Italy Ambassador ran abusive teen antidrug program

Many americans wouldn't be shocked to learn of more Bush appointees with serious flaws in their resumes, occupying executive branch offices, in the same category as Michael Brown, the inept head of FEMA during the 2005 hurricane season. Melvin Sembler, the ambassador to Italy during the first half of the Bush presidency, has entire organizations, websites, and therapy groups composed of adults still angry and recovering from shockingly abusive treatment they received in Sembler's "Straight, Inc." chain of teen programs which operated from the 70s through early 90s. Nancy Regan's favorite teen program, Straight Inc. was shut down following a series of lawsuits, but several coercive antidrug programs still operate under different names using identical methods.

Groups documenting cults operating in the U.S. have covered the 'Synanon' approach, and verified its strong psychological cult qualities. In addition, many of these programs are anti-gay, anti-sex, removed children from school so that they reached age 18 lacking years of education, caused severe health problems in kids, and encouraged physical beatings by older members of the new initiates. Links at these sites detail hundreds of personal cases of trauma, torture, withholding of food, rape, and other illegal activity. Incidentally, if you trace the connection between the Moonie cult and the right-wing Washington Times newspaper and their related political activities, it is clear that this is not the only source of cult money for the republican party.
http://www.rickross.com/groups/straightinc.html
http://thestraights.com/index.htm
http://www.webdiva.org/fox/

Mother Jones has a well-written
http://www.motherjones.com/news/feature/2007/09/how_a_cult_spawned_the_tough_love_teen_industry.html

Among many lawsuits which brought down Straight Inc. was a case where Fred Collins, an adult engineering/math PhD student at a university, tried to visit his brother who was enrolled in a program. A program employee basically had Fred kidnapped with accusations that he was a drug user, and kept from leaving the building for 4 months. While this was just one example, can you imagine anyone else in societybeing allowed to continue about their business and even be appointed Ambassador to Italy, after engaging in such conduct?
http://www.thestraights.com/newton-abuse-at-straight.htm

Mel Sembler has received government subsidies for his poor performing strip mall developments in southern states
http://www.blogwood.com/archives/000576.html

Mitt Romney, republican candidate for president, is a large recipient of Mel Sembler's generous political donations
http://www.correntewire.com/dog_guantanamo_mel_sembler_mitt_romney

Despite failures in land development and teenage antidrug residential programs, Sembler is a wealthy senior citizen in Florida. He is a major donor to the public relations campaign lead by former press secretary Ari Fleischer to run political advertisements backing the surge and arguing against exit from Iraq.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/08/23/AR2007082302235.html