Category Archives: independents

Steve and Ariel Spargo Declare Independence

To:  All Scientologists

From: Steve and Ariel Spargo

Date:   10 Sept 2012

Subject:       Resignation From Church of Scientology

 

Earlier this year I woke up to the fact that our Church management has over time departed wildly from LRH policy and HCOB’s and that the entire spirit and survival of the movement is under threat

Ariel and I believe that the Church of Scientology has become a totalitarian activity dominated by RTC, where parishioners ignore policies like Safeguarding Technology and Keeping Scientology Working in the interest of avoiding trouble.  There is no freedom within the Church to discuss whether or not a particular program adheres to policy.  Current programs have serious flaws and will not take the Church where we want it to go.

Unquestioning acceptance and money are now the priorities in Scientology and we don’t like it.

It’s obvious that management feel free to alter successful LRH programs and come up with travesties  like GAT.  It feels like fingernails on a blackboard when my friends cheerfully say “Yes, but GAT 2 is going to fix that.”  They are right back where I was for most of the last 35 years.  I had an excuse for everything.

I have never thought it necessary to say this before. But I require my Church to be motivated by the Aims of Scientology and to adhere to LRH policy and tech.  That has always been the condition of my support.

In view of the major departures we are witnessing, and the antipathy towards doing anything about it, I and my wife Ariel have decided to withdraw our support and resign from the Church.

What Now?

Although we no longer support the Church of Scientology, my wife and I are Scientologists and wish to continue practising our religion.  However we know that the Church will now call us “squirrels” and say we are not allowed to practise Scientology without their permission.

In the past, I have been completely taken in by the Church appearing to strongly support Human Rights.  Now I know it was just a public relations sham.  In fact, there is no freedom of religion in Scientology.   It’s completely authoritarian.

I would rather let bygones be bygones and leave the Church to its own devices.  Live and let live.

But we all know that the Church routinely uses legal action, infiltration and public attacks to insist dissenting Scientologists either give up practising their religion or forge an alliance with Scientology critics.  For Ariel and I, it’s a choice we should not be forced to make.

Ron always said that wisdom was for anyone who reached for it and that there should be no monopoly on the subject.  This is just one more point where the current Church management disagrees with Ron.

To Church management we have only one thing left to say.  Don’t call us, we’ll call you.

Steve and Ariel Spargo
Independent Scientologists

PS:  I have published my review of the Church at http://spargostory.wordpress.com

Book Review: Vietnam – The Teenage Wasteland by Tom Martiniano.

When someone recommended Tom Martiniano’s (#119 on the Indie 500 list) book Vietnam – The Teenage Wasteland: A Hippie In A War Zone, I wasn’t real anxious to read it.  I felt like I had had my share of woe-be-me remembrances of a pointless and desctructive conflict that I was fortunate enough by virtue of my age to have avoided.   But, once I started reading, it was difficult to put it down.

Tom writes the book in speaking English. It is familiar, it is real, and it puts you right into his head as he’s being showered by AK-47 bullets, shooting dozens of combatants who are attempting to kill him, doing involuntary backflips in reaction to bomb strikes, and starving for three days while helping to lead a small, battered platoon out of a valley encircled by thousands of North Vietnamese troops closing in from all sides.   Tom paints with his words a multi-dimensional moving picture of the action that in my view is far more authentic than any movie I have seen on Vietnam, drama or documentary.

This is anything but a pro-war memoir or patriotic plug.  Nor is it an apologia for having had to kill fellow human beings or an anti-war rant.  Tom was not in Vietnam by choice, he was drafted.  Tom has viewpoints – and they are fascinating and shared – but he does not let them get in the way of putting you through what he – and presumably thousands like him – experienced.  He took no satisifaction in killing others.  But he had enough sense and will to survive to become better at killing than those who were there to kill him. You cannot help but feel the compassion that drove him to defend himself and his fellows who were similarly thrown into the purposeless killing fields. In the end, Vietnam – The Teenage Wasteland is an incredible commentary on human nature and character.

Some of the more troubling passages recount Tom’s return to the States where he is met with ridicule, harassment, discrimination and hate.  Notwithstanding that treatment, Tom doesn’t turn the reader off  – like many before him have – with self-pride, self-loathing, demands for pity or acknowledgment.   Though he does not preach it, he does mention that Scientology might have had something to do with the balance and equillibrium he ultimately found.

But the book is not about Scientology.  It is about an extraordinary man giving a factual account of one of the sorriest chapters in United States history.  He doesn’t argue for that description, he demonstrates it for the reader.

By the end of the book I felt like smelting my own medal of valor and  personally pinning it to this man’s uniform.  In my book Tom Martiniano deserves a hundred hero’s welcomes.  This is mine to him.

