Part 3

When a California group received state permission for a 75-bed drug and alcohol treatment center, Newkirk thought the project on the reservation six miles away would solve local economic troubles brought on by oil and farming slumps.

Townspeople say Narconon International hasn't been honest about its affiliation with the Church of Scientology, its financing, its medical credentials and its plans for the project, which will draw mostly out-of-state clients.

They say Narconon denied the project had anything to do with Scientology until Newkirk officials turned up a Scientology magazine with a story headlined "Trained Scientologists to Staff Huge Oklahoma Facility."

And the mayor says Narconon tried to dupe locals at a staged ceremony, where a $200,000 check and a glowing study were presented to Narconon by a group that turned out to be part of Narconon itself.

Now the town fears it could earn a "cult image" because of the project's ties to Scientology, which follows the teachings of the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. Former members have accused Scientology of fraud and mental abuse, and the Internal Revenue Service has challenged its tax-exempt status as a religion.

"People interested in coming to this town will see the Church of Scientology thing - the cult thing - and I think that that image will hurt our possibilities for growth and development," Mayor Garry Bilger said in an interview last month.

Some townspeople say they worry about the kind of people the project will attract and that the stately 80-building campus, built of native Oklahoma stone and tucked more than a mile off the nearest road, will become a Scientology recruiting station.

"I don't think any of us are against drug abusers getting rehabilitation, ," said Mike Clifton, pastor of the First Christian Church. "(But) there's a lot of concern in the community because we really don't know what these folks are exactly about. What really worries us is what they're not saying."

In the basement of the First Baptist Church, pastor Mark Jones is making copies of a videotape of a British Broadcasting Corp. documentary on Scientology, which he showed to his congregation at a worship service.

The tapes, along with Scientology literature, have been circulating in this town of 2,400. There have been town meetings and public forums, including a sometimes heated session with state officials who approved the Narconon project before the town knew it was supported by Scientology.

"The town got the shaft," said insurance agent Charles Eisenhauer. "I don't think anybody can undo anything that's been done so far." The center is scheduled to open in September. Narconon officials say Newkirk's concern is inflated and unwarranted. Narconon is a legitimate, worldwide drug and alcohol rehabilitation program with 23 years' experience and an 86 percent success rate, they assert.

Narconon spokesman Gary Smith said he tried to reassure the town that Narconon's "sole intention is to get people off drugs." He said the town has been misled. "There's fear being put into the town by false information being fed in there by somebody who's in favor of drug abuse. They're either connected to selling drugs or they're using drugs," Smith said.

In a letter printed May 18 on the front page of the weekly Newkirk Herald Journal, Narconon president John Duff wrote: "There will be those that will not want Narconon to succeed at Chilocco because they are for drugs and are on the other side in the battle against drugs."

Jones, the Baptist minister, responded the following week, writing he "resented the implication, or more accurately the accusation, that was made by Narconon's Mr. Duff. He accused me of supporting illegal drug use in our area if I did not swallow his program hook, line and sinker."

But the mayor said his winter hope turned to disillusionment by spring when he learned of Narconon's history, and he came to believe he had been misled when Narconon held an emotional ceremony April 8 in which the Association for Better Living and Education presented a glowing study of Narconon and the $200,000 check.

"I came away with the impression that we had an independent group here interested in mankind and they had researched the Narconon process. Then I find out ABLE and Narconon are part of the same organization," he said.

"I imagine if I was in his shoes I'd use it, too," Bilger said. "I just think now it (Narconon) is a problem and if all the facts were out at the time, things might have been done differently." The Chilocco Indian School closed in 1980 and was declared surplus property by the Bureau of Indian Affairs, which turned control over to five Indian tribes - Ponca, Kaw, Pawnee, Otoe-Missouria and Tonkawa.

Last year, Narconon invited representatives of tribes throughout the country to a meeting in Clearwater, Fla. Narconon touted its program and said it was looking for a site for a treatment center. Currently, Narconon's only U.S. inpatient center is a Los Angeles clinic with 12 beds.

A Ponca representative told Narconon about the Chilocco site. The 25-year lease eventually drawn up offers the tribes a percentage of gross earnings, up to $16 million. The tribal leadership remains enthusiastic about the Narconon project.

In January, the Oklahoma Health Planning Commission gave Narconon approval for an initial 75 beds. The group seeks 150 beds with growth projected to 400.

Robert Lobsinger, publisher of the weekly Herald Journal, was by then becoming curious about Narconon. In Newkirk's tiny library he found articles about ties to Scientology and past run-ins with officials. His first story, published April 27 under the headline "Chilocco Drug Treatment Center May Be Part Of Notorious Religious Cult," set the town abuzz. Townspeople said they have repeatedly asked Narconon what medical credentials they have, and so far, have received no answer.

"My first question is, do they think that everyone down here is stupid? said Jones. "People around here are not world travelers, but they've got a lot of common sense and they ask a lot of questions."

"A lot of people want to get their church (Scientology) involved and the way state law is written... church affiliation has nothing to do with it. The state of Oklahoma shouldn't get involved in discussions of church affiliations," said Leroy Bridges, Department of Mental Health spokesman.

