Late last year, we got some eye-opening reports on how hard the pandemic has been on Scientology from someone inside the organization. We dubbed them The Insider, and they told us about chaos caused by Covid, new details on the ‘Chase Wave’ financial debacle, a detailed description of the Ideal Org scam, and even told us about the new ‘Golden Age of Admin’ that was on the way.
We’ve really enjoyed talking to this new source, and now they’ve decided to provide even more detail by talking to Chris Shelton. Here’s Chris’s description of today’s video…
“For everyone anticipating part two of my interview with Katherine Olson, that will be coming next week. Instead, I have an interview with yet another Scientology insider. In fact, my guest this week is the very same Insider who has been providing all of us information on this very blog. He contacted me and we set up interviewing him on my podcast and here is our first effort. We go into detail on how the Church of Scientology has been dealing with Covid, conspiracy theories and how decisions being made at every level of Scientology are making members so angry, they are apparently leaving in higher numbers than ever. It’s entirely possible all of this could change, but right now Miscavige is making some pretty surprisingly poor choices.”
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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.
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“I call to your attention something that every motorist has noted and no motorist had quite understood: that when he failed to drive his car it went to pieces. Have you ever noticed that? You park it in the garage the battery goes down, the tires go flat. Maybe it was up on blocks, maybe the battery was taken over to the service station and put on continuous charge and all of this was done. That’s some small prevention of the situation. But then three months later you put the battery back in, you take it down off the blocks and oil smoke goes out the rear end, won’t steer. That’s an oddity. The only reason it stayed there at all is because Earth is going around and it was being changed in space, at least to some degree. If it were not being changed in space at all, it would not be there; it would cease to persist. Now this is a great oddity. I don’t call upon your superstition in this regard, I merely call upon you to observe in its crude form something else.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 4, 1955
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“Did you see in the news where Nelson (Smersh) Rockefeller was asked NOT to visit Venezuela? One smart country. Nelson’s National Health Foundation money finances Smersh. He also runs Stockades in NY where youth who MIGHT become delinquent are sent. (They really are called stockades). His oil companies also exploit Venezuela and drain off her natural resources. He’s touring Latin America with 26 top advisors (psychiatrists) at Nixon’s request to ‘find out what they want”. He stopped a whole 8 hours in one country. He has now found they don’t want Rockefeller. We have a personal note to one Central American Country’s No. 2 man. The area is too hot politically just now. We avoid such areas as political heat brings in the KGB of Russia, CIA of US and the British Intelligence and they file false reports with each other. Makes anyone in the area subject to hammering.” — The Commodore, June 4, 1969
“Andy never got a standard ethics handling on his wog ethics cycle (defacing Eurydice Dixon’s memorial) and faking a change of sex. After Andy said he was a student at the AO-GP, he began to promote the use of drugs to ‘go up the bridge’ (increase awareness). The AO-GP never handled Andy’s out-ethics case, with the consequence that he is now in jail, not as an expelled member of the Freezone but as a student at the AO-GP. Andy Nolch and the Advanced Organization of the Great Plains should be applied standard ethics to handle this Public Relations flap.”
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1999: Keith Henson reported that he lost the appeal of Scientology’s judgment against him. Scientology was awarded $75,000 for copyright violation when Keith posted the secret NOTS 34 level. “Just got word from the 9th after almost three months. Flat lost.”
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“They do what’s called in Scientology ‘off-loading’ which is when some elderly staff member can no longer perform on the most basic level they throw their meager belongings into a garbage bag and drive them what they consider to be a safe distance from the org and they stop and open the door and tell them to get out. And I’m not joking.”
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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 pretrial conference June 30. Trial scheduled for October 11.
— ‘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 June 9 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for June 2.
— 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:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court.
— 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. Next hearing scheduled for June 29.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for December 6.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior 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.
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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] Scientology veterans fend off attack in vicious new Clone Wars offensive
[TWO years ago] Which of the Masterson brothers profited from their Scientology stepdad’s Ponzi scheme?
[THREE years ago] Why is the YMCA helping spread Scientology to kids?
[FOUR years ago] Why don’t Scientologists go to authorities about the abuses they have seen or experienced?
[FIVE years ago] Around the globe, Scientology relies on guys like this to promote L. Ron Hubbard to your kids
[SIX years ago] That time Muhammad Ali got blindsided by the Church of Scientology
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology’s plan to take over the planet: All Ideal Orgs ‘Saint Hill size’ by 2016!
[EIGHT years ago] OY VEY: Scientology invokes Jewish Law to answer lawsuit by attorney Vance Woodward
[NINE years ago] Claire Headley Helps Us Get Back in the Good Graces of Scientology
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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 2,685 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,190 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,740 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,730 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,621 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,927 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,796 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,570 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,901 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,374 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,690 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,256 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,175 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,343 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,923 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,185 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,221 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,936 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,461 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 816 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,991 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,542 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,691 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,011 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,866 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,985 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,341 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,644 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,750 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,148 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,024 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,607 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,102 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,356 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,465 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 4, 2022 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, 1995-2021 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
