U.S. CHARGES SCIENTOLOGY CONSPIRACY

• Document Type: CREST
• Collection: General CIA Records
• Document Number (FOIA) /ESDN (CREST): CIA-RDP88-01315R000400410029-5
• Release Decision: RIFPUB
• Original Classification: K
• Document Page Count: 2
• Document Creation Date: December 16, 2016
• Document Release Date: November 1, 2004
• Sequence Number: 29
• Publication Date: August 16, 1978
• Content Type: NSPR

THE WASHINGTON POST
i.ftTICLE ApPEved For Relealk IOGW?` /1V:(@:IA-RDP88-01315 0"0410gq-~ ,
ON. PAGF,_--f -----^-
U.S. Charges
S cien Lology
Conspiracy
11' Church Agents
Accused of Spying,
Bugging and Theft
By Timothy S. Robinson
Eleven high, officials and agents.
of the_.Church, of-. Scientology, in
eluding the, wife of founder L. Ron
Hubbard, ;were charged here yes-
terday in, an allegedly widespread
conspiracy to plant spies in gov-
ernment agencies, break into gov-
ernment offices,. steal official clocu-
ments and. bug government meet-
!DOS.. Much of the evidence outlined
against 'the' church's official's' in the
28-count criminal indictment appears
to be based on the church's own:; in-
ternal memorandums and other docu-
meats.- The mep orandpms ~ directed
church. operatives to "use any meth.,
nd' m-. its: battle with `tbd govern-
n)ent
Church spies were?,us d,' according
to the - indictment, to find out about
Scientology's tax-exempt status, rum-
mage through government files to get
information on the church, and on. per.
sons or.groupq-;it-perceived to be its
"enemies. -They were .:also: used as
an ."early- warning system" to pro;
tect. Hubbard from government scru
tiny, the .indictment -alleged..
Assistant U.S. ;Attorney Raymond
Banoun asked that arrest warrants' be
issued immediately for'the -church's
Worldwide- Guardian, Jane. -Kember,
and her chief aide, Morris (Mo) Bud-
long, in England, and said extradition
proceedings against them; would begin
soon.
The other indicted church members,
including Commodore Staff Guardian
Mary Sue Hubbard,- the, wife of the
founder, are scheduled to appear in ?
federal court here! at I p.m. Thursday.
Banoun said he had: been- assured by
attorneys. for those church- members
that they would appear as scheduled.
A spokesman for the church, which
is described in its literature as an
"applied religious philosophy which
believes that man is a spiritual being
and is basically good," said the indict-
ment is the latest episode in nearly 30
years of harassment against the
church by ggvernment agencies.
If justice is done our members
will be exonerated as any have been
who have fought for-religious-.freedom
against government oppression
throughout history," said the church's
Deputy U.S. Guardian Henning Heldt,
who was among those indicted yester-
day.
The indictment charges; that the
church's "guardian office" included a
bureau that "was assigned, the respon-
sibility for the conduct of covert oper-
ations," and that all of those charged
with crimes were members or officials .
of that bureau.
The church said, however, that the
guardian office is the "social reform
arm of the church." Church, attorney
Phillip J. Hirshkop described the in-
dictments as part of a "bureaucratic
vendetta against Scientology" and
said "any- actions attributable to
church members Is a direct result of
government misconduct."
The 42-page indictment, one of the
longest returned by a grand jury here
in recent memory, climaxes a some-
times bizarre investigation that began
when two Scientology operatives were
confronted by FBI agents in June 19'56
in the federal courthouse here after'
employes became suspicious of their
regular nighttime presence.
The two men, who had entered the
,building by using allegedly forged In-
ternal Revenue Service passes, were,
,allowed to leave. Unknown to the .
agents at the time, the two, were part
of the alleged' undercover Scientology
operation and had been -assigned to ...
the courthouse to"enter offices there
and copy documents, according to the
Indictment.
The two men then fled to California
and with, Scientology' officials con-
cocted acover story -to explain their
presence in the courthouse, according
'to the indictment. One of them, Ger-
ald.- Bennett Wolfe, returned to the
courthouse-~.;here a . year later' and
pleaded guilty to using fake IRS cre-
dentials. He was placed on probation.
The other alleged courthouse in-
tru~ler., Michael -Meisner, had been
hidden by the church in Los Angeles.
for more than a year, having had his
appearance changed and using a false
name, according to the indictment.
When he threatened to return to
Washington against the church's will,
he was held under guard and his
"bodyguard crew" was told to "gag,
handcuff" him if necessary, the indict-
ment, continued.
Meisner escaped from his guards in
June 1977 and came to Washington,
where he, agreed to plead'guilty to a
five-year felony. He- is the govern-
ment's main informant against the
church, and is., belpg held under _ti ght
security. .
