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PRELIMINARY REPORT TO THE CLEARWATER CITY COMMISSION RE: THE POWER OF A MUNICIPALITY TO REGULATE ORGANIZATIONS CLAIMING TAX EXEMPT OR NON-PROFIT STATUS |
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IV. FACTUAL DESCRIPTION, HISTORY AND ANALYSIS, OF SCIENTOLOGY A. General History and Description of Scientology Scientology is an international cult created, operated and controlled by Lafayette Ronald Hubbard for the purported purpose of selling courses, publications and services, which claim to cure various physical and emotional ills, and which allegedly provide spiritual rewards. There is substantial, perhaps overwhelming evidence, to support the conclusion that, despite Scientology's attempted religious front, it is in reality a criminal, fraud-ridden, commercial, profit motivated enterprise engaged in the practice of psychotherapy with a military structure and operational methods designed to accumulate, money, information and power. Scientology's legacy of victims, who have been swindled, mentally crippled and sometimes killed by Scientology practices have caused many nations to convene formal inquiries into Scientology. These nations include England, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, South Africa and Rhodesia, France has convicted Hubbard of criminal fraud. The Reports from two of these inquiries, Australia and England, are contained in the Appendix to this Report. I and I. It is fair to say that in general these inquiries have concluded that Scientology is a maze of intertwined corporations, claiming tax-exempt status, masquerading as a religion, and conducting anti-social, fraudulent, and psychologically harmful practices. The English and Australian reports and the facts established by this firm also support the finding that the above-cited practices are generally directed towards the weak, unbalanced, immature, unstable, rootless and often traumatized individuals, in our society. Such individuals are generally more susceptible to false claims of promised cures. Scientology is adept at finding the person's "ruin" or problem, and making extravagant promises to solve the problem at exorbitant, and patently commercial fees. The purported belief systems or dogma of Scientology are a hocus pocus menagerie of science fiction, the occult, magic and claimed physical and mental well-being. Scientology does not worship a God. It is rather a pseudo-philosophy of mental and physical health based on supposed scientific research and case studies. A Federal Court in Washington, D.C. found that the writings of Hubbard which embody Scientology "doctrine" or "dogma" are predominantly non-religious, false and fraudulent. VII- 4. The writings of Hubbard also contain vicious Scientology policies used against opponents including "Fair Game", "Disconnect", "R-2-45", the "Blown Student" and "Attack the Attacker". Hubbard's own mental illness and twisted perspective on fundamental human values is reflected in much of his writing. Hubbard's own falsified background is typical of the fraudulent representations made by his organization. Thus, any inquiry into Scientology must begin with an inquiry into Hubbard. 1. The Founder and Promoter -- Lafayette Ronald Hubbard L. Ron Hubbard was born at Dr. Campbell's Hospital on Oak Street in Tilden, Nebraska, on March 13, 1911. His mother, Ledora May Hubbard was also born in Tilden, Nebraska. Ledora's father, L. Ron Hubbard's grandfather, was Lafayette O. Waterbury, born in the State of Michigan on July 20, 1964. L. Ron Hubbard's grandmother was Ida Corinne DeWolf born in Illinois on August 6, 1863. L. Ron Hubbard's father, Barry Ross Hubbard, (U.S. Navy), was born Henry August Wilson in Fayette County, Iowa, on August 31, 1882. Harry Ross Hubbard's father died when Harry was a child, and he was adopted by Mr. and Mrs. James W. Hubbard, also of Fayette County, Iowa, and his name was legally changed to Harry Ross Hubbard. L. Ron Hubbard's birth data is verified by his certificate of birth in the Bureau of Vital Statistics in Lincoln, Nebraska. File No. 126-165-11. III-1. According to various biographies published in Scientology books, Hubbard was raised on a cattle ranch "one quarter the size of Montana", which was owned by his maternal grandfather. Here, Hubbard was said to have learned to ride a horse before he could walk, to have become friends with an Indian medicine man, and to have become blood brother with the "Blackfoot" (sic "Blackfeet") Indians. He refused to go to school, since schooling was unnecessary for him, and was more interested in exploring, breaking wild horses, and hunting coyotes. Hubbard's grandfather (Waterbury) never owned a large cattle ranch in Montana. No records can be found showing that he owned any land at all in Montana. He did own a business several miles southeast of Helena, the Capital City Coal Company where the grandfather sold coal, feed, and was a practising veterinarian. Records indicate that Hubbard lived at 726 Fifth Ave., in Helena. This was the address of his father and mother and also of his maternal grandparents, as well as a number of aunts and uncles. III-1. The Scientology biographies state that Hubbard was able to spend several years traveling through Asia, China, Tibet, India, the South Pacific, the Philippines, etc., from 1925 through 1929, living in the company of a magician descended from ancient masters, lamas, priests, and other wise men. Hubbard supposedly learned an entire dialect in one night (the Igoriti of the Philippines), and lived among native bandits who didn't harm him "because of his honest interest in them and their ways of life". Here, as a young man, Hubbard allegedly became interested in the "composition and destiny of man". The facts are that during the years 1925 to 1929, Hubbard was a student at Union High School in Seattle, and Helena High School in Helena, Montana. In 1925, when Hubbard was 14, his father was stationed at the Puget Sound (Washington) Naval Shipyards. The father and his wife lived in Bremerton, Washington as did L. Ron, which is where he went to high school. Hubbard's mother was a school teacher. Hubbard's father remained at the Naval Shipyards until 1927, when he was ordered to Guam as a Supplies Officer. The Navy allowed Hubbard and his mother to join him in Guam during the summer of 1927. A few months later, Hubbard returned to Montana and was enrolled at Helena High School in Montana. He subsequently dropped out of Helena High School because of poor grades, on May 11, 1928. After that he attended Swathely Prep School in Manassus, Virginia and then Woodward Prep School in Washington, D.C. Woodward was a school operated by the Y.M.C.A. for difficult students and slow learners. Hubbard attended Woodward from February to June, 1930. He graduated and was accepted into the School of Engineering at George Washington University. At the end of his first year, he was placed on probation because of poor grades, and at the end of his second year was asked to leave, again because of poor grades. III-1. According to further Scientology biographies, Hubbard is supposed to have combined his experiences as a traveller with his great knowledge of engineering, math, and physics which enabled him to discover the secrets of life. Hubbard wrote a book called "All About Radiation", written by L. Ron Hubbard, a "medical doctor and a nuclear physicist". Copyright L. Ron Hubbard. Hubbard alleges to have received degrees of Civil Engineering from George Washington University, and Doctor of Medicine, Divinity and Philosophy. This is all false. Hubbard flunked the only physics course he took.. III-1 Hubbard alleges that he attended Princeton University. Hubbard may have received naval training at Princeton, New Jersey, as many officer candidates did during WW II, but this is not considered formal admission to Princeton University as an undergraduate student. His naval records suggest the fact that he attended the naval training school there from September 29, 1944 to January 27, 1945. III-2 Hubbard also claims in his Scientology biographies to have made expeditions into the jungles of South America, producing a Caribbean underwater motion picture expedition, financed by the navy Hydrographic Office for the University of Michigan, and to be the first person to use the navy's bathysphere, or diving bell. Hubbard's claims also include: the first complete mineralogical survey of Puerto Rico, rewriting the "Co-pilot", a navigational guide for the State of Alaska, leading expeditions into San Juan and Central America, for the Department of the Interior, and National Geographic Society. The ascertainable facts are that the State Department pass port Office records show that Hubbard was issued passport No. Z1889248 on April 23, 1974. He presumably had a previous passport. Hubbard's claims to have been a teenager traveling in Tibet, China and India back in the 1920's are unlikely because of hostility to visitors, especially Americans. One of the first to be allowed to travel in these areas was Lowell Thomas, in the 1950's. Regarding his other purported expeditions, the Department Natural Resources in San Juan has no record of L. Ron Hubbard, nor does the U.S. Geological Survey, the Department of the Interior, the National Geographic Society, a number of prominent geologists who were working in Puerto Rico and Central American areas at that time, the Department of the Navy's Hydrographic Office, the University of Michigan, Princeton University, the State of Alaska and records researched by the New York Explorers' Club. III-1 The next segment of Scientology biographies concerning Hubbard, relate to a brave young U.S. Navy officer, eager to defend his country, who was the first casualty in the Pacific. Because of Hubbard's, "importance" he was flown back to the United States in the Secretary of the Navy's personal airplane. Though severely wounded he was ordered to take command of a fleet of ship's without any rest. He was "highly decorated" for his bravery in battle, and was America's first real life hero. After four years of battle, Hubbard was admitted to the Oak Knowles Military Hospital in Oakland, California, on September 5, 1945. Here, supposedly crippled, blind, and not expected to live from having been so severely wounded in action, facing an uncertain future, Hubbard applied all of his knowledge of nuclear physics, etc., and healed himself by the sheer power of his mind. It is written that so complete and so miraculous was his recovery, that he amazed Navy physicians and psychiatrists. The facts are as follows; Naval records indicate Hubbard (U.S.N. No. 1133-92) was commissioned as an ensign on the 19th of July, 1941, and spent the first five months of his service in the Eastern United States. In December of that year, he was transferred to Melbourne, Australia where he was an Intelligence Officer for about three months, and was then sent back to the U.S. He bounced around from Maine to Florida to New York for a year, and then came to Portland, Oregon, where he became Commanding Officer of the U.S.S.P.C.