Scientology-linked rehab Narconon under fire from two former executives
Thu Apr 4, 2013 1:59 PM EDT
By Anna Schecter
Rock Center
Rock Center
In the wake of a Rock Center with Brian Williams report on three deaths at a Scientology-linked drug treatment center in Oklahoma, the former president of the facility, and a former executive at a Narconon facility in Michigan have come forward to expose what they call deceitful marketing techniques and underqualified staff.
"Narconon preys on vulnerable people. That's part of the sales techniques," said Lucas Catton, who stepped down as President of Narconon's Arrowhead facility in Oklahoma in 2004.
Courtesy of Lucas Catton
Lucas Catton working at Narconon.
In an interview to be broadcast Friday, April 5, on Rock Center, Catton and his former colleague, Eric Tenorio, alleged that Narconon advertises a bogus success rate of 75 percent to lure in desperate families of addicts and hires recent graduates to be counselors without any traditional drug treatment training.
Tenorio, the former executive director of Narconon's Freedom Center in Michigan, showed Rock Center official-looking certificates he received as a "Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor.” He said he purchased them for himself and his staff for several thousand dollars from an organization called the Pita Group, Inc., which was created by Kent McGregor, a contractor for Narconon’s Arrowhead facility located in Canadian, Oklahoma.
"No course. No tests. No oversight,” Tenorio said. “It’s absolutely fraud."
McGregor denied Tenorio’s assertions and said the Pita Group requires 20 hours of training and two years’ experience to obtain a CADC certificate.
Tenorio said he believes the deaths at Narconon Arrowhead could have been prevented if qualified addiction counselors had been on staff. Beyond the teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, he said, staff members do not receive instruction on how to treat people addicted to drugs or alcohol.
"Part of what I have to do to right the wrong is just be honest about it. If it gets me in trouble, that's the risk I'm willing to take. Any quote, unquote, ‘punishment’ that may come of it is better than someone dying," he said.
Both Tenorio and Catton describe Narconon's methods of treatment as "pseudo-science."
Narconon promotes itself as a non-medical rehabilitation program. Its methods include five hours a day in a sauna for 30 straight days and mega doses of the vitamin Niacin.
Narconon’s patients are called "students" and they study a series of eight books based on the writings of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, part of a larger life-skills program that Narconon said has helped tens of thousands of people around the world lead drug-free lives.
The three-to-six-month program costs about $30,000 per patient, which is comparable to other addiction treatment programs.
Eric Tenorio around the time he went to Narconon for substance abuse problems in 1996.
Both Catton and Tenorio first arrived at Narconon in Oklahoma as patients in their early 20s, Tenorio in 1996, and Catton in 1998.
They said at the time and for years after they thought the program helped them, though they now say it was more of a change of geography than Hubbard’s teachings that helped them get sober.
Another striking similarity in their experiences -- both men became Scientologists while at Narconon.
"I dedicated all of my time, life, money; everything was dedicated toward the purpose of advancing Scientology's aims. That is what you're doing at Narconon, is you're advancing the aims of Scientology," said Catton.
Catton alleged the Church of Scientology uses Narconon as a way to recruit new members, an assertion which both the Church of Scientology and Narconon deny.
Catton also said one of the main focuses at the management level was to bring in as much revenue as possible. In 2011, Narconon Arrowhead alone brought in $10.88 million in revenue.
"You're willing to either lie to [prospective clients] or misrepresent who you are or take people who aren't really qualified; anything to bring in the money to keep the facility going, week after week after week," said Catton.
Catton claims the success rate when he was at Narconon was closer to 25 percent. Narconon stands by its 75 percent statistic.
"It's all based on deception," Catton said. "Everything from the success rate to their counseling certifications, to their general requirements of what it takes to be a staff member to their connection to the Church of Scientology-- every single one of those things is deceptively portrayed to the general public versus what really goes on behind the closed doors," he said.
Catton said as president of Narconon Arrowhead, he helped Narconon take advantage of loopholes in Oklahoma state law to avoid any kind of meaningful regulation by the state.
"The state, unfortunately, has not done their job," he said.
The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services said Narconon Arrowhead is currently certified to provide non-medical detoxification services, and that an investigation is ongoing into the into the deaths of Stacy Murphy, Hilary Holten, and Gabriel Graves, all of whom died inside the facility within a nine-month period in 2011 and 2012.
Catton stepped down as president in 2004 because he said he was tiring of the contradictory orders he was getting from the Church of Scientology, a non-profit affiliated with the church called A.B.L.E., and Narconon International.
From 2004-2009 Catton worked as a contractor selling Narconon to relatives of drug addicts from around the country who were looking for help on the internet.
