Noah Lottick
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| Noah Lottick | |
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 Noah Lottick
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| Born | March 8, 1966 United States |
| Died | May 11, 1990 New York City, New York |
| Occupation | Student |
| Parents | Edward Lottick, M.D. |
This article forms part of a series on Scientology |
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Concepts
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Noah Antrim Lottick (March 8, 1966 – May 11, 1990) was an American student of Russian studies and a Scientologist. His suicide was profiled in the Time magazine article "The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power", which received the Gerald Loeb Award,[1][2] and later in Reader's Digest.[3]
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[edit] Scientology courses
Noah Lottick had taken Scientology courses, and paid USD$5,000 for these services.[2][4] After taking these courses, Lottick's friends and family remarked that he began to act strangely. He told his parents that his Scientologist teachers were telepathic, and when his father had a heart attack, Lottick insisted it was purely psychosomatic.[2] Five days before his death, Lottick surprised his parents by visiting their home claiming they were spreading "false rumors" about him.[2] After his suicide, Lottick's parents had to haggle with the Church of Scientology over $3,000 that Noah had paid to the Church and not utilized for services.[2] The Church claimed Lottick had intended for this to be a donation.
[edit] Suicide
On May 11, 1990, Noah Lottick committed suicide when he "jumped from a 10th-floor window of the Milford Plaza Hotel and bounced off the hood of a stretch limousine."[2] When found by police, he was holding $171 dollars in cash. The Lottick family found their son's body, lying in a morgue, a month after his death.[5] Initially, his father had thought that Scientology was similar to Dale Carnegie's techniques. However, after his ordeal, Dr. Edward Lottick stated that the organization is a "school for psychopaths."[2]
Dr. Lottick cited his son's suicide as his motivation for researching cults, in his article describing a survey of physicians that he presented to the Pennsylvania State Medical Society.[6]
[edit] Parents submit affidavits
After the article describing these incidents had been published in Time, Dr. and Mrs. Lottick submitted affidavits[4] when the Church of Scientology sued Richard Behar and Time magazine for $416 million. All counts against Behar and Time were later dismissed in courts of law.[1] In their court statements, the Lotticks "affirmed the accuracy of each statement in the article", and stated that Dr. Lottick "concluded that Scientology therapies were manipulations, and that no Scientology staff members attended the funeral" (of their son).[4]
[edit] Response from Scientology
The official response from the Church of Scientology was to deny any responsibility for Lottick's death.[5] Church Spokesman Mike Rinder was quoted in the St. Petersburg Times as asserting that Lottick had an argument with his parents four days before his death.[5] Rinder stated: "I think Ed Lottick should look in the mirror...I think Ed Lottick made his son's life intolerable."[5]
[edit] References
- ^ a b "Judge Dismisses Church of Scientology's $416 Million Lawsuit Against Time Magazine", Business Wire, July 16, 1996.
- ^ a b c d e f g Scientology: The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power, Time, May 6, 1991, see article: The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power
- ^ October 1991, Readers Digest, "A Dangerous Cult Goes Mainstream".
- ^ a b c Church of Scientology v. Time and Richard Behar, 92 Civ. 3024 (PKL), Opinion and Order, Court TV library Web site., retrieved 1/10/06.
- ^ a b c d Scientologist Commits Suicide, Scientology Convicted, St. Petersburg Times, published February 8, 1998.
- ^ Survey Reveals Physicians' Experience with Cults, Dr. Edward Lottick, Cult Observer, Volume 10, Number 3, 1993.
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Find a Grave, Memorial for Noah Lottick on Find a Grave
- Noah Antrim Lottick, Memorial for Noah Lottick
- Media/Press mention
- Scientology: The Thriving Cult of Greed and Power, Time magazine, May 6, 1991, article featuring the Lottick family tragedy
- Scientologist Commits Suicide, Scientology Convicted, St. Petersburg Times, published February 8, 1998
- "A Dangerous Cult Goes Mainstream", Readers Digest, Richard Behar.
