- SCIENTOLOGY
: DECLARATION / AFFIDAVIT OF GARRY SCARFF
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- Note: Pages numbers have
been transferred from bottom to top of the pages. Due to my french
mother language, I cannot be sure not having missed
proofreads. Roger Gonnet
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- French part translation
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- See also the comments done by two critics about Garry Scarff affidavits
here
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- [page 1]
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- DECLARATION OF GARRY L. SCARFF
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- I, GARRY L. SCARFF, being duly sworn,
hereby deposes and states :
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- 1. I am a citizen of the United
states of America, a resident of Florida, and over the age
of 18. The statements herein are made of my own personal knowledge
and, if called as a witness, I can and will testify competently
thereto.
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- 2. I have not been paid, and I
have received no expenses of any nature, to write this
affidavit. Moreover, this declaration is of my own hand as
opposed to other declarations I have signed in the past which were
written by other individuals. I am doing so on my own free will, void
of any threat, deception or coercion
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- 3. In the last four years, I have
experienced enormous pressure and harassment from the
Church of Scientology International since giving deposition
testimony in the case of Church of Scientology
International v. Fishman and Geertz. Because
of sworn testimony I provided that
was damaging to the Scientology organization, and upheld by the court
in response to Scientology's conspicuous efforts to stop me from
testifying, the Church has engaged in a nonstop implementation
of harassment and intimidation geared toward my personal and
professional ruin. I believe that the Church of Scientology was
responsible for my being terminated from a Roman Catholic seminary, my
termination from employment at Walt Disney World and my recent
termination from an insurance company. I fear the loss of my
current employment because the Church of Scientology is a major
client of my employer and is bait for professional intimidation by the
Church. In fact, I have
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- observed a notarized declaration by a
Florida private investigator who admits to having been hired to
approach my employers at Walt Disney World and discuss my
employment. Recently, Scientology attorney Elliot Abelson made
reference to criminal and credit checks done on me by church staffers
My father was approached at his home in Florida by an
investigator impersonating a police official and intimidated. Later,
church attorneys made untrue statements to the media about an
estrangement between my father and myself, which did not exist.
Members of Scientology's FLAG Division in Clearwater, Florida also
approached and interviewed my mother in Lakeland,
Florida
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- 4. A Scientology attorney has
informed me of continued surveillance on me. Undue and
uninvited pressure has also been placed on me by church attorney
Timothy Bowles who flew from Los Angeles to Central Florida in an
attempt to coerce me to recant my prior testimony
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- 5. In February of this year, I
assisted a journalistic team from Germany to Los Angeles to
film a documentary on Scientology. During the three days I
was with the team, we endured the most significant effort ever
played out by scientology staff and private investigators to
intimidate the German journalists to end their documentary project. At one
point, the German film crew sought the assistance of the Los
Angeles Police Department to protect them from the threatening
overtures of Scientologists whom brazenly pursued us to and into a
police station where a detective, after consulting privately with
Scientology attorney Elliot Abelson, turned the German crew away.
Recently, Mr. Abelson informed me that the Scientology
organization had the Los Angeles
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- [page3]
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- Police Department in their 'back
pocket" due to large financial contributions they have made to the
LAPD and the relationship they have with Los Angeles Mayor
Riordon.
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- 6. I saw attorney Abelson again
the following month in Clearwater, Florida where I engaged
in a picket on Scientology's paramilitary headquarters, the Sea
Organization and paid tribute to the suspicious death of a young
Scientologist who was starved to death following her attempts to leave
the organization. Mr. Abelson was friendly, good humored
and talkative to me. With Mr. Abelson was Mike Rinder, a top
level Scientology executive whom was also friendly and non-threatening
towards me, and encouraging me to meet with them to resolve our
mutual animosity towards one another. Rinder encouraged me to
write him a letter and said he would assist me in any way he
could.
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- 7. In May 1997, I wrote Elliot
Abelson a letter requesting an opportunity to discuss
our mutual conflicts and to end whatever animosity which existed
between the Scientology organization and myself. When Mr.
Abelson expressed a willingness to meet with me under more friendly
terms, I consulted with Graham Berry, the chief attorney in the
Fishman-Geertz case and accepted his offer to represent me in
negotiations as my attorney on a pro
bono basis.
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- 8. Scientology attorney Elliot
Abelson communicated to me that he would not attend any
meeting with me as long as Graham Berry served as my attorney. Mr.
Berry is the object of much hate and maligning in the Scientology
community because of his successful litigation efforts against
the Church of Scientology. scientology's hatred for Mr. Berry
has also been reflected in the
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- Page 4
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- thousands of dollars they've spent
investigating Mr. Berry'spersonal background and creating
deliberately degrading and hurtful declarations on unethical and illegal
acts committed by Mr. Berry, which have no basis in fact and
cannot be substantiated.
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- 9. Mr. Abelson expressed his
"sincere desire" to meet with me and to do whatever was
necessary to remove me from "the litigation pickle" that I was in, if
I cooperated fully with him. Mr. Abelson directed me to fire Mr.
Berry as my attorney and wrote in a letter that he had received
communications from Mr. Berry, which Berry denies, that Mr. Berry
sought me out as a client because of his ability to coerce me
into working as a witness in future cases involving Scientology,
and that Mr. Berry expressed no real desire to help
me.
