Office of Special Affairs
Encyclopedia
The Office of Special Affairs or OSA (formerly the Guardian's Office) is a department of the Church of Scientology
. According to the Church, the OSA is responsible for directing legal affairs, public relations, pursuing investigations, publicizing the Church's "social betterment works," and "oversee[ing its] social reform programs". Some observers outside the Church have characterized the department as an intelligence agency
, comparing it variously to the CIA, the Secret Service
, and the KGB
. The department has drawn criticism for its involvement in targeting critics of the Church for dead agent operations. OSA has mounted character assassination operations against many critics of the Church.
OSA is the successor to the now-defunct Guardian's Office, which was responsible for Operation Snow White
; both are in Department 20 in the Scientology Org-Chart. The most recent head of OSA International was Mike Rinder
, who has since departed from the organization.
.
In addition to regular staff, some church members also act as volunteer collaborators for the office, which cuts down on private investigation and legal research expenses. Some volunteers participate under the notion that they receive special "ethics
protection." In one case a volunteer who read critical information about Scientology on the internet was led to believe that he would be unable to continue receiving services unless he performed a series of investigations for OSA.
put his wife Mary Sue Hubbard
in charge of the Guardian's Office, and it was initially headquartered at Saint Hill Manor
, in England
. The Guardian's Office functioned effectively as an Intelligence Bureau
of the Church of Scientology, and planted members in key positions within federal government agencies, in order to obtain confidential material. Most branches of the Church of Scientology soon had at least one member from the Guardian's Office on its staff, and the Guardian's Office itself had its own secret Intelligence Bureau at the top of its organizational structure. The Guardian's Office was disbanded in 1983, and the bulk of its previous functions were then assigned to the Office of Special Affairs.
, by a staged car accident."
The murder of Kisser did not take place and Scarff said, "I could not bring myself to harm or kill anybody." Scientology attorney Kendrick Moxon
has called Scarff "a liar" and Moxon also stated that "Scarff's own father says he's a scumbag." Scarff has also been said to "flip-flop" by a representative of the former Cult Awareness Network.
Attorney Graham E. Berry was repeatedly the target of OSA "fair game" operations. In one case on May 14, 1994, OSA employed private investigator Eugene Ingram to solicit false statements from Robert Cipriano in order to bring phony criminal charges against Berry. The criminal scheme backfired when Cipriano realized that he was bribed by the Church of Scientology
and recanted the charges against Berry.
Tory Christman
, a former volunteer for OSA has stated that the organization hired private investigators, fabricated criminal charges and harassed their targets, including at their place of employment, as well as their family members.
Bonnie Woods
, a former member who began counselling people involved with Scientology and their families, became a target along with her husband in 1993 when the Church of Scientology started a leaflet operation denouncing her as a "hate campaigner" with demonstrators outside their home and around East Grinstead
. She and her family were followed by a private investigator, and a creditor of theirs was located and provided free legal assistance to sue them into bankruptcy. After a long battle of libel suits, in 1999 the church agreed to issue an apology and pay £55,000 damages and £100,000 costs to the Woods.
Among the targets of OSA operations are Free Zone
groups.
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
. According to the Church, the OSA is responsible for directing legal affairs, public relations, pursuing investigations, publicizing the Church's "social betterment works," and "oversee[ing its] social reform programs". Some observers outside the Church have characterized the department as an intelligence agency
Intelligence agency
An intelligence agency is a governmental agency that is devoted to information gathering for purposes of national security and defence. Means of information gathering may include espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public...
, comparing it variously to the CIA, the Secret Service
United States Secret Service
The United States Secret Service is a United States federal law enforcement agency that is part of the United States Department of Homeland Security. The sworn members are divided among the Special Agents and the Uniformed Division. Until March 1, 2003, the Service was part of the United States...
, and the KGB
KGB
The KGB was the commonly used acronym for the . It was the national security agency of the Soviet Union from 1954 until 1991, and was the premier internal security, intelligence, and secret police organization during that time.The State Security Agency of the Republic of Belarus currently uses the...
. The department has drawn criticism for its involvement in targeting critics of the Church for dead agent operations. OSA has mounted character assassination operations against many critics of the Church.
