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Why the upcoming ‘prelim’ is a nightmare for Danny Masterson — and for Scientology

[Masterson at his Sept 18 court appearance]

Now that we’ve had a couple of days to think about the hearing we listened in on Wednesday, and we’ve had a chance to talk it over with our legal experts, we wanted to discuss the situation that Danny Masterson now faces, and, just as importantly, what the live testimony at a preliminary hearing will mean for the Church of Scientology.

The “prelim” is scheduled for May 18, and Judge Charlaine Olmedo made it obvious that she’s not in the mood to see that date changed.

Suddenly, the consequences of these allegations are catching up to Danny Masterson very quickly, after decades of delay and interference from his church.

We first broke the news of an LAPD investigation of Masterson in March 2017, four years ago, and for a long time it looked like then-District Attorney Jackie Lacey was never going to file charges. She finally did last June, charging Masterson with forcibly raping three different women under California’s strict “One Strike” sexual assault law, carrying a potential penalty of 45 years to life.

But even then, the combination of a pandemic and the delaying tactics of Masterson’s attorneys pushed back his arraignment to January 20, when the case was finally moved to its trial court, that of Judge Olmedo on the ninth floor of the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center, where high-profile felonies are handled.

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And now Olmedo has firmly taken the case in hand and within just weeks Masterson and his legal team will face the first truly nightmarish consequence of his criminal prosecution: the live testimony of his victims at the preliminary hearing.

Our legal experts have explained to us that in some ways the “prelim” will be even worse for Masterson than the trial, and almost certainly worse for the Church of Scientology, an organization with a proven track record of avoiding live testimony in its long history of litigation.

Why? Well, keep in mind that what prosecutor Reinhold Mueller is required to do at this point is convince Judge Olmedo that “probable cause” exists which justifies the expense of a criminal trial. And to do that, he needs to put on enough evidence to establish that probable cause.

In this case, that will mean the three women Masterson is accused of raping will get a chance to tell their stories on the witness stand, and Masterson’s attorneys Tom Mesereau and Sharon Appelbaum will get the opportunity to cross-examine them.

But the scope of testimony and the number of witnesses at a prelim is narrower than at the trial itself, and that’s why the prelim is such a problem for the church.

At the trial itself, we expect that Mesereau and Appelbaum will take the classic approach and put on their own witnesses in an attempt to destroy the reputations of Masterson’s alleged victims. That’s what rape trials are often like, and based on what we’ve been able to gather from Mesereau’s moves so far we expect he’ll take that approach this time as well.

But the defense can’t do that in the prelim, which isn’t a full-blown trial. In the prelim, Mueller will get a chance to put on some of his case, enough to establish cause, and Mesereau won’t be able to put on his own witnesses to trash the victims.

And that’s going to be a big problem not only for Masterson, but especially for Scientology.

Why? Because, as we’ve been telling you from the start of this case, Danny Masterson’s alleged rapes are hopelessly intertwined with the Church of Scientology. Masterson not only grew up in the church and is a lifelong Scientologist, but the three women, when these incidents occurred between 2001 and 2003, were also Scientologists at the time (they aren’t today).

When these women get a chance to tell their stories, they will not only be describing what Danny Masterson put them through, but also what the church subsequently did to keep them from going to the police.

We know this is going to be a big part of this case because, as we’ve been telling you since 2017, there is actually a lot of evidence about what the women endured — in particular, the woman we referred to as “Victim B” in our initial reporting and who is referred to as “Jane Doe #1” in the civil lawsuit. As the Hollywood Reporter added in its own good reporting on this case, there are key documents from Victim B’s mother that not only back up her story but also implicate Scientology’s involvement and its attempts to shut her up. The media will go wild when these documents are entered as evidence.

We expect the testimony from all three women — Victim A, Victim B, and Victim C, also known as Chrissie Carnell Bixler, Jane Doe #1 and Jane Doe #2 — to be harrowing and emotional, and every word will be carried by a rapt media thirsty for details on this case.

And for decades, that’s exactly the kind of situation Scientology has tried very hard to avoid.

There’s a long historical record that we can point to here. Take Debbie Cook, for example. Scientology sued her, the former captain of the Flag Land Base, for sending out an email questioning the leadership of David Miscavige. Her attorney Ray Jeffrey responded by quickly getting her into the witness chair at a preliminary hearing, and for a few hours Debbie Cook described what it was like to be a prisoner in “The Hole,” David Miscavige’s prison for his own executives. Press coverage exploded.

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The next day, Scientology not only dropped the matter, it paid Debbie Cook a huge amount to make sure she never said another word. Yes, Scientology paid Debbie Cook to end its own lawsuit against her.

