‘Oh gosh’: Judge views alleged rape filmed on phone of Scientology private eye

In January, we told you about a contempt of court hearing that was held at a Nassau County courthouse last summer that starred a private investigator and retired NYPD detective named Yanti Mike Greene.

We’ve been especially interested in Greene for several reasons, including his work for the Church of Scientology. Thanks to litigation he’s involved in, we got access to his personal text messages which demonstrated that at one point in 2017 he was stalking Leah Remini and Jennifer Lopez while they were filming a movie in Manhattan.

And why was he following Remini for Scientology? According to the texts, he told his partner in the case, “Word is they want to kill her.”

We obtained those explosive texts because Greene and several other private investigators and the firm they worked for are being sued by a Long Island couple, David Smith and his wife Susanne Gold-Smith.

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

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. (Susanne has testified that she was unconscious during the event, and remembers nothing from it.)

Greene not only denies that he raped Susanne, he claims that she raped him and he has maintained that claim in testimony in live hearings. (And for those who are sensitive to descriptions of sexual assault, there is some of that content, and a disturbing image, coming later in this article.)

The Smiths were able to get copies of Greene’s texts in the litigation, and they included messages that he sent while working on other cases, including his work following Leah Remini and Jennifer Lopez in 2017. (Dan Ribacoff denied to us that IIG had been hired by Scientology, but then we got some pretty convincing evidence to the contrary. An email proved that about the same time, IIG had Greene surveilling your proprietor and his wife.)

Also as part of the lawsuits, Greene submitted two short videos totaling about 90 seconds to the court that he claimed proved his assertion that Susanne Gold-Smith had raped him, and not the other way around. But at a June 30 hearing before Nassau Supreme Court Judge Sharon M.J. Gianelli, the Smiths produced an expert who testified that Greene had submitted only a short portion of the video he shot that night, and several more minutes of footage had been recovered from an iCloud backup.

We were in the courtroom for that June hearing, and it was startling to hear the expert, Joseph Caruso, testify that these were some of the things he heard Greene say in the video that he had not turned over to the court:

— ‘See it’
— ‘You ready? Here it comes. Fuck, here it comes”
— ‘I just want light so I can see it’

It was his expert opinion, Caruso testified, that Greene had intentionally misled the court by not turning in all the video he had access to.

We reached out to the Nassau County District Attorney’s Office to ask if they were aware of Caruso’s testimony, which suggested that a former NYPD detective had committed a sexual assault in Nassau County and then tried to cover it up by suppressing the video he shot during it. The DA’s office did not indicate if they were aware of Caruso’s testimony or that they had reviewed the video themselves, but said to us in an email, “An investigation was conducted, including interviews of Ms. Gold-Smith and others, and it was determined there was not sufficient evidence to bring criminal charges relating to the sexual encounter.”

After several months of delays, the second day of the two-day contempt hearing was finally scheduled to happen on February 15. We attended the hearing and witnessed the second day of testimony and the conclusion of the hearing. But Judge Gianelli has still not ruled on whether she’s going to hold Greene in criminal or civil contempt, or both, or neither.

But we figured we had waited long enough to tell you about it, and, armed with a transcript to bolster our notes, here’s what happened.

At the plaintiff’s table, David Smith and Susanne Gold-Smith were with their numerous attorneys. At the defense table, Greene was with his attorney, Jeremy Feigenbaum. Judge Gianelli went over the complex litigation and motion history and made sure everyone had remembered why we were all here. Susanne’s attorney Daniel Szalkiewicz announced the stakes: They were asking not only for criminal penalties for Greene, but also costs and fees of $331,192.58.

Greene was put back under oath, and this time, there was a new attorney who would be questioning him on behalf of David Smith: Former prosecutor Julie Rendelman.

The Smith legal team’s challenge was to prove that Greene had intentionally misled the Court, which had ordered him to turn over his iPhone in 2020. Just before he was scheduled to do so, Greene claimed that the phone had been taken from his 82nd St. apartment while he was walking his dog at 2 am and had left his apartment door unlocked. The Smiths believe that Greene is lying, that he made up the story about the theft in order to keep the phone’s data from them, and only later did they get access to his iCloud backup, which contained the texts and the video. The entire adventure had cost them time and money, and they wanted Judge Gianelli to punish Greene with jail time. Greene and his attorney, Feigenbaum, argued that Greene did comply with the court orders and had, after the theft of the phone, turned over his passwords so that the backup could be obtained.

