 |
|
|
||||
Narconon's staff provide further illustrations of the organisation's umbilical links with the Church of Scientology. It is not too much of an exaggeration to say that Narconon and the Church of Scientology appear to have a revolving door between them, constantly recycling staff from one to the other. A great many Narconon staff - most likely a majority - are Scientologists; it is striking how many are also involved in other "social betterment" groups with Scientology connections. A significant number of Narconon staff are also recruited through Narconon itself, from the organisation's pool of graduates.
Narconon's Scientologists
Taking the Scientologists first, it is clear that the senior officers of Narconon are invariably members of the Church - and not just any old members, either, but often individuals serving in senior and/or highly strategic roles. Although Narconon's publicity materials ascribe its incorporation in 1970 to its originator, William Benitez, the incorporation papers for Narconon International show two other individuals as having been involved - Arthur "Artie" Maren, Assistant Guardian for Public Relations, and Henning Heldt, Assistant Guardian for Finance. Both were members of the secretive and ruthless Guardian's Office of the Church of Scientology, which - as the Organisations page details - appears to have effectively controlled Narconon for at least a decade.
Thirty years on, those named as Narconon's corporate officers still frequently appear in other guises - indeed, there are survivors of the old Guardian's Office Social Cooperation Bureau, the records of which show that it was "in legal control" of Narconon and other "social reform" groups. One notable individual is Laurie Zurn, a "voting member" of Narconon International's two corporations in California and Oklahoma. She is also involved with Narconon's sister "social reform" groups, Applied Scholastics and The Way to Happniess Foundation, and earlier with the now-defunct Ability Advancement Foundation. She is also a Vice President of the "social reform" groups' senior organisation, the Association for Better Living and Educational. This gives her a unique and, on the face of it, a contradictory role in simultaneously running and supervising Narconon. Even more significantly, in the 1970s she worked for the Guardian's Office as the Deputy Guardian for Social Coordination U.S., working directly to Narconon's co-founder Henning Heldt, the Deputy Guardian U.S. In effect, she is still doing much the same job that she was doing 25 years ago, when the Guardian's Office ran Narconon. One ex-Narconon staffer, Jerry Whitfield, recalled:
I had to follow the orders of Dick [Weigand] who had to follow the orders of Laurie Zurn, another Church of Scientology staff member who worked for the GO US. She was head of Bureau 4, the Social Coordination Bureau of the GO US. Her orders came from the head of Bureau 4 in GO WW [World Wide] at East Grinstead, England, where Scientology was managed.
[Jerry Whitfield affidavit - <http://www.lermanet.com/narconon/whitfieldaff.htm>]
She is, of course, a Scientologist and a member of the Church's elite Sea Organisation to boot; anyone who works for the Association for Better Living and Educational can be assumed to be a Scientologist, as Sea Org membership is compulsory for ABLE staff, despite the organisation's supposedly secular nature.
A similar pattern of entanglement with Scientology and its other "social reform" groups is evident for many other Narconon corporate officers. The following individuals are named in Narconon form 990s submitted to the US Internal Revenue Service between 1997-2000. (As such, some will no longer be in the posts described below.)
Narconon International Robert B. Adams
Director, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
Member, Church of Scientology.
By an odd coincidence (?) the Internet newsgroup alt.religion.scientology was repeatedly attacked in the mid-1990s by a "cancelbot", which deleted posts critical of Scientology, and was operated from the account of one Robert Adams. It is anybody's guess as to whether this might be the same individual.Kevin J. Burke
Director, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
Member, Church of Scientology [http://www.our-home.org/kevinjburke/index.htm].
With his family, a Patron of the International Association of Scientologists (i.e. donor of $40,000 to the IAS).Emmanuel Capbern-Gasqueton
Executive Vice-President, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
Member, Church of Scientology
Now registered as director of the (Scientology-governed) Copenhagen Ability School in Denmark. [http://www.service.uvm.dk/instreg.nsf/WEBALLEINST/9189FDB58C0845AA412568B20068C8AF?Opendocument]Clark Carr
President/Director, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
Trustee, Narconon International, Canadian, OK
Trustee, Narconon Southern California
Trustee/Director, Applied Scholastics International
Director, The Way to Happiness Foundation
Member, Church of ScientologyBarbro A. Chalmers
Secretary, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
Member, Church of Scientology [http://scientologist.myhomepage.org/barbrochalmers-fr/]John Duff
Director, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
President of Narconon International in late 1980s and early 1990s (predecessor to Clark Carr).
