How Times Have Changed

Van Robison on "Have You Been Censored?"

 

Have You Been Censored?

Every church cult attempts to censor its church members from exposure to criticism, alternative thinking, other beliefs and sources that differ.   Living in fear that to read what others are saying is a sure sign of significant indoctrination and that you are being abused spiritually.    Cults instill paranoia in their members and followers.   Over the years there have been many cult church groups and there are many in existence today, among which are the splinter groups of the WCG and the original WCG itself.

I know this is true because I was once a member of the cult church called the "Worldwide Church of God", with its many strange and weird doctrines and teachings.   Of course at that time I was a young man, with little experience in understanding what religious fraud is.   Herbert W. most definitely lived the life of a human "King", but in the end, took nothing with him but his own rotting flesh, which is the end result of all human beings, including the "Kings", the "Presidents", the "Pastors", the "Senior Pastors", the "Dr. Pastors" and all others.

Virtually 100% of all "heads" and "pastors" of all churches on earth want followers, for no other reason than your $cash.   Take away the $cash and there would be no "heads" of churches.   It is that simple folks.  They may preach from the man-made Bible, but the bottom line is that they are NOT speaking for God/Jesus Christ, THEY ARE PREACHING FOR YOUR $MONEY!!!  Naturally they don't want you be be a "church hopper" and they will condemn "church hopping" from the pulpit?   Oh my, I wonder why?   They lose your financial support of course.

That there are ulterior and hidden motives behind the censorship of you being exposed to different opinions, thoughts, beliefs and so forth is more than obvious.  It is a weak attempt at keeping you under their control. 

Well poo!


Van Robison

Ex-UCG Prophetess Val Says "I do not want any more spankings. "

Prophetess Val, who tried to take her message to United Church of God, was mocked and made fun of and then kicked out of the church.  Now she has written a "book" on legitimizing her end time legacy as a prophet, high priestess, or what ever the craziness she thinks she is.  Woe to those that mock her!

The prophetess writes:

In 2003 I was directed by God to the United Church of God. Because God gave me a full time job and a car of my own I was finally able to attend regularly. In 2005 I was baptized again and I renewed my vows to give God my life for his use. Pay close attention to what the Holy Spirit inspires you to say to God. We truly are not our own.

*Hebrews 5:14 “But strong meat belongeth to them that are of full age, even those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil”.

It would be wise to rightly divide (divide means separate) the word of love from the words of hate to find the true word of God that is in the Bible…

* 2 Timothy 2:15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

Satan is counting on you not to hear a woman. This is still his world and in his world he has pushed mankind to believe that women are inferior and not to be trusted, listened to or believed.

God has a different test for the world (Acts 3:23) he commands every soul to hear his true word delivered by a woman or that soul will be destroyed. The soul that sinneth it shall die, once, but how we die is directed by God. Moses and Elijah are together in scripture. They are both in one prophet (Luke 1:17) at the heel of time. Elijah told the people that he was God's prophet (1 Kings 18:22) as do I, to prove the power of God by the true word (Jer 23:29) that turns the hearts of the Fathers to the children to stop the curse that was on the earth (Mal 4:5-6). Since April 2010 when this true word first went out to the world God has removed the curse on the earth. This evil world began with a battle of wits between the devil and a woman and this evil world will come to a close after a battle of wits between the devil and a woman, God is just. "And thou shalt bruise his heel" (Gen 3:15), (Jer 31:22). Eve did exactly what God raised her to do, as now do I.

I was so very heart broken and deeply pained (Rev 12:2) when my church family shunned me as crazy because of the true word that was growing inside me. I could not understand how others professing the Holy Spirit could treat me so unkind, especially when what I was telling them was of God (love). I asked God why? He told me, it is because they are lukewarm. He said, "they have a form of godliness but they deny my power" (2 Tim 3:5). All prophecies will be fulfilled. I too now say "not my will but thine be done". I write all that he inspires; I do not want any more spankings.

Some preachers have taught that the two wings of a great eagle is an airplane that they think will fly this church worth of people into the wilderness. This is not true; when Satan tries to destroy me (Rev 12:17) there will be no time for anyone to board a plane let alone a whole congregation to then take off into the air. The fact is his attack will be so swift that the earth has to open up to help me (Rev 12:16). As Elijah was taken into the air (2 Kings 2:1) so will happen for me (Rev 12:13-14). This website does turn the hearts of the fathers to the children by the word and will of God to prepare a people with his everlasting love for the coming millennial rule of Christ.