It was now Rendelman’s job to prove to Judge Gianelli that Greene was a habitual liar and that nothing from him could be believed.

Not even his name.

Rendelman: You agree with me that [the phone theft] was May 7th of 2020. You agree?
Greene: Yes.
Rendelman: OK. And you were living at the East 82nd Street location at that time?
Greene: Yes…
Rendelman: How long had you been living in that building prior to the phone being stolen?
Greene: Two or three years.

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Rendelman: Two or three years. And you would agree with me that was your exclusive residence, correct?
Greene: Yes.
Rendelman: OK. Meaning that you weren’t living in any other location, correct, in 2019?
Greene: I might stay some other places, but that was my primary residence, yes…2020, 2019, primarily in New York. You know, a few out of state as well, but primarily New York.
Rendelman: What does that mean, ‘out of state’? Did you have a residence out of state?
Greene: No. But as I just said, I might stay at some friend’s houses or somewhere here and there, but…
Rendelman: But your only residence would have been in New York, correct?
Greene: That was my residence, 235 East 82nd.

Greene not only had lived on 82nd Street for a couple of years leading up to the phone theft, but for several months after, until early 2021, he said.

Having established that, Rendelman then asked a seemingly innocuous question that had Greene suddenly flustered and backpedaling.

Rendelman: You agree with me you never lived in Delaware, right?
Greene: For a month and a half, 2 months, something…
Rendelman: Well, now I’m a little confused. And bear with me. Because you just stated and you swore that you lived in New York exclusively throughout prior to moving in, and I think you said you lived there two or three years. And then you said that you remained in New York at that East 82nd Street into 2021, right?
Greene: …My primary residence was New York. However, as I said, I stayed at other places, including out of state.

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Rendelman: Did you have a residence in Delaware, yes or no, in June of 2020? It’s a yes/no question, sir.
Greene: I would say, well, I would say then a temporary residence.
Rendelman: Aah. A temporary residence. Can you tell me something, if you don’t mind? Who is Michael Moretti Ford Cruz?
Greene: That was me changing my name.
Rendelman: OK. Now I’m confused. Is Michael Moretti Ford Cruz your name today?
Greene: I’m using both names: Yanti Michael Greene and that name.
Rendelman: Well, didn’t you formally change your name to Michael Moretti Ford Cruz? Yes or no.
Feigenbaum: Objection, your Honor. Relevance. How does this have to do with whether his phone was stolen?
Judge Gianelli: I’m not sure. I would like to find out. Overruled.
Rendelman: Didn’t you change your name to Michael Moretti Ford Cruz in August of 2020?
Greene: I don’t recall the exact date, but that sounds right.
Rendelman: OK. And didn’t you swear to the judge at that time in Delaware that you’d lived there as a resident for six months?

Rendelman then produced a document.

Rendelman: I’m going to ask you if you can take a look at that and tell me if that refreshes your recollection as to swearing to a judge that you resided actually in New Castle County, Delaware for at least six months.

Greene’s attorney, Feigenbaum, objected, saying that what Greene signed in August 2020 in Delaware had nothing to do with his phone being stolen two months earlier.

Rendelman: May I be heard, judge? I think two things. One, it goes directly to his credibility. He testified under the name ‘Yanti Greene’ when his name was no longer Yanti Greene, No. 1. And No. 2, it goes directly to credibility if you have a witness that is swearing to tell the truth in this courtroom who swore under oath to another judge and lied to them as well within two months prior to the phone being stolen.
Feigenbaum: No, this is after the phone was stolen.
Rendelman: Two months before, two months after wouldn’t matter.

Having established that in the middle of the litigation Greene had changed his name to “Michael Moretti Ford Cruz” without telling anyone, Rendelman then spent some time going over his purported record as a crime fighter.

He was not only a retired NYPD detective, he had also run for Sheriff in Orange County, Florida, on his record of lowering crime in New York, and had even written a book about how to keep yourself from being a victim while visiting the city. And yet, Rendelman pointed out, this expert on how to keep from being a victim of crime had gone for a walk at 2 am with his dog and had left his apartment unlocked, resulting in the theft of the single most sensitive and important thing in his life, his iPhone, but the burglar had somehow left his laptop alone and his cash.

She then turned to another statement that Greene/Cruz had made.

