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Dan O' leary(spelling?)

Coyote13

Thought Criminal
Does anyone know Dan O' Leary( don't know if I spelled the last name correctly). He was in scientology in at least 1976/77, not sure how long before and after that date he was in. I know he was at the Sacramento org/mission downtown. If anyone knows him or knew him and the people he associated with please let me know, thanks.
 

TomKat

Patron Meritorious
I remember Dan O'Leary. As I heard it Dan, Eric Planteen and Mike Parsons were arrested for robbing banks in the late 80s. They were caught when a diversionary explosion didn't go off. I know they did time, but don't know how much or how hard.

Does anyone know Dan O' Leary( don't know if I spelled the last name correctly). He was in scientology in at least 1976/77, not sure how long before and after that date he was in. I know he was at the Sacramento org/mission downtown. If anyone knows him or knew him and the people he associated with please let me know, thanks.
 
Does anyone know Dan O' Leary( don't know if I spelled the last name correctly). He was in scientology in at least 1976/77, not sure how long before and after that date he was in. I know he was at the Sacramento org/mission downtown. If anyone knows him or knew him and the people he associated with please let me know, thanks.
Are you still looking for him?
 

Clay Pigeon

Gold Meritorious Patron
I remember Dan O'Leary. As I heard it Dan, Eric Planteen and Mike Parsons were arrested for robbing banks in the late 80s. They were caught when a diversionary explosion didn't go off. I know they did time, but don't know how much or how hard.
coooooooooooooool...
 
I remember Dan O'Leary. As I heard it Dan, Eric Planteen and Mike Parsons were arrested for robbing banks in the late 80s. They were caught when a diversionary explosion didn't go off. I know they did time, but don't know how much or how hard.
Actually, O'Leary and Planteen were never "caught". They negotiated plea deals. Mike Parsons, Ken Wagner and Craig Pavelchik were caught after a robbery near Placerville. They had been under a lot of surveillance by the FBI. The diversionary explosion was a different, aborted robbery in Gridley, CA. No one was caught in that aborted robbery. There was a 6th guy, named John Derupps (not sure of the spelling) who got picked up last, based on testimony from Parsons. Derupps was the only non-Scientologist in the group. Parsons got the most time. I think his sentence was originally 50 years. He ended up getting parole after 10. As far as I know, they are all out now. Parsons has been in and out of jail, since his robbery sentence, for other minor offenses.
 

IWantOffThisTrain

Eternal Optimist
Actually, O'Leary and Planteen were never "caught". They negotiated plea deals. Mike Parsons, Ken Wagner and Craig Pavelchik were caught after a robbery near Placerville. They had been under a lot of surveillance by the FBI. The diversionary explosion was a different, aborted robbery in Gridley, CA. No one was caught in that aborted robbery. There was a 6th guy, named John Derupps (not sure of the spelling) who got picked up last, based on testimony from Parsons. Derupps was the only non-Scientologist in the group. Parsons got the most time. I think his sentence was originally 50 years. He ended up getting parole after 10. As far as I know, they are all out now. Parsons has been in and out of jail, since his robbery sentence, for other minor offenses.

Do you know what the back story is? It's interesting that they were all Scientologists (w the noted exception) and I can't help but wonder if the church played a role. Hopefully there is some info online because I think I'm going to go down the rabbit hole!
 

FoTi

Crusader
Some of my best friends rob banks sweetheart. The Caliph once papered some bank for half a million when was young and rambunctious.
The Caliph? Who are you referring to as the Caliph?

Caliph is the leader of the Muslim world....
 

Clay Pigeon

Gold Meritorious Patron
The Caliph? Who are you referring to as the Caliph?

Caliph is the leader of the Muslim world....
Well...

If you think about what I said about him you should appreciate why I go no further in identifying him.

The statute of limitations is long since expired but...
 

FoTi

Crusader
Well...

If you think about what I said about him you should appreciate why I go no further in identifying him.

