Bare-Faced Messiah (PDF) - Apologetics Index

least two or three copies each. Battlefield Earth duly made its debut on the major bestseller lists.
Those Scientologists who were beginning their prison sentences at around that time no doubt
found sufficient leisure hours in their cells to enjoy their leader's latest oeuvre. Mary Sue's second
in command, Jane Kember, was driven to prison by her friend Virginia Downsborough. 'It was
pathetic really,' said Downsborough, 'even when she was actually on her way to prison Jane still
thought that Ron was going to surface and fix everything. All she had done was what he had told
her to and she couldn't believe that he would betray her. It was incredible.'[7]
Attorneys acting for Mary Sue had appealed, unsuccessfully, to the Supreme Court to have her
conviction overturned and in January 1983 a US district judge in Washington rejected her request to
be sent to a half-way house instead of prison. Mary Sue, who was then fifty-one, sobbed in the
courtroom and said she wanted to 'sincerely and publicly apologize', but Judge Norma H. Johnson
was unsympathetic, describing the offences as not only serious but heinous. 'Because of your
leadership role,' she said, 'I find your degree of culpability was great.' Mary Sue reported next day to
the Federal Correctional Institution in Lexington, Kentucky, to begin serving a four-year term.
Meanwhile, Mary Sue's stepson had filed a petition in Riverside, California, for the trusteeship of his
father's estate, claiming that Hubbard was either dead or mentally incompetent. Nibs, who was
then working as the manager of an apartment block in Carson City, Nevada, and taking home $650
a month, estimated the estate was worth $100 million, which was an indication of how little anyone
knew of how much the Commodore was making out of the Church of Scientology - during 1982
alone, Hubbard raked in at least $40 million from various Scientology corporations.[8]
The petition claimed Hubbard 'has lived a life characterized by severe mental illness . . . consistent
failure . . . and the use of false and fraudulent, oftentime criminal means, to cover up these failures
and to acquire wealth, fame and power in order to destroy his perceived "enemies".' DeWolf further
alleged that the church leaders were stealing millions of dollars' worth of gems and cash from his
father's estate.[9] Attorneys acting on Mary Sue's behalf filed a counterpetition asserting that Nibs
was 'simply trying to get his hands on his Dad's money'.
This intriguing litigation generated a flurry of media speculation about the fate of the founder of
Scientology, but the question of whether Hubbard was dead or alive was quickly settled when the
church produced a signed declaration with the Commodore's fingerprints on every page,
authenticated by independent experts. Hubbard described his son's allegations as malicious, false
and ill-founded. 'With respect to Ronald DeWolf,' he wrote, 'I consider him neither a friend nor a
family member in the true sense of the word. Although biologically he is my son, his hostility and
animosity to me are apparent and have been for years . . . I am not a missing person. I am in
seclusion for my own choosing. My privacy is important to me, and I do not wish it or my affairs
invaded in the manner permitted by this action. As Thoreau secluded himself by Walden Pond, so I
have chosen to do in my own fashion.'
The court accepted the documents as proof that Hubbard was still alive and dismissed DeWolf's
suit, but in his determination to blacken Hubbard's name, Nibs had clearly inherited something of
his father's perseverance. He surfaced again in the June 1983 issue of Penthouse magazine,
making even more sensational allegations - that Hubbard had been involved in black magic since
the age of sixteen, believed himself to be Satan, wanted to become the most powerful being in the
universe, smuggled gold and drugs, was a sadist and a KGB agent. He had bought Saint Hill
Manor, Nibs claimed, with money obtained from the Russians. 'Black magic is the inner core of
Scientology,' Nibs stressed, 'and it is probably the only part of Scientology that really works. Also,
you've got to realize that my father did not worship Satan. He thought he was Satan.'