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- 10. Pursuant to the offer made by
Mr. Abelson, I fired Mr. Berry and signed a declaration
provided to me by Mr. Abelson that I was not represented by any
lawyer. Mr. Abelson said it was impossible to meet with me without
it. Mr. Abelson also sent me a letter advising me that I should keep
secret the planning of the meeting, all communications with him,
and the meeting itself secret. I chose to ignore Abelson and
spoke freely to Mr. Berry about my intentions and I believe,
sent him copies of Mr. Abelson's letters to me as well. I did not want
to be caught up in the covert histrionics that Scientology
tends itself to when participating in intelligence
activity.
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- 11. Initially Mr. Abelson and I tried
to decide on a mutual date when we would meet in
Clearwater, the Church of Scientology's headquarters for its
paramilitary division, the Sea Organization. Mr. Abelson then
pressured me to fly to Los Angeles to
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- [page5]
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- meet with him. In his first call to
me regarding coming to LosAngeles, he implied the opportunity
to come to Los Angeles for a "nice, relaxing weekend" which
entailed by flying from Florida to California on Friday night and
returning Sunday morning. Relaxing, indeed ! Because of the pressures of
my employment where I had recently transferred to another
department, I suggested holding off for several weeks so that I could
become accustomed to my new position and some of the pressures of
change were absorbed in my life. Mr. Abelson said "No, that is
not possible" and again pressured me to spend my Independence
Day weekend in Los Angeles with him.
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- 12. In response to Mr Abelson's
overtures, I flew to Los Angeles, where I was picked up by
a member of the Church of Scientology, and taken to the
Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel in downtown Hollywood, arriving the night of July
3rd. Although Mr. Abelson and I had mutually agreed that there
would be no games played, andthat I would not be harassed by
members of the church, I soon learned that "Charlie," the gentleman
whom picked me up at the airport and played host for my visit,
was, in fact, exercising the Scientology policy of "handling" me.
I posed a number of questions to Charlie about the arrangements of
my visit, which he stated he had no knowledge of. Shortly after
checking in to my hotel, I decided to walk around downtown
Hollywood, whereby my host decided to walk with me. We had dinner
together. During dinner there were a couple of occasions when Charlie
excused himself to go to the bathroom. On one such occasion, I
followed him and stood outside the bathroom door just around the
corner out of what would be his eyesight. A moment later I heard him
on the telephone giving a
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- [page 6]
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- report to someone about what I was
doinq, what I intended to do that night, what I was talkinq about
and an acknowledgement that I was under surveillance. I expressed
the desire to Charlie to visit the L. Ron Hubbard Museum on
Hollywood Boulevard, a few blocks from my hotel. Charlie informed me that
the museum was closed. When I told him that I wanted to walk down
by it anyway, Charlie informed me that Elliot Abelson had "ordered"
me to "stay away from the building" and that I was "well hated"
by other Scientologists and that my safety could not be insured
entering a Scientology building. Later, Elliot Abelson
informed me that Michael Rinder I would be extremely angry with me if I
entered any Scientoloqy buildinq or center. After dinner, I
went back to the hotel, was advised by Charlie that Elliot
Abelson would arrive at the hotel the next morning at 9:00 am. and we
would drive to whatever location our meeting was to be held I
then bid Charlie good night and watched him leave the hotel as I
took the elevator to my room. Several hours later, as I returned to
my room after filling an ice bucket, I was surprised to see
Charlie in the hotel and accessing the room directly across from my
room.
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- 13. On Friday morning, July 4, I went
outside to the valet parking area to wait for Elliot
Abelson when I ran into Charlie who told me that Elliot
"instructed" me to wait inside the hotel for him. At approximately 10:00
a.m., Charlie said that Elliot Abelson was upstairs waiting
for me. I took an elevator upstairs and I was walked to the room
directly across from mine which Charlie said was where our
meetings were to be held. Entering the room, I observed there
was a large suite adjoining the room that had video and audio taping
equipment set up. The locked
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- [page 7]
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- door in my room which . Charlie told
me was "probably a closet" was, in fact, an access door from this
conference room into my room. As I entered the room, I was greeted by
attorney Abelson and scientology paralegal Ken Long whom I
remembered had sat with scientology attorneys during my
deposition in the Fishman/Geertz
case.
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- 14. Mr. Abelson said that he
wanted me to be as comfortable as I could, taking into
account my AIDS condition, and that he wanted to ask me questions in
a laid-back and relaxed manner. Mr. Abelson questioned me
specifically on two topics : my testimony in the Fishman/Geertz case and my work with the German
journalists making the documentary in
Los Angeles. I stressed that I wanted a scientology executive
present during questioning and would not cooperate with him if this
previously agreed to condition
- was not met. Mr. Abelson swore that
he did not know the whereabouts of Mike Rinder but that
he would try to find him and that other scientology attorneys
whose presence I requested were out of town for the holiday
weekend.