-815, a small destroyer- escort type vessel. This ship remained at the Albina Shipyards in Portland for about two months. In the middle of June, 1943, the 815 went down the Willamette and Columbia rivers to the Pacific Ocean, and steamed south to San Francisco and San Diego. A few days later, while at exercises in Mexican territorial waters, Hubbard ordered the crew to fire some practice rounds, using the ship's three-inch naval gun. The target was in line with the Coronados Island off the coast of Baha, California. The practice rounds of the gun exploded on or near the Coronados Island. The Navy Department convened a Board of Investigation aboard the ship. The transcript of that hearing, (about 100 pages), showed conflicting testimony on estimates of how far from Coronados the ship was at the time the gun was fired, varying from a few hundred yards to eight miles. The results of the Board were not released, but it is a matter of record that a few days later, Hubbard was no longer in command of the PC- 815. III-2 After leaving the PC-815, Hubbard was ordered to Portland, Oregon, and assigned to the U.S. S. ALGOL. The ALGOL was an armed troop carrier commissioned at Portland, Oregon, on July 21, 1944. Hubbard was aboard as Navigating Officer and Training Officer. Like the PC-815, she proceeded down the Willamette and Columbia rivers to the Pacific, then south to San Francisco, where she went through her "shakedown" cruise practising manoevers and training exercises. III-2 On the afternoon of September 27, 1944, while docked in Oakland, California, Hubbard reported to the officer of the day that he discovered an attempt to sabotage the ship. Some one, Hubbard claimed, had filled a coke bottle with gasoline and inserted a cloth wick, and then had hidden it among some cargo that was to be hoisted aboard and placed in the Number One hold. The F. B. I. and Navy Intelligence were called in to investigate, but the records of this investigation are not available. The following day, just a few days before the ALGOL sailed for the Pacific and into combat, Hubbard was relieved of duty and transferred to a training school in New Jersey. III-2 After Hubbard left New Jersey, he spent nine months at the Office of Naval Civil Affairs, in Monterey, California, and on September 5, 1945, was admitted tp the Oak Knowles Military Hospital in Oakland, California. Hubbard was apparently discharged from Oak Knowles on December 5, 1945 where he was awarded a 10% disability for duodenal ulcer, but this did not become effective until February 17, 1946, the day he was released from active duty. His disability was later increased to 40% for arthritis, bursitis, and conjuctivitis (an eye inflammation). His Veterans' Administration file No. is C-7017422. Hubbard's naval record further indicates there was nothing in Hubbard's service record to indicate that he ever received medical treatment for injuries sustained in the line of duty. He did not receive the purple heart. III-2 It is interesting to note that Hubbard's father had a naval career and during the period in September - December, 1975 when the father became ill and died, Hubbard sold his "flagship", the "Apollo" and set up his land base in Clearwater. On October 15, 1947, Hubbard wrote a letter to the Veterans' Administration requesting treatment. The request concerned "a mind which I had every reason to suppose was seriously affected. I cannot account for, nor rise above, long periods of moroseness and suicidal inclinations". (Emphasis supplied) 111-3 The foregoing letter and other Hubbard activities at the time, including his involvement in the occult, suggest that Hubbard was bordering on the brink of serious mental illness following WW II, and that his in-patient treatment from September 5, 1945 to December 4, 1945 at the Oak Knowles Hospital may have been for treatment of an undisclosed mental or emotional disorder. However, the records for this hospitalization will not be released without Hubbard's consent and the nature of the treatment he received at Oak Knowles may never be known. III-2 Hubbard's possible mental illness is also indicated in a series of events which allegedly took place shortly after his discharge from the U.S. Navy in 1945. In the book, "Ritual Magic in England," Francis King describes Hubbard's involvement with Jack Parsons, a fellow involved in ritual magic and the occult. Parsons was a disciple of the "Hermetic Order of the Golden Dawn", an occult group founded in England. Parsons associated with an author, Aleister Crowley. In that year, Parson struck up a "close and immediate" friendship with Hubbard, and in a letter to Crowley at the beginning of 1946, Parsons said of Hubbard "He is a gentleman, red hair, green eyes, honest and intelligent, and we have become great friends. Although he has not formal training in magic, he has an extraordinary amount of experience and understanding in the field. Ron appears to have some sort of highly developed, astral vision: he describes his angel as a beautiful winged woman with red hair whom he calls the Empress and who has guided him through his life and saved him many times." III-4 King relates that during the First World War, Crowley wrote a novel called "The Butterfly Net", which was later published under the name of "Moonchild". This book relates the story of a magical operation in which a particular type of spirit is supposedly in an unborn human embryo "by surrounding the mother with appropriate influences, carrying out certain rituals, etc. Parsons wished to carry out such an operation designed to achieve the incarnation of Babylon -- an aspect of the great mother goddess Nuit -- in an unborn child, and he decided that Hubbard would make an ideal co-worker." King states that in order to obtain a woman prepared to bear this magical child, "Parsons and Hubbard engaged themselves for eleven days in rituals." After some time the rituals had the desired result when on January 14, so Parsons said, "Hubbard had a candle knocked out of his hand." Parsons went on to record that Hubbard called him, and "we observed a brownish-yellow light about seven feet high. I brandished a magical sword, and it disappeared. Ron's right arm was paralyzed for the rest of the night." III-4 According to Parsons, on the next night, "Hubbard had a vision of an enemy of the O.T.O. (Crowley's occult group), and attacked the figure, and pinned it to the door with four throwing knives, at which he is an expert.'" King relates that the foregoing activities of Hubbard and Parsons allegedly achieved the desired result because on January 18,
The foregoing story bears a remarkable resemblance to that of a girl who defected from Scientology in 1979. She had been coerced into a perverted act of sexual intercourse with a man fitting Hubbard's description in Hubbard's private quarters at the Fifield Manor in Los Angeles. She describes the event as one where "my mind was being ripped away from me by force", while the man lay on her for one hour without erect ion and without ever saying a word. IX King describes how Parsons and Hubbard had sealed their friendship by opening a joint bank account. "Parsons contributed his life savings of about S17,000, while Hubbard contributed approximately $1,000. This aroused Crowley's suspicions and he wrote to Karl Gemer:
By this time, as the story goes, Hubbard had withdrawn about $10,000 from the joint bank account, and used it to buy a yacht. The disillusioned Parsons pursued him to Florida, where he wrote to Crowley on July 5, 1946: 'Here I am in Miami pursuing the children of my folly. I have them well tied up. They cannot move without his going to jail. However, I am afraid that most of the money has already been spent. I will be lucky to salvage three to five thousand dollars. III-4 King states that according to Parson, "Hubbard attempted to escape me, by sailing at 5:00 p.m. I performed a full invocation to Bartzabel (the spirit of Mars), within the Circle at 8:00 p.m. (a curse). At the same time, however, his ship was struck by a sudden squall off the coast, which ripped off his sails and forced him back to part where I took the boat in custody". Parsons died in 1952, after taking the oath of Anti- Christ when there was an explosion of rocket fuel in his laboratory at Pasadena, California. III-4 According to King, Hubbard and Scientology explain these strange events with the claim that Hubbard allegedly was working as a covert agent for the F.B.I. or the Navy. However, this claim appears to be a typical Hubbard falsehood. In the late 1940's and early 1950's, Hubbard was pursuing a career as a science fiction writer. Hubbard's science fiction writing led him to the field of mental health and religion. Combining all three areas, Hubbard wrote the book, "Dianetics: Modern Science of Mental Health." It became a best seller. Hubbard claimed to have tested hundreds of subjects over a period of many years in the research and writing of Dianetics. However, according to correspondence from Ron Hubbard, Jr., his first born son, who now lives under a different name, Hubbard's writing style was one of writing "off the top" of his head mixing fact, imagination and science fiction and claiming a "scientific" basis for his conclusions, case studies and theories. According to the son, Dianetics was written in three months. The son states that Dianetics reveals his father's obsession about abortion and sexual perversion, rather than being the product of real case studies. The son writes:
