Bill Franks, 1946-2018, appointed by Hubbard to 'reform' Scientology after Snow White scandal - 2018-12-20

Bill Franks, 1946-2018, appointed by Hubbard to 'reform' Scientology after Snow White scandal December 20, 2018, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker

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We spoke with Bill Franks a few weeks ago on the phone after we heard he had entered hospice care. We wanted him to know how much we appreciated the help we got from him on our book about Paulette Cooper. He was characteristically humble about it, saying that he hadn't done much.

In fact, Bill Franks was one of the longest tenured whistleblowers of Scientology, a top former executive who tried time and again to help get the word out about what he'd seen during his meteoric rise in the organization.

He joined Scientology in 1968 and met L. Ron Hubbard aboard the yacht Apollo two years later. Hubbard vanished early in 1980 in the turmoil after the disastrous "Snow White Program" that had church operatives infiltrating US and foreign government agencies, resulting in eleven top Scientologists being prosecuted and eventually going to prison. As Jon Atack explained in his book A Piece of Blue Sky, major reorganizing after the Snow White debacle was needed, and a young Bill Franks suddenly found himself elevated to the organization's highest spot…

Wikipedia cite:

{{cite news | author = Tony Ortega | title = Bill Franks, 1946-2018, appointed by Hubbard to 'reform' Scientology after Snow White scandal | url = https://tonyortega.org/2018/12/20/bill-franks-1946-2018-appointed-by-hubbard-to-reform-scientology-after-snow-white-scandal/ | work = Underground Bunker | date = December 20, 2018 | accessdate = December 20, 2018 }}