Statement

Gentle Wind Project Permanently ‘Becalmed’ by Lawsuit Settlement

Former GWP Followers’ Freedom of Speech Insured

John “Tubby” Miller and His 5 Female Co-Plaintiffs Request Settlement to Avoid Trial

Marking a landmark victory for freedom of speech, former members of Gentle Wind Project (GWP), Jim Bergin and Judy Garvey, husband and wife from Blue Hill, ME, are pleased to announce that

they have written the terms for a Settlement Agreement that was requested by

John “Tubby” Miller and Mary “Moe” Miller (AKA Panuthos/Carreiro), co-founders of GWP,

and their co-plaintiffs, Shelly Miller, Carol Miller, Joan Carreiro, and Pam Ranheim.

The agreement ends 2 ½ years of lawsuits against the couple.

In an about turn from the GWP leaders’ determined verbiage in 2004 that they would take their case “to the Supreme Court” to force removal of the couple’s Internet stories, the Settlement Agreement insures that Bergin and Garvey will continue to operate, without interference of any kind, their website Wind of Changes www.windofchanges.org

Settlement Also Reached with the Court-Appointed Receiver for GWP Estate

Following the Millers' last minute settlement request (trial was scheduled to begin December 4th), the GWP Court Receiver has also signed an Agreement with Bergin and Garvey on behalf of the GWP Estate (which was still included in the lawsuit after GWP was put out of business and into Receivership in August 2006 by the Maine Attorney General). Bergin and Garvey will receive "an undisclosed amount" from the Receiver to resolve the lawsuit and resolve their claim for reimbursement to the GWP Estate.

Consequently, Bergin and Garvey have dismissed their counterclaims against the Millers et al, as well as against the GWP Receiver Estate.

Couple Recoups Financial Losses

The agreement with the GWP Estate, along with partial coverage for defense costs from their homeowners' insurance company (due to the Millers’ claim of “negligent infliction of emotional distress”), allowed the couple to recoup losses from defending against GWP’s multiple lawsuits.

Bergin and Garvey note that, "We very much appreciate the willingness of John Turner, the Court-appointed Receiver of the Gentle Wind Project Receivership Estate, to process our claims fairly and expeditiously, and we are grateful to our insurers, Vermont Mutual and OneBeacon, for helping to defend us against the plaintiffs' claims, which, as we believe the settlement shows, were wholly without any basis in fact. Without the effort of Mr. Turner and our insurers, this settlement would not have been possible."

“Much more important than the money,” states the couple, “we provided an essential service to the public by telling the truth about our experiences with GWP, and we balanced out some of the effects of what we caused for people while we were influenced by GWP's belief system.”

The Millers Can’t Sue Again

In signing the agreement, the Millers et al permanently curtailed their ability to sue Bergin and Garvey for anything the couple has written, including describing GWP as a cult, stating that the GWP “healing instruments” are "snake oil," or reporting the existence of group sexual activities, known to inner-circle members as “energy work.” GWP followers involved in “energy work” believed that their participation would bring in, from the “spirit world,” the designs for new so-called “healing instruments” through their leader, John “Tubby” Miller.

Refusal to Give in to GWP’s Censorship

Though the couple now admits to the unwanted stress they endured, at times, during the long lawsuit process, they quickly decided after being sued by the group that they didn’t want to live the balance of their lives with the regret of giving in to censorship.

“We have no regrets about our 3-year defense to maintain our public interest website,” say Bergin and Garvey, “even though it has been a serious hardship financially, physically, and emotionally. We couldn't ever imagine that the Millers would put themselves, and their activities, up for public viewing in a courtroom; yet their collective belief system, and apparent outrage at us for writing our personal stories, kept them going forward, spending hundreds of thousands of their donors' funds.”

