Editing Synanon (section)

==Lifetime rehabilitation concept==
Beginning in 1964,<ref name="FBI file">
[https://www.governmentattic.org/10docs/FBIfileSYNANON_1963-1985.pdf PDF of FBI file] governmentattic.org {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304061957/http://www.governmentattic.org/10docs/FBIfileSYNANON_1963-1985.pdf|date=2016-03-04}}
</ref> the legal authorities began to investigate Synanon's practices. The concept of "lifetime rehabilitation" did not agree with therapeutic norms, and it was alleged in 1961 by the city of Santa Monica that Synanon was "operating a hospital in a residential zone".<ref>"Synanon Fight Seen At Council", ''Evening Outlook'', May 8, 1961</ref> Synanon expanded an old Trans-Pacific Marconi [[RCA Corporation|RCA]] radio station in [[Tomales Bay]] now Marconi Conference Center State Historic Park in [[Marshall, California]]. It was alleged{{by whom|date=December 2020}} that on remote properties in California such as at Marshall and in [[Badger, California]], Synanon erected buildings without the legally required permits, had created a trash dump, and built an airstrip. Taxation issues also arose. In response to the accusations, Dederich declared that Synanon was a [[tax exemption|tax exempt]] religious organization, the "Church of Synanon".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2023/11/01/business/media/david-mitchell-dead.html|title= David Mitchell, Weekly Editor Who Exposed a Corrupt Cult, Dies at 79|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date= November 1, 2023|last1= Roberts|first1= Sam|access-date = November 4, 2023}}</ref>

Legal problems continued, despite the change. Children who had been assigned to Synanon began running away, and an "underground railroad" had been created in the area that sought to help them return to their parents. Beatings of Synanon's opponents and its ex-members, "splittees", occurred across California. Beatings occurred in Synanon basements.<ref name="longform.org"/> A state [[grand jury]] in [[Marin County, California|Marin County]] issued a scathing report in 1978 attacking Synanon for the very strong evidence of its [[child abuse]], and also for the monetary profits that flowed to Dederich. The grand jury report also rebuked the governmental authorities involved for their lack of oversight, although it stopped short of directly interceding in the Synanon situation.<ref>{{Cite news |date=1978-12-10 |title=A Changed Synanon The Subject of Inquiry |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1978/12/10/archives/a-changed-synanon-the-subject-of-inquiry-a-changed-synanon-finds.html |access-date=2025-10-10 |language=en}}</ref>