Buy the book to find out what makes me feel this way at Vietnam – The Teenage Wasteland – A Hippie In A War Zone.

See Tom’s Declaration of Independence, here.

Investigation Into The Death of Alexander Jentzsch

Der Spiegel magazine in Germany has published a feature article on the mysterious and heartbreaking case of Alexander Jentzsch:  Der Spiegel.  See the German to English translation at the end of this post.*

Karen De La Carriere and I – along with appropriate law enforcement agencies – are actively investigating the death of Alexander.  There are too many unanswered questions to let this matter rest.  Scientology Inc. has gone into full-scale cover-up mode in hiding the circumstances of Alexander’s untimely death.  It has taken the following extraordinary measures to keep the truth hidden:

a)   “OT VIII” Stan Gerson is a numbered OSA agent.  He is listed in the OSA spies list maintained by OSA and published on this blog,  Scientology spy network exposed.   On that list, under ‘production data’ Stan is listed as ‘spokesperson at events .’  He is also listed as “trusted” by OSA.   Gerson was directed by OSA Int to send out a creepy Public Relations email broadly about Alexander’s funeral event at Scientology Inc’s celebrity center.  The event and email were  a thinly veiled ‘proof of life’ photo op for the imprisoned president of church of Scientology International (and father of Alexander) Heber Jentzsch.  The email also attempted to cover-up the plethora of questionable circumstances surrounding Alexander’s untimely death.   The funeral event itself was an attempted P.R. handling after Karen publicized that Scientology Inc promised  her that no such event would occur.

b)   The LA County Coroner has been obstructed in his investigation by Scientology Inc arranging for the representation of the man, Jeffery Thomas Evans,  in whose home Alexander’s dead body was found deceased. The lawyer Scientology assigned to Evans was the same lawyer who was retained to prosecute and silence Scientology Inc escapee Daniel Montalvo.   See this video tape where private eyes, surveilling and attempting to intimidate Daniel, tell the identity of the lawyer that retained them,  Vicki Podberesky:

Podberesky is now serving as a cover-up buffer between the Coroner and Scientology Inc witnesses (and persons of interest in the investigation) to the death of Alexander.

c)  Scientology Inc. has brought their ace of dirty tricks out of mothballs to flank the cover up.  Dave Lubow who coordinated and laundered money for the 199-day overt harassment operation against me and my wife last year has not been seen or heard from for ten months since being run out of Ingleside on the Bay on a rail.   But Lubow has suddenly re-appeared on the scene attempting to intimidate investigators of Alexander’s death with creep-out ops.

Dave Lubow

The reason for this announcement here and now is to alert those fence sitters, under the radar folk, and others who might have information about Alexander’s final months that you can reach either me or Karen and have your identity protected and any chances of Scientology Inc. retaliation obliterated.

A gifted young man has been killed and Scientology Inc. is dead set on covering it up.  If you have any information about Alexander over the past year you may possess a critical link to solving this crime.

You must examine your conscience before deciding to remain silent.

You can reach Karen at Karendelac@gmail.com

You can reach me at howdoesitfeel@hushmail.com

Karen and Marty are investigating

*Der Spiegel translation:

The case of Alexander Jentzsch

Living and dying through Scientology

By Mona Botros

Alexander Jentzsch died at the age of 27 years, his last name is well known to people close to Scientology around the world.: His Father is the international spokesperson for the Scientology Organization, the mother a well know dissident of the church. The cult controlled Alexander’s life, the circumstances of his death are mysterious.

Karen de La Carriere at first did not realize what she was reading when she was casual going through her Facebook messages: “Do you know Alexander Jentzsch is dead?”

De La Carriere told us, at first she thought there was a confusion with the name. But this was not about her 75 year old former husband Heber Jentzsch, it was indeed Alexander, her son.

He became 27 years old and died in the beginning of July 2012. His death has a number: 2012-04365. This is the case number of the authorities in Los Angeles. There were no signs of physical violence, no indications for a suicide, so the coroner. A toxicology report is expected to provide more information about the cause of death.

The name Jentzsch is well known to people close to Scientology around the world. Since 1982 is Alexander’s father the international spokesperson of the Scientology organization. He was the public face of Scientology up to the early 90’s. His mother was personally recruited and trained by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard .

“He begged me to sign”

Scientology believes they already know what caused Alexander’s death. In an email broadcast a long term Church Scientologist and godfather of Alexander announced Alexander died from adverse reactions to prescription medications he was taking because of chronic back pain after a traffic accident. A surprising announcement, given the fact that medications are frowned upon in Scientology.

Alexander Jentzsch was a handsome boy with dark eyes. He was seen at galas events at the side of celebrities like John Travolta and Chick Chorea.

