David Miscavige - Misplaced Pages

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David Miscavige (born April 30, 1960) is Chairman of the Board of Religious Technology Center, a corporation that controls the copyrighted material authored by the late Church of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, as well as the trademarked names and symbols of Dianetics and Scientology.

As RTC Chairman, Miscavige is officially described as "the highest ecclesiastical official of the Scientology religion," a position he assumed when Hubbard died in 1986. Although Religious Technology Center is a separate corporation from the Church of Scientology, Miscavige is widely reported to be the effective leader of the Church and all affiliated Scientology enterprises. In Scientology, he goes by the acronyms "DM" and "COB" (Chairman Of the Board).

Biography

David Miscavige was born in Philadelphia to Loretta and Ron Miscavige Sr. The family was of Polish/Italian extraction and he was their youngest son. The family was Roman Catholic, but not observant.

David suffered from childhood ailments, including allergies, which kept him from accomplishing athletic and academic goals. Reportedly, he also had a vicious insistence of getting his own way, earning the nickname of "Little Hitler" from his mother. 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 Dianetic session cured his ailments. There is little independent information to support or dispute this. Nevertheless, the family was impressed enough by Scientology to convert and move to the world headquarters in Saint Hill Manor, England. David Miscavige soon became one of the youngest full-time Scientology auditors.

Miscavige dropped out of high school in 1976 and joined the Church of Scientology's Sea Org and Commodore's Messenger Organization, where, while still a teenager, he became one of L. Ron Hubbard's personal assistants, in the production of Scientology training films.

Scientology career

In 1981 events concerning Mary Sue Hubbard began to cause the group substantial difficulties. Although only 21 at the time, Miscavige claims to have been significant in persuading her to resign. In 1982 he received substantial authority over Hubbard's personal, business, and literary affairs. The respect given to him from such an early age likely influenced his strong loyalty.

Nevertheless his rise caused noteworthy controversies:

In 1982 Hubbard's estranged son, Ronald DeWolf, accused Miscavige of embezzling from and manipulating his father. In the following year Hubbard sided with Miscavige, ending the issue.
In 1985 his mother-in-law, Florence Barnett, committed suicide under unusual circumstances. Just prior to the suicide, she had threatened to go public with what she knew about Miscavige's activities in the church.
The Internal Revenue Service launched an investigation of Miscavige in 1984, although this fizzled in 1985.
Hubbard's death led to allegations Miscavige was involved in that death. This allegation pointed to factors such as the presence of unaccounted-for psychiatric drugs in Hubbard's blood and last minute changes to Hubbard's will which gave control of the organization to Miscavige. In any event, Hubbard's death in 1986 caused Miscavige to rise to the position he holds today.

This encouraged the war with the IRS to intensify on both sides. The IRS began auditing the income tax records of thousands of Scientologists and Scientology responded by pursuing massive lawsuits against the IRS.

It reached a boiling point in the early 1990s, but ended in 1993 after lengthy negotiation and an agreement with the IRS. This breakthrough was reportedly spearheaded by Scientologists Greta Van Susteren and John Coale, both attorney friends of then-president Bill Clinton. The verbal lore in the church, however, ascribes sole credit to Miscavige.

Outside of this battle he has played an active role in expanding the religion's clout. He encouraged the rise of their Celebrity Centre International. He also tried to increase the profile of the group by working with professionals in public relations.

Miscavige was interviewed at length by Ted Koppel of ABC television in 1992. In the interview he spoke of the mental health field feeling threatened by Scientology and picking a fight with them. Aside from that interview, he has rarely spoken to the press. Miscavige is, however, often a speaker at major Scientology openings, award ceremonies and related events. Miscavige is also well-known amongst the executive strata of Scientology for his lengthy, serious "flap-and-handle" speeches. His dramatic style of management at the Gold Base has earned him the nickname of "TT", which stands for "Total Theater". Reportedly, his "hands-on" method of management sometimes goes beyond yelling and screaming, to actual punching and slapping of his junior officers.

Around the Gold Base, Miscavige is accompanied by his entourage of personal assistant and secretary who each carry a voice recorder to document his discussions, comments and orders. These recordings are then transcribed and filed in binders as written record. Reportedly, David Miscavige takes great pride in managing projects down to the minutest details. Miscavige's secretary is currently Laurisse Stuckenbrock (Lou).

In May 1995, Miscavige announced his evaluation of what he thought was wrong with Scientology: He proclaimed that "the blind are leading the blind." His solutions to this included deleting passages from lectures by L. Ron Hubbard that he did not like, and compelling Scientology students to read certain course text to a wall, which he called "patter drills". Many Scientologists have objected to these solutions, which resulted in them being subjected to a tribunal called a Comm Ev and declared Suppressive Persons.

Personal life

Miscavige's hobbies are: Riding his motorcycles, snorkeling and underwater photography, target shooting, and socializing with Scientology celebrities.

Miscavige has been married to Shelly (Michelle) Miscavige, neé Barnett, since 1981, who also serves as his official assistant. They have no children. He has a brother, Ronnie Jr., and a twin sister, Denise.

External links

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