Member, Church of Scientology.Joni Ginsberg
Trustee, Narconon International, Canadian, OK
Executive Director, The Way To Happiness Foundation
Trustee, Applied Scholastics Western United States
Member, Church of Scientology [http://www.our-home.org/drjoniginsberg/index.htm]Phil Hart
Trustee/Voting Member, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
Also Executive Director of Narconon International
Member, Church of Scientology.
Appears to have been involved in the Church of Scientology's litigation against the Cult Awareness Network, which it eventually bankrupted and took over.Simon Hogarth
Trustee, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
Member, Church of Scientology Sea Organisation.
Cited by the media in 1989 as, variously, "a representative of the Association for Better Living and Education" or "a Narconon spokesman".Joanne Takano Irwin
Voting Member, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
Trustee/Director/Executive Director, Applied Scholastics International
Trustee, Applied Scholastics Western United States
Director, The Way to Happiness Foundation
Member, Church of Scientology.
Listed as a "Senior Flag Alumnus" and a Patron of the International Association of Scientologists (i.e. donor of $40,000 to the IAS).Nicholas Kent
Director, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA (to 1999)
Senior Case Supervisor, Narconon Southern California
Member, Church of Scientology.Alexander "Sandy" MacNabb
Legal, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
Quoted in Church of Scientology's Freedom magazine, which describes him as "former Assistant Commissioner of Indian Affairs at the U.S. Department of the Interior". Narconon International Newletter vol. 14 issue 1 (Sept 24, 2002) describes him as being part of a group of "friends and consultants" of Narconon's Arrowhead, OK facility.
Not known whether he is a member of the Church of Scientology.Patricia Morril
"Key Employee", Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
Member, Church of Scientology.
Patron of the International Association of Scientologists (i.e. donor of $40,000 to the IAS).Gene Ross
Landlord, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
Landlord, Narconon Southern CaliforniaDr. Megan Shields
Director, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
Trustee, Citizens Commission on Human Rights
Member, Church of Scientology.
Patron of the International Association of Scientologists (i.e. donor of $40,000 to the IAS).Gary W. Smith
"Key Employee", Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
Executive Director of Narconon Arrowhead. States on personal website that he has been an employee of Narconon for over 23 years.
Member, Church of Scientology. [http://garywsmith.our-home.org/]Jeanne Trahant
Treasurer, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA. States on personal website that she is Program Director of Narconon.
Member, Church of Scientology. [http://jeannetrahant.our-home.org/]Lawrence "Larry" Trahant
Formerly Executive Director, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
Also Executive Director, Narconon Southern California
States on personal website that he joined Scientology, through Narconon, then went on to be "an executive over the delivery there".
Member, Church of Scientology. [http://larrytrahant.oursites.org/]
Patron of the International Association of Scientologists (i.e. donor of $40,000 to the IAS).Scott Tregurtha
Trustee, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
Executive Director of The Way to Happiness International, circa 1997
Member, Church of Scientology. [http://scotttregartha.our-home.org/]Rena Weinberg
Trustee, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
President of the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE) in 1997. Also often quoted as a spokeswoman for Applied Scholastics.
Member, Church of Scientology.
Awarded the International Association of Scientologists Freedom Medal in October 1988.Laurie Zurn
Trustee, Narconon International, Canadian, OK
Voting Member, Narconon International, Los Angeles, CA
Trustee, Applied Scholastics International
Vice President, Association for Better Living and Education
Director, The Way to Happiness Foundation
Member, Church of Scientology. Formerly Deputy Guardian for Social Coordination U.S. and Deputy Guardian U.S. in the United States Guardian's Office.
