Hot and Cold Running Servants

Monday, 27 June 2011 08:36

By Lana Mitchell

The www.savescientology.com website documents, thoroughly, how LRH’s intent for corporate Scientology has been corrupted by one David Miscavige.

As additional information supporting this site, I wanted to document my knowledge of the personal service lines of David Miscavige. As a former RTC investigator I worked to “follow the money” (the trail of financial irregularities, personal favours, and persons receiving disproportional financial rewards) to find the criminal and the subverter. For those who are not familiar with the day-to-day service lines of the head of Scientology — this information may be new for you. For the many who have worked in and around this individual, I am sure there is much information I do not have, which can be added to confirm the significance and extent of the corruption. I start with a description of my own experiences as a Sea Org member, so that there is a comparison to the altogether different standard of Miscavige from Sea Org members, Scientologists and easily 95% of this planet.

Standard of Living

Sea Org members, are provided with lodging, food and a small sum of money on a weekly basis – and in exchange they work long hours, 7 days a week.

I was in the SO for 17 years. When I first arrived in 1989, weekly pay was $35. It was enough to cover basic hygiene supplies, vitamins, occasional canteen visits and then, if you really worked to save your money – enough to buy some Christmas presents for family at year end.

In the early 90’s the pay went to $50 a week, though in saying that, there were many weeks when the pay was cut by half or cut entirely. Also, it was routine that money was collected for senior executive birthday and Christmas presents (coming out of your pay before it was even handed to you).

In terms of food – it was basic. Often highly processed, often bland, and routinely not well cooked – but people put up with it. Sometimes it was just beans and rice, as the money was simply not there to properly feed the crew. But the crew put up with whatever the food is – as they are not there for the food – they are there for the higher purposes of the Sea Org.

Berthing in the Sea Org comes in all standards. When I first arrived in the SO, in Sydney in the late 80’s I recall vividly a cockroach infested kitchen, in an old damp and cold Sydney terrace house, with paint peeling, and a toilet that never stopped running.

In LA the berthing was not much better. I lived in the Hollywood Inn for several years in a tiny room with smelly carpet, a double bed and nothing else. The bathroom was barely working – with a toilet and bath/shower. At one point there was a leak in the ceiling above and the entire bathroom ceiling collapsed into the bathtub – and was not fixed for months.

I was lucky as I was promoted to the post of CO CMO PAC at one point, and was then able to move into the PAC Main Building – with a large corner room with my own bathroom. I actually felt a little awkward about the vast difference in quality and size of the room that came with the promotion.

When I was promoted to Int in 1993 I lived at Kirby, at Vista and even in one of the old houses that was opposite the G’s (near Sublet Road). These were all functional rooms. The furniture was stuff I had collected up over time – either for free or as hand-me-downs from others. The last house I lived in, when I was working in Gold on the Service lines for David Miscavige, was an old house that had had a meth lab under the house at one point. It had a garage full of rats, and myself and 3 others cleaned, scrubbed and then painted it so that we could live closer to the Int base and be able to work the additional late night hours without being stuck with no way to get home. We put up with the low standards as we wanted to do our posts well – as having to try to find a ride home at 3am was awful.

Standard of Royalty

Now all of the above is the reality that most Sea Org members have of food, berthing and pay. When it comes to David Miscavige however, the standard is altogether different.

First is pay. I do not have specifics on the exact amount that DM is paid on a weekly basis. I do know that when I was in RTC I was stunned to receive a Christmas bonus of over $3000. My senior and other RTC execs received much more – and I was told that this occurred every Christmas as if this was not done then DM’s own salary would look very strange to an outsider, being so much higher than the regular SO pay. The RTC staff received bonuses so that DM could continue to be paid his high salary.

I worked on the food service lines for DM for several years. Over $1000 a week was spent on food supplies for just DM and his wife Shelly. A full time chef, and an assistant chef, worked tirelessly to service the two in a way that most SO members would never believe.

DM eats every 2 hours. He has a specific low-fat diet, which requires constant monitoring of calorie-content of each dish, use of all possible low-fat ingredients, special low-fat cooking styles and methods, and all food must be the freshest and best quality available.

He gets up at midday and has breakfast at lunchtime. He is provided with a cooked breakfast daily, top of the line coffee and has the chef wait for as long as needed so that it is fresh cooked and plated up within minutes of him sitting down.

