We’ve been hearing from some readers about this, so we thought we’d acknowledge it at the blog. If for no other reason, we wanted to make you aware of it so our tipsters and researchers can keep their eyes on it.
What we’re talking about is the minor media blitz going on right now involving two of Scientology’s celebrities, who are each begging for attention for their latest projects.
Rebecca Minkoff has been getting a lot of fawning press for the release of her book, Fearless: The New Rules for Unlocking Creativity, Courage, and Success, which came out last week. According to the breathless press coverage, Minkoff was in the process of writing her memoir about the way she became a successful handbag designer when the pandemic hit and she had to scramble and reinvent her business once again.
Sounds major. Anyway, we will remind you that Minkoff is also a lifelong Scientologist who hasn’t been shy about helping out Scientology’s front groups, like the one that infiltrates New York City schools with the help of the NYPD in order to spread L. Ron Hubbard’s quack ideas about drugs among the city’s schoolkids.
Rebecca is the daughter of David Minkoff, the quack Scientology doctor who had his license suspended for a year after the death of Lisa McPherson because he had prescribed her sedatives without even seeing her.
Meanwhile, Audible has released a podcast executive produced by Kerri Kasem titled “Bitter Blood” that presents her side of what happened in her battle over her famous father Casey Kasem’s final days with Casey’s wife, Jean.
We’ve reported on some of that unfortunate story, including our interview with the physician, Dr. Donald Sharman, who examined Casey under Jean’s care and said he was getting proper care, something you won’t see in GQ’s lengthy version of what happened and that became the dominant media narrative.
With Kerri Kasem executive producing, the only question is why Audible would lend its credibility to a project that can only be a one-sided attack on the truth.
Oh, and none of the media publicizing the new podcast is pointing out that not only is Kerri Kasem a longtime Scientologist, so is the actor she hired to narrate the podcast: Cobra Kai star Martin Kove.
So now you’re a little more informed about what the press is pushing in your direction right now.
Also, in another case of a Scientology semi-celebrity desperate for attention…
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Bonus items from our tipsters
The Austin org continues to put out a flurry of mailers ahead of the grand opening of its new Ideal Org.
Jim Meskimen will be the entertainment at the Yakety US Ideal fundraiser!
Minty Alexander? Wow, they’re bringing out the old guard. If you remember, in Len Zinberg’s story, he was introduced to Scientology by Rick and Minty Alexander in 1969. They talked to him John and Yoko style, from their bed, about total freedom!
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“There is a pool of thought, and all of a sudden one day a black spot appears in the middle of it, and the fellow can’t move. That incident you will find on most time tracks. Here was the pool of illusion, and if you ever want to see grief pour off a case, it is the individual’s loss of his home universe. They will tell you in various ways. You can take the most hard bitten preclear and run him back to a point of the track where all of a sudden the stars are falling down in his universe. He will cry and cry. He had a universe, he was probably one of several who invented this universe, and it was a perfectly good universe, and one day all of the stars fell down. Why? Somebody else got a universe invented, and it sort of overlapped and ate it all up. And that is what our MEST universe is doing, evidently. It is an expanding universe, and it just keeps on eating into everybody’s time and space.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 23, 1952
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“LA CONGRESS: That sure should be quite a Convention in LA. Looks like we made it on Flag. They had no program, two halls with two ‘Congress’ programs, different, going on in each. Tony is there by now getting it grooved in. They did great selling tickets and publicity. Originally they wanted me to do a colour film for them. You ever stand under enough light to shoot colour? It’s about 150 degree F fry. All joking aside, it’s impossible.” — The Commodore, June 23, 1970
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“I could not run past lives. She would ask the question to go earlier and there was a complete blank. So then I ran a flow through my head to see if something was there and no meter reaction so I ran a flow through my head and put something there and the meter reacted and she said, ‘that.’ I popped completely out of this universe to a void of complete nothing. It would be like going from all noise to complete silence on EVERYTHING. Can’t feel body weight or the matter, energy, space, and time of any part of the physical universe. An instant after being in the void I pop back into the physical universe around 750 AD and everything turns on again with the exception is I am out of body in that lifetime looking down at castle in France or England. I took a look and popped completely out of that time back into the void of nothing and then back into PT, (present time). It is like nothing you can imagine unless you did it. Turning everything off completely and then everything on completely. They can’t take me in into the past because I was created from the static in the future with no automatic 25 picture a second recording memory.”
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1996: The Cult Awareness Network (CAN) was forced to disband this week as a result of the $1 million award in the Jason Scott case. Scott’s attorney was Scientology member Kendrick Moxon. Reuters reported: “A jury’s decision to award $1 million to a Kirkland man who had sued the Cult Awareness Network is forcing the non-profit group that monitors religious cults to shut down. “The bankruptcy will force the network, based in Barrington, Ill., to liquidate its assets and shut down its telephone hot line, which takes an average of 20,000 calls a year.”
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“I have never advocated for violence or vandalism against the cult for the obvious reason it would turn them into martyrs.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next hearing set for August 9. Trial tentatively scheduled for early November.
— 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: Pretrial conference August 21 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: June 18 pretrial conference delayed for Juneteenth federal holiday.
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 to US Supreme Court submitted on May 26. Scientology has until June 25 to respond.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: California Supreme Court grants review on May 26, asks Second Appellate Division to direct Judge Steven Kleifield to show cause why he granted Scientology’s motion for arbitration.
— 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: Third 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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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.
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 BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. 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] The key thing about Danny Masterson’s ‘DJ Donkey Punch’ nick is why he stopped using it
[TWO years ago] Scientology is hiring for a drug rehab whose location is a secret
[THREE years ago] Scientology and celebs: ‘Miscavige had several of us catering to Tom Cruise behind the scenes’
[FOUR years ago] We have your Scientology ‘Maiden Voyage’ robo-call invitation, Los Angeles!
[FIVE years ago] This is your brain on L. Ron Hubbard: Watergate, Scientology, and late-night radio
[SIX years ago] Reed Slatkin dies of heart attack — Scientologist served time as major Ponzi schemer
[SEVEN years ago] Marc Headley continues his Scientology tour, and Steve Hall describes his defection
[EIGHT years ago] Sunday Funnies: Scientology Gets Colorful!
[TEN years ago] Scientology’s Enemies List: Are You On It?
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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 2,340 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,845 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,365 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,385 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,276 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,583 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,451 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,225 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,555 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,029 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,345 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,911 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,830 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,998 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,579 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,840 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,878 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,591 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,116 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 471 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,646 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,197 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,346 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,666 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,521 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,640 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,996 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,299 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,405 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,807 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,679 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,262 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,757 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,011 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,120 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 23, 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
