald married in 2000 and had a daughter.
Scientologists are taught about the dangers of using drugs, including marijuana. The church spends millions on producing non-religious pamphlets in an effort to educate the general public about drug use.
Actor Tom Cruise, perhaps Scientology's best-known adherent, has said: 'We are the authorities on getting people off drugs.'
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2352714/Denise-Gentile-Twin-sister-Scientology-leader-David-Miscavige-arrested-possession-marijuana.html#ixzz2Xpok2QYH
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According to the Scientology organization website, followers are allowed to use prescribed medical drugs when physically ill, but “street drugs or mind-altering psychotropic drugs” are prohibited.
“Drugs are usually taken to escape from unwanted emotions, pains or sensations,” explain the site. “In Scientology, the real reason for these unwanted conditions are located and handled so that the individual no longer needs or desires drugs. Drugs dull people and make them less aware. Scientology’s aim is to make people brighter and more aware.”
The Daily Mail reports that as the twin brother of leader David Miscavige, Denise Gentile enjoys a “favored status in the church.” Miscavige failed to comment on her arrest, but Gentile’s attorney, Jo Ann Palchak, told the Times that her client denied receiving drugs and was not aware that drugs were being dealt on her property.
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