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Operation Snow White was the Church of Scientology's name for a project during the 1970s to purge unfavorable records about Scientology and its founder L. Ron Hubbard. This project included a series of infiltrations and thefts from 136 government agencies, foreign embassies and consulates, as well as private organizations critical of Scientology, carried out by Church members; the single largest infiltration of the United States government in history with up to 5,000 covert agents. This was also the operation that exposed 'Operation Freakout', due to the fact that this was the case that brought the government into investigation on the Church.[1][2]
Under this program, Scientology operatives committed infiltration, wiretapping, and theft of documents in government offices, most notably those of the U.S. Internal Revenue Service. Eleven highly-placed Church executives, including Mary Sue Hubbard (wife of founder L. Ron Hubbard and second-in-command of the organization), pled guilty or were convicted in federal court of obstructing justice, burglary of government offices, and theft of documents and government property. The case was United States vs. Mary Sue Hubbard et al., 493 F. Supp. 209 (D.D.C. 1979).
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[edit] Background
The "Snow White Program" was written by L. Ron Hubbard [3] as an attempt to reduce or eliminate unfavorable reports on Scientology, the Church of Scientology, and Hubbard himself, especially those held by government agencies such as the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and organizations such as Interpol. Hubbard himself was named by federal prosecutors as an "unindicted co-conspirator" for his part in the operation; extensive records of his involvement exist, though many Scientologists claim his directives were misinterpreted by his followers. [4][5]
Scientology documents known as "Snow White Operating Targets" describe the agencies to be targeted. Other planned elements of the operation included petitioning governments and the United Nations to charge government critics of Scientology with genocide, on the theory that official criticism of the group constituted "deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of life calculated to bring about its physical destruction".[6]
[edit] Results of the investigation
FBI raids on Scientology properties in 1977 not only turned up documentation of the group's illegal activities against the United States government, but also illegal activities carried out against other perceived enemies of Scientology, such as "Operation Freakout", a conspiracy to frame author Paulette Cooper on false bomb-threat charges, and conspiracies to frame Gabe Cazares, mayor of Clearwater, Florida, on false hit-and-run charges.[7]
[edit] Involved parties
Mary Sue Hubbard, Cindy Raymond, Gerald Bennett Wolfe, Henning Heldt, Duke Snider, Gregory Willardson, Richard Weigand, Mitchell Herman, Sharon Thomas, Jane Kember, and Mo Budlong, all high-ranking Scientologists, were convicted and sent to prison for five years, while Kendrick Moxon was listed as an "unindicted co-conspirator" for providing false handwriting samples to the FBI.[1] As of 1999, Moxon is Scientology’s lead in-house attorney.[1] L. Ron Hubbard himself was named by federal prosecutors as an "unindicted co-conspirator."[5]
[edit] Effect of the scandal
The Church has been notably reluctant to discuss the operation's details; typical statements by members and operatives are often vague comments saying that the Guardian's Office (GO) had been "infiltrated" and "set up" to fail in its mission to protect the Church, that those involved were "purged" from the Church, without detailing what actually happened (although it has been suggested many of those involved and "purged" remained in important positions of power within the church).[8] Church spokespersons on the Internet and elsewhere have been known to claim the operatives were convicted of "stealing photocopy paper."[9]
[edit] Effects in Canada
As a result of documents stolen from public and private agencies in Canada and information on other covert activities found as evidence collected in the Operation Snow White case[10][11], investigations into the Church of Scientology in Ontario were started. This eventually resulted in a large police raid of the Church of Scientology in Toronto, 3 March to 4 March 1983. The R. v. Church of Scientology of Toronto case began 1991-04-23[12], resulting in seven members being convicted, and two convictions of criminal Breach of the Public Trust against the church itself.[13]
[edit] See also
[edit] References
- ^ a b Ortega, Tony. "Double Crossed", Phoenix New Times, New Times Media, 1999-12-23. Retrieved on 2006-06-12.
- ^ Mystery of the Vanished Ruler. TIME (1983-01-31). Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
- ^ Miller, Russell (1987). Bare-faced Messiah, The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard. Henry Holt & Co. ISBN 0-8050-0654-0.
- ^ Marshall, John. "Hubbard still gave orders, records show", The Globe and Mail, 1980-01-24. Retrieved on 2006-09-14. (archived at rickross.com)
- ^ a b Robert W. Welkos; Joel Sappell. "Burglaries and Lies Paved a Path to Prison", Los Angeles Times, 1990-06-24. Retrieved on 2006-05-22.
- ^ PROJECT STEPMOTHER, SWOT 17 United Kingdom, April 20, 1973 (archived at Operation Clambake)
- ^ Charles L. Stafford; Bette Orsini. "Scientology: An in-depth profile of a new force in Clearwater" (PDF, 905K), St. Petersburg Times, 1980-01-09. Original (18M)
- ^ The President answers your questions: What is the Guardian’s Office and does it still exist?
- ^ Ortega, Tony (Sept. 9, 2001). "Sympathy for the Devil". New Times Los Angeles. Convenience link
- ^ John Marshall, Secret Ontario documents found in U.S. cult's files, The Globe and Mail, January 22, 1980.
- ^ John Marshall, Cult harassment, spying in Canada documented, The Globe and Mail, January 23, 1980.
- ^ Reynolds, W. Richard. "Scientology church on trial in Canada", St. Petersburg Times, 1991-04-23, p. 8.A. Retrieved on 2006-09-05.
- ^ Morgan, Lucy. "Abroad: Critics public and private keep pressure on Scientology", St. Petersburg Times, 1999-03-29. Retrieved on 2007-09-07. "Canada's highest court in 1997 upheld the criminal conviction of the Church of Scientology of Toronto and one of its officers for a breach of trust stemming from covert operations in Canadian government offices during the 1970s and 1980s."
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