Just a few days ago, Leah Remini spoke to us after the Clearwater Police dropped its investigation of child sexual assault at a Scientology school in Florida, resulting in the victim, who goes by ‘Jane Doe,’ asking her attorneys to drop her lawsuit against the church.
Leah singled out three law enforcement agencies for criticism:
“You have police departments that are unwilling to be the voice for the victims of Scientology like the Clearwater PD, like the LAPD Hollywood Division, like the Riverside County Sheriff’s Office in California. And you are dealing with a group of people who have withstood unimaginable sexual, physical, and mental abuse by Scientology,” she said.
For years, Leah has been highly critical of the LAPD’s Hollywood Division, which maintains a cozy relationship with Scientology, and which every December receives from Scientology’s Celebrity Centre a big check for the police department’s youth programs, raising about $20,000 each year going back some 26 years. Here’s a typical scene, which we’ve highlighted in the past, with LAPD officials gladly accepting another big check from the church…
Leah says it’s no accident that Scientology specifically raises this money for the Hollywood Division, which patrols a district where many of Scientology’s most well-known LA landmarks are located, like the Hollywood Celebrity Centre.
The result is that even the rest of the LAPD knows that the Hollywood Division is hopelessly compromised by its cozy relationship with the church. When Danny Masterson’s rape accusers decided to approach the LAPD in the fall of 2016, for example, they were told by the LAPD that their case would be handled by detectives downtown in order to bypass the corrupt Hollywood Division, even though the incidents had happened in Hollywood.
So with all of that as background, we noticed that this year’s $20,000 check from Scientology was actually delivered to the city council a few days ago by Mayor Eric Garcetti himself.
Yes, this Eric Garcetti, seen here in 2002 as a city councilman presenting an official proclamation to Celebrity Centre president Susan Watson on the occasion of the facility’s 33rd anniversary.
On April 20, according to the city’s records, Mayor Garcetti personally presented to the city council the proposal for the $20,000 donation raised during Scientology’s 2019 Winter Wonderland activities, half of which were used for a toy giveaway, and the other half for the city’s “Junior Cadet” program. (That’s a program for the city’s 8 to 12 year olds who have an interest in law enforcement.)
Garcetti presented the proposal for the funding with a letter from his new police chief, Michael Moore, assuring the council that there were no conflicts of interest, that there was no contract with Scientology involved, and that Scientology was a non-profit that would gain no benefit from it.
“All possible conflicts of interest have been researched. No expressed or implied commitment or promise was made to the Church of Scientology Celebrity Centre or representatives of the donor; the donor will not receive any preferential treatment, endorsement, or recommendation: and, the donor is not allowed the use of any LAPD patent,” wrote Hollywood commanding officer Steven D. Lurie in a document that was also stamped by Scientology’s Hollywood pal, Commander Cory Palka.
Are you reassured? Just a cool 20 thousand from Scientology to help out the Hollywood Division, solicited by the police and hand-delivered to the council for its approval by the mayor. What could be more proper and on the up and up, right?
Here’s the document itself, which was approved by the council on May 20…
Mayor Garcetti submits Scie… by Tony Ortega on Scribd
The good news is that the Hollywood Division has kept its dirty paws off of the Danny Masterson investigation, which has now been going on for more than three years.
Come on, LA District Attorney Jackie Lacey. Surprise us and announce a decision on charges after all this time one way or the other.
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Ohio official claims Governor wielding Scientology pamphlet was a mistake
We never heard back from Ohio Governor Mike DeWine’s office, but yesterday Cleveland Plain Dealer reporter Seth Richardson got a response from the governor’s office, as well as one from Scientology spokeswoman Karin Pouw.
We had reported Wednesday that DeWine, at a press conference last week, showed off a “health kit” that the state would be handing out, and that it contained a pamphlet printed and distributed by the Church of Scientology with basic advice about avoiding coronavirus infection. According to a state press release, thousands of the health kits would be handed out, courtesy of the Ohio Association of Community Health Centers and the Nationwide Foundation.