Sheriff Glenn Guinn says he and others are not reassured by the state, or by the Narconon officials with whom he has met. He said he was originally told the alcoholism and drug abuse center would be for local Indians but now has learned only 25 percent of the beds have been promised to indigent Indians.

Narconon, like Scientology, has had a sometimes turbulent history. In Spain last year, authorities charged Narconon with swindling clients and luring them into Scientology. Seventy-one people were arrested, including Scientology president Heber Jentzsch. Hundreds of document were seized, and a Spanish judge froze bank accounts holding $900,000 while an investigation continues.

Scientology, founded by Hubbard in 1954, has grown into an international religion that at its mid-1970s peak claimed 6 million members and $100 million in annual earnings. The faith is based on Hubbard's concepts of mental health through which members can achieve a "clear state."

Critics have labeled Scientology a cult. Scientologists have battled the IRS and fought lawsuits filed by former members. In June, the Supreme Court ruled that "fixed donations" made by Scientology members are not tax-exempt contributions.

"Nobody wanted that thing to be a success more than me. Now I'm disappointed. I still hope there's a way it can work for everyone. But right now, I'm disappointed."

By Stephen Koff
St. Petersburg Times
Reprinted 06 July 1989

ST. PETERSBURG, Dec. 22, 1988 - The year was 1976, one year after the Church of Scientology had secretly moved its spiritual headquarters to Clearwater (Fla.), and Mayor Gabe Cazares was complaining too loudly for the church's comfort.

Church officials came up with ways to get Cazares' school records, birth records, anything - from checking with the Catholic Church to looking in graveyards for headstones with Cazares' name - that might discredit the mayor.

The next year, the FBI raided church offices and seized hundreds of documents. Eleven church members were subsequently convicted of crimes. And the Church of Scientology promised that it had cleaned house. Such dirty tricks, said the church, were things of the past.

Consider, then, the more recent case of Charles O'Reilly, an aggressive California lawyer who was another thorn in the side of Scientology. O'Reilly represented some former Scientologists who were suing the church, and he refused to settle their cases. One client, who said the church nearly drove him insane, had won a $30-million verdict against the sect. Church executives were irate, one of their former lawyers recalled in sworn testimony.

So in the spring of 1987, top-ranking Scientologists and lawyers called a meeting at their headquarters on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles to talk over the O'Reilly matter. According to their former lawyer, Joseph Yanny, the Scientologists planned to steal confidential files on O'Reilly from the Betty Ford Center and other alcohol - and drug - treatment centers. Yanny said the Scientologists figured that such records could be used to blackmail O'Reilly.

Ultimately, the plan to steal the records was scaled back, then dropped altogether. But the idea was similar to other plans that were carried out, say former top Scientology officials and representatives. Although such claims have been made before by alleged victims of the church's tricks, the new charges are coming from people who were inside the highest circles of Scientology.

These officials include a church executive who recently left Scientology, a former church security chief, a California lawyer who until recently helped formulate Scientology's legal strategy, the church's former international president, and dozens of former church members, including one who has written a book critical of the church and its founder, L. Ron Hubbard.

Cumulatively, the new charges lead to a stinging conclusion about Scientology: Despite its assurances of reform, a pattern of abuses continues against church critics. In some cases, those abuses cross the line of criminal law, according to authorities.

A judge in Spain recently reached the same conclusion. After a nine-month investigation, Judge Jose Maria Vazquez Honrubia on Nov. 20 (1988) detained 71 Scientologists in Madrid and ordered 11 of them jailed. Those held included Heber Jentzsch, a 53-year-old American and president of the Church of Scientology International. After three weeks, Jentzsch and the church members were released on $1.1-million bail but now must report to the court three times a week. They could face charges of coercion, fraud, flight of capital, illicit association and labor law violations. They say they are the victims of an international conspiracy.

Similarly, 15 Scientologists and the church itself are awaiting trial in Canada on charges stemming from a 1983 police raid in which about 2 million stolen government documents were seized from church offices. Scientology lawyers said the sect would donate money to charity if charges against the church were dismissed, but Ontario Attorney General Ian Scott declined the offer.

Scientologists and their lawyers would not answer questions for this series of articles.

The church and the St. Petersburg Times are adversaries in a federal court case, and chief Scientology counsel Earle C. Cooley of Boston attributed the church's "no comment" to that dispute. The Times seeks to unseal files in four lawsuits against Scientology settled in 1986. Although court files are normally open, the judge granted the church's request to seal these cases over the objections of opposing lawyers. The Church of Scientology now wants to keep them closed. Times lawyers argued in a motion in October that closing the files violates the First Amendment. The First Amendment to the Constitution, among other things, gives a guarantee of a free press, and Times lawyers said that closing the files interferes with the newspaper's right to gather and publish news.

The Times won a Pulitzer Prize in 1980 for exposes of abuse by the church. In 1984, California Superior Judge Paul G. Breckenridge ruled that "the organization clearly is schizophrenic and paranoid."

"It hasn't changed at all," said William Franks, who until 1982 was chairman and executive director of the Church of Scientology International. Franks left the church after a showdown between church leaders and owners of numerous Scientology "missions," or franchises.

Franks has said that despite public statements, it became clear that church executives never intended to change Scientology's character. Franks is now a businessman in Philadelphia; his replacement as Scientology's international president was Jentzsch, who is now out on bail in Spain.