But his life was not glamorous at all. The family unit starts to disintegrate when Alexander was 3 years old. Karen falls into disgrace with Scientology leader David Miscavige, when she speaks her mind.  So David Miscavige orders the separation of Karen and Heber. The divorce follows in 1988. Alexander lives from now on with his mother, the father is ordered to pay $280 monthly alimony for his son.  “In Reality Heber never paid a dime. How could he, with an income of 12 dollar per week?”  says de la Carriere.

She fights to get herself and her son through. Although the parents have shared custody, Alexander almost never sees his father, as Heber represents Scientology around the globe. Alexander suffered his whole life from the separation of his father.

At the age of 8 Alexander is recruited into the Sea Org., the lite organization of Scientology.  The lure must have been irresistible for the young boy. “They told him he would be able to spend plenty of time with his father.”, remembers de la Carriere. “He begged me to sign”.  Alexander goes to a boarding school outside of Los Angeles.

“Any information is controlled”

3 Years later Alexander is transferred to the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater Florida the spiritual mecca of the cult. Scientologists from all over the world come to this place to participate in expensive courses. The boy has to clean toilets and scrub the floors among other things up to 12 hours a day, so says his mother.  An education?  None.

Soon something happens that will burden Alexander for the rest of his life and is only years later to become known.

A 40 year old female Scientologists and coworker rapes Alexander when he is 12 years old. Not once but repeatedly is Alexander raped. When Scientology internally became aware of the situation, there was a quick response. Within 24 hours Alexander is shipped to the West Coast, to prevent authorities in Florida to get access to the boy.

During grueling hour long interrogations the message is driven home to the boy: He is never to speak about this.  Only 14 years later de la Carrier learns about the rape of her son.  Church dropouts who were involved in the  cover-up, tell her what happened to Alexander. “I remember the moment I picked up Alexander from the airport and his inability to look me in the eyes”, says Karen. “I do not dare to imagine what they have done to him.”

The department of Scientology handling such situations is called “Office of Special Affairs” or OSA.  Their primary goal is to prevent any possible damage for Scientology.  The official task of OSA is public relations and legal affairs, but in reality it is kind of a private secret service.

Deported to Prison Camp

Mike Rinder knows the family Jentzsch. He worked closely with Heber Jentzsch, since Alexander was a toddler. He experienced how the President of the Church of Scientology increasingly fell out of favor with David Miscavige. “David Miscavige beat and humiliated Heber”, says Rinder. “DM could not stand the fact Heber was widely well liked and respected.” Miscavige gave less and less tasks to heber and at one point Heber was gone completely.  He was transferred to the international headquarter 2 hours drive east of Los Angeles. “There he got locked up in the hole”, reports the former OSA boss.

“The hole”. 2 small office buildings retrofitted to function as a prison camp specifically for Scientology executives. This is where Heber Jentzsch lives since 2006 based on the description of Rinder under pitiful conditions.  Heber Jentzsch had no free access to his son Alexander. Mike Rinder knows what he is talking about. He saw the aging President of the Church, when he himself was locked up in the hole.

Scientology objected to Rinders descriptions: Jentzsch lives and works in the church facilities. “Due to his age he rarely is seen in public compared to the past”, a church lawyer wrote in a note to SPIEGEL ONLINE. Heber was “proud at 50 years continuous service and so are we.” Incidentally  Scientology does not want to make any further statements about the Jentzsch family or Alexander’s death.

Alexander was isolated in his last two years of life, not only from his father but also from his mother. She left the church in 2010 and is since then a member of the “Independent Scientologists” movement. This community still believes in Hubbard’s teachings and practiced his methods.

When de la Carriere became too critical of the organization, they declared her an enemy of Scientology. Henceforth, no Scientologist may be in contact with her, not even her own son. “Alexander called me and said that I should not call him anymore and do not send e-mails.”

Disconnection til death

In 2010 Alexander Jentzsch and his wife Andrea leave the Sea Org, but remain members of the church. Andrea is expecting a child and those are not wanted in the elite organization. The couple tries to build a new life in Texas but experience several setbacks. Andrea loses the child and Alexander gets fired from his job.  They are drifting apart; “Just before his death, he changed his status on Facebook.” His mother remembers.

Alexander returns to the west coast, alone and penniless. He can’t ask his mother, by now a successful art dealer, for help. He stays with his in-laws, which live in the northern part of Los Angeles. They tell the police later, that he went to bed in the morning of July 2nd. He wasn’t feeling well and was complaining about a fever. In the evening he is still lying there the same way.  Nobody calls a doctor. The next morning there is an emergency call to 911. Alexander is dead.

A couple of days later, somebody slips some pictures to the grieving mother, taken two weeks before his death. Alexander is laughing into the camera. “It looked like he was doing fine,” Karen says in despair. Why did the young man die?