Or look at the Laura DeCrescenzo case. For nine years Scientology fought tooth and nail in her lawsuit which alleged that she had been forced to have an abortion while a 17-year-old Sea Org employee. Like in so many cases, those hearings and motions and arguments were over technical matters and points of law, not the merits of the case. But after the last of those delaying tactics had finally been swept away and the case was just days away from a trial starting, and when Laura would finally get a chance to be called to the witness chair to tell a jury about what it was like to work as a child in the Sea Org, David Miscavige caved and wrote a giant check to make the case go away.

And so it goes. As we’ve seen in the Valerie Haney lawsuit and the one filed by Masterson’s accusers, Scientology fights every step of the way, but only about legal matters, in order to prevent live testimony from happening. Because, as Mike Rinder and others have pointed out, Scientology knows it can’t allow sworn testimony in a public setting about what it does to its own people. The facts themselves are so awful, they know what effect that testimony will have.

Take Victim B/Jane Doe #1, for example. Four years ago, we first told you that after she went to Scientology with her allegations of being raped by Masterson in April 2003, the church put her through about $15,000 in auditing, trying to convince her that things she had done in her past lives had caused her to be a victim in this lifetime, and in order to convince her not to go the LAPD. (She defied the church and did go to the LAPD in 2004, but Scientology swarmed the investigation with affidavits calling her a liar. The LAPD closed the case at that point. Then in August 2004 a church attorney brought Victim B a hand-written letter of apology from Masterson, and asked her to sign a non-disclosure agreement so she would never make her allegations public. Under pressure from the church, which threatened to “declare” her unless she complied, she signed the agreement and was paid in the low six figures.)

That’s the kind of thing that could come out in the prelim, and without Mesereau being able to put on his own witnesses to try and destroy the reputations of these women.

The prelim is very, very bad for Danny Masterson, and potentially even worse for Scientology.

And we want to point out here something else that took place during Wednesday’s hearing. Some of the media is making a big deal about the fact that Mesereau, in his latest gripe about media coverage, made some unsubstantiated accusations about law enforcement leaking facts in the case to the press.

Mueller denied it, and Mesereau offered no proof of it: It was just more bluster from Mesereau, and the press is missing the real import of this moment. Because when Judge Olmedo asked Mesereau to explain what made the Masterson case different from other high-profile Hollywood cases, it’s what Mesereau didn’t say that spoke volumes.

Because of course the thing that does make the Masterson case different is Scientology’s involvement. So why didn’t Mesereau say so?

If he were really only serving the interests of his client, it would have made sense for him to cry out about how Masterson’s “religion” was coloring coverage of the case. But we think it’s pretty plain that Scientology wants very much for Masterson and his attorney to do their best to keep the church out.

Mesereau kept quiet at a moment when the judge was literally inviting him to go off about the press coverage.

We think it was a very telling moment, and suggests that Masterson and his attorneys are mindful of what Scientology thinks about this case.

So, what do we expect? We expect that the defense team will try to find a way to delay the prelim, even though Judge Olmedo is in no mood for it. Our experts tell us this could be possible and we’ll get to that in a minute.

But we have also told you that if the DA’s office is going to offer Masterson a plea deal (and it is under no obligation to do so), it would come now, between the arraignment and the preliminary hearing, and not after. Our experts tell us that once the women have gone through the emotional experience and trauma of testimony and cross-examination of a prelim, the DA will then prepare for trial and will not offer Danny a deal. Also, we have reported in past stories about facts in this case, based on witnesses we’ve interviewed, which suggest to us that the prosecutor will have an opportunity to add “enhancements” to the charges after the prelim, which could greatly add to Masterson’s potential sentence. (This is not unusual in cases like this, and Mesereau will inform Masterson of this.)

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Again, we don’t know whether the DA’s office will offer Danny a deal, and it is under no obligation to do so. But knowing how bad the prelim will be for Masterson and the church, we can imagine the DA’s office offering a plea deal with a penalty of, say, ten years in prison.

If that happens, how much pressure will Scientology put on Danny to accept the deal, in order to protect itself from the nightmare of live testimony in the prelim?

We think the pressure will be substantial, even if Masterson himself is a hothead who will probably want to roll the dice and face the prelim and a trial.

What makes it especially intriguing is that the judge has so dramatically moved up the immediacy of it. After years of delays, now Masterson has only weeks to consider his fate.

As we said, however, our experts point out that even with Olmedo’s determined stance, there is a way the Masterson team could delay the prelim. There’s a discovery hearing scheduled for April 20, and we’ve already seen in previous hearings that the two sides have battled over what discovery — evidence — the defense is entitled to. That argument will continue in the April 20 hearing, and the judge will have to make decisions about what additional information, if any, the prosecution will have to turn over before the prelim.