Dianetics, and the practice of it, purportedly was to be the elixir of all human illnesses and weaknesses. The sale of dianetics led to Hubbard's creation of the "Dianetic Foundation". The Dianetic Foundation, to research Hubbard's theories was shortlived and led Hubbard to begin Scientology. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation information file, and miscellaneous other sources, there is considerable evidence that Hubbard suffered from serious paranoia and delusion for most years of his life following 1945. This is apparent from his writings, both public and private, and from his personal life. On April 11, 1951, a Los Angeles Times article reported that Hubbard kidnapped his wife Sarah and his daughter, Alexis, and told her to commit suicide. Just prior to this article, on March 3, 1951, Hubbard wrote a letter to the F.B.I. concerning infiltration by communists into his Organization, charging that his wife, Sarah, might be a communist. Hubbard wrote a letter dated July 29, 1958 on stationery with the letters, D.D. and Ph.D. following his name (apparently for "Doctor of Dianetics"). In the July 29 letter, Hubbard claims that the Russians were seeking to enlist his aid, inviting him to Russia, apparently because of the "brainwashing" techniques he had developed in Dianetics. III-6 In a subsequent letter dated September 7, 1955, evidence of Hubbard's obsession with Communists, "brainwashing" and his own mental health is apparent from the following excerpt:
At other times, the F.B.I. reports that Hubbard was arrested for leaving his daughter, Alexis, alone in a car, and was arrested in San Luis Obispo, California, in connection with petty theft (checks). One F.B.I. report notes that Hubbard "appears mental". III-6 In 1975, Hubbard's son, Quentin, by his marriage to Mary Sue Hubbard, apparently committed suicide in Las Vegas, Nevada. Quentin was found in a car with a hose running into it from the exhaust pipe. He was taken to a hospital in Las Vegas where a Scientology agent was sent in to steal portions of his medical records. b. Creation, operation and control of Scientology Hubbard's creation of Scientology can be traced to late 1951 when the "Hubbard Dianetic Research Foundation", an organization formed by Hubbard to promote the benefits of Hubbard's book, Dianetics in California, experienced financial problems, which ultimately led to bankruptcy. Differences between Hubbard and the Board of Control of that Organization forced his withdrawal from it and he founded Scientology. Apparently, Scientology was first incorporated in Phoenix, Arizona, on May 19, 1954 under the name of Hubbard Association of Scientology International (H.A.S.l.). At approximately the same time a similar Scientology organization was incorporated in England under the name of Hubbard Association of Scientologists International Limited. III-7 The articles of incorporation of Hubbard's Associations of Scientologist International Limited, disclose that the Company was organized to conduct and carry on any and all scientific research, and more particularly the dissemination and advancement of knowledge of the human mind, mental, psychosomatic, and allied fields; to conduct schools and classes; to establish clinics; to publish and have published books, articles, letters, papers, magazines, and other periodicals. As the years passed, other organizations of Scientology were begun in Saint Hill, England, in Washington, D.C., Los Angeles, Ca.; Auckland, New Zealand; Melbourne, Australia; (New York City, San Diego, Ca); Berlin, Paris, (Detroit, Mi., Dallas and Twin Cities), Toronto, (Boston), and Florida). III-7, 1 Highly efficient lines of communication were and are maintained between Hubbard's first headquarters at Saint Hill, England, and now at his secret bases in the U.S., and all of the central organizations. For instance, a central organization in Clearwater, Florida or Boston, Massachusetts is in direct telex communication with Hubbard, or his designees, sending information and receiving orders. IV-l The Hubbard Communications Office, (H.C.O., Worldwide), controls all written communications to and from Hubbard. The function of H.C.O (WW) is described in a Hubbard Communications Office Policy Letter of February 18, 1964. H.C.O. (WW) is concerned with the organizations of Scientology on a worldwide basis. It deals with Hubbard's personal communications to and from the H.C.O.'s, orgs, and franchise holders (the Missions). It sends out Hubbard's policies and technical data. It has its own direct line to the H.C.O.'s, orgs, and franchise holders all over the world. It keeps a close supervisory eye on local Scientologists to ensure conformity to a "proper standard of Scientology ethics". IV-1 There is a constant stream of communication flowing from Hubbard and his now secret base via the H.C.O. to the various branches throughout the world. These communications contain instructions for carrying out various Guardian's Office (Secret Police) activities. IV-1 Up until the mid-1960's the H.C.O. Office was the "Police Force which governs the H.A.S.I." Due to the inherent instability of Scientology organizations, it became apparent to Hubbard in the mid-1960's to establish a separate police force to govern and oversee Scientology organizations throughout the World. This police force became known as the "Guardian's Office", and it is run by Hubbard via Hubbard 's wife, Mary Sue. The Guardian's Office is responsible for carrying out overt and covert operations against former and fellow Scientologists, private citizens, and governmental agencies both on the local and federal level as well as maintaining internal order in Scientology organizations. IV-2, I Financial control of the Church of Scientology, from its inception through the early 1970's was through a system of accounting based on instructions issued by the Hubbard Communications Office Worldwide under the direction of Hubbard. These instructions set out accounting records to be kept, procedures to be carried out and directions as to financial policy. A very large measure of financial control is exercised by H.C.O. (WW) IV-3 The accounting system is largely manual, and carried out by unskilled clerical labor. A method of invoicing is used to account for both income and expenditures. In respect to income, serial numbered invoices are placed in an invoicing machine for issue as receipts in debit and credit notes. A separate invoicing machine is in use for disbursements. An invoice is issued for each payment. IV-3 Each week's transactions are treated as a single accounting period, and copies of receipts and payments, and invoices together with a summary for each week are filed separately from the records applicable to other weeks' transactions. Each week's transactions are then telexed via financial offices at the local organizations to the financial offices of Hubbard. L. Ron Hubbard or Mary Sue Hubbard were the only persons authorized to draw checks on any Scientology account worldwide, until the mid- 1960's except for organization accounts dealing with expenditures for operating expenses. IV-3 Later, Hubbard funneled large amounts of Scientology income to a Panamanian corporation which owned his ship, the "Apollo". This was the subject of intensive investigation by the I.R.S. During the 1960's and 1970's large sums of Scientology "tax exempt" funds disappeared and many individuals began lodging complaints against Hubbard and Scientology. As a result of government investigation, Hubbard purchased a number of ships in which he established his base of operations and used his telex system to communicate to all central organizations in the world. Although Hubbard attempted to disguise the nature of the ships' business and their whereabouts, Interpol, the International police force, kept a close watch on Hubbard's activities throughout the world. As a result of Interpol's work, Hubbard' s ships were either refused port or not permitted to remain beyond replenishing stores and fuel. As a result of numerous intercontinental investigations, and reported deaths and hospitalizations of Scientology victims, and as a result of investigations undertaken by the United States Government, Hubbard instituted one of the largest Scientology overt and covert operations against nations all over the world. The program was entitled, "The Snow White Program". This Scientology Guardian's Office program placed agents in more than thirty countries for the purpose of stealing files, infiltrating local and federal governments, replacing adverse Scientology files with favorable ones, pressuring public officials to allow Hubbard entry into its country, and as a last resort, if necessary, bribery. The result of this operation and its success is not fully known. However, after a period of one and one half years, Hubbard purchased a number of large buildings in Clearwater, Florida for the purpose of setting up his "land base" in late 1975. A description of Scientology operations in Clearwater and its criminal activity is set forth in subsection (D) of this Section. From 1975 to the present, Hubbard has maintained secret bases in Dunedin, Florida; Gilman Hot Springs, California; and Laquinta, California. The purpose of the secret bases is twofold: first, in order to effectively control all Scientology operations, Hub bard maintains the secret telex systems at his bases allowing him the control necessary without outside interference. Secondly, the whereabouts of Hubbard is sought by both state and federal officials and private litigants. The organizational structure of Scientology can be found in a Scientology diagram in Appendix IV-4. These diagrams graphically show the line of command for Scientology starting from L. Ron Hubbard down to the local "org" (churches), and "missions". A description of this chain of command starts at the local level and works up through the various command lines reaching Hubbard at the very top. Throughout various cities in the United States, local Scientology organizations are commonly called "orgs". Each org has seven divisions within it, each responsible for carrying out its particular operation. Division 1, commonly called the H.C.O. Division or Hubbard Communications Office, is responsible for overseeing the operations of the "org" and reporting its findings to Hubbard. It is also responsible for ensuring the proper collection of funds involving payments or royalties to Hubbard. Division VII is commonly used by the "FLAG" representative. The "FLAG" representative is a person sent from Clearwater, Florida, Scientology's East Coast Headquarters, to oversee management in the local org, and ensure that funds flow to the FLAG land base in Clearwater, Florida. The other departments in the local Scientology organization include Finance, whose purpose is the collection of all funds from, and disbursements for the org and payments to: FLAG land base in Clearwater, Florida, Hubbard