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Under oath, Narconon official lets slip that drug rehab organized just like Scientology

Jonathan_LittleIn August, we told you about Jonathan Little (pictured), an Indiana attorney who is handling several lawsuits against Scientology’s drug rehab network, Narconon.

He turned heads with his outspokenness. Referring to Scientology’s delaying legal strategy, he said, “If Narconon and Scientology want to have a decade-long war, I have nothing else to do and I’m not going away.”

We called him yesterday to get his thoughts on our story about how David Miscavige is making major changes to the Narconon system. He told us he thought our story was “spot-on,” and he updated us on his own lawsuits against Narconon centers.

Little is handling the case of Candice Tyler, who is suing Narconon Freedom Center in Albion, Michigan. “She got sick during the Narconon sauna and niacin treatment and went to a hospital. They found that she was allergic to niacin and told her not to take any more of it. But when she was taken back to Narconon, they gave it to her anyway,” he told us for a previous story on the lawsuit.

Now, we have something interesting for those of you watching Narconon closely: Three depositions from the Candice Tyler lawsuit, including a very interesting one from Valerie Kealoha, who described herself as the facility’s Finance Director, as well as the person who handles “external legal affairs.” We found a couple of exchanges in her testimony particularly interesting. There was this, for example…

Q: Now, what is the refund policy at Narconon Freedom Center?

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A: There is no refund.
Q: Under any circumstances?
A: Under any circumstances.

Q: Has it always been Narconon Freedom Center’s policy to not give refunds under any circumstances as long as you’ve been there?
A: No, it hasn’t always been.
Q: When did that change?
A: Recently.
Q: OK. So currently you do give refunds?
A: No, currently we do not.
Q: OK. In 2013, did you give refunds?
A: Yes, we did.

Well, that’s good to know. But an even more intriguing exchange occurred a little later…

 
KealohaOSA

 
Yes, in other words, Narconon — a drug rehab — is organized the same way the Church of Scientology itself is. As Scientology’s own website explains quite clearly, Department 20 of Division 7 in the church’s elaborate hierarchy is, indeed, the Office of Special Affairs, Scientology’s spy wing, and the group that handles external “legal affairs.”

 
OrgChart

 
And we’ve seen in the past that Narconon officials will report directly to OSA whenever legal or other dicey matters come up. It was documented in the 2008 death of patient Patrick Desmond, for example, that the Atlanta Narconon’s executive director, Mary Rieser, was immediately reporting that incident to Scientology’s OSA.

We also have two other depositions: Beth Scott, NFC’s Director of Income, and Todd Meszaros, an NFC intake specialist. Sift through them and let us know in the commments section if you find any other nuggets.

Little tells us that although Narconon is changing, there are still many people calling him, hoping that someone will represent them in lawsuits against the rehab facilities.

“I’m getting 50 inquiries every month to our website,” Little says, referring to the slick site narcononlawsuits.com, which he hosts. Little says he just doesn’t have the resources to look into every inquiry, and he knows that there are many more potential lawsuits than he can handle.

He suggested that attorneys around the country who might want to help victims of Narconon find justice should contact him, and he can send potential clients their way.

DOCUMENTS

Deposition of Valerie Kealoha
Deposition of Beth Scott
Deposition of Todd Meszaros

 
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Mike Rinder interviews Aaron Smith-Levin, part two

Two former Scientologists who grew up in the church continue their conversation about what it was like to be a child under the sway of L. Ron Hubbard…

 

 
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Is Hurricane Leah flooding the church itself?

We wanted to know how Church of Scientology members might be reacting to the incredible tidal wave of media following Leah Remini’s 20/20 interview and the publication of her book, Troublemaker. We turned to one of our inside sources to ask how things looked among rank and file Scientologists. Here’s what we were told…

There’s no discussion from the people I know who are OT 7s and 8s. The focus for all the members who are fully drinking the Kool-aid is getting through the SRD or whatever step they are on. Most Scientologists do not watch or read the news. It’s entheta.

Members are bombarded with calls, texts, and emails from the church. I get calls and emails every day regarding the next event — New Year’s Eve — and the latest Freewinds seminars or conventions. All the amazing developments do not seem to get through to members, especially the OT 8s.

 
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Bonus photos from our tipsters

Yet another shot of Tom Cruise at the IAS Patrons Ball in England on October 24. This is getting too easy, even for Star magazine.

 
Tom_Cruise_IAS2015a

 
This happy fellow was handing out copies of The Way to Happiness in South Africa. But even more interesting, get a load of who commented on David Lurie’s caption…

 
TWTHSouthAfrica

DavidLurie_CatherineBell

 
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BOOK NOTES
3D-Unbreakable

We didn’t get a chance to include photos in our book, so we’ve posted them at a dedicated page. Reader Sookie put together a complete index and we’re hosting it here on the website. Copies of the paperback version of ‘The Unbreakable Miss Lovely’ are on sale at Amazon. The Kindle edition is also available, and shipping instantly.

Our book tour is concluded for now. (But you can re-experience it through this nifty interactive map!) We’ll let you know about future appearances. Previous events: Santa Barbara (5/16), Hollywood (5/17), Orange County (5/17), San Diego (5/20), San Francisco (5/22), New York (6/11), Chicago (6/20), Toronto (6/22), Clearwater (6/28), Washington DC (7/12), Hartford (7/14), Denver (7/17), Dallas (7/20), Houston (7/22), San Antonio (7/24), Austin (7/25), Paris (7/29), London (8/4), Boston (8/24), Phoenix (9/15), Cleveland (9/23), Minneapolis (9/24), Portland (9/27), Seattle (9/28), Vancouver BC (9/29), Sydney (10/23), Melbourne (10/25), Adelaide (10/28), Perth (10/30)

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 11, 2015 at 07:00

E-mail your tips and story ideas to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We post behind-the-scenes updates at our Facebook author page. Here at the Bunker we try to have a post up every morning at 7 AM Eastern (Noon GMT), and on some days we post an afternoon story at around 2 PM. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…

BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of LA attorney and former church member Vance Woodward

UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists

GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice

SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts

PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | Scientology’s Private Dancer
The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill
The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Our Guide to Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear,’ and our pages about its principal figures…
Jason Beghe | Tom DeVocht | Sara Goldberg | Paul Haggis | Mark “Marty” Rathbun | Mike Rinder | Spanky Taylor | Hana Whitfield

 

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