As I am now being followed (lol obvious OSA is obvious), I think it's a good time to let you know my real info.
My name is Will Fry.
I was recruited by Celebrity Centre Int but was transferred after the EPF to Bridge Publications Inc (BPI). Which, for those unfamiliar, is the publishing house for LRH's written works. At that time, they printed, sold and distributed his fiction works as well as his Scientology works. Though the organization was not considered part of the church, as it handled fiction works, it is a Sea Org operated business. It is structured as a management level org, just below Gold. We were also responsible in managing the sales of Hubbard's lectures and E-Meters under Gold.
I soon became posted as the "Sea Org Sales Manager" or "PAC Sales Manager." My job was to manage the book and A/V sales of the following churches...
AOLA
ASHO Day
ASHO Foundation
LA Day
LA Foundation
Celebrity Centre International
I was on post there from 1998-2000.
In that time, I helped put three LRH books on the New York Times Bestsellers list.
One of those books was "What is Scientology."
The other two were fiction.
1. "Ai! Pedrito!" (1998), which was co-written by
Kevin J Anderson. He was paid to finish the short story of L Ron Hubbard.
and...
2. "A Very Strange Trip" (1999), which was co-written by
Dave Wolverton. He was also paid to finish the short story of L Ron Hubbard."
When these books were released, I and other BPI sales managers were responsible for managing church staff under our authority to sell these books to public. We sold them as well. This was done in the churches themselves. The sales were made during work hours by staff members supposedly doing religious work. They were making a profit for BPI and Author Services Inc (ASI), who controls the rights to L Ron Hubbard fiction works and reigns in authority over BPI. Not to mention the profits of the two fiction writers mentioned above.
I will say it again...
I managed church staff members who were under orders to sell LRH co-authored fiction books to church members for a profit.
Needless to say, enough were sold. As their goal was to reach the NYT's bestsellers list.
Many of the books were sold in bulk. They were donated to be put into libraries by BPI.
The same thing was done at all orgs. It was part of the "Summer of Events" or "Maiden Voyage" event, where church officials released the books so the public would buy it after the event.
In 1998, for the release of "Ai! Pedrito!", I was put on a special project. There were three of us. One man worked for CMO West US. The other worked for Celebrity Centre International. We were each given a list of independent bookstores in various parts of America. We called Scientologists around the areas of the bookstores, then told them to go into that specific store to buy "Ai! Pedrito!".
And what was so special about these bookstores??
The list we were given were bookstores that directly reported sales every week to the New York Times. Somehow, someone from BPI or the Church of Scientology Management had gotten this list. All I knew was, we weren't supposed to have it.
How did I find out we weren't supposed to have it?
One day when I was doing my job. Calling public to go buy the book, I dialed the number of a very important figure to the Church... Their lawyer.
Ken Moxon.
He told me it would be very bad if someone found out we were doing this. And he wasn't going to buy the book at the store I wanted him to. After he hung up, I talked to my two co-workers. The man in charge of the operation said that's EXACTLY what we were supposed to be doing, per his orders from Management. He told me to call Ken back. I did, twice. Each time Ken insisted this would stop the book from reaching the bestsellers list if they found out about it. I was 17 at the time and too new to know who he was. But I sure found out. lol
The next day, the operation was shut down. I was put on post as the Sea Org Sales Manager and the other two got into a little trouble before going back to their posts. They had to do lower conditions. That was about it. After all, they were under orders. BPI does not take in a low level Sea Org member at Celebrity Centre Int and put him in charge of a BPI and CMO member. It was ordered to happen that way.
I'm told that, today, BPI no longer deals with fiction. Now they are just as much a part of the church as any other org. That was a smart move, if in fact they did this. Now they can get the same tax-benefits as the rest of the church. Now they don't have to worry about people witnessing what I witnessed and took part in directly.
It's been a pleasure to meet you all. Thank you for being there for my family and I in this difficult time. For the record, I am the only person in my family who will be speaking out. None of them wish to say anything bad about the church at all.
My Uncle's name was Bob Maracle, by the way. He took a refund from the Church of Scientology in Ann Arbor, MI. He was declared an SP in the mid-90's. That church no longer exists. It moved to a faraway town called "Battle Creek", where it currently resides.
That's all for now.
I just want to say, no matter what happens...
I have the courage of my convictions. I may make mistakes along the way. But all I am trying to do is make sure other people are not harmed, the way my family was harmed.
As they say, "the truth shall set you free". I feel that freedom now. I want to give that freedom to others.
And I aim to.
Sincerely,
Will Fry