The last church before the return of Christ is lukewarm. The United Church of God is the church I was raised up from (Acts 3:22). They are now in the process of being spewed out because they would not hear me (Acts 3:23). They rejected hearing the way to become hot from a woman. *Rev 3:16-18 “So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth. Because thou sayest, I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked: I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness do not appear; and anoint thine eyes with eyesalve, that thou mayest see”. As God’s prophet I am commanded to speak boldly with the fire of his word, as he would (Heb 4:12). What you do with his word will determine your placement in his world. If you will not read all the posts on this website to see whether what I tell you is true or not then… *Acts 3:23 “And it shall come to pass, that every soul, which will not hear that prophet, shall be destroyed from among the people.” … you will not be among the people that will be allowed to enter into the coming city of God (Rev 21:10-27) in his coming New Heavens and New Earth. I have bruised Satan by exposing his lies by the power of the word of God (John 1:1). *Gen 3:15 “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” The Good Tale

Van Robison on "Splinter Group Heads Are Very Confused"

 

Splinter Group Heads Are Very Confused

It seems there are lots of men in WCG [Armstrongism] splinter groups, who want to be King.  No wonder because when you are King, you get all the goodies.  The $cash flows like a river into your bank account and you get to spend it on whatever you want.   I have been to churches where the preacher or pastor says that "the tithe is not your money, it is God's money."    Of course that is a total farce, because God cannot be purchased with money, nor can the forgiveness of sins, salvation, eternal life or the gift of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus Christ cannot be bought with a debit card, a visa, mastercharge or even $cash.   Therefore the whole tithing scheme is a total fraud.

If one splinter group church head is the "right" and "true" church, then where does that leave all the other WCG splinter group churches?   Of course what about all the endless thousands of church groups that have never ever been associated with the WCG?   That WCG splinter group heads are very confused is so apparent, that even a cave man can see through the deceit.   Every church head wants followers, even if the head is a group of men. It is sheer and utter vanity on the part of these self-appointed men, who assume the posture of being "God" to all the childish adults who submit their lives to these very insecure men, who want your worship of their person.

Presumption to speak for God and at the same time DEMAND $CASH is a guarantee of a religious racket. The only reason these splinter group heads call you "brethren" is because they want your $money.   Smart people will give these religious frauds the boot.   The salvation of no human being hinges upon or revolves around the "head" or "heads" of any WCG splinter group.    In fact salvation has nothing to do with churches or pastors.

Confused?  If so, it is only because you are going to church and rejecting Jesus Christ, to follow self-appointed men.


Van Robison

Apostle Malm: Successful Civic Minded People Have Sold Their Soul To Satan

More from the pen of apostle James.

Beware all of you civic minded folk out there that serve in civic capacities, who might have some money or are successful.  Apparently you have sold your soul to Satan.

Satan is in authority over all nations and provinces and cities and peoples in the world today.  One CANNOT become a national or civic leader, or achieve wealth fame and success in this world without either unwittingly obeying Satan in rebellion against God; or by knowingly making a deal with Satan; or by the direct intervention of God to over-rule Satan.

The example he uses to "prove" this is Bob Dylan's interview with 60 Minutes.

Totally Demolished

 from south side of Mayfair

 taken from the curved flower beds on the east side of the library

the picture above is of the front entrance to the library where the checkout desk was and the card files.

Dave Pack Also Speaking Out Against Bob Thiel

Poor Bob, he is getting hammered on all fronts. Can we say p-e-r-s-e-c-u-t-i-o-n!

Dave writes:

Here is why Thiel disavowed his previous position and hid the facts. He saw the same thing we have seen since our posting—WIDESPREAD DISAGREEMENT IN LCG WITH ROD MEREDITH’S FALSE TEACHING ABOUT THE FALLING AWAY! He probably got the same avalanche of emails from LCG members that we did. He wanted to be in agreement with the large number in LCG who know this doctrine is WRONG! 

How many wrote him? Enough to make him (1) flip-flop, (2) alter his posts to hide his first position, (3) attack us for reporting the truth—and (4) go public against LCG’s leadership. 