Although it has a large presence in Pinellas County (Fla), Scientology keeps its business headquarters in California, and it was there that top Scientologists and lawyers gathered to talk about O'Reilly, the lawyer who was causing them trouble.

Joseph Yanny, 38, was one of those lawyers. He has since fallen out with the church, but at the time, he was one of Scientology's top lawyers. Yanny began representing Scientology in trademark matters in 1983. His other clients include Corona Beer and the rock group Grateful Dead. By 1985, Yanny was "closely involved in the formulation of legal strategy," according to court documents filed by Scientologists.

"I and others were told by (Scientology executive) Marty Rathburn that on orders of David Miscavige, the successor of L. Ron Hubbard as the head of the cult, that the medical records of O'Reilly were to be stolen from the Betty Ford Center, and another location in Santa Barbara, to show that he was using cocaine, discredit him, and possibly blackmail him into easing off on his $30-million verdict now on appeal," Yanny said last summer when questioned by Scientology lawyers.

Yanny balked. "I wanted no part of any criminal conduct to obtain the stuff," he said in an interview with the Times. "An alternative plan was quickly arrived at to settle my nerves," he said when questioned by other lawyers.

The new tack: Rather than steal the records, lawyers would get them through the judicial process. Subpoenas were prepared for records from the Betty Ford Center, the Eisenhower Medical Center and Cottage Care Center, all in California. Specifically requested in the subpoenas, which are now on file in federal court, were "records of admittance for treatment of alcohol an/or drug use or dependency, records of treatment of Mr. O'Reilly for alcohol and/or drug usage, records concerning any known distribution or receipt by Mr. O'Reilly of any illegal drug."

Yanny said he protested again, saying the Scientologists were abusing the legal system. He said he refused to sign the subpoenas, and although they were filed with the court, they were ultimately never served. Yanny resigned as church counsel.

She was 22, a former Unitarian. He was a former Marine air traffic controller with two tours in Vietnam. They were taking courses at Mountainview Junior College in Dallas when Vicki McRae met Richard Azneran.

"He told me that there was a guy in Austin named Whit Whitford who was a Scientologist... and that this fellow could do all sorts of magical things, like make butterflies come out of the sky and things like that," she remembered when questioned by lawyers in June.

Scientologists - their leader called the group a religion, but said it didn't require abandoning other religious beliefs. It was a religion of man: a belief that through a form of one-on-one counseling called "auditing," man could free himself of deep-rooted psychological baggage and live a self-determined life. This auditing was accomplished with the help of an "E-meter," a device similar to a lie-detector.

The founder of this religion was L. Ron Hubbard, a science fiction writer in the 1940s whose 1950 book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health planted the seed for the Scientology movement. In its simplest explanation, Dianetics was a science of the mind, and Scientology was the theology it embraced.

Hubbard wrote that the human mind is a camera with thousands of tiny images. These "engrams" were regularly picked up by the mind - they could have been recorded by a person almost as early as conception - and profoundly affected human behavior, even creating physical maladies. They had to be excised before man could rid himself and the planet of neurosis, war, crime and disease, Hubbard said. The end result was a state called "clear."

Vicki Azneran, like millions of other people around the world, was intrigued. She began taking Scientology courses at a Dallas Dianetics center and soon joined the staff. In time she advanced to the national staff, putting in 18-hour days in exchange for $10 a week plus room and board and auditing privileges, she said. She was rewarded with prestige, and in 1983 was promoted to president of Religious Technology Center (RTC). This was the Scientology branch, based in Los Angeles, that made sure Hubbard's teachings were delivered in a standard format. The position made her one of the highest-ranking Scientologists in the world.

Vicki Azneran had become part of Scientology's elite. She knew the complex myriad of organizations and sub-organizations and how they fit together. She now says that Scientology's corporate web was created as a way of beating taxes. She also knew other details, and recently testified about them in federal court proceedings.

Among other things, she disclosed the systematic destruction of church documents. Scientologists feared those records might show that Hubbard secreted millions of dollars of church money into his own accounts, she testified. (A federal Judge last year ruled that Hubbard did just that.) Since the church claimed to be not-for-profit - a contention disputed by the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) - any such records could be damaging.

Vicki Azneran said she and her husband helped make sure the records were never released. They shredded financial documents in 1980 in Clearwater, she said, and again in 1981. Then in 1986, she said, she and Richard "participated in the coverup of expenditures... in anticipation of an IRS audit" in California.

Meantime, in 1984, she said, she destroyed other documents - which a California judge had ordered the church to yield. The church had personal records on Gerry Armstrong, a former Scientologist in litigation with the sect. Now Judge Paul Breckenridge of California Superior Court was ordering the Church of Scientology to turn over these records, called "PC" files, or pre-clear files. The files, kept on all Scientologists, contain personal information - from secret desires to confessions of misconduct - extracted during auditing sessions.

"I removed documents from Gerry Armstrong's PC folders to keep them from being turned over to the court," Vicki Azneran said. "I went through them and removed things from them. And some of those things I destroyed, and some of them I gave away or gave to someone in OSA (Office of Special Affairs), I believe."

