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Continued
from page 1.
Now
you might think the Straights just
went away in 1993 because of
overwhelming complaints of child
abuse, but did they?
Consider:
- Straight-Orlando
closed August 14, 1992.
On that very day
Michael Scaletta,
its executive director,
taking Loretta Parrish,
the marketing director
with him, opened
SAFE, Inc. out of the same
building. Meet Ms. Parrish
who is now the executive
director of SAFE in this
video segment of a special
investigative report on
SAFE
aired by WAMI TV of Miami,
Florida in November
2000. (Go here
for all four segments.)
- In
February 2000 Father
Doctor Miller Newton,
formerly Straight's
national clinical
director, closed his own
Sembler-based synanon
known as KIDS of North
Jersey after 16 years.
The closing came after he
and his psychiatrists
settled with a former
client for $ 4.5 million
for the abuses and medical
mismanagement she says she
sustained at KIDS.
- Growing
Together
of Lake
Worth, Florida is another
Sembler-based synanon
which has been accused of
child abuse. Click
on the link for an extract
of a police report
where a former male client
says there was an attempt
to gang
rape him in a
program extension foster
home in 1997.
- The
number of teens that may
have been in one of these
programs may be as many as
50,000. Click on Flow
Chart of the Straights
to see where they all are
or have been.
- Straight
continues to play a major
role in shaping up
American drug policy.
Straight's former national
research director Dr.
Donald Ian Macdonald
went on to become the
nation's drug czar.
Former drug czar Robert
DuPont was a paid Straight
consultant. Former
drug czar Bob Martinez
appears to be tied to
Straight too. Today
Straight Foundation, Inc.
is called the Drug
Free America Foundation,
Inc.
which suggested it
made drug
policy recommendations
to president-elect George
W. Bush who, as
governor of Texas,
has teamed up with DFAF
on one drug awareness
initiative. .
We
keep talking about synanons.
If you don't know what a synanon is,
then click on the brief NBC
News video segment on Synanon Church--the
failed experiment that started a doctor-less,
medical therapy.
|
The
Leigh Bright Story.
The Leigh Bright story has moved to here.
|
 02-22-02
Where's
the prosecutions?
As we
said, Straight is extraordinary
for the large number of deaths which
shadow it and for its
endorsement by prominent Republicans.
But there is something else for which
Straight is extraordinary--through
the years,
despite countless state
criminal investigations,
there have been relatively few
prosecutions or convictions.
Let’s look at that.
| In
exchange
for
immunity
from
prosecution
Straight-Sarasota,
Florida
executive
staff
member
Chris
Cassler
admitted
to
criminal
activity
at that
Straight
and said
that he
had been
trained
at
Straight–St
Petersburg.
Straight–Sarasota
closed
under
the flak
and
Chris
Cassler
became
an
executive
staff
member
at
Straight-St
Petersburg!
[St
Petersburg
Times,
9-19-83,
p. 6B] |
| James
T.
Russell,
former
prosecutor
for
Pinellas
County,
Florida,
saw
things
differently
from
Sarasota
County
prosecutors.
In
1977 he
did not
prosecute
for the
alleged
beating
of Jerry
Vancil
at
Straight-St
Petersburg.
How
could
he?
The
star
witness
just
vanished.
As
far as I
know,
to
this
very
day,
Jerry
Vancil
has
never
been
seen or
heard
from
since----dead
or
alive.
Russell
did not
prosecute
when
Florida's
Bureau
of
Criminal
Justice
Planning
and
Assistance
(BOCJPA)
confirmed
in 1978
several
cases of
abuse at
Straight.
He
did not
prosecute
when two
former
Straight
counselors
signed
sworn
affidavits
that
Helen
Peterman,
then
Straight's
clinical
director,
had
repeatedly
slapped
a small
youth
and
yanked
him by
his hair
in an
apparent
outburst
of
temper—even
though
that had
not been
the only
public
accusation
of abuse
by Ms.
