Ex-Scientologist story #207, woman sues, ‘psychologically injured.’

Mary Johnson suffered financial loss, mental torment and humiliation during the two years she was a member of Scientology.  The jig was up when she at last determined that she was being used just for her money, she didn’t just get mad, she got even.  The following is from The Irish Examiner, 4 December 2002.

A woman who claims she was brainwashed by the Church of Scientology is suing for damages. Dundalk-born Mary Johnson, 40, who has a sports equipment shop at Westwood, Foxrock, is also suing three members of the church: John Keane, Tom Cunningham and Gerard Ryan.

The long-running action for damages by a woman against the Church of Scientology and three of its members came to a dramatic end at the High Court yesterday when the judge was told the case “appears to be settled”. The costs of the action could amount to E2 million. The surprise development came on the 31st day of the case taken by Dundalk-born Ms Mary Johnston, who was involved with the church from 1992 to 1994.

 In the High Court yesterday, Sean Ryan SC for Ms Johnson, said she was “sucked in” by the organisation which brought her under its control and influence.

She was recruited to the church in 1992. Efforts were made to prevent her leaving the organisation, to silence her and to devalue her. The court was also told efforts had been made to intimidate her and to prevent her suing.

Mr Ryan said the court would be introduced to a language of psycho religious-mythical scope and expressions and words with no meaning other than being defined as Scientology.

Ms Johnson had suffered psychological, psychiatric injuries, panic attacks and post traumatic stress disorder, together with loss of short term memory and that condition had been exacerbated by the subsequent illegitimate conduct of the defendants.

The story began in 1992 when Ms Johnson was emotionally upset after splitting with her boyfriend. She knew one of the defendants, Tom Cunningham, a member of the Church of Scientology, who introduced her to “dianetic auditing” of form of amateur psychoanalysis.

Mr Cunningham continually suggested Ms Johnson should go to the church’s Dublin mission in Middle Abbey Street and have a personality test so that she could become involved in Scientology.

The tests involved money and Ms Johnson was not well off. Under pressure she signed up for a “purification run down” an introduction to the church at a cost of £1,200.

Ms Johnson was required to do a medical examination and was sent to a Scientologist described as a doctor. She spent long periods in saunas and was told this was purification. People such as this were described as “raw meat” by L. Ron Hubbard, the church’s founder. In March 1994, she started a “Hubbard Dianetic Auditing” course in Dublin and continued at Saint Hill Foundation in Britain.

In December, a team of recruiters from Saint Hill came to Dublin and she was asked how she was going to further her studies. She said she could not afford further payments and was told she should go to her friends or sell her business.

She gave another £100 deposit for a course on a ship in the Caribbean and subsequently signed a contract for one billion years to work for Scientology.

When Ms Johnson got back to Dublin she was subjected to ever more intimidation.

She left the Church in 1994 after being a member for two years.

The hearing, before Mr Justice Peart, is expected to last about two weeks.

Link to this story:  http://www.xenu-directory.net/news/irishexaminer20021204.html

True to form Scientology decided to settle the case rather than get the official judgement against them.  Too bad for them they decided to lock the barn door after the horses were already on their way to town.  A great deal of derogatory testimony had been brought forward and was duly covered by the newspapers.  Here follows an article, “Irish Case Settled Out of Court,” March 3, 2003, that appeared in   The Irish Times. 

Opening the case for Ms Johnston, Mr Sen Ryan SC claimed she suffered a personality change after she was “sucked into the grasp” of the church and subjected to mind-control techniques. He claimed she reluctantly signed up for a number of courses, including a “purification run-down” course. The starting point for her entry into the church was a personality test which, he argued, was not a proper psychological test.

He also claimed Ms Johnston was trained to resist her family and, when she tried to leave, there were efforts to silence and intimidate her and members of her family. It was alleged Ms Johnston suffered psychological and psychiatric injuries.

To read the rest of the article follow this link: http://www.lermanet.com/scientologynews/irishtimes-03032003.htm

Ex-Scientology story #206, former OSA agent Frank Oliver.

True stories about an evil cult.

