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Scientology's Scandals!

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Complete File is on Rick Ross's Webpages HERE

20/20/1982 
VO=VOICEOVER 
auditing session; pictures of L. Ron Hubbard's books; picture of 
Hubbard 

VOICEOVER: By doing these exercises and being tested on a lie 
detector-like machine called the E-meter, and make sure you follow 
exactly the teachings of Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard. You can 
have a better life, they say, by following L. Ron Hubbard--or maybe 
not. 

L. Ron Hubbard, Jr.; Gerry Armstrong; Ford and Andrea Schwartz; 
picture of Hubbard 

VO: L. Ron Hubbard's son, Scientology's researcher and other church 
officials have left the church, and now for the first time they are 
publicly saying that Hubbard is a liar and the church's main interest 
is money. 

JOHN STOSSEL: From the beginning this was a fraud. 

L. RON HUBBARD, JR.: Right, correct, exactly. 
VO: This man is L. Ron Hubbard, Jr., son of the founder of 
Scientology. He left the church in 1959. He's kept in contact with 
church members but, out of fear for himself and his family, he has 
kept silent. Now he feels he has to warn people. 

STOSSEL: Your father never meant to help people to start a religion? 
He didn't believe it? He was just out to make money? 
caption--L.RON HUBBARD, JR. 

HUBBARD, JR.: He meant to start a religion for self-aggrandizement, 
for money, for power. 

STOSSEL: Money and power. 

HUBBARD, JR.: Um-hum. And he got that on a great basis, both of them. 
picture of LRH 

VO: Hubbard, Jr. was there from the beginning when his father founded 
Scientology. He was second in command for 10 years. 

STOSSEL: From the beginning you were cheating people. You were telling 
them, "This is a religion, we're gonna help you." But the real purpose 
was to make money. 

HUBBARD, JR.: Correct. 

STOSSEL: How much money? 

HUBBARD, JR.: Well, I knew back in 1959 when I left the organization, 
the figures here [???] were only $20 or 30 million personally. But, 
um, I received figures recently as much as a quarter billion. 

VO: The church denies that Hubbard, Sr. profited personally but does 
admit the church is well off. 

Andrea Schwartz 

VO: Some of the money was raised through people like Andrea Schwartz. 
She enrolled students in Scientology courses 

caption: ANDREA SCHWARTZ, Former Scientologist 

ANDREA SCHWARTZ: I would outline a program that pretty closely matched 
his savings account or matched what he could buy, you know, by getting 
a loan or whatever. 

STOSSEL: And people would borrow money to take your courses? 

SCHWARTZ: Honey, people would sell their houses, they'd lie to their 
parents, they'd do just about anything they could. I would have died 
for L. Ron Hubbard. If I had gotten an order, "This is what you need 
to do to make planet Earth a better place," I would have done it. 
picture of Hubbard; Gerry Armstrong 

VO: But what do you find when you look carefully at Mr. Hubbard? Gerry 
Armstrong was so close to Hubbard, the church appointed him researcher 
for Hubbard's biography. He assembled thousands of documents on 
Hubbard, but when he read them--: 

caption: GERRY ARMSTRONG, Former Scientologist 

GERRY ARMSTRONG: L. Ron Hubbard became a lie. 
picture of Scientology book with highlighted text 

VO: In Scientology's texts, Hubbard claimed he miraculously cured 
himself of combat wounds. 

ARMSTRONG: He was never wounded. 
picture of hospital bed; drawing supposedly of Hubbard with dark 
glasses on 

ARMSTRONG (voice of): He was never crippled. He was never blinded. 

ARMSTRONG (on camera): He did spend some time under medical care for 
ulcers. 

HUBBARD, JR.: 99% of what my father has written and said about himself 
is fully untrue. He just

STOSSEL: Just made it up. 

HUBBARD, JR.: That's right. 

picture of Dianetics book 

VO: Profits from the best seller went not to religion, says his son, 
but to the importing of drugs. 

HUBBARD, JR.: He furnished the money, I ran around--I went along to 
load the money, um, and through Mafia [??] friends of his we imported, 
um, cocaine and heroin through Colombia. 

STOSSEL: People were giving you money to get happiness, religion from 
learning and you were going to Mexico and Colombia with your father to 
buy drugs? Marijuana and cocaine, right? 

HUBBARD, JR.: Correct. 

maps of England, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States 
with the names of the areas shown as the map of each country was 
shown; picture of Hubbard; picture of the Apollo 

VO: Then in England, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the United 
States, government agencies started investigating Hubbard and the 
church. Hubbard, however, never had to answer any questions, because 
he moved Scientology's headquarters to this ship, and for five years 
he ran the church from the ship. 

STOSSEL: You were on the boat with him for four years. 

ARMSTRONG: Um-hum. 

wedding pictures of Gerry Armstrong 

STOSSEL: You got married on the boat. 