"I had a series of websites that were non-branded--generic websites for people to look for drug treatment and rehab help," Catton said.
Catton said he referred most of those who could afford it to Narconon. The rest he referred elsewhere. He said he would earn a 10 percent commission, or roughly $3,000, on each new patient he sent to Narconon, but would never disclose to the families his financial connection to the program. He said he made up to $200,000 annually in commissions.
Catton said he started to question Narconon and Scientology after he began to look into unfavorable reports about the Church online around 2010. He said when he started to question church authorities he was excommunicated in 2011.
Tenorio stopped working for Narconon in 2010 after tiring of what he called fraud and poor management. Leaving Narconon essentially ended his connection with the church.
Both men said they are ashamed of their involvement with Narconon and Scientology.
"It's definitely embarrassing. I don’t go around telling people that I meet that, ‘Yeah, I used to be in a cult,’" said Tenorio.
Catton echoed him saying, “To think I had fallen for such a scam…and sold it to others. It’s not something I would wish on anybody else,” he said.
Catton said distancing himself from the Church of Scientology has been a process over the past three years. As part of that process, he wrote a book called Have You Told All? Inside my time with Narconon and Scientology which he self-published this year.
“I felt that it was the only way that I could actually get past all this, was to be able to help tell my side of the story. It needed to be done. I wouldn't be able to let it go, consciously, otherwise,” he said.
The families of the three deceased are all suing Narconon Arrowhead for negligence and wrongful death. Narconon has denied wrongdoing in any the deaths at the facility.
In the days leading up to the publication of this article, dozens of people wrote emails to NBC News saying either their lives or the lives of a loved one were saved by Narconon.
In statements to NBC News, Narconon and Church of Scientology officials said only a very small percentage of patients join Scientology.
In an email to NBC News, Narconon Arrowhead CEO Gary Smith said approximately 25 percent of his staff are Scientologists.
"Narconon's chief concern is to salvage people from the ravages of drug addiction… Nothing in the procedures puts money before helping the person who is suffering,” said Smith in the email.
In statements both the Church of Scientology and Narconon said that Catton and Tenorio benefitted from Narconon's treatment.
Narconon Arrowhead CEO Smith provided a statement from Catton thanking the program for saving his life. Smith stressed that the statement was from as recent as 2011. He also said Catton is connected to individuals who “have been engaged in a public anti-Scientology campaign for years.”
The Church of Scientology provided video statements made by Tenorio in 2008 and Catton in 2009 thanking Narconon for turning their lives around.
“Doing the Narconon program is what got me to where I am right now," Tenorio said on camera in a 2008 testimonial given to the Church of Scientology.
In Catton’s 2009 video testimonial given to the Church of Scientology he said, “There is not a more comprehensive rehabilitation program available than Narconon."
Catton said his sole reason for speaking out is to help save lives in the future.
"Why would I incriminate myself? Why would I give up my certifications? Why would I do all these things? It's purely so that the truth can come out, so that people can stop hurting, so that people can stop dying, and so that there can be full transparency,” he said.
Rock Center's Sabrina Esposito contributed to this report.
Editor's Note: Harry Smith's full report airs Friday, April 5 at 10pm/9CDT on NBC's Rock Center with Brian Williams.
Tom Cruise The Part Time Bog Trotter
Cruise was in Dublin for the premier of his new film, Oblivion which is about a man's internal struggle as he comes to term with wilting penis syndrome, a condition that affects 8 out of 10 men .... when they see yer Ma naked.
The A-lister is no stranger to being Irish and won an Oscar for his Irish accent in the tear jerker Far and Away. The only other Italian American actor to out Irish him has been Leonardo Di Caprio the star of the movie Titanic, a bitter feud has developed between the twoover the years but Tom looks like hes winning with this move.
Cruise, whose family can be traced back to Finn O'Cruise a leprechaun from the 12th century who used to hide behind trees and taunt travelers with his high pitched annoying laugh said, "It's great to be recognized as one of the little people in this fair city of dirty Dublin.... potato potato."
The star stands at 4 ft 11in and would be considered tall for a leprechaun recently admitted in GQ magazine that he does indeed have a pot of gold buried at his home in Malibu and has installed anti-rainbow security devices to deter treasure hunters.
Gone with the wind: Make-up free Katie Holmes looks barefaced and dishevelled as she battles the weather
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It could be a new strategy to go incognito, or it could have just been the wind.
But, Katie Holmes was barely recognisable on Wednesday afternoon as her hair covered her face as strong gusts blew her mane around.
The make-up free 34-year-old was seen looking a little bit scruffy as her long brown hair whipped around her face in the wind while leaving the Greenwich Hotel in New York City.
