Gerald Duncan has been the Director of Internal Affairs at Golden Era Productions for over 25 years. His work involves reviewing unethical conduct of individuals in the organization and helping them to lead more ethical, honest and productive lives. He had to deal with Ron Miscavige’s arrest by Riverside County sheriffs, the only arrest in the nearly 40-year history of Golden Era Productions.

 

I am very familiar with the subterfuge, deception, artful lies and wiles Ron Miscavige is capable of. In all my many years as the Director of Internal Affairs at Golden Era Productions, Ron Miscavige was one of the worst staff members I have ever dealt with. His co-author Dan Koon is another in that category—both immoral and corrupt.

Ron Miscavige was one of the worst staff members I have ever dealt with.

The most notable example for Ron of his attitude toward the law was in December 2004 when he was pulled over by a police officer for reckless driving and misconduct and was arrested, taken to the station and booked. He was speeding down a city street over the speed limit and almost ran three cars off the road, almost hit another, and went through a yellow light. When the police officer chased after him and put on his lights to get him to stop, he refused to do so and carried on speeding despite the consequences of such an unlawful act. The passengers in the car he was driving were terrified and each gave me an account that it was the worst experience they ever had, including his own wife.

After he was arrested, many people tried to help him, not only in getting the matter straightened out in Court, but also attempting to get him to lead a more honest life.

The sad part is that Ron refused to do so. He tried to get out of community service many times, which was one of the stipulations of the Court. He lied about doing the community service and on several occasions tried to get out of it by lying to the authorities and his group, which we did not stand for. Who in their right mind would try to subvert the law after being arrested and booked for an offense and given the chance to right that wrong with community service? The answer is Ron—someone who was criminal and who did not care about his actions and how they affected the community and his surroundings.

Who in their right mind would try to subvert the law after being arrested and booked for an offense and given the chance to right that wrong with community service? The answer is Ron—someone who was criminal.

During Ron’s tenure on staff he held the position of trumpet player (and just for the record he was not an expert one at that). There were many times I was called in to settle disputes and fights he had created with other staff members in the Music Department. One time (and there are many instances of this) I witnessed him attempting to use his family name to blackmail the Music Director (a very competent musician) into approving one of his scores that was of poor quality. Ron told him that if he did not approve it he was going to “report him to a higher authority” when the piece was clearly low quality and did not live up to the standards we uphold at Golden Era Productions. Of course, he had no such line to a “higher authority” for such reports—that was only his pretense, as we all knew. His son had only a familial relationship with him. But the real point is that not once did Ron ever learn new techniques or acquire the skills necessary to do a better job and be professional about his job.

I have seen Ron attempt to bully staff members around in order to “get his way” because he was the father of our leader, who we respect and love, and he tried to use this to his advantage to secure whatever he wanted even if it meant harming others.

I have seen Ron attempt to bully staff members around in order to “get his way.”

My final example, to prove the point, is that when he left the organization unannounced on 25 March 2012, he ripped off money from several staff members. Specifically the day before he left, he collected up $360 from various staff under the guise that he was going to purchase mineral supplements for them. He never made the purchase, giving them the impression that he had, while taking the money and departing. He never had the decency to return that money even as we speak. Not a letter of apology, note, check, nothing.

That is the character of Ron Miscavige.

Gerald Duncan
Director of Internal Affairs