Episode 287: The Cult of Synanon - Part 3

By the late 1970s, the once heralded haven for those struggling with addiction had turned into a multi-million dollar corporation. With its sights set less on saving lives and more on cashing in and accumulating guns, the formerly sterling reputation of Synanon began to tarnish. As soon as they began acting on their violent threats, the thin thread holding the whole group together frayed into oblivion. But the group’s legacy is one thing its virulent dictator couldn’t control. This week’s episode is The Cult of Synanon - Part 3.

SOURCES

https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts/F2/825/1317/449935/

https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/48/pendle.php

This 1970s Cult Inspired Abusive Teen Rehabilitation Methods Still Used Today, TeenVogue: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/this-1970s-cult-inspired-abusive-teen-rehabilitation-methods-still-used-today

Nation: Life at Synanon Is Swinging: A Once Respected Drug Program Turns into a Kooky Cult, Time (1977): https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,919202,00.html

Drug Rehabilitation Group Sues Time Magazine for $76 Million, New York Times (1977): https://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,919202,00.html

Synanon Suit Against TV Station Settled Out of Court in California, New York Times (1982): https://www.nytimes.com/1982/06/04/us/synanon-suit-against-tv-station-settled-out-of-court-in-california.html

Reader's Digest Assn. v. Superior Court, S.F. No. 24686, Supreme Court of California, (November 19, 1984): https://law.justia.com/cases/california/supreme-court/3d/37/244.html

U.S. Indicts Nine From Synanon in Tax-Exemption Effort, Los Angeles Times (1985): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1985-10-02-mn-16054-story.html

California Cult Attempts To Murder Attorney With Deadly Rattlesnake Attack, Oxygen: https://www.oxygen.com/deadly-cults/crime-news/synanon-cult-attempts-murder-paul-morantz-rattlesnake

The Man Who Fought the Synanon Cult and Won (After Getting Attacked by a Snake), PaleoFuture: https://paleofuture.com/blog/2014/9/27/the-man-who-fought-the-synanon-cult-and-won-after-getting-attacked-by-a-snake

LA: Rehab & Rattlesnakes – Counter-Cultural musings from TSPTR. Dossier #5, Shindig Magazine: https://www.shindig-magazine.com/?p=5078

Betty Dederich: Chuck Dederich’s Wife Died Due to Health Complications, Cinemaholic: https://thecinemaholic.com/betty-dederich/

Charles Dederich, 83, Synanon Founder, Dies, New York Times (1997): https://www.nytimes.com/1997/03/04/us/charles-dederich-83-synanon-founder-dies.html

The Evolution and Devolution of a ‘Utopian’ Self-Help Group, Los Angeles Times (2001): https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2001-oct-17-cl-58045-story.html

The Synanon Case, Taxation of Revoked Tax Exempt Organizations - Internal Revenue Service: https://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-tege/eotopicb90.pdf

Federal Bureau of Investigation File on The Synanon Foundation, Inc., FBI via GovernmentAttic: https://www.governmentattic.org/10docs/FBIfileSYNANON_1963-1985.pdf

Synanon Founder, Other Defendants in Securities Case Plead Innocent (January 14, 1983), Tuscon Citizen, Newspapers.com (Subscription required)

A Changed Synanon The Subject of Inquiry, The New York Times: https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/10/archives/a-changed-synanon-the-subject-of-inquiry-a-changed-synanon-finds.html

The Man Who Fought the Synanon Cult and Won (After Getting Attacked by a Snake), Paleo Future: https://paleofuture.com/blog/2014/9/27/the-man-who-fought-the-synanon-cult-and-won-after-getting-attacked-by-a-snake

‘Born in Synanon’: How a Rehab Turned Hellish Cult Preyed on Kids, Rolling Stone: https://www.rollingstone.com/tv-movies/tv-movie-reviews/born-in-synanon-rehab-cult-the-game-docuseries-attack-therapy-1234923038/

Former Synanon compound to become site for vacation rentals, The Sun Gazette: https://thesungazette.com/article/news/2020/09/09/former-synanon-compound-to-become-site-for-vacation-rentals/

Three former Synanon Foundation members, granted immunity to serve…, UPI: https://www.upi.com/Archives/1983/07/12/Three-former-Synanon-Foundation-members-granted-immunity-to-serve/9775426830400/

Paris Hilton Speaks Out After US Boys Allegedly Abused—'Dropped Everything', Newsweek: https://www.newsweek.com/paris-hilton-teen-jamaica-boys-allegedly-abused-school-1887621

The Cult That Spawned the Tough-Love Teen Industry, Mother Jones: https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2007/08/cult-spawned-tough-love-teen-industry/

The Man Who Fought the Synanon Cult and Won (After Getting Attacked by a Snake), PaleoFuture: https://paleofuture.com/blog/2014/9/27/the-man-who-fought-the-synanon-cult-and-won-after-getting-attacked-by-a-snake