Rod Keller told us about some shenanigans aimed at his old website. We asked him to write it up, because we think you’re going to want to hear about the attack he fended off so skillfully…
In October 2014 I started a WordPress blog called SecCheck. I posted photos and videos I found on social media similar to Mike Rinder’s Thursday Funnies and somewhat like the articles I write today for the Underground Bunker. SecCheck still exists but hasn’t been updated since December, 2015.
On October 23 I received notice from WordPress that the SecCheck article linking to the video had also been removed.
Somebody didn’t want information about The Trial of Hugo Colomba on the Internet.
The video features Tom Cummins, one of Scientology’s top donors and CEO of American Power and Gas. My original article reads:
This video taken inside the offices of American Power and Gas in Seminole, Florida shows a mock “Court of Ethics” for their employee Hugo Colomba. American Power and Gas is a WISE (World Institute of Scientology Enterprises) company, and the founder and CEO is Tom Cummins, one of the largest contributors to Scientology organizations in the world. The company re-sells electricity and gas in states where that is legal, and they are known for aggressive telemarketing and poor customer service. They have a rating of “F” with the Better Business Bureau and are currently shown as having failed to respond to 133 customer complaints in the past year.
The company is run according to the Hubbard Management System, in which an “org board” groups employees into seven Divisions, and subgroups of 21 Departments. All Scientology orgs and missions have the same structure. Hugo Colomba is a native of Argentina, and the Estates Manager for American Power and Gas, meaning he is in charge of maintaining the building. The post is in Division 7 of the Scientology org board, which is the Executive Division. In the video he is being recognized for his work on the Bogota, Colombia Ideal Org. It appears American Power and Gas and Tom Cummins lent their Estates Manager as a contribution to building the Bogota Org. Cummins conducts a mock “Court of Ethics” for Colomba. A real Court of Ethics is an investigation into wrongdoing that could result in a Scientologist being stripped of various awards, or being declared an SP, a Suppressive Person resulting in expulsion from Scientology.
In this case the trial is a humorous pretense, and Colomba is granted time off from his job in order to complete 17 Intensives at the newly opened Bogota Ideal Org to achieve the Scientology level of Clear, in which one no longer has his or her own reactive mind. The company is paying the bill for the Intensives, which are blocks of auditing time of 12.5 hours each. So Colomba is being awarded a total 202.5 hours of auditing in recognition of his hard work on the org building, and is not to return until he is Clear.
The DMCA complaint against the video came from a person not in Florida or Colombia, but in Russia.
Copyright Holder: Sergey Shabutovich
Address: Leninsky Ave 160
St. Petersburg, Leningrad region 196247
Phone number: +7981789567
Email address: ff35ff35ff35@gmail.com
The DMCA complaint against the article itself came from the UK.
First name: Mason
Last name: Soiza
Company name:
Address: Southbridge, Clifton lane, Ruddington, Nottingham
City: Ruddington
State/Region/Province: Nottingham
ZIP: NG11 6AB
Country: United Kingdom (GB)
Email address: masonsoiza94@gmail.com
Copyright holder: Mason Soiza
Sergey Shabutovich doesn’t appear in Google, and his email address certainly appears bogus. Mason Soiza does exist, and is known as a spammer, payday loan promoter, and in 2015 registered a domain for an escort website. He operates an online pharmacy to dispense opiates. A DMCA counter-notice was filed against both, but how can Soiza claim my article violates his copyright? He copied the text to his own blog and backdated it to appear as if it is the original and I was infringing his copyright. A DMCA notice was filed against his Tumblr blog and the infringing article was removed. Neither Shabutovich nor Soiza contested the counter-notices and The Trial of Hugo Colomba was restored on SecCheck.
In the years since, American Power and Gas has improved its BBB rating from F to C+ and Hugo Colomba has gone clear and beyond. In January he reached the level of OT III and has learned the secrets of the galactic civil war that brought frozen thetans to Teegeeack. Cummins has become a fixture on the Ideal Org circuit. Who doesn’t want the trial of Hugo Colomba on the Internet? Cummins and Colomba seem the obvious possibilities, but they have effectively shrouded their efforts behind a non-existent Russian and an English opiate distributor.
— Rod Keller
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Get well, Steve Mango
Hey, we just heard that ex-Scientologist Steve Mango underwent surgery to remove a (non-cancerous, thankfully) tumor on his spine, and he’s in a lot of pain and will likely be in the hospital for a few more days.
Let’s send some Underground Bunker good vibes his way, and let him know that we’re rooting for him to be on his feet as soon as possible.
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Scientology’s celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs’ — now with comments!
We’re building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs.’ We’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them, in order to build a record and maintain a watch as Scientology continues its inexorable decline — and yes, we finally have comments working on these new pages! Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.
Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!
Today’s ‘Ideal Advanced Org’: AOSH EU, Denmark!
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Now on sale: Twice the Miss Lovely!
Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. What a pleasure it is for us to work with her on this after we wrote about her ordeal as a victim of Scientology’s “Fair Game” campaigns in our 2015 book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, which is also on sale in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions.
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Charles Manson and Scientology: What the church doesn’t want you to know
[TWO years ago] Scientology is making this world ideal, one renovated building at a time
[THREE years ago] Five months later, Ponzi schemer and Scientologist Reed Slatkin is still dead
[FOUR years ago] Did a fashion website give a big boost to a Scientology infiltrator of NYC schools?
[FIVE years ago] Claire and Bruce Take Us Into the Bizarre World of Scientology’s Operating Thetan Two!
[SIX years ago] Fox 25 in Oklahoma City Keeps Up the Pressure on Scientology’s Drug Rehab Deaths
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Bernie Headley has not seen his daughter Stephanie in 5,274 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 1,907 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 1,387 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 450 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 338 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 3,645 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 1,513 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,287 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,061 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 2,407 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 10,973 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 6,893 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,060 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 2,641 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 2,901 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 1,941 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 1,653 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,179 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,268 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 2,408 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 2,728 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 7,584 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 2,703 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,059 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 5,361 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 1,467 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 1,870 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 1,741 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,324 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 1,829 days.
Mary Jane Sterne has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,073 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,182 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 20, 2018 at 07:00
E-mail tips and story ideas to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We post behind-the-scenes updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.
Our book, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.
The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2017 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Undergound Bunker (2012-2017), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…
BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists
GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice
SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts
Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates
Join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news