Not surprisingly, Meredith weighed in on Bob Thiel, seeking to distance LCG from “their man,” but of course choosing something other than Thiel’s “falling away” position to do this. A recent weekly Bulletin stated that Thiel is not an official LCG spokesman, and that he “has written a number of things” (postings and books) with which LCG’s leaders do not agree. Let’s summarize: LCG allows a lay member to write ridiculous, divisive, heretical nonsense, but remain a member. Why? Because he can periodically be “useful.” Thiel’s books are speculative, heretical nonsense about prophecy by a man working presumptuously without God’s calling, completely out of his depth. We ask again: Why would LCG permit this? Why would they look away as a lay member takes to himself such AUTHORITY—and for years? 

The answer: Because its leaders produce so much ridiculous, divisive, heretical nonsense themselves—on prophecy and numerous other doctrines! On what basis would they stop such a man when they have lost track of so much prophetic truth themselves?

Bob Thiel on "Persecution" Another Embarassment For LCG

What an interesting topic to pop up on Bob Thiel's blog today after he has been publicly rebuked by Rod Meredith and ripped apart on various blogs by people are who are disgusted with him. Was Meredith's letter "persecution?"  This blog? James Malm's deep seated disgust with Bob? Readers comments on various blogs?

The world's most renown authority on prophecy writes (bold highlights are Bob's)

COGwriter
Jesus taught:

20 If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you (John 15:20).
29… Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, 30 who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time–houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions–and in the age to come, eternal life (Mark 10:29-30).
10 Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, For theirs is the kingdom of heaven. 11 Blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, and say all kinds of evil against you falsely for My sake. 12 Rejoice and be exceedingly glad, for great is your reward in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you (Matthew 5:10-12).

The Apostle Paul taught:

12 Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. (2 Timothy 3:12)

What should a Christian do when persecuted?

43 You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you (Matthew 5:43-44).

10 We are fools for Christ’s sake, but you are wise in Christ!  We are weak, but you are strong!  You are distinguished, but we are dishonored! 11 To the present hour we both hunger and thirst, and we are poorly clothed, and beaten, and homeless. 12 And we labor, working with our own hands. Being reviled, we bless; being persecuted, we endure; 13 being defamed, we entreat. We have been made as the filth of the world, the offscouring of all things until now.  14 I do not write these things to shame you, but as my beloved children I warn you.  (1 Corinthians 4:10-14)

The most faithful to the word of God often are amongst the most persecuted.
Remember also that Jesus said:

32 “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.  (Luke 12:32)
10 Do not fear any of those things which you are about to suffer (Revelation 2:10).

Persecution is not fun, but it is expected.

He ends his screed with this:

All the faithful will be subject to persecution and being betrayed by professing believers (Matthew 24:9-13, Mark 13:12-13; Luke 21:16-18; Daniel 11:32-35).   Persecution has taken many forms throughout history and a deadly time of persecution is coming.

There is not a single COG out there that has been persecuted for their beliefs.  They still are able to assemble freely, write absurdly ridiculous books, maintain blogs critical of the Catholic church and it's beliefs, ridicule other churches, races and sexual orientation. On and on the list could go.

Christian are being persecuted in Iran, Iraq, Syria, Indonesia, and other places.  But according to Bob those are not "TRUE" Christians so their "persecution" is irrelevant.  Only the members of the Living Church of God will suffer "real" persecution.  However, the "Dr." apparently senses he is suffering it now.

Since Bob apparently does not understand what persecution is I suggest he check these sites out:

Voice of the Martyrs

Persecution: International Christian Concern

Persecution Project Foundation

Please Note:  

The pictures below are of persecuted FAKE Christians, 

at least according to Bob Thiel,
the world's foremost authority on 
Christianity, prophecy and persecution.  

The only real Christians on the face of the entire earth 

are part of Living Church of God, 
at least according to Bob Thiel, 
the world's foremost authority on 
Christianity, prophecy and persecution.

EW King: Run Away From That Cigar and Champagne!

EW King has some words of wisdom today concerning your satanic friends at worldly weddings you might be attending.  Beware if those evil people who offer you a glass of champagne and a cigar!  Evil dudes!  Evil! Evil! Evil!

