Joel Phillips, owner of American Coast Title

Cease and Desist

Re: Illegal content on religiousfreedomwatch.org

Joel Phillips
P.O. Box 50744
Pasadena, CA 91115

Dear Mr. Phillips:

It has come to my attention that you have a picture and my name on the front page of your website under the banner “Exposing Religious Intolerance” and mixed in with the pictures and names of convicted felons and notorious anti-religionists, such as the infamous Ted Patrick who was once found guilty and jailed for kidnaping and “deprogramming” people into giving up their religious beliefs and membership.

This is guilt by association, and also libelous.  Nothing in my history remotely qualifies me for this category.  Moreover, my name links to a page filled with false and vicious claims about me, basically calling me psychotic and a liar, a clear attack on my character.  Not only is the information false and libelous, but it is obviously intended to subject me to ridicule and hatred and harm me financially.  I feel physically and financially threatened by it and regard it as a form of extortion designed to silence and harass me for my role in blowing the whistle on the abuses of David Miscavige that I personally witnessed and experienced while a member of the Sea Org at the International Base (“Int Base”) outside Hemet, California.

Recently, yet another former high-ranking Sea Org member has gone public with abuse stories similar to mine. Debbie Cook, a 29-year member of the Sea Org and the Captain of the Flag Service Organization for 17 years, testified under oath in a Texas Court that she witnessed David Miscavige pummel Marc Yager just as I witnessed, one of Scientology’s highest ranking international executives and was herself the brunt of physical abuse by order of Miscavige — as was I.  She told of being taken to “the Hole,” a double-wide trailer with bars on the windows and a guard at the door where she was kept for 7 weeks.  Dozens of other international executives were also imprisoned there and forced to sleep on an ant-infested floor.  She testified that Miscavige beat another staff member and then forced him to lick a bathroom floor for half an hour.

This is the sort of behavior I refuse to tolerate and am working to expose.  Such conduct is not religious, it is not Scientology.  I am a Scientologist myself and am tolerant of other religions.

You may choose not to believe me, Debbie, and many other whistleblowers — all former high-ranking Sea Org members who are making similar claims, but you weren’t there and I was.  You have never contacted me to verify your statements nor obtain my version of the events.  Obviously, you were not present and have no first hand information.  At best, you are relying on information given you.  At worst, you made it up.  

An investigation of the facts and circumstances would clear the air and determine the truth of the matter.  The convening authority for worldwide matters, the Executive Director International, Guilliame LeServe, however, is not on post.  David Miscavige removed him, even though Miscavige lacks the power to do so under LRH policy and corporate bylaws.  I know; I saw Guilliame imprisoned in the same gulag that came to be known at “the Hole.”  There are no internal mechanisms to handle the current situation.  Miscavige has eliminated all the internal checks and balances put in place by LRH.

I chose to go public with my claims rather than remain silent.  The choice was clear: either speak up and use the heart of Scientology — communication and confront — to strike a blow to the cancer killing Scientology or remain silent while people were being harmed and abused through the criminal actions of a corrupt dictator who believes himself to be above the law.

I view your actions to be in retaliation for me speaking out.  I know the game.  Your orders ultimately emanate from OSA Int, which, in turn, is micro-managed by David Miscavige, however the actual channels of communication have been disguised.  Clearly, you are acting on orders, not an independent investigation.  

Not only do the things said about me by you defame me, but, they harass and subject me to hatred and ridicule that put me in fear for my safety.  Because you falsely position me as being anti-Scientology, rather than pro-Scientology/anti-abuses of Miscavige, and because Miscavige has exalted himself as some sort of supreme ruler and savior of Scientology in the eyes of many members who refuse to make independent investigations or think for themselves, I fear that one of your misinformed website visitors may harm me physically as a righteous act.

Perhaps unknown to you, the defamatory and hateful content on your website concerning me — and other whistleblowers against Miscavige’s inhumane treatment of Int Base staff — is just one of many hate websites naming me (and other whistleblowers).  Each and every one of them emanate from Miscavige through whatever channels, however disguised.  As you are fully aware, no Scientologist in good standing would dare make a public statement concerning Scientology without clearance from OSA.