The statute of limitations is long since expired but...


How do you expect me to know what you said about him?

I don't know who him is.

I don't know who you are talking about.
 
Do you know what the back story is? It's interesting that they were all Scientologists (w the noted exception) and I can't help but wonder if the church played a role. Hopefully there is some info online because I think I'm going to go down the rabbit hole!
It's a pretty long story. Here's a brief summary:
O'Leary and Parsons ran the COSMOS mission for awhile, when Alan Walters was the mission holder. O'Leary hosted a Scientology radio show for a year in the late 70s. Planteen was a Green Beret who did two tours in Vietnam, and he met Parsons and O'Leary at COSMOS. O'Leary worked in an elite military intelligence organization during the Vietnam era. Parsons had been a physical fitness instructor in the Air Force.
In the mid-eighties, all three of them fell on hard times financially.
Parsons had been running a field auditor practice out of his home. At the same time, he was investigating LRH and the Church. He interviewed a lot of declared SPs and other folks who were also doing their own investigations. He had already accepted advance payments from several auditing clients to the tune of over $100,000. The church found out about his investigation activities and kicked him out. That made it impossible for him to deliver the services he had already been paid for and he couldn't pay it back.
O'Leary had a young family and he lost his job over a dispute with his employer over benefits that had been promised.
Planteen had his own private investigation business. He got some bad press in the local papers over a dispute with one of his clients. That killed his income stream.
Parsons was introduced to a client by Ken Wagner. The client was a disgruntled, former employee of a local credit union. Parsons used his relationship with that client to glean inside info on the credit union. He took that info to O'Leary and Planteen and the rest is history. They used their military and Scientology expertise to carry out about nine robberies over the following year. The FBI called them the most professional group of bank robbers in the history of the Eastern District of California. There is a LOT more to it. It would make a good movie.
 

hummingbird

Patron with Honors
Hi, @Boat_Rocker_1. I was at COSMOD Sac from 1973 to 1983. I remember the scandal about the bank robberies. Alan Walters didn't own COSMOD ("D" on the end), Martin Samuels did. Mark Parsons didn't run it at the time that I was there, but maybe he did before? The D/EDs were Reg Cota and later Jeff Cota.

But I find your insight fascinating. The bank robberies were really hushed up back then, and I've tried to research it on my own. Appreciate the details.
 

Clay Pigeon

Gold Meritorious Patron
How do you expect me to know what you said about him?

I don't know who him is.

I don't know who you are talking about.
The Caliph is a legendary hippie...

papered a bank for half a million bux, ran a string of girls in new orleans, hung out with chuck yeager at edwards afb when he was ten, rode through the california nite in a stolen '49 hudson with neal cassady at the wheel in the company of jack kerouac, billy burroughs and mason williams, hung out with kesey and the prankstres at la honda and fed free food to runaways with emmet grogan and the diggers...

definitely a hot shit sweetheart...

i did a project with him in new york years ago. it was in all the papers; village voice, boston globe, wall street journal, time maggotzine, cbs' 60 minutes...
 

FoTi

Crusader
The Caliph is a legendary hippie...

papered a bank for half a million bux, ran a string of girls in new orleans, hung out with chuck yeager at edwards afb when he was ten, rode through the california nite in a stolen '49 hudson with neal cassady at the wheel in the company of jack kerouac, billy burroughs and mason williams, hung out with kesey and the prankstres at la honda and fed free food to runaways with emmet grogan and the diggers...

definitely a hot shit sweetheart...

i did a project with him in new york years ago. it was in all the papers; village voice, boston globe, wall street journal, time maggotzine, cbs' 60 minutes...
I still have no idea who you are talking about. :confused:
 

J. Swift

Patron with Honors
How does a Scientologist rob a bank?

Hands up!
Thank you.
Cooperate and no one gets hurt!
Thank you, very good.
Hand over all the money!
Thank you. Very well done.
 

