“When in Danger, Distance Yourself”
When questioned by Detective Stephen Bohling, Gerald Gentile repeatedly attempted to distance himself from Tom Brennan. Gentile referred to Brennan as an acquaintance, someone he only knew “through his wife.” Gentile also stated that Brennan had never called him and that Brennan probably did not even know his phone number.
On the other hand, Brennan characterized his relationship with Gentile quite differently. On page 19 of the Clearwater Police Report, for example, Brennan referred to Gentile as a “close friend.” According to Brennan’s attorney, Paul Johnson, too, Brennan considered Gerald Gentile a friend, and referred to him as such when speaking with Detective Bohling. Brennan also stated that—the night his only son, Kyle, died—he called Gentile after calling “Chaplain Denise” and that he asked Gentile to come to the apartment to give him support. This would have been an odd and most likely an ungranted request if Gentile were a mere acquaintance. That these two were indeed friends—and that Brennan had Gentile’s phone number and had called him many times—is proven by a simple fact: During police questioning, Detective Bohling asked Brennan to “please call his friend Jerry and give him the message to contact him [Bohling] at the CWPD.” Bohling claimed that his calls to Gentile went unanswered, so from February 28, 2008, to April 1 of the same year, the detective repeatedly asked Brennan to contact Gentile on his behalf.
In the police interviews, Gentile also attempted to distance himself from the Brennan apartment. In the police report, on page 41, Gerald Gentile told Bohling that on the evening that Kyle died, he returned home “Um, after 11 or 12.” These times, of course, don’t line up with statements that were given by his wife, Denise Miscavige Gentile, or by Tom Brennan.
Why would Gentile offer up a different version of the events? It was to distance himself from Tom Brennan and the Cleveland Avenue apartment on the evening of Kyle’s death. “Clearwater police detective Stephen Bohling never questioned these discrepancies.”
Written by Victoria Britton©, All Rights Reserved. Duplication or reproduction without permission of the author is prohibited.
CWPR: page 19
CWPR: page 38
CWPR: page 39
CWPR: page 54
Excerpt from the Deposition of Gerald Gentile
Gerald describes his wife, Denise Miscavige
Excerpts from the deposition of Gerald Gentile
Excerpt from the deposition of Denise Miscavige Gentile
Officer Jonathan Yuen
Response Information from FS-Specialist Jennifer McCabe