I was unable to find a definitive statement anywhere on just when Frank Oliver joined Scientology or his motives for doing so.  Yet he has testified or given depositions in several related court cases.  One of the most interesting was the newspaper story , Double Crossed that appeared in the “Phoenix New Times News,” December 23, 1999 by Tony Ortega.  This is one of the most interesting, and revealing Scientology stories ever written from the perspective of dedicated Scientology watchers.  It concerns the concentrated attack by Scientology, done by one that critics love to hate. Kendrick Moxon with guest appearances of Gene Ingram, their house private investigator, on the Cult Awarness Network, CAN.  Frank Oliver was in the thick of that caper that eventually brought down CAN.  The methods used were the usual ones: the Fair Game policy, infiltration, blackmail, lies, deceit, intimidation and harassment.  To read this excellent story go here:

http://www.phoenixnewtimes.com/1999-12-23/news/double-crossed/

I found this on YouTube, Frank tells us in his own words the methods that Scientology uses.

TOM JARRIEL: […] L. Ron Hubbard left Scientology not only his religious writings, but a series of controversial directives that appear to advocate threats, intimidation, and even attacks against those he regarded as enemies.
 
VO: Some of Hubbard’s writings: “Don’t ever defend. Always attack.” “The purpose of the lawsuit is to harass and discourage rather than win.” A church enemy “may be tricked, sued or lied to or destroyed.”
 
FRANK OLIVER: They can send private investigators out to your home or to your place of work, talk to your neighbors. They will illicitly try and obtain copies of your phone bills or credit rating. They will try and create problems for you at your place of employment.They will try and sue you. They’ll do everything they can try and do to stop you or to silence you.
 
TOM JARRIEL: How do you know?
 
FRANK OLIVER: I know because that’s what I used to do.
 
VO: Frank Oliver runs a digital graphics firm in Miami, but for four years, he says, he was a member of the church’s internal security apparatus.
 
FRANK OLIVER (voice of and on camera): I remember having to make the phone calls to all the phone numbers on someone’s phone bill to find out where they had called. These were enemies of the church. You shut them down. You find out what you can about them. You find their weak spot and you expose it. You make it so that they cannot survive or exist. You literally destroy them.

Ex-Scientologist story #205, Head of International Fiance Police.

If you were a Scientology mission holder, in other words owned a franchise, in the years 1982-83 you would have hated, loathed and feared Don Larson.  He was head of one of the more bizarre entities ever to surface in this ruthless cult.  He was in charge of the International Finance Police.

Hubbard had many dislikes, hatreds and pet peeves.  One thing near to the top of this list was a dislike of anyone making money off of his pet creation but himself.  His bank account, as amply demonstrated over the years, was far more important to him than business partners, underlings or even close friends. 

Some of the mission holders had accumulated substantial wealth, wealth that Hubbard felt belonged to him.  At this time he was in hiding but he nonetheless found proxies to act for him.  To make a long story short he plundered these franchise holders and took every cent he could lay his hands on.  No matter that he forever wreaked the mission system, a fact with dire consequences in the subsequent decline in Scientology.

For many Scientologist this was their first encounter with David Miscavige, a man who had risen high in Hubbard’s estimation.  Hubbard wanted a man without a conscience; he found him.

Between June of 1982 and March of 1983, I was head of the International Finance Police (IFP) of the Church of Scientology.

During the period I was head of the International Finance Police, the top executives of Scientology were enraged at the Mission holders for embarrassing them by airing their grievances. In response, IFP was directed to extort money from the Missions by threatening them with the fair game policy if they failed to satisfy the demands for money. I participated in making the threats, as did my deputies.

To a Scientologist, the threat of being declared a suppressive person and subjected to the fair game policy Is nothing short of extortion since it brings with it the possibility of harassment, being sued in multiple lawsuits, undermining your reputation in the community and destroying one’s business and/or personal life.

In addition to extortion, physical violence was also used to collect “fines” and to coerce “cooperation” from the Missions. I committed acts of violence for that purpose.

One of the resulting examples of Mission holder “cooperation” was their agreement to adopt new Articles and Bylaws under threat of the fair game policy.  -Taken from a declaration that can be read at: http://www.xenutv.com/blog/?p=2443

Then International Finance Police Ethics Officer Don Larson walked in and started berating Valerie. He screamed abuse at her, and ordered his underlings to remove Manfred Stansfield, who refused to leave. Larson accused them both of “squirreling,” and told Manfred he was Suppressive. Manfred returned the insult, to which Larson replied “You’re a fucking SP [Suppressive]. Get out.”  –Taken from Chapter Seven, A piece of Blue Sky: Scientology, Dianetics and L. Ron Hubbard Exposed, by Jon Atack.  http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Library/Shelf/atack/bs7-2.htm

Ex-Scientologist story #204 -John Peeler, Overts & Overboarding.

True stories of a greedy cult.

