Last year, Larry Johnson and self-proclaimed screenwriter, Scott Baldyga, wrote and started selling for profit the book Frozen, which purported to be about Alcor. The book was published by Vanguard Press. After successfully filing suit against Johnson in 2003 for violating the privacy of Alcor members, Alcor was forced to sue Johnson again in 2009, as well as Baldyga and Vanguard, for publication of Frozen. The lawsuit was filed to obtain damages for the false and defamatory content of the book, to enforce prior court orders and agreements which publication of the book directly violated, and to protect the privacy of Alcor members.
After being found in contempt of court for failing to answer for his conduct, an arrest warrant for Larry Johnson was issued in Arizona earlier this year. This was followed by an arrest warrant in his new home state of Nevada. After posting bond for the Nevada warrant to avoid jail, Johnson finally sat for deposition on October 20, 2010. During deposition, Larry Johnson invoked the Fifth Amendment more than 300 times to avoid incriminating himself. Questions which he declined to answer included:
Q. Is it true that the book Frozen contains numerous lies and inaccuracies about Alcor?
A. I respectfully decline to answer and wish to assert my Fifth Amendment rights.
Q. Is it true that you knowingly and intentionally defamed Alcor and all of its members in the book Frozen that you authored?
A. I respectfully decline to answer and wish to assert my Fifth Amendment rights.
Q. Is it true that you have consistently made up stories concerning alleged death threats that were, in fact, never made to you?
A. I respectfully decline to answer and wish to assert my Fifth Amendment rights.
When asked if Mr. Johnson lied to various governmental agencies about his prior reports, he declined to answer based on the apparent fear of being prosecuted for criminal conduct. For instance:
Q. Is it true that you have lied to governmental agencies concerning Alcor matters?
A. I respectfully decline to answer and wish to assert my Fifth Amendment rights.
Q. Is it true that you lied to the office of OSHA concerning Alcor?
A. I respectfully decline to answer and wish to assert my Fifth Amendment rights.
When asked if any of the affidavits and statements made by Mr. Johnson to the courts of Arizona, Nevada or New York were true or false, Mr. Johnson once again invoked the Fifth Amendment against self-incrimination:
Q. Is it true that you knowingly lied to an Arizona judge concerning this proceeding?
A. I respectfully decline to answer and wish to assert my Fifth Amendment rights.
Q. Is it true that you knowingly lied to a Nevada judge concerning the proceedings before Nevada?
A. I respectfully decline to answer and wish to assert my Fifth Amendment rights.
Q. Is it true that you knowingly lied to a New York judge concerning matters pending in New York?
A. I respectfully decline to answer and wish to assert my Fifth Amendment rights.
Mr. Johnson was also asked whether he lied to various police departments about Alcor. When confronted with the implications of such conduct, Mr. Johnson once again invoked the Fifth Amendment to such questions to avoid self-incrimination:
Q. Is it true that you lied to the Scottsdale Police Department Police Department concerning Alcor?
A. I respectfully decline to answer and wish to assert my Fifth Amendment rights.
Q. Is it true that you lied to the Las Vegas Police Department concerning Alcor?
A. I respectfully decline to answer and wish to assert my Fifth Amendment rights.
Q. Is it true that you lied to the Glendale Police Department concerning Alcor?
A. I respectfully decline to answer and wish to assert my Fifth Amendment rights.
The failure of Mr. Johnson to meaningfully cooperate with orders of the court and his refusal to answer questions is the subject of a hearing to take place on November 9, 2010 in Nevada.
In June of this year, the court in Nevada domesticated the July 2009 Arizona Judgment requiring Larry Johnson and his wife to return all materials relating to Alcor, and to cease disparaging or otherwise speaking about Alcor. Following imposition of bank account levies and garnishment, Mr. Johnson paid the balance of the $6,543 judgment plus interest.
On October 26, 2010, and following the depositions of Mr. Johnson and his wife, the presiding judge in Nevada domesticated the May 2010 Arizona Contempt Judgment against Larry Johnson and his wife. The contempt judgment not only reinforces the underlying judgment for the return of Alcor-related materials, but it deems Mr. Johnson and his wife in further contempt of court. Mr. Johnson is now obligated to pay Alcor additional sanctions of more than $40,000, plus $100 for each and every day he continues his contemptuous conduct. These sanctions will be garnished from his income until they are paid in full. Alcor intends to seek further sanctions against Mr. Johnson for his continued non-compliance, including forfeiture of the $10,000 bond previously posted by Mr. Johnson to avoid being placed in jail.
On October 29, 2010, the New York court denied a motion to dismiss filed by Mr. Johnson. The court would only dismiss for now the “conversion” claim against Mr. Johnson for technical reasons, leaving claims for defamation and other causes of action intact. The New York court is going to allow the Arizona and Nevada courts to continue the process of finding Mr. Johnson in contempt of court. Alcor will also be asking for the return of documents from any third-parties located in New York based upon the domesticated Arizona judgment. Claims for defamation and other causes of action, including aiding and abetting a breach of fiduciary duty, against Vanguard Press and Scott Baldyga will also continue forward in New York.
Recently, Alcor was successful in forcing Vanguard Press to take down its promotional website of the book Frozen. Alcor is hopeful the courts will take all action necessary to continue enforcement of its orders and judgments against Mr. Johnson.
“For more information about this case, see Alcor’s Response to Larry Johnson.”
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