A television production company filming an upcoming series about Scientology has apparently rattled the organization, judging by the nasty threat letter that attorney Bert Deixler sent out to Karen de la Carriere yesterday and which she shared with the Underground Bunker.
Several weeks ago, the flier you see above was found around parts of Hollywood at Scientology’s Celebrity Centre. It was put together by a familiar reader here at the Bunker, Phil Jones, who in our comments section goes by the name “Sid.”
Jones, a former longtime Scientologist, was in Los Angeles trying to reconnect with his son Mike and daughter Emily, who are members of Scientology’s hardcore “Sea Organization.” As part of his attempt to reunite with his son, Phil posted the flier hoping to get information about him while cameras were rolling for the upcoming television series.
That effort has drawn a pointed response from Deixler, an attorney we’re familiar with because of his work on behalf of the Church of Scientology in several high-profile cases, including the forced-abortion lawsuit brought against the church by Laura DeCrescenzo. In this case, Deixler is working for Mike Jones, the Scientology Sea Org member.
And one of the people who received a threat letter was Karen de la Carriere even though, she tells us, she has nothing to do with the television production.
“Absolutely not,” she told us when we asked if she was involved in the series, which is being produced by documentary veterans Sirens Media. She also denies Deixler’s accusation that she’s being paid by Sirens, and that she violated Mike Jones’ privacy rights by helping with the production.
When we pointed out that Deixler had accused her of “disgraceful acts,” she responded, “Well, they made a disgraceful act of letting my son die without medical treatment. They are the disgrace,” she says.
She’s referring to the 2012 death of her son, Alexander Jentzsch, a Scientologist who, Karen says, was told to “disconnect” from her and then didn’t take proper care of himself. He died after taking a medication for back pain that worsened the case of pneumonia he was suffering from, and we covered Karen’s ordeal as Scientology members kept information from her and didn’t allow her to claim her son’s body. Since then, Karen has been one of the most outspoken critics of Scientology — and this isn’t her first aggressive threat letter.
“Two years ago they used the exact same allegation against me, in the Lia Kea matter. Of course that was completely bogus. I didn’t know her or what she had done. But now they’re making the same accusation. It’s a repeat: I’m a ‘co-conspirator.’ It was bogus then and it’s bogus now,” she says, referring to a bizarre infiltration of the Sea Org by a woman named Yulia Keaton who was also known as Lia Kea. Although de la Carriere had nothing to do with Keaton’s stunt, the church was quick to point a finger at Karen.
“They are desperate to get me. Today, I just passed 5 million views on my YouTube channel,” she told us last night, and sure enough, we checked her channel, “Surviving Scientology,” and it had just passed that milestone.
“And, I am very angry that they are bypassing my counsel, Ray Jeffrey, and sending me this letter directly,” Karen says, explaining that she has complained about this in the past to Scientology’s attorneys. “Bert Deixler knows damn well that I’m represented by counsel. His office knows that.”
Karen tells us she plans to do nothing in regards to Deixler’s demand. “I’m not doing what he accuses me of, so there’s nothing for me to stop doing.”
Here’s what Deixler sent her…
CONFIDENTIAL COMMUNICATION
VIA EMAIL AND U.S. MAIL
Karen De La Carriere
1935 N. Serrano Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90027
karendelac@aol.comRe: Jones v. Sirens Media…Jones, Does 1-50
Dear Ms. De La Carriere:
We have been engaged as litigation counsel by Mike Jones. Mr. Jones, as you well know, is a Minister of the Church of Scientology and has been for many years. Please accept this assurance that Mr. Jones has made this life and religious choice knowingly and as matter of his absolute free will. He stands by and is well satisfied with his choice.
Notwithstanding the life and religious choice Mr. Jones has made, we have learned that you and co-conspirators Sirens Media…Phil and Willie Jones…and others presently unknown have agreed to engage in and have committed overt acts, including a series of tortious and criminal acts, in furtherance of the conspiracy to violate his privacy and to hold him out to his peers, friends and the public in a false light. Such conduct violates statutory law, case law and Article I, Section 1 of the California Constitution. And why have you violated Mr. Jones rights? To attempt to make money in a fake reality television program! If you had the capacity, you would be ashamed. Your disgraceful acts, and those of your conspirators prove, however, that you are not capable of being ashamed.
Let me summarize some of the misconduct you and your conspirators have engaged in with the goal of enriching yourselves at the price of humiliating Mr. Jones. First, you have created, disseminated and posted handbills with Mr. Jones name and likeness without permission and with the legend “MISSING” emblazoned. The handbills were delivered and posted in and around where Mr. Jones provides his religious services and resides. When delivered you and every single one of your co-conspirators fully knew that Mr. Jones was not “missing.” You and every single one of your co-conspirators knew that Mr. Jones was resident at a facility operated by the Church of Scientology and was engaged in his services as a Minister of that Church. What was “missing” is any sense of respect for his religion and his freedom to choose the path he wished for his life. You should be ashamed. But, that’s not all.
Not only did you seek to invade Mr. Jones’ privacy and hold him in a false light for the amusement of a television audience and for your private financial enrichment, but you and your co-conspirators doubled down on your lie and made a false police report that Mr. Jones was “missing” and or held against his will and that locating him was a police emergency. This, lie, intended to generate police activity to generate footage for a television show, of course violates the California Penal Code. You should be ashamed. But that’s not all.
