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countries that had turned against the church in a vast campaign of litigation with the
aim of expunging defamatory les and leaving Hubbard and the Apollo “free to frequent
all western ports and nations without threat.”
In Hubbard’s absence, Mary Sue exerted increased control over the church’s
operations. Hubbard had already appointed her the head of the Guardian’s Oce, a
special unit with a broad mandate to protect the religion. Among its other duties, the
GO functioned as an intelligence agency, gathering information on critics and
government agencies around the world, generating lawsuits to intimidate opponents,
and waging an unremitting campaign against mental health professionals. It was the
GO that Hubbard tasked with Snow White. Under Mary Sue’s direction, the GO
inltrated government oces around the world, looking for damning les on the
church. Within the next few years, as many as ve thousand Scientologists were covertly
placed in 136 government agencies worldwide. Project Grumpy, for instance, covered
Germany, where the Guardian’s Oce was set up to inltrate Interpol as well as
German police and immigration authorities. In addition, there was a scheme to accuse
German critics of the church of committing genocide. Project Sleepy was to clear les in
Austria; Happy was for Denmark, Bashful for Belgium, and Dopey for Italy. There were
also Projects Mirror, Apple, Reection, and so on, all drawn from elements of the fairy
tale. Projects Witch and Stepmother both targeted the UK, the source of Scientology’s
immigration problems.
Project Hunter was the United States, where Scientologists penetrated the IRS, the
Justice, Treasury, and Labor Departments, the Federal Trade Commission, and the Drug
Enforcement Administration, as well as foreign embassies and consulates; private
companies and organizations, such as the American Medical Association, the American
Psychiatric Association, and the Better Business Bureau; and newspapers—including the
St. Petersburg Times, the Clearwater Sun, and the Washington Post—that were critical of
the religion. In an evident attempt at blackmail, they stole the Los Angeles IRS
intelligence les of celebrities and political gures, including California governor Jerry
Brown, Los Angeles mayor Tom Bradley, and Frank Sinatra. Nothing in American
history can compare with the scale of the domestic espionage of Operation Snow White.
IN SEPTEMBER 1973, learning that he was not going to be extradited to France after all,
Hubbard returned to Lisbon, where the Apollo was in dry dock. He amused himself by
going o on photo expeditions in Portugal, with his Messengers acting as porters. Then,
in December, the Apollo lifted anchor and headed to the warmer climate of the Canary
Islands. One day in Tenerife, Hubbard decided to take his Harley-Davidson motorcycle
out for a spin on the twisty mountain roads. Miles away, in the lush volcanic landscape,
the Harley hit a patch of oil or mud and crashed. Hubbard broke his arm and several
ribs. Somehow he managed to right his bike and make his way back to the ship.
Some members of the Sea Org cite the motorcycle accident as the moment when
Scientology changed course and sailed toward a darker horizon. Hubbard was in terrible
pain, but he was fearful of doctors and refused to go to the hospital. Dincalci and the