Multiple times, Greene had said that he didn’t know that his iPhone created iCloud backups that could be retrieved, and he only learned about it as a consequence of the litigation.

Rendelman: …You stated that you first learned about how to, the whole idea of backing up during these proceedings.
Greene: No. What I said was I, I wasn’t aware that my phone had a backup and so on.
Rendelman: Aah. Until these proceedings?
Greene: Yeah, until these proceedings.
Rendelman: Aah. Who is Tony Mykonaitis?
Greene: A good friend of mine.

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Rendelman: Yeah. And on May 8, 2020, the day after your phone was allegedly stolen, you tell him you need everyone’s number until you can download the cloud and back up your phone and old number. Do you remember telling him that?
Greene: No.
Rendelman: I’m going to ask you to take a look at this…First tell me if you agree with me that that’s your email and his email?
Greene: It looks like it. Yes.
Rendelman: OK. And you agree with me that you contacted him the next day to let him know that your phone had been missing?
Greene: Just reading it. Yes.

Rendelman moved to enter the email in evidence, having established that in fact Greene knew right away that there would be a backup of his data available when his phone supposedly went missing.

She then dug into the videos on his phone, and there was a lot of confusion about the number of videos taken the night of the assault, their length, and how they had been portioned. She now turned to what Greene had actually turned in to the court, the two short videos he labeled with the names “Susanne Gold-Smith raping Yanti Greene” video 1 and 2.

Rendelman: You actually at one point wanted this judge to see the videos you had, right? You actually wrote that in one of the motions. You’re welcoming this judge to look and analyze those videos, right?
Greene: Yes. And the judge did.
Rendelman: And you knew well when this judge was going to view those videos she was never going to be shown the full videos by you. And you knew that full well, isn’t that correct?
(Objection/overruled)
Greene: Again, I…
Rendelman: That’s a yes/no question, sir.

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Greene: No then.
Rendelman: You did not know that there was additional footage that you chose for this judge not to see?
(Objection/overruled)
Greene: Again as I said, I wasn’t at the time aware of the cloud and backup. So I just had what I had on the phone.
Rendelman: Well, did you let the judge know that you had redacted parts of the video that showed Ms. Smith with her eyes shut and her bra pushed up over her breast? Did you let the judge know that?
(Objection/overruled)
Greene: I let the judge know that — and all the attorneys know that I said there’s a chance when — in 2019 or whatever, that I may have clipped some of the video. I said if I did there was no nefarious reason for it…
Rendelman: I didn’t ask…
Greene: …however, I’m just answering the question. I said that to…
Rendelman: Sir, it’s…
Greene: …to all the attorneys and the judge. And I said if I did it was the same reason I clip videos of pictures from my phone seven days a week. That’s because my memory was full and I have to keep adding new videos and pictures.

After more tussling over this idea, whether Greene tried to give Judge Gianelli the impression that there wasn’t additional footage than what he turned over (he claimed he didn’t), Rendelman now addressed another of Greene’s shaky assertions.

She established that on March 16, 2020, there had been a 1 pm telephonic court hearing that Greene didn’t show up for. On March 23, he wrote an email explaining why he hadn’t showed up: “In the midst of the coronavirus crisis and special restrictions placed on New York City, where I reside, before the rest of the state, I hadn’t gone to sleep until 8 am on Monday morning, March 16. And I woke up around 3 pm or so and saw and listened to the Court’s message at about 5 pm. So I obviously missed the group call.”

So Greene claimed that he’d slept through the 1 pm court hearing, and didn’t wake up until 3 pm.

Rendelman: And the reason that you didn’t appear at that hearing is that you stated — and tell me if I’m correct — is that you slept and didn’t know that there was a court proceeding, right?
Greene: In sum, yeah. But sleep for me is very, probably different than most people. I sleep, I wake up, I sleep, I wake. I am kind of back and forth.
Rendelman: You agree with me that was an important, just like every other court proceeding, was an important court proceeding, right?
Greene: Every proceeding is important.
Rendelman: The judge was maybe going to make decisions that would impact you?
Greene: 100 percent.

Rendelman then established that the court had called Greene and left a voice mail at 1:13 pm, trying to find him because he was missing the hearing.

Rendelman: At 1:13 pm there is an incoming call from the court that leaves you a voicemail. Do you recall that?
Greene: We’re talking about the same date, the same proceeding?
Rendelman: Yeah.
Greene: I recall seeing the voicemail at some point.
Rendelman: And at 1:05, which is 6 minutes — I’m sorry, 8 minutes — before that. My math is off today. Eight minutes before that. By the way, who is Sal Moustafa?
(objection/overruled)
Greene: Another buddy of mine.

