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CITY OF CLEARWATER COMMISSION HEARINGS RE: THE CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY |
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EXHIBIT IX: AFFIDAVIT OF ERNEST HARTWELL I, Ernest Hartwell, hereby depose and state under pains and penalties of perjury: My first contact with the Church of Scientology was in 1972 or 1973 when my wife Adelle took courses at the Las Vegas Organization. Dell was introduced to the program by her daughter Mary Louise. Dell's daughters Ver Dawn and Susie also took the course at the same time. I was not enthusiastic about Scientology and skeptical about their claims, but Dell felt that they were helping her somewhat to overcome her depression she was feeling following a hysterectomy operation. After a period of time, members of the Organization, including Bob Harvey, began to put heavy pressure on Dell to join the staff and divorce me. As a result of this, Dell decided to quit the organization and took Ver Dawn and Susie out with her. In the following years Dell and I started a dance and comedy act and we were quite successful. We won 22 trophies and won the honor of best dance team of the western states. We met Betty Fransico, a famous dancer and choreographer, who taught us dance routines for show work. We performed at the Sahara Showcase four times, and at the Royal Casino, and we were seeking an agent. Betty was involved with the Celebrity Center, a Scientology organization, and she enrolled us in her training course there for show people. We were encouraged to take further courses to improve ourselves, and I decided to take the "communications course". At that time Dell had health problems caused by the swine flu shot, and the Scientologists told her that "auditing" would solve her health problem, which the doctors hadn't been able to solve. We met Renee Lee, who was a top performer and a Scientologist, who told us that there were professional opportunities for us in the Church of Scientology and we began to be interested. At first she suggested forming a dance team with her aboard the ship Royal Viking. Over a period of time we heard from a number of different representatives of the Church of Scientology who encouraged us to go to work for them as professional entertainers. We were told that the Church of Scientology was making a movie and needed entertainers, and could use our talents as dancers. I also had film editing talents, and Dell had talents at costume design and tailoring which they said they could use. We were continually approached by people from the local Las Vegas Organization as well as by missionaires from the Florida headquarters. We continued to be interested in the possibility and thought it might be a good professional opportunity, and I began to discuss the matter with these people as to the terms of an agreement. While all of this was happening, Dell's daughter, Ver Dawn, had started again to take courses with the Scientologists at the Org. and was starting to have trouble in school. The Scientologists tried to talk her into quitting school, and they tried to tell me it would be legal for Ver Dawn to quit public school and follow Scientology courses. I thought this was ridiculous and Dell and I both tried to encourage Ver Dawn to stay in school. She was only 15 at the time. But the Scientologists succeeded in brainwashing her and convinced her to quit school. Within three weeks they sold her on the "honor" of becoming one of L. Ron Hubbard's "messengers", and she was sent to California. We had only two days notice before she left. Our negotiations with the Scientologists about working for them as entertainers took place in early 1978. They told us that they would send us to the headquarters in Clearwater, Florida. We would have a private room at the Fort Harrison hotel complex. A staff car would be available to us for all our needs. We would be given all the auditing we needed for no charge. We would be given professional drama training. We were expected to work five hours a day, study five hours a day, and have 6-8 hours a week for rehearsal with weekends off. We would be paid $17.50 per week. Our duties would include performing at parties, putting routines in the movies they were making, and choreographing and teaching other dancers. Finally, we were told that all of Dell's health problems would be corrected. We gave this offer much thought and it was a difficult decision to make, because I had a good job in Las Vegas in the gaming business. However, we thought this might be a chance of a lifetime to get a start in show business, so after much pressure from the local Scientologists we agreed to the proposals. In the late spring of 1978, we were making our preparations to leave. We were getting frequent calls from the Scientologists telling us to hurry up, as the film making group was waiting for us and we were holding things up. Consequently, we had to sell a lot of things cheaply and give a lot away. We sold our car because they told us we wouldn't need our own car in Florida. We packed up the rest of our belongings and all our costumes into trunks and drove to Los Angeles in a rental vehicle. We were told that once we got to Los Angeles we would be put on a plane to Florida. When we got to Los Angeles we went to the American Saint Hill Org. and there our things were unloaded. We were then taken to a motel for the night. The next morning they came by and picked us up in a car. There seemed to be an air of secrecy about the whole thing and they wouldn't answer any of our questions. As they drove I began to realize that we weren't being taken to any airport, as I was familiar with the location of the Los Angeles airports. Instead they took us to a parking