In the 1970s, while states across the country like New York and California were creating their own copycat programs, Synanon’s maniacal leader made members stockpile weapons, forced spouses to swap partners, and coerced men to get sterilized and women to have abortions. The only children he wanted in Synanon were those whom the juvenile justice system or parents were paying them to treat; others he saw as a drain on resources. Ultimately, Synanon’s downfall began when Dederich ordered his henchmen to place a derattled rattlesnake in the mailbox of Paul Morantz, a courageous attorney who’d won
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