OSA is the successor to the now-defunct Guardian's Office, which was responsible for Operation Snow White
Operation Snow White
Operation Snow White was the Church of Scientology's name for a conspiracy during the 1970s to purge unfavorable records about Scientology and its founder L. Ron Hubbard...
; both are in Department 20 in the Scientology Org-Chart. The most recent head of OSA International was Mike Rinder
Mike Rinder
Michael "Mike" Rinder is an Australian Scientologist who was a former chief spokesman of the Church of Scientology. Rinder served as Executive Director of the Office of Special Affairs and was a director of the Church of Scientology International...
, who has since departed from the organization.
Structure
At local Scientology organizations, directors (Special Affairs, Legal, Public Affairs) are OSA staff members. Local Directors of Special Affairs are known as DSAs. Members of the Office of Special Affairs are drawn from the Sea OrgSea Org
The Sea Organization or Sea Org is an association of Scientologists established in 1968 by L. Ron Hubbard, the science fiction writer and founder of Scientology. Its members are found in the central management organizations of the Church of Scientology as well as in individual churches...
.
In addition to regular staff, some church members also act as volunteer collaborators for the office, which cuts down on private investigation and legal research expenses. Some volunteers participate under the notion that they receive special "ethics
Ethics (Scientology)
According to the Church of Scientology, "Ethics may be defined as the actions an individual takes on himself to ensure his continued survival across the dynamics. It is a personal thing. When one is ethical, it is something he does himself by his own choice."...
protection." In one case a volunteer who read critical information about Scientology on the internet was led to believe that he would be unable to continue receiving services unless he performed a series of investigations for OSA.
History
The Guardian's Office was established in 1966, and its initial mission was to protect the interests of the Church of Scientology, and gather information on agencies and individuals deemed enemies of the organization. The Guardian's Office was also charged with internal monitoring of current Scientologists, in particular heretics and notable defectors. L. Ron HubbardL. Ron Hubbard
Lafayette Ronald Hubbard , better known as L. Ron Hubbard , was an American pulp fiction author and religious leader who founded the Church of Scientology...
put his wife Mary Sue Hubbard
Mary Sue Hubbard
Mary Sue Hubbard was the third wife of L. Ron Hubbard, from 1952 to his death in 1986, and was a leading figure in Scientology for much of her life...
in charge of the Guardian's Office, and it was initially headquartered at Saint Hill Manor
Saint Hill Manor
Saint Hill Manor is a country house at Saint Hill Green, Mid Sussex, near East Grinstead, West Sussex, England that serves as the location of the head office for the Church of Scientology in the United Kingdom.-Early history:...
, in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. The Guardian's Office functioned effectively as an Intelligence Bureau
Intelligence agency
An intelligence agency is a governmental agency that is devoted to information gathering for purposes of national security and defence. Means of information gathering may include espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public...
of the Church of Scientology, and planted members in key positions within federal government agencies, in order to obtain confidential material. Most branches of the Church of Scientology soon had at least one member from the Guardian's Office on its staff, and the Guardian's Office itself had its own secret Intelligence Bureau at the top of its organizational structure. The Guardian's Office was disbanded in 1983, and the bulk of its previous functions were then assigned to the Office of Special Affairs.
Methods
Garry Scarff has said that he used to be an OSA operative. He has made a number of statements about the inner workings of OSA, many of which are disputed by the Church. In a sworn deposition taken between July and August 1993 and submitted in Church of Scientology International vs. Steven Fishman and Uwe Geertz, Scarff testified, "...I was directed, one, to go to Chicago, Illinois and to murder Cynthia Kisser, Cynthia Kisser being the Executive Director of the Cult Awareness NetworkCult Awareness Network
The Cult Awareness Network was founded in the wake of the November 18, 1978 deaths of members of the group Peoples Temple and assassination of Congressman Leo J. Ryan in Jonestown, Guyana. CAN is now owned and operated by associates of the Church of Scientology, an organization that the original...
, by a staged car accident."
