SHAMWOW EX-SCIENTOLOGIST
Leah Remini's Life
IS IN DANGER
EXCLUSIVE
You don't attack the Church of Scientology and get away with it ... not by a long shot -- so says one famous ex-Scientologist Vince Offer (the ShamWow Guy), who tells TMZ, Leah Remini is lucky she's still alive.
Offer was out in L.A last night -- and it's clear he's still concerned about L. Ron Hubbard's followers after his highly-publicized split from the Church ten years ago ... because he was VERY hesitant to talk about Remini's situation.
You'll recall, the "King of Queens" actress recently left the Church, then filed a missing persons report regarding Shelly Miscavige, the wife of Scientology leader David Miscavige. The Church was PISSED.
Offer called Remini's move "brave," but said he couldn't say much more because he values his life ... and he wasn't kidding. You have to see how scared this guy is.
As for Scientology -- reps for the Church have repeatedly stated that Miscavige is fine ... and rumors of mistreatment are nothing more than defamatory lies.
Read more: http://www.tmz.com/page/2/#ixzz2bqooN7bb
Visit Fishwrapper: http://www.fishwrapper.com
The Scientology building on Hollywood Boulevard
Leah Remini recently departed Scientology and the resultant media attention will be ongoing, given her announced intention to publish a book. Meanwhile an interview with her sister Nicole revealed what happens when a person leaves L. Ron Hubbard's moneymaking scheme. Do I or others exaggerate about Hubbard's love of money? I can only report from my experience.
His long-time literary agent, Forrest J. Ackerman, once laughingly told me about "Ron" begging to borrow $50 so that he could pay child support and stay out of jail. Several people (all non-Scientologists) told me how Hubbard was popular pre-Dianetics because of his hypnotism skills and ability to entertain with bombastic stories that no one believed. Someone had to give him a ride to parties, however, because he never had a car and was always broke.
Recently, a number of publications compiled lists of celebrities who departed Scientology. The Hollywood Reporter wrote about "7 Stars Who Quit Scientology." Usmagazine offered "Stars Who Left Scientology" — which I was happy to see because they included Jerry Seinfeld, who has often been left off of such lists. E! included Demi Moore and Patrick Swayze as stars who were involved. As I read these articles I wondered why the reporters hadn't done more homework? What about Brad Pitt, who dated Juliette Lewis for five years? How about Catherine Bach, the original "Daisy Mae" on the hit TV show Dukes of Hazzard? I suppose none of the journalists ever searched the site Big List That Left Scientology. It's not complete but the names are voluminous.
But first, let's look at how Hubbard defined celebrity. You can read it in full here. "Any person important in his field or an opinion leader or his entourage..." is a short version. What started the emphasis on celebrity was Hubbard's 1955 "Project Celebrity" with offered rewards. He didn't snag anyone on his list, but Scientology did get Walt "Pogo" Kelly's kids, Carolyn and Peter, when the Los Angeles Timesrevived Kelly's famous comic strip in 1989 under the titleWalt Kelly's Pogo. The strip ran through the early 1990s, which is when I was in touch with Carolyn, but later the Kellys left the church. Their involvement reminded me of when Johnny Carson's son Cory took the Communications Course at the Scientology Celebrity Centre's original location on 8th Street near downtown L.A. Cory was quiet, practiced his classical guitar on breaks, and after that course never came back.
If you ever saw The King of Late Night's contentious exchange about Scientology with Karen Black on The Tonight Show and wondered why that happened, now you know.
As a staff member at "CC" and later as a "celebrity" myself, I saw many notables come and go. I was amazed one day when actress Anne Francis ordered something from the snack bar I ran, only to be later disappointed when she left Scientology because she heard Hubbard's daughter Diana say the purpose of the Public Division of Scientology was "to capture and control the public." I wrote about Rock Hudson's brief flirtation with the subject in another article about sex and Celebrity Centre. I didn't mention Lou Rawlstaking the Communications Course at the short-lived Celebrity Centre Las Vegas, then visiting CCLA to get CC Founder Yvonne Jentzsch to quit promoting him as a Scientologist. I've written how all the members of David Bowie's "Spiders From Mars" band took the Communications Course at CC, but I failed to mention that The Grateful Dead did the same at a briefly-existent Celebrity Centre San Francisco.