Narconon Northern California Chuck Koch
Director, Narconon of Northern California
Member, Church of Scientology. [http://www.correctauditing.org/page03.htm]
Listed as "Key Contributor" to the Church of Scientology's "Super Power" building in Clearwater, FL, having donated $100,000. Also a "Bronze" donor to the Church's Vanguard campaign, one of "those Scientologists who through their contributions are placing Dianetics and Scientology books into libraries and institutions across the continent, making the tech available to the millions of people who go to the library for information and answers. They have been getting LRH books into massive distribution, and each contributor is highly commended for their support." Also a Patron of the International Association of Scientologists (i.e. donor of $40,000 to the IAS).Andy Moore
Executive Director, Narconon of Northern California
Believed to be a member of the Church of Scientology.
An individual of the same name is listed in Church magazines as having completed various courses.Jerry G. Nemier
Director, Narconon of Northern California
Member, Church of Scientology. [http://myreligion.scientology.org/jerryn/]Rich Prescott
Director, Narconon of Northern California
Believed to be a member of the Church of Scientology.
An individual of the same name is listed as a Patron of the International Association of Scientologists (i.e. donor of $40,000 to the IAS).David Puliafico
Director, Narconon of Northern California
Member, Church of Scientology. [http://davidpuliafico.our-home.org/]
Listed as having completed the high-level "Solo NOTS Auditor Certainty Course, Part II" and in 1999, as a member of the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises (he is an accountant by trade).
Runs the "ABC Children's Study Books Co.", selling L. Ron Hubbard "study technology" books to children. [http://ww2.choicemall.com/abcbooks/]Peggy Rovinsky
Director, Narconon of Northern California
Member, Church of Scientology. [http://www.oursites.org/peggyrovinsky/]
Appears to be involved in Scientology-based schooling. Personal website describes her as a "private educator".Steve Ryman
Director, Narconon of Northern California
Member, Church of Scientology.
Listed as "Crusader" of the International Association of Scientologists (i.e. donor of $10,000 to the IAS), and before that a "Sponsor for Total Freedom" (corresponding to a $5,000 donation).Marc Torres
Director, Narconon of Northern California
Probably Marcello Torres, Californian member of the Church of Scientology [http://marcellotorres.our-home.org/]
Narconon Southern California Julie Bryant
Secretary and Director, Narconon Southern California. Listed as the "Registrar" at http://www.usnodrugs.com/staff.htm
Member, Church of Scientology.
Patron of the International Association of Scientologists (i.e. donor of $40,000 to the IAS) and a "Bronze" donor to the Church's Vanguard campaign of getting Hubbard books into libraries nationwide. [http://home.oursites.net/juliebryant/index.htm]Jette McGregor
President and Director, Narconon Southern California
Apparently now the Executive Director of Narconon Europe (Narconon International Newsletter, Vol 14 Issue I, Sept 24, 2002).
Not known whether she is a member of the Church of Scientology.Patricia "Patty" Schwartz
Trustee, Narconon Southern California
Secretary, Friends of Narconon
Member, Church of Scientology.
Personal website states she joined Scientology through Narconon in 1973 and now works to distribute Narconon videos to schools. [http://home.scientologist.org/pattys/] Wrote to New Times LA defending Narconon on 8 March 2001. [http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=3AA768F8.39E6FEEA%40bc.cc.ca.us&oe=UTF-8&output=gplain]Karen Seagal
Trustee, Narconon Southern CaliforniaMichael St. Amand
Trustee, Narconon Southern California
Director of Legal Affairs, Narconon Arrowhead, OK [http://www.addiction2.com/narconon_professional.html] and elsewhere as the "Director of External Affairs" at the same facility [http://www.drugaddictionprogram.com/cred.html]
Member, Church of Scientology. Reported to have been a senior officer of the Office of Special Affairs in the Boston Church of Scientology (his present post is equivalent to a Scientology Director of Special Affairs). Personal website states that he has worked for Narconon for 8 years. [http://scientologist.myhomepage.org/~mikestamand/myself.htm]
A Maureen St. Amand, who has been a spokesperson for Narconon's Chilocco, OK facility - and is presumably Michael's wife - is a trustee of the Scientology Defense Fund Trust. She is reported to have served previously as Treasury Secretary at the Boston Church of Scientology, and was described as its "president" by the Boston Globe on May 31, 1983 (see http://www.xenu.net/archive/go/media/bg310583.htm).David Worthington
Treasurer, Narconon Southern California
Listed as the Executive Director - Warner Springs on a now-redundant web page for Narconon Southern California
Member, Church of Scientology. Personal website states that he is "currently working as a courseroom supervisor at Narconon"; apparently joined Scientology through Narconon. [http://home.oursites.net/davidworthington/index.htm]
Narconon Inc., Woburn MA Susan Birkenshaw
Secretary/Director, Narconon, Inc, Woburn MA
Reported in 1998 to be the Treasurer of Narconon's Everett, MA branch
Member, Church of Scientology.