Communications Office, Guardian's Office, and other areas. The Dissemination department and the Technical department are responsible for body routing or soliciting persons on the street, bringing them into the org, selling them the services and beginning the auditing processes. IV-5 Aside from these seven departments, each organization has overseeing all its operations the "Guardian's Office" or secret police. The Guardian's Office responsibilities include preventing any persons, either Scientologists or non-Scientologists from exposing or "attacking" L. Ron Hubbard or Scientology. These purported "attacks" are usually in the form of articles in newspapers or magazines, or lawsuits where a victim seeks to exercise his First Amendment or judicial rights. Once an "attack" is located, the Guardian's Office institutes a plan of operation against either the individuals or entity attacking Scientology. The Guardian's Office commonly engages in burglary, larceny, kidnapping, extortion, blackmail, perjury, and electronic surveillance to achieve its purpose. Some of the details concerning these operations are set forth in subsection (D) .V The Guardian's Office also ensures that all the orders of Hubbard and his subordinates are carried out at the local level. The seven departments of the local organization and the Guardian's Office each report to a similar set of departments at a higher level. This higher level is the U.S. headquarters of Scientology, and found in Los Angeles, California. Once information leaves the local level it proceeds on either one of two major chains of command. The first chain originates from any of the seven departments previously mentioned, and passes to upper levels either at the headquarters in Los Angeles, California, or to the FLAG land base in Clearwater, Florida, or both. The second chain of information is the Guardian's Office (G.O.). The diagram in Appendix IV shows how G.O. information is transmitted from the local Guardian's Office level to the U.S. Guardian's Office level in Los Angeles, California, to the Deputy Guardian, Worldwide and then the Guardian Worldwide located in England, and on to Mary Sue Hubbard, Controller of the Guardian's Office, and finally to L. Ron Hubbard. B. Factual account of Scientology policies, practices and business methods 1. Marketing and Sales Policies Publicly, Scientology holds itself out to be a scientific, religious, and law-abiding organization. The evidence suggests that it is neither scientific, religious or law-abiding. Scientology's primary public purpose is to "clear the planet". In order to "clear the planet", Scientology seeks to proselytize all human beings, into Scientology. Hubbard has developed methods by which people are lured into Scientology and once ensnared, are kept in subjugation. The methods he has devised for procuring "bodies in the shop", are procedures written in a number of Hubbard's own policy letters for each of the Scientology organizations. These methods include techniques utilizing deception designed to entice people into Scientology by creating and exploiting anxieties and fears which constrain them to embark upon Scientology processing to cure their real or imagined ills. The process of recruitment begins with either advertising or direct solicitation of persons on the street by Scientologists called "body routers". When being solicited, people are commonly told that the primary aim of Scientology is to make people more able, and improve their communication with others. They are told that a clear, analytical mind and a stable understanding of life are the necessities for success, motivation and stability in every trade or profession in all life's activities. Once a person's interest is somewhat aroused, a Scientology questioner asks the "raw meat", or general public, "would you like to take a free intelligence and personality test?" The Scientology questioner will then attempt to bring the "raw meat", into the "shop", or Scientology organization to take the free personality test. If the person balks, and shows no interests in taking the test, other sales techniques are employed in order to get the "body in the shop". VI-1 Some of these methods, taught in the "Big League Sales Course", include questioning the "raw meat", about overcoming confusion in their work, handling others around them, achieving long sought-after promotions, becoming happier, making you happier and less tied in the home, how to save on the family budget, how to have more friends, how to understand your husband or children, increasing your I.Q., concentration, etc., etc., etc. Careful statistics are kept throughout this process as to the particular Scientology questioner's success. If a particular problem or "Button" is found in a person, Scientology zeroes in on this problem and "scientifically guarantees" a cure. Many individuals have been promised cures of physical diseases such as arthritis or cancer, weight problems, alcohol and drug abuse, or emotional instability. VI-2 Careful statistics are kept throughout this process as to the particular Scientology questioners' success in routing bodies into the shop. Presently, the personality test is the key recruiting tool employed by Scientologists to "route bodies into the shop". The first step in this process is the personality test. The personality test is a series of two hundred questions constructed by Hubbard which purportedly reveals any aspect of their life whether physical, emotional, or spiritual that Scientologists claim is not considered normal. VI-3 Once the personality test is taken, either through the mail or in the "org', Hubbard's sales techniques are employed to show the person's defective personality assessment. The following example is a typical application of Hubbard's sales policies. The individual was told that though he had a high I.Q., and was a genius, and could do anything he wanted to, his character as the graph showed, was defective, that he was mentally unstable, and that he was going to have a mental breakdown in eighteen months time unless he had Scientology help, and it was also suggested that he had homosexual tendencies. He was put on the Scientology "E-meter", (a crude lie- detector) and when asked the question, "Do you have problems?" deliberately squeezed the cans which made the needle jump and caused the interviewer to write notes furiously. He was urged to return for treatment, but did not do so. Thereafter, he received a series of letters extending over twelve months of which the following extracts are a sample: "Would you write me out a list of your goals and ambitions for life, and if you think Scientology can help you obtain them?" "From the look of your file, you were a pretty worried boy last year. Most of your points on the graph are in Urgent Attention Required, so I suggest you call in this year for a new case assessment and find out what can be done to help your mind". "With an 1.Q. like yours, you shouldn't have failures on exams! But of course when you're not happy, you certainly can't put your mind on study, can you?" "When are you coming to see us, again?" "How did you go with your exams last year? We can help you become more able regarding study". "When will you be able to do the such-and-such a course you paid a deposit on last September?" "You can talk to us about your failures in life. You need to have someone to communicate to about your difficulties, so why not now?" "It seems to me that you had quite serious problems, when you did your personality test last year. Come in and do another, and see how you feel now". VI-4 Once the Scientology sales force snares an individual, usually through the use of the personality test, this new "raw meat", is now ready for handling and reception. In H.C.O. policy letter of December 31, 1963, under the heading, "Handling Incoming People", Hubbard writes:
In H.C.O. Bulletin of April 9, 1962, Hubbard gives these instructions:
Hubbard has shown remarkable acumen as a high-pressure salesman. He recognizes the need for creating an interest in the prospective buyer, and then of stimulating and developing that interest with a tantalizing but incomplete look at the next stage, for which those persons with interest now aroused in his Scientology wares feel they need or have a curiosity to explore. He has marked down as his particular victims the more gullible, and he has devised sedulous means whereby the victims' interest, once aroused, is not allowed to dwindle until he has come effectively under Scientology's domination, and then it is too late. In Hubbard's directives, policy letters, bulletins, and the like, he has laid down precise techniques to be used to arouse and sustain interest and effectively capture "raw meat" for the "org". From a legal perspective this is commonly called a "bait and switch" scheme. The bait is the offer of something free, namely free lectures, free personality tests, and information in order to get the victim into the "org". The "switch" is to courses and "auditing" which leads to exorbitant fees and Scientology bondage. VI-5 The detailed and precise instructions of Hubbard with respect to the personality test and Communication Course appear in the following substantial extracts from the bulletins: In H.C.O. bulletin of September 29, 1959, entitled "The Organization of a P.E. Foundation", Hubbard writes:
A month after the last mentioned policy letter, Hubbard in policy letter of November 24, 1960, entitled "testing Promotion Revised", gave precise instructions to staff members as to the manner in which an "incomer" or "raw meat ", should be dealt with by the "evaluator" to ensure success in procuring the "incomer". This particular policy letter shows the absolute control Hubbard maintained over his sales force to procure "bodies in the shop", or "raw meat." In this letter Hubbard wrote,
