For some time we’ve been planning to name Scientology’s dirty tricks operators as #5 on our list of those employees and underlings and hired thugs who enable Scientology. But then, while we were recently a guest on Leah Remini’s podcast, Mike Rinder said something that threw a wrench into our plans.
He pointed out that since a certain 2015 court case, Scientology’s dirty tricks ringleader, Dave Lubow, has been neutralized.
Mike was referring to the criminal prosecution of private investigator Eric Saldarriaga, which publicly connected Scientology to an attempting hacking case.
Specifically, Saldarriaga was accused of trying to hack Mike Rinder and your proprietor, along with a lot of other people. We were given an opportunity to say something at Saldarriaga’s sentencing, and we did so, asking the judge to get to the bottom of who Saldarriaga was working for. Eventually, we learned that in his chambers the judge revealed that Saldarriaga had been working for Scientology, which the New York Times reported. In particular, it was Scientology dirty tricks PI Dave Lubow who had hired Saldarriaga to hack us.
All of that we knew years ago. But what took us aback while we were recording Leah’s podcast was Mike’s observation that since that episode in 2015, Dave Lubow has been put out to pasture.
Showing up in the New York Times was enough to sour Lubow with Scientology leader David Miscavige, Rinder figures, and Lubow’s career as Scientology primary dirty tricks operator is over with.
Who’s replaced him? We’re not sure. We recently revealed the identity of another “black bag department” operator that Mike had previously named, a private eye named Russ Andrews.
Mike made a pretty good case for Andrews being the guy who does Scientology’s dirty work, digging up material on David Miscavige’s enemies. Has Andrews taken over the mantle from Dave Lubow and Gene Ingram before him? Or did we blow Russ’s cover so badly that now he too will be less likely to get nasty assignments from Miscavige?
Ingram was a former dirty Los Angeles cop who would do things like impersonate police officers for Scientology to bully and harass people the church wanted scared. He was a thug who was known for flouting the law as long as the Scientology money was flowing.
Here’s what Mike Rinder had to say about him.
Gene Ingram is the godfather of Scientology PI’s in the Miscavige era. He was put out to pasture many years ago after a number of incidents where he was accused of impersonating a police officer and other shady actions. I think there was even an arrest warrant issued for him in Tampa. Ingram set up the Gerry Armstrong operation and investigated the LRH forged check scam that Marty Rathbun has written about. He was the author of many investigation tactics to “get in people’s faces” (a “noisy” investigation).
In 2016 we wrote about Ingram’s showy retirement in Cabo San Lucas, where he runs a bar, and included more stories about his years as Scientology’s hired muscle.
Ingram was replaced by Lubow, who had studied under him. It was Lubow who crashed into a business meeting being held by Robert Almblad, the “clean ice” guy we’ve told you about, in order to scare potential clients away. In that caper, he was pretending to be an investigative journalist exposing Almblad.
Lubow ran the Squirrel Busters caper in Texas, and he spent years harassing Rinder and Marty Rathbun with in-your-face camera episodes. But perhaps his most outrageous exploit is when he spent years infiltrating a circle of friends in Las Vegas so he could get close to Janis Gillham Grady, her sister Terri Gamboa, and others after they left the Sea Org and had started up a mortgage business. Tampa Bay Times legend Tom Tobin told that story in excellent detail, and Janis sent us over this photo to remind us of Lubow’s illustrious past.
That’s Lubow directly behind Janis there on the right.
If Lubow’s now on ice, who is Scientology’s chief dirty trickster? If you know, please drop us a line.
