10 Times Members of Secretive Societies and Organizations Spilled the Beans

Prince Harry has finally released his long-awaited memoir, Replacement, and as one might expect from anything slathered in real honey, it sells like hot cakes. The book is supposed to tell his version of his story, how his family’s rule has shaped him, his time in the war, and his well-documented exit from royalty at the hands of his polarizing wife. American of him.

For Harry, there was probably an incredible financial incentive and the promise of riches that would likely never have come if he had been a throne backer all his life. Her story demonstrates that every once in a while, a person is despised by an organization they once were a part of and even loved, only to turn their back on that very institution, telling their story and revealing secrets that were never intended for the naked eye. public.

Here are ten examples of secret society members who have spilled the beans.

Related: The 10 Most Important Things Possibly Hidden In The Vatican’s Secret Archives

10 John Robison—Freemasons

A scientist with a long standing reputation in the British scientific community, John Robison was also a professor at the University of Edinburgh and an authority on mathematics and optics. In the late 1700s, Robison was also the author of Evidence of a conspiracy against all religions and governments in Europe, a book on the reach of the Freemasons. In particular, he focused on one Masonic cell, a source of hundreds and thousands of sinister conspiracy theories: the Illuminati. As a Freemason, he had inside information on the workings of the organization and wrote about it all. Unsurprisingly, the first edition went out of print shortly after release, and was published many times after that.

From Edinburgh, he witnessed the fall of the French monarchy and the dispossession of the church, as well as the entire French Revolution. He subsequently blamed this on the Freemasons, suggesting that all the agents involved in the revolution were mere pawns in a much larger game with ambitious ends.^[1]

9 Ed Decker—Mormon Church

Born in 1935, Ed Decker was a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (or LDS Church) before becoming a leading member of the Christian group for ex-Mormons called Saints Alive in Jesus. Considered one of the most influential people regarding the Mormon Church, Decker (in collaboration with Dave Hunt) wrote a book known as the makers of god in which he exposed the inner workings of the church.

Decker’s relationship with the Mormon Church waned when he was exposed to the beliefs of other groups critical of Mormonism. He decided that he could no longer live by the premise that its founder, Joseph Smith, had been called by God to restore pure Christianity to the world.^[2]

8 Stetson Kennedy: The KKK

Stetson Kennedy, a writer who documented Depression-era life, produced a book that shows the inner workings of the notorious Ku Klux Klan. The work for which he was best known, a book known as The Klan UnmaskedFirst released in 1954, it was launched in the 1940s when it set itself the goal of exposing the organization and its efforts to terrorize black citizens in the region.

In this book, he exposed many things that were not known to the public until then, such as his folklore, secret handshakes and passwords, as well as making fun of his white sheet outfit. With evidence collected from the big dragon himself, he provided the IRS with enough information to push to collect a $685,000 tax lien from the Klan. He also assisted with the writing of a report used by the state of Georgia to revoke the Klan’s national corporate charters and also testified in other Klan-related cases. Kennedy passed away at the age of 94 after decades of tormenting Klansmen.^[3]

7 Heinrich Himmler—Nazis

The architect of the Holocaust, the right hand of Adolf Hitler himself, kept a diary. The diaries kept by Himmler, compiled by Himmler’s aide, covered most of the war and were discovered in 2013. While Himmler didn’t technically “spill the beans,” as the article’s title suggests, they do provide a sobering account of one of the events of history. the vilest men.

The diaries include over a thousand pages documenting daily life, the executions of Nazi-allied officers in Poland who refused to fight, and other details leading up to the Final Solution. They add depth to the understanding of Himmler’s character and the heinous acts he ordered. One such order in particular was to equip the Auschwitz concentration camp with new guard dogs that could tear apart prisoners. Diaries are personal and don’t give insight into your emotional well-being or relationships, but is that really necessary?^[4]

6 Jeannie Mills—People’s Temple

Jeannie Mills, her husband Al, and their two children left the Peoples Temple in 1974. Previously known as Elmer and Deanna Mertla, they rose to senior positions within the church’s ranks, with Deanna serving as head of the Temple’s publications office. . and Elmer as their official photographer. After they left the church, the married couple became two of the most vocal critics, also founding the Center for Human Freedom, which acted as a haven for other temple dropouts. After the Jonestown tragedy, the center was offered as a place for survivors.