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- 15. In my conversations with Mr
Abelson, I related the tremendous pressure, stress, and
heartache that I had endured as a result of ever becoming involved in
the battles between scientology and their perceived enemies, that
both sides were at fault, and that I just wanted to live my life in
peace, acknowledging the rights and freedoms of Scientologists
and non-scientologists. Mr. Abelson asked pointed questions which
alluded to my former attorney Graham Berry having knowingly
participated in a criminal conspiracy in defending the Fishman/Geertz case. I replied that I did not
mknow of any criminal or unethical
activities conducted, conspired
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- [page 8]
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- or performed by Graham Berry. At this
point, Mr. Abelson called for a break and ordered the cameras
turned of
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- .16. During the break, Elliot
Abelson asked me about several people that I had testified
about in my deposition, including Adrian & Anne Greek of
Portland, Oregon. Although my relationship with the Greeks figured
heavily in my depositions in the Fishman/Geertz case, and in a lawsuit filed against
the National Cult Awareness Network, Mr.
Abelson said he didn't know anything about them because he'd only
been a church attorney for 4 years Mr Abelson also informed me
that he had read my testimony and wanted to know how I could
expertly testify to the knowledge of certain exhibits in my
Fishman/Geertz testimony since I had not
been present at the time or place
where the documents were created, and by my testifying to the accuracy
of them, I was guilty of perjury and lying under oath. I told
Mr Abelson that Mr. Berry had actually shown them to me and
that I recognized them as Scientology documents from my having
had possession of them myself, or from my own individual experience
in Scientology, I recognized them. Whether they were introducible
into evidence or not was a question that I left to the
attorneys.
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- 17. Mr Abelson informed me that
he brought me to Los Angeles to remedy my conflicts with
the Church of Scientology and if I cooperated openly and fully, I
would be in a position where no party would be able to involve me in
litigation, including that ofGraham Berry. Mr. Abelson again asked
me questions that he had asked on-camera and that I denied.
When I reiterated what I said before, Mr Abelson became short-tempered and said that I was
manipulating him by not being
truthful I sensed from him an
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- [page 9]
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- intention to back down from every
condition we had established to my coming to Los Angeles and to play
a manipulative game intended to use me as a weapon for Scientology
to use to hurt others. My suspicions were later confirmed to me
in the form of declarations.
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- 18. Mr Abelson and I went back to
the suite and continued our conversation on film and audio
with Mr. Abelson calling an end to the taping at 4:30 p.m. stating
that he had a dinner engagement with his wife that evening. Mr
Abelson suggested that Charlie and I go to a movie theater and see
"Face-Off" starring John Travolta, a member and celebrity spokesman for
the Church of Scientology. We did this at the expense of the Church
of Scientology.
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- 19. The next morning, I went to
the suite for what was supposed to be a 10:00 meeting with
Mr. Abelson. We actually did not meet until nearly 3 hours later.
Because of the time that had been wasted for me to continue our
meeting, I decided to leave the hotel and play "tourist" until Mr.
Abelson was physically present at the hotel and prepared to begin
our meeting. I told my host/driver that I wanted to go have
lunch at an outside cafe in West Hollywood which we did. At
approximately 12:30 p.m. in the middle of our meals, Charlie received
a beeper page and he went inside the restaurant to make a call.
He then came rushing out of the restaurant stating that Elliot
Abelson was ready to meet with me again. I responded that I was kept
rudely waiting all morning, that I was in the middle of my lunch
and that they would just have to wait until I finished my lunch.
Charlie became very anxious and upset at my refusal to leave
everything behind to rush back to the hotel to meet Mr. Abelson. Again, I
told him he was free to go back to the hotel himself, but I was
staying. A half-hour later, I
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- [page 10]
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- arrived back at the hotel to meet a
very angry Mr Abelson at which time I made a derisive joke about
egotistical attorneys and said that I ran my own show, not
him.
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- 20. Mr. Abelson then informed me
that there was someone in the other room that I had asked to
be present and Mike Rinder came out of the room and shook hands
with me. It was a startling and very emotional moment coming
face-to-face with the high-level Scientology executive that I had
physically confronted in Los Angeles during the German documentary
filming (which was filmed and aired to an audience of millions in
Europe) and that I had words with several times during the filming
(as we were intensively pursued and shadowed by Scientology
members and private investigators working for the Church)
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- 21. My feelings and emotions for
Mike Rinder are very conflicted. In his position as
International Director for the Church of Scientology International's
Office of Special Affairs (OSA), which was formerly known as
the Guardian's Office and is widely regarded as the church's
intelligence division, Mr. Rinder would be very aware of the hurtful
activities that have been played out against me in pursuit of the
church's Fair Game policy. On the other hand, I am unexplainably moved
to respect Mr Rinder in a mixture of fear, affinity and
confusion.
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- 22. Mr Rinder said that he had wanted
to ask me some direct questions in addition to those
asked by Ken Long and Elliot Abelson. I invited him to ask
anything that he wanted. During our interview, Mr. Rinder expressed
frustration, gave me a sheet of paper and asked me to talk about how
the Clearwater Police Department acted in concert with the
anti-scientology picketers
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- [Page
11]
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- last March that drew the attention of
local and international media. After Mr. Rinder left the
room, I became very emotional and cried to Mr Abelson that I wanted to
end the meeting because Mr. Rinder did not believe what I was
telling him. Mr. Abelson assured me that he did and suggested that I
go outside and take a break. I did so in the company of my
host/handler.