Ed Winter, speaker of the Coroner’s office in Los Angeles, says that they found prescription drugs close to the body. And: “We have evidence that he was already dead for a while before the emergency call was made in the morning of July 3rd.” Die investigation continues, Alexander’s death remains a mystery.

On July 10th, there is a yacht going out to sea in Los Angeles. The sky is bright blue, the ocean quiet. There is a heat wave, the first of the summer. The thermometer is climbing up to 100 degrees. On board of the ship is the urn with Alexander’s ashes. When his remains are set free, there is no memorial.

Karen de la Carriere is organizing one three days later. She wasn’t allowed to bury her own son. “Scientology has intervened in the matter and enforced our separation even after Alexander’s death,” Karen tells. Even one last look at his body was denied by her daughter in law.

Miscavige Still Lying About the Headleys

Well, they even gotta lie when the truth would serve them better.

Please see the Tampa Bay Times coverage of the Headley suit fiasco reported on here and the Village Voice earlier today.

In particular see this statement by David Miscavige church of Scientology Inc. spokesperson Karin Pouw:

The Headleys asked the church to allow them to pay the fee in four monthly installments, but the church said no, they said. The church received no such proposal, Pouw said.

Now, please compare that to a letter the same Karin Pouw sent on church of Scientology Inc. letterhead to Vanity Fair a few days earlier, and particularly this passage here:

 Mr. Headley claimed he was incapable of paying the court-ordered costs to the Church.  Within days of losing his case, Mr. Headley’s attorney represented that his client could only pay $1,000 in total. Then he offered $1,000 a month for 30 months, reflecting Mr. Headley’s lack of funds.
Miscavige, did Marc make an installment proposal?

Or, Dave, didn’t he make an installment proposal?

As the late great Earle Cooley would say, how do you want to leave it?

…pause…

you can’t even lie straight in bed, can you?

The $43,000 Bounty

As reported last month, the Marc and Claire Headley vs. Scientology Inc lawsuit dismissal was upheld on appeal, see Headley Case Dissmissal Upheld.  The case however is not over.

While using the litigation process to make things as painful financially for the Headley’s as possible, Scientology Inc lawyers very carefully racked up a ‘costs bill’ designed to ruin the Headleys.   A cost bill lists those costs associated with litigation (filing fees, deposition and hearing transcript orders, etc.) that a prevailing party may collect from the defeated party at the end of the case.

What some people do not know is that when the case was dismissed by the lower court in 2010, and while the Headleys were preparing their appeal, Scientology Inc took the unusual course of aggressively pursuing collection of their $40,000 plus cost bill from the Headleys.   The Headleys had to prepare and argue more costly motions to stay collection pending appeal.  The lower court denied their motion, but the court of appeal granted it – putting collection of costs on hold pending the appeal.

Now that the appeal has run its course, and Scientology Inc has prevailed, they have added costs associated with the appeal to their bill and threatened the Headleys with aggressive collection tactics should they not cough up $43,000  pronto.

If the Headleys did not pay within a reasonable time, Scientology Inc promised it would put liens on their property, perhaps even repossess their vehicles. With two small children, and a third one on the way, the church promised no quarter would be given.

When Marc asked for a grace period or a payment plan, he was sent the following proposal:

See the full story at the Village Voice.

When Marc told me about this I suggested that based on other recent Miscavige pay outs for information on me – including one in the high six figures – Marc should take the deal, but ask for six or seven figures himself.  Marc, being the man he is, would hear nothing of it.  He told Miscavige to take his offer and shove it.

Marc went out and sold anything of value he owned that wasn’t absolutely esssential for the surival of his family.  He scraped and I bet, though he’s not the kind of guy to ever admit it, borrowed enough to pay the cult on the barrelhead.

Though Marc clearly doesn’t see eye to eye with me on Scientology technology, there are bonds of brotherhood between former members of the cult that are a heck of a lot thicker than money.   When Marc made it clear he was going to get the money to pay the bill come hell or high water, I told him I was going to recommend to the contributors to the Indie Defense Fund that we forward the balance in the fund to him to defray the hardship.

Marc was the first to expose the house of horrors that David Miscavige created, the hole at Scientology Inc headquarters outside Hemet, California.  Many have validated me for having courage to stand and speak out about those same abuses.   However,  my decision was relatively easy compared to Marc’s and Claire’s.  They preceeded me (with very little knowledge of Scientology Inc critic destruction techniques) and in fact their actions in doing so tweeked my conscience to speak out in the first place.  Marc and Claire have also given their continuing support in many ways to refugees from Scientology Inc at every level.

I think Marc and Claire are worthy of and are entitled to our support.