Additional information that may be unknown to you is that the hate websites are only one component of Miscavige’s retaliatory campaign against me and other whistleblowers.  He has directed Scientologists to physically harass whistleblowers in front of their homes.  He has directed private investigators to surveil us.  He has sent teams of Scientologists to badger us, and to contact us by phone and through email making attempts to coerce our silence.  He has tracked the airplane flights of whistleblowers through an in-house travel agency, knowing when we booked a flight and having investigators at the other end waiting for our arrivals.  Apparently he has illegally obtained private information, such as phone records and even had email accounts illegally hacked into.

Your actions against me are part of a pattern of conduct which combine to make a credible threat that I will be physically and otherwise harmed unless and until I discontinue my efforts to expose Miscavige’s criminal actions and abuses.

Therefore, your conduct violates state and federal cyberstalking laws, 18 USC Sec. 2261A and California Penal Code Sec. 653, as well as California Code Sec. 646.9.  Section 646.9 defines “credible threat” to include a “threat implied by a pattern of conduct or a combination of verbal, written, or electronically communicated statements and conduct. (Emphasis added.)

Your crimes constitute “hate crimes” under both California and federal law.  See, e.g., California Penal Code Secs. 422.55 & 422.6 because they are clearly motivated by hatred toward the exercise of my religion.  I am an independent Scientologist and am associated with persons who have also left the Church of Scientology to practice their religion independently of the Church.

Please take special note: California law also creates a right of action in Civil Code Sec. 1708.7.  

I request that you immediately cease and desist carrying my name or image on your website.  Otherwise, I intend to seek legal redress.

Mr. Phillips, we don’t know each other.  I have asked around about you and have learned that you are, as I am, a Scientologist, a professional, and a successful businessman.  I have been persuaded that your criminal actions against me are atypical of your character and personality.  

Let me point out what I believe are applicable LRH references.  

You seem to be unaware of my lengthy service in the Sea Org, and my substantial contributions to Scientology.  Please see the attached.  I encourage you to investigate my record and compare it to the contributions of other Scientologists you know, including your own.

I am in a different category by LRH policy than a person such as Ted Patrick, who was never a Scientologist and even publicly called Scientology a fraud.  Unlike me, he was truly religiously intolerant.  You cannot honestly compare me to him.

Furthermore, LRH warned us not to treat Scientologists who leave or are let go as though they have evil intentions.  See, the lecture entitled “Attitude & Conduct of Scientology,” dated 3 November 1955 from the 4th London ACC.  In that lecture he said, among other things, the following:

● “It’s because they are people of good intention.  And by saying that these people are not fit to associate with us anymore, we have told a lie of magnitude.  This is not true.  It’s never true.  You got it?”

● “Our inability to understand the actions of other Scientologists has a very fascinating barrier.  The limitation on our understanding is simply this: we say they have bad intentions, and that is a lie.  Got it?

“So the whole situation is liable to enturbulate around that postulated bad intention.  That’s what enturbulates the situation.  That makes a lie.

“The situation then becomes unsolvable.  Because we’ve entered a changing factor called a lie into it.”

Note: This explains why we have a growing independent movement in Scientology, bad press and Internet, governmental investigations.  The situation isn’t resolving and won’t resolve by falsely labeling, attacking, and harassing whistleblowers.

● “This guy says he’s been hurt, he’s screaming to high heaven, let’s try and give him a hand.

“In view of the fact that he’s in Scientology the probability is that he’s – actually has been hurt.  See?  He probably...that’s the... the probabilities are very in favor of that.  And he isn’t just standing there screaming, or she isn’t just standing there screaming and saying, “I’ve been done in,” just to stand there and say, “I’ve been done in,” see?”

Note: Precisely.  When I learned the correct legal definitions of words like “assault” and “battery” I understood for the first time that I myself had clearly been assaulted and battered by David Miscavige on multiple occasions in addition to being falsely imprisoned at the Int Base on numerous occasions. So were others. It really happened, and is probably continuing to happen, Mr. Phillips. I witnessed many others being assaulted and battered by David Miscavige. The single instance that you site on your website, although you were not even there, happened not in November 2003 but in the first part of December and the assailant, David Miscavige, was there.  