Personal website describes her as "Executive Director of the Narconon Drug Education in Boston". [http://myreligion.scientologist.net/suebirkenshaw/]Maria Cecchini
President/Treasurer, Narconon, Inc, Woburn MA
Member, Church of Scientology.
Patron of the International Association of Scientologists (i.e. donor of $40,000 to the IAS).Robert Wiggins
Vice-President, Narconon, Inc, Woburn MA
Works as "Drug Prevention Specialist" in the Everett, MA branch of Narconon.
Member, Church of Scientology and graduate of Narconon.
Personal website claims that "[I] have over the past 14 years done drug education presentations to over 520,000 children on the dangers of drugs in schools across the United States" [http://home.oursites.net/bobwiggins/index.htm]
Awarded the International Association of Scientologists Freedom Medal. Patron of the IAS (i.e. donor of $40,000).
Narconon Inc., Canadian OK Kathleen Gosselin
Director/Treasurer, Narconon International, Canadian OK
Reported in 1996 to be the "senior case supervisor" for Narconon's Chilocco, OK facility [http://www.poncacitynews.com/NewsArchives/1296folder/lo122296.html]. She is now apparently the Senior Director for Production at Narconon Arrowhead, OK. [http://www.addiction2.com/narconon_professional.html]
Member, Church of Scientology.
Friends of Narconon Kathleen Gosselin
Director/Treasurer, Narconon International, Canadian OK
Reported in 1996 to be the "senior case supervisor" for Narconon's Chilocco, OK facility [http://www.poncacitynews.com/NewsArchives/1296folder/lo122296.html]. She is now apparently the Senior Director for Production at Narconon Arrowhead, OK. [http://www.addiction2.com/narconon_professional.html]
Member, Church of Scientology.Daphna Hernandez
Treasurer, Friends of Narconon.
Member, Church of Scientology.
Describes herself as "an avid Narconon supporter". [http://home.earthlink.net/~daphnah/]
Listed in The Auditor magazine #299 (March 2002) as one of "America's top producing Field Staff Members!" A Field Staff Member is a Scientology recruiter; a "top producing" FSM is someone who is managing to sign lots of people up to Scientology. Patron of the International Association of Scientologists (i.e. donor of $40,000 to the IAS).Robert Hernandez
President, Friends of Narconon
Member, Church of Scientology. Husband of Daphna (above) and a Narconon graduate, rather amusingly cited in the book What is Scientology as "Air Conditioning Business Owner". Achieved some legal fame in 1989 when the US Supreme Court rejected his claim for payments to Scientology to be tax-deductable, a decision which was itself overruled in very murky circumstances by the Internal Revenue Service four years later in the agreement which saw Scientology and its "related entities", including Narconon, being declared tax exempt.
As this demonstrates, of the 43 people named in Narconon's form 990s between 1997-2000, 37 are known Scientologists; the status of the remaining six is unknown, but the odds are good that several of them are Scientologists as well. There is, in other words, a very strong correlation between holding an executive post at Narconon and being a Scientologist. Things do not appear to have moved on much from the finding in 1974 by the California State Department of Health's evaluation team, that "most staff are already or are becoming Scientologists". Narconon is thus an organisation which teaches Scientology doctrines, is supervised by Scientologists, is overwhelmingly dominated by Scientologists in management positions and is inextricably linked with Scientology organisations. A Scientologist arriving at Narconon would find himself very much at home.