The murder of Kisser did not take place and Scarff said, "I could not bring myself to harm or kill anybody." Scientology attorney Kendrick Moxon
Moxon & Kobrin
Moxon & Kobrin is a law firm with its headquarters located in the Wilshire Center Building in Wilshire Center, Los Angeles, California, consisting of Kendrick Moxon, Helena Kobrin, and Ava Paquette....
has called Scarff "a liar" and Moxon also stated that "Scarff's own father says he's a scumbag." Scarff has also been said to "flip-flop" by a representative of the former Cult Awareness Network.
Attorney Graham E. Berry was repeatedly the target of OSA "fair game" operations. In one case on May 14, 1994, OSA employed private investigator Eugene Ingram to solicit false statements from Robert Cipriano in order to bring phony criminal charges against Berry. The criminal scheme backfired when Cipriano realized that he was bribed by the Church of Scientology
Church of Scientology
The Church of Scientology is an organization devoted to the practice and the promotion of the Scientology belief system. The Church of Scientology International is the Church of Scientology's parent organization, and is responsible for the overall ecclesiastical management, dissemination and...
and recanted the charges against Berry.
Tory Christman
Tory Christman
Tory Christman is a prominent American critic of Scientology and former member of the organization. Originally brought up to believe in Catholicism, Christman turned to Scientology after being introduced to the book Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health authored by Scientology founder L...
, a former volunteer for OSA has stated that the organization hired private investigators, fabricated criminal charges and harassed their targets, including at their place of employment, as well as their family members.
Bonnie Woods
Bonnie Woods
Bonnie Woods is an American former Scientologist and critic of the Church of Scientology. Woods resides in Britain. She was a member of the Sea Org within Scientology, and left in 1982. She and her family were monitored by a private investigator. The Church of Scientology spread pamphlets around...
, a former member who began counselling people involved with Scientology and their families, became a target along with her husband in 1993 when the Church of Scientology started a leaflet operation denouncing her as a "hate campaigner" with demonstrators outside their home and around East Grinstead
East Grinstead
East Grinstead is a town and civil parish in the northeastern corner of Mid Sussex, West Sussex in England near the East Sussex, Surrey, and Kent borders. It lies south of London, north northeast of Brighton, and east northeast of the county town of Chichester...
. She and her family were followed by a private investigator, and a creditor of theirs was located and provided free legal assistance to sue them into bankruptcy. After a long battle of libel suits, in 1999 the church agreed to issue an apology and pay £55,000 damages and £100,000 costs to the Woods.
Among the targets of OSA operations are Free Zone
Free Zone (Scientology)
The Free Zone comprises a variety of groups and individuals who practice Scientology beliefs and techniques independently of the Church of Scientology . Such practitioners range from those who closely adhere to the original teachings of Scientology's founder L...
groups.
See also
- Fair Game (Scientology)Fair Game (Scientology)The term Fair Game is used to describe policies and practices carried out by the Church of Scientology towards people and groups it perceives as its enemies. Founder L. Ron Hubbard established the policy in the 1960s, in response to criticism both from within and outside his organization...
- Intelligence agencyIntelligence agencyAn intelligence agency is a governmental agency that is devoted to information gathering for purposes of national security and defence. Means of information gathering may include espionage, communication interception, cryptanalysis, cooperation with other institutions, and evaluation of public...
- Suppressive PersonSuppressive PersonSuppressive Person, often abbreviated SP, is a term used in Scientology to describe the "antisocial personalities" who, according to Scientology's founder L. Ron Hubbard, make up about 2.5% of the population...
Further reading
- Office of Special Affairs and the Religious Technology Center (scientology.org)
- Office of Special Affairs (scientology.org)
- OSA (Office of Special Affairs) -- The Secret CIA of Scientology
- Scientology's Secret Service: Inside Scientology's Intelligence Agencies (xenu.net)
- Scientology's Secret Service: The Office of Special Affairs (1983 to present) (xenu.net)
- Documentation of harassment of former members by private investigators hired by OSA
- Garry Scarff court deposition on conspiracy to murder critic.
- Deceived; One woman's stand against the Church of Scientology, Bonnie Woods, London: Published by Hodder & Houghton. 2001. ISBN 0340785675