In February 1980, the couple, along with their daughter (then 15 years old), were murdered at their home in Berkley, sparking rumors that a death squad made up of former members of the church had taken their lives. . Evidence later showed that the sole survivor of the ordeal, his son Eddie Mills, was perhaps not as innocent as initially suggested, allaying some fears about church death squads.^[5]

5 Leah Remini: Scientology

Known for her supporting role on the popular sitcom king of queensLeah Remini was also a member of the Church of Scientology. Brought into the church at the young age of eight when her mother was converted, Remini’s decision to leave the church ultimately came down to her own nine-year-old daughter. A month after her departure from her group, Remini filed a missing person report for Scientology leader David Miscavige’s wife, Shelly, whom she has not seen since 2007.

Since then, she has been an active opponent of the church’s ideologies and supports cases against its members. She also produced a show on the inner workings of religion called Leah Remini: Scientology and the consequences.^[6]

4 India and Catherine Oxenberg—NXIVM

Catherine and her daughter India enrolled in NXIVM classes that were advertised as workshops to develop their entrepreneurial skills. It was at these workshops that India was recruited into a secret society within the organization, which ultimately ruined her relationship with her mother. It took the couple seven years to free themselves from the sexual cult. Catherine eventually wrote a memoir about her experience trying to save her daughter from the cult group without success.

India eventually saw the folly in her ways. The group’s founder, Keith Raniere, was found guilty of extortion, sex trafficking and possession of child pornography in connection with the group.^[7]

3 Janja Lalich—Democratic Workers’ Party

The Democratic Workers Party (DWP) was created in the US in the 1970s by a women’s collective led by Marlene Dixon. The party was one of the most controversial attempts to create a Marxist-Leninist party in the US, which advocated sectarianism towards left-wing forces. The organization dissolved in 1985, but not before establishing a cult following for its primitive conception of Leninism and the Leninist party.

One of the defectors and party members, Janja Lalich, joined the DWP and was exposed to a variety of requests and bizarre rules whereby the party controlled her income and completely separated her from her family. She was ordered to choose a name and burn her belongings and was taken to jail for spending time with her dying mother. Since then, Lalich has become a sociologist and writer and has written numerous books on cults and coercion, exposing how these organizations work and recruit.^[8]

2 Joe Valachi: The Mob (aka Cosa Nostra)

Joe Valachi, an American gangster turned state informant in 1962, held a high rank in the mob, equivalent to sergeant, and was a member of Lucky Luciano’s mob family. Convicted on drug-related charges and sentenced to prison, Valachi received a death promise from Vito Genovese. In a state of panic, Valachi killed a fellow prisoner in paranoia-induced rage, then spoke about the entire organization to the US Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs, the FBI, the Department of Justice, and the US Senate in retaliation for the death. threats he received.

Considered one of the most influential informants in the history of organized crime, Valachi was on a mission to destroy the underworld that had betrayed him and place a $100,000 bounty on his head. He had lost his wife and his mafia family, and consumed by his guilt, he relied on the government’s protection to keep him alive until his last days, when a heart attack finally killed the rat.^[9]

1 Carlos Lehder—Medellin drug cartel

Lehder, who fell right into the underbelly of crime by smuggling stolen cars into Canada and the US East Coast, which led to his imprisonment, quickly made friends with the wrong people. He soon became a key player in the cocaine import business, persuading George Jung to use planes to transport the drugs. Fast forward a few years to when Lehder worked his way up the ranks of the Medellín cartel, where he fell out of favor with the notorious Pablo Escobar. He was arrested shortly thereafter and sentenced to life in prison.

Authorities have agreed to reduce Lehder’s prison term on the condition that he testify against former Panamanian leader Manuel Noriega, who had ties to the Medellin cartel and allowed them to ship cocaine through Panama. Lehder was placed under witness protection and eventually released from prison after serving his reduced sentence. He was deported to Germany, where he obtained citizenship through his father.^[10]