Tax issues arose. On Oct. 10, 1978, Morantz was bitten by a rattlesnake left in his Pacific Palisades home mailbox by two members of the Synanon Imperial Marines. Now in a ballroom the Trippers were surrounded by hundreds of cheering, clapping Synanites. Synanon pressured old club members to leave and complaints led to the city taking a wrongful action that may have changed Synanons course in history. All thought the experience was beautiful. Publicly, Dederich warned that people should not mess with Synanon because the organization could not control its members. decided to create his own program to respond to their needs. that the Synanon group was running an unauthorized medical clinic. Members were taught that if caught on a violent mission to go to jail and to not blame Synanon. In September 26, 2022, the TrueAnon podcast also released a 5-part series on the history of Synanon called The Game. It would grow to become a well-funded utopian society throughout the late '60s and early '70s, before declaring itself a religion in 1974. . Philip K. Dick makes several references to Synanon in his 1977 novel A Scanner Darkly and 1981 novel VALIS. I see nothing frightening about it I am quite willing to break some lawyers legs and next break his wifes legs and threaten to cut their childs arm off. But Synanon still remains the Granddaddy of all drug rehabs, the failure that launched an industry, its failure teaching us more than whatever its success had (Richard Ofshe, The Failure that spurned an Industry). The Conductor made it clear this was the resisters last chance. [7] It has been called one of the "most dangerous and violent cults America had ever seen. This bankrupted Synanon, which formally dissolved in 1991. These are real threats", he snarled. Synanon.) Synanon is referred to in Bob Dylan's song "Lenny Bruce", from his album Shot of Love (Bruce "never made it to Synanon"). Dederich said: At the end of this rainbow, there will be a pot of gold. He had been litigating against the organization, getting children returned to their families, giving information to the media, lobbying against a Synanon bill and fighting to expose its hit squad to law enforcement. The concept of lifetime rehabilitation did not agree with therapeutic norms, and eventually in l977 attorney Paul Morantz would bring to the Health Depts attention that the group was running an unauthorized medical clinic and taking in people with medical needs Synanon had no license to treat. Yes! (Tony Lang, Synanon, Morantz archives on Synanon). Increasingly-wacko Dederich also created his own "Imperial Marines," while hundreds of his cult followers were ordered to get vasectomies and divorces! Those who went to jail for Synanon were treated as heroes. They would adopt the Synanon family, said the board, or the fifth circle in Dantes hell, where tormented souls are terrorized and torn, awaited them. (Tony Lang, Synanon, Morantz archives on Synanon). In its 21-year history, Synanon's reputation has seesawed from selflessly charitable to kooky and even depraved Dederich founded the group in Los Angeles in 1958, after "trying to take control of his Alcoholics Anonymous chapter and failing." Mitchell related. "Light to celebrate 25th anniversary of its Pulitzer", Marconi Conference Center State Historical Park, "The Story of This Drug Rehab-Turned-Violent Cult Is Wild, Wild Country-Caliber Bizarre", "A Violent, Deadly Cult With Forced Abortions and Shades of Scientology", The Cult That Spawned the Tough-Love Teen Industry, "The Man Who Fought the Synanon Cult and Won", "Synanon's Sober Utopia: How a Drug Rehab Program Became a Violent Cult", "Playing the Game: The Origins and Impact of Synanon", "The True History of Synanon Violence and How it Started", "The History of Synanon and Charles Dederich", "Charles Dederich, 83, Synanon Founder, Dies", "Synanon Founder Advocated Violence Against Opponents", "U.S. Indicts Nine From Synanon in Tax-Exemption Effort", "Ever unconventional, long controversial", "The Cult That Spawned the Tough-Love Teen Industry", "TrueAnon Presents: The Game -- First Episode drops September 26 on http://patreon.com/trueanonpod", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Synanon&oldid=1133004690, This page was last edited on 11 January 2023, at 20:24. The cops uncover a group of blind followers willing to do anything at their leader's urging, even murder. During a bout of paranoia where he would not leave his room, he read Emersons Self Reliance and using it as a bible he quit his job to devout full time to cleaning up other Alcoholics. . They are draining lifes blood from us and expecting us to play by their silly rules. Synanon lawyer Howard Garfield ordered Marine head Dr. Douglas Robson to collect all Synanon memos describing their violence and transfer