But DeWine’s spokesman Dan Tierney told Richardson that someone at the state’s Department of Rehabilitation and Correction had put together the health kit for DeWine to use in his demonstration, and it was the only one that had a copy of the Scientology pamphlet. The rest going out would have pamphlets put out by the state itself, Tierney said.
So Scientology will miss out on the opportunity to have its literature handed out by the state of Ohio, apparently, but we suspect that things might have gone differently if Rod Keller hadn’t tipped us to Governor DeWine’s performance.
Anyway, Karin was hopping mad, telling Richardson that this Ortega character was a “liar and a bigot.”
Lol.
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Bonus items from our tipsters
They printed a gazillion of these stupid pamphlets, people…
Scientology TV as recruiting tool…
This planet will be cleared in no time…
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“I can take a look at my desk barometer any day of the week and get a better weather forecast than I get over the telephone. I’m being hard on the boys. Every year they get a little bit better. They’re finding the sky too. And then all of a sudden we get into passenger traffic left and right across the Atlantic, and we hear ‘above-the-weather flight,’ ‘radar-spotted weather,’ you see, and so on. They’re still finding clouds. They haven’t found the sky yet, see. Then they shot off a few cosmonauts, who became naught in Russia with great rapidity, and they found a great deal there called ‘the sky.’ And five dead cosmonauts later, the Russians must have decided that they should know something about it. But because they had lots of cosmonauts they probably haven’t bothered. But the point is, they send people up into the Van Allen belt, named after Van Allen. Who the hell heard of him? I don’t know, maybe he was the fellow who invented radiation fallout or something. In other words, they shoot people up into these areas, and they get scorched or something happens or something of that sort, and they’re in the big vagueness of ‘There is a sky.’ They’re still on this thing here, see.” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 29, 1963
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“The problem with the independent field in the US is that they have forgotten the purpose of training and auditing, they are far from being spiritual and it’s tragic there’s no one here to lead. The situation is very serious, as we see the world being taken over by the implanters, they want to drug people, turn them into robots. Every day more and more people won’t be auditable.”
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“I appreciate Shatner for being a survivor and roaring back to be virtually everywhere at once after his wife died and everyone had written him off as a hopeless drunk.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Jay Spina: Sentencing was set for April 3 in White Plains
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members: Trial set for October 7 in Los Angeles
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Waiting for an appellate decision from the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Hearing on motion for reconsideration set for August 11
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: July 8 (plaintiff attorneys pro hac vice), August 31-Sept 1 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales, Masterson demurrer), Oct 7-19 (motions to compel arbitration)
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach bankruptcy appeal: Oral arguments were heard on March 11 in Jacksonville
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Amended complaint filed.
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Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!
We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. 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!
Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society!
Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in our weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Scientology planning new series of books to rope in children?
[TWO years ago] Laura D’s attorneys answer Scientology’s latest delaying tactic with a legal blast of their own
[THREE years ago] She’s back! Leah Remini builds a case for Scientology aggression in tonight’s A&E special
[FOUR years ago] It’s a miracle! Scientology put ‘more than 10,000’ people in these 1,000 chairs!
[FIVE years ago] 20 questions about Scientology — with answers that get to the center of a dying movement
[SIX years ago] Hey, IRS: Stunning photos inside the lavish personal offices of Scientology’s leader
[SEVEN years ago] Former Scientology Enforcer Marty Rathbun Examines His Past as the Church’s “Warrior”
[EIGHT years ago] Amanda Palmer Dramatically Answers Questions About Her Connection to Scientology
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 1,952 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,456 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 1,976 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 996 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 887 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,194 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,062 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,836 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,610 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 2,956 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,522 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,441 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,609 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,190 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,451 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,489 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,202 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,727 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,257 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,817 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 2,957 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,277 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,132 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,252 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,607 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 5,910 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,016 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,418 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,290 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,873 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,368 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,622 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,731 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on May 29, 2020 at 07:00
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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. Our book about Paulette, 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, 1995-2019 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2019), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | 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 | Shelly Miscavige, 14 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, or 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 | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
