Rick Pendery, ethical Scientologist

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Rick Pendery, along with Joy Westrum, is a founder of a program called 'Second Chance.' This program is based on Scientology teachings written by college dropout and pulp fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. Mr. Pendery and his wife, Joy Westrum, are both practicing Scientologists. Mr. Pendery's website would lead you to believe he is quite a nice fellow; successful businessman and concerned citizen. http://www.rickpendery.net/ In the 1970s, Pendery became involved in one of Scientology's most successful front groups, Narconon. While the name may mislead one to assume it is a 12 Step programme, nothing could be further from the truth. Narconon's mimicry is intended to mislead. The support group Alanon is a Alcoholics Anonymous organisation for friends and family of substance abusers. Narcan, the support group for friends and family of drug abusers, is sometimes referred to as Narcanon. You can see how this can lead to confusion. Narconon is a Scientology front group that utilizes a dangerous programme written out by L. Ron Hubbard and an ex-addict named Willie Benitez. The treatment includes dangerously long sessions in a sauna, coupled with the administration of toxic vitamin dosages. The programme has been debunked by legitimate medical experts involved with drug and alcohol rehabilitation, and its educational outreach programme has been reviewed and dismissed by experts in the field. This resulted in the 1992 expulsion from public schools in California, Hawaii and other states. The dangers of the program are detailed here: http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/detox.htm Along with this medical malpractice, Narconon clients are also exposed to Scientology teachings. While Narconon representatives usually deny any links to organized Scientology, it is listed on the corporate chart under the ABLE umbrella which also includes Applied Scholastics and other front groups. The materials used in Narconon are from the Green Vols, also used by paying customers of Scientology courses. Narconon often claims a 70-80% success rate, a statistic that has also been debunked. Does Narconon work that well? These pages suggest that Narconon's statistics are not credible, and cannot be relied on. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/Narconon/doesitwork.htm Narconon is a fraud. The very name is meant to mislead. Narconon reps lie about their association with Scientology, their success rate, and the scientific basis for their program. They lie to prospective clients about the presence of medical staff, the cost and length and safety of the program. Mr. Pendery was appointed Director of Narconon, Texas. His website still forwards the lie that Narconon is, "one of the most successful drug rehabilitation programs in the world." He then was appointed as Executive Director of Narconon in the United States. Subsequently, he founded Second Chance, essentially a front group of a front group of Scientology. His association with Narconon, an organization so useless that lies are employed to support it, suggests what kind of character Pendery has. His ethical standards reflect those of Narconon and now, Second Chance. Second Chance is a knockoff based on the Narconon programme. The big difference is, Pendery and Second Chance sniffs out public money to fund the program in states foolish enough to assume he and his programme has any credibility. Of course, anyone who did some research online would quickly uncover the truth about this fraudulent program. So why would any legislator choose to promote this programme in their home state? Simple. Mr. Pendery and his wife, Joy Westrum, are involved with the National Foundation of Women Legislators. Founded in 1938, the organisation has become infested with Scientologists who realise the value of being able to get close to our nation's lawmakers. In 1998, the president of Scientology front group Citizens Commission on Human Rights, sent out a letter to Scientologists, begging for the money needed to join the NFWL. CCHR is dedicated to eradicating psychiatry and the mental health industry in general. Bruce Wiseman wrote, "terrific opportunity has just arisen that will help us do just that.There is an organization called the National Organization of Women Legislators (NOWL), and as the name implies, this group is made up of top woman legislators from local, state and the Federal Government. Senators, governors, congresswomen and others are members of this group. They meet periodically and hear from speakers that they consider have issues of importance for their group. Their last conference drew 800 attendees. Their President recently called CCHR and asked if I would address their next meeting. Needless to say, I accepted. This is a magnificent opportunity for CCHR to get its message delivered directly to some of the top policy makers in this country. " Wiseman has since given up his position as president of CCHR to hold a post as treasurer with the NFLW. Since then, he has recommended his pals Rick Pendery and Joy Westrum for positions on NFWL boards. As Pendery's website states, "In 2001 Rick was asked to be the Private Sector Co-Chair of the Crime, Justice, Terrorism, and Substance Abuse Committee Policy Committee with the National Foundation for Women Legislators, and he continues to serve the foundation in this capacity." It's interesting that these two con artists have managed to ingratiate themselves into the very structure on NFWL, but reflects somewhat on the care these legislators give to researching programs and the backgrounds of people promoting them. Remember, these are the same people we elect to protect our interests. Had the NFWL done their job in a thorough and concientious manner, they would have found Mr. Pendery's criminal record for, among other things, fraud. Case number 683559 in the Superior