FREEZE SRF! SHOW ME YOUR WALLET!
Put your hands behind your back and step away your kids!
Put your hands behind your back and step away your kids!
SRF was not investigated by the FBI to my knowledge. However, there were other investigations and law enforcement actions that caused the Witches of Ellsworth Street to accelerate their already off-the-scale fear, loathing and outright paranoia of anything governmental.
There was the infamous case of the children attending a phony SRF school where any reason to cancel classes was concocted daily by Bill Duby. Soon, a parent of a child at SRF reported the kids truant and the school board, the district attorney and local law enforcement converged on SRF HQ to serve summons.
In the end while the District Attorney was poised to file charges, SRF was not prosecuted. The SRF school was disbanded and the kids later enrolled in a real school. That the children of SRF were under so much control, their education was regulated and for the most part ignored kind of tells you how much SRF got their hands into the everyday lives of families. The children there spent more time in the heavenly parenthood of the psychotic leaders than their own parents. Is it any wonder that the children were used to deliver foul and demeaning messages from the leaders?
Steve Sanchez writes he told the child protective services the kids were separated from their parents, abused and neglected. Soon after, police and CPS personnel descended on SRF, weapons at the ready.
The "SRF" farm "Blue Sky Ranch" was constantly scrutinized for code violations. Many were found and many had to be corrected. One of the most infamous was the 12 foot fence Bill Duby ordered to be built to hide some of the activities at the Blue Sky Ranch at Bethel Island, CA. Unfortunately, instead of hiding what went on there, it drew attention to himself. The neighbors complained about the unusual fence to the building code inspectors. After a quick look, the inspector ordered the fence be brought into compliance.
Worse for Bill, the proliferation of out buildings, rundown and decrepit trailers and strange looking structures brought so much unwanted attention to the Blue Sky Ranch, the neighbors began to suspect illegal immigrants were being housed there. It didn't take long before Angela began scanning the nearby properties and open space with binoculars, night vision scopes and infrared sights. There might be a building inspector doing his job and the last thing she wanted was to do was to comply with the building code.
Still, the main building has an illegal living space, an illegal kitchen and windows so small that should the place become flooded, catch fire or came under attack of a lunatic with a gun the only thing you can stick out of them is a hand holding a "help" sign.
Maybe that's what the inspectors are really looking for.
SRF HQ was also frequently inspected by city inspectors as a result of complaints saying SRF was in violation of health and building codes. Technically they were. The infamous cafe named "Heaven's Gate" (unusual that a cult named a cafe the same as another infamous cult, isn't it?) was inspected and determined to be in violation if it continued as a for-profit enterprise. So, the wiley leaders ordered the cafe immediately become non-profit (and non-taxable) with the prices re-named as donations. A new menu board was created listing "donations" for the items served there with the admonishment "...but you can always give more". What was not on the board was how many taxes were evaded. As the cafe dodged taxes as a for-profit enterprise, its transition to a non-profit fund raiser didn't mean they paid any less in tax. Nice work, if you can get away with it...
The rat-bag apartments kept by the leaders of SRF were regularly inspected and most recently, violations were found. The apartments weren't really rat-bags - they were infested with mice. Angela's solution: let the resident's cats loose, with luck they'll eat the mice. I guess a 89 cent mouse trap was too large an expense for Angela to consider. Actually any expense for the follower's well-being was too large for Angela to consider.
Anyway, after a time of putting up with mice and other deficiencies, one resident (one of only two who were not cult members) lodged a formal complaint with the city housing authorities. After several inspections and several opportunities the local authorities gave to correct the problems (the government inspectors issued formal reports of housing deficiencies to several agencies), the resident who dared to report the sub-standard living conditions was evicted.
All that activity at SRF HQ, the Blue Sky Ranch and the segregated housing unit led to an atmosphere of fear and paranoia perpetuated by Angela Silva's mental state and Robin Dumolin's general fear of losing her pot 'o gold.
SRF-ies began to report men in dark glasses and black suits staring at SRF properties though binoculars. Black vehicles were viewed with suspicion. Visitors were required to pledge they were neither reporters or government officials. The sound of a helicopter caused Angela and Robin to run for cover.
There is the constant, irrational fear that someone, somewhere is watching. And to those at SRF, that person is another government official waiting to pounce. Usually though, it was only a drunken college student pissing on the lamppost.
Bill Duby was so paranoid, he forced us all to sign an illegal document forcing us into eternal silence under some kind of psychic penalty to be enforced under law. I remember reading about that kind of agreement in my law class: it was listed under "bullshit documents".
These Scientology-inspired organizations are fueled by paranoia. I'm not at all surprised that both BPI and SRF are under the impression the boogey man lurks outside and a commie hides under the bed.