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- 23. When I returned to continue
the discussions, Mr. Rinder sat down in front of me and
said, " So, you don't think I believe you ?". I looked at Elliot
Abelson and asked him why he told Mr. Rinder what I said and he replied
that it had been required by his obligations to Mr. Rinder as a
church attorney. I told Mr. Rinder that I did not want to be his
enemy anymore, that I wanted to be his friend and that I would do
anything to prove my worthiness to him including putting a
gun to my head and pulling the trigger. Mr. Rinder scolded me
that he did not want me to kill myself, that he only wanted me to do
what the Church of Scientoloqy requires it's members to do ..."to
tell the truth and the truth shall make you free." I asked Mr Rinder if
he would talk to me again after our meeting, at which he
replied that it was his obligation I as a minister of a church to help
people, that scientology is in the business of helping people, and
that he would help me if I asked for it.
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- 24. Shortly thereafter, Ken Long
walked into the suite with several documents titled
AFFIDAVIT OF GARRY SCARFF which Elliot Abelson said he wanted me to
sign. I was alarmed that much of the information that I had given
was twisted, had been creatively and dramatically written
to emphasize that I was an individual with severe mental illness
and a patholoqical liar, and
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- accused my former attorney of acting
unethically and criminally. I asked Elliot Abelson if the
declarations were written by Scientology investiqator Eugene
Ingram because the dramatic and flamboyant style in which they were
written, and because the very accusatory tone as to specific
individuals is very similar to declarations that Mr. Ingram had
written previously.
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- 25. Mr Rinder then said he knew
that I was doing the right thing and that I would not
have come all the way to Los Anqeles without the accompaniment of
an attorney if I didn't want to be truthful. Mr. Rinder said he
did believe me, that I was telling the truth that day, that my
physical and emotional health had been severely damaged and
mocked-up by Graham Berry, Larry Wollersheim and Vaughn and Stacy
Young. He said that he wanted to be my friend. I told him that I
wanted to remain in Los Angeles, or at least move to Los Angeles, so I
could work with him. He replied that I needed help, that I
needed to win over my AIDS condition and that he would help in
any way he could I then agreed (without reqard for how it may
hurt others includinq my friend and former attorney) to sign
one major declaration and a number of smaller declarations
derived from the larger declaration. Mr Abelson, on videotape, went
throuqh the motions of introducing himself, introducing me, asking me
whether any of the AIDS-related medication I'm taking had side
effects that would alter my ability to provide "truthful" testimony, then
held up pages of the declarations into the eye of the
camera lens, introduced his notary public (a Scientologist) who had me
swear to the truth of the declarations prepared for me and I
signed them in her presence.
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- 26 Initially, when I first saw the
major declaration, I
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- became very angry as it betrayed
every reason and condition for my aqreeing to meet with Mr. Abelson and
I demanded that I have the opportunity to amend statements and
to scratch out statements that I had not made I recall going through
three or four drafts, at the visible unhappiness of Mr.
Abelson and Mr. Rinder. When the final draft was completed and printed
out by Mr. Long on his laptop computer, I told Mr Abelson that I
wanted to read the declaration instead of him simply holding pages
up and introducing them on tape. Mr. Abelson refused to abide by
my request and we argued, then Mr Rinder interceded and
instructed Mr. Abelson to let me read it on tape. Mr. Abelson then
argued with Mr Rinder about the "waste of time" it would take for me
to read the declaration, but Mr. Rinder interceded and told me to
read it.
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- 27. I slowly and deliberately
read the multi-page declaration to the obvious ire of Mr.
Abelson who resorted to hand motions to urge me to speak faster.
I ignored him. In the mid-point of my declaration, I observed
Mr. Rinder fa11inq asleep onthe sofa.
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- 28. At the conclusion of the
videotaping, Mr Abelson promised me that I would have copies
of all declarations, audiotapes and videotapes of my
interviews and the reading of the declarations before I left Los
Anqeles to go home. This was not the case. I received copies and one
videotape three weeks later, after I had faxed a demand letter for
them, made one personal telephone call to Elliot Abelson, and
spoke with paralegal Ken Long who told me that the Church did not
intend to release the promised materials to me until Scientology
attorneys had had the opportunity to use them. Shortly afterwards they
arrived in the mail. Mr.
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- Abelson later apologized for the
delay in getting copies to me saying that he had been very busy and
discounted Mr. Long's statement to me, saying that he was
out of line and apologized for him as well.
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- 29. I left Los Angeles on Sunday
morning, July 6th.
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- 30. Having received the
declarations, and having had the opportunity to carefully review them
without being hurried along as I was by Mr. Abelson, and in an
environment free of Scientologists, I am now cognizant of numerous
distortions of fact and statements I had made in those
declarations.
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- 31 In a personally-driven attempt
to retire from the loop of the scientology wars that I
had been an intimate part of for nearly two decades of my life, I
was willing to do anything I could to facilitate that desire, even
if it meant denying my past, denying the truth, and opening myself
up to potential perjury charges. My mindset was and is now,
that nothing could hurt me more than what I've had to endure as
a PWLA (Person Living with AIDS) , and that although I would be
scourged by two opposing sides, it would provide me the opportunity
to leave my past behind me and live for the future.