● “Well, I hate to unsettle a very stable datum, if it does unsettle it.  But the only way anything ever does resolve is by letting your own kind heart reach through.  That’s the only way it ever does solve. And it never solves by being tough.”

● “But we do not, I repeat, do not, separate them from Scientology or Scientology organizations, nor at any moment fail to give them organizational support or cooperation in the starting of any new activity in which they wish to engage for the benefit of Scientology.  You got that?

“In other words, the arduous lesson along this line is that no-communication lists, revocation/suspension of certificates, court action of any kind whatsoever within the realm of Scientology and so forth, is not only – not only difficult to do but does not work.  That’s just the end of it. It just doesn’t work.  It’s for the sea gulls.  That might work in Gestetner Limited or Westinghouse, but it does not work in Scientology.  Got that?”

As LRH also said in this lecture, people who leave the Church “seldom go off and suck their thumbs dismally.”  We are former Sea Org members.  We will not rest until the crimes and inhumane treatment by David Miscavige are brought to light for one significant reason: others are still at risk.

Second, I refer you to The Third Party Law, which I contend is at play here.  You don’t know me or what I witnessed at Int Base.  You have been “told” that I am a bad guy, a liar who falsely claims that Miscavige committed crimes.  Today in Scientology, we have a fractured membership, each side pitted against the other.

Consider a third party at work.  Consider the possibility that Miscavige is really brutal and, in the words of Debbie Cook, “vicious beyond belief.”

You are a businessman.  If you were accused of torturing and assaulting your employees, what would you do?  Try to defame, harass and subject your accusers to hatred and ridicule that put them in fear for their safety? If dozens of parties came forward over a period substantiating those same charges, would the co-owners of your business continue to ignore their allegations if you slandered them?  What if those charges were being made against one of your employees?  Would you not investigate?

I know the answer to those questions.  You/they would independently investigate the charges.  If the accusers really were liars, lawful action would be taken against them.  If there was merit to the charges, you or the employee would be let go.  Professionals and responsible people don’t rely on intimidation and slander as defenses to serious charges; they investigate and handle the underlying situations.  In your job, you wouldn’t accept your employees using against their critics the same kind of tactics and invective you have used against me.  

I suggest that an honest investigation by you or others would reveal a third party at work and lead to a resolution of the overall situation, blowing charge for the group and allowing us to establish ARC (affinity + reality + communication = understanding) and join together to take Scientology’s true message to the world.

Apparently Miscavige is afraid of an honest investigation and would rather hide in the chaos created by engaging in a campaign of libel and other illegal retaliatory actions.

I am not against the Church; I am a loyal Scientologist against criminality, abuse, intolerance and corruption.

A copy of this letter is being directed to your company’s co-owners and its underwriter for their roles and legal responsibility in the website.

A copy of this letter is also being sent to David Miscavige. He bears ultimate responsibility for the overall, multi-pronged retaliatory program against me and others who have blown the whistle on his own criminal actions and inhuman treatment of staff members.

Regardless of what David Miscavige does, I insist that you comply with the law.

I hereby demand that you cease and desist your online attacks against me.  Please remove my name and photograph, as well as the offensive, demeaning, degrading, false, scandalous, harassing, threatening statements, from any and all web pages on your site, and links to pages containing them, and notify me that you have done so.

Sincerely,


Steve Hall
March 22, 2012

cc:
West Coast Internet
34700 Pacific Coast Hwy. Ste. 308
Capistrano Beach, CA 92624
Attention: Paul Quaranto

Joel Phillips
American Coast Title
1119 W. Glenoaks Blvd
Glendale, CA 91202

Linda Blood
American Coast Title
1119 W. Glenoaks Blvd
Glendale, CA 91202

Frank Berriz
American Coast Title
1119 W. Glenoaks Blvd
Glendale, CA 91202

Legal Department
Stewart Title Co.
525 N. Brand Blvd.
Glendale, CA 91203

David Miscavige
c/o Elliot Abelson, Attorney at Law
8491 W. Sunset Boulevard, Suite 1100
Los Angeles, California 90069-1911

Steve Hall
My Scientology Production Record

I am a 20-year Sea Org veteran, posted for 15 years at the Int base.  