There are good reasons for Narconon to rely so heavily on Scientologists. The organisation's doctrines and practices are taken directly from the Church of Scientology and the beliefs espoused by L. Ron Hubbard, so it makes sense for it to employ individuals who are experienced in the meaning and application of his doctrines. This consideration probably lies behind the cover story carried in the Church's magazine The Auditor in February 1989, headlined "Trained Scientologists to Staff Huge Oklahoma [Narconon] Facility".
The link between rank-and-file Scientologists and Narconon appears to be the "Clear Expansion Committee". This programme, discussed in more detail on the Organisations page, "is an umbrella which coordinates all individual scientologists and groups involved in these [community] activities so as to dramatically expand Scientology in your area". [http://groups.google.com/groups?selm=3591BAAE.61AA%40iag.net&oe=UTF-8&output=gplain] Scientologists are encouraged to volunteer for Scientology-related entities such as Narconon, Criminon, Applied Scholastics, The Way to Happiness groups and so on, to help "really clear one's community". When Narconon UK was assigned a "Non-Existence Program" by Narconon International in May 1995, one of the tasks listed in the programme was to "utilize the people who have volunteered through the Clear Expansion Committee". ["Narconon UK Non-Existence Program", 23 May 1995]
Narconon also employs individuals who have graduated from its courses. It is unclear how formalised this recruitment may be; when the California State Department of Health's evaluation team inspected Narconon's Los Angeles facility in 1974, they noted:
Narconon is a continually expanding self-contained or closed ended organization. Students must pay either in money or in work for the Narconon courses and are encouraged to proceed through the course work system to a promotion to staff status where they can share in monies derived from various sources for their Narconon work and additionally pay for one's own "auditing."
["Outline for recovery, House Evaluation" - by Forrest S. Tennant, Jr., M.D., Dr.P.H., Jane Thomas, R.N., Mike Reilly, and Joseph Shannon, M.D., M.P.H. Submitted to Don Z. Miller, Deputy Director, Health Treatment System, State Department of Health, Sacramento, CA, on 31 Oct 1974.]
This is very much a direct copy of the Scientology practice of transforming students into what the British sociologist Roy Wallis called "deployable agents". Narconon has changed considerably since then, so it is very possible that this practice is no longer in use. However, it clearly does continue to recruit from amongst the ranks of its graduates; several of its corporate officers are graduates (and now Scientologists). Individuals are likely to have a number of reasons for joining. Some will be keen to help others, feeling that their own positive experiences ought to be shared and repeated. Some may take the pragmatic view that Narconon is virtually their only chance of honest employment, if they come from disruptive or criminal backgrounds, or from states which take a punitive approach to ex-convicts. It is also, unfortunately, possible that some may be too afraid to leave Narconon, fearing that they would relapse if they did or that the "suppressive influences" identified in Narconon's courses would cause them to relapse. (In this context, it is worth noting that Narconon of Northern California offers a "solid guarantee that if any graduate of our program relapses within six months of graduation we will readmit them at no cost!")
Narconon, recruiting agent for Scientology?
