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. ), he cut himself off from society, and instead of sending rehabilitated junkies back into the world, they were to stay in Synanon forever. Legal problems continued, despite this change. Professionals, even those without drug addictions, were eagerly invited to join, provided they transferred their assets to the organization. Children were often recruited from the Synaon schools and trained in military techniques with the growing stockpile of munitions Dederich had purchased. The Guides, all experienced game players, turned each group from enthusiasm to a depression and defeat, wallowing in its collective shame. 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. Yes. September 21, 1978 ex-member Phil Ritter, was severely beaten by two members, causing him to fall into a coma for a week. Remain forever and they could build a Utopian world designed by Dederich. The main character discusses a drug rehabilitation cult "The Church of Niebor," which is based on Synanon.[46]. Dederich was arrested while drunk on December 2, 1978. (Freidenber, Nation 1965). IMPERIAL MARINES, AND DOPE FIENDS by George Pendle, Cabinet Magazine, Winter 2012-2013 . The Marin County Supervisors, including Barbara Boxer and Diane Feinstein did not want to take a public position against Synanon as it was a constituent. (Eidson v. Robson, Synanon; Synanon memos describing incident). The broken joined the attack. (IRS vs. Synanon) Before the attack on Morantz, Synanon had opened a new private corporation city in Lake Havasu which was a plan to send Synanon money to the private corporation and then into the hands of Synanon leaders through salaries. View our online Press Pack. Members were to confess in games and no secrets were allowed. The snake bit Morantz but did not kill him. "But it wasn't too long before I knew it was true," Morantz says. In this chapter: After building a small fortune, Synanon's megalomaniac leader turns the revolutionary rehab into a violent cult, with mass sterilization, a paramilitary group and a rattlesnake in a mailbox. Lance Kenton was sentenced to a year in prison. Web. 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. In lessons, children were taught how to fight the Holy War" to defend their leader. imperial marines 1978 - It's Time for Morning Meeting Sharing our Synanon Stories Visit the post for more. She has not been seen or heard from since. The 1984 TV movie Attack on Fear, directed by Mel Damski, written by T.S. The original name was The Tender Loving Care Club. This became a successful enterprise that for a time generated roughly $10 million per year.[13]. While in The Game, members criticized each other, but left as friends and supportive community members. CEDU's schools used the confrontation model of Synanon. By the late 1970s, he'd formed a small army called the Imperial Marines, which committed dozens of heinous crimes, like mass beatings against defectors, whom Dederich called "splittees." The game took on each unbrokens dirty rotten story with great brutality. His successful prosecution of Synanon led to an attempt against his life, by means of a rattlesnake. Dederich declared when he moved to The Home Place in Badger he did not want ex dope fiends around him (Gerstel, Paradise Inc.). For further details of our complaints policy and to make a complaint please click this link: thesun.co.uk/editorial-complaints/, In 1975-Oakland, CA- more than 500 women from Synanon communities throughout California shaved their heads, Members of Synanon have their head shaved in 1969, Synanon, poster: Richard Conte (cigarette left), Edmond O'Brien (top head), Alex Cord (arm outstretched), Stella Stevens (bare shoulder), Eartha Kitt (bottom right), 1965, Synanon founder Charles Dederich was arrested in Arizona on a California warrant charging suspicion of conspiracy and solicitation to commit murder in the rattlesnake attack of a Los Angles lawyer, The name was chosen when a member slurred the words 'Symposium' and 'Seminar', explains, Members of Synanon at the North Beach branch have a party to celebrate the 1,000 live-in member, April 4, 1968. spread throughout California, and Synanon became a counter-culture community by 1964. more than 1,300 members - resulting in a healthy bank balance, as its assets totaled about $33 million. Synanon expanded an old Trans-Pacific Marconi RCA radio station in Tomales Bay now Marconi Conference Center State Historical Park. Imperial Marines were shock troopers that primarily served on Imperial-class Star Destroyers as defence provided by the Stormtrooper Corps. 40 years ago, Synanon, a cult with a violent past, moved into Havasu. The imprisonment made Dederich a public martyr. The concept was based on law that even charities are taxed if they commit acts against public policy. He was said to have coined the phrase "today is the first day of the rest of your life". California donated a block long building in San Francisco. 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. These changes led Synanon to its then certain fate. (Robert Jay Lifton, Coercive Persuasion, the Psychology of Totalism). In the 1970s, two men were run off the road near one of their properties. 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. Restaurants near Hotel Imperial, Amsterdam on Tripadvisor: Find traveler reviews and candid photos of dining near Hotel Imperial in Amsterdam, North Holland Province. 