2. The effect of Scientology practices on the mind and personality The investigations and Reports from other nations including England and Australia support most of the conclusions reached by the authors of this Report regarding Scientology practices. The Reports contained in the Appendices to this Report were prepared prior to exposure of the incredible pattern of worldwide criminal activity engaged in by the "brainwashed" puppets of Hubbard and Scientology. Yet those Reports were remarkably prophetic in detailing the destructive impact of Scientology on the mind and the personality, particularly in connection with inducing victims toward the commission of criminal and anti-social acts. The following analysis is primarily gleaned from the Reports contained in the Appendices. Almost invariably, a person who enters Scientology has been told he is "low toned", and that Scientology can raise him on the tone scale. In nearly every case he will have been told that whatever his I.Q. may be, Scientology can increase it, and that certain personality traits shown on the assessment of his personality test as urgently needing attention can be improved by Scientology processing. He will have heard of the fantastic successes claimed to have been achieved by Scientology in the fields of mental or physical health, or both, and in general well-being. He will have read, perhaps uncritically, and without fully appreciating what he read, some of the introductory literature of Scientology, including the extravagantly false claims about Hubbard's background. His preoccupation with his own particular ambitions, conditions and problems, leaves him a ready prey to extravagant but confidently asserted claims, and he sees the rosy prospect of improvement, recovery, rehabilitation, success and happiness, almost within his grasp. His initial experience with Scientology in the Communications course, the next step beyond the personality test, may have cheered and encouraged him. He has been made welcome, greeted by his first name, made to feel important by being told by a competently delivered "pep talk", that he is as good as the next man, until he is prepared to go along with Scientology. It is common psychiatric knowledge that the type of person who would be likely to respond to attractive promises and offers contained in the personality test advertisement and invitations to take the Communications course would be those who would be likely to feel insecure, inadequate, inferior and anxious -- the person who is usually a poor mixer, feels lonely or unloved, feels he is not recognized for what he really is, and finds the business of living too burdensome. The class of persons attracted is not limited to such unfortunate people. The appeal is effective with normal people, and also with the greedy and the opportunist. The free offer of the personality test makes a triple appeal: first, what is offered is more than a bargain, it is free; secondly, it is offering just the sort of release or escape or opportunity the worried person thinks he needs; and, thirdly, it engenders in the mind of such a person the thought that the organization offering such wonderful things free must be of superior stature and quality to be able to achieve the wonderful results promised. This superior stature and quality is employed through the deception practiced by Scientology through misleading use of titles, qualifications, and insignia, for the purpose of conveying the false impression that Scientologists so described have valuable qualifications. As mentioned earlier, Hubbard makes false claims to a degree in engineering from the George Washington University, and Princeton University, and his "Ph. D." appears to be from an unaccredited institution. The title, "Doctor", which he sometimes uses is based on the Ph.D., or on a Doctorate of Divinity, virtually self- bestowed and granted, it seems, by one of his own institutions. The founding churches of Scientology have awards entitled, "Doctor of Divinity", "Minister of the Church", and "Spiritual Counselor". The Scientology qualifications are designated by the various letters which likewise deceive. These are degrees of "Doctor of Scientology", and "Bachelor of Scientology", respectively designated by "D.Scn.", and "B.Scn.", both intended to suggest an affinity with "D.Sc.", and "B.Sc.", which are appropriate to Doctor of Science and Bachelor of Science, both well known university degrees. Hubbard uses stationery with the letters D.D. and Ph.D. after his name. Once the "raw meat" is beyond the personality test, and ready for Scientology courses, processing and auditing, great efforts are made to impress the person at the earliest stage. An atmosphere of efficiency prevails: a particular point is made of punctuality, the instructors and staff are outwardly confident and certain of themselves: at the first lecture the individual is addressed by his first name, and so flattered that he begins to feel that Scientology is already doing him some good. At the end of the first course or day, the time of the next course or day is mentioned and the instructor makes sure everyone intends to attend. Any waverer is questioned, given some suggestion as to how to overcome the difficulty of attending, and then told that he will be present at the next course. "No" is not taken as an answer, and the impressed beginner is somehow constrained to attend. The inadequate and inferior person, having experienced the pleasure of being accepted and being shown affection by the organization, feels a desire to reciprocate; he wants to prove his worthiness to be accepted and loved, and he enthusiastically seeks to please in whatever way he can. The way expected of him is to show continuing interest and later to participate at his own expanse in the activities of the organization. A stage when the new student or "preclear", is entering into Scientology, he is sometimes security checked, that is, he is interrogated at great length, according to a set formula, and on these occasions he has sometimes been asked such questions as, "Do you deserve to be helped by Scientology?" This heightens his desire to demonstrate his worthiness, and at the same time to increase his dependence on Scientology. Once through with these beginning courses, the "pre-clear" is now ready for Scientology auditing. Scientology auditing is a form of psychotherapy. Generally, the pre-clear sits at a table, holding on to a set of cans which are wired into the device known as the E-meter. The E-meter measures galvanic skin response between the pre-clear's hands and the cans of the E-meter, making such a device a crude lie detector. On the other side of the table sits the Scientology auditor, the auditor is trained to probe and record everything the pre-clear says. While the pre-clear is talking, the auditor analyzes the E-meter responses, to determine if the preclear is lying. In auditing, the preclear, with his inhibitions in suspense, reveals his secret faults and recalls and acknowledges his inadequacies and transgressions. The mental distress attendant upon such feelings of guilt make him wish to obtain some relief from his discomfort, by atonement, confession, or redress; it renders him more likely to subject himself to the confessional, sacrificial, and self-abasing process of auditing whereby he can purge himself of his shortcomings; and it develops in him almost a missionary zeal whereby he has the urge to render the same service to others. He is thus seeking to emulate the auditor on whom he has developed an increasing dependency and on the role of an auditor in which he himself hopes one day to enjoy the same sense of power over his own pre-clears. Scientology seems to the pre-clear to be a short cut to success, power, and authority. It makes unnecessary, so it seems to be pre-clear. persistence with one's secular studies, or interests, and it enables him to ignore the reality of the world outside Scientology, together with its problems and responsibilities. All these halcyon concepts of Scientology and its practice are the outcome of a potpourri of contributing factors -- the individual's own inadequacy and gullibility, the desire to be thought worthy, the insidious advertising, the free personality test, the fantastic promises, the confident but shallow attitude of the instructors and the staff, the E-meter, the assurances of success, the lure of the "clear", the hypnotic effect of techniques even at this early stage -- and the calculated springing of the trap baited so temptingly for the unsuspecting victim. These promises are generally made as "scientific guarantees" which are particularly appealing to a person with a serious physical ailment or serious emotional condition which the organization preys upon as the person's "ruin" or "button". The court decree in the Article or Device case, discussed in various places throughout this Report, was specifically directed toward preventing this type of fraud. Courses in auditing are carefully organized and conducted to induce in a pre-clear the desire for further auditing. Almost without exception, former members state that at the end of a typical twenty-five hour intensive, the pre-clear is either depressed or elated, each of these conditions is taken as an indication that further processing is desirable. A depressed condition is said to indicate a need for more processing to raise the pre-clears up the tone scale; an elated condition is readily accepted by the preclear as a promising prelude to more processing. Pre-clears are processed into a strange world of illusion which offers an escape from reality, and they are conditioned to desire more and yet more processing until a state of imagined euphoria is reached and maintained. They thus develop a pitiful dependence upon Scientology that is a direct consequence of the hypnotic processes used, and this dependency is sedulously nurtured by the Scientologist. Part of the Scientology technique is not to allow the preclear ever to achieve complete fulfillment of his aims, and the pre-clear who has not obtained good results is told that he could do better, and is left with the guilt feeling that he has not done his best. The feelings of guilt are thus accentuated by encouraging the pre-clear to find fault with and further debase himself. Such a procedure is common in brainwashing techniques. Through the years, Hubbard has added higher and higher Scientology auditing processes in order to have students continually trying to reach the highest levels and paying the exorbitant sums necessary to reach them. Years ago, the highest Scientology level was that of "Clear", and as time passed, he added the "O. T." level., or "Operating Thetan". In the initial or beginning stages of Scientology auditing, the student or pre-clear reveals to the auditor intimate information about himself, friends, relatives, and enemies. As this information is given the auditor records it all. This inquest into a person's life can take many months of Scientology processing, costing many thousands of dollars to the pre-clear. When the pre-clear's funding runs out, some pre-clears become staff members, giving their whole time or part time services