A constant theme in these stories is how badly Sea Org members treat each other.  They are like a group snarling, angry dogs walking around in a circle frequently pausing to bark or bite at each other.  The sort of sadism practiced inside this paramilitary organization is like none other in history.  Members of the German SS had more respect for each other than Sea Org members.

John Peeler was a former Scientology executive who left us a story, another one, in the long and sorry list of those who put their foot inside of a Scientology building.

“Yes, I have witnessed first-hand, DM beating the hell out of people. Specifically, during the WIS? Campaign, (What Is Scientology? Book), this was in the mid 90’s, I saw DM beat up Marc Yager, who was the CO CMO Int at the time. DM was pissed at Yager because he hadn’t followed orders and that the book was behind target, etc… DM grabbed him, tossed him around the room, punched him, shoved him, screamed at him the whole time and then threw Yager out of the PDO exit. That’s Planetary Dissemination Org (the international marketing arm for Scientology), which is a division of Gold.

On another occasion, I witnessed DM beat the crap out of Jeff Hawkins, who was one of the executives in PDO. I saw Jeff get beat up on a couple of occasions by DM for missing targets, and not following orders, etc… Screaming always, in addition to Dave having an entourage of goons and assistants around him at all times.

I witnessed another Int exec, Steve Marlowe, who has held all sorts of high positions in the church grab Hans Huber by the ear lobe and physically drag him through the Estates building, about 30 ft – of course Hans trying to keep up without his ear being torn off. Then Steve decided that Hans needed to be even further humiliated so proceeded to scream which you could hear even through the heavy doors. Steve is no longer in the SO and I think I heard he was in Arizona or something with his wife Laura. I’m not sure where they stand in terms of Scientology though at the present.

Joe Jarchow, who had been CO CMO Gold for a while and then later was an Exec in Gold shoved me so hard once that I almost fell on my ass, I definitely went back a few feet, but I was ready to fight him and I think he could tell. I remember thinking that if this guy comes at me, I’m just gonna fight his ass and not care about the result. He probably could’ve taken me, but he would have left the fight in major pain.

Security guards at Int as well as MAA’s would do “berthing inspections” unannounced to the crew at the base and without them even being there. In fact, you had no idea that you even had an inspection at your living quarters, unless a security guard or MAA pulled you in to confront you on something they found in your room. These inspections are done in order to find out if people have any “out-security” or confidential materials, any TV sets, any personal computers, any phones or anything that would seem odd enough to question the individual. Laptops are strictly forbidden.

Also, responsible for “over-boarding” people, in fact, over-boarding entire divisions of Gold because their stats were down or because of a divisional flap. This, all based on Hubbard policy – Flag Order OVERBOARD which states, not verbatim, that a crew member may be over-boarded for basically creating flaps or being unproductive. This is done by the MAA and the Chaplain, which was held by Ken Hoden the Port Captain Gold. The crew member is allowed to take off his shoes, jewelry or watch and that’s it. You get pushed in by the MAA with the Chaplain reading something like leaving your sins to be washed away by the sea. At the base we used the lake and pushed people off of a bridge that went from land to a little island on the lake. One time the entire Qual division of Gold was over-boarded and the water was feezing cold. An elderly lady froze up in the water and couldn’t swim herself to the side and I jumped in myself and swam her to shore or she would have drowned. The Div 2 (money) Division and Cine divisions were constantly being over-boarded. If overts came up in O/W write ups or sec checks such as masturbation or something that resulted in a Hill 10 that wasn’t known about, they were publicly humiliated in front of the whole org and then over-boarded. This kind of crap was happening all the time and was enforced by Miscavige, RTC and the execs of the base.

I myself grew up in Scientology. My parents were Scientologists and it all started for my 1977. I went to Apple School in Los Angeles, which was a school that used a Hubbard “Study Tech” program to teach students. There was even an Ethics Officer on the Apple School faculty and KR’s were used by the students to report on other students. These are CHILDREN being taught at a very young age to write Knowledge Reports and keep a “watchful” eye on others. Kids would even be heard saying “Ohhhh, your going to Ethics!!!”

Can you imagine these practices being done in a business in the real world today? If Scientologists and SO members were allowed to have outside legal representation, heads would roll and there would be quite a few fines and prison sentences. This is all hidden behind “our religious beliefs” and thus protected by the Governments who recognize Scientology as a religion.
For more about what John Peeler had to say about his time in Scientology go here:
http://ocmb.xenu.net/ocmb/viewtopic.php?t=23438

Since I wrote the above I have found that John has a blog.  http://bts2free.blogspot.com/

Ex-Scientologist story #203, “My escape from the cult.”

