We just heard from Los Angeles Superior Court media relations that Scientology celeb Danny Masterson’s request for months more time to prepare for his upcoming preliminary hearing was denied this morning. The all-important “prelim” is still scheduled for May 18.
As we explained earlier, the preliminary hearing is so important because it will be the first time when Masterson’s rape accusers will be in the courtroom to give testimony about their allegations, and while Masterson’s defense attorney Tom Mesereau will be able to cross-examine them, he will only have a limited ability to present a counter case.
TMZ reported this morning that in his motion for more time Masterson accused the LAPD of being in some kind of conspiracy with Leah Remini against him, but Masterson and his attorneys have been blaming Remini for four years, and Judge Charlaine Olmedo was apparently not impressed.
Masterson will now have less than a month to prepare for the prelim, which is also very bad news for Scientology, as we explained in our earlier story…
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.
And in this case, we expect testimony not only to be about allegations that Masterson violently raped three women, but that because all three of those women were Scientologists when these incidents occurred, they were pressured by the church to keep their mouths shut.
That pressure on Masterson and Scientology to prevent live testimony just got ratcheted up a lot higher.
Now, what we’ll be looking for is whether Masterson can appeal this ruling and in that way delay the prelim. We’ll let you know if we find out anything about that.
And we’re just trying to be helpful here: To the Daily Mail, it has been confirmed multiple times by both sides in their court filings that the three women Danny Masterson is accused of raping are the same three former Scientologists who sued him in civil court: Chrissie Carnell-Bixler, Jane Doe #1, and Jane Doe #2. And you can see from our previous reporting that there is actually a lot known about each of their cases. (In our earlier reporting, we referred to them as Victims A, B, and C, respectively.)
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
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
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
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
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
——————–
“Well now look, Mary Sue has been working very, very hard to make an OT out of me and been working at it and working at it and she didn’t make the grade. I wanted to get OT today so I could give you some nice weather. And I just didn’t make it, I’m sorry. I only got thirteen banks back and got stuck, you know.” — L. Ron Hubbard, April 20, 1963
——————–
“PARTY: Barry, Cathy and Liz did a good job on the party. Decorations were by the Middies, Claire, Terri, Suzette, Ann and Janis. Barry gave out dancing prizes. For such courage above and beyond the line of duty, he was himself decorated. Well done to Div VI.” — The Commodore, April 20, 1970
——————–
“North Korean leader Kim Jong Un detonates hydrogen bombs near a dangerous volcano, dramatizing clearly OT section 3 scenarios that could affect directly China, South Korea, and Japan. Meanwhile independent Scientology PCs happily promote avoiding and discarding auditing on OT III because it is ‘unreal’: ‘I’m auditing the OT levels and I am very happy that my Case Supervisor skipped OT III at my request,’ one of these independent PCs offered as a success story. As an auditor trained in objective processing, I can say that avoiding one of the most important steps in the OT levels is going to create an inability and an unhandled void in the person’s case. And this in the face of a world where OT III scenarios are putting the world in danger. A quick solution could be warning ‘OT III is fantasy’ PCs that avoiding the step is going to put this society at risk and they, the PC, unable to handle this OT III society, OT III radiation on the planet and Kim Jong Un OT III dramatizations of global war and nuclear holocaust.”
1995: Bob Penny distributed a description of the tactics and internal logic of Scientology customs and practices, including excellent descriptions of the internal justice system. “The wonder is that I wasted 13 years of my life and more than $100,000 before learning to handle the false loyalties and other tricks in which I was enmeshed for so long. Clearly, something was going on that my basic ‘street education’ had not prepared me to deal with. Rationalizations such as, ‘it’s the best thing we’ve got,’ and ‘at least it’s moving in the right direction’ (neither of which is true) helped perpetuate the stasis. Even afterwards, it was hard to avoid rationalizations like ‘but I learned a lot,’ or ‘the organization sucks but the tech is good’ which were attempts to minimize and not really face the harm which had occurred and from which I had yet to recover. The habits of self-censorship, loaded language, avoidance of contrary data, and other thought-stopping mechanisms took a long time to go away if, indeed, they are gone even now…. Scientology was not a beneficial experience for me. I avoid the word fraud because it connotes a deliberate and knowing deception which is rare among the misled, but I do believe the organizations practices are based on fraud. The ‘tech’ is certainly fraudulent. But as regards most individual Scientologists, I suggest instead the word trip, in the sense of a self-justifying system of thought which, once entered, leads only into itself.”
——————–
“Human nature isn’t that complex. If you strip away the unnatural veneer of civilization, what are you left with? Spend some time on the street and tell me human nature is complex. Human egotism is infinite is more like it.”
——————–
Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Discovery hearing on April 20, prelim set for May 18.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for May 20 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: 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.
——————–
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?
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Tom Cruise on InTouch cover: Another completely oversold Scientology clip job
[TWO years ago] Bull baiting and so much worse: Margery Wakefield on surviving Scientology
[THREE years ago] Joy Villa’s Scientologist husband shamed into dropping elephant skin bags from luxury line
[FOUR years ago] As Clearwater votes, here’s a reminder of how L. Ron Hubbard had Scientology invade Florida
[FIVE years ago] Disconnection, Miscavige style: How Scientology’s most powerful family came apart
[SIX years ago] See the message a Scientologist sends to disconnect from a best friend, forever
[SEVEN years ago] Easter Sunday Funnies: David Miscavige has risen, & Scientology has more money than ever!
[EIGHT years ago] African Queen: The Man L. Ron Hubbard Thought He Was
[NINE years ago] David Edgar Love: “I Think I Have Scientology By The Balls”
[TEN years ago] When Scientologists Attack!
——————–
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 2,277 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,781 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,301 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,321 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,212 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,519 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,387 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,161 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,491 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,965 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,281 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,847 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,766 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,934 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,515 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,776 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,814 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,527 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,052 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 407 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,582 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,133 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,282 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,602 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,457 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,576 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,932 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,235 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,341 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,743 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,615 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,198 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,693 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,947 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,056 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on April 20, 2021 at 15:35
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