The positive benefits for the couple were that, “At each stage of defending ourselves, we became freer of the effects of our involvement with the group.” As a result, even though they were immersed in defending one of the most aggressive lawsuits filed by a nonprofit group in Maine’s history, they were able to reclaim their lives again: “Most important of all, we have our family intact, new and honest relationships with friends, and a healed marriage, all of which was disrupted during our 17 years with GWP.”

The Couple’s Long Experience with GWP – Finally Over

The couple says that getting involved with the group was “a very serious wrong turn” that began when Garvey contacted one of the authors from their former publishing company, Bergin & Garvey Publishers, Inc., about parenting advice. The author, Claudia Panuthos (now Mary “Moe” Miller, co-leader of GWP), a therapist in Arlington, MA at the time, introduced them to GWP, leading to a disastrous 17-year saga that included separation from spouse (now resolved), difficulties for their children, estrangement from extended families, friends, and community, large losses of money through financial contributions and no-interest loans to the GWP leaders, and, most serious, the dependency on “Tubby” and “Moe” as the authorities on and intermediaries – often through the use of “soul readings” – between the so-called “spirit world” and many life decisions.

Jim Bergin and Judy Garvey explain that “We didn’t set out to join a cult – or a group. Without noticing the effects of our progressive immersion into GWP, we became more and more involved with interesting and like-minded people led by charismatic individuals.” The couple states that, “Regardless of the education or background of people who, over time, become involved in such groups, or the belief system of the group, the methods used can result in an undermining of critical thinking.”

Bergin and Garvey have learned, through their own recovery, that involvement in a high-control group or cult can happen to anyone, given the right set of circumstances. It depends on who approaches you, what you're looking for and what you respond to. While most people eventually leave cults physically, leaving mentally is often more difficult, sometimes because autonomy and critical thinking has been usurped through processes that aren’t even noticed when they’re happening. The couples Wind of Changes website lists many resources about cultic groups and recovery.

After breaking away from GWP in early 2000, Bergin and Garvey began their recovery, which involved unraveling the bizarre GWP belief system in their own minds. They first wrote Insiders’ Stories in fall 2003, which was accepted for publication on a cult education website. The GWP leaders’ reaction was swift and aggressive, with many of the Millers’ statements made about the couple – at times comparing them to Hitler and Saddam Hussein – later becoming part of the couple’s Counterclaims. As the Millers increased their defamatory statements against his wife, Jim Bergin decided to tell his own personal story, also including some critical analysis, in A Husband’s Perspective, published on the Internet in February 2004. After GWP’s attorney sent a cease and desist letter to the website host, the couple decided to “take the heat ourselves” and published their present website in March 2004.

GWP / the Miller’s Federal Lawsuit

Counseled by their attorneys James Goggins and Daniel Rosenthal of Verrill Dana, Portland, ME, the GWP Plaintiffs first filed a Federal lawsuit in Maine District Court (May 2004) alleging violations of the Lanham Act (commercial interference) and RICO (conspiracy to defraud), along with defamation and other specious claims. This lawsuit, described by Senior District Judge Gene Carter as “convoluted,” was, according to the couple, “Perpetrated as a means to remove any critical material from the Internet.”

Bergin and Garvey were skillfully defended by Jerrol Crouter and Brian Willing of Drummond Woodsum and MacMahon, Portland ME. They were also assisted pro bono by the Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard Law School, on various aspects of the case, including the Motion for Summary Judgment that successfully ended the Federal Court claims.

This Motion has already become important case law for anyone defending free expression on the Internet. In his granting the Summary Judgment in favor of defendants, Judge Carter, referring to RICO, stated that no reasonable person could believe that there was an organized conspiracy, as the GWP lawsuit had alleged.

Also sued by Gentle Wind Project and the Millers were co-defendants: Rick Ross, Rick A. Ross Institute for the Study of Destructive Cults, Controversial Groups and Movements – www.rickross.com; Steve Gamble, Equilibra.com – www.equilibra.uk.com;

Ivan Fraser, The Truth Campaign – www.truthcampaign.co.uk; Ian Mander, New Zealand Cult List – www.cults.co.nz; and Steve Hassan, Freedom of Mind – www.freedomofmind.com.