Many famous musicians came through Scientology then left.Al Jarreau was involved on and off for years. Burton Cummings, leader of the Canadian rock group The Guess Who, did a drug detox program at Scientology's Narconon in Los Angeles, then got out of Scientology as he found out more about it. I met him at a party Paul McCartney gave after the "Wings Over America" tour in 1976. Arguably the best electric bass player alive, Stanley Clarke, was involved for years both when in a group with Chick Corea, and afterward, but is no longer involved. Van Morrison did quite a bit of Scientology in San Francisco via my former roommate, rock pianist Nicky Hopkins, then after leaving he came out with the album No Guru, No Method, No Teacher. Apparently, it took Van a bit longer to realize, as Elvis Presley once stated, "that son-of-a-bitchin' group. All they want is my money." (And the celebrity bragging status he would give them.) Numerous musicians came into Scientology via Corea and left, often very unhappily, such as Corea's former Return To Forever members: percussionist Airto Moreira; Moreira's wife, vocalist Flora Purim; and guitarist Al Di Meola.
How do I know all this? For years while a staff member at CC I ran the Central Files and wrote the majority of the recruiting letters, as many as 1300 per week hand-typed on a portable typewriter while making a carbon copy of each letter. Any time anyone bought a book, they went into Central Files. I found TV legend Steve Allen there once, corresponded with him, and found out he'd read Dianetics, but way back in 1950 when it first came out. Allen had not visited CC; Yvonne Jentzsch put Allen's name and address in "CF" when she found out he'd read the book. She didn't mind subterfuge to get her way; she used the "Project Celebrity" idea to get off the Scientology ship Apollo and escape Hubbard, who was continually hitting on her. Too bad for her the celebrity recruitment didn't pay off, as I chronicled in my first article about Scientology for The Morton Report.
Celebrities leaving Scientology has been going on as long as I remember, as well as lies about who was involved. When I took my first course in Austin, Texas, I was told The Moody Blues were involved — it was a story told often to recruit people. I wanted proof, so I called the then central headquarters of Scientology in the world, St. Hill in England, and was told the Moodys had never been involved.
A great many major stars got in and got out. How major? How about Superman? I met Christopher Reeve when he showed up at the Celebrity Centre on La Brea Avenue in Hollywood to fly Yvonne Jentzsch and her husband Heberto a Scientology event called Prayer Day in Anaheim, California. (He was a licensed pilot.) "Can I go?" I asked naively and was told the small plane was full. I remarked that obviously he was an actor, and he said matter-of-factly that he was in town to film Superman.
Being a typically uninformed Scientology staffer who didn't read newspapers (Ron's recommendation) or watch TV (ditto), I said, "That's great, who are you playing?"
After he got the stunned and bemused smile off his face, Chris said, "Superman."
I learned he'd done a good bit of Scientology counseling in New York at a mission run by Helen Geltman and wanted his pre-paid "auditing hours" transferred to Celebrity Centre. Yvonne went all the way to Hubbard to try to get that accomplished, but Geltman refused. Reeve got disgusted and left Scientology, and the whole world benefited. He later wrote about it but without the details I just gave you. Can you imagine how Hubbard and his minions would have played it, publicity-wise, had Reeve stayed? "Superman is a Scientologist! Come fly our clear blue skies!"
Internally-generated setbacks like that have for decades kept Scientology from achieving its ambition of total domination of Hollywood and fooling the world into thinking Scientology is worthwhile. Lately, I've been continually pleased as people like my old friend Paul Haggis wake up and depart, and I'm thrilled with how Leah Remini turned the Scientology policy of "Never defend, attack!" on her former comrades. As Scientology stumbles to its inevitable imminent demise, I applaud every single person I've known who has left, and particularly those who spoke out. They have helped greatly toward ridding the world of the former pulp fiction writer's most evil creation.
What could Christopher Reeve teach Tom Cruise about Scientology?
In his new book Nothing Is Impossible, Christopher Reeve offers inspiration and hope, but the Hollywood icon also demonstrates his enduring sense of humor.
In a chapter titled Religion, Reeve tells the story of his involvement with Scientology during 1975.
The saga begins outside a supermarket where the actor runs into a Scientologist promoting a "free personality test." Reeve obliges him and takes the test, curious to find out its results.
The next day in the "plush…inner sanctum of…[Scientology's] headquarters…suitable for the president or CEO of a major corporation" he is told the bad news. Scientologists warn Reeve that he is carrying "heavy 'baggage'" and suffers from a litany of personal problems.
But of course they can provide the needed "'training'" to help him, which they say he should begin immediately.