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- 32. It wasn't until after having
spoken to Graham Berry that I learned of the potential that
my declaration had to destroy a man's professional career, if such
declarations were misused in a manner intended to do just that.
After carefully reading my declarations and recollecting my
conversations with Mr. Abelson who claimed Mr Berry to be "a very
troubled man in a lot of trouble", I concluded that Scientology
attorneys were intending to use me as a weapon to destroy Graham
Berry.
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- 33. For the record, I attest that
the most current declarations I signed under pressure
and encouraqement from Scientology officials are deliberate
distortions of facts stated and believed I feel remorse for
falsely implicating Graham Berry, Esq. in any activities which, under
the laws, would be viewed as unethical or illeqal. I have known
Mr. Berry since the Fishman-Geertz case was pending in 1993. I
first met him when he flew me to Los Angeles, ironically, during
the Independence Day weekend in 1993, to take my declaration. Having
given declarations and depositions in the past, and having
had legal education in college, I am aware that declarations may be
taken prior to speaking in a deposition because it gives attorneys
the opportunity of discovery and learning whether such a witness
would be useful in a deposition scenario. Unlike the corroborated
"witness schools" which have existed in the Church of Scientoloqy
for years, Graham Berry did not, and has not, ever offered or
spoken to me in the manner of coaching me for a deposition as Mr
Abelson alleges.
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- 34. Admittedly Mr. Berry and I
have had our moments. We both possess strong personalities
that have clashed more than once, but that does not give anyone the
right to falsely implicate Mr. Berry in wrongful conduct and
wrongful activities.
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- 35. Contrary to my July 5, 1997
declarations, prepared by Scientology representatives,
Graham Berry, Esq. has always advised me to tell the truth, to be
precise with the facts, and to stand strong against
Scientology-based intimidation and coercion implemented as a result of the Church
of Scientology's Fair Game Policy. Specifically :
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- (a) M. Berry never "spent several
days drilling for the deposition". The work
"drilling" is an oft-used Scientology word with it's own
individual definition. The two days I spent with mr Berry
prior to my deposition in the Fishman-Geertz case were spent in the
presence of a court reporter, in a
law office, who took what was described as an examination
under oath. The two volumes of this examination under
oath, along with a prior examination under oath, were
made exhibits to the transcript of my
deposition
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- (b) It is my understanding that
an attorney is entitled to meet with a witness to
discuss his knowledge of a case, and to determine from that
discovery whetherto use the witness in a deposition.
I also met with attorney Dan Leipold for the former
Cult Awareness Network. At no time have Scientology
attorneys inferred that Dan Leipold was coaching me as a
witness although I was speaking to him as an adverse
witness to the Church.
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- (c) During the Fishman-Geertz
case, Graham Berry went well beyond the call of duty for
an attorney to ensure that I was protected against
physical assault from members of the church by hiring
off-duty Los Angeles Police officers to insure my safety.
Also, because of the mental and emotional struggles in
testifying against something that I had had a close bond
to for many years, Mr Berry hired counselors to assist
me if I needed someone to talk to
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- 36. I profess that I am not an
attorney and I do not
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- [page 17]
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- know what are considered acceptable
tactics in a court of law. It is true in my declaration given to
Elliot Abelson that Graham Berry had me authenticate certain documents
which were introduced as evidence in my deposition of which I
had no first-hand personal experience with. It is also true
that Scientology attorney Abelson informed me that Graham Berry was
indeed committing an illegal act, worthy of disbarment from the
California state Bar by having me authenticate documents that were
created at a time and place I was I not in the direct vicinity. I have
trouble with this I can with almost certainty identify the writing
of my parents, to testify and identify letters that bore their
handwriting, even though I was not present when they wrote the
letter, makes me less capable in identifying something that I had
maintained personal, intimate contact with for a period 40 years ?
I was indeed capable of [ "40
years?" is partly handwritten] authenticating Scientology~related
documents in the Fishman-Geertz case, and certainly did so, with very
few objections from the two Scientology attorneys present at the
time.
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- 37. during my "seventeen days of
sworn deposition in the Church of Scientology
International v. Steve Fishman & Uwe Geertz case
... " I never manufactured "one lie after another for Berry's
use against the Church of
Scientology". Furthermore, since my testimony was factual, I was not
concerned about any perjury and had no discussions about any perjury
with Graham Berry. Accordingly, Mr. Berry never assured
me not to worry about perjury, or said that he would take care of
it, or said that any Scientologist who testified otherwise
would not be believed because the Courts were prejudiced against
scientology. What I have learned from my own observations is
that the courts have become
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- aware of the less-than-conducive
tactics of church attorneys, and their legal losses tend to be
proportionate to their own self-created problems.
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- 38. My deposition testimony, in
the Fishman-Geertz case, as to a conspiracy "with attorneys
Kendrick Moxon, Timothy Bowles and Laurie Bartilson, as well as
investiqator Eugene Ingram, to
murder CAN's Executive Director,
Cynthia Kisser, and San Anselmo attorney Ford Greene, was absolutely
factual, was not false, and was not "completely fabricated"... a
phrase written into my prior declarations by Scientoloqy attorney
Elliot Abelson.. "with the knowing participation of Mr. Berry."
