[Opinion: These are of considerable historical significance in that once the Federal authorities raided the criminal cult and seized numerous documents (exceeding 23,000 documents, in fact) in 1977, it was -- as is well known now -- discovered to be an "operation" that the criminal cult was performing -- "Operation Freakout" -- on Paulette Cooper.

While numerous cult ringleaders eventually went to prison and many more were named as unindicted co-conspirators (including Hubbard and Kendrick Moxon) the inprisonments were not on the whole due to these specific racketeering activities (that is, "Operation Freakout.") It was the crook's espionage, breaking and entering, perjury (all of which the crooks continue to engage in) et al. that got a few of the head ringleaders imprisoned. Some escaped prison by ratting out their fellow crooks, it looks like.

L. Ron Hubbard managed to flee the long arms of the law when "Operation Snow White" netted his fellow crooks prison terms, however Ms. Cooper never did get justice from what the Scientology crooks did to her. (Not yet, anyway though as an honorary member of the ARSCC (wdne) she'll get that shortly.)

Notice also that the source for this first fake "news wire" is mentioned at the end. This was from the Scientology crooks trying to make their unfounded claims sound like they were some how coming off of real a news wire. The "Brian Anderson" mentioned in these texts has been found out to be a Scientology cultist and as of this date continues in like-minded activities under the orders of the cult's newest ringleader David Miscavige.

Finally, courts around the world have routinely found -- thanks to the numerous felony raids and seizures of once-secret in-house cult documents -- that the criminal mastermind behind this ring -- L. Ron Hubbard -- was indeed pulling the strings of the criminal organization from his secret hide out in Northern California where he eventually died in 1986 - flr]

PR Newswire
March 21, 1985, Thursday
DISTRIBUTION: TO NATIONAL DESK
LENGTH: 1348 words
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES, March 21
BODY:

LOS ANGELES, March 21 /PRN/ -- In a surprise move, in federal court here today, attorney John Peterson -- representing the Church of Scientology of California -- filed a sworn affidavit by former Scientology attacker and litigant Paulette Cooper, exposing her former lawyer, Michael Flynn, the church said.

The document revealed for the first time a billion-dollar plot of extortion and perjury aimed at the Church of Scientology.

Ms. Cooper, in a reversal of her previous antagonistic posture against the church, reportedly revealed the motives and methods behind her former attorney Flynn's assault on the religion of Scientology.

Peterson said Flynn's campaign of soliciting suits against the church has reached a staggering total demand of more than $1 billion.

Ms. Cooper stated in her affidavit that Flynn knew that the founder of Scientology, L. Ron Hubbard, did not control the church and that Flynn had personally told her "by 1979, Mr. Hubbard had severed his ties with the church."

She further revealed that Flynn, by his own statements to her, admitted "his whole strategy was based upon conducting an attack against Scientology founder Hubbard by naming Hubbard as a defendant in my lawsuits ... he believed that Mr. Hubbard would never appear in any of the lawsuits in which he was named."

Flynn further told her "the litigation would be quickly terminated ... either by obtaining a default judgment against Mr. Hubbard, or by having the Church of Scientology settle the litigation in order to protect Mr. Hubbard."

Ms. Cooper, until now Flynn's star witness and ally in nearly all of what the church called Flynn's "spurious" legal actions against the Scientologists, said in her sworn affidavit: "My attorney (Flynn) filed in my lawsuits sworn statements alleging that Mr. Hubbard was in control of Scientology activities."

In what the church termed a devastating blow to the extortion plot, she said, "I never had any real evidence or reason to believe that Mr. Hubbard was in control of the activities of the Church of Scientology."

Ms. Cooper concluded her affidavit by categorically stating: "It is clear to me, on the basis of my conversation with Mr. Flynn on this subject, that the allegations concerning Mr. Hubbard's control over day-to-day Scientology activities had no basis in fact, but were being made solely for strategic purposes in pursuit of a default judgment."

Peterson, counsel for the Church of Scientology, stated: "This defection of Paulette Cooper from the camp of Michael Flynn brings with it a complete exposure of the sordid and extortive aims of Flynn and his unfounded attacks on Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard."

In his declaration, he detailed "the pattern of harassive, abusive and illegal conduct instigated and executed against the churches of Scientology by ... Flynn and a number of co-conspirators. These persons have operated on their own and in unison as a front group called Flynn Associates Management Corp. (FAMCO)."

Peterson said that key elements in this pattern of illegal conduct included:

" ... conspiracy in the form of a money-making scheme in which Flynn, via FAMCO, promised investors up to a 400 percent 'quick' return on their investment in exchange for buying shares to support massive litigation against the Church of Scientology";

" ... collaboration with and funding of agents and operatives using brutal psychiatric 'depersonalizing' techniques in an attempt to sway members of the Church of Scientology away from their religion and channel them into suits against the religion of Scientology";

" ... abuse of the judicial process by inundating the courts with massive filings of frivolous, unfounded and duplicative lawsuits";

" ... the planned usage of lies and inflammatory statements in order to manipulate the media and government and thus influence pending litigation"; and

" ... the use of libel, forgery and other criminal means in order to negatively influence pending litigation.