Whatever the judge decides, even if it’s relatively favorable to Masterson, his team could file for a writ asking to overturn the judge’s decision. And then if that is turned down, then file an appeal.

If they do that, we’re told, then the prelim will likely be moved back. (And let’s lay down a marker here just in case. If the DA’s office gets fed up with delays, it could also go to a grand jury for an indictment and skip the prelim altogether. This might actually benefit the church in a strange way, so we need to keep it in mind.)

There’s also a way that Masterson could go nuclear in order to delay things, and that would be to fire Mesereau and Appelbaum, and then get more time to hire new attorneys. But we have a feeling that he would not use that card this early, and would save something that drastic for the trial itself.

So now perhaps you can see why, after reporting on this case for so long, and after so many years that the women themselves have had to wait for justice, we say that these next few weeks before May 18 are so crucial. Danny Masterson has some very big decisions to make.

Tell us what you think the odds are on his course of action. Assuming that any delays are only temporary, what do you think the odds are that…

1. Masterson throws caution to the wind and goes ahead with the prelim and then the trial.
2. If a deal is offered, Scientology puts enough pressure on Danny to take it, so that he avoids either the prelim or the trial.

And don’t forget the third possibility, which we admit is probably a fairly remote one. At Wednesday’s hearing, prosecutor Mueller asked the judge to take away Masterson’s passport, saying that if Danny goes overseas, he’s concerned about the actor coming back for trial. The judge, however, said that the $3.3 million bond Danny has put up, which is guaranteed by his houses in the Hollywood Hills and Santa Ynez, will be enough reason to make sure he shows up in court. She’s probably correct about that.

But we’re interested to see what you think. What odds would you put on Danny’s three choices here? Full steam ahead, take a deal, or off to Venezuela?

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SOME OF OUR PAST REPORTING ON THE MASTERSON CASE

March 3, 2017: LAPD probing Scientology and Danny Masterson for multiple rapes, cover-up
March 8, 2017: Danny Masterson: Victim C gets support from a veteran actress
March 11, 2017: Scientology made Danny Masterson’s Victim B search past lives to explain being raped
May 9, 2017: Masterson hires Michael Jackson criminal defense attorney Tom Mesereau in rape probe
Nov 2, 2017: Read the threatening letter Danny Masterson’s attorney Marty Singer sent a victim’s husband
Nov 26, 2017: EXCLUSIVE: Scientology interrogated Danny Masterson and accuser, didn’t notify LAPD
Feb 14, 2018: PROSECUTORS PREPARE CHARGES CARRYING LIFE SENTENCE FOR DANNY MASTERSON
Apr 27, 2018: Strange days for a woman accusing Danny Masterson of rape — and for her rocker husband
July 8, 2018: Masterson witness fears for safety as investigation drags on and on
Nov 30, 2018: LEAH REMINI: Los Angeles DA Jackie Lacey, do your job already
Aug 14, 2019: RAPE ACCUSERS SUE DANNY MASTERSON, CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY, AND ITS LEADER
Jan 22, 2020: Cedric Bixler-Zavala blames Scientology for poisoned dog he had to put down yesterday

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Feb 3, 2020: Here’s Scientology actor Danny Masterson’s legal response to his rape accusers
Feb 10, 2020: Another dog poisoned: Bobette Riales says harassment worse since suing Scientology
Feb 26, 2020: SEVENTH victim comes forward to LAPD accusing Scientology actor Danny Masterson
Feb 29, 2020: Amended complaint filed against Danny Masterson with new stalking allegations
March 14, 2020: Danny Masterson’s victims speak out in sworn documents in lawsuit against Scientology
May 4, 2020: Masterson: Drop me from Scientology lawsuit if the ‘Jane Does’ won’t name themselves
June 17, 2020: SCIENTOLOGY CELEB DANNY MASTERSON CHARGED ON MULTIPLE RAPE ALLEGATIONS
June 19, 2020: Records show that Danny Masterson is a woeful Scientologist — would he turn on the church?
June 23: 2020: The key thing about Danny Masterson’s ‘DJ Donkey Punch’ nick is why he stopped using it
Sept 30, 2020: Could Danny Masterson’s odd legal fight over his Hollywood house endanger his freedom?
Oct 11, 2020: Danny Masterson asks to halt civil lawsuit while criminal case is ongoing, as expected
Oct 12, 2020: Bijou Phillips on her husband Danny Masterson: A macho ‘Strong Island’ guy
Oct 16, 2020: Danny Masterson ‘accidentally’ outs Jane Doe accuser after judge told him not to
Nov 19, 2020: Danny Masterson takes another expensive and futile swipe at his criminal charges
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Dec 1, 2020: If the feds are sniffing around, they might look at Danny Masterson’s besties
Dec 4, 2020: WHOA! Scientology to Judge Kleifield: Wrecking human lives IS our ‘commerce’
Dec 18, 2020: Jane Doe #1’s own attorneys flubbed and ID’d her and her IP address in court documents
Dec 24, 2020: Letter shows Scientology gave Jane Doe #1 permission to sue Danny Masterson in 2004
Dec 31, 2020: MASTERSON ACCUSERS DENIED RIGHT TO TRIAL, FORCED TO ‘RELIGIOUS ARBITRATION’
Jan 2, 2021: Worst part in the Scientology ‘arbitration’ ruling? Danny Masterson can participate.
Feb 11, 2021: Gretchen Carlson slams Danny Masterson and Scientology ‘arbitration’ to Congress
Feb 24, 2021: MASTERSON ACCUSERS PETITION APPELLATE COURT: Seeking to overturn ‘arbitration’ ruling
Mar 9, 2021: PETITION DENIED: Danny Masterson accusers can’t skip Scientology arbitration, court says
Mar 23, 2021: Danny Masterson accusers take Scientology ‘arbitration’ to California Supreme Court