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Rendelman: Is he involved in this litigation at all?
Greene: No.
Rendelman: Well, you text Sal Moustafa at 1:05 pm on the 16th of March, right?
Greene: I don’t recall, but you have the record in front of you.
Rendelman: You would agree with me you’re not sleeping then?
Greene: Again, my sleep pattern is on and off, on and off.
Rendelman: It’s on and off, right?
Greene: It’s interrupted. Right.
Rendelman: Then at 1:51 pm the judge, actually, the court, calls you again. You don’t pick up, right?
Greene: Again, I don’t have the phone records. I don’t know. I assume I was sleeping.
Rendelman: But at 2:05 pm, which is just a few minutes later, you’re up. I assume you’re the one who — you would agree with me no one else has your phone at that time, correct?
Greene: I assume. No.
Rendelman: Right? No one’s stolen your phone at that point, right?
(objection/overruled)

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Greene: No. I assume it’s me.
Rendelman: So at 2:05 pm, you text Sal Moustafa again. You actually text him three separate times within a series of seconds, right?
Greene: Again, I don’t know. Just going by what you’re reading off what you have.
Rendelman: OK. I’ll keep reading it then. You actually text someone named Bojan Petkovic at 2:07 pm. And you continue to go back and forth with text messages between yourself and Sal Moustafa until 2:21 pm, right? And you’re going to say again you don’t remember?
Greene: No. But I’m going with what you’re saying.
Rendelman: Sure. Because it’s in evidence, right?
Greene: Well, you’re reading from an official document, so I assume it’s true.
Rendelman: Right, right. And so when you told the attorneys that you were asleep and that’s why you didn’t see the court’s voicemail and you had no idea that there was a court proceeding going on, that was a lie, correct?
Greene: No.
…
Rendelman: On March 23rd you told the plaintiffs in an e-mail that on March 16th you slept until 3 pm and therefore were unaware that the Court had tried to reach you. That’s what you stated to them as the reason that you didn’t make the conference, isn’t that correct?
Greene: Yeah. It was…yes.
Rendelman: Right? And yet we all know as we sit here today when we look at [exhibit] 49 that you lied to every single person that is seated in these chairs, right?
Greene: Again, I explained my sleep patterns before you…

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Rendelman: Yes. We’ve all heard quite a lot about your sleep patterns. They’re fascinating.

Rendelman then brought up the video and the sex incident. In the courtroom, there was a blowup of a frame from the video, showing Susanne with her eyes closed and head thrown back, her clothes disheveled, her bra pushed up over her breasts.

Rendelman: Didn’t you state in your motions that Ms. Gold-Smith was completely naked during the incident? Isn’t that what you stated?
Greene: Yes. I did.
Rendelman: Right. And you made sure again that the video wouldn’t be provided of her being clothed, right, because that would be against what you wrote in your motions, right?
Greene: No.
Rendelman: But you agree with me that she’s dressed here, correct?
Greene: She is dressed from — well, bra and shirt. That’s it.
Rendelman: You certainly know what the word ‘naked’ means, don’t you, sir?

When it was his attorney Jeremy Feigenbam’s turn to question Greene, they stressed that he had followed the strict letter of the court orders, and had not deceived the court. Failing to tell the court about the video on the iCloud backup wasn’t deceptive, because it wasn’t what the court orders had strictly asked him to do. (However, the court at that point didn’t know that the backup existed.)

The testimony complete, it was now time to enter the videos as evidence. Judge Gianelli announced that they would all be moving to a conference room where the judge and the two parties could watch the videos, which came to about 12 minutes of footage in total.

While they did so, we had to wait out in the hall. We still haven’t seen the videos, which have not been made public. However, it turns out that the court reporter went into the conference room, and kept taking down what people were saying while the videos were played.

Szalkiewicz: This is the video that was never disclosed to the parties by Mr. Greene, so no portion of this whatsoever was ever turned over.
Judge Gianelli: So it was only recovered by…
Szalkiewicz: It was found on his iPhone backup. That’s correct.
Judge Gianelli: OK.
Feigenbaum: Wait, Dan. What do you mean Greene didn’t give?
Szalkiewicz: There’s no portion of this video that was turned over by Mr. Greene.
Feigenbaum: When?
Szalkiewicz: At any time.
Feigenbaum: Not from his iCloud?
Szalkiewicz: Well, I mean, this was recovered from his iCloud.
Feigenbaum: So he turned it over.
Szalkiewicz: He did not. It was recovered by Consilio [a technology company].