them to legal department so attorney client privilege would attach. In 1967, Synanon purchased the Club Casa del Mar, a large beachside hotel in Santa Monica, as its headquarters and a dormitory for those undergoing treatment for drug addiction. Some Trippers began to hallucinate, Dederich having achieved his LSD replicated altered state of consciousness. The snake bit Morantz but did not kill him. As a rule, Synanon wasn't a violent place while my dad was there, but over time, Dederich grew crueler and more deranged. Synanons goal, Dederich said, was to lead the world into the 21st Century and anything less than changing the world is Mickey Mouse. (Morantz archives on Synanon, Gerstel, Paradise Inc.). (West Magazine, l967, Morantz archives on Synanon) Subsequently, Synanon acquired a large industrial building in Oakland, California, transforming it into a residential facility for its members, outsiders were permitted to attend the Game there as well. Recovering alcoholic Charles 'Chuck' Dederich founded Synanon in 1958 to provide substance abuse reform to drug users as well as alcoholics in Santa Monica, California. Professionals, even those without drug addictions, were invited to join Synanon. Synanon disbanded in 1991[6] due to members being convicted of criminal activities (including attempted murder) and retroactive loss of its tax-exempt status with the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) due to financial misdeeds, destruction of evidence, and terrorism. AN ULTRA-violent cult brainwashed addicts into shaving their heads, and enforced mass sterilizations in "Gestapo-like" demands. [42], The author, journalist and activist Maia Szalavitz claims to chart the influence of Synanon in other programs including Phoenix House, Straight, Incorporated and Boot Camps in addition to those mentioned above. After his small group, called "Tender Loving Care", gained a significant following, Dederich incorporated the organization into the Synanon Foundation in 1958. The main character discusses a drug rehabilitation cult "The Church of Niebor," which is based on Synanon.[46]. Everyone bonded. She has not been seen or heard from since. This became a successful enterprise that for a time generated roughly $10 million per year.[13]. While his associates went to jail, Dederich avoided imprisonment by pleading no contest to conspiracy to commit murder, agreeing as part of probation to formally step down as Chairman of Synanon and agreed to have nothing to do with running Synanon. Before the incident, Synanon investigator Chris Reynolds wrote a memo on Morantz, giving his home address to Synanon legal department. : todayilearned In mid-1978, the NBC Nightly News produced a news segment on the controversies surrounding Synanon. (Robert J. Lifton, Coercive Persuasion, The Psychology of Totalism; Dr. Edgar Friedman, The Nation 1965, a review of Yablonskis the Tunnel back The author fails to see the inhumanity he observesSynanon is a trade of one addiction for another..one day there will be a Synanon state of Mind more important than the club itself). Morantz spent six days in a hospital, news of which made national headlines. It even invited professionals including non-addicts to join. (Eidson v. Robson, Synanon; Synanon memos describing incident). A reference point for the rest of your life. Professionals, even those without drug addictions, were eagerly invited to join, provided they transferred their assets to the organization. Dederich was arrested for operating in Santa Monica without a health license and out of zone. Synanon was initially a drug rehabilitation program founded by Charles "Chuck" Dederich Sr. ( 1913 - 1997) in 1958 in Santa Monica, California. It was read on the Synanon wire while Dederich would bellow when will one of you have the guts to go to LA and do something about him, break his knees. (People vs. Dederich, Synanon memos on incident). (Gerstel, Paradise Inc.) Beginning in 1974 the authorities began to question Synanons promises and practices. The organization developed a business that sold promotional items, a successful enterprise that eventually generated roughly $10 million per year of revenue. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data. Synanons purchase of over $200,000 dollars of weapons from a single gun store also brought media attention. Addicts behaviors and past lives were attacked viciously in games, members were told their lives depended on staying, contacts with family were prohibited, and a system of rewards and punishments was applied. Other journalists who took on Synanon were LA Times reporter Narda Zuchinno and CBSs Connie Chung. Soon, Synanon owned properties across America; at Tomales Bay, it had a fleet of ships, and at the Badger property hundreds of motorbikes and trucks, not to mention an airstrip and a private plane. (IRS vs. Synanon). These changes led Synanon to its then certain fate. When one woman successfully fled and managed to get a lawyer to aid her legal case against the organization, that lawyer found himself the victim of a rattlesnake that had been placed in . According to court records, the group also formed a militant branch, known as the "Imperial Marines," to inflict violence against opponents of the organization - including former Synanon members. He gathered his own following in AA and after a time of meetings at apartments, they rented a small store in seedy Venice. Knowing away from the environment people were using, he closed the doors in l967 and ended the idea anyone should ever leave. "By July and August, I realized what Id stepped into, but it was too late to get out of it.. Much of the violence by Synanon had been carried out by a group within Synanon called the "Imperial Marines". In the 1970s, two men were run off the road near one of their properties. One just had to surrender to Synanon. The two other Synanon Imperial Marines, one of whom was Lance Kenton, son of musician Stan Kenton, pleaded no contest to charges of assault and conspiracy to commit murder. Aids returned with smut obtained from the un-brokens spouses to use. When California officials set about revoking Synanons charitable trust status, Dederich declared Synanon a religion in 1974. For a shower, a hose ran through a window (Casriel, So Fair a House, Yablonski, The Tunnel Back: Guy Endore, Synanon; Charles Dederich tapes on history of Synanon). [9] Declaring Synanon a religion (shades of L. Ron Hubbard! At age 8 his youngest brother died of influenza and Dederich felt guilty and responsible. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. On remote properties in California such as Tomales Bay in Marin County and Badger, Tulare County, the organization had built un-permitted buildings, a trash dump, and an airstrip. Each person stripped and put on white robes. (Deposition of Charles Dederich, Morantz vs. Dederich; Morantz vs. Synanon, IRS vs. (Dederich, Childbirth Unmasked.) (Freidenber, Nation 1965). In l977 in Santa Monica, Synanon took in a woman in a pre-psychotic break, and would not return her to her husband and transferred her to Tomales Bay. Synanon sought religious status in 1974, with Diedrich as its leader. Beginning in the mid-1970s, women were required to shave their heads (men did the same and bib overalls became the uniform). Fluid leaked into his spine causing a near fatal case of spinal meningitis. Synanon purchased in 1967 the Club Casa del Mar, a large beach side 1926 hotel in Santa Monica (during WW II it was a military headquarters), and used it as a center and dormitory for drug treatment and business operations. Believed trespassers were taken into the basements of Santa Monica Del Mar building and worked over on directions of Dr. Robson. [32] The snake bit him, and he was hospitalized for six days. Control over members occurred through the Synanon Game. The Game could be considered a therapeutic tool, likened to group therapy; or a social control, in which members humiliated one another and encouraged the exposure of ones innermost weaknesses, or both. (Robson letters, crime reports, Synanon memos on each event, Synanon Holy War file, Depostions of ex-Synanon member, Morantz vs. Synanon; IRS vs. Synanon). [40] The CEDU model was widely influential on the development of parent-choice, private-pay residential programs. Later the flies (Dederich trained youngsters) took over the attack. [22] During this practice, members were encouraged to be critical of everything, using harsh and profane language. [14], During its first decade, Synanon members entered into a 12-year program in three stages aimed at preparing members to reenter greater society. (Tony Lang, Synanon, Morantz archives on Synanon). The Foundation had the wire, an internal broadcasting system that played 24 hours with repeated talk of getting the enemies. "[28] During the investigations researchers also came across multiple lawsuits and arrests against Synanon members. Monetary donations came in from the rich and Hollywood, as guys like Robert Wagner, Leonard Nimoy and Ben Gazzra came to Synanon to play the game with ex-addicts and ex-hookers. Then it went to war. The Trippers, many of whom had been awake for 65 or more hours, were hugged and cheered. All such notions Dederich declared were also a squeeze to get rotten fruit out of Synanon (those who will not obey). Synanon was allowed to have members kick addiction cold turkey without drugs. Morantz was bitten and hospitalized for 11 days. A third defendant, Synanon founder Charles Dederich, earlier was put on . Synanon members were instructed in writing to physically harm others, take