Those true Christians who speak about the Commandments of God are usually and quickly attacked as “legalists”. Satan has got his language down in labeling things. If a Christian attends a wedding and does not drink alcohol or smoke he may be approached by a so called “friend” saying to him: “We are going to make a toast so here is some Champaign and a cigar.” If you tell him you do not drink alcohol or smoke he might ask you to pretend for the picture. Should you? No! He might suggest to you; “Come on! Don’t be a fanatic!” But the Bible is clear; “Make no provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.” [Romans 13:14] And we are not to even flirt with the appearance of sin. [1 Thessalonians 5:22] They will argue with you: “You are out of balance!” In other words, they recommend that we balance our Christian lives with a little sin. Do not listen to them!

So what's a poor dude in the Church of God to do when offered that evil cigar and champagne?

God asks us to “flee from sin”. It is okay to just get up and leave the areas of temptation if we can. Run to God and not to the fallen mob! True Christians are a remnant, a small group. That is just the way it is. [Luke 12:32]

I know a LOT of COG ministers that like their cigars with brandy or other liquors.  These guys are in UCG, LCG and COGWA at the moment. 

Champagne certainly is not frowned upon by many ministers I have seen over the years while seeing them get drunk on it in ministerial dining at the Feast.

Only EeeeW King seems to have an issue with it.  Is he jealous that no one offered him some bubbly and a Cohiba?

EW King: When You Get Tired You Are More Prone To Satanic Attacks

More wit and wisdom from the Church of God and EeeeW King:

Also, please be aware that when you get physically tired, such as from sleep deprivation, you are more prone to satanic attacks. We must manage our time and eat and rest well. We are soldiers for Christ.

It must be mind numbing to be a Church of God leader, apostle, prophet, etc., and have to be able to come up with all these pithy sayings all the time.

Demolition of AC Library Pasadena, Where It All Started

click on all pictures to enlarge

These are the pictures that Vic Kubik ripped off from me before I watermarked the photographs. 

The picture above is looking from the site of the library annex.  

HWA's original office is the brown paneling at the top of the building.

The Fowler Estate was the very first building that HWA bought when he came to Pasadena to start his college.  It housed the library, offices and classrooms.  The Library Annex, which used to be the carriage house to the Fowler Estate has already been demolished. The entire property is in really bad shape.  The only good part is the area that Marantha bought on the lower campus and the Grove Terrace dorm.  They have dumped millions of dollars into refurbishing and property upkeep.

  GTA's old office is the top floor on the left and the remains of HWA's is top floor on right.  Middle floor was the KABC Radio, sounds recordings, typing room, and book collections.

Living Church of God Humiliates Dave Pack

 Roku

It's no wonder that Dave Pack has started an internet campaign to discredit the Living Church of God.  LCG has basically shoved Dave's nose into  the dirt for being made a fool in regards to Dave's claim that the RCG is the worlds most advanced and largest COG ministry.

LCG scoured a coup recently in landing a ROKU web casting site.  I saw this the other day when I was adding new stations to my Roku box.  LCG has a bigger audience for it's message that little Dave will ever have.  Plus, LCG is ready to roll out Windows and android apps, something little Dave hasn't been able to do because of his focus on building a new college campus.

We have been blessed with a couple big developments of late. 1. Roku Internet tv release. The first cog to do so and currently the only Roku channel carrying the True Gospel. 2. Release to lcg membership of our TW apps for Android and Windows phone. Apple should be available in about a month. This is major. We want to give our membership a chance to review and give us feedback before we release to the world over the marketplaces....probably in 2 weeks...
We are very happy to announce Tomorrow’s World Mobile Apps! Why develop mobile apps? Because this is a huge opportunity to reach millions with the True Gospel!

According to research studies, by the end of 2011 there were 1.2 billion active mobile-broadband subscriptions worldwide! China and India are the top mobile phone subscriber markets with the USA third. We are very excited to now announce a limited release of our new Tomorrow’s World Mobile Apps for LCG membership for the Android and Windows platforms! iPhone and Blackberry coming soon! LCG membership should log in to your MyLCG account (go to www.cogl.org) to download. We know you will enjoy the apps, and we welcome your feedback over the coming few weeks before we launch these apps from their respective marketplaces to potentially millions and millions of people around the world! This is a truly revolutionary opportunity to make a huge impact and reach even more people with the true gospel of the coming Kingdom of God...
Tomorrow's World #mobile apps beta for LCG members released 5/31! Download #Android #Windows now. Log in to http://t.co/WanAUzOD for info

Did Bob Thiel Rock the Boat at LCG HQ and Now Paying For It?

