Ordained minister, generous donor, highly trained auditor and -- according to his version of events -- faith-driven "investment manager" Reed Slatkin has a long and colourful history in the Church of Scientology -- one that the CoS would prefer didn't come to light.

But while the CoS may be able to revise history in its own publications, removing Reed Slatkin from his longtime association with the Church is proving considerably more difficult.

During his first of two appearances before the SEC, Reed gave an impromptu treatise on Scientology to the doubtless befuddled SEC lawyers after being asked a seemingly innocuous question about his educational history.

He began by describing his first encounter with Scientology as a young boy dealing with the death of his father, and continued till reaching his decision to go into the investment management business to help his fellow Scientologists, and his church.

He also discussed his own history in the church, including studying with Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard at the Scientology centre in England, meeting his wife-to-be, Mary Jo (also a Scientologist), working on staff for various Scientology projects, being part of the creation of the Sea Organization (the Church's most demanding order requiring those who join to sign a "billion year contract" for service, the Sea Org is described as "the core of the religion" in Scientology publications), being ordained as a minister of the Church and finally, bringing Scientology to Los Angeles as one of four founders of the American Saint Hill Organization, familiar to Los Angelenos as part of the sprawling "Big Blue" Scientology complex.

To read excerpts of the deposition that feature Reed's discussion of Scientology, click here.

The full deposition can be read here.

After spending most of his late teens and twenties as a Church of Scientology volunteer, Reed began running his own, quasi-independent "field counselling" business, which offered Scientology processing to other Scientologists.

These articles from the Scientology publication "The Auditor", published in 1979 and 1982, feature Reed as a field auditing "success story".

(These independent field counselling businesses are, of course, highly regulated by the Church of Scientology, which strictly monitors who is 'licenced' to provide Scientology training outside Church-owned facilities.)

Reed's membership in the Church of Scientology also gave him more than simply spiritual comfort, however -- it also provided him with added credibility amongst his fellow Scientologists, many of who invested with the Reed Slatkin Investment Club.

For a complete list of Reed's investors, including (where known) their affiliation with the Church of Scientology, visit our Investor Central page.

During his heyday as a self-perceived financial guru, Reed Slatkin was a generous donor to the Church of Scientology himself (as were many of his Scientologist "investor friends").

Reed donated $500,000 as a Founding Member of the group raising construction funds for Scientology's Super Power Building in Clearwater, Florida.

He is -- or was, until very recently -- also listed as a Patron of the International Association of Scientologists, according to Impact Magazine, a CoS publication.
(The "Patron" Status requires a donation of $35,000.)

Recent reports suggest that his name is conspicuously absent from the latest edition of Impact however -- no word on whether the CoS returned his donation, or if this is simply an effort at further disassociation on the part of the Church's public relations machine.)

Reed was also a member of the World Institute of Scientology Enterprises in 1997, but according to CoS spokesman Aron Mason, quoted in Esquire (September 2001), he left the organization in 1998 because he "could not live up to WISE's ethical standards." (According to the article, Mason "declined to comment" on the specifics.)

Ex-Scientologist Tory Bezazian was in Scientology for 30 years, and had reached one of the highest levels of Scientology training (OT7) when she left in July 2000. She has personal knowledge of Reed Slatkin's role in Scientology.

For more information on the Church of Scientology's involvement in the Slatkin affair, read about the efforts of Scientologist volunteer Bennetta Slaughter to insiniuate herself into the bankruptcy proceedings as a clearinghouse for 'investor information' - an effort that failed in part due to revelations about her strong ties to the Church of Scientology management in Clearwater Florida.