There is an $8,500.00 balance in the Indie Defense Fund.  Virtually all of it was donated for the purpose of handling Scientology Inc.’s lawsuit against Debbie Cook.   In keeping with my policy on donated funds, I will give people whose money remains in the fund an opportunity to participate in decisions as to how it is expended.  It is my intention to provide Marc and Claire with the $8,500 dollars remaining to help handle the hardship caused by raising the funds necessary to pay the costs bill from the litigation.  If anyone who did not already receive a refund from the Debbie Cook case litigation – whose funds therefore are still in the Indies Defense Fund – does not agree with this intended disposition of the remaining funds, please write to me at casablancatx@hushmail.com.   Tell Mosey how much you donated, when, and where to return the funds to.   Otherwise, my intention is to write a check for $8,500 to Marc and Claire.   The check will be written and sent on Monday 17 September.  So, if you have an objection write to us no later than  Sunday 16 September.

For those who want to contribute more directly to the Headleys, click here.

Miscavige Gone Mad Over Vanity Fair

David Miscavige’s personal counsel has promised Vanity Fair:

The sting of the jury verdict will last longer still; far longer than any pleasure from racing to publish a poorly researched and sourced story.

Dave Miscavige, if you follow through on your threat, I will grant you power of forgiveness.   Don’t bother retaining a process server to deliver my deposition subpoena.  Save the parishioner donations, and send it FED EX cash-on-delivery.  My treat.

All joking aside, the final meltdown has become divine comedy.

The ‘church’ of Scientology has proudly posted their serial threat letters to Vanity Fair on their own website.  Miscavige is so out of touch he thinks people will think better of him for it…apparently.

A cursory read of the letters – a thorough read is impossible for someone with important work to do – demonstrates to me one thing and one thing alone.  That is, the words of one-time popular guru gone bad da Free John, describing why he left Scientology after completing its highest level of spiritual attainment, were prophesy.  He said he had to leave because the church of scientology’s:

MENTALITY OF POWER AND PARANOID, COSMIC POLITICS.

Check them out yourselves.  No other seven words can possibly describe the mentality behind them:

The letters on Scientology Inc’s website.

Previous posts for reference: click here.

Tom Cruise – Hunkered in Miscavige’s Bunker

The Vanity Fair affair is not going to be pretty.   As folks are preparing for the Cat 4 or 5, I want the record to be crystal clear that I put Tom Cruise on notice more than three years ago that this was coming.

Tom Cruise Put on Notice in August 2009

You can check the history of this blog to see that I gave him every opportunity to consult his conscience and choose an ethical course.  Instead, he chose to hunker down in David Miscavige’s bunker.

A little word of advice to Tom from L. Ron Hubbard: paraphrased, it is never too late to trim your sheets.

Nazanin Boniadi represents the tip of an iceberg.

 

Love And Respect For Family

Check out this article on one of the fastest growing religions in America:

http://news.yahoo.com/amish-population-booms-us-201114305.html

The Amish don’t spend millions each year to promote themselves.

The Amish don’t build gaudy, multi-million dollar shrines to themselves with state-of-the-art a/v gadgets to cajole people in.

The Amish don’t proselytize at all.

Apparently, the growth of the Amish is simply due to their nurturing and respect for their families and decent treatment of their own.

Imagine that.

That imagining reminded me of the Village Voice interview with Mimi Faust of the reality show Love and Hip Hop Atlanta.  She recounted her childhood when her mother abandoned her for Scientology Inc.’s para-military priesthood (the Sea Organization).   It reminded particularly of this bit of street-wise wisdom that she imparted:

I asked Mimi what she thinks of Scientology today. She didn’t want to badmouth it, and assumed that some people find something positive in it. But she pointed out that it was her understanding Scientology wants to unite people. “Well, how are you going to keep the world together if you can’t keep your family together?” Mimi’s interview at VV

Fearsome Scientologists

David Letterman nailed the personality of the corporate Scientologist, still apparently understood by public opinion as “Scientologist” without any modifier.   Please see the story – and particularly the video clip of his interview with Amy Adams.

David Letterman on Scientologists

Note how Adams is lost for words, and her recognition exhibits by genuine laughter, when Letterman tells her that is how she too feels.  Also, listen to the audience agreement with Letterman’s evaluation.  Unfortunately folks, that is what we have to work with.   That is the legacy of Miscavige.

Fortunately, hopefully over time we can change that reality.  I cover pretty thoroughly HOW Letterman’s reality came to be – the process by which the reality he is correctly observing came to be – at chapters 7 through 10 and 13-14 of my book What Is Wrong With Scientology?   I cover some suggestions of how Scientologists might free themselves of it at chapters 15 and 16. Perhaps as more Scientologists understand that, they can naturally cease being what the public has come to know as fearsome.

