The Australians suing Scientology for labor trafficking have had more failures attempting to serve the lawsuit on David Miscavige, and so now they’re asking the court itself to serve the Scientology leader in care of Florida’s Secretary of State.
The suit was first filed on April 28 by Valeska Paris and Gawain and Laura Baxter, who were longtime members of Scientology’s “Sea Organization” and served on its floating cathedral, the Freewinds, which sails the Caribbean. The three allege that they were forced into the Sea Org as children, suffered neglect and harsh punishments as children and adults, and served as virtual prisoners aboard the ship. Valeska also alleged that she was sexually assaulted by other Sea Org workers, and then was punished for speaking up about it.
The lawsuit named six defendants — five Scientology subsidiaries, and leader David Miscavige. The five institutional defendants acknowledged service of the lawsuit without a fuss, but they have filed motions asking the court to derail the lawsuit and force it into Scientology’s own internal brand of “religious arbitration.” The plaintiffs are due to answer those motions on September 13. Also, the defendants have asked Judge Thomas Barber to schedule a hearing so that they can present oral arguments to bolster their motions to compel arbitration and their motions to dismiss.
In the meantime, the plaintiffs have struggled to serve Miscavige, who is in the habit of keeping away from process servers. (He was never served, for example, in the lawsuits filed against Scientology in 2019 by Valerie Haney and the Danny Masterson accusers.) In their amended complaint, Valeska and the Baxters detailed the efforts they have gone through trying to find Scientology’s leader and serve him papers.
The plaintiffs asked Judge Barber to give them until October 26 to find and serve Miscavige, but he gave them only until September 12.
On Wednesday, the plaintiffs filed a new set of documents, describing the new failures by process servers to get anywhere near Miscavige, and asking the court now to take over and issue a summons for Miscavige, to be handled by Florida’s secretary of state.
We thought you’d want to see some specifics from those documents about the problems that process servers are running into trying to find Scientology’s reclusive leader.
Here’s how process server Hector Ramos described his frustrating day on August 16, trying to serve Miscavige at various sites at the Flag Land Base, Scientology’s spiritual mecca in Clearwater, Florida.
8/16/2022 2:59 pm Attempted Service at 210 S. Ft. Harrison Ave, Clearwater, FL 33755 [Editor’s note: This is the Fort Harrison Hotel, Scientology’s holiest site.] Upon walking up to the front entrance I was immediately stopped by two security guards, both had tags on them with no names but just stating “Security Guard,” I advised them who I was and that I had legal documents for David Miscavige. They stated “he does not live here nor does he work at this location,” I told them I had a few questions that I wanted to ask and I was told they are not going to answer anymore questions. I proceeded asking them my questions but was told the same response for each question “I am not answering anymore questions.” I then advised them that I was instructed to leave the documents on the ground as they did not allow me to enter the property nor provide any information to serve Mr. Miscavige. During my attempt, they kept listening into their earpiece and another security guard came out from the building and observed the interaction the whole time.
8/16/2022 3:23 pm Attempted Service at 215 S. Ft. Harrison Ave, Clearwater, FL 33756 [This is the Flag Building, across the street from the Fort Harrison Hotel, which was opened in 2013. We suspect that Miscavige has an apartment in this building — ed.] Upon walking up to the front entrance I was immediately stopped by one security guard, he had a tag on with no name but just stating “Security Guard,” I advised him who I was and that I had legal documents for David Miscavige. He stated “he does not live here nor does he work at this location,” I told him I had a few questions that I wanted to ask and I was told they are not going to answer anymore questions. I proceeded asking him my questions but was told the same response for each question “I am not answering anymore questions.” I then advised him that I was instructed to leave the documents on the ground as they did not allow me to enter the property nor provide any information to serve Mr. Miscavige. During my attempt, he continuously kept listening into his earpiece and looking over his shoulder towards the top of the steps. I looked over and noted another security guard looking towards us.
8/16/2022 3:53 pm Attempted Service at 200 N. Osceola Ave, Clearwater, FL 33756 [This is the Sandcastle, where wealthy Scientologists receive upper-level auditing — ed.] Upon pulling my vehicle into the parking lot, I was immediately stopped by two security guards, both had tags on them with no names but just stating “Security Guard,” I advised them who I was and that I had legal documents for David Miscavige. They stated “he does not live here nor does he work at this location,” I told them I had a few questions that I wanted to ask and I was told they are not going to answer anymore questions. I proceeded asking them my questions but was told the same response for each question “I am not answering anymore questions” and after my third or fourth question they proceeded to remain silent. I then advised them that I was instructed to leave the documents on the ground as they did not allow me to enter the property nor provide any information to serve Mr. Miscavige.