One of the most contentious issues concerning Narconon's links with Scientology is the question of whether Narconon routes individuals into the Church of Scientology. Narconon denies that proposition: according to Narconon spokesperson Gelsomina Pagliuso, quoted in a Canadian newspaper in February 1986, "The goal of Narconon is to rehabilitate people from drugs. Now, if they happen to see Scientology as something they want to pursue, that's fine. That's not our goal." According to Heber Jentzsch, President of the Church of Scientology International, only about 6 percent of Narconon graduates go on to join the Church of Scientology ["Scientology reaches into schools through Narconon", Boston Herald, 3 March 1998]. Narconon's Dutch chairman has stated that "Of the hundreds of addicts we had here, only four have become Scientology members." [http://www.geocities.com:0080/CapitolHill/Lobby/9169/nl/kranten.html#vk]
It has to be said at the outset that there is no known "smoking gun" to prove unambiguously that Narconon does indeed recruit for Scientology. On the other hand, there is a fair amount of evidence which points in that direction. A 1984 flowchart issued by Narconon to its staff shows the stages of the Narconon programme in sequence, with the final stage being "ROUTE TO NEAREST [SCIENTOLOGY] ORG[ANIZATION] FOR FURTHER SERVICES IF INDIVIDUAL SO DESIRES". Another indicator comes from a number of internal Church of Scientology publications in which individuals and groups are commended publicly for their activities as "Field Staff Members". A Field Staff Member (FSM) is a recruiter for Scientology, tasked with encouraging people to join the Church and rewarded with a 10-15% commission per person recruited. Narconon organisations have been commended as such on a number of occasions; for instance, in August 2001, the ASHO Foundation FSM Newsletter printed a scorechart of "FSM Standings", listing the following as the top five FSM groups:
1. Howson FSM Group
2. Way to Happiness Int.
3. Narcanon (sic) Int.
4. Narcanon (sic) N.B. [Newport Beach - i.e. Narconon Southern California]
5. Oh Tee Productions, Inc.
Similarly, the Church of Scientology Flag Service Organization's Flag FSM Newsletter (vol. XIX, number XVII, published 1992) includes a list of "International Top Ten FSMs". This is subdivided into "Individuals" and "Orgs, Missions and Groups". The Spanish Narconon organisation at Los Molinos, near Madrid, appears in fourth place, sandwiched between various Scientology organisations and missions in Europe and the United States.
As the existence of "top ten" charts shows, recruitment (or "FSMing" in Scientology jargon) is a highly competitive activity, especially during the annual "birthday games" in honour of L. Ron Hubbard's birthday, when Scientologists compete with each other to raise their productivity as high as possible. Narconon also appears to participate in this. During May-August 2001, the "FSM I/C [In Charge] AMS[terdam]" - an official at the Church of Scientology's Dutch headquarters - issued a series of bulletins informing Dutch Scientologists of the current state of play in the "Millenium [sic] FSM Birthday Game". Points were awarded for each of a series of promotional and recruitment activities, such as "For selling 1 [Scientology] book worth above USD 20" or "For every person who starts a major [Scientology] service for the first time". Getting people into Scientology is, naturally, the key goal, and its importance is reflected in the separate competition to get the most new recruits - this is known as the "LRH First Service Start Game". The bulletins show the following:
WEEKENDING 11.5 & 18.5.2000
-----------------------------
3. Narconon 13 pointsQUARTERLY/CUMULATIVE
------------------------ 4. Narconon 13 pointsLRH GAME (First Serive [sic - should be Service] Start Game)WEEKLY
------- 1. Narconon 2 peopleCUMULATIVE
----------- 1. Narconon 4 peopleNarconon is highly Commended for having brought in and started 2
people on the Bridge to total Freedom this week!
WEEKENDING 12.7.2000
-----------------------------
CUMULATIVE
------------------------ 10. Narconon 14 pointsLRH GAME (First Serive Start Game)WEEKLY
------- zero (that's NOT GOOD!!!!)CUMULATIVE
----------- 1. Narconon 4 peopleAs you can see, we are in Non Existance [sic] on the First
Service Starts! Let's apply this condition as a TEAM and get
this situation handle [sic] this week. I am counting on YOU!!!
[Three weeks later, Narconon had stepped up its efforts and recruited another person as well as selling various Scientology materials, earning more points:]
WEEKENDING 2.8.2000
-----------------------------2nd QUARTER
----------------------------- 18= Narconon 4 pointsCUMULATIVE
----------------------------- 4. Narconon 23 pointsLRH GAME (First Serive Start Game)CUMULATIVE
----------------------------- 1. Narconon 5 people["Narconon & Birthday Game Netherlands 2000/2001" - <http://members.lycos.nl/gormez/birthdaygame/>]
This provides unambiguous evidence that at least one Narconon organisation has been involved in actively recruiting Scientologists, but it is not clear how representative this is of Narconon as a whole.