At all times, I was testifying truthfully and as a result
I gave Mr. Berry no reason to think otherwise.
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- 39. I have never "been
informed by Mr Berry or others that a litigation tactic successfully
employed aqainst the Church was to allege threats or fears for
one's life", a phrase which was written into my declarations with
attorney Abelson, by Mr. Abelson himself to further incriminate,
without just or legal cause, Mr. Berry.
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- 40. It is also not true and
correct that "my deposition in the Fishman-Geertz case was a show
put on by Graham Berry, in which I attended his 'witness
school', learned how to authenticate exhibits I had never seen before, and
then matriculated through 17 days of blatantly false testimony
with Berry's assurances that I would never be prosecuted for my
falsehoods". I know and can attest to the phrase "witness school"
as a Scientology phrase. My 17 days of excruciating testimony,
which was so stressful that it exaggerated an ulcer condition, was
very true, very factual and correct.
-
- [page 19]
-
- 41. It is also blatantly false
that Graham Berry has "helped me lie while publicly
protesting attacks on my credibility." This phrase was a
creation of Scientology attorney Abelson as yet another example of the
Scientology's exuberant hatred for Graham Berry. Moreover,
Graham Berry, Esq., has never "knowingly participated in bringing
me to create false testimony" and therefore it is absolutely false
that he "should be accountable for his actions"
-
- 42. All of the testimony that I
gave under direct examination and cross-examination
during the 17 days of deposition in the case of The Church of Scientology v. steve Fishman and
Uwe Geertz was true and correct at the time that I gave it,
having been sworn in by an officer of the court,
to the very best of my knowledge and belief, and it remains
true and correct to this day.
-
- 43. I deliberately and falsely
recanted this testimony on July 5, 1997, in Los Angeles in
the company of Scientology attorney Elliot Abelson, Scientology
executive Mike Rinder, Scientology paralegal Kenneth Richard
Long, and a Scientologist cameraman Earlier events to have this
meeting accompanied by an attorney to assure that my personal
rights were assured were ignored by the Scientologists who
refused to speak with me unless I fired my attorney and signed their
declaration confirming the termination of my legal
representation. Further, my recantation was inspired by the culmination of
enormous harassment, intimidation, slander, conspiracies
to cause damage in my personal livelihood and the enormous impact
that such actions were having on my weakened health I am a man living
with AIDS and have suffered
-
- [page 20]
-
- maladies attributable to the AIDS
virus. Because of the stress and fear of retaliation by Scientology
members, I believed that a total repudiation of past testimony would
free me from the future such activities by Scientologists towards
me. I also wanted to believe that Scientology attorney Abelson
cared for me, cared for my health and wanted to be my "friend", and to
achieve this I relented to attorney Abelson's demands to
participate in the discussions specific to what Mr Abelson said was
of importance to Scientology at the time, and after they had
worded and created the declarations their words and flamboyant editorial style, signed
various July 5, 1997, declarations that Abelson
insisted I sign before returning to Florida. I
complied.
-
- 44. Mr Abelson advised me on a
number of occasions, true to the conditions we had
verbally agreed upon in meeting, that I would be provided copies of my
declaration, copies of the videotaped discussions, and copies of
audiotapes prior to my return to Florida. Mr Abelson failed to
honor this agreement. Three weeks later, I spoke to Scientology
paralegal Kenneth Long who informed me that Abelson and Rinder
had decided to not release to me any of the declarations and tapes
until such time as they decided to facilitate them in some
legal action. Following several long-distance angry telephone calls,
Mr. Abelson mailed me some, but not all of the materials that he
had promised me.
-
- 45. Since my return from Los
Angeles to Florida, I have reflected upon what I did and why,
and I now wish to correct that record before any further damage is
wrongfully done to injure Graham Berry's personal and/or
professional life
-
- 46. As a terminally ill
individual, I placed the
-
- [page 21]
-
- importance of my personal situation
above all else and was amiss in looking at the circumstances of my
bad judgment. I was also mislead, again, by what I first
observed was the compassionate and cordial side of Scientology which
agreed to meet with me under my own conditions, yet, I was driven to
pursue, support and record precisely what Scientology
representatives sought from me : testimony that falsely incriminates
an attorney and declarations that present me as a totally
unreliable individual with no integrity, no dignity or self-worth.
I have come to experience many broken promises in the last two
months, and given their attitudes toward me during our
meetings, and afterwards when they demanded that I sign declarations
that they had written, I realized that I was just another "good end
product" to Scientology and a weapon that they could use to hurt
and injure others.
-
- 47.
Likewise, I have learned the
hard way, after wanting very much to forgive, to trust and to
believe, that working with Scientology is like working for the
Mafia. You can be their friend, but if you don't follow them
and follow their rules, you pay a high price !
-
- 48. To my knowledge, I have
never known attorney Graham Berry to have participated in any
unlawful, unethical or improper conduct.
-
- 49. With this truthful and
factual correction of the record, it is my wish to have no
further involvement in any matters relating to the Church of
Scientology, except for those matters where my personal integrity is
questioned and maligned. However, my primary focus is concentrating on
my own health and stress-free environment as much as is humanly
possible.
