We’ve known Pete Griffiths for years and we’ve written numerous stories about him, but the piece he wrote for us recently really seemed to hit a chord with the Bunker community.
Pete spun a great narrative about how, after being “declared suppressive” by Scientology, he had somehow still managed to find himself running a successful mission for several years. The story was a hit with our readers, so we asked Pete to give us even more details in this week’s podcast episode.
Today, we’re releasing the sixth episode of our podcast to our paid subscribers at Substack. You should receive it presently at your email inbox if you’re on the list.
We hope you enjoy the hour we spent with Pete, who also reviewed the bizarre situation of Scientology in Ireland with us.
Not a paid subscriber? Well, we have something for you, too. Last week’s episode was with Sunny Pereira spilling secrets of the Scientology Hollywood Celebrity Centre. In the weeks before, Bruce Hines discussed Sea Org insanity, Jeffrey Augustine helped us review Scientology’s latest moves in litigation, Claire Headley exposed Tom Cruise in some new ways that really blew us away, and Claire’s husband Marc told us some great stories about Scientology leader David Miscavige that we had never heard before.
Those first five episodes are now free to all of our subscribers, paid and unpaid. All of our podcast episodes can be found here.
——————–
“You’re going up against a problem here, if you deal with the medico, of a person who monkeys. He doesn’t have any very precise answers. When he immediately gets out of the field of the broken leg, when he gets out of the field of putting on a tourniquet or some other type of action and he gets into a field where he himself does not have very good answers and so he monkeys. And they will do some very interesting and wild things. They will get some kind of a suspicion that there might be a growth in somebody’s chest and start removing tissue. And they’ll do exploratories and they will do all kinds of wild things. They will go into a tumor and take a small slice of it and so forth, thus activating it and aggravating it so that now the person practically is dying whereas before they weren’t bad off. In other words there’s a lot of monkey business. And I say that very advisedly. I could think of much more high school words than monkey business, but I think it rather fits, so forth. Man descended from monkeys and those that didn’t descend much became doctors. Bitter, huh?” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 30, 1964
——————–
“LOCAL ARC: On arrival we were met with much local ARC here. Officials and people were offended we were only staying a week so we have extended to two. Townspeople do know of ‘the incident’ in last port and are sympathetic to us. No reason to discuss it further. Just ack and thank them. Don’t try to deny it. Recent political events have left this area untouched.” — The Commodore, July 30, 1971
——————–
“We’re not here to have a fun time as if that’s all that mattered. Many of us have a long track record of disappointment and worse on this road, and so our friends are utterly priceless beyond measure; we want to do our best for them because we don’t want to lose them again. It’s hard to imagine any other group anywhere with a higher ARC than the Scientologists. For those folk who fear ethics and justice there are LRH’s beautiful repairs and remedies. And perhaps they might be gently reminded that without ethics they would have no bread on their table, or even a table. Presently, the Church bears the name Scientology, but only by fraudulent means, and its members are charlatans. They have the same tools as us (or did once) but don’t apply them, instead, they’re into off-beat practices like MEST-worship. Maybe they’ll evolve into a flea, or something. We on the other hand, have nothing to fear, but everything to look forward to.”
——————–
1999: The Los Angeles Business Journal published a profile on Heber Jentzsch, President of the Church of Scientology International. “In 1967, Heber Jentzsch was singing in front of an unusually rowdy crowd in Las Vegas. In the middle of his set, a man stood up and began demanding that Jentzsch get off the stage and that the showgirls be brought in to replace him. It was at that very moment the then-32-year-old Jentzsch realized his life was heading in the wrong direction. He got in his car and headed west to Los Angeles. He went downtown to the Church of Scientology – an institution he had read about while in the Army – and turned over his life. Jentzsch, now 63, has become the president of the Church of Scientology International, which reportedly has 8 million members. As an ordained minister of the religion, he performs weddings and funerals and keeps up his study of Scientology’s tenets several hours each week. Jentzsch also helps to direct the church’s volunteer ministries and community outreach programs, a task that placed him on the front lines of the L.A. riots and Northridge earthquake. Jentzsch blames ongoing animosity toward the church on a fear of changing the status quo. He argues that nay new religion is going to be met with disapproval. ‘I guess I would have to say to the naysayers that if you have a better program and you can save people, then do it,’ he said. Spurred by the involvement of famous celebrities including John Travolta and Kirstie Alley, the church now claims 250,000 members in Southern California – more than any other region of the world. ‘Celebrities are more spiritual in nature,’ Jentzsch said. ‘L. Ron Hubbard said, ‘A culture is as great as its dreams, and dreams are dreamed by artists.'”
——————–
“The trigger for the OT 8 cognition is the line ‘the Pilot says: I’m mocking this up.’ The desired End Phenomena is ‘Now that I know what I am not, I am ready to find out what I am’.”
——————–
Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Trial scheduled for October 11, pretrial conference August 17.
— ‘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.
— Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Readiness hearing scheduled for August 22 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for September 19.
— 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, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filing amended complaint on August 2.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: February 2, 2023.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place, next status hearing October 25. Scientology petitioning US Supreme Court over appellate ruling.
— 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.
——————–
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?
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] What kind of technical perfection can you expect at Scientology’s mecca, space pilgrim?
[TWO years ago] The Church of Scientology wants feedback about starting a podcast. Oh, pretty please?
[THREE years ago] Miscavige changes course: All remaining Scientology orgs to go ‘Ideal’ at the same time
[FOUR years ago] Here it is, your passport to Scientology godhood: Next stop, infinity!
[FIVE years ago] Scientology ‘dead agents’ our own Rod Keller as it pursues more illegal activity in Mexico City
[SIX years ago] L. Ron Hubbard as sad, oversexed schlub: The very personal writings his admirers never discuss
[SEVEN years ago] The Church of Scientology’s forgotten president: Karen de la Carriere on Heber Jentzsch
[EIGHT years ago] Arlene Cordova needs your help: Where is Scientology keeping her daughter Barbara?
[NINE years ago] Scientology’s Needle Exchange: When David Miscavige Got Technical
[TEN years ago] Mimi Faust on Scientology: ‘They Wanted Me To Sign a Contract To Work For Them And I Refused’
——————–
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 2,741 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,246 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,796 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,786 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,677 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,982 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,852 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,626 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,957 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,430 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,746 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,312 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,231 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,399 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,979 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,241 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,277 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,992 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,517 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 872 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,047 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,598 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,747 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,067 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,922 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,041 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,397 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,700 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,806 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,204 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,080 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,663 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,158 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,412 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,521 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on July 30, 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