I joined Church staff at a Class IV organization in 1982, training as an auditor and auditing in the Hubbard Guidance Center (“HGC”). While in LA to do advanced auditor training on the Saint Hill Special Briefing Course (“SHSBC”)  and advanced auditing (“OT levels”) at the Advanced Organization of Los Angeles (“AOLA”) in 1984, I joined the Sea Org after completing OT I.  Due to exemplary qualifications (which included having a flawless ethics record, excellent production record, high IQ and “no glaring outpoints” in character, I was recruited directly into the Commodore’s Messenger Organization International (“CMOI”) which is part of the Church’s “international management.”

Needing to complete the OT levels myself, I was transferred to Flag to head Solo–OT III delivery. In exchange, CMOI received a Class XII auditor which might give you an idea of my perceived value even as a new Sea Org member. While getting through the OT levels myself, I got 100 others through OT III, launched a marketing campaign that resulted in record numbers on Solo training, trained up as a Class IV auditor and interned in Flag’s Case Cracking HGC.

Because of my 10-year professional background in visual merchandising and displays, in 1987 I transferred back to Int Management level for the formation of the new Central Marketing Unit under Ronnie Miscavige (David’s brother).

I underwent another round of security checks in 1989 after David Miscavige ordered the Central Marketing Unit be moved to the Int base so all of International management was in one location. Every detail of my qualifications for post was examined in detail and I not only passed with flying colors, I was invited and fully cleared to join RTC in 1989. I turned them down.

Soon I was heading up Dianetics marketing for the Church. By 1991 my creative abilities were discovered and a new post was created for me, Senior Writer. Throughout the next decade I coined dozens of successful marketing slogans and tag lines (some still in use). Maybe you recall seeing some of them.

• "Know yourself. Know life." general Scientology (still in use)
• "You're on an adventure. Here's the map" Basics books and lectures (still in use)
• "Destination OT" Flag World Tour
• "Uncle Sam wants YOU to go up the Bridge." Donations
• “Whatever problem you bring to Flag, it won’t follow you home.” (best ad in Flag’s history)
• “The Read Magnifier” Quantum E-Meter
• "When life's a battleground, your mind is the best weapon." DMSMH book
• "You always loved the great explorers. Now you can be one." DMSMH book
• “Say goodbye to the inside of your head” Philadelphia Doctorate Course Lectures
• “Scientology will open your eyes. And you’re going to like what you see.” NSOL book
• “Your search is over, but the adventure has just begun” FOT book
• “Searching for the ultimate answers to life? Welcome to the finish line.” FOT book
• “Because the most powerful force of nature, is you.” Scientology 8-8008 book
• “You won’t believe what the past can teach you.” History of Man book
• “At Flag, every room comes with a beautiful view (the back of your head.)” Flag
• "Welcome to the new world of Scientology" Orientation film
• “What really happens when we’re unconscious?” Evolution of a Science film
• “Can honesty repair what secrets destroyed?” Married Couple film
• "Once upon a time you had your own universe. What makes you think its not still there?" Admiration Lectures
• “Misconceptions can be deadly” New OT V
• “What do you say when you’ve just expanded to the size of the universe? End of Session.” Solo NOTs
• “All the things you think you can't remember aren't even what you've actually forgotten.” New OT VIII
• "Earth was colonized 35,000 years ago. You arrived in an ice cube." History of Man
• “Scientology makes sense. Literally.” Scientology IQ ad
• “When the Scarecrow asked for brains, he had the right idea.” Scientology IQ ad
• "The dirtiest word in Scientology: spectator." Become an FSM
• “If you saw someone in a life or death situation, would you help? What if it was a whole planet instead?” Recruitment
• “If Scientology could really improve intelligence and rehabilitate spiritual abilities, it would be the greatest breakthrough the world had ever known. Exactly.” What is Scientology? book

In 1992, I designed and built the Preservation of the Tech Exhibit at Flag which earned more than $2 million for Church of Spiritual Technology (“CST”). For 10 years I built large displays to launch new releases at all of Scientology’s major events around the world, six times a year. I was also the person who introduced the concept of using displays for dissemination and the result of that is now in every Ideal Org’s Division 6.