Richard Azneran, who also had risen through the ranks - becoming Hubbard's public relations representative and later supervising church security - said culling pre-clear files was standard church practice. He said he also carried out similar tasks.

In 1985, Scientology executive David Miscavige told him to set up eavesdropping equipment in all the offices of Author Services Incorporated, Azneran said. Author Services is Scientology's for-profit division, licensing the copyrights to the prolific Hubbard's works. Miscavige feared a raid by the IRS and wanted to photograph and record "everything that any agent ever said to each other" so it could be used in plotting a defense, Azneran said.

The way it worked, records from the church's Southern California centers were transferred from computer discs to tapes and taken to rented storage facilities in Ventura, Orange and Riverside counties outside Los Angeles County to create possible jurisdictional problems for the police.

Electronic machines that erase magnetic tapes "were set up in a row right next to the storage racks where the daily backup tapes were kept," Azneran said. "We drilled on a regular basis being able to destroy the information on those magnetic tapes in a given amount of time, which is what we thought we would have should there be a raid."

And what if the FBI or IRS tried to force their way into the actual computer centers?
The Scientologists had thought of that, too, Azneran said. "Earlier on in the computer rooms, the glass... that had been installed was all two-inch, two-and-a-half-inch bullet-proof glass so that they couldn't break in with sledge hammers and so forth."

Why are the Aznerans saying such terrible things about their former colleagues?
It goes back to 1986 - specifically, Jan. 24, the day the reclusive L. Ron Hubbard, 74, died of a stroke at his ranch in Creston, Calif. There was some struggle within Scientology's top ranks to succeed Hubbard, and Vicki Azneran found herself in the wrong faction, she says now.

As a result, she was sent to the Rehabilitation Project Force (RPF), a military-like work detail that former members say exists at nearly all major Scientology centers. Her assignment was to Happy Valley, a Scientology camp in the California desert. Guards ordered her to run wherever she went and sleep with a dozen women in one room, and a female guard stayed with her when she showered, she said.

She herself had dispatched dozens of others to the RPF for misdeeds against the church, she said. She had personally done stints in the RPF on her way up the Scientology ladder.
But this time was different, she said. This time, she was sick. A uterine infection gave her a fever, and the guards wouldn't let her leave to see a doctor.

So in March of 1987, when two companions ran away and later came back in a rented car, she joined them and left. She had decided, as had Richard, it was time to leave Scientology, she told lawyers.

Their separation from the church seemed amicable. They even accepted a $20,000 loan, to be paid back at 5 percent interest over 10 years. They took the money and started a private investigation firm in Dallas.

On April 1 this year (1988) they filed a $70-million lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles against the Church of Scientology of California, RTC and other church divisions, and several Scientology executives. The 11-count suit claimed false imprisonment, infliction of emotional distress, loss of consortium, conspiracy, fraud, breach of contract, invasion of privacy and breach of duty to pay minimum wage and overtime.

On June 15, Scientology lawyers called Yanny, the former lawyer, to a meeting. "They told me they were going to sue me," Yanny said. "Howard Weitzman (a prominent Los Angeles lawyer) said they wanted to make this all go away. He said to me, "This doesn't have to happen if you can make the Azneran case go away."

The Church of Scientology International, the Church of Scientology of California and RTC charged in the suit, filed eight days after the meeting, that Yanny violated the attorney-client privilege. According to the Scientologists, Yanny presided over a series of "clandestine meetings" in March at his Hermosa Beach home with various Lawyers, aides, the Aznerans and Bent Corydon. Corydon, of Riverside, Calif., wrote the 1987 book L. Ron Hubbard: Messiah or Madman?, and has faced a barrage of litigation from the church.

The Scientologists said that Yanny, who had inside information, now was aiding, even encouraging, the Aznerans. As proof, the Scientologists presented affidavits from two former employees of Yanny who said they were present during the meetings with the Aznerans and Corydon. The Scientologists also submitted photographs, taken by a private investigator, showing Corydon's car parked behind Yanny's house. On the basis of this information, a California Judge ruled that neither Yanny nor his lawyers could represent the Aznerans because of an appearance of impropriety.

Although Yanny acknowledged a friendship with the Aznerans and Corydon, he said he has not helped them with their suits. But the Scientologists had other charges as well. Their suit said that of the $1.8-million Yanny's firm billed the sect in four years, a substantial portion was padded or fraudulent. And they said that Yanny performed incompetent work "while under the influence of drugs and alcohol."

Joe Yanny took a plane from Los Angeles to Dallas and then another to Pittsburgh last June (1988). In Pittsburgh, he rented a car to go to his sister's home in Bellaire, Ohio. He said he thought he was being followed.

The Grateful Dead, one of his clients, was playing in Buckeye Lakes while he was in Ohio, so Yanny and three friends got into the car and drove to the concert. Coming back, he though he was being followed.

"I was told at that point in time that I and those in my company could be searched, including the vehicle, or that I could be arrested on the spot," Yanny said. "The choice was mine."
He agreed to be searched, as did the others. The police found nothing.

The next day, Bellaire police stopped a different rented car in town. The men in the car gave a story the police did not believe, so the police persisted, and the men in the rental car finally acknowledged that they were watching Yanny.