8/16/2022 4:07 pm Attempted Service at 118 N. Ft. Harrison Ave, Clearwater, FL 33756 [These are the offices of the Flag Service Organization, where Miscavige also has offices — ed.] Upon walking up to the front entrance I was immediately stopped by one security guard, he had a tag on with no name but just stating “Security Guard,” I advised him who I was and that I had legal documents for David Miscavige. He stated “he does not live here nor does he work at this location,” I told him I had a few questions that I wanted to ask and I was told they are not going to answer anymore questions. I proceeded asking him my questions but was told the same response for each question “I am not answering anymore questions” and after my third or fourth question they proceeded to remain silent. I then advised him that I was instructed to leave the documents on the ground as they did not allow me to enter the property nor provide any information to serve Mr. Miscavige.
8/16/2022 4:34 pm Attempted Service at 551 N. Saturn Ave, Clearwater, FL 33755 [This is the Hacienda Gardens apartment complex, where for years Miscavige has had an apartment — ed.] Upon walking up to the front entrance I was immediately stopped by the security guard at the gate, he had a tag on with no name but just stating “Security Guard,” I advised him who I was and that I had legal documents for David Miscavige. He stated “he does not live here nor does he work at this location,” I told him I had a few questions that I wanted to ask and I was told they are not going to answer anymore questions. I proceeded asking him my questions but was told the same response for each question “I am not answering anymore questions” and after my third or fourth question he proceeded to remain silent and went back inside his station and remained looking at me from inside. I then advised him that I was instructed to leave the documents on the ground as they did not allow me to enter the property nor provide any information to serve Mr. Miscavige.
Three days later, process server Jorge Rivera reported that he’d had similar trouble in July trying to serve Miscavige at the Hollywood Guaranty Building on Hollywood Boulevard and Ivar Avenue in Los Angeles, which is where the Religious Technology Center has its official address. (Dave is the chairman of RTC, which is why Scientologists refer to him as “C.O.B.” for chairman of the board.)
Attempted at 6331 Hollywood Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90028-6321 On 7/14/2022 at 12:29 PM Results: No access to lobby. Spoke with a guard over the intercom and inquired about David Miscavige. He had me waiting for over 20 minutes so I walked to the other door but there was no answer over the intercom. Guard named “Juan” finally came back and said there is no such person, would not provide any other info
Attempted at 6331 Hollywood Blvd Los Angeles, CA 90028-6321 On 7/21/2022 at 3:30 PM Results: Per female guard Over intercom on Hollywood blvd. there is no one under that name. They kept me on hold again for over 10 min.
Attempted at 1710 Ivar Ave Ste 1100 Los Angeles, CA 90028-5575 On 7/21/2022 at 3:43 PM Results: No answer over the intercom waited several minutes but no response
So with those earnest attempts made, the plaintiffs, through their attorney Neil Glazer, are now asking the court to step in.
Plaintiffs Gawain Baxter, Laura Baxter, and Valeska Paris respectfully move the Court to instruct the Clerk to issue the attached summons directed to Defendant David Miscavige in care of the Florida Secretary State….Plaintiffs have been unable to contact Defendant Miscavige and do not know of any counsel representing him in this matter. Plaintiffs therefore ask that they be excepted from Local Rule 3.01(g). Respectfully submitted, Neil L. Glazer
Will this finally work and make David Miscavige an official defendant in a lawsuit that alleges the mistreatment of children, the use of slave labor on the Freewinds, and the punishment of a Sea Org woman for saying she’d been sexually assaulted by coworkers?
We’ll let you know what the court says.
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Technology Cocktail
“In the presence of Suppression, one makes mistakes. People making mistakes or doing stupid things is evidence that an SP exists in that vicinity.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1968
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Now available: Bonus for our supporters
Episode 10 of the Underground Bunker podcast has been sent out to paid subscribers, and Jefferson Hawkins helps us understand Scientology’s new marketing ploys. Meanwhile, we’ve made episodes 1 through 9 available to everyone, with such guests as Patty Moher, Geoff Levin, Pete Griffiths, Sunny Pereira, Bruce Hines, Jeffrey Augustine, and Claire Headley. Go here to get the episodes!