A reader below commented about the following posting by Bob Thiel on his page.  Apparently Bob had/has issues with the LCG's new stance on the "falling away" belief.  Bob thinks that LCG is changing it's stance and voiced his concern about a change in doctrine.  Bob wrote several papers on the topic and presented them to LCG HQ to correct them in their new stance.  LCG refused to take his black and white beliefs into consideration.    Several have told me that while Winnail was sympathetic to his disagreement and permitted the opportunity to disagree while still remaining an LCG member, others in Charlotte were not happy with Bob's questioning attitude.  While the Obama book may have been the tipping point to bring about the stinging rebuke from Meredith, there are other coals in the fire not being made public at the moment.

09/07/12 p.m. Some have asked me about my position on the "falling away" matter. At this stage, let me state that on May 13, 2012, when it looked like a change in formal position may be taking place, I contacted the HQ evangelists and urged them to reconsider certain points. Dr. Winnail ended up contacting me late the next month and discussed his idea to come out to see me. Before I played his "Falling Away" sermon, I was told in July 2012 by two LCG ministers that I would probably not have issues with that sermon, so I played it and watched it. After watching it, I contacted LCG and produced several documents stating my concerns which were sent in July and August 2012.

Today, Dr. Winnail informed me (orally and via email) that while one can disagree with the Council's primary current interpretation on the falling away matter, which I do, one can still be part of the Living Church of God while holding a different view.

08/20/12 a.m. Received a few emails related to the "falling away" matter. Be assured that I am trying to work this out with LCG's leadership.

07/14/2012 p.m. Saw the "must-play" DVD by Dr. D. Winnail today titled The Falling Away. It was quite different than I had been led to believe.

Meredith Letter on LCG Member Page

Partial screen capture of LCG member page

In addition to being read in all churches, the letter from Rod Meredith concerning Bob Thiel is now post online for all the world to see.

Apostle Malm: " Bob (Thiel) is seen as a kind of Absalom."

In outward appearance he is an impressive man. 

“From the sole of his foot to the crown of his head there was no blemish in him” (2 Sam 14:25). 

At his annual haircut, his sheared locks were sold for two hundred shekels (2 Sam 14:26)! 

 Looks, however, can be deceiving. Embittered by the mistreatment of his sister Tamar, he murdered his brother Ammon. He tries to take the reins of justice and authority out of rightful hands and into his own. 

Both the cause and the means are unjust. Despite the leniency David extended to Absalom after his treachery, Absalom sets out to undermine the authority of his father and king. 

He despises the fifth commandment. 

He does so by sowing discord among the Israelites and casting doubt on his father’s decision.

 The rebellious son sets himself up as an alternative ruler and judge. 

“So Absalom stole the hearts of the men of Israel” (2 Sam 15:6). 

Perhaps David was thinking of his rebellious son and his mob when he wrote in Psalm 35:12:  

"They rewarded me evil for good to the spoiling of my soul."  

Absalom dies in disgrace, his swelled head with its flowing locks

caught in the branches of a terebinth tree (2 Sam 18:9, 14-15).

Character Studies-Absalom 

Even the apostle is hitting out at Bob Thiel.  Bob and James have a deep seated disgust with each other.  Both call each other false teachers and other kindly Christian things.

I think there are several threads converging on this.

1) Bob has made very many enemies in the general COG clergy including LCG; and COGWA may want him defanged. Larry Salyer may want to take note and keep his head down for a quid pro quo request from LCG.

2) The LCG leaders may think that Bob has too much influence among the brethren [not the elders who dislike him] and are moving to cut him down a few notches.

3) Enough of the LCG elders are finally so fed up with Bob’s presenting his personal speculations contrary to LCG teachings, as fact, and are pushing for action. Bob is seen as a kind of Absalom.

4) In his personal circle Rod has made it clear that he is not comfortable with Bob and his blog.

All these things are adding up, and Bob’s monumental conceit is preventing him from taking it and saying that most certainly people should prove all things. Bob just cannot take being questioned.

Please forgive me for laying this out openly but I have had long dealings with Bob in personal correspondance and in his wilfull bearing of false witness against me. I am well aware of the nature of this man and it is NOT godly by any stretch.