"The police were informed that these people had been hired by - the name Economic Research Group from New York was mentioned," Yanny said in a deposition. "They were from the Washington, D.C., area and had been hired by a firm named Williams & Connelly. At least this is the information that was given to the Police. (Williams & Connelly) had represented the cult of Scientology on various matters, and various of its chief executives such as David Miscavige."

Williams & Connelly lawyer Gerald Feffer said he would likely know of any Scientology matters involving the firm, but knew nothing about the incident. He said he has used the Economic Research Group - an investigation firm that would not return a reporter's calls - but said, "I don't, and would never, under any circumstances, hire anyone to harass anybody."

Capt. Robert Wallace of the Bellaire police said: "Mr. Yanny's account would be correct. And yes, the Bellaire Police Department can confirm that." He said the only part of the story he could not verify was whether the private investigators phoned in the tip about Yanny carrying drugs. But he said: "It is extremely coincidental, to say the least."

Narconon One Of Many Scientology Organizations

By Stephen Koff
St. Petersburg Times
Reprinted 06 July 1989

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA. Dec. 12, 1988 - Operating under auspices of the Church of Scientology are dozens of groups, many of them separate legal entities. Untangling Scientology's lines of organizations can be difficult; even the sect's own charts that have been used in court cases are complex. Here are some of Scientology's organizations.

Flag Service Organization - The legal name of Scientology's Clearwater (Fla.) operation, which serves as the sect's spiritual headquarters. Before 1981 the organization was part of the Church of Scientology of California, and Pinellas County (Fla.) officials contend that Flag is still an "alter ego" of the California church. The distinction could be worth millions of dollars in tax exemption, and Scientology lawyers deny the Pinellas claim.

Sea Org - Short for Sea Organization, a corp of dedicated Scientologists who wear navy-style uniforms and sign billion-year loyalty contracts. (Scientologist believe in reincarnation.) Before Scientology's move to Clearwater in 1975, members of the Sea Org served with sect founder L. Ron Hubbard aboard ships roaming the globe.

International Association of Scientologists - A group formed by church leaders in 1984 to combat "external" threats to Scientology such as lawsuits and critical media coverage. Membership in the association makes one an official member of the church, according to association publications.

The Freewinds - A 500-passenger ship bought in 1986 by the International Association of Scientologists. Previously berthed in St. Petersburg as the cruise ship Boheme, the Freewinds was renovated and now is based in the southern Caribbean, where upper-level Scientology training is offered. Among those who have cruised are Lisa Marie Presley, the daughter of Elvis, who took a honeymoon trip on the ship in October.

Bridge Publications - Publisher of L. Ron Hubbard's works, including his Battlefield Earth science fiction series and the seminal Scientology work Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health. Bridge is a for-profit company.

Concerned Businessmen's Association of America - A Glendale, Calif. - based group of Scientologists that promotes drug-free living through its "Way to Happiness" book and like-named campaign, targeted to school-age children. The association's Intertribal Council brought American Indian leaders to Scientology's Clearwater headquarters in February (1988) to talk about drug treatment programs. A related group, called the Hubbard Foundation, did detoxification of the Blackfeet reservation in Montana "for a while," said Jim Ferres, Blackfeet treatment services director. "They don't do it anymore... I view alcoholism as a disease, and don't believe in this guru kind of stuff."

Narconon - A Scientologist-run drug education and rehabilitation program based on a regimen of megavitamins and saunas. Narconon boasts an 80 percent success rate, but health officials and former Narconon employees dispute that claim. Narconon offices were among those raided in the Spanish investigation of Scientology in November.

(Ed note - in a March 29, 1989 story, the St. Petersburg Times also reported that 75 Scientologists were to go before an Italian court in Milan to face a list of charges including fraud, extortion and tax evasion related to the Italian Scientology, Dianetics, and Narconon operations. The action followed a massive investigation started in 1981)

WISE - An acronym for World Institute of Scientology Enterprises, the sect's division that teaches "Hubbard management tech" to businesses and professionals. Among the Scientologist-run consulting firms licensed under WISE are Singer Consultants (specializing in chiropractors), Sterling Management Consultants (dentists) and Uptrends (computer professionals). Anywhere from 20 percent (a Singer estimate) to 50 percent (an Uptrends figure) of WISE clients wind up taking Scientology courses or buying Hubbard books.

Citizen's Commission on Human Rights - A Scientology division that crusades against many applications of psychiatry, particularly the use of Ritalin, a drug used to control hyperactivity in children. Scientology has a distinctly anti-psychiatric, anti-medical bent, which psychiatrists say is a result of Dianetics being shunned by organized medicine.

Scientology Cosmology...
Cruel Ruler Of Universe Turns Earth Into Prison

By Stephen Koff
St. Petersburg Times
Reprinted 06 July 1989

ST. PETERSBURG, FLA., Dec. 23, 1988 - It was like something out of a science fiction script - but L. Ron Hubbard, the founder of Scientology, claimed it was fact.
"Xenu," he called the central character. Xenu ruled the 90-planet Galactic Confederation 75-million years ago, when overpopulation was a problem.

