The Technicolor World of Paul Morantz

Palisadian-Post Thursday, March 15, 2018 Page 13

Morantz after the reptile attack Photo courtesy of Paul Morantz

Photos by Rich Schmitt/ Staf Photographer The Technicolor World of Paul Morantz By MARIE TABELA Forty years later, sitting in his shad- Special to the Palisadian-Post owy living room, Morantz does not like to dwell on his long recovery. But he still n display in a home tucked away in feels it was a worthwhile victory over one ORustic Canyon is an unusual wall of many such groups who believed they decoration: a nearly fve-foot-long replica were waging a holy war. of a rattlesnake that was once deployed Surrounded by mementos of an ex- as a murder weapon. It was handmade by traordinary life, walls covered with one of the members of the very cult who Disney flm cells and Golden Age Hol- concocted the plan. lywood beauties, as well as an amazing The real thing nearly killed its host, array of tributes to his personal hero Davy civil rights attorney Paul Morantz. Crockett, Morantz spoke in hushed tones And today, sadly, that injury may be about evil men. catching up with him, proving to be a A West Los Angeles native, he served mortal wound. in the U.S. Army as a reservist in 1963. All along Morantz knew that, as a He attended USC where he became ferce critic of the more dangerous cults sports editor for the school newspaper that followed the Age of Aquarius, he had The Daily Trojan and earned his law de- made enemies. But, as a self-described gree at USC Law. This was where his life- “wise ass who got in over his head,” he long love of journalism began, although, did not expect them to retaliate so brutal- to eat, he turned to law. ly. He joined the public defender’s offce He told the Palisadian-Post how, on a where he became fascinated by criminal bright October afternoon in 1978, he had conspiracies. arrived at his home in Pacifc Palisades His frst big win came in 1974 when and, without thinking, plunged his hand he exposed the plight of T. B. Renfroe, a into his mailbox … only to be attacked Skid Row alcoholic who had been held by a venomous pit viper rising up to sink captive in a Burbank nursing home called its fangs into his fesh. Its rattle had been Golden State Manor. removed to silence the deadly reptile. It was the heart of a nasty racket “It was like having my hand trapped where homeless people convicted of pub- in a vice and it kept on tightening,” he lic drunkenness would be informed they said after frefghters decapitated the rep- had to check into the Manor and similar tile. institutions to avoid further jail time. The 33-year-old attorney had just won They would be subdued with massive a $300,000 judgment against Synanon, a doses of Thorazine while the “dog catch- former drug rehab program that had me- ers” and the homes would share fraudu- tastasized into a “church” whose mem- lent bounty from the state. bers were kept in line with “truth-telling “The [homeless] were the best vic- games” and the paramilitary Imperial tims and the [nursing homes] never in Marines. He had accused them of kidnap- their wildest dreams thought it could be ping a young woman who later thanked a nightmare. But I was going to be that him for saving her life and preventing her nightmare,” Morantz said, his voice lift- from “becoming one of them.” ing. “I was going to bring them down.” The snake had been unleashed by a After freeing Renfroe, Morantz found pair of so-called “Marines,” including the seven more patients held against their son of band leader Stan Kenton, whose will. distinctive green Plymouth spotted in the And so, began his career of champi- Palisades lead to their arrest—and the oning those who had no way of saving cult’s implosion. (Continued on Page 16) A deadly symbol Page 16 Palisadian-Post March 15, 2018

Paul Morantz against negativity you could get (Continued from Page 13) attacked. “The way children are brought themselves. up in Russia and North Korea is Three years later he was deep- what makes them so much more ly entrenched in the war of his life dangerous than other [threats].” with Synanon. He draws a parallel between There were many victims North Korea and the cults he has of brutal violence at the hands investigated—they all are rooted of Synanon and the cult’s meg- in fear of a charismatic leader. alomaniacal founder Charles “When you see that fanatical Dederich, who may have started cheering, what they are really say- with the best intentions but end- ing is, ‘I love you, don’t kill me.’” ed up running a “training camp” Portrait of a young fghter He has lived his life follow- in which beatings were a regular ing Crocket’s mantra: “Be always attraction. He would die a broken pist is prohibited from engaging sure you are right, then go ahead.” man in 1997, his original good in- in a sexual relationship with a It is a message carried through his tentions long spent. client when that patient is in their page-turner chronicle of his legal One of the snake handlers, a care and for two years afterward. career “Escape: My Lifelong War Vietnam vet who boasted of his It is because of his investi- Against Cults.” necklace made of severed ears, gations that “brainwashing” is But, as he backs into his 70s, was murdered by a rival drug accepted as a legitimate legal de- he may be about to reach a wider dealer. fense. audience. His accomplice, Lance Ken- He is the reason why Califor- He has agreed to a multi-part ton, who was sentenced to a year nians have the right to sue church- television series on his life to be in jail, has since worked for Char- es for punitive damages. made by Robert Port, who in 2003 lie Sheen who loved his stories of He is one reason why there won the Best Documentary Short cult life. are laws keeping sexual abusers Subject Oscar for directing “Twin Synanon did not take kindly away from private schools. Towers.” to Morantz, and for more reasons That came from his case That doco followed frefghter than him once throwing a water against Dr. John Gottuso, a ther- and police offcer brothers during balloon at a Californian Congress- apist who sexually manipulated 9/11. man and Synanon supporter who fve students and six adults from It will also be produced by was riding proudly in the Pacifc a privileged post within a private Jerry Offsay, Port’s neighbor and Palisades Fourth of July Parade. grade school in Arcadia. The cult former programming chief execu- Perhaps, for Morantz, the was called The Fellowship. tive at Showtime. worst loss from this turbulent era He has taken on an amazing He would like to be played was his relationship with Trudy, a array of powerful spiritual and by Emile Hirsch, the lead in Sean woman he called the love of his self-help movements with equally Penn’s remarkable true-life movie life. Technicolor names, including The “Into the Wild.” She had two daughters and, Holy Spirit Association for the Over the years Morantz has like most of us, could not cope Unifcation of World Christian- battled many monsters, not al- with such stress and violence. ity, the People’s Temple, est, the ways winning but always striking Would he have changed any Moonies, Rajneeshpuram and the a blow for the vulnerable over the of this? Church of Scientology. predatory. But it has taken its toll. He smiles: “No, otherwise So, who is the biggest enemy He suspects that some of his Curiosity might have crashed.” today? Who is still brainwashing current ill health, which leaves He is speaking proudly of kids? him with a hushed voice, may the accomplishments of his only He said it’s political. date back to that snake attack. child, Chaz, an engineer at the Jet “Some time ago I would have But, in the end it was Morantz Propulsion Laboratory in Pasa- said ISIS, but today I would say and not the snake, nor Synanon dena who helped build Curiosity, Russia and North Korea,” Mo- and its malicious ilk, who has which, even now, explores the rantz explained. “In North Korea survived and who has carried the rugged surface of Mars. you have kids being brought up torch of free thought and human Morantz is not short of his on video games where the goal is dignity into the future. own style of accomplishments. to shoot Americans, and you have We all owe Paul Morantz a He is the reason that a thera- a society that you know if you go massive debt. At home with his beauties

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