Zane Thomas has this to say about his time in Scientology:  Heh, when I was a foolish teenager I got caught up in the bait-n-switch cult of clams for about a year.  I ended up in Edinburgh Scotland at the Clam Central Publishing Org.  There was some incredibly nasty stuff going on there, including imprisonment.  It didn’t take me too long to wise up and I blew in December of 1968. But I had a problem, my gear (sleeping bag, backpack, essentially everything I owned except the clothes on my back) were at the org. Having seen people in dungeon-like rooms eating bread and water, I was not taking any chances.

I got a taxi to take me to the org and told him that if I wasn’t out in 5 minutes he should call the police.  He looked sort of shocked, and in retrospect it must have been a strange situation for him.  A dark, damp night in an alley in Edinburgh, with a really young kid (I never looked my age, so I could have looked about 15 or 16 at the time) entering a building which was already the subject of controversy and questions, asking for the police to be called if I wasn’t out soon.  No wonder he looked a little shocked and worried.

Fortunately for me he stayed.

I went in, got my stuff, and headed for the door.  I was stopped by some serious screaming from the Sea Witch who was running the place. She informed me that I was a traitor and fair-game (we ALL knew what that meant, despite the disingenuous retraction of that policy which you see here from time-to-time).  I told her that I was leaving and that there was a taxi outside and that the driver was calling the police if I wasn’t out soon.  One of the Sea Org goons, it could have been Bill Robertson himself I really don’t recall, looked out the window and verified the taxi’s presence.

I walked out the door, and left town the next day … I looked over my shoulder for a looong time after that.

To read more of Zane’s escape go here:  http://www.xenu-directory.net/accounts/thomas19960906.html

Ex-Scientologist story #202, “assaulted by Ethics Officer.”

What are your crimes? Tell me or into the salad with you.

As Janice Hayward found out Scientology will promise you anything and everything to sell you services.  They make a big deal out of promising a refund but often the only way you will see your money again is to sue.

Does Scientology work?  If it did the cult would not be experiencing the worst ever drop in new membership.  What sane person would join them after reading about Xenu?  All Hail Xenu.

I contracted with the Church of Scientology to become a Dianetic Clear. The Dianetics program was guaranteed to produce a well, happy, and successful person upon completion. I was shown pictures of successful people such as Kirstie Alley, Tom Cruise, and Priscilla Presley to convince me about the success of the program.

I went to L. A. on 23 Mar., 1992. While there, Mike, an auditor, in the Church of Scientology, accused me of being an immoral and unethical person for three to four hours a day.

I was accused of trying to harm the ethics officer for hours and I had done nothing bad to her. Everyday for a week, I received a constant barrage of verbal abuse, until I left and went back to Phoenix.

On or about 21 Dec., 1992 I was assaulted by Wendy Keene, Ethics Officer. Mary Sugher, Secretary, tried to physically force me to stay at the Church of Scientology against my will. She called for Wendy Keen and Kathy Bennett, a Division 6 Supervisor, to attack me. Kathy ran off, but Wendy slammed me repeatedly into the wall in the back of the church for over half an hour. Finally, John DiNero, a staff member, came in and made her stop.

I confronted Mary Sugher about the assault. She told me that L. Ron Hubbard’s policy states that it is alright to physically assault people. . .

From 1991 to 1995 I paid over $60,000 to the Church of Scientology

During this time I took at least 14 courses from the Church of Scientology. Each course was offered at a specific price. I took the following courses among others:

1. Ups and Downs of Life
2. Professional Hubbard Dianetics Auditor Course
3. Method One Co-audit
4. Student Hat
5. PTS/SP Course
6. Therapeutic TR’s Course
7. Pro TR’s Course
8. How to Improve Conditions in Life
9. Financial Success Course
10. Upper Indoctrination
11. Academy Level 0
12. How to Improve Relations with Others
13. How to make Work Easier
14. Scientology Handbook Course

 I paid for additional courses which I did not receive. I also paid for various books, tapes and other materials. I did not receive the promised benefits.

I was promised that if I took the courses and followed the program that I would receive the benefits of freedom from emotional, physical and mental pain and distress, as well as career success. Furthermore, I was promised that if the promised results were not achieved all monies would be refunded.

 The promised results were not achieved. To the contrary, following my involvement with the Church of Scientology I was released from two separate positions with Phoenix Union High School District. I am currently unemployed, being unable to find a job. I am not free from emotional, physical or mental pain. In fact, I feel that the Church itself was a cause of much emotional, physical and mental pain, not to mention the huge financial loss which I incurred.