ARMSTRONG: Right. He gave away my wife. 
picture of Hubbard with Gerry Armstrong's wife; another wedding 
picture 

STOSSEL: He was the surrogate father of the bride. 

ARMSTRONG: Exactly. 

picture of the Apollo 

VO: Several church officials who were on the boat now say Hubbard used 
the boat to store millions of dollars. 

STOSSEL: You would see it, help process it? 

ARMSTRONG: Uh, I helped clear it through customs. 

STOSSEL: Millions of dollars. 

ARMSTRONG: Millions. In briefcases. 

pictures of Hubbard looking really dissipated; another picture of 
Hubbard with a hat and glasses 
VO: Armstrong says in 1973 Hubbard went ashore to hide; and these 
pictures were taken of him in Queens, NY. 

ARMSTRONG (voice of): The reason he fled the ship was because of the 
French fraud case. He grew his hair long as part of the disguise and 
whenever he went out in public he wore a little hat and glasses. 

VO: At the same time, he and his church launched an attack on his 
enemies. 

HUBBARD, JR.: My father's basic policy has always been since at least 
since 1952 what's called "Fair Game," which means that, um, anybody 
that speaks out against Scientology, writes about Scientology, he 
would do everything in his power to destroy them. 

STOSSEL: Like what? 

HUBBARD, JR.: Um, find out every mean, down, dirty thing that they 
ever did in their life and use it against them. 

ARMSTRONG: An intelligence operation. 

STOSSEL: An intelligence operation? Gathering information on whom? 

ARMSTRONG: Um, anyone who would oppose L. Ron Hubbard and his dream. 
Internal Revenue Service building; Justice Department building 

VO: The Scientologists had many techniques for harassing their 
enemies. In the late 1970s they broke into the IRS and Justice 
Department to steal documents. 
picture of Mary Sue Hubbard 

VO: Nine Scientology officers including L. Ron Hubbard's wife, Mary 
Sue, were convicted for that break-in. 

Los Angeles Scientology church building 

VO: Documents the FBI found in the church's Los Angeles office 
suggested other ways to harass an enemy. 
pictures of church documents 

STOSSEL (reading from documents): "Order hundred of dollars of liquor 
in his name and have it delivered to his home to cause him trouble. 
Wake him up every night by calling him up on the phone and threatening 
him. Poison him while he's asleep so he'll never start another 
attack." 

Los Angeles Scientology church; Rev. Heber Jentzsch and Scientology 
lawyer Harvey Silverglate 

VO: Are these the policies of a church? The church provided two 
spokesmen, church lawyer Harvey Silverglate and Scientology 
International president Reverend Heber Jentzsch. 
caption--Rev. HEBER JENTZCH, Scientology Spokesman 

HEBER JENTZSCH: The church does not believe in that kind of a policy 
and has never held that kind of a policy. You're bound to have a few 
people who do not agree to the moral principles of the church, but on 
the other hand

STOSSEL: Who totally on their own go out and break into people's 
offices. 

JENTZSCH: On the other hand, what you're missing is that millions and 
millions of people follow the moral precepts, apply those, and have 
brought a tremendous amount of happiness to their own lives. 

STOSSEL: You made it clear after the break-ins that this was not 
church policy. At some point, did you make it extra clear to 
everybody, "Hey, we don't break in"? 

JENTZSCH: Correct. 

HUBBARD, JR.: They've said that since about 5 minutes after my father 
created the policy [laughs] in 1950. 

VO: The church says L. Ron, Jr. is a liar and even signed an affidavit 
admitting it. 

JENTZSCH: He admits that he's lied about the church and he's lied in 
depositions, etc., and he wants to make a clean breast of it. 
L. Ron Hubbard, Jr.; affidavit signed by L. Ron Hubbard, Jr. 

VO: L. Ron, Jr. says he's no liar. He signed that statement, he says, 
only because the Scientologists threatened his family. 
Ford and Andrea Schwartz; Mike Flynn 

VO: These Scientologists say they were instructed to harass the 
church's current enemies like attorney Mike Flynn. Flynn is an enemy 
because several ex-Scientologists hired him to sue the church. 

STOSSEL: They broke into your office, stole 20,000 documents. 
caption--MICHAEL FLYNN, Attorney 

MICHAEL FLYNN: Filed lawsuits all over the United States against me, 
um, sent postcards to me threatening to poison me. Um, I've had bomb 
threats called into my office, harassing telephone calls at all hours 
of the day and night. 

STOSSEL (outside Los Angeles Church of Scientology): And how do 
Scientologists find out what's happening in the enemy's camp? Through 
spies and double agents like Ford and Andrea Schwartz. 

STOSSEL (interviewing): What did you do? 

FORD SCHWARTZ: I was an [narc??]. 

VO: Ford Schwartz says Scientology's police organization called the 
Guardian's Office assigned him and his wife Andrea to pose as 
deprogrammers, people who help people get out of Scientology. 
caption--FORD SCHWARTZ, Former Scientologist 

FORD SCHWARTZ: The point of the operation was to become the enemy 
completely. 

