Treatment Abuse, Behavior Modification, Thought Reform > Facility Question and Answers

Into the Belly of the Beast, the Comparison

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Che Gookin:
Someone confirmed it to me in an email.


Utterly insane...

So what political factors allowed Elan to escape scrutiny for so long? What connections let them get away with murder?

Muppeteer:
I am not aware of any "above board" political connections stemming from Elan until Bill Diamond came to be employed. Not saying there were none, I just don't know of them. Frankly, I don't even know when Diamond started working there.

However, people were certainly afraid of Joe Ricci, some because they were certain he had ties to organized crime (true or not), others, because of his propensity to sue the snot out of anyone he perceived was working against his interests. And, of course, he was a crazy sonofabitch.

It would not surprise me to learn he was throwing kickbacks to local politicians and others with power/influence in Maine, but I have nothing concrete to support that idea.

Plus, remember, Elan and other places like it were viewed in mostly positive terms, and they did an excellent job of keeping the dark secrets, secret. And Davidson was well-respected enough, that, again, folks likely couldn't imagine him being involved in an illegal child abuse factory, no matter the allegations or plaintive cries from early(er) residents who may have spoken out.

They were successfully sued by at least one former resident, if I recall my reading material correctly, but again, there were probably some non-disclosure agreements that went along with that.

There were rumors amongst the residents in 1985/6 that someone had died in the ring in the 70's, much as there was also institutional folklore about Skakel/Moxley during my time.

When I read that Father Bob was quoted at one time (in a story in the Hartford Courant) denying that staff in the mid-1980's were aware of the Skakel scandal, I just have to shake my head. I recall a very different scene playing out, and I believe staff was well aware of it. One staff member alluded to it to me directly, occasionally, (let's call it two or three times in the 16 months I was there) as a means of control, without ever directly naming Skakel, not that I was even aware of that awfulness at the time I was there. He was mentioned as a former resident who was a potential killer, the sharded golf club as weapon, and referred to as "Mike." Fear of your fellow residents was a common tactic in securing the resident/staff bonding necessary for the program to function as intended, and the Skakel story was used in loose terms to foster and grow that fear, at least in my case.

Sorry to veer a bit off the political connections theme, I hope someone out there may have more information about that...

Che Gookin:
In what ways did Elan manipulate public perception towards a positive light? I'm aware of how Three Springs managed it, but it seems like Elan had a fair bit more to hide.

blownawaytheidahoway:

--- Quote from: Che Gookin on August 04, 2013, 04:32:06 AM ---
--- Quote from: Wayne Kernochan ---
--- Quote from: Che Gookin ---What prompted the change from the ultra-violent 70s to the less violent yet more creepy cedu-esque 80s?

Do you think this played a long term role in the eventual closure of Elan?
--- End quote ---
I believe the death of Phil Williams in the ring (murder) scared them into a less violent approach.


Muppeteer, good to see you   <!-- s:rose: -->:rose:<!-- s:rose: -->
--- End quote ---

Back the @##$ up... someone was murdered in the ring?

--- End quote ---

WOW! I just read through most of this thread. I never saw all of this before. The rabbit hole just gets deeper. It's time for a TTI expose to happen.


--- Quote from: Che Gookin on August 08, 2013, 10:29:28 PM ---Someone confirmed it to me in an email.


Utterly insane...

So what political factors allowed Elan to escape scrutiny for so long? What connections let them get away with murder?

--- End quote ---

bumps

Che Gookin:
yeah this was ol' school fornits, my pre-moron/sociopath/retard phase.

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