|
|
Las Vegas Review Journal
April 22, 1980
Scientologists tried to silence enemies
Part one
by Sherman R. Frederick, R-J City Editor
Editors note: This is the first of a two part series on the
questionable
activities of the Church of Scientology in Nevada and the mysterious
connection between its founder and Las Vegas.
The Las Vegas Church of Scientology attempted to silence its
enemies
and critics in Nevada by waging propaganda and espionage campaigns
against
Las Vegas law-enforcement and business agencies.
Documents seized from the church by the FBI reveal the church on
a
national scale conspired to steal grand jury transcripts, attempted to
infiltrate the CIA, and launched a myriad of dirty tricks against
public
officials.
The documents also show church members ran covert operations
against
the Clark County district attorneys office, infiltrated and claimed to
break
up the now defunct Clark County Mental Health Association, and kept
close
tabs on the US. attorney's office, the attorney general's office and
other
Southern Nevada law-enforcement agencies.
In addition, Scientologists waged a negative propaganda - a
"black"
public relations - campaign against the Better Business Bureau of
Southern
Nevada for giving out what was perceived to be unfavorable information
about
the church.
The Review-Journal obtained copies of the documents pertaining to
Las
Vegas through Paulette Cooper, author of the book "The Scandal of
Scientology."
They were found amid the 35 cartons of FBI seized documents used
to
convict nine top Scientologists last year of conspiring to steal
government
documents.
A federal judge in Washington DC made public the documents after
the trial.
A summary of the previously undisclosed documents follow:
- A letter dated DEC 11, 1973 from Chuck Reese, a top local church
officer
at the time, to Mary Sue Hubbard, wife of the church founder and one
of the
nine convicted Scientologists, stated the Clark County Mental Health
Association "was investigated by myself in June of 1971 to January of
1972."
It was also infiltrated by Doug Jacobsen, code name six, in June or
July of '71.
"I attest that everything possible was done to collect this data,
everything from infiltrating to stealing to eavesdropping, etc.," the
document states.
"Actions directed against us were stopped by us stopping them,"
it
continues.
-A kind of spy-target log talks about finding out what kind of
anti-Scientology documents were on file with the Clark County district
attorney's office.
It read: "AG Info LV RE: DA's Office log 313. I would be very
interested in the DA's files when you finally work out a method of
getting
them as per W/R 15 Nov. '73."
A similar log then continues: "We should follow up this LV cycle
as
Carter almost certainly saw a Scotland Yard report. The report must
exist
somewhere, probably the LV DA's office. I would suggest also the LV
Police
or the Nevada AG's office if the DA fails. You should get someone
into that
area or get someone there to start going for the files."
-A document titled "analysis US Atty's office - Nevada LV #7
concluded:
"This agency probably has additional files on the church due to
the
above documentation that we do have knowledge of. It is not verified
that
these documents went to the US attorney (in) Nevada, but it is
probable."
-In a dispatch marked "OPERATION BLACK FRIDAY" from the local church
to
higher ups in the church chain of command, the plot to discredit the
Better
Business Bureau was detailed.
"I wrote a letter & Remeo'd 500 copys (sic) off here in the Org
myself,
then took page 1 of the BBB letter to Henderson Nev. and had a man in
a
little shop run off 500 copys, (sic) then I took page 2 of the BBB
letter
to an off the wall place in Vegas and had a man run off 500 copys
(sic). I
then got the membership list of the LV BBB (around 460 members) of
which I
had to look up every address in the phone book.
My wife and I
addressed and
licked a letter for every member of the LV BBB. I then drove to
Henderson
Nev. and mailed them so the postmark would be Henderson and seemingly
the
source of the attack.
"Operation Black Friday went very smooth and was very successful.
I'll let you know as soon as the s... hits the fan."
The letter concludes:
P.S. Review Journal, Las Vegas Sun and Free
Press
also received copies of the letter.
A later letter explained that the black PR campaign was waged
against
the bureau because it was spreading unfavorable information about the
church. The information the church felt would discredit the bureau
was a
letter that indicated the bureau was having "a very hard time
financially."
Because of plots like these that were apparently hatched all over
the
United States, the church at one point found that it had taken so many
documents that just reading them threatened to bog down the church's
spy
network, documents revealed.
Other documents show how the church infiltrated government
offices.
"You should have a story already made up that will be plausible
should
you be asked what you are doing," it said. "A story that you would
tell a
guard on the way into the building may be entirely inappropriate if
your
caught with your hand in the file cabinet."
"And it will make a difference if the person questioning you is a
cleaner, guard, employee... So think it out before you go in."
Coupled with the Las Vegas documents, it was learned that at
least
three of the top leaders of the local church in the 1970's - the time
documents show covert activity - have since risen to top posts at
larger
branches of the church.
The three are:
Susan Reed. She became a close underling of Mary Sue Hubbard,
who is
the wife of Scientology founder LRH and the head of the intelligence
gathering arm of the church called the Guardian Office. Mary Sue
Hubbard
was one of the nine convicted in Washington DC.
Madelyn Reese. She became a secretary of the church in
California and
is now a high official in the Los Angeles branch of the church. It
was at
the Los Angeles branch of the church that the FBI seized the thousands
of
secret church documents that provided the basis for the Washington DC
convictions.
Chuck Reese. The husband of Madelyn, he became a high official
in the
Los Angeles Guardian Office and was an unindicted co-conspirator of
the
Washington Nine.
About ten other members of the Las Vegas church during the '70s
also
went on to hold high jobs in other more important Scientology
outposts,
informed sources said.
"They were paranoid," a former high ranking Las Vegas
Scientologist,
who asked not to be identified, said of church members who apparently
engaged in the questionable activity in Las Vegas.
He said a common way the church infiltrated these agencies was by
planting a church member in them as a secretary or a janitor. When
the
opportunity presented itself, the plant would search for
anti-scientology
evidence.
He also claimed the church has five prime targets in Nevada. He
said
they are:
The Clark County district attorneys office..
The attorney generals office..
The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department..
The North Las Vegas Police Department..
The Las Vegas Review Journal..
The alleged current illegal activity by the church in Southern
Nevada
could not be immediately confirmed, however.
When asked for a comment on the documents and allegations made by
the
former Scientologist, a church spokesman produced a Guardian Order
dated DEC
27, 1979, which stated that certain church members may have engaged in
"harassive or illegal acts." But, the order adds, the acts
"misrepresent
the basic tenets of the Church.".
Las Vegas Church spokesman Carol Garrity also said that to her
knowledge no "harassive or illegal" acts are being carried out by
church
members.
She added that when Hubbard was convicted of stealing the
documents in
Washington DC the founders wife said "it won't happen again."
However, because the documents seem to indicate such silencing
tactics
were a systematic church effort, many observers wonder.
|
|
|