The "RPF Insider" series, written by an anonymous informant and posted to ARS by Tory Christman, is going to continue with a new name: the "RPF Newsletter". A lengthy newsletter will be coming soon. In the meantime, the author has two short but sad RPF stories to share with the world.

The stories of Matteo Galbiati and Irene Gutensberger are appended below.

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Galbiati, Matteo -- from Italy. FSO staff but he was sent to the PAC RPF (Pacific Area Command, Rehabilitation Project Force) to avoid PR (Public Relations) flaps, as he was a very well liked OT VII Solo Nots C/S, well known to the public. Jill Graham was his "twin" whom he graduated from the PAC RPF with in 2001. She was also from AOLA, and last at the Orange County Universe Corps I believe. She DIED of cancer shortly after graduating the RPF. As Matteo didn't get a good "product" on Jill he was blamed for her death (despite the fact that it was more than likely lack of medical treatment that caused her untimely demise), Matteo was sent back to the RPF to do the program all over again. Matteo was Sea Org FSO staff since the mid 1980s; he joined with his whole family when he was a young teenager. He was an outstanding kid and worked hard to become an auditor and advanced steadily up the levels with great pride. He was always encouraged to carry on which he did and came all the way to the top as a Solo NOTS C/S and on the Case level of OT VII himself. (No small achievement, as anyone in the Sea Org can attest.) As an auditor he was an expert in the skills required as a Class IX, NOTS auditor. He was a very hard worker and a dedicated Sea org member. As a Solo NOTS C/S he served thousands of OT VII auditors from all over the planet. He speaks at least 4 languages and was a major asset for FSO, and created millions of dollars in VSD (Value of Service Delivered, counted in $ for training and auditing) for the organization. He was very popular and very much liked by the home Solo NOTS auditors, so naturally he had to be sent away to another RPF far away from Flag, hidden in the basements of the big blue in PAC so he wouldn't be found or recognized by the public wondering as to where he had gone. His mother is still working at the FSO as a Class IX auditor, his brother Andrea was also an auditor at the FSO but is now SP declared. About 8 years ago or so, Andrea did the RPF program at Flag, graduated, but somehow got in trouble after that and got SP declared. His father, Giancarlo was on Solo NOTS and also was Sea Org staff at the FSO, but he got fed up with something and routed out and went back to Italy. Apparently he is living near Andrea and I recall Matteo telling me that they were running some kind of a business. He is "Black tagged" on the board at FSO as a Solo NOTS auditor, meaning that he's off the level and/or disaffected. At this stage Giancarlo is probably also SP declared if he is in contact with his "SP" son, Andrea. Matteo was working hard on his RPF program and wanted more than anything else to get back on the production lines of FSO. One reason is because of his beautiful wife Natalie, who is also a successful auditor and won an award recently for "Auditor of the Year". We saw the event on video here in the PAC RPF! Unfortunately, Matteo probably will never see his wife again, or it will be in years to come. Matteo got sick while on the RPF program and had to have heart surgery and now has a pacemaker. Off and on he faints and gets dizzy and even has to go to the hospital for checkups when his pacemaker fails. I saw him having to wear a heart monitor around the clock to check the functioning of his pacemaker. Whenever someone has to go to the hospital while on the RPF program a "security escort" of 2 other RPFers is required. All three persons that have to leave the base to go to the hospital have to get written approval from the RPF I/C and they have to pass e-meter security checks done by an ethics officer before leaving the base for "security" duty. Additionally, if you are working "on the decks" i.e. doing projects like making furniture in the mill for the smaller Class IV or V Organizations, you also have to get an approval from the In-charge of that work area, and sometimes even getting your own replacement is required, even though you are also "required" to act as security to accompany someone to the hospital. What a "Catch 22!" Most commonly you are required to "make up your decks time" using your own 5 hours a day study time, to "pay" for the exchange of accommodations. In other words, you are "granted the opportunity to redeem yourself" and in order to work on your RPF program 5 hours a day, you have to do physical work in form of cleaning jobs or construction/renovations at least 8 hours a day. No credit is granted for "overtime", which is frequently required to handle "Events" or other "hill 10s". The "exchange" in the form of food and shelter (of dubious quality) is to do renovations projects to upgrade the buildings or other projects. That's why you see the entire Big Blue being stained blue from bottom to top, some of the windows repaired and a lot of furniture built by the RPF forces.

Nobody is allowed to come to the Flag Land Base with medical conditions. I guess since the Lisa McPherson case was headline news, no one with physical or mental problems is allowed to work or get services on the Flag Land Base. Matteo got a fitness board turndown because of his medical problems in May/June of 2004 and was "off loaded". He was working on plans and ways to be able to pay off his freeloader bill as soon as possible. This is a bill for all the courses and services that he took since he joined the Sea Org, despite the years of work he did for almost no pay. He told me that it could be as high as $150,000 or more. Being a computer genius he said he thought it shouldn't take him very long to get it paid off and get back in the Sea Org. Of course, if he wants to get back together with his wife and mother at Flag, (not likely with his heart condition) he won't be able to contact his brother and father while he is out. I hope he does contact them, and I hope they will show him all the data on the Internet. I hope he will realize he has many friends out here that will help him. I do not mean to cause trouble for him, only to tell his story in hopes of preventing him from letting Scientology ruin the rest of his life. This is another devastating and sad story of a young boy growing up in the Sea Org, getting split up from his entire family and finally being forced to get divorced against his will. I know that he loves his wife Natalie dearly, and had tears in his eyes when talking about her and looking at her picture on the door of the little 2x1 foot locker for personal items we are allowed in the RPF.

Gutensberger, Irene -- from Germany. She came to the RPF around 1998 from the translation unit in FOLO. She did not do very well on the program and progressed slowly. In 2003 she was accused of creating a serious flap by allegedly causing a fire in the galley with about $130,000 in damages. This was caused by a cleaning rag she supposedly left in a corner that self ignited around 4am. The entire galley was burned out and it took over a week of full time work for the RPF to get the place cleaned up. It was said that if the flames would have gone uncontrolled for another 15 min, they would have hit the major gas lines that go underground towards AOLA and a serious explosion would have happened. Imagine the conflagration if the millions of old PC folders in the basement fueled the flames! There would have been a lot of dead people, especially considering the overcrowded conditions in the dorms and especially in the RPF, where some rooms house 20 to 50 people in a room meant for 2, with home made bunks stacked to the rafters and plastic over the windows. All the RPFers were working around the clock to get the galley operational again, to feed the approximately 1,000 people on the base. The health inspectors came back after a week and were impressed with the speed it was completed. Little did they know under what conditions the cleanup was actually done. Most of the approximately 200 RPF members were forced to handle this damage on "overtime', giving up a lot of their sleep and study time, working from early morning to late into the night. The work was done at no cost to scientology, as the RPF is not paid for their "slave labor". Irene was taken off the RPF program and fitness boarded out. Her husband is posted somewhere in EUS (East US, NY) and they must have been ordered to divorce when she was offloaded. I hope she has access to the Internet and can find out the truth. I can't imagine how she must have felt being offloaded with such incredible "Make Wrong" after so many years in the Sea Org. The guilt must have been overwhelming. If anyone knows where she is, please help her.

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(posted Nov. 12, 2004 for the RPF Newsletter)

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