Petermann.
[St.
Petersburg
Times,
2-12-78.].
Pinellas
County
States
Attorney
James T.
Russell
did not
prosecute
for the
kidnapping
by
Straight
of Gail
Stephenson
which
had led
to a
Congressional
inquiry
since
Ms.
Stephenson
was from
Maryland.
But
then why
should
he?
OK
Roger L.
Young
was not
on his
beat.
It
was
Circuit
Court
Judge
Richard
Miller
who had
committed
Young to
Straight’s
predecessor
The
Seed
four
days
prior to
his 21st
birthday.
Mr.
Young
did not
even
know
there
had been
a
hearing
when the
police
arrested
him and
carted
him off
to The
Seed.
Judge
Miller once
bragged
that he
prefers
juveniles
to be
absent
from the
courtroom
while
they are
being
committed
to The
Seed.
But
Jeff
Bourgholtzer
and the
girl
abducted
from
Saint
Petersburg
Catholic
High
School,
they
were on
Mr.
Russell’s
beat
when
they
forcefully
entered The
Seed.
But
it’s
not
really
kidnapping.
Hell,
they had
a parent
in on
it.
James
T.
Russell
had been
instrumental
in
bringing
The
Seed
to
Pinellas
County
in the
first
place.
Fact
is,
he
was on
The
Seed’s
Advisory
Board!
Richard
Mensh,
at one
time
Russell's
chief
assistant
prosecutor,
is the
brother
of
former
Straight
board
member
attorney
Myron
Mensh.
And Allen
Alweiss,
one
of
Russell’s
assistant
state
attorneys,
was
on the
Board of
Directors
for
Straight,
Inc.! |
| When
Dr.
Miller
Newton,
Straight's
national
clinical
director,
left
Straight
and
Florida
in the
early
1980s,
he left
behind
such a
vast
trail of
civil
suits
and
criminal
allegations
that
there
should
have
been a
public
outcry
to fire
James T.
Russell
for not
doing
his job. (Click
here
to see
for
yourself.)
But
why
should
he
pursue
Dr.
Newton?
After
all, in
1993,
Russell
did not
prosecute
Mel
Sembler
when
there
was
probable
cause to
believe
that Mel
Sembler
had
interfered
with a
state
health
department
attempt
to close
Straight-St
Petersburg
for a
reckless
pattern
over the
years of
violating
state
regulations.
In
a story
that
belongs
on A&E’s
City
Confidential,
James T.
Russell
did not
even try
to
prosecute
when Mel
Sembler,
acting
on
inside
information
from a
Clearwater
city
official,
bought a
swamp
for $1
million
and
almost
sold it
a few
days
later to
the city
for use
as a
park for
$3
million!
Once
that
scam
broke in
the
Saint
Petersburg
Times,
the sale
dragged
on for
months
and the
best Mel
could
get from
his
fellow
citizens
in
Clearwater
was a
measly
$1.95
million.
Newton
may have
operated
with
impunity
in
Pinellas
County
but New
Jersey
prosecutors
were no
more
tolerant
of child
abuse
than
Sarasota
County
Florida
prosecutors
had
been.
Dr.
Newton
had
setup a
Straight-imitator
program
in New
Jersey
called
KIDS.
Twice
prosecutors
escorted
students
out of
KIDS,
and once
an FBI
agent
wielding
a
subpoena
took an
adult
client
out of
there.
In
1993
three of
Newton’s
KIDS’
counselors
were
convicted
of
beating
a
client.
Three
years
later
there
was
another
barrage
of
criminal
complaints
against
Newton
and his
counselors,
including
a
complaint
against
one of
the
counselors
who had
been
convicted
3 years
previous.
And
in 1996
Dr.
Newton
agreed
to pay
the
federal
government
$45,000
in
return
for not
prosecuting
him for
254
counts
of
insurance
fraud.