So the future Superman takes Scientology courses hoping one day he will "go Clear," which is Scientology jargon for reaching a supposed advanced state of consciousness made possible through their training.
Reeve writes about an exercise called "'TRO' (Training Routine Zero)" and explains, "The objective was to empty our minds of extraneous thoughts ('clutter')" And "whenever our own clutter tried to come back in, we were…to acknowledge its return and then command it to go away."
Doesn't this sound like "brainwashing"?
The actor tells readers that TRO only cost him "a few hundred dollars." But after that came "auditing," which he describes as "outrageously expensive." And Reeve says Scientology wanted "$3,000 in advance" for that service, which was billed at a "$100 an hour in 1975."
He explains that the "auditor" used an "E-Meter," which is "a simple box with a window that contained a fluctuating needle and a card with numbers from one to ten. Two wires running out of the box…were attached to tin cans," which he was asked to hold.
Apparently it didn't take x-ray vision for Reeve to conclude that the "E-meter was basically a crude lie detector."
What Reeve subsequently details sounds like an interrogation. The actor was asked to "recall the use of…illegal substances…painkillers…anything stronger than aspirin." He says, "My drug rundown used up for or five sessions."
But Reeve had "growing skepticism about Scientology." So he decided to run his own test.
He told the auditor a long story supposedly about a past life, but he made it all up, based upon a Greek myth.
However, the auditor didn't detect anything, even with the help of the trusty "E-Meter."
It was then that the "Man of Steel" decided he was done with Scientology. Reeve writes, "The fact that I got away with a blatant fabrication completely devalued my belief in the process."
Summing up a religious critique the actor says, "My problem has always been with religious dogma intended to manipulate behavior."
Elsewhere in the book Reeve recounts exposure to Transcendental Meditation, a run-in with a devotee of Baba Muktanananda, an awareness weekend seminar,Deepak Chopra, "Harmonic Convergence" and "rebirthing."
But Christopher Reeve never became another movie star devoted to some guru or "cult." And it's refreshing to find a celebrity that isn't another annoying Hollywood cliché, constantly promoting some leader, special mentor or weird group.
Even after life dealt Reeve a tough hand in 1995 through a freak accident that paralyzed his body, he still didn't grasp for some self-serving, comforting or convenient belief system.
Instead, the actor says God wants us to "do our best" and simply "discern the truth." And Reeve cites a guiding principle espoused by the pragmatic Abraham Lincoln, "When I do good I feel good. When I do bad I feel bad. And that's my religion."
It seems Scientology has more to learn from Superman than he ever could have taken in from its endless courses and "auditing."
Maybe this movie star should teach some Hollywood Scientologists like Tom Cruise and John Travolta?
Given his current circumstances many might think Christopher Reeve is bitter. But the actor centers much of his life and faith upon the value of hope.
He concludes at the end of his book, "When we have hope, we discover powers, within ourselves we may have never known—the power to make sacrifices, to endure, to heal, and to love. Once we choose hope, everything is possible."
[Posted by Rick Ross at 01:57 PM][Link] 'She's very brave': Ex-Scientologist Vince 'Shamwow guy' Offer praises Leah Remini's defection... but tells the actress to watch her back
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Her defection from controversial religion Scientology has won her legions of supporters, but Leah Remini should watch her back, according to one former member of the church.
'Shamwow guy' Vince Offer described the actress's departure as 'very brave' in an interview with TMZ, but appeared afraid to say too much about the church because he values his life.
Offer, who left the Church ten years ago, claims he has 'an agreement' with the Church where 'I don't say nothing, If [they] leave me alone, I won't say nothing. Because I still want to be around.'
Value her life: Vince Offer said Leah Remini is 'very brave' to have left the Church of Scientology where she has since filed a missing persons report against David Miscavige's wife Shelley
Praise: Vince Offer hinted he was scared to say anything about Scientology
When asked if he thinks Leah is a 'hero', Offer nods before adding: 'Without saying too much otherwise if it wouldn't be you guys following me, it would be something else.'
Leah was recently pictured out and about in Los Angeles in casual blue hoodie and trousers amid speculation she filed a missing persons report on Shelly Miscavige, the wife of Scientology leader David Miscavige to the Los Angeles Police Department.
Last week, speculation as to the whereabouts of Shelley ended after Los Angeles police said the missing person's report filed by Leah was 'unfounded'.
