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41-518: Described as one of the "most dangerous and violent cults America had ever seen", Synanon disbanded in 1991 after several members were convicted of offenses including financial misdeeds, evidence tampering , terrorism , and attempted murder . However, an offshoot of the group remains active in Germany and Sydney, Australia. Synanon was founded in 1958 by Charles Dederich Sr., a member of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) from Santa Monica , California . At

82-476: A "splittee"; one ex-member, Phil Ritter, was beaten so severely that his skull was fractured and he subsequently fell into a coma with a near-fatal case of bacterial meningitis . In mid-1978, NBC Nightly News produced a segment on the controversies surrounding Synanon. Following the broadcast, several NBC executives, including the network's chairman, allegedly received hundreds of threats from Synanon supporters. On October 10, 1978, two Synanon members placed

123-456: A 72-hour version and was admitted by Dederich to be brainwashing. The Game was eventually used to pressure people to submit to Dederich's will, abort pregnancies, undergo vasectomies, and commit violence. Over time, Dederich's vision of Synanon evolved, and he began to envision the group's potential to promote social progress. Synanon moved to create schooling for members, and Dederich wanted members to mentally change in order to improve society on

164-446: A common interest or carry out a business enterprise". Synanon began as a two-year residential program, but Dederich soon concluded that its members could never graduate, because a full recovery was impossible. The program was based on testimony of fellow group members about their tribulations and urges of relapsing, and their journeys to recovery. The Synanon organization also developed a business that sold promotional items. This became

205-592: A company in the troubled teen industry that owned and operated several schools. CEDU's schools used the confrontational model of Synanon. The CEDU model was widely influential on the development of parent-choice, private-pay residential programs. People originally inspired by their CEDU experience developed or strongly influenced a significant number of the schools in the therapeutic boarding school industry. The company's schools have faced numerous allegations of abuse. CEDU went out of business in 2005, amid lawsuits and state regulatory crackdowns. Father William B. O'Brien,

246-492: A de-rattled rattlesnake in the mailbox of Paul Morantz , an attorney who had successfully brought a suit against the group on behalf of Synanon detainees. The snake bit Morantz, and he was hospitalized for six days. This incident, along with the press coverage, prompted a law enforcement investigation into Synanon. Six weeks after the snake attack, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) performed

287-639: A form of attack therapy . Outside of The Game, members were required to act civilly to each other. While in The Game, members criticized each other, but left as friends and supportive community members. The Game served not only as Synanon's most prominent form of therapy and personal change, but also worked as a way for leaders to collect the opinions of community members. Because there was no hierarchy in The Game, members could freely criticize Synanon's highest leadership, who would then take member concerns into consideration when deciding policy. The Game turned into

328-420: A legal proceeding. Historically, it has also sometimes been referred to as spoilage of evidence . The spoliation inference is a negative evidentiary inference that a trier of fact can draw from a party's destruction of evidence that is relevant to an ongoing or reasonably foreseeable civil or criminal proceeding: the finder of fact can review all evidence uncovered in as strong a light as possible against

369-456: A search of the ranch in Badger that found a recorded speech by Dederich in which he said, "We're not going to mess with the old-time, turn-the-other-cheek religious postures... Our religious posture is: Don't mess with us. You can get killed dead, literally dead... These are real threats", he stated. "They are draining life's blood from us, and expecting us to play by their silly rules. We will make

410-448: A series of strokes; the cause of death was cardiorespiratory failure. Synanon struggled to survive without its leader, and also with a severely tarnished reputation. The Internal Revenue Service revoked the organization's tax-exempt status and ordered them to pay $ 17 million in back taxes. This bankrupted Synanon, which formally dissolved in 1991. Mel Wasserman , influenced by his Synanon experience, founded CEDU Educational Services ,

451-497: A significant following, Dederich incorporated the organization into the Synanon Foundation in 1958. The origins of the name "Synanon" are not entirely clear, with some claiming it to be the result of a group member slurring the words "symposium" and "seminar" and others simply describing it as a portmanteau of "symposium" and "anonymous". The word syndicate also means "an association of people or firms formed to promote

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492-527: A successful enterprise that for a time generated roughly $ 10 million per year. In 1959, Synanon moved from their small storefront to an abandoned armory on the beach. In 1967, Synanon purchased the Club Casa del Mar , a large beachside hotel in Santa Monica , as its headquarters and a dormitory for those undergoing treatment for drug addiction. Later on, Synanon acquired a large building that had been

533-431: A tiny town ten miles south of Marshall, where Synanon's main facility was located. The paper prevailed on press freedom and protection issues and its reporting was consummately professional. It won a $ 100,000 judgement against the cult and in 1979, for its efforts, became the smallest paper ever to win a Pulitzer Prize . As a result of the snake attack, Dederich and two Synanon residents, Joe Musico and Lance Kenton (son of

574-408: Is an act in which a person alters, conceals, falsifies, or destroys evidence with the intent to interfere with an investigation (usually) by a law-enforcement, governmental, or regulatory authority. It is a criminal offense in many jurisdictions. Tampering with evidence is closely related to the legal issue of spoliation of evidence , which is usually the civil law or due process version of

