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David Miscavige

Born April 30, 1960 (1960-04-30) (age 48)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Employer Religious Technology Center
Title Chairman of the Board
Salary USD$60,000 (90s)[1]
Religious beliefs Scientology
Spouse(s) Michelle Miscavige
Children None
Website
Religious Technology Center, Bio

David Miscavige (born April 30, 1960) is chairman of the board of Religious Technology Center (RTC), a corporation that controls the trademarked names and symbols of Dianetics and Scientology, and "holds the ultimate ecclesiastical authority regarding the standard and pure application of L. Ron Hubbard’s religious technologies."[2] Although Religious Technology Center is a separate corporation from the Church of Scientology, Miscavige is officially described as "worldwide ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion."[3][4] In January 2008, when questioned about the allegation that Tom Cruise was second in command of the Church, Elliot Abelson, general counsel for the Church of Scientology stated: "The only person who runs the Church and makes policy decisions is David Miscavige."[5]

A second-generation Scientologist, Miscavige was an assistant to Hubbard while still a teenager, and rose to a leadership position within the organization by the early 1980s. He was named Chairman of the Board RTC in 1986, some months after Hubbard's death. He reportedly lives at Scientology's Gold Base, which is also the main RTC headquarters, near Hemet, California.[6][7][8]

Contents

Biography

David Miscavige was born in Philadelphia to Loretta and Ron Miscavige Sr.[9] and he was the youngest of their four children. The Polish-Italian family was Roman Catholic, but not very observant.[9] One sister is Denise Licciardi who in 2002 was hired by Bryan Zwan as a top executive for the Clearwater, Florida-based company Digital Lightwave.[10] His older brother is Ronnie Miscavige, who for a time was also in the Sea Organization[11] – but who is now in the real estate business as Managing Broker of the Williamsburg office of Long & Foster Real Estate [12], and left the Church of Scientology in 2000.[13]

Miscavige suffered from childhood ailments as well as allergies, which kept him from accomplishing athletic and academic goals. During this time his father, a trumpet player, became interested in Scientology. Ron Miscavige Sr.'s interest in Scientology led him to have the boy sent to a Scientologist. According to him and his son, the 45-minute Dianetics session cured his ailments. The family was impressed enough by Scientology to move to the world headquarters in Saint Hill Manor, England.[9]

Scientology career

Early years

Miscavige joined Scientology in 1971. In 1976 he left high school and joined the Sea Organization. In 1977 he worked directly under Hubbard as a cameraman for Scientology training films. Hubbard appointed him to the Commodore's Messenger Organization, responsible for enforcing Hubbard's policies within the individual Scientology organizations. In 1981 he was placed in charge of the Watchdog Committee and the All Clear Unit, tasked with handling the various legal claims against Hubbard. He persuaded Mary Sue Hubbard to resign from the Guardian's Office (GO), deposed several GO officers through ethics proceedings, and removed the GO from the church's organization.[14]

After closing the Guardian's Office, Miscavige resigned from the church per se and set up a new organizational structure for Scientology that would release Hubbard from any personal liability. He set up the Religious Technology Center, tasked with licensing Scientology's intellectual property, and Author Services Inc. to manage the proceeds. The Church of Spiritual Technology was created at the same time with an option to repurchase all of RTC's intellectual property rights.[14] In October 1982 Miscavige required all Scientology Missions to enter new trademark usage contracts which established new fees and stricter policies on the proper use of Scientology materials.[15][16][17]

In 1981 Mary Sue Hubbard, at that time second only to L. Ron Hubbard himself in Scientology's hierarchy, was appealing her prison sentence for her part in Operation Snow White, and she began to face criticism from within the Scientology organization. The St. Petersburg Times, in the 1998 article "The Man Behind Scientology," states: "During two heated encounters, Miscavige persuaded Mary Sue Hubbard to resign. Together they composed a letter to Scientologists confirming her decision -- all without ever talking to L. Ron Hubbard." According to Miscavige, he and Mary Sue Hubbard remained friends thereafter.[9][18]

Miscavige made the first announcement of L. Ron Hubbard's death in 1986, speaking to Sea Org members assembled in the Hollywood Palladium. Shortly before Hubbard's death, an apparent order from him circulated in the Sea Org that promoted Scientologist Pat Broeker and his wife to the new rank of Loyal Officer, making them the highest-ranking members.[19] Miscavige became the Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center the following year. One of his acts as chairman was to cancel the promotion order,[20] establishing himself as the ecclesiastical leader of the religion.[21]

