When 2020 began, so many of us had hopes for a new year and a new decade. And well, you all know what happened next. 2020 was a disaster in so many ways, but we don’t want a couple of small disasters that befell Scientology last year slip through the cracks.
As the new year started, David Miscavige performed his usual duties at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, which was memorialized at Scientology’s website. If you scroll through the slides from that event, you eventually land on this page about one of the event’s attendees.
PAVING A NEW PATH IN PERU
In Lima, Peru, a 41-year police veteran became an emissary of L. Ron Hubbard’s nonreligious moral code The Way to Happiness, partnering with over 200 civic organizations to reach over a million citizens and ultimately helping cut crime rates in metropolitan Lima by 20 percent.
Scientology doesn’t name this Peruvian emissary who attended the Los Angeles event, but we can tell you that it is Peruvian National Police General José Luis Lavalle Santa Cruz.
If you’re thinking that a 20 percent reduction in crime in Peru’s capital is a pretty big deal, we’ll point out that Scientology has a habit of making big claims about the effect it’s having in South America, and with the help of national police figures.
You might remember similar miracles that supposedly happened in Colombia, where Scientology also recruited a police general, Carlos Ramiro Mena, who in 2018 showed such loyalty to Scientology he traveled to Barbados to pin a medal on Scientology leader David Miscavige.
This was the precious way that Scientology described it:
The National Colombian Police honored Mr. David Miscavige with one of their most prestigious awards — the Brigadier General Jaime Ramírez Gómez Inspector General Transparency Medal — in recognition of his leadership in helping bring about social change within the nation through the work of the Church of Scientology.
We’ve also pointed out in the past, at our blog, that recruiting South American police generals to hand out copies of ‘The Way to Happiness’ may be less the point than the access these top law enforcement officers have to the international Interpol crime databases.
In Colombia, there’s no doubt that General Mena, while was the top cop from 2015-2018, had access to Interpol’s data since he was literally the Director of Criminal Investigations for Interpol in Colombia…
And hey, it’s good to have someone with that kind of access to international criminal info on your side. Maybe even worth sending in your number one asset to make him feel like he’s a really big deal.
Meanwhile, over in Peru, Scientology’s pal General Lavalle had his own chummy relationship with Interpol, as reflected in this 2019 tweet.
What a coup, to spend years cultivating police leaders at the highest levels until you have national generals with access to Interpol’s databases going around handing out Scientology propaganda by the ton to the troops and the public. David Miscavige must have bragged about it endlessly behind closed doors.
But then came 2020.
In April, General Lavalle in Peru was forced from office, apparently from his mismanagement and poor reaction to the coronavirus crisis. Here’s a translation from an April article:
The general commander of the National Police, PNP Lieutenant General José Luis Lavalle Santa Cruz, would be relieved by PNP Lieutenant General Gastón Rodríguez Limo, current national director of Prevention, Order and Security, according to sources from the Ministry of the Interior .
Among the reasons that produced the change, it was mentioned that during General Lavalle’s administration, coverage was not guaranteed to the troops infected by the new coronavirus and the frequent appearance of alleged cases of corruption in the purchase of masks and other protective devices for the police officers, as well as the acquisition of their ranches with a premium, among other incidents.
And then in October, news broke in Colombia that General Mena has been charged with fraud. Here’s a Google translation of an article announcing it.
Bogotá, October 22, 2020. The Office of the Attorney General of the Nation issued a statement of charges to Major General (r) Carlos Ramiro Mena Bravo, in his capacity as Inspector General of the National Police (2015-2018), for alleged omission of his duties… The alleged offense was provisionally classified as serious as fraud.
Well, it’s been a rough year for everyone. No doubt Dave already has plans for recruiting new patsies in South America. Maybe we’ll see one at the next New Year’s event.