615-556: Is quoted as saying "Give a little here and it always comes back". The film director George Lucas needed a large group of people with shaved heads for the filming of his movie THX 1138 and hired some of his extras from Synanon. Robert Altman hired members of Synanon to be extras for the gambling scenes in his movie California Split . Entrance into the Synanon community required a strong initial commitment. Newcomers were first interviewed by Synanon leadership to gain entrance into

656-474: The American phrase talk turkey , meaning "to speak bluntly with little preparation". The phrase "taking cold turkey" has also been reported during the 1920s as slang for pleading guilty. The term is also attributed to piloerection or " goose bumps " that occurs with abrupt withdrawal from opioids, which resembles the skin of a plucked refrigerated turkey . The similar term "kick the habit" alludes to

697-467: The Synanon case, they were largely silenced by legal action from Synanon's lawyers, who made claims of libel. These lawsuits ultimately turned out to be a large part of Synanon's undoing, by giving journalists access to Synanon's own internal documents. The main thorn in the cult's side was the Point Reyes Light , a weekly newspaper published by David V. Mitchell. The newspaper was domiciled in

738-487: The United States, as well as Daytop Village , one of the world's largest therapeutic communities. Control over members occurred through the "Game". The "Game" was presented as a therapeutic tool, and likened to a form of group therapy ; but it has been criticized as a form of a " social control ", in which members humiliated one another and encouraged the exposure of one another's innermost weaknesses. Beginning in

779-489: The area that sought to help them return to their parents. Beatings of Synanon's opponents and its ex-members, "splittees", occurred across California. Beatings occurred in Synanon basements. A state Grand Jury in Marin County issued a scathing report in 1978 that attacked Synanon for the very strong evidence of its child abuse , and also for the monetary profits that flowed to Dederich. The Grand Jury report also rebuked

820-459: The case of opioid withdrawal , going "cold turkey" is extremely unpleasant but less dangerous. Life-threatening issues are unlikely unless one has a pre-existing medical condition. The origin of the phrase "cold turkey" in the sense of unpleasant withdrawal is a matter of some debate and ambiguity. Scholars of 19th-century British periodicals have pointed to the UK satirical magazine Judy as

861-470: The catalyst of the evolution in the phrase's meaning. The journal's issue of January 3, 1877, featured the fictional diary of one John Humes, Esquire, a Scrooge -like miser who disapproves of Christmas. When Hume is invited to stay at his cousin Clara's as a part of her household's celebrations, he is shocked to be served slices of cold turkey on the evening of his arrival. That cold turkey is poor substitute for

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902-447: The community. Upon their arrival, those newcomers were forced to quit using drugs cold turkey , going through withdrawal for the first few days in the program. Furthermore, for their first ninety days in the community, members were expected to cease contact with outside friends and family. During its first decade, Synanon members entered into a 1–2-year program in three stages aimed at preparing members to reenter greater society. During

943-463: The factfinder may conclude that the evidence would have been unfavorable to the spoliator. Some jurisdictions have recognized a spoliation tort action, which allows the victim of destruction of evidence to file a separate tort action against a spoliator . When police confiscate or destroy a citizen's photographs or recordings of officers' misconduct , the police's act of destroying the evidence may be prosecuted as an act of evidence tampering, if

984-421: The first stage, members did community and housekeeping labor. During the second stage, members worked outside of the community but still resided within the community. Finally, during the third stage, members both worked and lived outside of the community, but still attended regular meetings. After Synanon's transition into an alternate society in 1968, this program changed to a "lifetime rehabilitation" program, with

1025-464: The founder of New York's Daytop Village , included Synanon's group encounters and confrontational approach in his research into addiction treatment methods. The author, journalist, and activist Maia Szalavitz claims to chart the influence of Synanon in other programs including Phoenix House , Straight, Incorporated , and Boot Camps in addition to those mentioned above. Evidence tampering Tampering with evidence , or evidence tampering ,

1066-581: The governmental authorities involved for their lack of oversight, although it stopped short of directly interceding in the Synanon situation. While Synanon initially did not tolerate violence, Dederich came to allow for violence as he sought greater control over the group. Much of the violence by Synanon was carried out by an internal group called the "Imperial Marines" Over 80 violent acts were committed, including mass beatings that hospitalized teenagers, and ranchers who were beaten in front of their families. People who left Synanon risked physical violence for being

1107-556: The home of the Athens Athletic Club, in Oakland, California , and then transformed it into a residential facility for Synanon's members. Professionals, even those without drug addictions, were invited to join Synanon. The New York psychiatrist Daniel Casriel M.D. visited in 1962, lived there in 1963, and wrote a book about his experiences. He later founded AREBA, the oldest surviving private addiction treatment center in

1148-400: The legally-required permits, had created a trash dump, and built an airstrip. Taxation issues also arose. In response to these accusations, Dederich declared that Synanon was a tax exempt religious organization, the "Church of Synanon". Legal problems continued, despite this change. Children who had been assigned to Synanon began running away, and an "underground railroad" had been created in