Mr. Ross successfully defended himself against the Federal lawsuit and was dismissed by Senior District Judge Gene Carter in January 2005. (See Lawsuit Against “Cult-watcher” Dismissed: http://www.cultnews.com/archives/000800.html). Judge Carter also dismissed the Federal claims against Mr. Mander and denied GWP’s motion for default judgment against him; Mander was also added to the recent dismissal from Maine state court. Mr. Gamble and Mr. Fraser defended themselves for several months until their defense money was depleted and then reached a settlement, without payment, retaining their original information about GWP (which preceded Bergin and Garvey’s info): http://www.equilibra.uk.com/gentlewindupdate.pdf. Mr. Hassan settled and removed all links to the information in exchange for GWP removing all of their statements against him.

GWP/ the Millers’ Maine State Lawsuit

Following their dismissal from Federal Court, the Millers, with the assistance of their attorneys at Verrill Dana, inflicted the case on Maine State Court where they filed a new lawsuit for defamation against Bergin and Garvey and continued their aggressive tactics for several more months, adding to their outlay of thousands of dollars in legal bills.

Maine’s Attorney General Ends Gentle Wind Project

Coinciding with the negative publicity that the Millers brought about for themselves and their “nonprofit” Gentle Wind Project with their lawsuits, the Maine Attorney General began an investigation of GWP, their financial dealings, and claims about the “efficacy” of their plastic “healing instruments.” The AG’s investigation resulted in a civil lawsuit against GWP and its officers and directors, citing false claims and fraud. The complaint charged that the GWP leaders falsely claimed that the instruments could improve mental, emotional, and physical well-being. The officers and directors were also charged with improperly disbursing hundreds of thousands of dollars, in the form of expenses, to themselves.

The Attorney General’s lawsuit was resolved by a Consent Decree on August 14, 2006, in which, “The directors of GWP admitted that they made false claims about their products, which they said could cure anything from alcoholism to paralysis . . . admitted making false claims on their Web site, at public appearances and in written literature that the instruments had been scientifically proven to be effective. Board members also admitted that they breached their fiduciary duty as officers of a charity by using donations for the purchase and upkeep of houses purchased in their own names and for other illegal transactions. . . . The houses and all other assets will be sold by a Receiver, with the money used to provide refunds to any Gentle Wind customer who bought a healing instrument since 2003.” – Portland Press Herald, 8-15-06

Attorney General Steven Rowe, in a written statement: “We believe that this is a just resolution to the violations of law committed by the defendants. This charity damaged the public trust and should not be allowed to continue.”

Even after signing the Attorney General’s Consent Decree, Mary “Moe” Miller insisted that she and the other directors would continue to operate GWP outside of Maine, and that they would proceed with their lawsuit. However, Bergin and Garvey’s attorney, Jerrol Crouter, noted, “In the Consent Decree, GW’s board members admit the truth of most of the statements they call defamatory in their lawsuit against the couple.”

The Millers Request Settlement

After the Millers et al signed the AG’s Consent Decree, their attorneys James Goggins and Daniel Rosenthal of the law firm Verrill Dana, who originally designed the lawsuit against Bergin and Garvey and others, filed a Motion with the Court to be released from their representation of the Millers et al, allegedly based on nonpayment. Now, without an attorney, the Millers decided to continue the case, representing themselves pro se against the defendants. Among their pro se handiwork was a motion to eliminate any mention in front of a jury of the Attorney General’s lawsuit and Consent Decree.

In their final turnabout, rather than waiting to learn how Justice G. Arthur Brennan would have ruled on this Motion, or others, the Millers requested settlement one week prior to the time of rulings and five weeks before trial was scheduled to begin in York ME Superior Court.