A spokesman for the LAPD told MailOnline that detectives had met with Mrs Miscavige and therefore the investigation into her whereabouts had ceased and that as far as they are concerned she was never missing.
Detective Gus Villanueva said that the LAPD had acted on a missing person's report filed on Shelly Miscavige and that as of around 3 pm (PT) 'the investigation is completed and classified as unfounded'.
The Church of Scientology has always vehemently denied that Shelly Miscavige is missing but it is not known whether detectives travelled to see Mrs Miscavige or if she came to see them to end the speculation about her whereabouts.
The controversial and notoriously secretive church was facing the embarrassment of its inner workings being probed if police had begun a search for Mrs Miscavige, who has not been seen in public for over six years.
Casual: Leah was spotted out and about in Los Angles last week in blue tracksuit bottoms and a matching hoodie
Celebration: Leah posted a photograph of herself, husband Angelo and their daughter Sofia at a tenth anniversary celebration
A spokesperson for the Church of Scientology issued a statement to the MailOnline regarding Remini's filing, stating, 'The Los Angeles Police Department has already stated that the case is closed and that the report filed by Leah Remini was unfounded.
'This ill-advised, ludicrous self-promotion and the media inquiries it generated caused an inexcusable distraction for the LAPD in an era when the time and resources of its officers are stretched thin each day.
'Creating this unnecessary burden for law enforcement was even more irresponsible given the entire episode was nothing more than a publicity stunt for Ms. Remini, cooked up with unemployed, anti-religious zealots who blog on the fringe of the Internet.
'Sadly, rather than move on with her life and career, Ms. Remini has aligned herself with a handful of untrustworthy, lunatic tabloid sources who obsessively harass the Church to advance their selfish agendas.'
Proof of Friendship: Shelly Miscavige and Leah Remini - pictured in 2005 at a charity gala - the picture acts as confirmation that the pair knew each other before Miscavige's disappearance from the public eye
Leah Remini had a very public break with the Church of Scientology last month partly fuelled by her own personal inquiry into Shelly Miscavige's whereabouts begun after she was allegedly rebuked for asking at Tom Cruise's 2006 wedding.
Regardless, Remini's move to involve law enforcement in a missing persons case could have created a difficult situation for the Church of Scientology - which boasts around 10 million followers worldwide - including a raft of celebrities such as Tom Cruise and John Travolta.
Last month Remini, who has had her claims of friendship with Shelly Miscavige questioned, released a statement confirming her break from the institution.
'I wish to share my sincere and heartfelt appreciation for the overwhelming positive response I have received from the media, my colleagues, and fans from around the world,' she said, according to The New York Post. 'I am truly grateful and thankful for all your support.'
Indeed, the MailOnline has obtained a photograph from Scientology blogger Tony Ortega of Remini and Mrs Miscavige from 2005, that proves the pair did indeed know each other before she disappeared from the public's view.
Leader: David Miscavige's (left) wife Shelly (right) has not been seen in public for over six years - but the the Church of Scientology has claimed that she is not missing in any shape or form
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that detectives had met with Mrs Miscavige and that she was not missing
The confirmation of the missing persons report came from Ortega's website, the Underground Bunker, which seeks to expose the inner workings of the secretive religious organization.
Ortega alleges that Mrs Miscavige was transferred from the Scientology headquarters in Helmet, California to a secret underground compound in Lake Arrowhead in late 2005 or 2006.
The compound is known as the Church of Spiritual Technology and is home to only a dozen Scientologists who allegedly have their access to the outside world limited.
While Miscavige and his legal team have denied that Shelly Miscavige is missing, they still have not publicly declared where she is and neither have the LAPD shed any light on it.
Indeed, lawyers for Shelly Miscavige herself denied that she was missing, telling Us Weekly in 2012, that 'any reports that she is missing are false...Mrs Miscavige has been working nonstop in the Church, as she always has.'
International Headquarters: The Church of Scientology has its headquarters in Riverside County, California to the north of San Jacinto and about 100 miles (160 km) from Los Angeles - Shelly Miscavige was allegedly moved from here to a secret underground compound in Lake Arrowhead in late 2005 or 2006.
Remini, who starred in the hit sitcom The King of Queens for nine years, is believed to have dropped out of the organisation as a stand against the policy of barring members from questioning Mr Miscavige's authority.
Out of the public eye for six years - Where is Shelly Miscavige?