In a 1994 declaration, David Miscavige described his career path and his activities as the Church of Scientology staff member and executive as follows:

"[...] 4. I have been a practicing member of the Scientology religion since 1971. In 1976, I joined staff of the Church of Scientology of California (and the Sea organization - the Scientology religious order). During my tenure in this corporation, I held many positions. In 1977, I had the opportunity to work directly with L. Ron Hubbard in many different capacities. In 1978, Mr. Hubbard was engaged in the production of Scientology films which had the purpose of training Scientology counsellors (called 'auditors') in the practice of Scientology. During this time I was the Chief Cameraman. Later, I worked directly with Mr. Hubbard as a member of the Commodore's Messenger Organization ('CMO'), which duties consisted of assisting Mr. Hubbard in whatever activities he was engaged in. The functions are best described as an assistant. Later, when Mr. Hubbard went into seclusion to continue his researches on Dianetics and Scientology, and to engage in his own writings, I became part of a newly formed CMO organization, CMO International.

"5. CMO International's role was to see that the management of the Church operated in accordance with Scientology policy and technology. The title of my position was Action Chief. In short , this post was responsible for missionaire activities of the Church, where personnel from the Mother Church would travel to different parts of the world to see to the proper operation of various Church activities and to take corrective action where necessary. The types of missions I generally supervised were those that saw to the correct functioning of the Church management and the correction thereof.

"6. From the beginning of 1982 until March of 1987, I was chief Executive Officer and later Chairman of the Board of Author Services, Inc. ('ASI'), a California corporation which managed the personal, business, and literary affairs of L. Ron Hubbard. [...]

"7. Since March of 1987, I have been Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center ('RTC'), [...]

"9. As Chairman of the Board, the most senior position in RTC, I am uniquely interested in the standard application of the Scripture of Scientology [...] I inspect and correct departures from the standard application of the Scripture of the religion. I also ensure that any attempted perversion of the technology of Dianetics and Scientology rapidly dealt with, [...]

"10. In the course of my duties I travel widely. I often appear at Church events and briefings [...] In all such appearances, my position as Chairman of the Board of RTC is known, as is its distinction from actual Church management officials of CSI . I also oversee the affairs of the Religious Technology Center in its function of verifying that the source writings of the religion are kept pure. [...] I also oversee RTC's function of assuring that the trademarks of Dianetics and Scientology are legally registered and kept current in over 190 countries around the world. [...]"[22]

Tax exemption

In 1993 after lengthy negotiations an agreement with the Internal Revenue Service was reached on its treatment of the Church of Scientology. In 1991 Miscavige, with Mark Rathbun, had gone to IRS headquarters to meet with the Commissioner Fred Goldberg, which led to a two year review process (in which IRS tax analysts were ordered to ignore the substantive issues because the issues had been resolved prior to review),[23] and ultimately, tax exemption for the Church of Scientology International and its organizations in the US and partially abroad.citation needed Later, in 1997, the church issued a statement denying the "impromptu meeting" version of events, which the IRS and Goldberg declined to comment on.[24]

In 1990, Miscavige founded Citizens for an Alternative Tax System, a national tax reform interest group.[25]

In 2008 members of the internet community Anonymous declared the start of a campaign to get the Tax Exempt Status of the Church of Scientology revoked.[26]

Public contact

Miscavige was interviewed at length by Ted Koppel of ABC News in 1992 and described what he considered were misconceptions about Scientology. Miscavige said that extraterrestrial beliefs (see Space opera in Scientology doctrine) are not as important as people believe or not important at all.[27] In 1998, he was interviewed by the St. Petersburg Times.[28] Aside from those interviews, he has rarely spoken to the press. However, he is often a speaker at major Scientology openings, award ceremonies and related events.[29]

Among Scientologists, Miscavige is often referred to simply as "DM"[16] or "C.O.B." (Chairman of the Board).

Personal life

According to his official Scientology biography, David Miscavige's hobbies are riding motorcycles, fishing, snorkeling and underwater photography.citation needed

Miscavige has been married since 1981 to Shelly (Michelle) Miscavige, née Barnett, who also serves as his official assistant. They have no children.