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. He was passed out when he was arrested for the assault and attempted murder of Paul Morantz. Upon Synanons disobedience, 13 police vehicles surrounded the building and drew their weapons. Morantz said: I had my first case in court involving them in June 1977. Its members believed in Synanon enemies and encroachment of spies, created their own words (synanese), sought isolation from outside contaminants and committed to its destiny. By the early 1960s it had become an alternative community as well, attracting people with its emphasis on living a self-examined life, as aided by group truth-telling sessions known as the "Synanon Game." He flunked out of Notre Dame for lack of effort and worked for the Mellon family. Much of the violence by Synanon had been carried out by a group within Synanon called the "Imperial Marines". He is known for taking legal cases alleging brainwashing by cults, self-help groups and for sexual misconduct by psychotherapists. The police told Synanon the kids were coming with them; the only question was how? Dederich became an AA favorite speaker and went to an AA meeting every day. Dan Garrett ordered a kidnapping and then changed the order to beating the person on the spot. The medical board was to establish rules for Synanon but never did. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. Six weeks later, the Los Angeles Police Department performed a search of the ranch in Badger that found a recorded speech by Dederich in which he said, "We're not going to mess with the old-time, turn-the-other-cheek religious postures Our religious posture is: Don't mess with us. Morantz and Synanon locked horns for 8 years. Inside, Dederich compared Synanon to the mafia (Synanon Think Table Summaries; Dederich, New Religious PostureDont Fuck with Synanon). Inside were Synanon members and Imperial Marines Joe Musico and Lance Kenton, and they were held on suspicion of involvement in the rattlesnake attack. Beatings of Synanon's opponents and its ex-members, "splittees", occurred across California. Correcting Claire Clarks Recovery Revolution, Book Escape: My Life Long War Against Cults. [32] The snake bit him, and he was hospitalized for six days. A third defendant, Synanon founder Charles Dederich, earlier was put on . By 1991 the community had essentially folded. Taxation issues also arose. LOS ANGELES -- Thirteen past and present members of Synanon, the controversial drug and alcohol rehabilitation organization, surrendered in court Tuesday on two secret indictments charging them. "He was beaten, he was hit in the head and then socked in the stomach.". 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. A reference point for the rest of your life. Fighting to stay awake, defenses wiped away, the unbroken broke and asked for forgiveness. As full recovery for graduates was not happening sufficiently, Dederich proclaimed no one should ever graduate. Julie Moncharsh recalled: "One boy, who was mentally retarded, was physically beaten because he did not do the 20 push-ups he was assigned. On June 13, 1977 it was decided that the Imperial Marines would help teach doctors martial arts. Synanon Holy War file memos on beating). [34][35] Dederich died on 28 February 1997, at age 83, after a series of strokes; the cause of death was cardiorespiratory failure. To recruit needed non addict club members, Dederich created The Trip, forerunner of Werner Erhards est training, which was a combination of group psychotherapy, coercive persuasion, mysticism and old fashion spiritual revival. According to court records, the cult formed a militant branch, known as the Imperial Marines, to inflict violence against opponents of the organization. (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). He noted psychological testing revealed Synanon members (dope fiends) were still anti-social and recommended that the games fierce attack on self be lightened over a time, and that psychological counseling be given along with follow-up care to those who exit. 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. You will learn more about yourself, your fellow man, the world, the nature of reality in one weekend than you would in four years. You can get killed dead, literally deadthese are real threats, he snarls. Two members of a Synanon security force known as the "Imperial Marines," Lance Kenton and. Dederich experimented with environmental manipulations so as to recreate the heightened awareness and inner discoveries he experienced while taking LSD. 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. These lawsuits ultimately turned out to be a large part of Synanon's undoing, by giving journalists access to Synanon's own internal documents. Synanon members bought stock in ABC and attended a stock holders meeting, and naming their names, the members, identifying themselves as former members of Murder Incorporated, asked if the board had protection for their wives (Synanon vs. ABC, AP Western Union Telegram; Pat Lynch, NBC segment 3). In September 26, 2022, the TrueAnon podcast also released a 5-part series on the history of Synanon called The Game. It was first offered to the selected few as an honor, but the entire population was eventually targeted. Click to reveal [27] People who left the organization were at risk of physical violence for being a "splittee"; one ex-member, Phil Ritter, was beaten so severely that his skull was fractured and he subsequently fell into a coma with a near-fatal case of bacterial meningitis.[28][29][30]. It left a droopy eye and a facial tick. The game was a session during which one member would talk about themselves and then endure intense criticism by their peers. Memos describing incident ) Synanon Think Table Summaries ; Dederich, earlier was put on,! To defend their leader graduates was not happening sufficiently, Dederich proclaimed no should! ( Eidson v. Robson, Synanon founder Charles Dederich, earlier was on..., moved into Havasu incident ) the spot one member would talk about and... Was to establish rules for Synanon but never did Pendle, Cabinet Magazine, Winter.. Destroyers as defence provided by the Stormtrooper Corps fighting to stay awake defenses! 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