If he gets the boot from LCG no one else will likely take him [maybe Dave Pack].
It is my prayer and mny hope that Bob will repent and turn to God, and away from his fascination with catholicism and paganism. James

Bob Thiel: Pretending To Be Catholic In Order To Sell Books?

Bob Thiel, Living Church of God's illustrious book publishing mogul, has been pumping out books lately for the masses.  From Mayan fantasy, to visions of Fatima and now to Barack Obama, the speculation and theorizing abound.

It's interesting that Thiel is using Herbert Armstrong's tactics on taking his message to the world.  HWA was embarrassed to mention what church he represented so he formed the Ambassador International Cultural Foundation to open doors for him. Then he would talk about "a strong hand from someplace..."  What the hell is that? Is the flying spaghetti monster going to come floating down from outer-space?

Thiel is using his early baptism and confirmation in the Catholic church to legitimize his book in the eyes of the Catholic faithful.  No where in any of his Amazon information does he state that he believes the Catholic Church to be the Great Whore of Babylon, that the Pope will be the Antichrist that will kill "true" Christians, that Catholics are all heretics because they don't keep one of the 10 Commandments or that he is no longer a Catholic but a member of a diminished American sect that is fading into oblivion.

Once again you will get to see that Bob thinks he is more enlightened and informed that the majority of humanity. I guess we need to start genuflecting to his awesomeness since he is the "world's foremost authority of prophecy writings."

On his Fatima Shock book site on Amazon he states the following in his author description:

Baptized and confirmed into the Catholic faith as a youth, Michigan native Bob Thiel is one of the world's foremost authorities on prophecy writings, a published Ph.D. and a highly regarded researcher with multiple awards to his credit. He holds a Bachelor's degree from the University of LaVerne, a Master's degree from the Unversity of Southern California, and a Ph.D. from the Union Institute and University. Throughout his academic and professional career he has studied philosophy, religion, science, and prophecy; in recent years, has had scores of articles published on these subjects in magazines, newspapers, trade publications and scientific journals. Married to his wife Joyce since 1981, the two have made multiple trips to ancient sites around the world, including Fatima, Portugal. Dr. Thiel's articles and commentaries are wildly popular online with visitors to www.cogwriter.com, his philosophy and religion website, where he is known as “COGwriter.” “When I heard in 2010 that Pope Benedict XVI changed his views about the future of the Fatima messages,” explains Dr. Thiel, “I was immediately interested in why and what would be included. When someone I knew gave me a Fatima publication shortly thereafter, I was inspired to write a book about what Fatima really would mean for the 21st century.” As an award-winning researcher, Dr. Thiel took his work seriously, traveling to Fátima, Portugal as well as other places he identifies in his book. He and his wife have visited scores of sites of religious and prophetic interest around the world. After endless months of compiling and analyzing the Fatima messages and various other prophecies, Dr. Thiel now presents them in a clear, straightforward language, explaining what was said, what was seen, what will likely happen, and what has already occurred.

UPDATED: Case Thrown Out: Rick Van Pelt: Lawsuit Claims $250,000 Bribe and Trip to India Solicited

Photo:  PCC Courier

The Los Angeles Times Pasadena Sun is reporting that Rick Van Pelt, Pasadena City College Vice President and Al Hutchings, Facilities Chief,  sought a $250,000 bribe from a Los Angeles based lighting company and a trip to India in exchange for a lighting contract for the College.

Van Pelt and Hutchings have countersued claiming while they do go to India, they never solicited a bribe from the company.

Van Pelt was the former Facilities Administrator for Ambassador College and a Worldwide Church of God member.

The Pasadena Sun reports:

Lawsuit: Former Pasadena City College officials sought $250,000 bribe

Lighting company alleges executives facing criminal probe sought kickback. Van Pelt, Hutchings deny claim.

By Joe Piasecki, joe.piasecki@latimes.com

September 7, 2012| 5:50 p.m.

Two former Pasadena City College administrators facing a criminal bribery probe offered a lucrative campus contract to a lighting company in exchange for a lavish visit to India and $250,000 in payoffs, a lawsuit claims.

A countersuit filed Tuesday by former PCC Vice President Richard van Pelt and then-campus facilities chief Al Hutchings acknowledges the pair traveled to India, but denies they sought a bribe.

Los Angeles-based LED Global LLC, a manufacturer of energy-efficient light bulbs, alleges in a suit filed July 26 in Los Angeles Superior Court that van Pelt and Hutchings solicited kickbacks in 2011 after promising the firm a $5-million contract to upgrade campus lighting.

