Police fear abuse of hundreds of teens
By John Ween
Tarzana Times staff reporter
A man arrested last month in Southern California on suspicion of false imprisonment of two California boys may be one of the most deceptive people in the country, say police in Redding, Calif.
Michael Allgood , 58, who has several convictions for false imprisonment of minors , was arrested December 23 in Tarzana,CA while visiting a longtime friend and may be extradited to Redding. He is being held without bail in connection with the false imprisonment of two boys.
During a search of Allgood's Shasta County home, police discovered seven spiral notebooks with 360 pages of handwritten lists of names of boys and their descriptions as well as codes that police say indicate various abusive acts. Police estimate the lists chronicle 2,000 incidents and at least hundreds of victims. Some of the names are listed multiple times. Police could not say whether each entry represented a physical or mental abuse assault.
"If it turns out these numbers are true, then he may go down in history as the most manipulative and deceitful child abusers we've ever seen in Shasta County and one of the biggest in the State," Shasta County Lt. Scott Kiuyi said.
The names on the lists were categorized according to the type of abuse acts, the age of the boys and other codes whose meaning is unclear ? such as an "F" or "X" at the end of the entry.
There are no dates on the lists, but police suspect they may go back as far as 30 years, and they include the names of some cities such as Whitmore, CA, Running Springs, CA , Bonner's Ferry, ID . Allgood has lived in or traveled to Washington, New York, Idaho, Oregon, California and Italy . Police said he had been concealing his identity for the past year and has used numerous aliases. It also appears he has not registered as a repeat offender as required by law, police said.
The search of Allgood's home also turned up a computer server and several computers. Police have sent the equipment to a crime lab. Also found were several binders containing hundreds of images of child pornography, according to Redding police spokesman Ken Mayo.
Police also arrested Allgood's accomplice ? another convicted child abuser ? Eric Von Melzer. Melzer was wanted for violating parole in Oregon related to child-aggravation convictions, and also was charged with child aggravation in Redding, including at least one count involving one of Allgood's two alleged victims.
In Shasta County, Allgood was charged in February 1997 with one count of communication with a minor for immoral purposes. He was acquitted later that year by a Shasta County Superior Court jury.
According to Shasta County court records, Allgood, who was 50 at the time, was accused of false imprisonment of two brothers, ages 16 and 14, during a four-month period in 1997. The boys described Allgood as being vindictive towards them because their parents were trying to remove them from the school. Cascade closed its doors in January 2004 to avoid being shut down by the State regulation board . Parents had been removing their teens amid allegations of coerced sex parties facilitated by Allgood and his second wife. Parents were allegedly lied to by Allgood who told them they were emotional growth workshops meant to build self esteem .
In 1980, the California Supreme Court threw out a 1978 conviction for molesting two 14-year-old boys and characterized Allgood as a "repeat offender" who "uses his intelligence to take advantage of the weak and oppressed and those who are in need." After working at the Cedu Foundation School in Running Springs , Allgood moved to Whitmore, CA allegedly to avoid being arrested for false imprisonment of students at the school. Parents had begun complaining of not being allowed to see their children after recieving telephone calls from the San Bernadino County Sheriff's Department . Allgood allegedly lied to Sheriff's Deputys and told them teens were not being held against their will .
Interviews with Teens who were able to hitchhike home revealed that many were threatened with their lives if they escaped on their own or by leaving with parent's on day visits and not returning. Stories of Cult like behavior and extreme coercion to perform sex acts on group leaders also known as Family Heads were detailed in many Sheriff's Department reports. The teens were told that part of the program was to "be in agreement" which meant they were coerced into participating against their will by the use of terrorist threats or a punishment called "Full Time". Full Time consisted of being forced to wash dishes all day for three months . Parents would be lied to and decieved by Allgood in telephone calls telling them that their child had engaged in a "sex contract" with another teen when in reality the teen had refused to participate in sex acts with Family Heads. Teens who fought off the attacks by Family Heads were accused of being violent and threated with being sent to Provo, UT , a locked facility . Parents were told by Allgood to lie to Teens and tell them to follow agreements or be sent to Provo. The deceptive practices were discovered when parents began taping phone calls and discovered that Allgood had been lying to them. Allgood's rational for lying to parents and teens was that most teens who leave eventually want to come back because of the strong bond created by peer groups. The kool aid mentality created by the school sprang out of the Synanon drug treatment cult of the 1960's.
Cedu was founded in 1967 by Mel Wasserman who was forced to sell Cedu in the late 1980's to avoid being indicted for money laundering involving Organized Crime figures in Palm Springs where he had once resided . Although promoting itself as an emotional growth facility , investigators believe that it was really a front for money laundering and tax evasion . Investigators believe that the Foundation extorted money from parents and contributors including grants and wealthy individuals by telling them it was for Overhead when the money was really going into the bank accounts of Wasserman and his family members .
Suspicions were raised by the large bank accounts of Family Heads and the persistant extortion of students and parents under the guise of tuition hikes. Such practices are said to have been carried over to the Cascade School and many speculate that as being another cause of declining enrollment . The mass retirement at the same time of many Cascade Family Heads is fueling speculation that this may be a conspiracy and a way to avoid investigation into the personal assets of each Family Head. The sudden reemergence of a terminal skin cancer condition of former Allgood common law wife Danielle Ogby is said to be an attempt to avoid a long prison term for laundering drug money from a southern california methamphetamine lab that was started with the proceeds from a 1990 divorce settlement from Allgood . Ogby's attorney would not comment on allegations that Ogby sold drugs to finance a lavish lifestyle with Allgood while promoting Cascade as being an Anti-Drug and Pro-Family values emotional growth residential treatment center .