Miscavige served as best man in his friend Tom Cruise's 2006 wedding to Katie Holmes.[30]

Criticism and controversies

The Nightline interview

In Miscavige's 1992 Nightline interview, Miscavige made several strong and controversial claims, amongst them the claim that in 1955 a bill had been presented in Congress to set aside "a million acres [4000 km²; 400,000 ha] in Alaska" to set up a "Siberia, USA" for the housing of mental patients. When host Ted Koppel asked for evidence of this, such as the sponsor of the bill, or the bill number, Miscavige said that he had already given all that information to Koppel's colleague Forrest Sawyer.[27] It is generally assumed that Miscavige was referring to the Alaska Mental Health Bill, (H.R. 6376, 84th Congress, 2nd Session) dated January 19, 1956. The purpose of the bill was to establish a land trust to allow the Alaska Territorial government to fund its own mental health facilities as opposed to its practice in that time of sending its patients for treatment in Oregon. L. Ron Hubbard also mentioned a "Siberia bill" in his tape Ron's Journal 67.

Miscavige also said that the "APA [presumably the American Psychological Association or American Psychiatric Association, AMA, Food and Drug Administration ... were all coordinated" in a five-year campaign against Scientology that included the murder of one of Scientology's executive directors (unnamed): "They literally murdered- the Food and Drug Administration hired an informant to go into our organization in Seattle, Washington, his wife was there [...] Several weeks later, murdered the head of our organization." [27]

Another of Miscavige's claims was: "Look at the studies that brought about the Holocaust of the Jews, that the Nazis justified killing the Jews, they were done at the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry in Leipzig, Germany." However, the Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry has only existed since 1966 (in Munich and not Leipzig); it was the Deutsche Forschungsanstalt für Psychiatrie that joined the Kaiser Wilhelm Institute for Psychiatric Research in 1924,[31] that was later incorporated into the Max Planck Society in 1954.[32] This association of psychiatry with Nazism remains prominent in the church's materials, including its exhibit Psychiatry: An Industry of Death.

Miscavige made accusations against specific individuals as well, saying that Time magazine reporter Richard Behar (author of several articles highly critical of Scientology, such as "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power") had advocated the kidnapping and deprogramming of Scientologists, and that Vicki Aznaran (Chairman of the Board of the Religious Technology Center, previous to Miscavige) had been "kicked out for trying to bring criminals into the church".[27]

Other matters

  • In 1982 in an attempted probate case, Ronald DeWolf, Hubbard's estranged son, accused Miscavige of embezzling from and manipulating his father. Hubbard denied this in a written statement, saying that his business affairs were being well managed by Author Services Inc., over which Miscavige was Chairman of the Board at that time. Judge J. David Hennigan found against DeWolf, dismissing the case on June 27, 1983.[33]
  • In 1983, former Scientologist Jesse Prince testified that Miscavige had ordered that various materials authored by L. Ron Hubbard be registered with the U.S. Copyright Office though the materials in question might have fallen into the public domain.[34]
  • Starting in September 2005 all references to Mark Rathbun and Warren McShane, the two other publicly known members of the RTC board of directors, were removed from all Scientology web sites leaving David Miscavige as the only member of RTC Board listed on the RTC website.[35][36]
  • In August 2008, Jefferson Hawkins, a former senior marketing executive in the Church of Scientology, claimed that in 2002, Miscavige physically attacked and battered him at an executive meeting. On other occasions, Miscavige punched him in the gut and hit him repeatedly on the side of the head. Marc Headley witnessed a battery on Hawkins by Miscavige.[37]