— Jeffrey Augustine
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How Hubbard spun Australia
We really enjoyed what Mike Rinder did yesterday with a recent ‘Source Code’ that was posted here. Each and every day we post something that Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history, and they run the gamut from bizarre claims for Scientology’s miracle cures to Hubbard’s nutty ideas about the universe. But they also sometimes reflect what sort of hot water Hubbard has got himself into, and in this case Mike does a great job showing how Hubbard tried to spin what was going on in Australia in 1964 after an unhappy customer went to the government and it turned into a right mess for the organization.
Mike compares Hubbard’s spin with Steve Cannane’s excellent unearthing of the actual story in his book ‘Fair Game,’ and it makes for a stark contrast perfectly illustrating how much Hubbard lied to his own followers. Great stuff.
Bonus items from our tipsters
Austin must be itching to have its grand opening after the pandemic pause…
The Freewinds is the only org delivering the Purif? Really?
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“Now we take eating and condense it down. That is to say, let’s make food scarce and let’s make it very hard to get — and we got a condensation, you might say, which completely escapes time itself. And you go outside of time and get sex. That is to say, the outside of present time and you get future time, which is sex. An individual goes right straight off the time track between eating and sex, and there’s nothing will float on a time track like a sexual engram. They just float all over the time track; they don’t nail down at all. They’re very mobile. Believe me.” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 3, 1954
“No new crew cases should be begun until ‘parked’ ones are pushed up into Solo range. ‘Complete in HGC’ is the target. Dozens of cases are overlong in grade. L10s should be completed only after OT III anyway. So an HGC completion does not mean ‘all possible pgms we can do in HGC.’ It means just get the pc safely off into Solo. There are also some non-soloing solo auditors aboard. FEBCs who have Solo work to be done should be shoved onto it hard within 48 hours of arrival. I want to see crew ‘HGC Completes’ up through the roof and Solo w.d. hours ranging around 900 a week minimum!” — The Commodore, May 3, 1971
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“This may be a little off topic here, but I am an Indie Scientologist who has been active on the governing board of a nonprofit radio network. I believe in free speech and human rights, which is what Pacifica Radio is all about. I’m sure you all agree with those principles. If you listen to any of the Pacifica Radio stations — KPFK in Los Angeles, KPFA in Berkeley, KPFT in Houston, WBAI in New York or WPFW in Washington, D.C. or any of the 200 Affiliate stations or if you just care about independent media, please sign the Pacifica Democracy Project Petition.”
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2001: The Learning Channel aired a program this week entitled Weird Worlds which included a description of Scientology by Steven Hassan. “Hassan recited the entire OTIII story to an audience of millions. On ‘Weird Worlds,’ and narrated by Dweezil Zappa. They gave the most accurate portrayal of a session that I’ve ever seen outside the church (was demonstrated by an ex-auditor & pc.) After that this guy practically read OTIII (Xenu) verbatim and then discussed how ‘body thetans’ then were the next step to be handled.”
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“The only people who don’t adore me are the people who abhor me, and that’s just how I want it. You’re either in or you’re out.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Preliminary hearing 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: Next pretrial conference set for June 18.
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.
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 boasts about members keeping up online — and once again reveals its true size
[TWO years ago] Scientology measles ship Freewinds ditches St. Lucia quarantine for Curaçao, its home port
[THREE years ago] How Scientology’s mental health ideas end up enabling the worst compulsions
[FOUR years ago] Scientology fires again at Clearwater aquarium and calls county commissioner ‘shameful’
[SIX years ago] Whale watching: The wealthy donors keeping Scientology afloat, 2015 edition
[SEVEN years ago] Ken Dandar gets another day in court after his $1 million Scientology judgment
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology is Staking Everything On Portland Like It Actually Matters
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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 2,290 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,794 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,314 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,334 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,225 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,532 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,400 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,174 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,504 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,978 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,294 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,860 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,779 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,947 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,528 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,789 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,827 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,540 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,065 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 420 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,595 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,146 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,295 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,615 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,470 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,589 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,945 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,248 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,354 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,756 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,628 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,211 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,706 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,960 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,069 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on May 3, 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