I was the only advertising person in history able to get an existing LRH Scientology book (not Dianetics) onto trade bestseller lists. In 1998 I did it with both New Slant on Life (“NSOL”) and Scientology: The Fundamentals of Thought (“FOT”).  

All in all, I had 110,000 words published by the Church to promote all 286 LRH products and services on the Bridge — every book, auditing level, rundown and course for 44 separate Church corporations, including 150 brochures, 125 films and videos, 40 TV spots airing on national TV, 37 tech film ads, 4 complete Church websites (including dianetics.org 2002 - 2008 through which I sold more Dianetics Kits than anyone in history). I scripted numerous Scientology Public Films and even portions of LRH Tech Films; eleven videos for Flag, Freewinds and Sea Org World Tours (two of which bumped International Gross Income (“Int GI”) by $65 million); 18 International Association of Scientologists (“IAS”) Winner Videos; scores of event videos (1997-2001). I wrote ads (and also articles) printed in hundreds of Church magazines, including: Source, Freewinds, Advance!, Auditor, Celebrity, Ability, Int Scientology News, KSW News and Impact. I created the Adventure Newsletter which sold out volume after volume of the Research and Discovery Series. I wrote back matter, more info cards and cover copy for trade paperbacks, hard cover and mass market books including multiple editions of Dianetics. Besides writing scripts, I created the marketing for numerous Scientology Public films including Evolution of a Science, Dynamics of Life, Married Couple, Orientation, and more. I also wrote the marketing copy for the Classics, Premier Series, Basics, Congresses and Milestones.

To write about every Scientology service I had to learn everything about it including reading everything LRH wrote about each service. I am a Volunteer Minister, an ordained Scientology minister, a Book One auditor, Happiness Rundown (“HRD”)  Auditor, Class IV Auditor, and a Hubbard Senior Security Checker. I’m Flag trained, Sea Org trained, Exec trained, Tech trained, PTS-SP trained, Ethics trained, trained on Organization Executive Course (“OEC”) policy, trained on LRH management tech, trained to be a student and trained as an auditor. I’m trained in marketing and trained in public relations. My Flag OK to operate an E-Meter is good for life, I’m OT V, KTL/LOC, OT Doctorate, Pro TRs, fully hatted as a Flag D of P, Advanced Courses Solo I/C, Scientology project engineer, programs ops, marketing manager, copywriter, and scriptwriter. I’ve trained dozens of Book One auditors and led Book One workshops and seminars. I’ve delivered assists in emergency situations. I’m trained on the Art Series, Marketing Series, PR Series, Admin Know-How Series, Data Series, Org Series, Target Series, Computer Series and more.

And all the above I did either to help others or to make myself more able to help others. So, as you can see, far from being religiously intolerant, I am a dedicated Scientologist with a long list of contributions, more than most. Per LRH,

“If almost any person in the Sea Organization were to appear in a Scientology group or Org he would be lionized, red-carpeted and Very-Important-Personed beyond belief. For the Sea Organization is composed of the ‘aristocracy’ of Scientology.

“These people, alone and on their own are all stars in the sky of their areas. It is like one of the old regiments of gentlemen where any private would be, in another but common regiment, a colonel...

“The Sea Organization is composed of people who alone would excite great admiration but who together, well organized, can actually get the job done. And although our lowest deck hand could be a ‘duke’ only all of us together could get on with the job.” — LRH

The Sea Org is the aristocracy of Scientology and the aristocracy of the Sea Org was at the Int base. With the exception of a few orgs such as ASI and CST, any Sea Org members not at the Int base didn’t qualify for the Int base.

Therefore, the true facts do not support the false vilifications about me on your website.

Sincerely,

Steve Hall
March 22, 2012