Tony Ortega is a journalist who was formerly the editor of The Village Voice. He's written about Scientology since 1995, and in May 2015 released a book about Scientology's harassment of Paulette Cooper titled 'The Unbreakable Miss Lovely.' He continues to monitor breaking developments in the Scientology world from an undisclosed location in an underground bunker he shares with four cats and one of them wrinkly Shar Pei dogs. Despite his super-secret security protections, you can still reach him pretty easily by sending him a message at tonyo94 AT gmail.com (Drop him a line if you'd like to get an e-mail whenever a new story is posted.) [Header image courtesy John Rickard]
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Laura DeCrescenzo fires back at Scientology’s desperate new federal court gambit

 Late last year, we told you about Scientology’s latest and rather desperate attempt to derail Laura DeCrescenzo’s nine-year odyssey to seek justice after being forced to have an abortion as a 17-year-old Sea Org []

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Scientology sues Laura DeCrescenzo in latest plot to kill her 8-year forced-abortion claim

[Eric Lieberman and Bert Deixler]

From the “you have to be kidding us” department, we have this last-minute 2017 news. A week ago, Scientology’s attorneys Eric Lieberman and Bert Deixler filed a federal lawsuit on behalf of the Church of Scientology International in California.

The defendant? Laura []

LIVE IN L.A.: Hearing in Laura DeCrescenzo’s Scientology forced-abortion lawsuit

[Laura DeCrescenzo, Sea Org worker, circa 1996]

Today, in a Los Angeles courtroom, the Church of Scientology will try to convince a judge that it can treat its own workers as harshly as it wants to and a US civil court can have nothing to say about it.

Laura DeCrescenzo filed her abuse lawsuit against the []

Laura DeCrescenzo, on eve of crucial hearing, explains Scientology for new judge

[Judge John P. Doyle]

Laura DeCrescenzo’s legal team filed its latest brief in advance of a crucial hearing, and we have the document for you. Laura’s forced-abortion lawsuit against the Church of Scientology is almost seven years old now, and trial dates have been set a couple of times. But there’s a final hurdle that she []

Laura DeCrescenzo answers Scientology ‘religion’ gambit on eve of key hearing

Less than seven weeks away from a trial she’s been awaiting more than six years, Laura DeCrescenzo has to get over yet another hurdle this week placed in her way by the Church of Scientology.

Laura sued Scientology in 2009 claiming that she’d been abused in the church’s Sea Organization, and that she’d been forced to []

New judge announced in Laura DeCrescenzo case, and Narconon lawyers up

The last time we checked on Laura DeCrescenzo’s forced-abortion lawsuit against Scientology, we learned that Judge Ronald Sohigian (who handed Laura such a decisive victory in October) had decided to retire. The case was assigned to Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Rafael A. Ongkeko, but Scientology filed a peremptory challenge, which automatically was granted.

So now, []

Judge in Laura DeCrescenzo’s case retires, Scientology objects to his replacement

Last month, Los Angeles Supreme Court Judge Ronald Sohigian announced that he’d be retiring in April.

That’s directly affecting Laura DeCrescenzo, who went through so much last year to get her forced-abortion lawsuit against the Church of Scientology through several appeals and then a big summary judgment hearing before Sohigian in October.

Those of you who were []

Scientology asks for psychiatric examination of Laura DeCrescenzo in forced-abortion lawsuit

Laura DeCrescenzo (center) with Marc and Claire Headley as word emerged that Scientology’s motion for summary judgment had been defeated

The Church of Scientology has already demonstrated that it will go to extraordinary lengths to fight and derail the lawsuit filed in 2009 by former Sea Org member Laura DeCrescenzo.

Just to contest an order []

HOW SCIENTOLOGY COERCED A CHILD TO HAVE AN ABORTION: THE LAURA DECRESCENZO FILES

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In anticipation of her biggest day in court yet, Laura DeCrescenzo and her attorneys hit the Church of Scientology with 928 pages of new filings

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Details from 18,000 pages of evidence show how Scientology manipulated a child to keep her working under slave-like conditions

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A key document describing DeCrescenzo’s unwillingness to have her coerced abortion is missing []

Scientology Turns Over Documents, Laura DeCrescenzo Begins Process to Review Them

After failing with multiple appeals to the California and U.S. Supreme Courts to prevent it, today the Church of Scientology complied with a lower court order and turned over 18,000 pages of documents to former church employee Laura DeCrescenzo.

She will now begin a process of reviewing the electronic files to see if they’re complete. The []