Though such beliefs may seem far-fetched, Scientology documents show they are part of upper-level Scientology training known as OT III, short for Operating Thetan III. OT III is the third of 15 steps on Scientology's advanced ladder, climbed by believers after reaching the state of "clear." OT III training, which is supposed to remove the implants by revisiting the Xenu incident and breaking through the wall of fire, is offered in Clearwater at a cost of $6,500, according to a fall 1988 rate sheet.

Details of OT III are considered confidential. When church documents describing Xenu surfaced during a 1985 trial in Los Angeles, Scientology lawyers tried unsuccessfully to immediately seal them. Gerald Armstrong, a former Scientologist who discovered that many of Hubbard's credentials and claims were false, described in a court document why the group so closely guards Xenu.

"In Scientology, people are told that if they read even part of the story before they have progressed through all the various lower Scientology steps, at the cost of tens of thousands of dollars, their subconscious minds will be restimulated, and they will "freewheel, ..."" Armstrong said, "Their mind will go out of control, they will not be able to eat or sleep and they will die."

A Hubbard memo obtained by Clearwater police said pneumonia may also result, as the implants are calculated to kill by pneumonia anyone who tries to "solve" them - sort of like a pharaoh's curse, Hubbard noted. That's why only properly applied training would succeed, Hubbard said.

(Above story is reprinted from the St. Petersburg, Fla., Times, Dec. 23, 1988 with permission. It is one of several published reports reflecting the same incident - all reports are essentially the same in content.)

27 July 1989
Newkirk Mayor Garry Bilger says in the past two weeks he has been receiving mail from all over the country since an Associated Press article concerning Narconon Chilocco was released.

The article, which appeared in newspapers from Corpus Christi, Tx. to the New York Times, seems to have prompted the letters to Bilger. "I haven't received a letter favorable to the Narconon program yet... they are all negative.!

For example, a writer from Illinois says, "I can empathize with your town's plight and have the utmost admiration for those who are fighting to close down Narconon's newest operation before it actually is in operation.

"The Oklahoma Health Plan (sic) Commission had better do some fast and thorough homework - the information is available. They probably have never before been confronted with such a slick and deceptive organization."

Enclosed with the letter were clippings about Narconon's troubles in Italy and Spain.

A hand written letter from Pennsylvania says, "Without becoming too emotional, I want to tell you (my sister) gave thousands of dollars to Scientology, left all her Christian upbringing behind, and let Ron Hubbard rule her life with his values and teachings. Scientology is very sneaky, with their pseudonyms such as "Big Apple Schools" and "Narconon" - and practically took over a town in Florida."

She concludes, "Please, be very careful in letting them come into your town on their false pretenses."

Another example: "I have just read the New York Times article on your situation with Narconon and Scientology," this former Scientologist writes.

You must realize that you are dealing with a very determined and ruthless bunch of fanatics. They resort to any deceit, any trickery to get their way... which is to promote and lure people into Scientology. Narconon fits very nicely into this as most people are concerned about Drug abuse and addiction and will give time and money to anything that looks like it might help.

Narconon is an elaborate scheme to entice people into Scientology, to promote Scientology and the name of L. Ron Hubbard. It looks like a noble work for the good of society. They will trot out a handful of people who will claim that they were helped with Narconon. They might even bring out a celebrity or two. Scientology will use very little of their own money in this con. They will go after Grants, donations, etc. and they are very skilled in getting other peoples money."

"...Sadly enough, most of the lower level Scientologists are not aware of the con and deception that they are involved with. They don't realize that they have been brainwashed. I didn't and went busily around promoting Scientology and Narconon all the while believing that I was working in a noble cause...."

"You can use what I have said here in any way you find useful. I would ask that you don't give my name or address to anyone connected to Narconon or Scientology.
Gary Smith, the Narconon spokesman quoted in the Times article, is lying through his teeth. You can quote me - I was there," concludes the writer.

Included with the letters are newspaper clippings from across the country alleging that Narconon units in at least five states have been shut down or severely curtailed over the years after questions were raised about their effectiveness and ties with Scientology.

In Michigan, for instance, a prison psychologist is reported to have charged that Narconon is a "con" to gain money and recruits for the Church of Scientology. A California report done for that state's Department of Health said Narconon's use of megavitamins to detoxify addicts is a "hazardous" and "in some cases lethal" practice.

In Clearwater, Florida, the program apparently never got off the ground, Scientology spokesmen complained in one clipping, due to the "climate" created by negative media reports about the Church of Scientology.

Michigan prison psychologist John Hand has been quoted as saying, "They are phony, a front for the Church of Scientology. We found out in Michigan that most of the money that we were paying Narconon was laundered back into the Church of Scientology." Gary Smith, Narconon's spokesman, was quoted in the same article, and branded Hand's assertion that money in Michigan was "laundered" as "ridiculous."

But in view of the mounting material from across the country, as well as reports from abroad, Mayor Bilger has instructed an attorney to contact Corrections Department and Health Department officials in Michigan, California, Delaware, Connecticut, and Minnesota to find out the truth about the allegations.

Commission, Chamber, School Board...
City Leaders Call For State Review Of Narconon Program
At Chilocco Indian School North Of Town

17 August 1989

Newkirk's School Board, City Commission, and Chamber of Commerce have jointly sent a 67 page document to 16 State and National leaders asking them to support a special review of the Narconon-Chilocco drug rehabilitation program and it's connection with Scientology.