The Luglis Reveal Truth in Italy

A rather significant front-page article ran this week in a major Italian newspaper.   One of its subjects, Renata Lugli, wrote a short introduction to the piece.   It precedes the article below.

Anyone that studied and understood the materiel contained in the PTS SP Course , knows that suppression decreases when the person can do something about it.

If I have to choose from the many suppressions that I received from David Miscavige, thanks to his deadly tentacles of his “church”, the one that was most damaging was the violent intrusion in the very personal matters that relate to my family .

No church, that can call itself a church, can assume this right. But this conduct has been pursued by the use of third parties with a vicious ability to turn theta truth into ENtheta perversions.

The effect that David Miscavige wanted to create in doing that was to instill in my son Flavio, a Flag Staff, an unnatural sense of hatred toward me, with the purpose of convincing him to work against me and my family by having him perform the ungrateful task of spying on us and report to OSA.

The intention of David Miscavige and his minion in OSA was to “punish” me and my husband because we did not wanted to disconnect from the other son of ours Tiziano, that left the Corporate Scientology . Even after Marion Pow and Mike Sutter (RTC/OSA mission) had come to Brescia and stayed for one week to convince us to disconnect from Tiziano and after that our son Flavio was for hours on the phone trying to convince us to do the same. The famous or better infamous policy of Disconnection!

For two long years I had to bear this suppression, till the case of Karen De La Carriere/Alexander Jentzch made it explodeIt was exactly then that I took a firm decision: it is our duty to make the Italian public aware of what David Miscavige and his minions are doing.

And by “chance” after a week I met with the news reporter Leonardo Piccini that works for LIBERO and thanks to his interest in the matter we have been able to send back the flow to David Miscavige & Co. to balance the flow we as a family received from them.

What was Miscavige expecting when he designed all of his plan against my family? That a mother would let someone steal her son and would just take the violence and abuse of that and stay silent? Just look at someone destroying the most precious things that one has:, his/her family, and just sit in a corner like a beaten dog and do nothing?

David Miscavige does not have the faintest idea to which extent a mother will go.

He can possibly stop the President of The United States with his lobbying, but he will not stop a mother!

I want to cite to you a sentence taken from a song that Lisa Marie Presley just wrote, and this goes to David Miscavige:

“You haven’t seen nothing yet!”

You should have known that you better not touch a family, and you should have learned this lesson from Sun-Tzu:

There are roads one does not follow.There are armies one does not strike.There are cities one does not attack.There are grounds one does not contest.There are commands of the sovereign one does not accept.

-Renata Lugli

The Exposure of The Designer Lugli

‘I WAS ONE OF THE BOSSES OF SCIENTOLOGY AND NOW I TELL YOU THE  TRUTH ABOUT THE CULT’

Written by LEONARDO PICCINI

The accusations do not come from a nobody, but from a major figure in Scientology, who starting from 1974 has done all of the awareness steps required to reach the top called OT VIII. This person is Claudio Lugli. He is a fashion designer.

§§§§§§§

THE PERSONAL STORY

I Will Explain What Kind Of A Nightmare Scientology Is

The Fashion Designer Claudio Lugli has been for years a leader in the Church founded by Hubbard. Since he and his wife got out: ‘They take away from you your money and your dignity. They even took a son from us!

…. He is a fashion creator, dressed people like Miles Davis, Pino Daniele or movie stars like John Travolta, and Chick Corea, but also the charismatic leader of the church founded by Hubbard, David Miscavige.

We meet in a luxurious loft in Brescia, and words flow like a river: “Me, my wife Renata and our two sons Flavio and Tiziano have been following Scientology since ever. We have been amongst the pioneers and the founding members of the Church of Hubbard in Italy, and we took great care in expanding and financing its operations. But today we decided to end with the Miscavige Organization”

“It has not been an easy decision, because it is never easy to find out a truth that makes vanish, just in one shot, 36 years of dedication and support to values that have been trampled on used just to support greed and personal interests.”

Because his majesty David Miscavige, lives the high life, the thousands of Scientologists that are still part of his cult  are totally unaware of this.

Renata Lugli is even more direct: “We found out that through the years a lot of things changed and that ‘Church Management’ betrayed the faith and the ideals in which we believed in”

To follow the story has been necessary to address issue that every Scientologist has at heart and discuss of what is happening in Hemet, California, the International Base where David Miscavige lives.