for little or no financial reward, but with promises of salary, commission, etc. Scientology auditing is of a confessional nature. The pre-clear is encouraged to reveal his innermost secrets and thoughts, and to describe in detail all features of anything in his past life, not necessarily a "previous life", which is troubling or has troubled him. Such a procedure involves a dredging up from the almost forgotten and ill remembered past of shameful thoughts and experiences. The questions are designed to ensure that no phase or feature of any guilt circumstance in the past is left unexplored. Processes such as "overt withhold", scour the pre-clear's mind with questions like "Are you withholding anything?" Each aspect is savored, appraised, and dwelt upon. During these auditing process, processing files reveal that during this time the pre-clear is very frequently experiencing mental torture, which shows itself in contorted, flushed features, tears, moaning, inability to speak, apparent deafness, nausea, dizziness, sensations of pain, coma, and unconsciousness. Sometimes pre-clears are so distraught that they scream, develop murderous feelings and thoughts, their sexual passions are aroused, they act insanely, laugh hysterically, and engage in other irrational behavior, become violent, try to escape, and have to be restrained. There is considerable evidence of sexual activity during these "sessions". Such behavior is not unexpected by the Scientologists. In Scientology parlance, when such manifestations as these occur, the pre-clear is being "restimulated"; in fact, psychiatrists declare, he is being debased and mentally crippled. The Scientologists have their own names for these phenomena: for instance, coma and unconsciousness are variously described as "innaten" or "analytical attenuation", "dopa", and "boiloff", the last-mentioned being described in "Scientology 8-80" thus: "It is not uncommon for the pre-clear to go into periods which resemble sleep, but boiloffs are not sleep ... they can last for hours. As sudden wave of unconsciousness occurs because the pre-clear has run an outflow or inflow of energy beyond the limit of elesticity of the flow". In fact, the intensity of emotion produced by the auditing resulted in a condition of mental exhaustion. Scientology auditing mobilizes guilt and can produce dangerous mental attitudes in persons who are suffering from anxiety. A distorted desire to debase and torture themselves develops in some preclears and they assume attitudes of guilt over conduct which is often innocent and often imagined. They are sometimes euphoric and sometimes excoriate their minds. The purpose of Scientology processing is to keep the pre-clear permanently enthralled. The brainwashed, hypnotized, pre-clear, does not advert to Hubbard's broken promises of infallible processes. Although there are several features of Scientology which are to be condemned, its threat to health, particularly mental health, ranks paramount. One of the very grave aspects of Scientology, is that the practitioners lack almost any medical knowledge, and are unable to discern in a pre-clear symptoms, which to a medical practitioner, would indicate need for attention. For instance, a person exhibiting some degree of lethargy, a feeling of inadequacy, insecurity or anxiety, may be suffering from a cerebral tumor, some form of glandular disorder, drug intoxication, or some psychiatric condition, the detection of which is difficult even by skilled practitioners. The danger to mental health is further emphasized by the peculiar basis of Scientology. Its practitioners use techniques based on impossible theories and directed toward the treatment of "conditions", said to be brought about by completely fictitious circumstances. Based on fantasies, Scientology has built up a body of "knowledge", which is fanciful and simply not true: Thus Scientology treats its imaginary "diseases" or "conditions", with its own fantastic procedures. The alarming feature is that real diseases and conditions often do exist, and that often the fantastic Scientology procedures are positively harmful to the real conditions. It is like applying an oxywelding torch to a leaking rubber tube. The greatest danger of Scientology auditing though may lie between the auditor and the Scientology auditing process and the Guardian's Office. In Scientology auditing very detailed notes are made by the auditor of all that a pre-clear divulges. Even though Scientology promises that this information is never to be released or revealed, to anyone, should a pre-clear show any disposition to deviate or otherwise offend or attack Scientology, he soon realises the grave embarrassment of such records, and the great influence that Scientology has over him. On the occasions that a Scientologist has left the Organization or attempted to seek legal redress against it for its civil torts or criminal activities, that person's "P.C. files", are sent to the local Guardian's Office. The local Guardian's Office then telexes that confidential information of "minds" to its superior. The Guardian's Office then utilizes that information to "blackmail the attacker", to prevent that person from exposing Scientology. Clearwater is one of the three Scientology bases in the world containing auditing files of thousands of people. It is also the "Flag" land base for the "sea org" which is Hubbard's elite camp of para-military specialists analogous to the Nazi SS. At least one author, Sklar, "Gods and Beasts: The Nazi and the Occult" notes significant corollaries between Nazi SS training and Hubbard's methods. The "schizophrenic" nature of Scientology is concretely illustrated in its so called enforcement policies. Although Scientology creed states that "all men have the right to think freely, to write freely, their own opinions and to encounter, to utter, or write about the opinions of others", Scientology policies are specifically designed to suppress free speech, subvert and destroy any written publications about them, and viciously harass and attack those who seek to "write freely". Scientology is organized and operated as a para-military organization with strict and sometimes brutally enforced policies designed to preserve the subjugation of its members, and prohibit exposure of its practice.. These practices include "security checks," debt collection, "disconnect", a kidnapping policy called "The Blown Student", "Attack the Attacker", "Fair Game", and lastly a little-known policy called "R2-45". Scientology regularly uses the "E-meter", which is a crude galvanometer or lie detector mechanism for "integrity processing" and "security checks" of its employees. Tests which are administered are comprised not only of simple true-false type questions, but also are patterned after the JO-BURG Security Test which probes every aspect of a subject's lifetime activities. The purpose of the security checks is primarily to determine whether or not anyone has infiltrated Scientology and thereby exposed its internal policies of fraud, deception, and criminal activity. The security checks are designed to elicit not only all of a person's lifetime activities, but also any immediate contacts or discussions or involvement of any nature or description that the subject had with anyone pertaining to Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, Mary Sue Hubbard, or any of Scientology's practices. Numerous Scientology defectors have chillingly described a "1984" type setting in which a person is told to "pick up the cans", for a "sec check", in order to determine if the person has any negative Scientology thoughts, as well as having engaged in any anti-Scientology activities. IX One former scientologist described the origin of the security check and some of its implications in the following affidavit:
The results of Scientology "sec checks" are used by the Organization as conditions of employment as Scientology staff members, because any individual who fails the sec check is immediately placed in the status of doubt with a threatened termination of his position. This factor alone violates many state laws and policies of private companies with regard to the use of lie detector testing. For example, Pennsylvania law provides:
Eleven other states have chosen to regulate polygraph testing because of encroachment upon personal privacy and the arbitrary, and invidious discrimination that can result.. The private sector has also sought to prohibit polygraph testing as evidenced by the California Labor Code, Section 432.2 which prohibits its use. The fundamental policy objection to the use of polygraphs is that it is degrading and could severely compromise the dignity and impugn the integrity of the subject. Scientology's use of the lie detector for purposes not only of determining real or imaginary hostility to Hubbard, but also to collect the most intimate secrets of a person's life and then use those secrets for subsequent tortious purposes of extortion and blackmail is repugnant on its face. VIII-1 When Scientology proselytizes a potential customer on the street, the first intent of the Organization is to extract from the person every dollar possible. Numerous individuals have recited a typical pattern of first being enticed, through the free personality test, then paying a small amount of money for the Communications Course, and during the Communications Course being guaranteed results in auditing. This is where the Organization traditionally extracts large sums of money from a person. Many individuals have reported paying thousands, sometimes hundred of thousands of dollars to Scientology for so-called auditing. The pattern continues with the individual eventually running out of money, or losing his job because of his involvement with Scientology. At that point, having sucked the person dry of his financial resources, the Organization then induces the individual to become a staff member. As a staff member, the individual is generally promised a salary, free Scientology services, extravagant living conditions, and miscellaneous other promises designed to make the person become an active staff member. When the individual subsequently becomes increasingly aware of the insidious nature of the Organization, he then seeks his freedom and is threatened with among other things, what is commonly called a "Freeloader's Debt". VIII-2 A Freeloader's Debt is designed to keep 'the person within the Organization, prevent a potential law suit, prevent exposure, and falls in line with the "Attack the Attacker" and the "Fair Game" policy hereinafter discussed. There are many reported instances where an individual, upon defecting from Scientology is threatened with a huge debt for services rendered to him or her while a staff member. Although the person has never received a salary in line with the work that he has done for the Organization, and traditionally never received the living conditions promised, both of which would give the former member legal grounds for suing the Organization, one of the threshold methods of blocking the suit, is to threaten the former member with a suit for collection of the "Freeloader's Debt". One young girl who was a staff member of Scientology for approximately five years from the age of thirteen to the age of eighteen, worked from six to seven days per week, fourteen to eighteen hours per day, in slave labor conditions, eventually escaped from the organization, was later kidnapped, and escaped, again. After her second escape, Scientologists sent her a bill in excess of $60,000 for services allegedly rendered to her. This particular individual had worked in Clearwater for a number of years for virtually no pay, sleeping in a corridor, and with inadequate food. Scientology sent her the bill in order to psychologically terrorize her and prevent her from seeking legal redress for everything that was done to her. IX-2 Many other individuals have stated they are afraid of pursuing their legal rights against Scientology because of their "Freeloader's Debt". One individual who had been a staff member for a number of years, went out and obtained regular employment. When the Scientologists learned of her employment, they wrote him letters threatening to sue him for her Freeloader's Debt, and terrorized the individual into giving them a substantial portion of her weekly pay check, until the alleged debt was paid. Such incidents are not untypical. One of Scientology's methods of keeping its staff members from defecting involves an adjunct to its brainwashing techniques called "Disconnect". This policy is set forth in the HCO policy letter of December 23, 1965, and states as follows:
The authors of this Report, have discovered numerous instances of the policy of Disconnect, sometimes with incredibly twisted and perverted results. The policy is designed not only to prevent new staff members from contacting their parents, relatives, or friends, who may seek to enlighten them about Scientology, but also as a means of obtaining money. In many instances, situations have been reported where scientology has forced a husband or a wife to disconnect from a non-Scientology spouse. The purpose of the Disconnect is to make the Scientologist sue for a divorce and obtain as much money in the divorce proceeding as possible, which is then turned over to Scientology. Although the public policy of Scientology allegedly promotes family harmony, and unity, and purportedly encourages marital integrity, Scientology in operation often incites divorce, not only among the general public which is merely taking courses, but also among the hard core staff members. Many Scientologists who have disconnected from their non-Scientology spouse, and later marry other full-time Scientologists, generally end up divorcing them. There is a consistent pattern of such activity, within the ranks of Scientology staff members. But the perverse nature of inciting divorce for purposes of securing money is repugnant to both the mores of our society as well as to fundamental human values. Most societies assign a definite vital public interest in reference to the marriage relation. The institution of matrimony and family integrity is generally considered to be the foundation of our society, and public laws are generally promoted to maintain its integrity. Public policy of fostering and protecting marriage and the family is universally recognized and numerous laws involving probate, domestic controversies, confidential marital communications, contractual restraints, tortious conduct for loss of consortium, interspousal immunity, and special property rights such as tenancy by the entirety, are designed to protect marital integrity. Scientology use of the Disconnect doctrine is fundamentally opposed to this basic value permeating our society. d. The "Blown Student" doctrine If a staff member defects or escapes from Scientology, the Organization traditionally resorts to its "Blown Student" doctrine. VIII-4 This doctrine states that a staff member who has defected, may be physically kidnapped and brought back to Scientology. There are many instances where this doctrine has been applied. In one ease, a girl in her early twenties after being subjected to numerous security cheeks in the "Rehabilitation Project Force", (RPF -- the Scientology concentration camp) reached the point where her "brain wasn't just falling apart, but it started to get fried". She left the Fort Harrison by going out of the garage, jumping over a wall and walking "like a zombie" for approximately fifteen minutes. She then describes the following sequence:
Another former defector describes the following sequence:
When and if the foregoing policies have failed in regard to keeping a disaffected staff member in line, or if non-Scientologists seek to exercise their First Amendment rights of free speech. and write articles critical of Scientology, the Organization responds with HCO policy letter dated December 25, 1966. VIII-5 That policy sets forth the "Attack the Attacker" doctrine, which states as follows:
The policy goes on to state that "Churches are looked upon as reform groups. Therefore we must act like a reform group." This policy has been widely used against government agencies, private individuals, former members, and private agencies seeking to expose Scientology wrongs. The authors of this Report have uncovered hundreds of instances where this doctrine has been employed, and is aware that it is currently being employed in the Clearwater area against the authors of this Report.
This doctrine has been vigorously enforced by Scientology in thousands of cases covering a wide spectrum of operations. Scientology has sought to "destroy" many individuals in governments and private agencies through harassive, expensive law suits, attempts to frame individuals for crimes, dissemination of auditing information to the media, friends and relatives, and a general pattern of criminal activity, including burglary, larceny, obstruction of justice, extortion, racketeering, perjury, all designed to attack and destroy a so-called enemy. Much of the material set forth in Section (D) of this subsection relating to Scientology operations in Clearwater are examples of application of the "Fair Game" doctrine. Despite the general exposure of many Scientology practices, policies and attacks in the media over the past several years, resulting primarily from the F.B.I's seizure of documents from Scientology headquarters, there exists in Hubbard's twisted mind and writings a little known policy called "R2-45" .VIII-7 In the book, "The creation of Human Ability -- A Handbook of Scientology" written by Hubbard and distributed by the Church of Scientology of California, the following quote appears:
"Exteriorization" in Scientology policy, is death. The policy refers to shooting a person in the head. In a short internal Scientology memorandum called "Racket Exposed", Hubbard attacks a number of individuals, subjects them to the "Fair Game" doctrine, and states as follows:
It is unknown to the authors of this Report whether the process was used on those individuals. During a meeting of Scientologists in Phoenix, Arizona, in 1954, Hubbard demonstrated the R2-45 auditing process by firing a shot into the floor during the middle of the meeting. There is some evidence to suggest that between 1975 and 1977, during the F.B.I. investigation of Scientology, meetings of Scientology executives were held in which there were discussions relative to auditing high level F.B.I. members with auditing process R2-45. The death of at least one Scientologist by means of a pistol shot in the brain has been documented. The death of Susan Meister, who was found dead from a gunshot wound in her forehead at approximately 7:35 p.m. on Friday, June 25, 1971 was allegedly a suicide. The death of Susan took place on the Apollo while it was docked in Tangiers, Morocco. Susan's parents traveled to Morocco seeking to obtain details of her death, and attempted to meet Hubbard to find out what role he and Scientology had played in her death. Susan was twenty three years old at the time and had been proselytized on the streets of San Francisco in the fall of 1970. During the course of her involvement, her letters to her parents gradually became more bizarre, until her death was reported to them. When Susan's parents first learned of the death, they interviewed Arthur Maren, one of Scientology 's P.R. people, and questioned him whether or not it could be a mistake, and whether it might be someone else. Maren's reply was, "Susan is dead allright, there is no mistake". Later, her parents received a letter from Scientology which stated in part as follows:
It is interesting to note that the Internal Revenue audit concerning the Church of Scientology of California, and the Panamanian corporation referred to in the above letter were found to be totally controlled and operated by L. Ron Hubbard. In fact, as set forth elsewhere in this Report, millions of dollars were illegally funneled from California into the Panamanian corporation. Thus, Scientology's across-the-board deception of Susan Meister, from the time she was proselytized into joining the Organization, to the time she died as a result of so joining, was extended to her "bereaved parents". 4. Commercial, profit oriented purpose and activities of Scientology The purpose of Scientology is primarily to make money and secure power. This is Hubbard's unremitting goal. Hubbard's "governing policy" copyright 1972, is to "make money, make more money, make other people produce as as to make money". This "governing policy" pervades the entire Organization, which is structured to bring in as great amounts of money from as many people as possible. IX Scientology's financial success may be attributed to its organizational efficiency, tax exempt status, payment of little or no wages to employees, charging exorbitant rates for its services, clever and deceptive marketing schemes, and its process for collecting debts. Organizationally, Scientology maintains a Department of Treasury in each of its local orgs, monitored by the Guardian's Office, answering to the Treasury Department located in Los Angeles, California. Hubbard's governing policy to make money is found in a three hundred and seventy page volume entitled "The Treasury Division", one of approximately eight volumes entitled, "The Organization Executive Course". The aforementioned Hubbard policy letter of March 9, 1972 concerning making money and making more money best exemplifies the Organization's primary purpose in dealing with the public. The Treasury Division volume contains a long series of marketing, financial and accounting policies. These policies and instructions include: How to do a Payroll, Pricing Formulas, Income Reports, Currency Regulations, Finance Policies, Org Assets, Rebates, Selling Intensives, Tape Prices and Discounts, Purchasing Orders, Maintaining Gross Income, Accounting Policies, Treasury Financial Reports, Finance Statistics/Bills and Org Reserve Accounts, Money Management, Invoicing, Promo, Credit Collections, Account Inspection, Professional Charges, Franchises, Handling of Monies, Invoicing and Collection of Money, etc. Satisfaction of Hubbard's governing policy to make money, requires an elaborate marketing program. The Hubbard Bulletin of June 22, 1959, entitled, "How to Sell Scientology", starts a long series of bulletins and policy letters concerning marketing tools and techniques. One of the first steps in Hubbard's marketing plan, is running "Population Surveys". The Hubbard policy letter of January 25, 1972, entitled "Public Relations Series #15 Population Surveys", starts:
Once the surveys are completed and tabulated, Scientologists establish a marketing plan geographically. When the area has been defined and the "buttons" or weakness of the public investigated, "body routers" are sent out onto the street to solicit persons into Scientology. The most widely used marketing tool of the Scientologists to achieve this is the "personality test". Upon convincing the public to take the "personality test", the person is led back to the Scientology "org" for "registration". According to the Hubbard policy letter of May 3, 1964, entitled "Registration", it is of vital importance that the Scientologist,
In the Hubbard bulletin of March 17, 1958 entitled, "Body Routing and Central Organization", Hubbard instructs:
Besides selling books and courses to the newcomer, the registrar classifies the name and address, and files them with regard to the newcomer's desires to purchase Scientology's courses. In the Hubbard policy letter of May 17, 1969, entitled, "Mailing List, Central Files", Hubbard created the "Hot Prospect File". "Hot" files are those that have recently expressed a wish to be trained or processed. Nothing may be filed in a HOT PROSPECT File that has not already been answered by a letter registrar (P/L 8 April, 1965). H.O.T. Prospects ere created by mailing to the entire org list magazines, hare sell promotion such as brochures and questionnaires. The cost for these services for the new "HOT PROSPECT", are carefully controlled and monitored in Hubbard's policies and bulletins. Hubbard' s policy letter of September 23, 1964, entitled "Auditing and Training Policies: Cost of Service". Hubbard writes:
The cost for this new "HOT PROSPECT" to reach the moderate levels of Scientology runs into tens of thousands of dollars. The price schedule for Scientology courses in Clearwater includes a long list of courses, some of which cost in excess of $40,000 for one type of course. Scientology in Clearwater accepts Master Charge or VISA. It is a "high crime" or "treason" in Scientology to give anything away for free. Another method Hubbard employs to make money for his organizations entails a network of Scientology agents who operate on the incentive of a commission if a successful sale is made for the Church. The Hubbard policy letter of November 10, 1966 entitled "Field Staff Member", reads:
In the Hubbard policy letter of June 5, 1968, entitled, "F.S.M. Commissions", it is revealed what those commissions will be. "F.S.M. percentages are corrective and established as follows: 15% will be paid for any selectee routed on for auditor training. 10% will be paid for any selectee routed on the solo line." The distribution of all monies collected by the Church of Scientology is, according to Hubbard's Finance Series, sent to Hubbard through his H.C.O. Division, F.S.M. Commission, Clearwater, Florida, the Guardian's Office "Worldwide", and Guardian's Office Reserve Account". What remains of the orgs income is used for the operating expenses, promotion, org reserves, and salaries. An audit conducted by the Internal Revenue Service of the United States, of the Church of Scientology of California in 1975 reveals the final destination for a lot of Church of Scientology funds. The following are excerpts from that audit report.
Internal Revenue Service audits frequently reviewed the United States' Guardian's Office financial activities in 1974. According to Guardian's Office receipts in 1974, $649,459.00 was expended. At this time the Guardian's Office was involved in a scheme of systematic burglary, larceny, kidnapping, extortion, wiretapping and false imprisonment nationwide as hereinafter set forth in Subsection D. The audit conducted by the Internal Revenue Service resulted in the denial of tax- exempt status for the Church of Scientology of California for the years of 1970 through 1974. The I.R.S. arrived at this conclusion based on the finding that during those years, Scientology carried on commercial activities of such magnitude, and for such profit making purposes, and of such non-tax exempt character, that the Corporation was not operated exclusively for religious or other tax exempt purposes. The I.R.S. also concluded that a large part of the earnings of the Church of Scientology inured to the benefit of Hubbard as a private individual which violated the Internal Revenue Law. The money and money's worth of benefits traceable to the Hubbards during this period of time included a) salaries, b) royalties, c) large sums of cash, d) unrestricted control (amounting to ownership), over large amounts of funds in a corporate bank account, Savings and Trust accounts, e) free room and board at the corporation's expense; and unlimited access to, and use of castles, mansions, villas, seagoing vessels, automobiles, motor cycles, and other facilities owned or supported by Scientology throughout the world, f) a large retinue of servants, valets, messengers, secretaries, couriers, cooks and other personal attendants, furnished and compensated by Scientology, g) the receipt, generally in disguised form, of a substantial percentage of Scientology's earnings, and h) the diversion of large sums from Scientology to Hubbard utilizing sham entities such as O.T.C., and O.T.S., which were completely controlled and dominated by Hubbard. The I.R.S. also concluded that the policies and activities of Scientology, some of which have been previously discussed in this Report, and some of which are discussed infra, vitiated Scientology's entitlement to exemption, because the policies amounted to substantial recurring violations of clearly defined public policy including:
The I.R.S. took the position that all of the foregoing commercial activities and violations of public policy negated Scientology's claim of tax exempt status in conducting its affairs as a religion. Although the I.R.S. conceded that the actual organizational requirements of Scientology had been met as far as filling out the forms needed for tax exempt status, the actual operational policies of the organization were such that a real, religious purpose did not exist. The I.R.S. and Scientology are in the middle of concluding a three month trial relative to the tax exempt status of the Organization. The overwhelming weight of the evidence introduced at the trial would appear to support the position of the I.R.S. and would tend to support a finding that Scientology has not operated as a religion, but rather as a commercial, profit-orientated organization. The commercial activities of Scientology permeate its entire operation. They include such things as extensive advertising and solicitation of business; the payment of commissions to persons who can produce customers; the granting of discounts; an ever- increasing accumulation of earnings; granting first priority to customers who make the largest advance cash payment, rather than the one who is in greatest need of Scientology services; the use of drastic, arm-bending and emotionally crippling procedures for the collection of delinquent accounts; and finally the use of enforcement policies which are designed to extort from a customer his avenues of legal redress by threats of disclosure of confidential auditing information. Additionally, an analysis of Scientology's costs (of printing its publications, and offering its services), when weighed against the price charged to innocent victims who are deceptively enticed to purchase these items, is indicative of a profit-motivated commercialism. For example the I.R.S. audit found that the sale of five thousand sets of "O.E.C." volumes, (a rambling collection of short policy letters written over the years by Hubbard), cost Scientology approximately $190,000 to print, but were marketed at the sales price of approximately $1,500,000, a markup factor of 789%. Scientology greed and commercialism are graphically revealed in many individual cases where people have been defrauded of large sums of money. In one instance, an elderly woman whose husband had recently died, was deceived into Scientology "processing". In a span of approximately two weeks, the woman paid Scientology approximately $35,000 for so-called auditing, most of which she did not even receive. When members of the family learned that the woman was paying large sums out of her checking account to Scientology, they went to the place where she was kept, and took her home. Between the time that the Scientologists learned that the family members were coming (which they learned during auditing), and the time that she actually left, which was a span of about five days, the Organization pilfered approximately $12,000 from her. There are many instances of such fraud, too numerous to recount in this Report. Suffice it to say that virtually every person who is enticed into Scientology is viewed solely as a source of money or work.
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