The cover letter of the package of exhibits says in part, "Based on this information, it appears that Narconon's primary objective is Scientology recruitment and not drug abuse treatment. Our community is very concerned and we are requesting your help in obtaining a complete review of their operation and the licensing procedure which allows Narconon to operate in Oklahoma. It is signed by the Mayor, the President of the Newkirk Board of Education, and the President of the Newkirk Chamber of Commerce.

The first exhibit alleges that there have been several instances of misrepresentation made by Narconon to the community, and the balance of the package contains individual documents, media reports, and sources of further information that the signers hope will cause officials to take a second look at Narconon.

Mayor Garry Bilger feels that it is pretty well documented that Narconon is a Scientology controlled organization. He points to a ceremony held at Chilocco on April 8, 1989. At the ceremony Bilger observed a representative of the Association For Better Living and Education (ABLE) "donate" at $200,000.00 check to Narconon for seed money to get the project started.

Bilger contends that at the ceremony an obvious effort was made to have everyone believe that ABLE and Narconon were two entirely separate organizations that had nothing to do with each other until then.

But Narconon's own promotional material says it is owned by ABLE. And ABLE turns out to be one of the many organizations on the Scientology organization chart.
At a public meeting in Newkirk on May 8, 1989, Mr. Leroy Bridges of the State Mental health Department told a group of about 80 people that there would be "no Oklahoma patients" treated at the facility, except for a few indigent Indians. Mr. Bridges also said that no state money would be involved.

But a document in the package, written sometime before July 1988, allegedly by Mr. John Duff, president of Narconon International, lists local and Oklahoma people as the top priorities in the Narconon marketing plan. It also lists "State Contracts that pay for beds," as a priority.

At the same meeting, Mr. Bridges told the citizens of Newkirk that Narconon had voluntarily placed itself under jurisdiction of the state for matters of law enforcement and inspection of their program and facilities.

However, a letter from Sheriff Glenn Guinn included in the package says, "As I understand it, I have no authority on Chilocco land. Everything at Chilocco comes under the F.B.I., and we have one F.B.I. agent in this area stationed at Enid."

The document allegedly authored by Mr. Duff also says that it is "essential" to procure state certification and licensing "because we will be providing services to both Indian and Non-Indian people paid through a fee for service, insurance coverage and possible state contracts. State licensing is mandatory for us to be able to accept Non-Indian clientele."

The package sent to the state says, "We find it curious that Narconon wants to be licensed in order to collect on state contracts and insurance policies from people Mr. Bridges has flatly said would not be served at the facility."

Narconon has consistently said it is not connected with the Church of Scientology, but the material in the package sent to the state seems to indicate that except for a "cold turkey" detoxification period, nearly all of the rest of the treatment consists of courses and programs also found on the Church of Scientology's religious progress chart known as "The Bridge To Total Freedom."

City leaders are also questioning the cure rates claimed by Narconon. They consider it an exaggerated figure and say they have seen no data to support it. Several individuals involved in drug and alcohol rehabilitation in this area have said the cure rate for any program is between 15% and 30% at best.

Narconon spokesmen have said that the conversion rate of Narconon patients to Scientology is, variously, between 1% and 3%, and "under 10%." But an evaluation Team Report made to the California State Department of Health said "it was clear that nearly all the patients hoped to become Scientologists." Other reports from former Scientology members and Narconon patients puts the figure at between 50% and 75%.

Other exhibits contained in the package mailed to state officials consists of charts, news reports from around the country and several foreign countries, a radio transcript, and 13 pages of references for further reading or information which city leaders hope will be enough to convince the state that it needs to take a much closer look at this project before it is licensed for operation in the State of Oklahoma.

A Doctor of Internal Medicine in Ponca City says it is "filled with ...many false generalizations, internal inconsistencies, outright lies, and potentially dangerous treatments."

They are talking about the Purification part of the Narconon drug rehabilitation program that will be offered at Chilocco.

First, there is a Detoxification and Withdrawal program, followed by a Drug Education/Orientation lecture, Hard TR's (Training Routines), the Purification program, Objectives, the Drug Rundown, and the Way To Happiness Rundown.

Several area individuals have ask for and have been promised a copy of the Narconon "protocols" that will be used when Narconon is in operation, but after several weeks, nothing has been forthcoming from Narconon.

One of those documents, a Hubbard Communications Bulletin called "The Purification Rundown Replaces The Sweat Program" is said to contain the core of L. Ron Hubbard's "technology" regarding the removal of toxic substances such as drugs from the body. It is a regimen which includes exercise, sauna sweat out, nutrition including vitamins, minerals, etc, as well as oil intake, and a properly ordered schedule of activity.

This and several related documents were offered for evaluation by a University of Oklahoma Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry, and by a Ponca City Doctor who specializes in internal medicine. Their reports are being forwarded by city leaders to the State Health Department.

The OU Professor in his August 4, 1989 report, writes, "My overall comment on Mr. Hubbard's literature is that there is an absolute lack of data to support his assertion that the Purification Program succeeds in doing what the presently adopted programs fail to do. The documents reviewed also contain many truths and half-truths."