IWantOffThisTrain

Eternal Optimist
It's a pretty long story. Here's a brief summary:
O'Leary and Parsons ran the COSMOS mission for awhile, when Alan Walters was the mission holder. O'Leary hosted a Scientology radio show for a year in the late 70s. Planteen was a Green Beret who did two tours in Vietnam, and he met Parsons and O'Leary at COSMOS. O'Leary worked in an elite military intelligence organization during the Vietnam era. Parsons had been a physical fitness instructor in the Air Force.
In the mid-eighties, all three of them fell on hard times financially.
Parsons had been running a field auditor practice out of his home. At the same time, he was investigating LRH and the Church. He interviewed a lot of declared SPs and other folks who were also doing their own investigations. He had already accepted advance payments from several auditing clients to the tune of over $100,000. The church found out about his investigation activities and kicked him out. That made it impossible for him to deliver the services he had already been paid for and he couldn't pay it back.
O'Leary had a young family and he lost his job over a dispute with his employer over benefits that had been promised.
Planteen had his own private investigation business. He got some bad press in the local papers over a dispute with one of his clients. That killed his income stream.
Parsons was introduced to a client by Ken Wagner. The client was a disgruntled, former employee of a local credit union. Parsons used his relationship with that client to glean inside info on the credit union. He took that info to O'Leary and Planteen and the rest is history. They used their military and Scientology expertise to carry out about nine robberies over the following year. The FBI called them the most professional group of bank robbers in the history of the Eastern District of California. There is a LOT more to it. It would make a good movie.

Thank you for responding! I keep hoping someone will do an in-depth series or special on Snow-white and the Bank Robbers would be fabulous also, with the current interest in Scientology and people's basic understanding, the story's don't seem too crazy to be true. I would definitely buy the book if someone writes it!
 
Hi, @Boat_Rocker_1. I was at COSMOD Sac from 1973 to 1983. I remember the scandal about the bank robberies. Alan Walters didn't own COSMOD ("D" on the end), Martin Samuels did. Mark Parsons didn't run it at the time that I was there, but maybe he did before? The D/EDs were Reg Cota and later Jeff Cota.

But I find your insight fascinating. The bank robberies were really hushed up back then, and I've tried to research it on my own. Appreciate the details.
COSMOS Was the Church of Scientology Mission of Sacramento. In the mid to late 70s it was located at Arden and Fair Oaks. It was held by Alan Walter [Who at one time had the largest mission chain in the COS, until he and LRH had a falling out. He later got back in LRH's good graces and COSMOS was part of his second era of being a mission holder. Eventually, Alan was declared and he went off to establish his own squirrel group. He's dead now.]. Later, COSMOS was held by Lori Wood/Sherrill (Until she died of asthma, when Mt. St. Helens blew up. She and her husband, Norm, picked that time to take an RV to volcano country. The ash exacerbated her asthma, and she died right in front of him.), then Elise Gray etc.
By the way: Lori was the daughter of Peter Greene. She worked directly with LRH in the early days of the Sea Org. She claimed to have seen LRH levitate an ash tray. (I don't believe he did that.)
COSMOD was the Church of Scientology Mission of Davis (in Sacramento) and it was owned by Martin Samuels. It eventually got burned in a huge fire. Mike Parsons was on staff at COSMOD thru the mid 70s and moved to COSMOS around 78/79. That's when he met Dan O'Leary. They ran COSMOS for a couple years. That's when O'Leary had the Scientology radio talk show and they held some big events with various SCN celebrities like Wings Hauser.
The robberies happened around 86/87, so they wouldn't have been mentioned when you were on lines.
 

dchoiceisalwaysrs

Gold Meritorious Patron
I once read a psychopath claiming pscyhopaths are so coooool. Do you think there are any commendation chits in these guys 'central files'? They were so 'on source' CLEARING out 9 or so banks. El Con would have been so proud of them for getting even with the family/kin of the 12 bankers.
 
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