Shelly Miscavige was brought up in the Church and from the age of 12 it is reported that she was a member of Sea Org - the group responsible for the international management of Scientology affairs.
At the age of 21 she married 25-year-old David Miscavige
Together they rose to the highest echelons of the Church of Scientology
In the spring of 2006 after a cruise with her husband aboard the Scientology ship Freewinds her brother in law reportedly claimed she returned in a low mood.
She was last seen that year in June and did not attend Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' wedding in November 2006
Shelly Miscavige was seen one last time in public in August 2007 at the funeral of her father - she has not been seen in public since.
In June 2012 speculation regarding her whereabouts grew and in response to two UK newspaper articles, the Church of Scientology replied 'that she is not missing and devotes her time for the work of the Church of Scientology.'
Her location is not known - but it is thought that she is working at the Church of Spiritual Technology in San Bernardino County, California.
At the age of 21 she married 25-year-old David Miscavige
Together they rose to the highest echelons of the Church of Scientology
In the spring of 2006 after a cruise with her husband aboard the Scientology ship Freewinds her brother in law reportedly claimed she returned in a low mood.
She was last seen that year in June and did not attend Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' wedding in November 2006
Shelly Miscavige was seen one last time in public in August 2007 at the funeral of her father - she has not been seen in public since.
In June 2012 speculation regarding her whereabouts grew and in response to two UK newspaper articles, the Church of Scientology replied 'that she is not missing and devotes her time for the work of the Church of Scientology.'
Her location is not known - but it is thought that she is working at the Church of Spiritual Technology in San Bernardino County, California.
The rift began when Remini allegedly asked about Shelly's absence, a source told the New York Post, at the wedding of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes in 2006, where David Miscavige was best man.
The question allegedly prompted an immediate backlash from former head of the Scientology Celebrity Center Tommy Davis.
According to a blog by ex-Scientology member Mike Rinder, Davis said: 'You don’t have the [bleeping] rank to ask about Shelly.'
The actress was then subsequently subjected to five years of 'thought modification', according to the Post.
Church friends, many of whom Remini had known for years, allegedly wrote reports on her and had her family investigated.
According to Mr Rinder's blog, Remini 'will no longer tolerate the squirrelling and human rights abuses perpetrated in the church'.
Mr Rinder has yet to respond to a request for comment on his allegations from MailOnline.
Leah Remini is one of the most recognizable faces of Scientology which boasts a wealth of celebrity members including Tom Cruise, John Travolta, Kirstie Alley and Juliette Lewis.
In the past, Remini, who starred in the movie Old School and had bit parts in Friends and Cheers, has been an avid defender of the religion.
In an interview with CNN, she said of Scientology's critics: 'If somebody is going to get turned off about something because of what they read or heard, then that person's not smart enough to even enter a church.
'If you're really against something, then know what you're against.'
Reclusive: This compound is known as the Church of Spiritual Technology - and is allegedly where Shelly Miscavige has been living since late 2005 or 2006
Close Friends: Leah Remini has claimed that she asked where (left) David Miscavige's wife Shelly Miscavige was at Tom Cruise's 2006 wedding to Katie Holmes (right) - but was allegedly rebuked for doing so
Ever since her shocking defection from Scientology on July 8th, speculation has been rife about what prompted outspoken supporter Leah Remini to abandon the faith she'd followed for decades.
Her sister Nicole has revealed that what really caused her split with Miscavige and his followers was her decision to question his 'weird' relationship with Cruise.
Nicole sensationally claims that Leah's own best friend turned her into church officials after she made the remark about the two leading lights.
Nicole revealed her allegations during an interview with Twin Cities radio station My Talk 107.1.
She said her sister's issues arose at the Cruise wedding to Katie Holmes after Remini witnessed what Nicole called 'inappropriate' behaviour.
Friends: Tom Cruise and Leah Remini at the 2005 LA premiere for War of the Worlds; it's claimed she described his relationship with Scientology leader David Miscavige as 'weird' and was then investigated
But Nicole said it was the 'weird' comment regarding Cruise and Miscavige that saw her brought to the church's attention.
Nicole said: 'Yeah, they have a very strange relationship, and you know, one of the things, you know, when Leah came back from the wedding, you know, whatever happens, happens.
'Leah had brought up to a very, very close friend of hers out of the house, like in private… ‘You know, I just think that it is really weird how involved Tom is with the upper levels of the Church.’ Like what, she just started questioning a little bit like, what was going on.
