Masterson’s accusers feared being kicked out of Scientology. His stepfather lived it that way. “He always had a black sense of humor and was very funny,” says Linda Thompson, a friend of Jack Masterson’s. She found him to be funny and intelligent and a nice guy, but masterson’s friends and family say he was mean and moody.
“He wanted to make himself out to be this saint. He used to do all the things a saint would do. He used to get in all the movies and be on TV and go to church. You know, all the things you would expect a saint to do,” says Thompson, who had known Masterson since they attended the University of Maryland together. “Now that I know the man, you know, you don’t understand what you’re seeing. He was the kind of guy that would come out of nowhere and scare you.”
What came out of nowhere was Masterson’s discovery, in 1985, of Scientology’s “Operation Freakout.”
On the afternoon of March 1, 1985, a man named Tom Cruise boarded a flight at Miami International Airport in Florida.
Tom Cruise in an unaired version of the movie “Top Gun” (Photo: Columbia Pictures/Getty Images)
Four hours later, after leaving the airport’s parking ramp, Cruise, along with his wife and their three young children, went straight to the Scientology office, walking past a sign on the door that was labeled “No Smoking.” The man who signed the letter, Joseph Zebrowski, said he had read the sign and agreed with it. Cruise was wearing a Speedo, he said, and told Zebrowski that he planned on swimming in the pool. Zebrowski, who lives along the beach in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, says he was about to call for an ambulance when another man, John Travolta, showed up at the front door with his daughter, actress Talia Shire.
The police soon arrived at the office. When they asked for the public address system, Zebrowski gave the cop his phone number. One of the officers told Zebrowski that he needed to identify himself. Zebrowski said, “I’m David Lee Masterson,” to which the officer returned to his office.
Before long, Masterson’s family and friends gathered in front of the Scientology