The writing was on the wall for the Millers. Perhaps they finally realized that a trial by jury would bring further public attention and ridicule of their cult-like activities described on Wind of Changes. After seeing the witness list, perhaps it became clear to the Millers that other GWP ex-members intended to appear in person to testify about their own experiences with the group, and that experts would testify that the Millers’ exhibited classic cult behavior.

Bergin and Garvey’s distinguished experts were Cult Expert, Dr. Cathleen Mann, PhD and Dr. Arthur Dole, PhD, ABPP, Expert: Psychological Research and Cultic Groups.

Bergin & Garvey Celebrate Their Victory

Celebrating their victory, the couple says, “It was worthwhile to retain ours, and others’ first amendment rights. We had a right to tell our stories of 17 years as followers and members of the board of directors with Gentle Wind Project – rights that are all too often threatened when an individual, or organization with deep pockets and a willing law firm, can use the civil legal process to silence whistle blowers.”

“Without the expertise of our lead attorney, Jerry Crouter,” states the couple, “we could not have continued to defend this case. His defense was brilliant and always fair. We are forever grateful to Jerry, Brian, Lisa Labonte, Trisha Nastro, and the entire staff of Drummond Woodsum and MacMahon.”

On a more somber note, Bergin and Garvey assert that, “The subtext of many such legal cases is to deplete defendants’ financial resources so that they are forced into silence. Fortunately, due to our personal resources, insurance, competent legal representation, reasonable attorneys’ fees, and pro bono professional assistance from the Berkman Center, this was not the case.”

“Our website will remain online indefinitely so that individuals can continue to make informed decisions about GWP’s activities. We will eventually bring the information up to date with the present events and, as time allows, we will add more.”

In closing this page of their lives, Bergin and Garvey say they have no animosity against former friends that remain followers of GWP – even though they have been shunned by them. “We will be here if they decide to leave the group, or even if they decide to stay,” the couple affirms. “All we can tell them is that we have better lives now and that we feel stronger, healthier, and happier after ending our dependency on the ‘healing instruments’ and on the Millers. We wish them all well.”

__________________________

Statement about GWP's Lawsuit Claims

and our Personal Stories

Prior to our 17-year interlude with the Gentle Wind Project leaders and followers we had long-term careers as book publishers. During these years we were often in the position of evaluating manuscripts, both in terms of literary style and plot. It was usually not very difficult because a good story with merit had the effect of what James Joyce called an “epiphany,” or in his words, “a revelation of the whatness of a thing.” Such a story produces an “effect” that goes beyond words because it rings true to the reader.

In reading the GWP leaders’ story about us, we are confronted with a difficult and contrived plot, with questionable “effect,” which goes something like this: that these two former GWP members, Jim Bergin and Judy Garvey, concocted stories about GWP, referred to in the GWP story by various descriptions. The GW plot accuses us of being motivated by the desire to use our writing to promote lucrative careers as cult deprogrammers and sought-after public speakers. This supposed notoriety would also increase our material worth as a result of taking “business” away from this charitable nonprofit organization.

The non sequitur with the Gentle Wind leaders’ plot – which was, until recently, outlined in detail on GWP’s www.eyeofthesky.org – is: How could two people write personal stories with such demeaning details -- A Husband's Perspective and Insiders' Stories -- and expect to be financially and professionally rewarded? Our personal stories contain biographical details that one would wish to withhold from family, friends, colleagues, and strangers. It is not the stuff of vainglorious career enhancement.

As we say here in Maine, “That dog won’t hunt.” However, when it comes to the current venue for these types of plots, the standards are much lower, so to clarify and give the GWP story a dose of reality, we wish to offer the following statements:

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

1) Our intent in writing our stories was to provide an alternative view of the Gentle Wind Project based on our personal experiences spanning seventeen years as former followers and, for a number of years, on the GWP Board of Directors. As we say in the Prologue to A Husband's Perspective, "Take what you want and leave the rest."