1189-500: The mid-1970s, women in Synanon were required to shave their heads, and married couples were made to break up and take new partners. Men were given forced vasectomies , and a few pregnant women were forced to have abortions . Leonard Nimoy taught drama classes to members of Synanon partly as a result of the role he played in the production of Deathwatch , a 1965 English-language film version of Jean Genet 's play Haute Surveillance (the story deals with three prison inmates). Nimoy

1230-435: The muscle spasms that occur in addition to goosebumps in some cases. A term appears in its contemporary usage in a December 1920 New York City medical bulletin: Some addicts voluntarily stop taking opiates and "suffer it out" as they express it without medical assistance, a process which in their slang is called taking "cold turkey"... Another early printed use, this one in the media to refer to drug withdrawal occurred in

1271-458: The musician Stan Kenton ) were arrested and pleaded " no contest " to charges of assault and conspiracy to commit murder. Lance Kenton was sentenced to a year in prison. While his associates went to jail, Dederich received probation because his doctors claimed that due to ill health he would most likely die in prison. As a condition of probation, he was disallowed from taking part in managing Synanon. Dederich died on February 28, 1997 at age 83, after

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1312-467: The outside. The school was headed by Al Bauman, who believed in an innovative philosophy and aimed to teach children in the same manner to think differently. The school attracted lawyers, screenwriters, and business executives, all wanting to educate their children in a progressive environment. Beginning in 1964, the legal authorities began to investigate Synanon's practices. The concept of "lifetime rehabilitation" did not agree with therapeutic norms, and it

1353-487: The premise that drug addicts would never truly be well enough to return to society. One of the most distinguishing practices of the Synanon community was a therapeutic practice commonly referred to as "The Game". The Game was a session during which one member would talk about themselves and then endure intense criticism by their peers. During this practice, members were encouraged to be critical of everything, using harsh and profane language. The practice has been charactized as

1394-612: The recordings being destroyed are potential evidence in a criminal or regulatory investigation of the officers themselves. Cold turkey Cold turkey refers to the abrupt cessation of substance use in the context of substance dependence , as opposed to gradually easing the process through reduction over time or by using replacement medication . Sudden withdrawal from drugs such as alcohol , benzodiazepines , and barbiturates can be extremely dangerous, leading to potentially fatal seizures . For long-term alcoholics , going cold turkey can cause life-threatening delirium tremens . In

1435-511: The rest of Britain, and finally the United States. An early print appearance of "cold turkey" in its exclusionary sense dates to 1910, in Canadian poet Robert W. Service 's The Trail of '98: A Northland Romance : "Once I used to gamble an' drink the limit. One morning I got up from the card-table after sitting there thirty-six hours. I'd lost five thousand dollars. I knew they'd handed me out 'cold turkey'..." Another possible origin relates to

1476-585: The roasted and dressed dish is played for comic effect. The dissatisfied barrister stays several days nonetheless, and with each passing day, he is more and more shocked to be served cold turkey each day. The story ends with Hume, disgusted at having been treated so badly, removing Clara from his will and testament . The hypothesis posited by researchers is that Hume's behavior towards Clara - excluding and excommunicating her in retaliation for her ongoing ill-treatment of him - became known as "the cold turkey treatment", and that word quickly spread from London to

1517-400: The rules. I see nothing frightening about it... I am quite willing to break some lawyer's legs, and next break his wife's legs, and threaten to cut their child's arm off. That is the end of that lawyer. That is a very satisfactory, humane way of transmitting information. I really do want an ear in a glass of alcohol on my desk." Though many San Francisco area newspapers and broadcasters covered

1558-493: The same concept (but may itself be a crime). Tampering with evidence is also closely related to obstruction of justice and perverting the course of justice , and these two kinds of crimes are often charged together. The goal of tampering with evidence is usually to cover up a crime or with intent to injure the accused person. Spoliation of evidence is the intentional, reckless, or negligent withholding, hiding, altering, fabricating, or destroying of evidence relevant to

1599-479: The spoliator and in favor of the opposing party. However, in U.S. federal courts , updates to the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure in 2015 have resulted in significant decline in spoliation sanctions. The theory of the spoliation inference is that when a party destroys evidence, it may be reasonable to infer that the party had "consciousness of guilt" or other motivation to avoid the evidence. Therefore,

1640-430: The time of Synanon's founding, those suffering from drug addiction were not always welcomed into AA because their issues were considered significantly different from those of alcoholics . Dederich, after taking LSD , decided to create his own program to respond to their needs. He was said to have coined the phrase "today is the first day of the rest of your life." After his small group, called "Tender Loving Care", gained

1681-772: Was alleged in 1961 by the City of Santa Monica that Synanon was "operating a hospital in a residential zone". Synanon expanded an old Trans-Pacific Marconi RCA radio station in Tomales Bay now Marconi Conference Center State Historic Park in Marshall, California. It was alleged that on remote properties in California such as at Marshall in Marin County and in Badger, Tulare County , Synanon had erected buildings without

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