Lois and Gary Reisdorf have been seething with anger and hate at having been kicked out of the Church of Scientology religious order more than three decades ago for dishonesty and unethical behavior.
Now, frustrated that their son Craig remains in the religion and that he refused to let them run his entire life, they are resorting to Leah Remini’s hate-filled reality TV show to lie.
Rather than accept responsibility as parents, the Reisdorfs use the program to offer excuses while allowing warped hatemongers Remini and Mike Rinder to actually try to blame their former religion for a violent attack against the Los Angeles Church by their son Brandon in which he was arrested and charged by authorities before pleading guilty. Brandon also made an avalanche of threats against Lois Reisdorf’s two sisters, something Remini and Rinder ignored.
The Reisdorfs use the program to offer excuses while allowing warped hatemongers Remini and Mike Rinder to actually try to blame their former religion for a violent attack against the Los Angeles Church by their son Brandon.
Brandon clearly has inherited his parents’ venomous religious hate. Brandon was convicted of a felony by the Los Angeles Superior Court for using a hammer to smash the window of the Church of Scientology of Los Angeles. After serving part of his sentence, Brandon is now on probation for three years, and a criminal protective order states he cannot come within 100 yards of Church facilities or the Church’s leader. On top of that, Brandon sent a flood of threatening mails to his own aunts—Lois’s sisters—including suggesting he was carrying a weapon.
As Brandon voluntarily told the Court during his sentencing: “For the Church and the Court to express my sincere remorse for my irresponsible actions I chose to commit against the Church of Scientology. Sorry for what I did and I apologize not only to the Church of Scientology but also to the L.A. County Courts and Sheriff’s Department for the time consumed to address the situation caused by my poor behavior. I do not condone violence and have no previous issues with damage to anyone or their property. Apologize for my actions and words especially to those who were threatened and take responsible [sic] for the wrongful action I committed.”
“I have recently received 93 threatening emails in one morning from Brandon, Lois’s son,” said Lois’s sister Louveigne. “These emails are incredibly antagonistic and threatening, and it isn’t the first time I’ve received emails like this from him. There have been times in the past where they were really threatening towards myself personally and a number of people, and to receive 93 in one go is quite something.”
Likewise, another of Lois’s sisters, Geray, was also bombarded with threatening emails by her nephew Brandon.
“I actually don’t even know her son very well” Geray said. “So I don’t even know how he would have any information to threaten me with anything. Threatening me with…okay, he’s packing heat…life-threatening things. And things he said that I would not repeat. And that comes from Lois. There is no one else that he would have spoken to or anything. His mother is behind that.”
“Threatening me with…okay, he’s packing heat…life-threatening things. And things he said that I would not repeat. And that comes from Lois. There is no one else that he would have spoken to or anything. His mother is behind that.”
A day after Brandon’s arrest for vandalizing the Los Angeles Church, he was placed under psychiatric care. A Tarasoff Reporting Form was also issued to alert the Church to the threat Brandon posed should he be released. The report stated that “Brandon Reisdorf has been threatening to harm Mr. [David] Miscavige.”
Geray said that her sister’s anger and hate runs so deep she disowned her own family. “I’ve many times attempted to get the family together, including her and her family,” Geray said. “Very recently, even as of just a few months ago, she herself sent out letters to all of the family that said she no longer wants to have any communication with any of us and no longer wants to associate with us. So the fact that she’s saying we’re no longer trying to be in communication with her is actually not true.”
Lois’s son Craig said he had become estranged from his parents when he was 21, as he could no longer deal with their unethical lifestyle and their attempts to control every aspect of his life, including his choice of a fiancée, where he lived, and what career he chose.
“As soon as I became an adult and realized that I’m an adult and I’m going to start living my own life, is when I ran into the problem with my parents,” Craig said. “And it started with my falling in love with my fiancée, my best friend. We moved out and the first thing that happened was my mom had gone to my brother and basically talked to him about my fiancée and negatively about her and everything. And turned him against me, just on my fiancée. And basically convinced him that she wasn’t good for me.”
Craig became disillusioned with the unethical lifestyle of his parents. Gary Reisdorf was drinking heavily and cheating on his wife. Louveigne, Lois’s sister, said that Lois even had the nerve to blame their mother when she discovered Gary was cheating on her.
Craig became disillusioned with the unethical lifestyle of his parents. Gary Reisdorf was drinking heavily and cheating on his wife. Louveigne, Lois’s sister, said that Lois even had the nerve to blame their mother when she discovered Gary was cheating on her.
“I specifically remember when it became clear that Gary had had extramarital affairs and this caused a huge amount of trouble for Lois,” Louveigne recalled. “And unfortunately she actually then blamed my parents somehow with that. And how that all relates I don’t see, but I know that had an incredible effect on my mother and she really, it really broke her heart.”
Louveigne continued; “My sister went through trouble later on in life and my mother tried to help her. My sister married this man who was involved in extramarital activities at least on ten different instances that I’ve been made aware of. My mother desperately tried to get her to see that this was very, like not a good situation for her and tried to help her out over and over. She refused to take on any of that help. My mother’s heart was broken.”
Geray recalls how Lois’s husband Gary attacked Louveigne. “My sisters and my family, we’re extremely tight,” Geray said. “And I have a sister, Louveigne, who came all the way from South Africa, went to San Diego, visited with Lois’s family. And while there, she was attacked verbally by Lois’s husband Gary, while he was drunk, several times. Very, very racist. And this really upset Louveigne.”
Craig said that his parents even resented that Scientology had freed him of a lifestyle of drugs, surfing and sex. He noted that one would think parents would rejoice at the news their child is drug-free.
Craig said that his parents even resented that Scientology had freed him of a lifestyle of drugs, surfing and sex. He noted that one would think parents would rejoice at the news their child is drug-free.
“I got into Scientology and it became honesty, happiness and basically following your goals and dreams that you want to accomplish,” Craig said. “That’s what I started into and that’s where I was going. And that’s where I’m going now.”
The real story of Lois Reisdorf and her current bitterness is that she was expelled from the religious order in August 1982 for destructive and unethical behavior. Founder L. Ron Hubbard himself personally removed her due to her issuing destructive and “malicious” orders “time and time again.” He stripped her of all rank, assigned her to clean rooms for parishioners and forbade her from ever again holding a higher position, stating: “There IS NO excuse for these crimes at any time, for any reason, ever.” Gary Reisdorf was also assigned to cleaning and maintenance.
Craig Reisdorf said that his parents won’t change. “They’re the ones who aren’t willing to change, who aren’t willing to allow me to have my own life and to do the things I want to do,” he said. “Like drive up the California coast to San Francisco or go to South Africa on a trip to go surfing and see my family. Or follow my path and career as a real estate agent. They don’t want that for me. They want me to be living at home and doing the things they want. And you know, I just keep running into that problem. And they just aren’t willing to change and they aren’t willing to work with me.”
“They’re the ones who aren’t willing to change, who aren’t willing to allow me to have my own life and to do the things I want to do.”
Added Louveigne: “I have no doubt that Lois has an intention to ensure that our family remains in strife, in fighting and not getting on, because in that way she can sort of stay in the middle of all that. Now that I have no contact with her, none of us do, which we’ve personally chosen to do, we don’t want to have that kind of person in between us. We just get on so well. And everything is going brilliantly. Everyone is happy.”
