Scientologists Painted Tom Cruise’s Bikes

Apparently one of the perks of being at the top of the Scientology hierarchy is getting nearly free labor. Lawrence Wright’s investigation of the Church of Scientology in this week’s New Yorker includes an interview with John Brousseau, a former member of Scientology’s Sea Org, who says he custom-painted motorcycles and an SUV for Tom Cruise and sect leader David Miscavige—for which he was paid $50 a week. The church denies this, but Brousseau has pictures of the airplane hangar (the aluminum truss work of which Brousseau installed) full of painted bikes and an SUV with eucalyptus burl interior and a secret hiding place for a matching burl Mont Blanc pen.