Based upon the false report, the Los Angeles Police Department officer believed it best to have Mr. Jones call his parents. Imagine, a 42 year old man forced to call his “mommy and daddy” for the amusement of a television audience so that you and your conspirators could make money. This waste of taxpayers’ money and a police officer’s time of course led to the prompt conclusion that you and your conspirators had made a factually baseless report. You should be ashamed. But that’s not all.
Not content with merely lying to the police, after lying to the friends, peers and passersby near the Church of Scientology, once again you and your conspirators upped the ante with the goal of humiliating Mr. Jones. This time it was a false report to the State of California Adult Protective Services that Mr. Jones was being held “against his will” and that he was “injured.” This lie to a governmental agency is itself another crime. And the goal of creating another “incident” in furtherance of the goal of making money from a television program was furthered by a Social Worker paid by taxpayers forced to waste his time and the taxpayers’ money interviewing Mr. Jones. Of course, this lie led the Social Worker to conclude that the allegation was factually baseless. A waste of a public employee’s time and of the taxpayer’s money. And why? because you and your conspirators wanted to make money by humiliating Mr. Jones by invading his privacy and holding him in a false light.
Do not comfort yourself with the lawless notion that you and your conspirators may interfere with Mr. Jones’ adult and knowing decision to pursue a religion and lifestyle of his choosing by claiming that it is a “rescue,” or an “intervention” or a “deprogramming” or some other cover story to conceal your malicious purpose. Such conduct has long been held unlawful in California when the conduct is directed toward adults.
Mr. Jones is fine. Mr. Jones does not want to be “rescued.” Mr. Jones doesn’t want to have anything to do with you, your conspirators or anybody else who will seek to invade his privacy. And please understand that the law is long and well established that such “rescues” of an adult are against the law.
Let me make it clear and present your options in simple terms. If you do not immediately cease and desist your efforts to invade Mr. Jones’ privacy, and embarrass and humiliate him with the goal of making money for yourselves with your idiotic “reality” television show, we shall proceed with swift and sure legal action preventing your egregious misconduct and seeking compensatory and punitive damages for the humiliation and intentional infliction of emotional distress your tortious acts have cause and will cause Mr. Jones.
Please confirm no later than 5 PM PST on February 2, 2016 that you and your conspirators will cease and desist from your lawless behavior.
All rights are reserved.
Sincerely,
Bert H. Deixler
We’ve written numerous times about Deixler in the past. He’s one of Scientology’s heavy hitters, and someone David Miscavige likes to bring in to do depositions. And each chance we get, we like to point out what Deixler was willing to do for the Church of Scientology…
Back in 2013, it was Deixler who made impassioned arguments to the California Supreme Court and then the US Supreme Court that Scientology’s religious rights would be trashed if Laura DeCrescenzo were allowed to have access to her personal auditing folders in her forced-abortion lawsuit against the church. Deixler argued that the things written down in her folders should be covered with the same confidentiality as what is told a Catholic priest in a confession. But Laura’s legal team pointed out that more than 200 Scientology officials had seen the contents of her files, and that Scientology only wanted to keep them secret because of the damaging behavior they described, not for religious reasons. Deixler, in his pleadings, really laid it on thick: “Scientology places great religious emphasis on the confidentiality of a parishioner’s auditing folders. Such folders cannot be disclosed without violating the fundamental religious tenets of the Church of Scientology.”Bert Deixler
To the highest courts in the land, Deixler swore that these folders contained “very religious” material, and making them public would be a terrible infringement of Scientology’s very essence. Both courts ignored him, and Laura finally got her files. And what was in them? Read our full story about that if you haven’t already, but among the things in her files were, for example, a confession she was forced to write at 12 years old, admitting that she had committed the “crime” of wanting to see her family. As a Sea Org worker who had signed a billion-year contract and was working 90-hour weeks for pennies an hour, she was required to suppress her homesickness and give up thoughts of seeing her mother again. In any other context, this might be considered a sick form of abuse and child slavery. That’s the content Bert Deixler told the California and US Supreme Courts was “very religious” and deserved to be protected from Laura DeCrescenzo’s possession.
That’s Bert Deixler. And now he’s calling Karen de la Carriere “disgraceful” for something she says she had nothing to do with.
We asked Sirens Media for a comment, but were told they were checking with their attorneys before making any statements.
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Bonus photos from our tipsters
Are the only auditors being made these days from the Nation of Islam? The NOI is still pushing to make “Book One” Dianetics auditors, and a small number also appear to be doing Scientology courses. What a strange mashup of two organizations.
Whoa! Scientology whale Jim Mathers got his own billboard in Ukraine!
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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 31, 2016 at 07:00
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Learn about Scientology with our numerous series with experts…
BLOGGING DIANETICS: We read Scientology’s founding text cover to cover with the help of L.A. attorney and former church member Vance Woodward
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
Other links: Shelly Miscavige, ten 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 | Scientology’s Private Dancer | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | Scientology boasts about assistance from Google | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Our Guide to Alex Gibney’s film ‘Going Clear,’ and our pages about its principal figures…
Jason Beghe | Tom DeVocht | Sara Goldberg | Paul Haggis | Mark “Marty” Rathbun | Mike Rinder | Spanky Taylor | Hana Whitfield
