[ICYMI: Last night, Leah Remini’s Emmy victory for the Danny Masterson ‘Aftermath’ episode.]
We have a couple of legal briefs for our document hounds today, and they present two radically different versions of reality.
The last time we dropped in on the criminal prosecution of Scientology donor and Miami chiropractor Dennis Nobbe, government prosecutors were appealing a court ruling and asking US Magistrate Judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes to revoke Nobbe’s bond and put him in custody.
We’ve known Nobbe for years as a Scientology bigwig who repeatedly ran into trouble for forcing Scientology on his employees, going so far as to create a mini “academy” for his workers to take Scientology courses on their time off. But it was quite a surprise when, at the end of July, Nobbe was arrested and charged with Medicare fraud and PPP loan abuse.
Nobbe was released on a $200,000 bond, and he also agreed not to contact former employees whom the government planned to call as witnesses. But then, prosecutors allege, Nobbe texted and called two of his former employees and even tried to bribe one of them. Sounding outraged, the prosecutors asked the judge to revoke Nobbe’s bond and put him in custody. Instead, she raised his bond to $350,000 and confiscated his mobile phone.
US Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan and trial attorney Sara Clingan are appealing that now, and Judge Otazo-Reyes asked Nobbe’s lawyer to respond, and then the government to reply to Nobbe’s response. We have those two documents for you today, and we’d love your thoughts on how you think the judge is going to be influenced by them.
Nobbe’s attorney H. Dohn Williams Jr. explains to the judge that although his client did break his agreement and contact the two ex-employees, it wasn’t for the nefarious purposes that the government alleges.
In the first instance, Nobbe’s lawyer says he was only reaching out to Ana Garcia because she worried about how she was going to get her hands on her final paycheck. As for Dr. Mark Zager, the other employee Nobbe contacted and, according to the government tried to bribe, is trying to work out his own deal with the government and so his credibility is shot. In a bizarre attempt to bolster that argument, Nobbe’s attorney said that Zager was dealing with a “girlfriend” (yes, in quotes) who had “participated in taking money from his office account, money the government claims was unlawfully gained.” The filing even included a photo of this woman, who is unnamed. (The government has asked that her photo be stricken from the record, and we’ve removed it from the file we uploaded.)
Um, say what?
Prosecutors weren’t too happy about that, saying that Nobbe was trying to make an issue of things that were not relevant to the matter at hand, that he had violated the terms of his release to contact a couple of people he had promised not to. And they seem particularly unhappy about the shot at Zager and the inclusion of the woman’s photo.
“The Government is troubled by the Defendant’s efforts to malign a young woman, who is not a party to this case, by publicly publishing her photo on the Court’s docket.”
And while Nobbe might be arguing that he had contacted the witnesses out of the goodness of his heart, they point out that if he really thought that he needed to reach them for some innocent purpose, he could have done so through his attorney.
These are not the actions of a man with good intentions. Instead, his intention was clearly to influence the witnesses to the criminal investigation. That intention was clear to the witnesses themselves, who described the Defendant’s intentions to “pressure,” “blackmail,” and “bribe” them.
Will the judge see it that way? Let us know how you think she’ll decide, and we’ll keep our eyes on the docket.
Here’s Nobbe’s response to the appeal…
US vs Nobbe: Defense respon… by Tony Ortega
US vs Nobbe: Gov't repl… by Tony Ortega
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Leah Remini podcast: The fair gaming of Karen de la Carriere
Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue to focus on people who have been the target of Scientology’s slimy Fair Game campaigns with an episode this week dedicated to Karen de la Carriere, seen here in a photo with attorney Ray Jeffrey and Rinder.
A former Class XII auditor who trained under Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard himself, Karen was also married to Church of Scientology president Heber Jentzsch, and they had a son, Alexander.
Alexander was forced to disconnect from his mother after she began to go public with her distancing from the church in 2010. A couple of years later, one of the most harrowing experiences we had while editing the Village Voice was hearing from Karen that she had learned that her son was dead. And not only had she been kept from the news that he had been ill, but then the church did what it could to keep her away from any arrangements about her son’s remains or a memorial.
To this day, Scientology smears Karen about has much as they do any other former Scientologist, and Leah and Mike talk with her about what that’s been like in another remarkable episode of this podcast.
Mark Bunker pitches his tourism idea
Our readers greatly enjoyed Mark Bunker’s recent musings about a potential way to turn Scientology into a draw for downtown Clearwater. And last night, he had his first chance to bring it up at a Downtown Development Board meeting. He sent over this video…
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“Now, we are not in conflict with the customs and philosophy of the planet or the universe. Quite the contrary. It’s not a case of everybody is out of step but Jim. It’s a case of others want people badly out of step. And they’re getting them pretty badly out of step. But if you can talk to and communicate with anybody on the subject of Scientology, he agrees with what you’d say. He agrees very rapidly with what you say, unless he misses a word. If he misses a word then he won’t agree with what you’ve said, but you are actually talking to him about things which have been with him as customs, far, far, far longer than any Johnny-come-lately psychology or mental science that has been foisted off on him in recent times.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 15, 1964
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“As far as this society goes, I’m out there in the world, I see the decline. As an example, I work with a couple who are upper middle class and I have gotten to know their friends. My couple are the very few who don’t do psychiatric drugs or drugs of any kind and the only ones winning in their marriage — thanks to this tech. Ron had his hands full is all I can say. Anyone attacking him and the tech are the ‘classifiables.’ I have a much better understanding of why it was hard to have the dynamics in and to make money on staff. Believe it or not it is still the 3D that is going to clear this planet and it has to be done.”
“Jeez, does everybody around here have a sock except me?”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Arraignment scheduled for September 18.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing is set for October 5 in White Plains, NY. Jeffrey’s is set for October 24.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Next pretrial conference set for Jan 12 in Los Angeles
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29, bond raised to $350,000 on Aug 27. Prosecutors appealed denial of their motion to have bond revoked, response from defense due Sept 11, response by prosecutors on Sept 14.
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Motion for reconsideration denied on August 11
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Sept 29 (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: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, awaiting verdict.
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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 reels in politicians and gets photo ops out of Hurricane Dorian
[TWO years ago] Sharp new memoir digs into Scientology’s toxic cruelty experienced by those who grow up in it
[THREE years ago] Scientology’s newest infiltration — Rebecca Minkoff and Meghan Fialkoff at Nasdaq!
[FOUR years ago] SCIENTOLOGY DENIED: California Supreme Court rejects appeal in forced-abortion lawsuit
[FIVE years ago] Back where it all started: Hoping to see you in Phoenix to talk Scientology then and now
[SIX years ago] Scientology’s secret plans for world domination — even better than the last time!
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: Texas Memories, Valley Whales, and Top Secret Plans!
[NINE years ago] Hugh Urban: An Interview With the Professor Who Took on 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 2,061 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,565 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,085 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,105 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 996 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,303 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,171 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,945 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,749 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,065 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,631 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,550 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,718 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,299 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,560 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,598 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,311 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,836 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,366 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,926 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,066 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,386 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,241 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,360 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,716 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,019 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,125 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,527 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,399 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,982 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,477 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,731 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,840 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 15, 2020 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post 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 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