lot in the Glendale area, after following a very circuitous route, and we then switched cars. I was starting to be very insistent with my questions, but still no answers. We were only told that because of the extreme secrecy of "Ron's" hideout it had been necessary to deceive us. Actually, we were being taken out to the desert north of Palm Springs. This was a real shock to us. A good part of the reason we had agreed to this arrangement was that we wanted to get out of the desert. I had even gone to the library and looked up on climate conditions and so forth in Florida. But here we were back in the hot desert. We asked to be taken back before we even left L.A., and again when we got to the location, but they wouldn't take us back. They took us to a ranch in Indio, California, way out in the desert. There we met Ver Dawn. She showed us around the place and showed us all the departments. We met the medical officer, the commanding officer, the security officer, and we were shown the "galley". I thought we were in the Navy instead of a church. We also learned that L. Ron Hubbard himself was on the ranch. The place was shabby and dilapidated. The people around the place seemed to number about 150. They were badly dressed, and used unbelievably foul language. Everything was dusty and dirty. Our next shock came when we were shown our so-called "quarters" at 11 p.m. that night. Our quarters turned out to be a filthy shack which was infested with bugs, scorpions, and desert vermin. It had many large holes in the walls and a door big enough for a cat to walk through. The condition of the bedding was sickening. It was so bad that we walked a considerable distance in the dark back to the headquarters to complain to the C.O. We were told that nothing could be done then and that we'd get a different room the next day. So we had to go back to the shack and spend the night. Dell was severely bitten by insects. The next day we were so angry and disappointed that we demanded to be taken back immediately. We talked to Bill Fosdick. We complained to other people, and finally ended up talking to the "Chaplain's" wife for three hours. She told us we couldn't leave for security reasons, now that we knew where Ron was. I asked her if we were being held prisoners. She said no, but said it was a little more complicated. She told us that we would start our dance program and start with auditing the next day, to smooth out our upsets. Dell was very upset, but trying to see things their way. Dell was very concerned about Ver Dawn, who was now a "messenger" for Ron, and in part she wanted to be where Ver Dawn was. I was disgusted with the whole situation. But we decided to make an effort to adjust to the situation and see how things worked out. The first thing they did was start our security training, before we could leave. We were drilled on what lies to tell to the F.B.I. and all other outside people who asked anything about the "base". We were supposed to say we were only visiting there and knew nothing about Scientology or Hubbard. All our mail and phone calls had to be routed through Florida to keep the location a secret. We couldn't take any pictures. Our mail was censored, and we were completely cut off from the outside. I wanted to get out of there right away, but I couldn't because all of our belongings were still in L.A., and I knew I'd never get them unless I waited. Also, I was concerned about Ver Dawn. She seemed to be brainwashed. I decided to wait until our things showed up. It took three weeks. During that time I did make some effort to work on the films that they were making at the base. I did several different jobs for them, but it was apparent to me almost immediately that this was a totally confused, inefficient, deceitful mess. Hubbard created the entire scheme. He was supposedly supervising the film production, and was there every day. But all he would do was scream and use filthy language with people and make people jump. It was obvious that they would never make a film because nobody knew what he was doing, including Hubbard, and all Hubbard could do was scream obscenities at people. During this time there was no dance program for us and no auditing. The whole thing was a sham. There was no transportation made available to us. The only way we could get around was to beg rides. When our possessions finally arrived I told the "Quality Department" that I wanted to be "routed out" immediately. Nothing was done for two days, and I went to the C.O. They set up a board meeting. I told them I wanted out because they lied to me and tricked me and did not keep one of their promises. So they agreed to let us both go home. They issued an "order" that I was not fit for the "Sea Org.". Dell appeared before them separately. They told her she was fit for the Sea Org., but gave her a so-called leave of absence to "handle the marriage problem". That started two weeks of real misery. They constantly delayed our departure for two weeks with lies and excuses, and during all that time they did nothing but try to make trouble between Dell and me. Through all this, the long hours of degrading harassment, the constant lies and deception, and the unbelievable deceit of the whole operation, was slowly driving me crazy. They had everyone on the base operating against me. They sent me on wild goose chases and wouldn't answer my questions. My daughter was in complete accord with the program, and they were slowly working on Dell. At first, after the board meeting, I didn't pay any attention to the different results for Dell and I because I was just happy to be getting out of there and knew I'd never return. But all the while they were ostracizing me they were showering Dell with favors. As we talked it over each evening we