For more of the story of Janice Hayward go here: http://www.xenu-directory.net/documents/hayward19970319.html

 

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The Ironies of Scientology, Pt. Four.

The Ironies of Scientology, Pt. three.

Ex-Scientologist story #201, David Love: “They will not silence me.”

True stories of a greedy cult.

“A resident of British Columbia, David Love arrived at Narconon shortly before Christmas in 2008. He was addicted to methadone and cocaine and had decided to follow the rehab program at the detox centre in Trois-Rivières, where he knew an employee.

During the first weeks of his treatment, Mr Love says he was surprised by the omertà that reigned at Narconon about Scientology. He remembers hearing an employee interrupt a discussion among a group of clients he was in, by issuing an order: “You are not allowed to speak about Scientology when you are at Narconon»

The employee later explained to him that Narconon wanted to avoid the subject so as not to scare clients, their parents, or the “sponsors”, who pay more than $20,000 for the treatment, a majority of whose clients are English speakers from the United states and English Canada.

On its Quebec website, Narconon presents itself as a “non-profit program of rehabilitation and detoxification” and boasts of having 50 centres in 21 countries. There is no mention anywhere that Narconon is part of the Church of Scientology.

For Paul Schofield, who was a member of the Church of Scientology for more than 20 years before becoming “case supervisor” at the Sydney and Melbourne Narconon centres and then director of Narconon for all of Australia, there is no doubt that Narconon is a satellite of the Church of Scientology.

“Aside from the withdrawal phase, all the courses you take at Narconon are almost identical to those you take at the Church,” he says, “Except that when you take them at the church, they only cost you about a quarter or a third of the price.”

While he was a client at Narconon, David Love says he was forced to memorize passages from books by L. Ron Hubbard, the science fiction author who founded the Church of Scientology and wrote the 8 books on which the Narconon program is based.

“Any book that might interfere with the mind-altering and brainwashing process is prohibited and confiscated,” says David Love.

In addition to reading books by Hubbard, David Love also had to practice regularly the “training routines” prescribed by Scientology’s grand master.

He remembers one routine that consisted of sitting for long hours while staring at another client without saying a word and without moving. There was another similar routine in which he was told not to react while his partner bombarded him with insults. . . To help addicts overcome their dependence, Narconon also requires that they strictly follow an intense vitamin and sauna treatment which Scientologists call the “Purification Rundown” and which is also provided by the Church of Scientology of Quebec City at a cost of $2,000.

For two weeks, David Love said he had to spend almost four hours a day in a sauna and swallow large amounts of vitamins and minerals each day. He recalls having had, among other things, to take a lot of niacin, a vitamin (B3) used to reduce a person’s cholesterol level.

In a July 17, 2004 interview with the Journal de Trois-Rivières posted on the detoxification centre’s website, the director of Narconon Trois-Rivières, Marc Bernard, described the virtues of niacin for expelling drugs from fat cells.

“The toxins remain trapped in fatty tissues for several years,” Mr. Bernard explained. “When they are released, this is what addicts call flashbacks.”

Asked about this practice, Dr. Lise Archibald, of the Ubald-Villeneuve Rehabilitation Centre in Quebec City, told Le Soleil that she has never read anything about the benefits of niacin for drug addicts.

A toxicology specialist at Quebec’s National Institute of Public Health (INSPQ), pharmacist Lyse Lefebvre, also has never heard of niacin as an aid to combat drug addiction. However, she warns that consuming too much vitamin B3 may cause digestive problems, aggravate asthma, lead to a certain form of arthritis attack, and cause redness and itching.

Health Canada recommends a maximum of 500 mg of niacin per day. Clients of Narconon and Scientologists who follow the “Purification Rundown” ingest up to 5,000 mg per day,” says David Love.

“The vitamin and sauna treatment was far from pleasant for the clients of Narconon,” recalls Mr. Love. “It was horrible. People were sick. They vomited and had diarrhea.”

The above excepts were taken from the article appeared in the March 21, 20010, edition of Le Soleil, “Intoxicated by Scienology,” by Marc Allard.  To read the rest of the story go here: http://ocmb.xenu.net/ocmb/viewtopic.php?f=11&t=32283

Most people when they find out that they have been a victim of Scientology, in this case the Scientology front group Narconon, just run for the hills.  A few of the braver or more contrary souls decide to take up the cause and warn others.  David Love is one of these brave souls. 

 

 

It would not be out of place here to provide a link to the history of Scientology in Canada.   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scientology_in_Canada

The Ironies of Scientology, Pt. two.