Court of California was filed against Rick Pendery for: 1. Breach of contract 2. Common Count 3. Conversion 4. Fraud 5. Negligent Misrepresentation 6. Suppression of Fact 7. Constructive Trust 8. Accounting The three plaintiffs; Frank Piacente, Paul Hashimoto and John Calhoun invested money in a Pendery Construction project. Mr. Piacente invested $40,000, Mr. Hashimoto put up $150,000, and Mr. Calhoun invested $25,000, for a total in excess of $215,000. Defendants failed to complete paperwork and defaulted on the agreement. The projected investment scheme was to purchase and improve four real properties. This did not occur. Pendery and Pendery Construction falsely and fraudulently represented to plaintiffs that the funds would be used for valid and authorized purposes. These representations were false, and Pendery was aware of that. Defendants planned to use the money for their own personal use. In 1995, judgement for default was rendered in all three cases, returning the plaintiff's money along with punitive damages. Mr. Pendery simply failed to appear. Mr. Piacente used a credit service bureau to collect. It is not known whether the other two plaintiffs have recovered their money from Mr. Pendery. Knowing this, have another look at Rick Pendery's self promotional website with a new view as to his character and ethical orientation. Rick Pendery is clearly a fraudulent con man who has no business anywhere near our legislators. Now let's look at his wife, Joy Westrum, another piece of work. "Jewelry Joy" sells junk jewelry in the summertime at resort areas. She is also the other founder of Pendery's program, 'Second Chance.' She was the individual in charge of a recent fiasco in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where these con artists convinced the city that they could provide inexpensive drug rehab to inmates of the local jail. The city leased an old, unused facility to Second Chance, relying on Westrum's promotional material rather than common sense and research. What is Second Chance? In a paper written by Robert J. Desiderio, Professor Emeritus of Law J.D., 1966, Boston College, Robert J. Desiderio Professor Emeritus of Law J.D., 1966, Boston College, Second Chance is accurately described. "The Second Chance Center is a private, secular organization that operates a secure facility. Its [stated] purpose is to offer an alternative to prison for persons who have substance abuse problems. It provides rehabilitation program for those individuals. The Second Chance Center is not a part of the Church of Scientology. It has no relationship, formal or informal, with the Church of Scientology. The Second Chance Program is licensed to use secular protocol used by Criminon International. Criminon International is secular nonprofit organization that is not owned or managed by the Church of Scientology." What this means is, Second Chance pays money up the corporate ladder of Scientology for the rights to use various materials copyrighted by that organization. Second Chance is based on the Scientology front group program, Criminon, which is based on the Narconon program. It includes saunas, vitamins and Scientology as described above. Pendery and Westrum use their association with the National Foundation of Women Legislators to influence these lawmakers and promote Second Chance whenever possible in a quest for public money to fund this potentially dangerous piece of Hubbardian snake oil. A Google search for Second Chance results in two types of hits; promotional press releases and critical deconstructions of the program. Second Chance's promotional websites claim tremendous success in an Ensenada, Baja Mexico prison. The fact is, the program was dropped because there was no followup of inmates after release. The Ensenada Second Chance program is no more. Nor is the Albuquerque, New Mexico Second Chance program. They were evicted from their leased facility in December 2008 after it was revealed that they were not abiding by their agreement with the county. http://www.krqe.com/dpp/news/politics/politics_krqe_albuquerque_city_pulls_plug_on_second_chance_200812262319 They violated their agreement to house only male misdemeanor offenders with substance abuse problems. Authorities found that there were felons and women being housed in Second Chance, that they'd installed a sauna without permits, that they were housing overflow from other jails, and that, when they left, some major appliances went with them in the middle of the night. The program left employees and the city unpaid to the tune of thousands of dollars. Joy Westrum vanished, along with county property. Amusingly, she reappeared a month after the brouhaha in New Mexico in, of all places, Hawaii. Once again, she was seeking public money for her fraudulent program. Watchdogs from all over the country deluged Hawaiian authorities with information on Westrum, Second Chance, and the fiasco in Albuquerque. Second Chance was rejected. Since then, Pendery and Westrum seem to be laying low. There are disturbing indications that these two con artists are trying to get Second Chance into the lucrative private incarceration business, as did another con man in Montana. Michael Hilton nearly closed a deal with his company, American Police Force to lease a jail as a private correctional facility. The deal fell through after media reports revealed Hilton's long history of fraud in California. It seems that authorities are failing to research and background check these con artists. It's only when the stories hit the media that their con games are revealed and rejected. Rick Pendery and Joy Westrum are clearly in this category, and when their names crop up anywhere near public money, red flags should be raised. -- xenubarb Chaplain, ARSCCwdne A walk down the path of history is crunchy with the crispy corpses of those who pooh-poohed or ignored the clown car of ridicule when it pulled-up to the curb. Stephen Jones