[The
Record
(Hackensack),
New
Jersey,
9-24-96,
p. A01.]
In
1998
another
counselor
was
convicted
of
assault.
It
all
crashed
in 2001
when
Newton
and
staff
settled
with a
client
for $4.5
million.
|
|
|
But
Russell
did
prosecute
Richard
Bradbury,
(the
former
Straight
official
who
ultimately
closed
Straight)
for
breaking
into
Straight.
Russell’s
prosecutors
sought a
one year
jail
sentence
for
Richard
Bradbury
because
he
"masterminded
the
scheme"
to
steal
records
from
Straight
to turn
over to
the
state
health
department
and
because
"he
harassed
[Straight]
and its
chairman
of the
board of
directors,
Mel
Sembler."
[Saint
Petersburg
Times,
9-25-1988,
p. 3B] If
you
clicked
above to
read
about
the
alleged
abuses
that
occurred
at
Straight
under
Miller
Newton,
then you
have to
be
asking
yourself
why
would
the
Pinellas
County
prosecutor's
office
let
Straight
off the
hook for
abusing
children
time and
time
again,
but go
after
anybody
with the
courage
to try
to tell
the
story?
As
William
Shakespeare
said it
so many
years
ago,
"There's
something
rotten
in
Pinellas
County,
Florida."
James T.
Russell
should
be held
accountable
for
failing
to stop
the
madness
of
Straight.
|
|
| We
think
the
President
should
give
Richard
Bradbury
a
medal
and
the
governor
of
Florida
should
make
him
Sheriff
of
Pinellas
County
for
doing
the
States
Attorney's
job
for
him. |
|
 |
| The
photo
is
of
Richard
Bradbury
from
Creative
Loafing,
c.
May
2,
1990.
The
partially
cut-off
sign
reads Straight
from
Hell.
It
is
from
a
period
when
Richard
stood
virtually
alone
against
the
police,
HRS,
the
States
Attorney,
the
judges
and
Honorable
Mel
Sembler,
AO. |
|
|
|
In
all
fairness
to Mr.
Russell
and
team,
there
was one
other
prosecution.
Straight-St
Petersburg
counselor
Arthur
Nicol (a
former
judge)
got
seven
years in
prison
for
sexually
abusing
a 15
year-old
male
client.
|
| Straights
in
Virginia
and Ohio
were
under
criminal
investigation
when
they
closed. All
of
Miller
Newton's
expansion
KIDS
programs
were
under
criminal
investigation
when
they
closed.
When
Newton’s
KIDS
program
closed
in
California,
Straight
moved
into the
same
facility
until it
was run
out of
California
by state
authorities
within
the year
for
child
abuse.
|
| In
1985
Assistant
Commonwealth
Attorney
for
Lexington
Kentucky,
Jack
Giles,
told the
jury he
would
seek
jail
time for
Dr.
George
Ross,
Straight’s
former
national
education
director,
who,
like
Newton,
had
set up
several
Straight-like
programs
after
leaving
Straight
including
Possibilities
Unlimited
in
Lexington.
Dr.
Ross and
several
of his
staff
had been
accused
of
unlawful
imprisonment
of
several
clients.
But
Ross’
attorney
was none
other
than
Larry
Roberts—the
former
Commonwealth
Attorney
for
Fayette
County
(where
Lexington
is
located).
One
of
Ross’
best
character
witnesses
had been
Helen
Peterman
coming
up from
Florida—she
never
having
been
prosecuted
for
child
abuse by
Larry
Robert’s
counterpart
in
Florida—James
T.
Russell.
A
key
witness
decided
not to
testify.
Ross
was
acquitted
and
charges
were
dropped
against
his
co-defendants.
|
| The
States
Attorney
in West
Palm
Beach
Florida
prosecuted
at least
one of
the old
comers
at a
Ross
follow-on
program
called Growing
Together
who had
allegedly
been
part of
an
alleged
three-some
sexual
assault
of a
newcomer.