2) There is not, and has never been, any commercial activity, self-promotion, financial gain, conspiracy with co-defendants (the other folks sued by Gentle Wind’s leaders), commercial speech, “cult-speaking business,” counseling, or cult deprogramming activity engaged in by Jim Bergin or Judy Garvey, alone or with anyone else.

3) There is no material gain of any kind related to our stories about our personal experiences with GWP.

4) Jim Bergin and Judy Garvey each individually wrote and edited their own stories, A Husband’s Perspective and Insiders’ Stories, about their personal experiences with GWP leaders and followers. No one, including other defendants in the GW lawsuit, contributed writing or editing. No other defendants made suggestions on ideas, content, or format of our personal stories, or was aware of their existence or content.

5) The 2003 AFF panel that Jim Bergin was to give a presentation on, as alleged by GWP as an example of commercial activity, never took place, nor did we attend the AFF conference (for info on AFF (now the International Cultic Studies Association-ICSA), see www.csj.org or Resources on this website). Had Jim Bergin taken part on a panel, there would have been no payment, exchange of value, or financial gain of any kind.

6) There is no "Maine Cult Information Network," as assumed by GWP's leaders, nor has there ever been one. Jim Bergin and Judy Garvey had discussed forming such a voluntary support group, but abandoned the idea before beginning. Had a Maine cult information network ever been formed, it would have been a support group with no exchange of money, “donations,” or services, as can be found with thousands of other support groups for people looking for a place to talk with peers about shared experiences.

7) Judy Garvey’s practice has always been less than part-time (one-half day per week). Judy Garvey has not, and couldn’t possibly have, expanded her practice as a result of telling her personal story about her seventeen years with GWP.

8) In their lawsuit, the GW leaders used an ad from a family member's business, which they apparently found in our small town’s weekly newspaper, to allege that Jim Bergin is profiting by an increase in carpentry work by the public sharing of his personal story about life with GWP. There is no relationship between Jim Bergin and this ad used by GW leaders, and Jim Bergin has not, and couldn’t possibly have, expanded his carpentry business as a result of telling his personal story about his seventeen years with GWP.

9) Our stories are autobiographical and not “fiction” – another term created by GWP leaders to lessen the impact of what we have written.

10) Rather than any of the pejorative and prejudicial labels used by GW’s leaders about what we have written in our personal accounts of experiences with the GW group, a more accurate and literate description is "the truth."

11) The terms “sexual molestation,” “domestic abuse,” and “child abuse” were not used by us, but were concocted by the GWP leaders on their websites (www.gentlewindproject.org; www.eyeofthesky.org); their newsletters to “instrument keepers” (Gentle Wind Project News; also removed recently from Internet); on their GWP Discussion Boards (closed to non-members); and in GWP's lawsuit. We attempt, in our personal stories, to analyze the coercive techniques, equating the origination of new “healing instruments” with group sexual activity termed “energy work,” used by the GW leaders as a potential inducement to participation in GWP’s “energy work” with the leader of GWP and the female followers, including Judy Garvey.

12) If requested to do so during the course of defending against the GWP lawsuit, Judy Garvey will supply a list of names of individuals known to her who participated in the GWP “energy work” (group sexual activity) discussed in the personal stories on this website.

13) We are defending against the GWP leaders’ lawsuit ourselves, from personal income and from a loan secured against our home, at great personal sacrifice. The Bergin-Garvey household does not have the luxury of a collective income based on large salaries and followers’ “donations.” We do have a lawsuit defense fund, which is described on our Protect Free Speech page.

14) The correct titles to our personal stories are A Husband's Perspective, and Insiders' Stories (www.windofchanges.org). These stories have never been titled "Bergin Report" and "Garvey Report," both titles imposed by GW's leaders and passed along to their followers.

15) Our intent in writing our stories was to provide an alternative view of the Gentle Wind Project based on our personal experiences spanning seventeen years as former followers and, for a number of years, on the GWP Board of Directors. As we say in the Prologue to A Husband's Perspective,

"Take what you want and leave the rest."