“For us is not easy to talk” – says Renata – “because one of our sons Flavio , a 35 years old boy, is still inside what I define as the MISCAVIGE CORPORATE Scientology. He lives in Clearwater Florida, north of Tampa, and it is 15 years that he is working as an auditor in the Sea Org, the advanced organization of Scientology. People there are made to work even 20 hours a day, sleep in a modest room and have a salary of $ 20 a week. But when you talk about Miscavige … things change. A friend of ours worked directly under him in the “Special Personal Service Unit”. This unit is reserved only for Miscavige and his wife. While other staff members almost starve he spends more than a  $1,000 just on food per week”

Miscavige and his wife have one Chef full time working for them plus an assistant Chef and several stewards and butlers. The head of Scientology eats every two hours, and he follows a specific diet, a low fat diet.

“Naturally all the food must be extremely fresh and of the best quality available. And for lunch and dinner Miscavige must have two different choices always available to him , and this means a 4 full course menu for two different people every single day”

Salmon for Miscavige comes fresh from the East Coast of USA or Canada, but the lamb must be only the one coming from New Zealand that has been fed by a special kind of corn. And steaks?  Everything absolutely biological, like filet mignon first quality.

“When Miscavige celebrate his birthday or when he is having guest of the caliber of Tom Cruise  – (The actor has been a Scientologist since years now-)  Claudio lugli says – everything becomes even more  fancy and extravagant: preparations began even 3 or 4 days ahead and servants have to follow a special “wish list” . And if what the master Chef created is not considered good enough, then, orders are placed in the best and most fancy restaurants available, and there is no limit, because the boss needs to be satisfied.  Foie Gras and truffle are the norm.”

And let’s talk about his residence:

“It is comparable to royalty, things not even imaginable to the Sea Org rank and file or the regular Scientologist.”

Miscavige owns fabulous buildings in Gilman Hot Spring, in Los Angeles and at Flag. In England he even has a castle at his disposal.

“Everything has been designed and custom made for him, only the very best and state of the art is used furniture wise”

Miscavige has a fleet of cars that only international collectors normally have, and also a large number of bikes and:
“If there is anything expensive that he does not own yet , there is no problem, it will be put in the next birthday or Christmas wish list “

Mrs Renata adds: “Per what Mr Hubbard wrote, money donated by parishioners had to be used to disseminate Scientology, they have never been intended to make live a life of luxury to somebody at the helm of the church. Hubbard never lived a kind of life like that, with such a flaunted style of life like Miscavige does, and this is also another proof of how much the original ideals of Scientology have been betrayed.”

And Mr Lugli adds:

“Miscavige invented a new, perverted mechanism to take money from the parishioners: the so called “Ideal Orgs”. I saw with my very eyes, in Padova at an event, a lady going up on stage and announce to a crowd of Scientologist that she would donate the three apartments she had just got as an inheritance fron her parents to the “Ideal Org Project”, the Scientologist were in ecstasy.

And what can we say about Mr Richie Acunto, he was rewarded as “Diamond Meritorious” because he had donated something like 10 million dollars to the “Ideal Org”! Richie was a good friend of Tiziano, my son, he married Tiziano and Jamie, but the point is that part of the money he had donated have been used to hire and pay something like 50 Private Investigators that for MONTHS besieged my son house in Hollywood because he had left the Church. Richie Acunto shortly after went bankrupt with his company the “Survival Insurance”, a huge insurance company, but this was of no interest to Miscavige. He has a very big team of people that specialize in fund raising, they even go to the parishioner house in the middle of the night and force him to pay some money.

It looks like that a parallel organization named IAS has accumulated funds in the order of a billion dollars.

But Miscavige’s perversion knows no boundaries: like a new born Caligula, that became famous because he appointed his horse as Senator, so Miscavige decided “to put the rank bars” to his dog and appointed the dog Captain. And if the dog barks at you that’s a sign that you “are out ethics” and so you will be punished.

“Ethics” in Scientology is a word that comes up continuously.

“If you are there you are like a prisoner in the STASI” – says Renata – “Things keep getting worse and worse, sons and daughter are estranged from their families, and they can keep just casual contact by phone with their parents or family members, and there is always somebody there listening and monitoring their calls.  You have to report each other to the “Ethics Officer”., he is the person that has to know everything so that things run smoothly without ANY external influence. And if your family thinks differently, or worse get out of the Church, they are considered immediately “apostate”, and barred for ever.” Renata keeps on telling me: “One week ago a boy that had just turned 27, his name is Alexander, died in very obscure circumstances. His father is Heber Jentzch, the President of The Church of Scientology International, but his mother, one of the highest trained auditor on the planet, and directly trained by Hubbard, was not allowed to see her dead son. The Church had imposed to Alexander not to have any contact whatsoever with his mother . This type of behavior is called “DISCONNECTION”, and now this practice became very usual and families are thrown in despair because of it.

But I would have never thought that this practice could go beyond death! That situation troubled me very much, because I have a son too that disconnected from us, two years ago, when we decided to leave Scientology.”