responsibility for it and never reveal Synanons involvement. So did Synanon member Steve Simon in his Harvard dissertation (the danger of being a participant observer is that you may be converted). He was saved from meningitis in the l940s by the discovery of penicillin. Bombs, he would say in l978 to news reporter Connie Chung (CBS NEWS l978), could go off in homes of critics (Deposition of Dederich, Synanon vs. Time, Inc.; Synanon vs. ABC). The influence and culture of the Synanon organization, which was founded by Charles Dederich Sr., started as a drug rehabilitation program in the late 1950's. . Cook, an account of the journalists who exposed the abuses; it starred Paul Michael Glaser, Linda Kelsey, and Barbara Babcock. [citation needed]. (Mitchell, the Light on Synanon). According to court records, the cult formed a militant branch, known as the Imperial Marines, to inflict violence against opponents of the organization. (Defendant's Statement of Material Facts at 68-74, 108-09.) Beatings occurred in Synanon basements. Beatings of opponents, alleged thieves and ex-members ( splittees) occurred across the country. Imperial Marines were shock troopers that primarily served on Imperial-class Star Destroyers as defence provided by the Stormtrooper Corps. In 1974 Synanon declared itself a religion and centered on middle-class searching for utopia rather than addict curing. Yet the Imperial Marines were named officially Her Majestys Imperial Marines, and she was often at their training and spoke of a militant Synanon (Wendell Stamps Imperial Marine diary). During the second stage, members worked outside of the community but still resided within the community. Escape From Cielo Drive (A Tale of Three Charlies) 0 December 26, 2010. Outsiders were permitted to attend the "Synanon Game" there as well. Legal problems continued, despite this change. Information from former members of the cult quickly identified two of Synanons Imperial Marines as suspects in the snake-attack. Dederich is credited with coining the phrase Today is the First Day of the Rest of Your Life. (Casriel, So Fair a House, Yablonski, The Tunnel Back: Guy Endore, Synanon; Charles Dederich tapes on history of Synanon). The medical board was to establish rules for Synanon but never did. to have been involved in several criminal activities, such as the disappearance of Rose Lena Cole in late 1972, or early 1973. By 1991 the community had essentially folded. Many young teenagers who got too close to Synanon property were beaten brutally by Synanon mobs. (Dederich, The Graduate Question). Plus, control freak Dederich wanted even more power. It will produce a new breed of human beings with greatly expanded potentials. [14] Upon their arrival, those newcomers were forced to quit using drugs cold turkey, going through withdrawal for the first few days in the program. (Yablonski, The Tunnel Back: Guy Endore, Synanon; Charles Dederich tapes on history of Synanon). [41], Father William B. O'Brien, the founder of New York's Daytop Village, included Synanon's group encounters and confrontational approach in his research into addiction treatment methods. Synanon evicted by tossing people and belongings out of apartments (even off a roof). They acted as "the punch" of the Imperial Starfleet. That is the end of that lawyer. But there was a catch: new members had to transfer their assets to the organization. They survived by begging stale food from catering trucks, hookers doing tricks and donations. A hoop-a-la began (Synanons dance). A Los Angeles District Attorney search warrant led to a discovery of an audio tape wherein Dederich bragged of beatings that had occurred, the Imperial Marine training, and said one day the message would be delivered to everyone Dont mess with Synanon. The psychotic leader of Synanon, Charles Dederich, features in a new series of Oxygens Deadly Cults which examines how this tyrant wielded so much deadly power over his many besotted followers. Synanon enterprises would run gas stations, pottery making, apartment buildings and other income businesses without having to pay workers or taxes. [5] The group ultimately became a cult called the Church of Synanon in the 1970s. After the rattlesnake incident, Mary Robson, wife of Imperial Marine leader Dr. Douglas Robson, went to a neighbor of Paul Morantzs mother and left her card so Morantz would know Synanon knew where his mother was. Everyone was to cop-out (confess to past sins). When the first Tripper, physically and emotionally exhausted, broke and wept it caromed to the others. The husband hired attorney Paul Morantz, who had recently finished a case against persons who had kidnapped skid row alcoholics and kept them on thorazine in nursing homes in order to bill the State. In response to these accusations, Dederich