became more confused with each other. They played this game for two weeks, trying to split us up. Each day I was told I would be going home; the next day there was a change. This went on day after day, each time excuses and more delays. It was driving me crazy. I began to think that they had no intention to send me home at all. Finally I had to start threatening them. I did this one day after they had me hooked up to an E-meter for five hours in a so-called "security check" on me before I left. Problems kept building for me and Dell. They would tell her one thing and me another. We had Ver Dawn to think about. We had the problem of what to do back in Vegas with no furniture or place to live. There was the question of Dell's health and her hope that auditing might improve it. Plus, they had kept me there past the time I could get my job back, so I didn't have any work waiting for me in Las Vegas. As we tried to deal with these problems, things went from bad to worse for us. On the day before I left, the "Chaplain", Fred Rock came to me and told me Dell had decided to stay. He had also been talking to her. Each of us thought the other had decided on the separation. On the day I left, we both broke down and cried and expressed our love for each other, but we decided it would be best for her to stay for a while because of Ver Dawn and her health. When I returned to Las Vegas I was in a bad state. I was depressed and often cried. I was confused, and sometimes went totally blank. Six weeks later I managed to get work. Then one day Fred Rock came to my door and accused me of breaking security. I told him I didn't give a damn about their security, but I certainly wouldn't do anything to affect my loved ones. Then he handed me our marriage license and told me that Dell wanted a divorce, and that they needed passports because they were going overseas. After he left, I was very upset, and then I became angry. I wondered what right a minister of a church had telling me my wife wanted a divorce. I wrote Dell a long letter. I wanted her home. Finally, in October, she came home again. We wanted to forget the whole thing and just start our lives over again, but that was not the end of it. In November, the local Org. began to pressure Dell to go on staff. A week later I was sent a bill for $5,750 for services I had supposedly received. I was surprised by this because when I left the base I was told that I was leaving free and clear. I tried to work this out with the local Org for some time with no success. They cut off Dell's auditing that she had been getting. I decided to go right back to the base to straighten things out. We drove back down there in January, 1979. When we got there, nobody would talk with us and at first we weren't even allowed on the base. Then I started threatening to disclose Hubbard's location. Then Hubbard's personal secretary John Fischer talked to us. We presented him with our own bill for $22,000, representing the amount we had lost because of their misrepresentations. He told us to write a letter to Ron, and promised that we would be compensated. The next morning Miry Louise and Jack Gay of the Las Vegas Org called me up asking us to sign something. We refused. Through five more meetings they kept trying to get us to sign things, but we always refused. Eventually, I lost patience and told them that I thought they were crooks and swindlers. After this, representatives from Los Angeles, including Allen Hubbard, began coming to Las Vegas and trying to get us to sign documents. In early March I had a meeting with Allen Hubbard. This took place around midnight in a car. He had a document he wanted me to sign before they would give me any money. The document contained information which I had given to the Scientologists in auditing. I refused to sign. He told me that they were going to make a criminal complaint against me for extortion if I didn't sign. I told him to go ahead. While I was out meeting with Allen Hubbard, Mary Louise went to the house to see Dell. She tried very hard to get Dell to leave the house. She asked Dell: "Aren't you afraid for your life?" The next day, while Dell was at her at MGM, Mary Louise came up to Dell and asked her to lunch. Dell was surprised because it was a security area and she didn't know how Mary Louise had gotten in. She refused to go to lunch. Then Allen Hubbard walked up and tried to get her to go, but she refused, and told them to go away. Fifteen minutes later, Mary Louise came back and said "I want you to know that no one has ever been murdered over anything like this as of yet. Things are going to get a lot rougher before it gets better." We reported both of those threats to the police. Dell was extremely upset over having been threatened with death by her own daughter. For a while we were afraid even to go home, and had to stay with Dell's sister. Next we went to the newspapers and television stations and told our story. After our story was publicly broadcast, we had no further trouble with the Scientologists for five months. Ver Dawn had finally left the Church of Scientology on her own and married. She lived in California. Last fall she and her husband began to get involved again in Scientology. In November she wrote to us and told us that she had been ordered not to communicate with us any further. This has caused us a great deal of emotional pain. Recently the Church of Scientology has publicly stated that I am guilty of extortion. Most recently, since the filing of a lawsuit in Federal Court in Boston by Attorney Michael Flynn, the Church of Scientology released a press release which said that I had confessed in an auditing session that I was a murderer. [Signed] Ernest Hartwell
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