Lunch is provided within 2 ½ hours. Two choices for lunch are always made, and routinely, (before Shelly disappeared) two choices were made for her as well. That is four separate lunches for 2 people. Choices include home-made soups, Mexican food, Italian food, pizza, subway sandwiches with only the best and most expensive ingredients, and more. The Chef gets these meals together in the Galley and then returns to DM’s service area to personally keep the meals warm/fresh and to personally plate them up and see that they are well received. The Chef cannot return to the kitchen until this is done – and too many times to count, the Chef can wait for more than 2 hours while DM is in a meeting or otherwise engaged, only then to be told that DM decided to eat a protein bar and there will be no lunch served – and there is now only 1 hour till dinner is to be ready.

Dinner is a repeat of lunch – with at least 2 choices of dinner. Again, the meal has to be dished up/plated by the Chef, and only the freshest and most expensive ingredients are used. Chicken breast is the largest organic breasts available, delivered fresh. Vegetables are purchased from the local fresh markets, with a purchaser going specially to buy the needed fruit and vegetables and pay whatever price – regardless of season. Atlantic salmon is flown in from the US east coast or from Canada – fresh. Lamb is corn-fed from New Zealand. Steak is filet-mignon, and organic.

There is an evening snack delivered 2 hours after dinner. This is a repeat of lunch – however routinely lighter foods.

Then, there is a late night meal/snack that is put together and provided for after midnight. This is routinely a cheese and fruit platter, a platter of antipasto – all top of the line, best possible ingredients. Smooth goat’s cheese, mellow blue-vein, smoked gouda, aged-tasty cheeses – served with organic crackers. Presentation of all items is top of the line, with garnishes, fruit carvings and edible flowers -- you name it. DM stays up until around 3am and then get a cushy 8 – 9 hours sleep to emerge fresh at lunchtime each day (while the majority of staff around him have had far less).

There are full-time kitchen staff who perform these functions, and there are also anything from 1 – 3 full-time RTC stewards who act to coordinate the meals and do the actual food service.

All of the above is the regular run-of-the mill regular Sea Org production day for the DM royalty.

Now – where things start to really ramp up is when you get celebrations and guests. DM’s birthday is an extravaganza to behold. The food preparation is started a full 2 – 3 days in advance, and is based on a wish list, a theme and there are no expenses barred. The menu is plucked from 5-star restaurants and books, the ingredients are shipped in from across continents – and there is no limit to satisfy and impress. Fresh lobster was a regular item on the menu. Fresh live shrimp was also. The exclusive foi gras (duck liver) was a favourite, at huge cost. Truffles were another item that featured routinely. A guest such as TC results in similar levels of food creativity.

In the 3 years that I worked on these service lines, I saw it all. I worked my ass off to provide food service fit for royalty – and meanwhile, the crew around me (as well as myself) were eating food that routinely could not be sold if you tried.

Now berthing for the royalty is again, something most Sea Org members or public would not believe. DM has personal spaces at Gilman Hot Springs, in LA, at Flag, in the UK and on the Freewinds. Each has been designed and fitted out with top-of-the line furnishings – no expenses barred. Just recently the entirety of the Upper Villas at Int was turned into DM’s personal living spaces — enough space to berth 48 Sea Org members or 12 couples.

Living spaces for DM are on par with English royalty – and I suspect the standard of service he receives is even better. When I was working on these lines there were 2 full-time stewards responsible for cleaning, servicing and doing laundry. It was routinely a flap if DM put on some weight that his steward would be ordered to tailor his pants so that they were comfortable. All of his uniforms and clothes are hand-crafted by an LA tailor (Mr Lim), and he has a wardrobe that fills a room.

DM also has his own fleet of personal luxury cars/motorcycles, and if there is any expensive personal item that DM does NOT personally own or has not purchased, then he is sure to receive as a personal gift from the thousands of Sea Org members who are forced to propitiate to him every birthday and every Christmas, with lavish gifts of high value.

So.... what does parishioner’s money buy in the Church of Scientology? Answer = hot and cold running servants for David Miscavige and a lifestyle fit for a king.

Parishioner’s money was intended by LRH to go to the forwarding of Scientology – not forwarding the personal living standards of the person at the top. LRH never lived as David Miscavige does – and that alone shows how far this has gone from the ideal scene.

Scientology is a not-for-profit organisation. Not only does Miscavige violate basic Scientology tenets, policy and principles with the above – he is also violating the law of the land CORPORATELY, both in the US, in the UK and in many, many other countries of the world.

I invite you to visit www.savescientology.coms and compare the above with the documents there.

Lana Mitchell