The
complaint
stated
that one
old
comers
held the
boy
while
another
ejaculated
in his
hair and
another
attempted
to stick
his
penis
into the
boy’s
mouth.
|
| Layne
R.
Meacham
founder
of Proctor
Advocate
which
was
based,
in part,
on
Newton's
KIDS’
implementation
of
Straight,
was
convicted
in Utah
of a
misdemeanor
stemming
from a
charge
of
abusing
a
16-year-old
girl in
his
program.
But a
judge
threw
out that
conviction,
ruling
the jury
had made
errors. [Deseret
News
August
3, 1999]
|
|
|
02-22-02
Straight
officers and board
members.
Mel Sembler hired his
good friend Walter Loebenberg
(who is also the founder of the
concept for the Tampa Bay
Holocaust Museum) to be
president of Straight. Mr.
Loebenberg in turned hired
Bernadine Braithwaite to be
Straight's executive director.
She had worked for him before at
U.S. Health Corporation where he
had been president. In 1992 the
US attorney filed suit against
Walter Loebenberg, Bernadine
Braithwaite and a third person.
I seems that Medicare was to
have reimbursed USHC a portion
of $300,000 required to pay
medical malpractice insurance,
but had made a mistake and paid
$950,000. Click here
to get the dope on Straight officers
and board members.
02-22-02
Just
how effective is it anyway?
For
all the human misery caused, for
all the homes destroyed, just
how effective is Straight's treatment
anyway? A Deficiency Correction
Order dated March 15, 1990 by Bette
McClure of the Executive Office of
Human Services, Office of
Children, Commonwealth of
Massachusetts to Debra Dragton,
Administrator Straight-Boston had this
to say, in part:
|
| "Although
Straight's
statement
of
services
states
that
Straight
serves
chemically
dependent
adolescents,
a review
of
records
and
interviews
with
staff
demonstrate
that
Straight
admits
children
who are
not
chemically
dependent.
For
example,
one
twelve-year-old
girl was
admitted
to the
program
although
the only
information
in the
file
regarding
use of
chemicals
was her
admission
that she
had
sniffed
a magic
marker." |
|
Straight was always making
outlandish claims of success but where
is the scientific data to support it?
In September 1986 USA TODAY ran
an article headlined: DRUGS:
Teen abusers start by age 12 which
opened with: "Almost half
of the USA's teen drug abusers got
involved before age 12..."
The article was based on a study
conducted by Straight, Inc. But
Straight considers a little girl who
sniffs a magic marker to be a drug
addict. In 1989 the National
Geographic of all magazines
reported that cocaine use among kids
admitted to Straight, Inc. since 1984
had increased from 25 to more than
75%. So what. The story of
Straight's effectiveness is continued here.
02-15-02 "Mr. Chairman, members of the Committee, I believe that I have the
qualifications necessary, if confirmed, to lead our diplomatic mission in
Italy, to modernize it, and to strengthen it as an instrument to promote
American interests in Italy. During
my career in business, public service, politics, and diplomacy, I have
worked hard and accomplished much. . . For the last quarter century, along
with my wife, I have fought vigorously against the plague of drug abuse.
In 1976 Betty and I helped found STRAIGHT, a non-profit, adolescent drug
treatment and rehabilitation program with branches across the U.S., which
successfully treated and graduated more than 12,000 young people
nationwide. For 17 years, I served as chairman of the board of STRAIGHT.
Other than our children, nothing was more rewarding than this effort.
Betty and I initially agreed that if we helped one child it would be worth
all the effort. With 12,000 successful graduates . . . It was a gratifying
accomplishment."
Ambassador2
Melvin Floyd Sembler, AO addressing the Senate Foreign
Relations Committee, Oct 31, 2001, on the occasion
of his hearing as George W. Bush’s nominee to be
ambassador to Italy
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