Cruise, Scientology Hit with $250M RICO Suit

As an actor, Tom Cruise has played many parts, but his real life just turned a movie plot as he and his religion, the Church of Scientology, along with several other co-conspirators, are alleged in a Federal lawsuit that they are part and parcel of an ongoing “Criminal Syndicate”, a violation of the RICO Act.

Ex-Scientology member Peter Letterese claims Scientology has been “waging” a criminal enterprise over the copyrights of a book written in 1971 about sales, titled Effective Closing Sales Techniques.

The lawsuit was filed in a Florida Federal Court in Miami on July 15 accusing Tom Cruise and Scientology of racketeering using a provision of the RICO Act, section 1964(c) .

The lawsuit named several defendants including the Church of Scientology International, the Scientology Office of Special Affairs International, David Miscavige, the head honcho of Scientology, and Tom Cruise.

The defendants are accused of engaging in a “true Criminal Syndicate”. The plaintiff, Peter Letterese is suing under the RICO Act over copyright infringement.

The RICO, or Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, was passed by Congress in 1970. The intent was to bust up the Mafia. It wasn’t until the 1980’s that attorneys began to use a section of the Act which allowed litigants in civil suits to claim violations under the RICO Act and, if they won their case, a judgment of three times their actual damages and plus the loser pay all court and attorney’s fees. The end result, the RICO became the most “commonly asserted” claim in the civil courts.

By the 1990’s, the Federal and Supreme Court limited the scope in the civil trials. According to RICO Act.com LLC, “civil litigants must jump many hurdles and avoid many pitfalls before they can expect the financial windfall available under RICO, and RICO has become one of the most complicated and unpredictable areas of the law”.

Peter Letterese is alleging that David Miscavige runs the “criminal syndicate” of Scientology and that his “front” man is Tom Cruise, as spokesperson and participating member. According to Letterese’s lawsuit, in 1994 a “10-phase, 14-year-long conspiracy was implemented by the Scientology “Crime” Syndicate” to “seize” copyrights of the book, Effective Sales Closing Techniques, written by Leslie Achilles Dane in 1971.

According to Stop-Wise.Biz, the book is used by Scientology as its “Big League Sales” book or “Integrity Intact, the Technology of Selling”.

Letterese claims in his federal lawsuit that he bought the copyright to the original book from the widow of the author and that the “covert plan” by Scientology to obtain the copyright to the book has become the “LARGEST SINGLE COVERT DEFAMATION PLOT POSSIBLY IN THE HISTORY OF THE INTERNET”.

Letterese claims that L. Ron Hubbard, the science fiction pulp writer who founded Scientology and the Church of Scientology in the 1950’s proclaimed Dane’s book in 1971 as the “Sales and Cash Flow Bible” of Scientology. Hubbard, perceived by Church of Scientology members as having the same status as Mohammed in the religion of Islam, ordered the book into the “syndicate’s management dogma”.

“[the court record is] replete with evidence [that Scientology] is nothing in reality but a vast enterprise to extract the maximum amount of money from its adepts by pseudo scientific theories …. and to exercise a kind of blackmail against persons who do not wish to continue with their sect. … The organization clearly is schizophrenic and paranoid, and this bizarre combination seems to be a reflection of its founder, L. Ron Hubbard.”
– Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Paul Breckenridge, June 1984, in the Gerald Armstrong case, No. C420153 Cal. Sup. Ct. 1984.–Factnet.org

The author of the book, Leslie Achilles Dane, was never a member of Scientology. Letterese alleges that once Hubbard latched onto Dane’s book it was accepted by Church members as “dogma”. In Letterese’s lawsuit, he claims that court records reveal Scientoloy has admitted spending $1 million so far to fight for the copyright of this one book.

Letterese claims that after Dane’s death, the Church of Scientology vowed to “fight to the death” using every trick, illegal asset, illicit resource, and trap their half century old bag of “operations” regarding judicial interference and “dirty tricks” playbook, and through its stable of operatives”.

Why would the copyright to this book be so important in the eyes of Letterese and the Church of Scientology?

Letterese, a former Scientology member, bought the copyright of the book from the Dane estate. He charges that the Church of Scientology is poised to make lucrative cash in the range of hundreds of millions of dollars when they sell to major corporations their “sales techniques” based on this one book.

Letterese also claims the Church of Scientology entered into negotiations with the widow of Dane, the owner of the book, in attempt to obtain the copyrights which Letterese legally owns.

Where does Tom Cruise fit in?

Letterese alleges that Cruise, a member of the Church of Scientology “Crime Syndicate” may be involved or had knowledge of the ongoing attempts to wrest the copyright of the book from Letterese.

Letterese also claims that Cruise uses his fame as an actor and personal “donations” to the Church in the “millions of dollars” to help fund the Church’s ongoing “attacks” against Letterese. Letterese also claims that Cruise is not just a member of the Church of Scientology, but also holds a “masked/hidden management/supervisory position with the International Scientology Crime Syndicate hierarchy” and that Cruise acts as a “domestic and foreign lobbyist and primary spokesperson”.

Letterese filed the $250m lawsuit on July 15 in a Miami Federal Court.

By LBG

Source – Fox News – Tom Cruise Named in $250m suit against Scientology
Image – Tom Cruise
Source – Justia.com