Anyone know of any orgs. or politicians he paid off, though?
Its reasonably likely that there was corruption present--how else could the police ignore all the complaints of kidnap, imprisonment and torture that they received? ("I'm sure they 'could', but feel it's likely they were pressured)
thank you
One thing I know was a problem for some teens when caught by the police after running away, was that the program was so bizarre and abnormal, using so much cult language and not plain English, that it was next to impossible to describe in terms a cop could readily understand just what was going on at the schools that made the teen run away.
I am sure many of us have had a lot of trouble over the years explaining to loved ones, family members and friends just what the hell we did in one of these places. I know some of the programs changed a bit over the years, usually as one director left and was replaced with another who would then want to implement their own unique ideas and footprint. However the people who worked under Mel Wasserman all went off and formed their own teen prison camps and because they learned from Mel who in turn learned from Synanon, EST, LifeSpring... The programs didn't grow from new seeds but came from the source these people knew, which were cult-like or full-on cult origins. The apple doesn't fall far from the tree is an apt description. And because a cult is so hard to describe, cops who tried to listen to runaway teens describe these places could grasp it anymore than anyone else would.
Whether it was RMA up in Idaho or CEDU down in California, runaway teens were brought back again and again because cops and juvenile hall staff couldn't be given clear and concise descriptions of abuse because even the teen who had been in the program was not capable of describing it. That's how bizarre these places are. But I do know that eventually even the Sheriff up in Bonners Ferrry started to question why such a large number were running away. He might not have known the reasons, but the numbers alone spoke for themselves.
I once worked in a direct care facility for autistic children. A couple of staff members physically assaulted a nine year old patient and I reported it. The police arrived and interviewed the boy. He was autistic and could not verbally communicate in any way. The police didn't know what to do, so they ignored it. Unless the child could explain what happened, they had to assume nothing happened. I was then fired for bringing negative attention to the company even though I was mandated by Federal law to report all perceptions of abuse for investigation.
And as for Mel bribing people? He certainly hooked up with a lot of celebrities. A word or two from one of them could remove heat. And where people mentioned the local communities enjoying economic incentives, another was the purchase of "stuff" from the locals. I know at RMA all of our clothes (because many of us did not live in a mountain, cold weather environment back home) for winter, skis, tents, backpacks, boots, work gloves, bedding, toiletries, everything, was pretty much purchased through the businesses in Bonners Ferry. Even mail-order stuff arrived at a business in town. Bonners Ferry was also a town of only 1,200 people. Assuming only half were adults and the rest children, that means the 15 to 20 locals RMA employed represented 2.5 to 3% of the town. That's a pretty large chunk. Imagine a company in Los Angeles employing 15,000 people. Nobody would be quick to put them out of business. And the 120 students there represented 10% of the town population, all needing dentists, doctors, entertainment. It all adds up. Bribes might not have been needed.
