LaVenda Van Schaick
Former scientologist, left after 9 years.
| «Lavenda van Schaick. A former
Scientologist and resident of Nevada who went to see
Boston attorney Michael Flynn in 1979. She brought a
class action suit on behalf of Scientology drop-outs
alleging mind control, unlawful electronic surveillance
and the leaking to the media of details of her private
life obtained during auditing. The action was brought in
December 1979 for $200 million, and was settled out of
court on 10 June 1985 for $150,000 just before it was
due to go on trial before a jury in Boston. The Judge
was W. Arthur Garrity Jr. — Lamont.» [Source: "Who's Who in Scientology"
by Martin Hunt] |
Affidavit of LaVenda Van
Schaick (1982)
| «15. When I paid thousands of dollars to the "Church",
contributed 5 years of work, I did so on the continuing
representations that we were building a scientific organization,
that I would be paid, that I would work directly with Hubbard,
that my medical, dental, and living expenses would be provided,
that my career and educational opportunities would be expanded.
This is what everyone is told. I did not pay $13,000 for courses
on the representation that Scientology was a religious faith to
which if I should make a contribution, I would be saved and
would live "eternal life". This is the impression the lawyers
are trying to create in the Courts. That is an outright
fabrication. I paid money and other people paid money because we
were "guaranteed" we would get specific, earthly benefits, like
a higher I.Q. That is the only context in which Scientology
sells its courses and solicits people on the street. No one
would have paid anything if we told them they were buying
"religion". The "religious" position now asserted before the
Court, as Hubbard says "is entirely a matter for accountants and
solicitors". We operated a business to make money, and sold
specific books, courses and material for specific prices based
on specific representations that Scientology would
"scientifically guarantee" specific benefits, such as cures from
obesity, colds, headache, cancer, etc. Throughout 1979, when I
discovered Hubbard was a fraud, I realized how much I had been
defrauded.» |
Clearwater Sun:
"Witnesses Tell of Break-ins, Conspiracy" by Steven Girardi
| «She said she got information from confessional
files "looking for blood-dripping crimes" about church
enemies, among them Edward Walters, who testified
Wednesday, and Lavenda Van Schaick, who testified
Saturday. Although she had been told the sect
eliminated its "Fair Game" policy, a plan to deal with
enemies by any possible means, "I found out it was not
true," she said. "The words weren't used. It was not
canceled"
The information was sent to newspapers and other
public agencies to discredit them.
She said she was taught to "handle" the press, FBI
raids and knew of "tell a lie" drills which taught
guardian agents to successfully lie about activities if
ever questioned.
"Always attack, never defend," she said of the
policy.
She said she was taught to shred documents in the
event of an FBI raid. Mayer testified that the sect's
most sensitive "red box" files were always ready to be
loaded onto one of Hubbard's two ships. Those files
escaped discovery when the FBI raided the sect's
Washington D.C. and Los Angeles offices in 1977, Flynn
said.» |
City of Clearwater
Commission Hearing: The Church of Scientology - Day 4, LaVenda
Van Schaick
|
MS. VAN SCHAICK:
The result of David's death has never really been — David was
doing some different things for the operation of the Guardian's Office in Las Vegas.
And at the time that the police found him, he was found with a .45 and a suicide
note. He had written a letter to my parents; he was married to my sister. And the
last letter he had written was how wonderful Scientology was, and he was doing a
little mission and — anyway, the result of David's death put my sister under psychiatric
care and things have been basically the same since then.
I don't think it will be probably the first or the last incident
that will be uncovered through the next few years, and if people really kind of
wise up and look at what's going on — I think the only questions that could really
be answered on Quentin or David's death would be Artie Maren, and it would
be really nice if Artie appeared at these hearings.
|
Affidavit of
Janie Peterson (25 May 1982)
| 13. I am aware of Lavenda Van Schaick's auditing folders
being gathered in Las Vegas and gone through by Guardian Office
staff members at the time Mrs. Van Schaick retained the services
of Attorney Michael Flynn in Boston. This was done to gain
information about Mrs Van Schaick. 14. Outer "missions" under the control of "Class 4"
organizations routinely sent auditing information from persons'
auditing folders who were under "ethics" actions or were in some
kind of trouble regarding Scientology in the areas where the
missions were. If needed, this auditing information would be
sent to the Church of Scientology of California and the United
States Guardian Office, which is part of the Church of
Scientology of California.
15. A Guardian Program entitled "Shake and Bake" was written
by the tip management of the United States and England Guardian
Office to "handle" Lavenda Van Schaick so that she would not
continue with litigation against Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard.
I saw this program and part of it was an "information-gathering"
section on Mrs Van Schaick, including going through her auditing
information.
|
Michael J. Flynn vs
Lafayette Ron Hubbard (7 September 1983)
| 20. For the period October, 1979 and the ensuing several
months, plaintiff's client, Van Schaick, has claimed numerous
incidents of personal harassment, including the surveillance of
her home and her child, being run off the road in her car,
numerous telephone calls to her neighbors, suggesting that she
was an unfit mother, calls to her employer resulting in a loss
of her job as a waitress and attempts to separate her from her
husband. In November, 1979, Hubbard sent Gary Klinger, a G.O.
agent from Los Angeles, to convince Van Schaick that the "harassive
things" being done to her were done by plaintiff. |
St. Petersburg
Times: "For Some It Was Hard To Forsake Scientology" by Craig
Roberton
| «In her own affidavit, Mrs. Van Schaick says that after she approached
her attorney, Michael J. Flynn, late last year, church officials called
Flynn and "without my permission disclosed to him information that I had
disclosed during auditing and which was contained in my PC file." FLYNN CORROBORATED Mrs. Van Schaick's story. But rather than dropping
the case, the 35-year-old lawyer said the disclosures only motivated him
to take it.
"It really p----- me off," Flynn said in an interview with The
Times in his Boston office. "And I said that's ' not constitutional
and decided to go after them."
Church spokesmen deny using materiel in Mrs. Van Schaick's PC rile
when they contacted Flynn. They said the information they gave Flynn was
from other sources.» |
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