References

  1. ^ Tobin, Thomas C. (1998-10-25). "The man behind Scientology". part 4. St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved on 2007-08-27.
  2. ^ Religious Technology Center David Miscavige Biography (accessed 2007-05-08)
  3. ^ Religious Technology Center David Miscavige Biography, page 2 (accessed 2007-05-08)
  4. ^ Behar, Richard The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power Time Magazine May 6, 1991 page 50
  5. ^ Tapper,James http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=506359&in_page_id=1773&ct=5 Diana author names Tom Cruise as 'World Number Two in Scientology'
  6. ^ Reitman, Janet Inside Scientology Rolling Stone, Issue 995. March 9, 2006. Page 57.
  7. ^ Young, Robert Vaughn Scientology from inside out, Quill magazine, Volume 81, Number 9, Nov/Dec 1993.
  8. ^ Hoffman, Claire Tom Cruise and Scientology, Los Angeles Times, December 18, 2005
  9. ^ a b c d Tobin, Thomas C. (1998-10-25). "The man behind Scientology". part 2. St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved on 2007-08-27.
  10. ^ O'Neil, Deborah; Kitty Bennett, Jeff Harrington (June 2, 2002). "The CEO and his church: Months of interviews and thousands of pages of court papers show the effect that influential church members had on a Clearwater company that was a darling of the dot-com boom.", St. Petersburg Times, St. Petersburg Times. 
  11. ^ Atack, Jon (1990). "Chapter Four—The Young Rulers", A Piece of Blue Sky. Lyle Stuart, 448. ISBN 0-8184-0499-X. 
  12. ^ http://ronmiscavige.lnfre.com/falcon/webui/lnfwelcomepage.aspx
  13. ^ a b Jacobsen, Jonny (2008-01-28). "Niece of Scientology's leader backs Cruise biography". AFP. Google News. Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
  14. ^ a b Lamont, Stewart (1986). Religion Inc.. 
  15. ^ SO ED 2104 INT "The Flow Up The Bridge, The US Mission Holders Conference, San Francisco 1982," transcript, page 1
  16. ^ a b Sappell, Joel; Welkos, Robert W. (1990-06-24). "The Man In Control", Los Angeles Times, p. A41:4. Retrieved on 2006-06-06.  Additional convenience link at [1].
  17. ^ "Mystery of the Vanished Ruler". TIME (1983-01-31). Retrieved on 2007-08-10.
  18. ^ Miller, Russell (1987). "22. Missing, Presumed Dead", Bare-faced Messiah, The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard, First American Edition, New York: Henry Holt & Co, 305-306. ISBN 0-8050-0654-0. 
  19. ^ Atack, Jon (1990). A Piece of Blue Sky. 
  20. ^ "Flag Order 3879 Cancelled" (1988-04-18). Retrieved on 2008-03-11.
  21. ^ RTC web site http://www.rtc.org/board/pg002.html
  22. ^ Declaration of David Miscavige, Church of Scientology International vs. Steven Fishman & Uwe Geertz, Case No. CV 91-6426 (HLH (Tx), U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, Riverside County, February 8th, 1994
  23. ^ Frantz, Douglas (1997-03-09). "Scientology's Puzzling Journey From Tax Rebel to Tax Exempt". New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
  24. ^ Frantz, Douglas (1997-03-19). "Scientology Denies an Account Of an Impromptu I.R.S. Meeting". New York Times. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
  25. ^ Wall Street Journal, Oct 23, 1997
  26. ^ Braiker, Brian (February 8, 2008). "The Passion of ‘Anonymous’: A shadowy, loose-knit consortium of activists and hackers called 'Anonymous' is just the latest thorn in Scientology's side.", Newsweek, Newsweek, Inc., pp. Technology: Newsweek Web Exclusive. Retrieved on 2008-02-09. 
  27. ^ a b c d Koppel, Ted, Nightline, David Miscavige interview of February 14, 1992; Official ABC News Transcripts TV Broadcast, hosted on YouTube
  28. ^ Tobin, Thomas C. (1998-10-25). "The Man Behind Scientology". St. Petersburg Times. Retrieved on 2008-01-22.
  29. ^ Inauguración de la Iglesia Nacional de Scientology de España, Keynote Address at the Grand Opening of the Church of Scientology New York (accessed August 3, 2006)
  30. ^ "Cruise and Holmes go on honeymoon", BBC News (2006-11-19). Retrieved on 2007-02-10. 
  31. ^ The Kaiser-Wilhelm-Institute of Psychiatry, Munich, By William E. Seidelman, MD
  32. ^ A brief history of the Institute, Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry
  33. ^ Miller, Russell (1987). Bare-faced Messiah, The True Story of L. Ron Hubbard. Henry Holt & Co. ISBN 0-8050-0654-0.  Page 369.
  34. ^ Jesse Prince affidavit, United States District Court for the District of Colorado, Bridge Publications Inc v. Factnet Inc; Lawrence Wollersheim; Robert Penny, Civil Action No. 95-K-2143, 1998
  35. ^ "David Miscavige Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center". Religious Technology Center. Archived from the original on 2005-09-04. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  36. ^ "David Miscavige Chairman of the Board Religious Technology Center". Religious Technology Center. Archived from the original on 2005-10-29. Retrieved on 2007-02-26.
  37. ^ Davis, Matt (2008-08-07). "Selling Scientology: A Former Scientologist Marketing Guru Turns Against the Church", The Portland Mercury, Index Newspapers, LLC. Retrieved on 2008-08-10. 
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