The company refused to make the illegal payments, was denied the contract and contacted law enforcement authorities, according to a related claim LED Global filed July 30 against PCC with the city of Pasadena.

On July 7, investigators with the L.A. County district attorney's office seized computers and documents from the homes and campus offices of van Pelt and Hutchings. The men have not been charged, and the investigation remains open, according to Deputy Dist. Atty. David Demerjian, who heads the office's public integrity section.

PCC fired van Pelt after the raid and removed Hutchings from his job pending an administrative hearing.

LED Global's lawsuit claims that the company's owners met with van Pelt and Hutchings in January 2011 to discuss a contract, and that in February 2011 the firm examined the college's lighting needs.

The suit claims that the company received a $5-million purchase order for LED lighting from van Pelt and Hutchings on March 17, 2011, after agreeing to pay for the men to travel to Mumbai, India, from May 1 to May 6 for a factory tour.

During that trip, van Pelt and Hutchings twice asked for a 5% kickback on the proposed PCC contract and on future contracts they would broker for LED Global at other community colleges, according to the suit.

The lawsuit also claims van Pelt and Hutchings made “unusual and expensive” requests during the trip, asking for company-paid stays at luxury hotels in Mumbai and New Delhi, an excursion to the Taj Mahal, access to prostitutes, limousine rides, lavish meals and $2,000 worth of Cuban cigars.

LED Global owners Robert Das and Salia Smith claim the company paid for most of those demands but refused to hire prostitutes for the men. They allege that Hutchings — a former Los Angeles Police Department officer — made veiled threats after they refused to make the payoffs.

Van Pelt and Hutchings did not inform the college about the trip to India, said PCC spokesman Juan Gutierrez.

The rest of the article is here.

UPDATE:  

‘Wild Claims’ Against Ex-PCC Officers Turn Out to Be Unbelievable

A CorrespondentOctober 11, 2013News

Re “The Latest PCC Protest Hits Home”

Dateline Pasadena – A lawsuit filed July 26, by Robert Das and Saila Satter Leiter Smith of LED Global Corp, LLC, against Richard van Pelt, former Pasadena City College Vice President of Administrative Services, and Alfred Hutchings, former Facilities Services Supervisor, was dismissed with prejudice yesterday by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Suzanne G. Bruguera. 

Another lawsuit filed by the same persons against Pasadena City College was dismissed earlier this year.

Previously, all parties were ordered by Superior Court Judge Louis M. Meisinger to appear for a mandatory settlement conference on Aug. 28. But Mr. Das and Ms. Smith apparently left the country. They  were sanctioned $3,000 by the court for their failure to appear. Judge Meisinger scheduled another mandatory settlement conference for Sept. 13. Once again ordered all parties to appear. The pair failed to appear again, and were sanctioned an additional $3,000.

On Sept. 18, Mr. Das and Ms. Smith’s attorneys, the Layfield Law Firm of El Segundo, asked Judge Bruguera to be relieved of their responsibility to represent the two petitioners and LED Global Corp. LLC. The judge granted the request.
John Schmoker, attorney for Mr. van Pelt and Mr. Hutchings, said that dismissal of the case “was a long time coming because Das and Smith did not have a single piece of evidence that could support their wild claims.

 “The harm caused to van Pelt and Hutchings never can be repaired.

“A malicious prosecution lawsuit against Das and Smith is being prepared and will be filed if they return to California.”

In court documents filed by Pasadena City College, the school claimed it relied primarily on the accusations by Mr. Das and Ms. Smith to terminate the employment of Mr. van Pelt and Mr. Hutchings. The District Attorney also relied on the allegations made by Mr. Das and Ms. Smith to begin an investigation.

Mr. Das and Ms. Smith made a number of allegations, including bribery, extortion, kickbacks and racketeering. In an apparent attempt to garner additional interest in their claims, they alleged that LED Global paid for all of Mr. van Pelt’s and Mr. Hutchings’s expenses to India, that they provided a stretch limousine while in India, that they turned down a request by Mr. van Pelt and Mr. Hutchings to provide prostitutes while in India, and that while an officer with the LAPD, Mr. Hutchings murdered people. Not a single document could be produced by Das or Smith to even remotely substantiate any of their claim