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- [page 22]
-
- I declare under penalty of perjury
under the laws of the United States and under the laws
of the states of California and Florida, that the foregoing is
true and correct.
-
- Executed in Orlando , Florida, this
14 day of August, 1997.
-
-
- Comments
:
-
- Subject: LMT: Trust and Good
Faith
From: Joe's Garage swatron@xenu.net Date: 8/2/00 6:46 PM
Central
Snipped :
Let's go back to a previous similar incident,
back, back to Scarff, a wonderful OSA "defector" who said what everybody
wanted to hear when he first "defected" from OSA. Wasn't he terrific
telling about how he was told to commit MURDER for Scientology? Everybody
really liked that, but then Scarff Scarffed out and said he would sue the
German TV station if they broadcast the blubberling Scarff show again. Did
Scarff end up striking a decisive blow to the heart of the enemy? It depends
on if you believed him or not.
One good thing about Scarff is
that now we can honestly say that an OSA defector has given sworn
testimony that he was part of a SCIENTOLOGY MURDER PLOT. Even if the
whole thing was a lie, nobody can prove it one way or another. So he
can be taken at his word, stipulating that >is what is being done. In
other words, it would be improper to say that Scientology plotted to
murder its critics, but it is perfectly OK, and perhaps even beneficial
to say that an OSA "defector" has given sworn testimony that he was part
of a Scientology murder plot.
Joe Cisa r:
Joe, I would like to
comment on this. There is an extensive Gary Scarff Declaration which
goes into quite a bit of detail on the scientology plot to murder Cynthia
Kisser. I worked in the CAN office as a staff member and there are details in
his Declaration that only a CAN person or someone who had CAN and Kisser
under surveilance would know. I have communicated privately with Scarff on
this matter and he has provided other details which make me a believer.
In this Scarff Declaration the other scientologists alleged to be involved
in this are named. Not one of them has ever refuted Scarff's statements.
A Chicago Scientologist, Randy Kretchmar, was named by Scarff aas an
accomplice and Kretchmar has never denied or refuted in any way this charge.
I am part of a project which is writing up a report on the harassment,
destruction, and takeover of CAN. This alleged murder plot will be in this
report. I recently contacted Randy Kretchmar asked to meet with him as I
wanted to provide him with the opportunity to refute these charges or tell
his side of it. Kretchmar has refused to meet with me or to communicate about
this. His wife is also a scientologist and I have written to her and asked
her directly if she knew of this plot. She is a major contributor to the 'War
Chest'.
I have read papers that were in the CAN Files that were written
by Gary Scarff and I believe that he was recruited for this plot and other
infiltration activities against CAN. Scarff was a young guy with family
difficulties and who really wanted to go to a Seminary. He did go and got
into a hassle the result of which he either left or was asked to leave.
Somewhere in this he wondered into scientology's waiting arms and they saw a
young naive guy that they could use for their sick purposes. He never really
did much in the way of scientology courses as they right off enlisted in in
their schemes against CAN. They knew that if Scarff got caught they could
distance themselves from him and say, "well, he is not a scientologist and he
took no courses etc. here ..." They set him up to infiltrate some anti-cult
people in Seattle or Portland, they had him infiltrate CAN as a 'Jonestown'
survivor. Both of these operations were briefly successful and did a lot of
damage to CAN and some persons in the anti-cult arena. I'm not sure of the
time line in all of this but somewhere in this they sent him off to Chicago
where a surveillance team had tracked Cynthia Kissers' daily route and
activities. Scarff says in his Declaration that Kretchmar was to meet Scarff
and help him cut the brake lines on Kisser's car. They knew what kind of car
she had and a lot of small detail. They were to follow Kisser to ensure that
she had an accident.
-
- This plan was aborted for some reason. According to
Scarff, Chicago Org staff members, Alan Brooks and Mary Anne Ahmad, knew
about this plan. I don't think that the scientology higherups, like Moxon and
Weiland, ever actually thought that Laurel and Hardy would bring off this
scheme but if they did...what a big win. The evil Cynthia Kisser would be out
of the picture and scientology could continue on with its mission to Clear
the planet If they got caught...well, one was not a scientologist, "we don't
have him in our records" and the "other was a bad apple and we got rid of
him."
It is easy without having access to certain details and materials
to discount Gary Scarff's claims. However, having looked into it from an
inside view, so to speak, I believe him. I did not want to believe the
disclosures about the CAN spy, Jolie Steckart, who used the stolen identity
of Laura Terepin but when I took a good look at it, her perfidy was
undeniable.
There is a great deal of information that is slowly surfacing
about the Church of Scientology's plan the destroy CAN. It is nasty, ugly
stuff. The Chicago Org is revealed to be much deeper involved than previously
known.
I believe that Gary Scarff was telling the truth on this and that
he has more information that he has not revealed. I believe that he has not
revealed this information because he is under some kind of threat f rom the
cult.
JImDBB
-
- "Q. Now, at this early Sunday morning meeting on or about November 17,
1991, which I think is when you testified it occurred --"
A. It
occurred very late at night and it was after midnight so that's why I said
Sunday morning versus Saturday night as previously stated on the record.
