# Synanon · The Cult Dossier · The Atlas · The Congregation of Tomorrow

Source: https://congregationoftomorrow.org/atlas/library/cults/047-synanon/ · The Congregation of Tomorrow · the Atlas · language: en
The same words a person sees on this page, nothing more and nothing hidden.
Our own words are free to use under CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), naming the Congregation of Tomorrow. Words of others keep their own terms.
Every page of the site, listed: https://congregationoftomorrow.org/ai/pages.json · the whole site in one file: https://congregationoftomorrow.org/llms-full.txt

← The Cult Dossier: all 182
The Cult Dossier · No. 047 · Commercial / Therapy / Lgat
Synanon
The Synanon Church; Synanon Foundation
1958 – 1991 · Santa Monica, Marin County and Badger, California
V. THE POSTWAR ERA 1945–1969
Began secular; declared itself a religion in 1974/1980
### Who led it
### What it worshipped and taught
### Who was in it
### How it ended, or where it stands
### The dead
### Of note
### Its timeline
- 1958 Founded in Santa Monica as a two-year addiction programme.
- 1960s National acclaim; celebrity supporters; the Game exported widely.
- 1968 The graduation model abandoned — members are told they can never leave.
- 1974 Declares itself a religion, largely for tax purposes.
- 1976–1977 Forced vasectomies and abortions; the Changing Partners decree.
- 10 OCTOBER 1978 Attorney PAUL MORANTZ, who had won a large judgment against Synanon, reaches into his mailbox in Pacific Palisades and is bitten by a 4½-foot RATTLESNAKE with its rattle removed, placed there by Lance Kenton and Joe Musico. He survives after a long hospitalisation.
- 1978 Police recover a Dederich tape recording: We're not going to mess with the old-time, turn-the-other-cheek religious postures. Our religious posture is: Don't mess with us.
- 1980 Dederich pleads no contest to conspiracy to commit murder; receives probation and a fine, and is barred from leading Synanon.
- 1991 IRS revokes tax exemption for destroying evidence and for the assault; Synanon dissolves in 1991.
- 28 February 1997 Dederich dies.
### Its people
### Charles E. Dederich Sr.
Chuck
Founder, Synanon · 22 March 1913 – 28 February 1997 · active 1958–1980
Before the law. PLEADED NO CONTEST to conspiracy to commit murder, 1980. Received probation and a fine; barred from leading Synanon.
Where things stand. Deceased 1997. Synanon dissolved in 1991 after the IRS revoked its tax exemption.
- 1958 Founds Synanon in Santa Monica.
- 1968 Abandons the graduation model.
- 1974 Declares Synanon a religion.
- 1976–77 Forced vasectomies and abortions; the Changing Partners decree.
- 10 October 1978 The rattlesnake attack on attorney Paul Morantz.
- 1980 Pleads no contest to conspiracy to commit murder.
- 28 February 1997 Dies.
Checked
### Lance Kenton
—
Imperial Marine, Synanon · born 1957 · active 1970s–1980
Before the law. PLEADED NO CONTEST to conspiracy to commit murder, 1980.
Where things stand. THIS FILE CANNOT CONFIRM HIS PRESENT STATUS; it previously said he had 'since worked outside public life', which nothing consulted establishes. No death record was found. Nothing reports on him after the early 1980s. ON THE SENTENCE, THE RECORD IS NOT CLEAN AND THIS FILE WILL NOT TIDY IT: he and his co-defendant JOSEPH MUSICO PLEADED NO CONTEST, and contemporary accounts differ — some report a term of about a year’s imprisonment, while UPI reported PROBATION SENTENCES in November 1980. The disposition is recorded here as disputed rather than resolved.
- 10 October 1978 With Joe Musico, places the de-rattled rattlesnake in Paul Morantz's mailbox.
- 1980 Pleads no contest to conspiracy to commit murder alongside Dederich.
- 1980 Sentenced; serves a year.
Checked 2026-08-24
### Paul Morantz
—
Attorney who survived Synanon's rattlesnake attack · 1945 – 23 October 2022 · active 1977–2022
Before the law. The attack produced Charles Dederich's conviction and ultimately the destruction of Synanon.
Where things stand. Deceased 2022, aged 77.
- 1977 Wins a judgment against Synanon on behalf of a woman held against her will.
- 10 OCTOBER 1978 Bitten by a de-rattled rattlesnake placed in his mailbox by Synanon members. A neighbour's tourniquet saves his life.
- 1980 Dederich and two members plead no contest to conspiracy to commit murder.
- 1980s–2010s Continues litigating against coercive organisations; writes extensively on the field.
- 23 OCTOBER 2022 Dies in Santa Monica aged 77.
Checked 2026-08-24
### Dave and Cathy Mitchell
—
Editors of the Point Reyes Light; Pulitzer Prize for exposing Synanon · Dave 1943–2016; Cathy b. 1940s · active 1977–1980
Before the law. Journalists.
Where things stand. Dave Mitchell deceased 2016; Cathy Mitchell living.
- 1977–79 Investigate and publish on Synanon in a weekly with ~2,700 circulation.
- 10 October 1978 The rattlesnake attack on Paul Morantz.
- 1979 AWARDED THE PULITZER PRIZE FOR PUBLIC SERVICE.
- 1980 Dederich pleads no contest to conspiracy to commit murder.
- 2016 Dave Mitchell dies.
Checked
The Atlas The Door