STOSSEL: So you had one of your own people leading the opposition. 

ANDREA SCHWARTZ: And--what better way to play the game? Playing both 
sides. 

STOSSEL: You fooled Flynn. 

FORD SCHWARTZ: I infiltrated the Michael Flynn network. 

STOSSEL: He got you. 

FLYNN: He got me. 

Stossel holding document on L. Ron Hubbard, Jr. 

VO: Ford also spied on Hubbard, Jr., provided data for this incredible 
document, a list of much of what Hubbard did or said over the past 30 
years, that kept Hubbard, Jr. too nervous to speak out. 

HUBBARD, JR.: Probably the main thing that Ford Schwartz did was try 
to, um, keep me contained. 

VO: And they kept the media contained, too. 
excerpt from KGO-TV news story about Scientology 

VOICE OF TIM FINDLEY: The Sea Org is virtually Hubbard's exclusive 
Navy. Each member of the Sea Organization signs a billion year 
contract to serve Scientology. 

VO: This is part of a news story on Scientology taped by ABC's San 
Francisco TV station KGO. The story never ran. 

STOSSEL: You got a story killed at KGO. 

FORD SCHWARTZ: Through media [??] 
more footage from the WGO news show 

VO: Ford Schwartz, posing as a Scientology opponent, got KGO to let 
him see the story. He quickly told the Guardian's Office that the 
report was critical. The Guardian' Office threatened lawsuits, and the 
story was never broadcast. ABC says it wasn't newsworthy. Other 
stories have been killed. 

STOSSEL: You got the UPI to kill a story on Scientology. 

ANDREA SCHWARTZ: Yeah. 

Todd Eastham; UPI news wire page 

VO: UPI reporter Todd Eastham was about to send out this story, which 
Andrea says is true, about how her fellow Scientologists had once 
beaten her up. The Guardian's Office got Andrea to sign a statement 
calling the story a lie, and they threatened lawsuit. The story didn't 
run. 
caption--TODD EASTHAM, United Press International 

TODD EASTHAM: My sources had been discredited to the extent that we no 
longer really considered them decent sources, and without Ford and 
Andrea Schwartz, there was no story. 

Reader's Digest magazine cover with story "Scientology: Anatomy of a 
Frightening Cult"; last page of article 

VO: And Ford tricked the Reader's Digest so that when it ran a story 
about Scientology it said, "For help in getting out of the cult, call 
these numbers", all the numbers led to Ford Schwartz. 

STOSSEL: You were basically a cheat. 

FORD SCHWARTZ: Correct. I was basically a good con man, a cheat. 

VO: How does the church answer these charges? 

caption--HARVEY SILVERGLATE, Scientology attorney 

HARVEY SILVERGLATE: Who can question what these people did? They said 
they did it, we have to assume that they did it. 

STOSSEL: They said their bosses told them to do it as church policy

SILVERGLATE: If they said somebody above them told them to do, let's 
assume somebody above them told them to do it. 

STOSSEL: And it's church policy, they say-- 

SILVERGATE: That's where we differ. 

STOSSEL: Why are all these people saying these things? 

SILVERGATE: There are mixed motives. Money is really the crux of the 
whole thing. You have here people who, while they were in the church, 
committed acts which they now, as ex-members, are testifying that they 
did in order that they can collect money from the church, which they 
claim is responsible for what they did. That is, in a nutshell, what 
is happening here. 

STOSSEL: Sounds like the whole church was there to make money. Gerry 
Armstrong said he channeled millions of dollars to the ship and back. 
I think you're in this to get rich. 

JENTZSCH: Well-- 

STOSSEL: Can you tell me what you did with that money? 

JENTZSCH: We have to answer to governments just like everybody else, 
and we file just like everybody else. We have the church [?????????] 
where this money's gone. 

Jentzsch; L. Ron Hubbard, Jr.; Ford Schwartz; legal summons 

VO: So who do you believe? Current church officials or people who've 
left the church? Pending lawsuits may bring out more of the truth. 
Michael Flynn 

VO: Meanwhile, those who speak out are afraid. 

FLYNN: I started to carry a weapon. 

ARMSTRONG: I keep a knife with me at all times. I keep it--I sleep 
with a knife beside my bed-- 

STOSSEL: Because you think they might come and kill you because you 
have information that hurts them? 

ARMSTRONG: I think they could. 

HUGH DOWNS (in studio): Fascinating. You think we'll ever know if 
Hubbard is alive at this moment? 

STOSSEL: It's hard to say. We don't know if that tape is authentic or 
when it was made. If he is alive, his son's lawsuit may now force him 
to come forward and prove it. Millions of dollars are at stake. 
Meanwhile, tomorrow morning, Hubbard's wife will have her day in 
court. She is to be sentenced for that break-in at the IRS. 

DOWNS: Shades of Howard Hughes. 

STOSSEL: Yeah. 

DOWNS: Thank you, John. 

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