Hiding? Katie Holmes had a bad hair day as she battled the wind in New York City on Wednesday
Fresh faced: Katie opted for a make-up free day as she grabbed a coffee and strolled through New York
The actress covered her slender frame in a baggy double breasted coat, which she paired with skinny jeans as she made her way to her car.
Katie tucked her jeans into flat black leather boots, which she left half unlaced, only adding to the dishevelled look.
Although the wind was making her trek to pick up coffee rather difficult, the mother-of-one still didn't fasten her coat all the way up to the neck.
The windy city: Katie was wrapped up warm for her stroll around town as she got her caffeine fix
A bit scruffy: The 34-year-old looked dishevelled in her baggy coat and boots as she left the Greenwich Hotel in Manhattan
Quick touch-up: The actress raked her hand through her unruly tresses in an attempt to untangle the knots
Katie appeared uncomfortable as she braved the wind, her face visibly wincing as she thrust her hands in her pockets while she walked.
The brunette beauty accessorised with a giant leather handbag and appeared to be wearing no make-up.
The star looked a little self-conscious about her unruly tresses as she raked her hand through her knotted strands at one point.
The grungy look was a departure for the star, who oversees her own fashion collection, the elegant Holmes and Yang.
Bare-faced beauty: The star appeared to be wearing no makeup, allowing her natural beauty to shine through
Katie denied a report on Tuesday that she is dating jazz musician Peter Cincotti.
The actress was linked to the 29-year-old American singer, songwriter and musician by Grazia magazine, who claimed the pair had been 'on a few dates'.
A source told Grazia magazine: 'It's early days, but they met up two weeks ago at the New York Observer's 25th anniversary party. They have a lot in common - he's a total stage buff.'
But a spokesperson for the star has since told MailOnline that the claims are false. A representative for Peter was unavailable for comment on Tuesday.
Hunger pains: The Jack And Jill actress went for dinner at Locanda Verde later on Wednesday evening
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2303761/Bare-faced-Katie-Holmes-looks-dishevelled-battles-windy-weather-New-York.html#ixzz2PWrNSrV3
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Going Clear: Scientology, Hollywood and the Prison of Belief
By Lawrence Wright - Knopf
(APRIL 4, 2013) Lawrence Wright’s new book on Scientology is not the first expose of the church, though it is the first by a Pulitzer prizewinner. Such a pedigree was still not enough to ensure its publication in the United Kingdom, where the book faced challenges from the fiercely litigious church.
The book reveals founder church founder L. Ron Hubbard to be an inveterate yarn spinner from very early in life. Well before he was writing pulp science fiction tales, he invented self-aggrandizing tales of nonexistent war injuries, travels to the Far East that never happened, and heroic Navy exploits in World War Two that rarely check out with military records.
After the war, Hubbard befriended rocket scientist Jack Parsons, one of the founders of the Jet Propulsion Laboratory. Parsons was also a follower of occultist Aleister Crowley. In his house, dubbed The Parsonage, Parsons welcomed an odd assortment of bohemians and artists (an ad for tenants stated “must not believe in God”).
It was here that Hubbard combined his sci-fi speculations, pop Freudianism and a peculiarly American self-help doctrine in the book Dianetics, which became a bestseller in 1950. Though the book brought Hubbard brief success and money, Dianetics eventually went bankrupt, both because of financial mismanagement and legal challenges to its scientific legitimacy. Scientology rose from its ashes, reframing and expanding its pseudo scientific program as a religion. Throughout Hubbard’s life, he would improvise further details of his ludicrous theology, continually keeping his followers waiting for the next revelation. In his own words: “To keep a person on the Scientology path, feed him a mystery sandwich.”
By the late ‘60s, Hubbard had rekindled his grand visions of naval heroism and founded the Sea Organization, a subset of Scientology drawn from the elite inner core of the church, and sail the globe. Hubbard fashioned himself “The Commander,” though in Wright’s telling he was a petty and capricious captain who quickly wore out his welcome wherever his ship sailed.
In 1977 Scientology finally snagged its first big convert: John Travolta. Through the ‘70s and ‘80s, movie stars like Travolta and Tom Cruise became the church’s public image. Wright contrasts the royal treatment of these stars with the indentured servitude, random violence and intimidation of rank-in-file members, some of whom worked for dollars a day. The church ruthlessly attacked apostates and those who would expose its dark side, both in the courts and by more underhanded means. Scientology made important political connections as well, at one point even enlisting Bill Clinton to defend the church when it was challenged in Europe.
It was once said that a cult is a religion with no political power. By that measure, Scientology definitely qualifies as a religion, though its power to intimidate is on the wane, in no small part because of books like this.
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