declared in l974 that Synanon was a tax exempt religious organization, the Church of Synanon. A memo declaring it a religion asked a question that didnt need to be answered: Who will be God? (Gerstel, Paradise Inc.; Morantz vs. Synanon, IRS vs. Synanon) Dederich declared no more children (1976) as they take time away from Synanon goals. Her daughter died in Synanon and the husband split. Unsurprisingly, abused kids began running away, helped by an 'underground railroad', led by neighboring rancher Alvin Gambonini, who tried to reunite them with their parents. One, Richard Marino, said they were handcuffed and beaten, and their heads were shaved. Watches were taken as time was no longer important. They are both true. In October 1977, attorney Paul Morantz was embroiled in a civil suit against the cult when he was introduced to Synanon's violent side the so-called Synanon Imperial Marines. Despite the Trip conversion success, the old-timers, the Retired Dope Fiends, aka The Walking Dead, remained a problem. ", Private Investigator Jack Harding said: "They reminded me of a young Gestapo group.". (Morantz archives on Synanon, People vs Dederich, IRS vs. Synanon). Its ultimate doom came when Dederich and members tried to kill by means of a de-rattled rattlesnake in the mailbox, Pacific Palisades lawyer Paul Morantz who was battling Synanon in the court and trying to expose the Foundation for criminal conspiracies. The 1984 TV movie Attack on Fear, directed by Mel Damski, written by T.S. On October 10, 1978, Morantz was bitten by a rattlesnake which had been placed in his Pacific Palisades home mailbox by two members of the Synanon Imperial Marines, Lance Kenton and Joe Musico. The Galactic Empire trained these stormtroopers to board rebel warships. Mr. Dederich even kept an elite squad of enforcers that he called the Imperial Marines. Dederich officially declared it a Holy War. (Dederich letter to Mike Garrett, Synanon Holy War file, 1978 Board minutes of SynanonJady Dederich, Morantz vs Synanon, IRS vs. Synanon. Paul Robert Morantz (born August 16, 1945) is an American attorney and investigative journalist. "One big dysfunctional family: A former member of the Synanon cult recalls the 'alternative lifestyle' that shaped her, for better and worse". The former compound of a notorious cult in the foothills of northeastern Tulare County will soon be vacation rentals. (Robson card, Morantz memorandum). Vile Dederich declared that, "having an abortion is like squeezing a boil, nothing more.". Escape From Cielo Drive (A Tale of Three Charlies) The strange tale of Charlies Manson, Charles Watson and the suggested unknown forewarnings of an eventual murder attempt on my life through similar circumstance. The group is featured in the 2021 book Cultish: The Language of Fanaticism by American linguist Amanda Montell. (Tony Lang, Synanon, Morantz archives on Synanon). 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. (Robson) suggested blowing me away with a shotgun, Morantz said. [31] NBC continued with a series of reports on the Synanon situation on the NBC Nightly News. On September 21, 2008, the Marines tried to murder ex-member Phil Ritter. Paul Morantz, an American attorney and investigative journalist has written substantially about the cult - as he delves into brainwashing cases for victims. Baby among 6 festival-goers sliced to death by glass-encrusted kite strings, BBC1's live FA Cup coverage hit by porn noises from mobile hidden by prankster, Three major energy suppliers paying you to turn off appliances tonight, Putin to make very important announcement on Ukraine war today', News Group Newspapers Limited in England No. Dederich appeared at a press conference and declared the city had fallen into the hands of Mad Dogs and Synanon would sue them all. He remarried, but alcohol did in that marriage, too. Children were reared communally in the Synanon School. Eartha Kitt, right, giving dancing lessons, donated the proceeds from her classes to the Synanon House, aving an abortion is like squeezing a boil, nothing more. You may change your value system, notions about life and viewpoints about people. Synanon, is the first ever self help-no doctors- drug rehabilitation program, founded by Charles "Chuck" Dederich Sr. (1913-1997) in 1958 in Santa Monica, California. It was a game because one being gamed could turn the game on another. Casriel went on to found Day Top in New York and thus came the birth of modern day drug rehabs (Casriel, So Fair a House). Convicted, rather than move as condition of probation he chose to go to jail. The result was implantation of a common bond and sense of ideals, all identified with Synanon. (People vs. Dederich; Arrest report on Charles Dederich; IRS vs. Synanon).

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