When he' came to: Washington,
Meisner outlined the alleged Scientol-
ogy infiltration plot:in great detail to
federal agents hand they obtained a
search warrant for the church's head-
quarters in Los Angeles and 'Washing-
ton. Those warrants were executed on
July 8, 1977, and resulted in a massive
seizure of church documents that, re.
portedly. outlined a campaign of liar-
assment - and infiltration directed
against numerous individual critics of
the church as well as against govern-'
ment officials and agents. -
According to the Indictment re-
turned yesterday, the alleged criminal
conspiracy by the church began on
Nov. 21, 1973,. when Kember directed
Heldt and his staff to obtain all Inter-
pol (the international police organiza.
tion) documents concerning Sciento-
logy and Hubbard. -
Meisner was brought Into the_plot.
in mid-1974 when he was told by a sn
perior, Cindy Raymond; that he was
to help her place a "loyal Scientology
agent" as an IRS'employe in, the- Dis-
trict of Columbia, the indlctment
stated. Raymond, Identified as the -na-- -
tional secretary of the: church's U. S. `
'Information bureau, was among those
charged yesterday. -
Kember issued : another order,
known In church terminology as
Guardian Program= Order .1361, in Oc-
tober 1974, directing the infiltration of
the tax division of the Justice Depart
meat, according to the Indictment.
Two of those who received that or-
der,. Deputy Guardian-Information
U.S. Richard Weigand and Deputy-
.Deputy Guardian U.S. Duke Snider,
also Were charged in yesterday's crim-
anal conspiracy.
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Within days- of that order, according
to the indictment, three Scientology
agents planted an electronic listening
device or "bug" in an IRS conference
room here and "recordeW an IRS
meeting concerning Scientology's ap-
plication for tax-exempt status and re-
lated matters." Less than 18 days
later, Wolfe was employed as a clerk-
typist at the IRS.
?
Guardian's office, D.C. Guardians office officials met..in.. which those persons are charged deal,
Once Wolfe was in place at IRS, the Los Angeles to discuss the burglaries, with the church's alleged attempt to
indictment charged, he began stealing the Infiltrations, and documents: ob- block any detection by the govern ?t
d
g rs r e wr ~e there The second.
church was Branch I director of the
con::?pracy count with
tion of government agencies, which and Thomas are charged with ones
had power to subpoena or bring suits count of conspiracy to steal govern-
against Hubbard or which would pos- ment documents, burglarize govern-.
sess advance warning of such subpoe. meat offices, Intercept oral communi-
nas or suits," the indictment contin. cations and forge government passes;'
ued. 10 counts of theft of government prop-.
The indictment said that as the plot erty, one count of intercepting - oral.;
continued: communications; to counts of bur-
. _,----
-- i was placed in a job at the Justice Do obstruct justice, to obstruct an investi-
planted the bug? :Mitehell Herman I' gation, to harbor a fugitive and (also known as Mike Cooper), also was ? - . partment as a secretary and' stole doe- make, - false declarations before_ .to,,
xcharged yesterday. At the time of the,. uments from an, attorrley's office", grand jury.:
alle ed offense hi t?tl th ti
stop Meisner from going to Washing.'
by Screntologists.
IRS documents that would then he arne
flown out to the church's. top officials - ? Messner and Wolfe- forged IRS
Among the IRS offices from which into the offices of Assistant U .S. At 1'Iuch of the planning concerning ff
Wolfe stole documents were the chief torney; Nathan Dodell at' the :u s the alleged -harboring of_ Meisner.I
counsel's office, that of Na assistant Courthouse here. came directly from Mary Suer Hub-{.
IRS commissioner, and other lawyers, ? Messner and Wolfe broke into the bard,"according to the indictment. At
according to the charges. -; - offices.of Associate. Deputy Attorney one point, she reportedly asked for a
In May 1975, Wolfe also turned his General Togo G. West Jr. and Special listing of all the buildings he had ille
attention to the tax division of Justice Assistant to the Assistant Attorney Bally entered for the church.
and stole documents from the offices General for Administration John F. Her last instructions about Meisner
of three attorneys there as well, the Shaw and stole documents from both mentioned in the indictment came on
indictment charged. places... ~ -'?- ? July 3, 1977, when he had already fled
Mary Sue Hubbard-, then told Kem ? Even after charges were filed the church. In a letter to Heldt, she
ber and Heldt on May 27, 1975, to "use against Wolfe and Meisner in connec-' . directed the church to "utilize re-
any method at our disposal to win tion with the alleged illegal use of sources to figure out a way to defuse
IRS credentials, the church tried fn . him.(Meisner) would he turn traitor,"
the battle and gain our nonorofit (tmXl
a Ol{a, GGl:VL UiU5 Ll/ Lilt."' charges.
Gregory Willardson, then the
Church's Information Bureau Branch
I director in the United States, soon
wrote 'a letter to Meisner asking him
to prepare a plan to get further IRS
documents, the indictment stated. Wil-
.lardson also was charged yesterday.
Six months later, an order known as'
the -"Early Warning System" was is-
sued by the church hierarchy, and it
was "designed to protect the `personal
security' of" L. Ron- Hubbard; the in-
dictment stated.
"The order called for the infiltra-
Troy." That project reportedly called Wolte was charged with the conspir-
for the installation of a permanent acy to obstruct justice- count; five
"bug" in the IRS chief counsel's of- counts of theft, of government
flee, and was approved by Heldt on property; six counts of lglary, and
Dec. 20, 1976, four counts of making false declara-
Lions before a grand jury. Thomas was
? In 'May 1977, the church again charged with the conspiracy to break
called for the infiltration of the U.S. into government offices, three-co nts
Attorney's Office.in Washington "for of theft of government property'ind
the purpose of obtaining informati
on two counts of burglary:,
about any potential legal action 'All of the defendants except Kem=
against L. Ron Hubbard " ber and Budlong live in the Los Ange.
All of the defendants except Wolfe les area,, according to the government.,
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