Pioneer Press, Fort Jones, CA, Wednesday, February 27, 2002
Mysterious leader of Danish "cult" with a U.S. campus in Etna, has been nabbed by feds
By Daniel Webster
LOS ANGELES – The Danish media have waited for this moment for decades and the
international media are now looking at Etna's connection to the global
organization.
Morgens Amdi Petersen, 63, the founder of the worldwide group of
"charities" know as Tvind, including Campus California TG in Etna, was
arrested by the FBI at LAX.
The incident came shortly after the U.S. Department of Transportation took over
security at all U.S. airports. The first hint was a brief reference, without
details, at the end of an article published in the Los Angeles Times.
Within hours of publication, the buzz went out to the Internet community
surrounding www. tvindalert.org.uk and the Danish media jumped on it like a
pariah.
Petersen quickly hired Robert L. Shapiro, the famous O.J. Simpson defense
lawyer, to get him out on bail before U.S. Magistrate Stephen J. Hillman, in Los
Angeles.
Tomas Lindstrom, of Campus California, who claims to have a personal
relationship with Petersen, said he spoke with him approximately a year ago
about the Etna school,
When asked his reaction to the arrest of Petersen, he responded "It has no
consequence on Campus California TG."
Petersen, founded the organization in the early 1970s and disappeared
surrounded by allegations of fraud in 1979, according to the Associated Press.
He was detained at LAX on his way from Mexico to Africa.
He has lived hidden from the public for 22 years until his first court
appearance.
Until recently, he has been living in an ultra-private $10-million condominium
on Fisher Island, off the South Florida coast, Los Angeles Times reports.
Vice Consul Dorthe S. Mikkelsen, of the Royal Danish Consulate General in Los
Angeles told the Pioneer Press in May that the police are investigating
his organization for alleged tax fraud and not following its own charter.
Shapiro tried to convince the judge to let Petersen out on bail. He
reportedly said that Petersen has American friends ready to post $1 million.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew E. Sloan argued that his organization has more
than $100 million in assets and generates millions a year in revenue.
Jyllands-Posten, the large Danish daily newspaper, reports that Shapiro
repeatedly attempted to present Petersen as a philanthropist, pacifist and
international humanist, who had saved the lives of up to a million human beings
in Africa. But it "was like water off a duck's back when presented to the
judge."
"Isn't it possible to imagine that a person could be a humanist and at the
same time appropriate to himself other people's means," remarked judge
Hillman, who added that "this is of course not my conclusion today, since
it isn't at all what today's proceedings are about," Jyllands-Posten
reported.
The Danish investigators claim there is evidence that he applied for citizenship
in Brazil and Zimbabwe, neither of which have extradition treaties with Denmark,
Associated Press reports.
"It's awful - what's happening," Lindstrom told the Pioneer Press and
added that he's more sad and thinks it "a bit outrageous."
He is hopeful that something good will come out of this, stating it is good to
have international attention brought to what he believes is unconstitutional
actions in Denmark.
Numerous representatives of the Danish media were present in the courtroom and
four American journalists attended Friday's proceedings. The American media
listened carefully and took a lot of notes about the Tvind group, which is
considered "one of the fastest growing cult movements in the U.S.",
Jyllands-Posten reported in Denmark on Saturday.
Jyllands-Posten reports in English translation.