'And just kind of the amount of, how do I, I just need to say this right, how involved he was with the upper level people.
'And somebody actually wrote a report on her - her best friend wrote a report on her that she questioned it.
Cruise at the Jerry Bruckheimer Walk of Fame ceremony in June
Question: Leah is said to have asked where Scientology leader David Miscavige's wife Shelly was at the wedding
'Well then Leah got pulled in it’s like how dare she question what is going on with Tom and his relationship with people within the church.'
Representatives for Cruise and the Scientology Centre have yet to return Mail Online's request for comment.
But in a statement the church told Radar: 'The statements by Ms. Remini-Wiskow are absurd.
'Considering how big a wedding it was and her sister’s comments published in the media about what a good time everyone had, it is pretty unbelievable this is the story being told.
'Further, she hasn’t been in the Church since 2005, has no personal knowledge of any events described and knows firsthand that her own sister did not “disconnect” from her.
'Contrary to myths spouted by anti-Scientologists, the Church cannot and does not “order” any parishioner to disconnect.
'Such a decision always has been and remains a deeply personal choice made entirely by the individual. This has been spelled out clearly on our website for years.'
What's the story? Kirstie Alley - pictured on Monday night in Hollywood - has denied she's livid with Remini for her public defection
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbiz/article-2390933/Leah-Remini-Vince-Shamwow-guy-Offer-praises-stars-Scientology-defection.html#ixzz2bqpIGWgE
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Gawker has laid hands on the ShamWow guy's 2004 lawsuit against the Church of Scientology, and it's good! He accused the cult of infiltrating his food-chopper business and stealing it from him.
ShamWow pitchman Vince Shlomi, who wasarrested last month because a hooker who allegedly bit him on the tongue and he pummeled the shit out of her, became a Scientologist in 1982. According to his 2004 lawsuit against the cult (read the full lawsuit here), the Scientology was part of a conspiracy to steal his successful food-chopper business from him.
In the early 1990s, Shlomi started a business selling something called "the Chopper," which appears to be a precursor to the Slap Chop of "you're gonna love my nuts fame," which he has more recently been selling in infomercials. According to the suit, he was making more than $1 million a year by setting up demonstrations in malls and using his preternatural pitchman skills to sell the Chopper. Sounds high, but we'll believe it!
As the Chopper business flourished, Shlomi started bringing his coreligionists on board, teaching them how to hypnotically captivate mall-goers and sell them useless kitchen crap. He cut his Scientology salesmen—including two colleagues named Ron Chacon and Steve Harris—in to the tune of $1.50 for each Chopper sold. All told, Shlomi was employing more than 40 Scientologists in the enterprise.
In the late '90s, Shlomi decided to pour the profits from the Chopper business into his movie, The Underground Comedy Movie. But his Scientologist employees grew jealous of his business success and his his Hollywood ambitions, and concocted a smear campaign against Shlomi and the movie, which the cult decried as "bad art" (which, let's face it, it was).
Around the same time, Shlomi turned over day-to-day operations of the Chopper to Chacon and Harris, who allegedly promised to keep paying Shlomi $1.15 for every Chopper they sold. Shlomi claims they sold 1 million (again, sounds high!). But according to the complaint, Chacon and Harris pocketed all the money and stole the business.
Ever the good Scientologist, Shlomi tried to use the cult's endless labrynth of beaureaucratic procedures—rather than a regular court—to get his money and business back from Harris and Chacon. In response, the complaint says, Harris and Chacon launched a cult-approved "black propaganda campaign" against Shlomi.
That campaign resulted, the complaint says, in Shlomi being hauled up before a Scientology court, which heard unspecified evidence from 22 people and branded him a criminal. Shlomi never heard the specific charges. When he appealed, he was labeled a "Type B declare," Scientology-speak for "criminals with proven criminal records." But Shlomi still believed in Scientology's tenets, and went round and round for years trying to clear his name. Eventually he was allowed back into the cult's good graces, but he got the run-around when he tried to use Scientology procedures to get his money and business back from Chacon and Harris. He kept at it until 2002, when he learned from a friend that the church had allegedly forced witnesses to denounced him in the kangaroo court. It was, Shlomi decided, a concerted effort to strip him of his business.
The suit was dismissed four months after it was filed. Shlomi left the church and started pitching ShamWows and Slap Chops on TV, got famous, and beat up a hooker. And that's the story of how the phrase "you're gonna love my nuts" started out with a Scientology front. Read the whole thing here.
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