How Scientology's 1970s infiltration scandal led to the creation of its IAS slush fund - 2015-07-09

How Scientology's 1970s infiltration scandal led to the creation of its IAS slush fund July 9, 2015, Tony Ortega, Underground Bunker

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We have another fun dive into Scientology history courtesy of correspondent Jeffrey Augustine. And this time, he's starting out with a subject dear to us, the notorious burglarizing of federal government offices in the 1970s, an audacious operation Scientology called the "Snow White Program." We love the 70s, Jeff! Take it away...

July 8, 1977: The FBI conducts a massive raid on the Church of Scientology to find evidence relating to its "Snow White Program." The raid eventually leads to eleven top Scientology leaders being criminally charged and convicted for their role in the conspiracy to burglarize federal offices.

These Scientology defendants, including Mary Sue Hubbard, wife of Scientology's founder, L. Ron Hubbard, needed a great deal of money for legal defense. So in 1978 Scientology's notorious Guardian's Office created the "Safe Environment Fund" (SEF) to pay for the significant legal expenses of the GO members who had been indicted. Essentially, the SEF was a GO legal slush fund that generated a significant amount of unrestricted donations.

Wikipedia cite:

{{cite news | author = Tony Ortega | title = How Scientology's 1970s infiltration scandal led to the creation of its IAS slush fund | url = https://tonyortega.org/2015/07/09/how-scientologys-snow-white-program-led-to-the-creation-of-its-ias-slush-fund/ | work = Underground Bunker | date = July 9, 2015 | accessdate = August 21, 2017 }}