“In Scientology, a follower can be punished” her husband says- “they use what they call the RPF, Rehabilitation Project Force; it is in essence like forced labor, and you have to clean toilets, paint a wall, and various menial jobs for 8 hours a day, plus 4 hours you have to study, And this goes on for years, for some even more than 10 years. And what about THE HOLE ? That’s a place where staff members are kept against their will for weeks and weeks, intimidated and prisoners, and they have to sleep on the floor and eat some slop – armed guards are always present , movement sensor are in place, and doors are locked. Plus there is the constant threat of physical violence, and people in the HOLE are subjected to physical and mental degradation of the worst kind.”

MISCAVIGE IS ACCUSED BY EX MEMBERS IN USA

IN THE USA THE SUPREME LEADER BEATS HIS JUNIORS .

ONE OF THEM WAS TREATED LIKE A PUNCHING BALL

Scientology in the USA is under a very serious schism problem. Some ex members are giving unprecedented accounts of information on what happened at the highest levels of their organization.

Those are statements that are coming from the highest ranks and people broke the conspiracy of silence and started giving interviews to the media.

People like Tom De Vocht that was managing for years the “Headquarters” of the Church in Clearwater – Or Amy Scobee, that was managing the network dedicated to all the celebrities in Scientology – a key figure that had daily contact with people of the caliber of John Travolta or Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes or the like. And even more, top managers like Marty Rathbun that worked almost his entire life together with David Miscavige, as second in command, handling legal affairs.

Or Mike Rinder  for 20 years the head of OSA the Office of Special Affarirs: they left Scientology and decided to give very detailed and strong interviews like the one they all gave to the St. Petersburg Times, in where they reveal the methods that David Miscavige used to keep his power.

Miscavige in 1986 became the undisputed leader of Scientology. Miscavige is 49 and is described by many as being very charismatic.

Many call him just COB, because he is the Chairman of The Board – basically the owner of the Church now, Church that was founded back in 1954 .

The ex members are accusing Miscavige of physical violence , a reality that is permeating the whole of Scientology. Mike Rinder even said that: “I have been beaten more than 50 times by Miscavige”. Rathbun, Rinder, De Vocht they also admit of beatings they did and they did it to “show the boss of what they were of “.

De Vocht says that there is no particular reason why people are beaten or abused by Miscavige: “Miscavige goes crazy for nothing, it is enough that what you say to him something that is not what he was expecting from you. And it could be something that happens, just for his whim – it can be the way you looked at him, or because you were too slow in answering his questions.”

There is a list of people that have been abused and Rathbun and Rinder made this list public in interviews:

Marc Yager: “Has been beaten about 20 times, he was treated like a punching bag”

Guillame Lesevre, about ten times, and Ray Mithoff was regularly beaten very violently on the head and strangled or thrown on the ground – per what Rathbun said.

Rathbun also says that Mike Rinder has been beaten at least a dozen times.

For Rinder: “Was not much the physical pain, but was the humiliation . Because you cannot defend yourself, you cannot raise your hands against the boss.”

But their accusations go beyond that and they say: “ Staff are disciplined with a justice system that include “public” confessions of your sins and the isolation of the sinner and he/she is sentenced to manual forced labor.”

Those are all very heavy accusations and more: “The Church has covered the Lisa McPherson death case. They made a mess trying to take care of her , but Lisa Mc Pherson died after was kept isolated for 17 days at the Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater.”

Rathbun was in charge of handling the resulting mess media wise, and he admits to: “I ordered the destructions of incriminating proofs and documents.”

LEONARDO PICCINI

THE QUESTIONS THAT LIBERO ASKED TO SCIENTOLOGY

Libero for several weeks tried to get the following questions answered by the people responsible for Scientology in Italy, but no answers were given.

Here are the questions:

  1. What are the aims of Scientology?
  2. In which areas of the society Scientology  operates?
  3. How many followers there are in the world, and in particular haw many in Italy?
  4. David Miscavige is the highest in rank in Scientology?
  5. How are the living standards of your religious leader, related to a normal member of your Church?
  6. Is it true that David Miscavige owns  luxury cars and bikes
  7. We were informed that many families  because of your policy of “Disconnection” have been separated. Does this policy exists. If so how does it works?
  8. What are and how do work the “Ideal Orgs” . What are the services they offer to followers and members of your Church?
  9. How many people left the Church so far?
  10. What is your attitude toward two famous of those high ranking ex members like Marty Rathbun and Mike Rinder?
  11. What are you saying in relationship to the very precise accusations that Debbie Cook gave under oath in an American Court of Law, in where she talked about THE HOLE and the abuses she experienced   while there?

LINK: FOR THE ORIGINAL IN ITALIAN