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“The only death, I think, that ever occurred in the eastern area occurred on the part of a boy who came into the New York Foundation to receive some Dianetic auditing. We had a psychiatrist there who was on duty, because the publisher there in New York said that that was the legal thing to have. And anybody who came in and looked a bit desperate or something of the sort would be a mental case and therefore should be interviewed by the psychiatrist. He went in, saw the psychiatrist, the psychiatrist said there was nothing could be done. The psychiatrist told the auditor in question that he wasn’t to audit him and they sent the boy back out of the Foundation, and he went home and killed himself. That happened in New York City. It was smoothed over very quietly but there’s no particular reason to smooth it over because we didn’t kill him. That was an interesting thing.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 2, 1956
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“ETHICS: The unauthorised use of a master key to enter any FINANCE Office, without the FINANCE personnel permission will be considered illegal entry. (Other than an emergency such as fire or water leakage.)” — Lt. L. Steinberg, 3rd Mate, September 2, 1970
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“I am not a fanatic of Admin. But it is a necessity so that one person can recognise and meet the counter effort of the environment. The definition of rationality. How is one person out there (OK, in some cases with 5 or 6 more people next to him) able to do that? They cannot. I refuse to have gone crazy before I kick the bucket this lifetime. This is my right. The right to my sanity. And I am gonna stay sane as long as I even whisper it to my team mates that Admin is the path. And the org board is the key. LRH didn’t spend his life over org boards for nothing. He wanted to teach us something. He said that was the best vehicle he could find. And I don’t just believe him, I have seen it work.”
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1998: Bob Minton reported harassment, pickets and letters from Scientology this week, with PIs following him in various cities. “Another letter to Therese arrived on Friday, again asking for a meeting so Scientology could attempt to further divide Therese and me – perhaps even turn her into another Rosa Erlich. But Therese did not and will not bite that poison apple, Rinder.” From Mike Rinder’s letter to Mrs. Minton: “I’ve written you two previous letters but have received no reply. I imagine that by this time you have probably become aware that some of the things I said in my earlier letters have now proven true. As a matter of fact, I can show you a great deal of information supporting the statements in those letters. I believe there is much more information that you do not have concerning the activities of Bob and the people he has gotten hooked up with. Clearly, Bob’s involvement with Stacy Young and others has not had a positive effect on your family. While I am sure you have been told various lies about me and the Church of Scientology, you have no downside in hearing what information I have to offer. I would like the opportunity to speak with you face to face.”
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“There’s all kinds of space opera before you get to OT III that can be found in ‘Have You Lived Before This Life?’ and ‘A History of Man’ etc. Ribisi is adhering to the code of Space Omertà.”
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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.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Arraigned on August 29.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for October 24 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 filed 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.
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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] Tom Cruise’s Scientology superpowers, No. 2: Achieving godhood
[TWO years ago] The Top 25 People Enabling Scientology, No. 17: Louis Farrakhan
[THREE years ago] A holiday tale for families ripped apart by Scientology’s heartless ‘disconnection’ policy
[FOUR years ago] FEDS CHARGE SCIENTOLOGISTS IN NEW YORK FOR $80 MILLION MEDICARE SCAM
[FIVE years ago] Louis Theroux isn’t the first who tried to find Scientology’s positive side and failed
[SIX years ago] ‘Finally, I am myself’: Scientologists talk about Scientology in a video not made for the public
[SEVEN years ago] Why Scientology can never submit its drug rehab quackery to scientific review
[EIGHT years ago] Jonny Jacobsen reviews the new Scientology memoir by Hungarian writer Peter Bonyai
[NINE years ago] SCIENTOLOGY’S PRIVATE DANCER: A Story of Seduction, Intervention, and Betrayal
[TEN years ago] Scientology’s Homophobia: Even the Church’s Token Gay Guy Was Disgusted
[ELEVEN years ago] The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology, No. 13: Janet Reitman
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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 2,775 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,280 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,830 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,820 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,711 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,016 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,886 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,991 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,464 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,780 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,346 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,265 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,433 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,013 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,275 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,311 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,026 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,551 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 906 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,081 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,632 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,763 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,101 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,956 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,075 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,431 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,734 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,840 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,238 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,114 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,697 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,192 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,446 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,555 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 2, 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