"(Hubbard's statement that) "There is no such thing as a fat cell" is a meaningless statement," the professor says. "'Fat tissue' should be adipose tissue which consists of many cell types and the major lipid storage cell is termed a 'brown cell'"

Where Hubbard suggests that in 1973 someone got a Nobel Prize for curing insanity with niacin, the OU report says it is "too absurd to comment on." As far as can be determined, the professor said by telephone, no such prize was ever given.

The OU report complains of a lack of scientific data within the documents to support the statements made, and concludes that, "Overall the program proposed by Mr. Hubbard is pure unadulterated 'cow pies'. It is filled with some scientific truth but mainly is illogical and the conclusions drawn by Mr. Hubbard are without any basis in scientific fact."

"As a previous Medical Director of two alcohol and drug rehabilitation units, I feel I am qualified by training, interest and experience to comment specifically on the proposed treatment center's so called Purification rundown.

The Purification Rundown is apparently either all or part of Narconon's initial detoxification program. The ... document is in general a poorly written program. There is extremely poor organization. The material is full of generalizations that have no substantiation in fact. There are internal inconsistent statements. There is no documentation.

The Purification Rundown is somewhat patterned after many reputable detoxification programs in which diet, exercise, education and behavioral modification are used. But due to the above mentioned deficiencies as well as several outright untruths, I think that it is fair to say that the Purification Rundown is without merit."

"The author states throughout, that sweating increases the rate at which drugs in general leave the body. This is certainly untrue of many drugs, as most drugs of abuse are eliminated from the body by detoxification through the liver, or by passage through the kidney, or occasionally by passage through the lungs. Although minute quantities of some drugs may appear in the sweat it is such a small fraction of drug elimination that no matter how much a patient were made to sweat it could not significantly increase his clearing of most drugs."

"Perhaps the most blatantly false statement made in the entire document (is where the) author states, 'niacin's biochemical reaction is my own private personal discovery in the middle of the 1950's. Niacin was discovered several decades before the 1950's and its importance and multiple biochemical reactions have been studied from that time until present."

"The author further goes on to state 'Niacin runs out radiation'... There is no scientific documentation that niacin in any way gets radiation out of the body. The symptoms of which the author talks are due to dilation of the blood vessels of the skin and is a known side-effect of niacin administration."

The report continues... "there are aspects ... which I find medically unsafe. (Parts of the program) suggest that the author expects that in many cases heat exhaustion will occur. Any treatment which leads to heat exhaustion is unsound and unsafe."

Regarding suggested use of a medical officer, the report states, "It seems quite apparent that medical officer does not equate with medical doctor or physician as the author...goes on to say 'the medical officer gives a person an OK to go on to the program after insuring the person's blood pressure is normal and he is not anemic. The medical officer does these checks himself where he is trained to do so'. Therefore, it seems medically unqualified persons are going to be supervising this program which I think is quite dangerous."

The report concludes, "While a drug free society is a worthwhile goal of any institution, when the initial entry into this program, i.e. the Purification Rundown is filled with so many false generalizations, internal inconsistencies, outright lies, and potentially dangerous treatments, I think it is without question that Narconon will be a detriment to the Newkirk area, Kay County, and the State of Oklahoma as a whole."

City leaders say they intend to forward complete, signed copies of the two reports to the same state and federal officials who previously received other packages of material concerning Narconon.

31 August 1989

According to a story by Michael McNutt in the August 25th edition of The Daily Oklahoman, an alleged Scientology group operating as Narconon near Newkirk has hired a private investigator to find the extent of illegal drug use in Kay County and the identity of those opposing "effective drug rehabilitation programs."

Actually, the private investigator was hired over a month ago. Newkirk Mayor Garry Bilger says that he was visited by Woody Bastemeyer, owner of Western Investigating, 4423 N. Greenvale Circle, Stillwater, about July 20th.

Bilger said Bastemeyer told him he had been hired by Narconon to find out who had been supplying the city with information about Scientology and Narconon, and was particularly interested in the source of a British Broadcasting Company documentary program on Scientology that has been circulating in the area.

Several other area residents have also reported being contacted by Mr. Bastemeyer. Bastemeyer resurfaced around the first of August, according to Bilger, and wanted, but didn't receive, copies of letters the mayor had received from dissident Scientologists from across the country. He also visited with some local law enforcement people at that time.

On Tuesday, August 22, an advertisement appeared in the Ponca City News. It was placed by Western Investigating, and asked people to give the names, addresses, place of employment, and type of vehicle driven by anyone known to be selling drugs or opposed to "effective drug rehabilitation programs."

The Western Investigating ad reappeared the next day in the Ponca City News. According to the story in the Oklahoman, Narconon plans to use the information to convince opponents in the area that a need exists for their drug treatment facility.

The North Central Major Crimes Task Force ran a similar ad in June, asking readers to identify who is selling drugs and where the suspect lives and works. The Western Investigating ad, however, also asks readers to list "anyone who may be opposed to effective drug rehabilitation programs."

The Oklahoman says Smith told them they only intend to send those people informational brochures, "We're not trying to hurt anybody or do any kind of blackmail thing," Smith is quoted as saying, but added that information about suspected criminal activity will be "turned over to the proper authorities."