 
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Source Code

“The art of Sec Checking is very, very well established. It’s one of the finest arts that we have. But it is to a large degree an art. It is restimulating the material to be picked up. And then picking it up….All right, now we’re going straight into the questions here, and the first question I’m going to ask you is: Do you know any communists personally?” — L. Ron Hubbard, March 27, 1963

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——————–

Avast, Ye Mateys

“Our ship has become rather shabby. We are improving that fast. We are improving our crew appearance. We are getting a lot done. We have a lot to do. We have gone through a period of floods of new recruits. They aren’t new recruits any longer. Do your own job with initiative, snap and pop and we’ll make it all the way. We right now have lots of good, able people. We have a lot of good, effective programmes. We can make a go of it all right.” — The Commodore, March 27, 1969

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“We apply LRH tech to genuinely help people and many of us have done this for decades. It seems to me that the admin here is more fixated on controversy than any real and genuine interest in helping people improve conditions in their lives or in the world. So unless I see some immediate improvement in the quality of his posts, which evidently I don’t expect, I shall be exiting this group in the near future. This group is a front for the admin’s unresolved controversies and undermining the integrity of the Independent Scientology Field and those genuine Independent Scientologists who dedicate their lives to helping people improve their lives by applying LRH principles, daily, weekly, monthly and year on year, consistently over time.”

 
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Past is Prologue

2000: Mark Bunker reported a new development in the white line zone by a Scientology building in Clearwater, in which people have been prevented from walking or protesting in recent months. “Just moments ago I took a victory march through the white lines on Watterson Street. In a hearing this afternoon, Judge Pennick decreed that we can walk through the lines when we’re not protesting. We must announce our names to the police then we are free to cross. As I strode manfully to the white lines, I announced in a strong but not booming voice ‘I’m Mark Bunker and I’m here to cross the white lines!’ I then walked down the street just like a citizen.”

 
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Random Howdy

“In a country that supposedly has 3 million-plus Scientologists they could only muster a few hundred in Portland. How much more farcical can this crap get before the remaining few wake up and screw?”

 
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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. Discovery hearing on April 20, prelim set for May 18.
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. June 7: 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.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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] Scientology’s founder: ‘WE are going UP while the world is coming down!’
[TWO years ago] The Mike Rinder bobblehead: Turning the tables on Scientology’s smeary harassment
[THREE years ago] Scientology’s secret vaults get their star turn on the new TV network, and it’s nutty!
[FOUR years ago] Reza Aslan’s ‘Believer’ episode about indie Scientology lived down to all expectations
[FIVE years ago] Scientology’s European mouthpiece speaks at DC event honoring Marco Rubio
[SIX years ago] ‘Going Clear’: Spanky Taylor on John Travolta, Priscilla Presley, and escaping Scientology
[SEVEN years ago] Ryan Hamilton jumps on Narconon’s answer in Nevada drug rehab lawsuit
[EIGHT years ago] LEAKED AUDIO: David Miscavige Declares Scientology’s Golden Age at LRH Birthday Event
[NINE years ago] Scientology’s Concentration Camp: Where Can Miscavige Put “The Hole” Now?

 
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Scientology disconnection, a reminder

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 2,253 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,757 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,277 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,297 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,188 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,495 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,363 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,137 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,467 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,941 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,257 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,823 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,742 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,910 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,491 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,752 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,790 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,503 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,028 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 383 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,558 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,109 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,258 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,578 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,433 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,552 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,908 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,211 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,317 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,719 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,591 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,174 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,669 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,923 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,032 days.

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Posted by Tony Ortega on March 27, 2021 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, 1995-2020 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

 

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