The Top 25 People Enabling Scientology
3: The judges
4: The LAPD
5: The dirty tricks private eyes
6: The Riverside County Sheriff’s Department
7: The litigators
8: The ghost private eyes
9: The San Bernardino Sheriff’s Office
10: Political shills
11: Gary Soter
12: The city of Clearwater, Florida
13: Google and other tech titans
14: The Los Angeles Times
16: James Packer
17: Louis Farrakhan
18: Mark “Marty” Rathbun
19: Wally Pope
20: Gensler
21: Parents who subscribe to ABCMouse
22: Graham Norton and other celebrity strokers
23: The apologist academics
24: Rebecca Dobkin and other low-level PI grunts
25: DirecTV and filmmakers buffing Dave’s channel
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“You can pick up a rock and handle it quite safely. It won’t disappear on you for the excellent reason that it has so many fundamentals, so many basics, so many premises from which it sprang. There are so many alter-isnesses which have proceeded along the line, that it’s not really likely to as-is in your hands. But if you start plowing around about the original rock or the source of all rocks, or you start questioning the source of all rocks, if you did it expertly enough I’m afraid you would feel the rock tremble, because if you did it completely successfully, it’s liable to be gone.” — L. Ron Hubbard, March 7, 1957
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“The ship looks good and Captain Robertson is to be congratulated on it and the officers and crew are thanked for their care and attention. I am glad to be back aboard. The only trouble is that ashore the dogs bark all night and now, without this I probably won’t be able to sleep. However, Janet Guilford says we can organize an All Hands Barking Stations.” — The Commodore, March 7, 1970
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“Our DNA does not end here. It is in instant communication with all our cells at the same time, and with any other point in space and time. We have been messed with a long time ago, so that this program, this DNA, was dysfunctional. But it is becoming activated now. I have personally experienced this and tell you guys — clearly well-educated Scientologists — that this is hot stuff. Get ready for some exciting material, delivered in an unusual way compared to LRH’s but believe me it is awesome. What is coolest about it all is that he tells you that this can affect you as God (and as we know through engrams) also can, and that this is a two-way thing. So far, the energy levels of this planet inhibited this, but they are now high enough (higher tone level, higher theta) so that we can now successfully command our DNA. We can be masters, and this is what beings like Jesus were — Masters of their own DNA. We have only 30 percent of our DNA operational and someone with the state of Christ would be 100 percent. Many people on Earth are already above the 30 percent and this process has now momentum and is awakening in every body whether or not they are spiritually minded. This new revival will not make the world spiritual yet. It will bring a conscience of compassion which will in turn bring PEACE on Earth. This is not the end. This will be the beginning, the basis from which real change can begin to occur towards spirituality as until that happens all wisdom and technology can be weaponised.”
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2001: Peter Alexander posted to a.r.s concerning the construction of the Super Power building in Clearwater. “When I was still a public member of Scientology, I contributed $100,000 to the SuperPower Building, and was privy to inside information about the project. According to Bruce and Chairman Roger, the registrars, and the SuperPower project leader, the purpose of SuperPower and the new SuperPower building was to ‘undercut’ the gradient for all of Scientology. They explained that no matter what level people attained in Scientology, they still had ‘out ethics’ which were preventing them from realizing their gains. This, they said, applied to OT8’s and OT7’s, and well as people lower on the bridge. This was a tactic admission that Scientology’s OT levels were not working, and additional hypnosis/brainwashing was required before anyone could become OT. They invited me to several luncheons with Matt Feshbach. Matt was, at the time, the only public person who had been allowed to complete SuperPower. He described one particular rundown, in which he ran and ran around a ‘maypole’ in a circle. He told me that all the members of the upper management of RTC had also done this, and the other SuperPower rundowns. These SuperPower rundowns amount to about the same level of brainwashing as the Chinese Communists used during the Great Cultural Revolution, where they could ‘re-educate’ even the toughest souls into complete submission.”
“Hubbard deciding the right tone level for being mauled by a bear is fabulous.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Masterson arraigned Jan 20. Next conf to set prelim, March 24.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing delayed to April 13.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for May 20 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Charged in Brooklyn federal court on Feb 4. Arraigned on Feb 9. Pretrial conference set for Apr 29.
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.’ Petition for writ of mandate denied Oct 22 by Cal 2nd Appellate District. Petition for review by state supreme court denied Dec 11.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Dec 30, Judge Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to compel arbitration. March 8: Status conference.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 24.
Concluded litigation:
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— 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.
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SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks
The Australian Seven News network cancelled a 10-part investigation of Scientology and its history of dirty tricks. Read the transcripts of the episodes and judge for yourself why Tom Cruise and Tommy Davis might not have wanted viewers to see this hard-hitting series by journalist Bryan Seymour.
After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. 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 a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Valerie Haney asks judge to reconsider ruling, and has some excellent arguments
[TWO years ago] Scientology denied: Eleventh Circuit brushes aside church attempt to stop Garcia appeal
[THREE years ago] Is American culture now so hopeless that Scientology’s insanity is no longer notable?
[FOUR years ago] Paul Haggis spoils movie night for Scientology, shows what a real humanitarian does
[FIVE years ago] There’s a backstory to the recent news of a Scientology TV ad being banned in the UK
[SIX years ago] Jon Atack visits an org — ALSO: The richest Scientologist gets even richer!
[SEVEN years ago] BRAD HALSEY, 1957-2014
[EIGHT years ago] NARCONON CEO GARY SMITH LOSES COUNSELOR CERTIFICATION
[NINE years ago] Scientology: Dear Judge, Protect Us from Rathbun and Rinder!
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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 2,233 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,737 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,257 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,277 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,168 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,475 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,343 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,117 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,921 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,237 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,803 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,722 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,890 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,471 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,732 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,770 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,483 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,008 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 363 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,538 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,089 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,238 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,558 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,413 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,532 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,888 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,191 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,297 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,699 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,571 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,154 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,649 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,903 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,012 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on March 7, 2021 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, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), 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, 15 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
