FOLLOW ME ON
Daily Notifications
Sign up for free emails to receive the feature story every morning in your inbox at tonyortega.substack.com

Categories

Scientology private eye found guilty of contempt after judge sees alleged rape on video

[Yanti Mike Greene/Michael Moretti Ford Cruz]

Former NYPD detective and Scientology private eye Yanti Mike Greene has been found guilty of both criminal and civil contempt by a Nassau County judge after she got the chance to view video Greene had taken of an incident a woman alleges was a sexual assault.

Finding that Greene was not credible after two days of testimony that took place in June and February, Nassau Supreme Court Judge Sharon Gianelli found for plaintiffs David Smith and Susanne Gold-Smith, penalizing Greene the maximum fine for criminal contempt, $1,000, and ordering him to pay the Smiths $21,998.83 in attorneys fees, plus additional fees that will be submitted by the Smiths.

In a February hearing, Susanne’s attorney Daniel Szalkiewicz had indicated that they would be asking for more than $300,000 in total attorneys fees and costs, and it looks like Greene may be on the hook for it all.

Greene is the same private eye who described stalking Leah Remini and Jennifer Lopez in 2017 for the Church of Scientology in texts he had to turn over in the litigation. (And full disclosure: An email showed that Greene had also been hired to surveil your proprietor and his wife.)

At one time David Smith hired International Investigative Group (IIG), a private eye firm owned by TV polygraph expert Daniel Ribacoff, to follow his wife Susanne (they were split up at the time).

Advertisement

Greene was one of the private eyes working for Ribacoff, and for a time he was paid to follow Susanne. But the lawsuits (there are multiple) claim that Greene, as well as three other PIs working for Ribacoff, not only followed Susanne, but befriended her and, while they were on the clock, made improper advances.

Among the allegations in the litigation is that while surveilling Susanne, Greene brought her into his car in a Nassau County parking lot at about 2 am on May 17, 2018, and sexually assaulted her.

At issue in the contempt hearing was whether Greene had intentionally held back from the court the video he had shot of that incident, and an expert hired by the Smiths testified that there were several more minutes of video than what Greene had turned over to the court. (Greene asserted that Susanne had raped him, not the other way around.)

At a February hearing, Judge Gianelli actually got to see that additional footage for the first time, and we reported that she had said “Oh gosh” in a court transcript.

In today’s order, she lets on only a bit more about what she saw on that video…

“The Court, having viewed the videos, notes the video versions discovered via the forensic examination and belatedly acknowledged, show Defendant Greene in some instances giving direction to Plaintiff while Plaintiff appears to be minimally responsive.”

That’s consistent with what Susanne had testified to, that she had lost consciousness after consuming a drink Greene had given her. This is how Judge Gianelli describes it in today’s order:

Plaintiff Gold-Smith alleges that following her consumption of the beverage, she woke to find herself lying down in the back seat of Defendant Greene’s vehicle, with Defendant Greene on top of her. Plaintiff Gold-Smith alleges that she was unable to speak at the time, but recalls seeing a light from Defendant Greene’s smartphone pointed torvard her genitals, after which she fell back into an unconscious state.

Judge Gianelli also described the lies that Greene was caught in when he was examined by skillful former prosecutor Julie Rendelman, who took him apart on the witness stand, getting him to admit, for example, that he’d legally changed his name to Michael Moretti Ford Cruz during the litigation without telling anyone.

After the testimony of Joseph Caruso, the expert, to what was on the video, we asked the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office last fall if it had seen the video and had considered charging Greene criminally for sexual assault. They told us at that time that they had interviewed Ms. Gold-Smith and were not pursuing a prosecution. Now, we’ve sent them the order by Judge Gianelli to see if the DA’s office is going to take a look at the tape themselves and consider filing a case.

This is a breaking story and we’ve put out calls for comment to various people. We’ll post the order here for you to go through. Keep in mind this is only a small part of the overall litigation between the Smiths and Ribacoff’s firm, which, we are learning, has been a major spying operation for the Church of Scientology for years.

 

Yanti Mike Greene contempt … by Tony Ortega

Advertisement

 
——————–

Sign up for a daily email when we post a new story on Scientology.

Did you know you can get an email every morning when we post our daily Scientology story? We know some of the folks who come to the Underground Bunker aren’t here to talk about the politics of the day, and that’s why we created a daily politics feature over at our other blog, The Lowdown, and we ask readers to take their political discussions over there. And if you drop us a line at tonyo94 AT gmail, we’ll put you on the list so you get a morning reminder that a new Scientology story has been posted — and only for our Scientology stories.