CONTACT -- Brian Anderson, 213-662-8095 or 213-666-3424, or John Peterson, 213-659-9965, both for the Church of Scientology.

The following is the full text of the sworn affidavit by Paulette Cooper filed today in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles as part of a libel suit brought against Boston lawyer Michael Flynn by the Church of Scientology of California:

AFFIDAVIT OF PAULETTE COOPER

(State of New York, County of New York)

Paulette Cooper, being first duly sworn according to law, deposes and says:

-- I am Paulette Cooper, a resident of the City of New York, State of New York.

-- I have a long history of conflict with the Church of Scientology, and I have been involved in substantial litigation against the church between 1971 and earlier this year. All litigation between the church and me has been settled and terminated.

-- In 1978, one such lawsuit commenced between me and the Church of Scientology in the United States District Court for the Central District of California sitting in Los Angeles, Church of Scientology of California Inc. v. Paulette Cooper, Case No. 78-2053-RMT. While the church claimed that I had breached a prior settlement agreement with it, the principle focus of the lawsuit soon became my counterclaim for personal injuries against the church. I was represented in that case by Attorney John McNicholas. During the year 1980, Boston Attorney Michael J. Flynn convinced me that he should file on my behalf a lawsuit in Boston, Mass., against Scientology, alleging some of the matters that were the subject of my lawsuit pending in Los Angeles. I retained Attorney Flynn to file such a lawsuit in my behalf in the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, captioned Paulette Cooper v. Church of Scientology of Boston, et al., Civil Action No. 81-681-MC.

-- I allowed Mr. Flynn to file the Boston case, and replaced my counsel in Los Angeles with an attorney selected by Mr. Flynn, because Mr. Flynn explained to me that he had devised a strategy for quickly and easily winning my litigation against Scientology and collecting money on a judgment. He explained that his whole strategy was based upon conducting an attack against Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard by naming Mr. Hubbard as a defendant in my lawsuits. Mr. Flynn said that he believed that Mr. Hubbard would never appear in any of the lawsuits in which he was named, for any one of a number of possible reasons. Mr. Flynn told me that it was his belief that by approximately 1979, Mr. Hubbard had severed his ties with the church. The litigation, said Mr. Flynn, would be quickly terminated, either by obtaining a default judgment against Mr. Hubbard, or by having the Church of Scientology settle the litigation in order to protect Mr. Hubbard.

-- In pursuit of this strategy of winning by seeking default judgments, my attorney filed in my lawsuits sworn statements alleging that Mr. Hubbard was in control of Scientology's activities, and that he directed a campaign against me. However, I never had any real evidence or reason (other than the word of my lawyers) to believe that Mr. Hubbard was in control of the activities of the Church of Scientology, and my attorneys never presented me with any evidence that such was the case. It is clear to me, on the basis of my conversation with Mr. Flynn on this subject, that the allegations concerning Mr. Hubbard's control over day-to-day Scientology activities had no basis in fact, but were being made solely for strategic reasons in pursuit of a default judgment.

Paulette Cooper

Sworn to before me this 4th day of March, 1985.

Alda N. Boyrie, Notary Public

CONTACT -- Brian Anderson, 213-662-8095 or 213-666-3424, or John Peterson, 213-659-9965, both of the Church of Scientology

U.P.I.
March 22, 1985, Friday, AM cycle
SECTION: Domestic News
LENGTH: 286 words
DATELINE: LOS ANGELES

BODY: Church of Scientology lawyers announced Friday they have uncovered evidence that Boston attorney Michael Flynn, an outspoken critic of the church, has planned "a sordid billion-dollar plot of extortion" against the organization.

Church attorney John Peterson filed a declaration in U.S. District Court Thursday in which he alleged that Flynn has attempted in the past six years to harrass the church by filing a series of "frivolous, unfounded and duplicative lawsuits."

The church filed a $2-million libel suit against Flynn in 1983 after he implied in a Los Angeles speech that church members attempted to murder him by sabotaging his private airplane in 1979.

Church attorneys said the evidence of Flynn's alleged extortion scheme is an affidavit filed by Paulette Cooper, one of Flynn's ex-clients who filed a "personal injuries" suit against the church that was later settled out of court.

Cooper said Flynn's strategy was to name founder L. Ron Hubbard as a defendant in a series of suits against the church on the premise that he would not appear and the church would be forced to settle out of court.

Hubbard has not been seen in public for several years.

"The sensational document (Cooper's affidavit) revealed for the first time a sordid billion-dollar plot of extortion and perjury aimed against the Church of Scientology."

Flynn's lawyers filed a counter-statement by one of Cooper's "closest friends," Joseph M. Flanagan, implying she was paid $50,000 for her statement.

Defense attorneys also have asked U.S. District Judge Manuel Real to dismiss the libel case against Flynn. Real will take up the motion to dismiss the case, which has yet to come to trial, on April 1.