"Q. What was said at that meeting by whom ? "
A. First David
Butterworth recalled my meeting with him. Just prior to that it was like two
and a half weeks prior to that when I first met him at the Cult Awareness
Network conference in Oklahoma City and he recalled our conversation where I
asked him if I was doing all I could to meet their conditions of amending my
past where I was not obedient and where I had cursed the Church
of Scientology and where I had made up lies to hurt the Church of Scientology
when I was angry at the world and he said there was one more thing that they
wanted to do. And it was something that would ultimately bring down the Cult
Awareness Network. "They said that up to that point that everything they had
tried to do was not successful and that they wanted to get rid of Cynthia
Kisser once and for all because she was the whole reason that the Cult
Awareness Network existed. She was the wglueW that held it together and if
they could get rid of Cynthia Kisser once and for all that there would be no
one there competent enough to replace her. wAnd it was Eugene Ingram that
said that Priscilla Coates might step in but that the "old broad" was "not
intelligent enough or didn't have enough time on her hands or something to
that effect that she would be able to walk in and take over for Cynthia
Kisser. "So in order to destroy the Cult Awareness Network all we had to do
was destroy Cynthia Kisser. And I assumed when he said this that he meant
simply attacking her credibility as they have done in the past but doing it
with much more vigor than they have done so in the past.
"Q. What
else was said at that conversation, at that meeting ? "
A. Only that they
talked to me about the specific operation where, if I performed this
operation that if L. Ron was still alive he would be honored to have me at
his side and that Mr. Ingram informed me that David Miscavige was personally
aware of this operation and considered it an honorable role on my behalf,
would welcome me with open arms if I was to perform this operation, and then
we got into the specifics of what they wanted me to do. wQ. And were
the specifics what you testified about with regard to Cynthia Kisser just
before the break -- let me withdraw the question.
-
- "What were the specifics
of the operation very briefly ?"
A. The specifics of the operation
was for me to fly to Chicago O'Hare Airport, rent a vehicle with the
information provided to me by the Office of Special Affairs in Los Angeles
and the [ OSA in Chicago particularly with the tools provided to me by Randy
Kretchmar, who is an | official of the OSA in Chicago, to follow Cynthia
Kisser home, run her off the road and take all steps
necessary to render
Cynthia Kisser dead. "It was also discussed for a greater
impact in these
events that if someone within the Cult Awareness Network got smart enough
to replace Cynthia with someone else, and that if Cynthia Kisser had her
daughter with her, it would be an added benefit to kill Cynthia Kisser and
to kill her daughter as well, because when a child dies it carries a greater
impact in the ; minds of the public than if simply an adult dies, and that
would send a message to the Cult }Awareness Network that it was time to end
their hatred toward whom they perceived to be cults.
-
- "Q Now, was
Gene Ingram present at that meeting ? "
A. He was present, yes.
"Q. did he say anything at that meeting ?"
A. Yes, he did. He
told me that there was absolutely no way that I could be held l accountable
if I -- there is no way I could be caught -- first of all, that immediately
after I did l it I was to fly back to Los Angeles and that Mr.Ingram would
be responsible for putting me l into to a safe house and if need be, he could
ferret me out of the country to Brazil or Mexico l City or one of the other
places that they have established safe houses at. And that they would l keep
me there until the steam blew off or until Bowles & Moxon was
successful enough in l impeding any type of legal investigation towards me
and that I would be held not accountable l for these crimes, and it was
specifically discussed that they would put me into hiding and that l any type
of criminal investigation that was pending towards me, any type of legal
investigation l that may have started as a result of this murder, that
Bonvles & Moxon would step in and l throw so many legal maneuvers at the
courts that there is no way that I would be eventually l prosecuted for this
crime. And Eugene laughed and said that --he said, 'Trust me. I mean the
court dockets are so overloaded right now, if Bowles & Moxon was to throw
all these legal maneuvers at the courts there do be absolutely no way that
prosecutors would find the time to want to prosecute you for something like
this. ' "And then we got into discussions that -- what would happen if the
authorities did charge me with a crime, if there was the possibility of them
catching up to me and if what he said was going to happen as security
precautions did not work, that's when he mentioned that I could
TKO.
"Q. And what is TKO? "
A. I didn't know if it was a
Scientology phrase or it is something that Eugene Ingram used in law
enforcement.
-
- Is it a law enforcement term
?
-
- I don't know. But
he told me that
TKO was -- and he showed me with his hand. It is not something that he just
told me.
"Q. What did you take him to mean by this? "
A. I asked
him and he said that I could just end my life and that all it takes is a gun
shot in the mouth. And -- I mean he was very specific in telling me that
unlike what you see on television where people simply stick the barrel
into the mouth and pull the trigger, that l sometimes people will not die as
a result of that because you have to sever your spinal cord l when you shoot
into your mouth to kill yourself. So he suggested sticking it up towards the
l gums so it blows my brains out. Therefore, my brain would not -- he got
into technical side of suicide, and the fact that if you blow your brains
out you may not die right away but at least your brain ceases to function
and you don't have pain. He says it is a very quick, easy way to end your
life.
"Q. You mentioned earlier that someone had said that L. Ron
Hubbard would be pleased to have you at his side. Did you have any
understanding of what was meant by that statement? "
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|