 
——————–

Source Code

“A fellow made a postulate. He said, ‘I’m going to square this all up. To be a pirate. That’s what I’m going to do, I’m going to be a pirate.’ And a few trillennia later, he sees a pig going down the road with a ring in its snout. And he faints and has a heart attack. Everybody says, ‘Look at what the hot weather has done to him.’ No! The hot weather might have assisted all this, but who did it to him? He did it to himself Way back down the track he said, to be a pirate. And, of course, pirates wear rings in their noses. There it is. Who did it? He did it. Well now, you can’t go around condemning this person for having done it to himself…you don’t have to blame him if you can eradicate it. Well, all of these causations for his ‘misfortunes’ are initially and basically resident in the GPM. Now, those of yesteryear have actually far more force on him, than those of today. These items here in present time — oh, those items are terribly important. Maybe he’s sitting in something that says, ‘Women who look like beatniks.’ You know? Maybe that’s the oppterm, see…And his wife’s a very neatly dressed girl and everything else and he’s always calling her a beatnik and she never can figure it out and he never can figure it out. And here are these items here, a chronic present time problem…He knows, you see, that the source of his ulcerous condition, you see, is because he eats too much harsh food. No, no. That’s the somatic ‘all women are beatniks.’ And what does he have to be? He has to be a Turk in order to combat this in some aberrated way. Well, there’s his ulcers and there’s his opposition. And he begins to think the whole environment is against him when in actual fact it’s just ‘women are beatniks.’ He sees some uncombed hair, he gets ulcers. Bang, bang, just like that — one, two!” — L. Ron Hubbard, April 4, 1963

 
——————–

Avast, Ye Mateys

“ENEMY FINANCES: I found Scientologists do not know (and the world sure doesn’t) the size and state of the enemy. For years, our orgs have made more in a week than Swersh does in a year. Two years ago Swersh was 25,000 in debt with little income in sight. Last year it was far worse. Brock Chisholen their world leader, just died, very few key figures are left. Their mouthpiece ‘The Daily Mail’ has just folded and Peter Younghusband who caused the Rhodesian upset has been sacked. We have traced their origins to 2 years before Hitler and have traced the Nazi death camps and Nazi Philosophy to this group. There were not 200,000 members at their peak. So over the world we outnumber even their rank and file 25 to one at a very low estimate. We could buy all they own out of a week’s income and never miss it. Although a few skirmishes or even battles are still ahead of us, there is now no slightest question as to who is winning this war. The Nazi Psychiatrist and Nazi psychologist will most surely go the way of the dinosaur. No, there is no question now as to who will win this war. We will.” — The Commodore, April 4, 1971

 
——————–

Advertisement

Overheard in the FreeZone

“Now there is the problem of governments using the virus to impose totalitarian fascist states for the World Government. What are OTs going to do? (OT Kirstie Alley is commending Trump for defending the USA, flowing power to the power as described in the ‘Responsibility of Leaders Policy Letter.’) Is this a move for a One World Government, as predicted by Captain Bill Robertson in the early 90’s in his UFO Lecture? Is the solution to postulate a New Civilization? Who are the experts at postulating? The OTs. How many are aware of this?”

 
——————–

Past is Prologue

2001: Reuters reported that charges have been filed against Scientology to answer charges of extortion and invasion of privacy. “Investigating magistrate Renaud Van Ruymbeke also notified Marc Walter, a leader of Scientology in the Paris region, that he would face trial on the same charges, in addition to false advertising. However, Van Ruymbeke dropped charges against Martine Brochard, another Scientologist. The suit was filed by three former Scientologists who accused the church of using their names and addresses on its listings after they had left the movement. Court documents said two of the three plaintiffs had been bombarded with publicity material seeking money under false pretenses. A date for the trial was not immediately set.”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“Some of my greatest wins have come from applying the ‘you seem kind of tense’ back rub tech. Last thing we want is for the WOGs — a/k/a Women On Guard — to become aware of this wondrous technology.”

 
——————–

Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:

Advertisement
Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next pretrial conference May 31. Trial scheduled for August 29.
‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Last hearing was on January 18, referred to grand jury. Additional charges also referred to grand jury after January 5 assault while in jail.
Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Pretrial conference May 20 in Los Angeles
David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for April 8.
Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.
Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.

Civil litigation:
Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Eleventh Circuit affirmed ruling granting Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Garcias considering next move.
Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Valerie’s motion for reconsideration denied on March 15.
Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Scientology has said it will file an anti-SLAPP motion.
Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for June 28.
Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27. Awaiting a ruling.
Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.

 
——————–

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.

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 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?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientology social media: Does an E-meter count as a concealed weapon?
[TWO years ago] Scientology, stop being so stupid during the pandemic. We have some advice for you.
[THREE years ago] Scientology’s bogus ‘arbitration’: The Garcia appeal brief is here, and it’s a beauty
[FOUR years ago] Scientology cranks up its ‘noisy’ investigation of Leah Remini, and she fires back
[FIVE years ago] David Miscavige: Scientology TV launches by June 21, to show ‘planet’s coolest religion’
[SIX years ago] THE BILLBOARD IS UP: Scientology’s ‘disconnection’ on view in Los Angeles
[SEVEN years ago] ‘Going Clear’ subject Tom DeVocht visited by Burbank PD after suspicious anonymous tip
[EIGHT years ago] Video Vault: Hear L. Ron Hubbard unite Dianetics and Scientology in connubial bliss!
[NINE years ago] The Secret to Scientology’s “Wins” Revealed?
[TEN years ago] Mike Rinder on “The Hole,” Indoctrination, Confessions, and His Ultimate Escape

 
——————–

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 2,624 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,129 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,649 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,669 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,560 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,867 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,735 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,509 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,840 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,313 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,629 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,195 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,114 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,282 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,863 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,124 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,160 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,875 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,400 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 755 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,930 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,481 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,630 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,950 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,805 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,924 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,280 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,583 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,689 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,087 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,963 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,546 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,041 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,295 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,404 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on April 4, 2022 at 16:50

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, 1995-2021 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2021), 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

 

Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast

 

Share Button
Print Friendly, PDF & Email
ADVERTISEMENT