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Feigenbaum: Because he signed releases.
Judge Gianelli: Well, I will determine whether that constitutes turning over or not turning over.

Then, there was this exchange as the videos were being played.

Szalkiewicz: For the record, this is a 7 minute and three second video…
(Playing video)
Judge Gianelli: I hate to ask this. Can you just rewind?
Szalkiewicz: How far?
Judge Gianelli: Oh gosh.
(Rewinding video)
Judge Gianelli: There.

After the videos were played, everyone came back to the courtroom. It was time for closing arguments.

Rendelman: (Representing David Smith) I think based on the testimony that we heard today we have an individual that came as close to confessing as anyone I could ever imagine in terms of contempt…You know, no matter what is decided at the end, this is about his behavior. No one else’s. It’s about his decisions to try and get over not just on every person sitting in this courtroom, but to try to get over on you. And there is a reason that criminal contempt exists.

Szalkiewicz: (Representing Susanne Gold-Smith) Why did he edit one video and withhold the other entirely? Well, we just watched the videos, your Honor. We know that’s because the footage he withheld is disturbing. The deleted portion shows Susanne’s lifeless face jammed against the hard plastic interior of Greene’s vehicle, her hair disheveled, her bra askew and her eyes closed. It shows Susanne unresponsive to verbal cues. Greene literally grabbing her hands and placing them for his camera. It shows vile, sexually explicit statements from Greene, which were cut from the edited versions he submitted. And nowhere, nowhere does it show Susanne ‘attacking’ Greene, pulling him over the seats or behaving in any way like the sexual predator Greene had previously described her in his filings….While working as a private investigator for International Investigative Group, Greene filmed himself raping the subject of their investigation. For two years my client has endured an avalanche of false allegations, victim shaming and humiliating vile statements that are being published online about her about what happened that night.

Feigenbaum: (Representing Greene) It is exceptionally clear that Defendant Greene did all he could to comply with this Court’s orders. The only time he couldn’t was due to physical inability to comply. And again, lastly, when requested, Defendant Greene provided full and complete cooperation with plaintiffs’ experts in obtaining his iCloud. These are actions of a man who has nothing to hide.

And so the hearing ended. We’re still waiting to find out how Judge Gianelli felt about the videos besides that “Oh gosh.” The Smiths are asking for up to 6 months in jail and the $331,000 in costs.

It’s already been more than a month, and nothing.

Then, last week, there was one new development.

We learned that Jeremy Feigenbaum is no longer representing Yanti Michael Greene/Michael Moretti Ford Cruz, who now plans to represent himself.

 
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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.

 
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Source Code

“Look, you know that a thetan has been sitting around here for a couple of hundred trillion years. You realize that there have been psychiatrists all over the track? I mean, you probably didn’t realize that it was a stupid universe, but it is. Been psychiatrists all over the track; they’ve been electric shocking people. Well, that certainly should have upset the GPMs, shouldn’t it have? Huh?” — L. Ron Hubbard, March 26, 1963

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“THE BEACH: Cagliari’s old town (mostly bombed out in WW II) is reputed to be more expensive and a bit ‘clip.’ The new town is over the hill and is reputed to be fairer in price. These shore people will give you bad money exchange rates if you don’t watch it.” — The Commodore, March 26, 1969

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“LRH did not have super OT powers. LRH did not return. Thus it is obvious that LRH tech is not perfect and that following it absolutely will not lead to a state of perfection. LRH, with the Pre-Logics, Logics and Axioms, created a foundation for a science of the mind and spirit that is unparalleled. Critics go poopoo at LRH but they are totally incapable of creating anything comparable. There is no other spiritual practice that has a foundation in logical premises. I anticipate spending many lifetimes involved in the expansion of LRH’s work.”

 
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Past is Prologue

2000: Mrshowbiz published an interview with Scientology celebrity Jenna Elfman this week. “My husband has been a Scientologist for years, and I kept hearing him talk about Dianetics. And I said, ‘What is Dianetics?’ So he gave me the book. And he said there’s a course you can take and you just have to read parts of it. And then one day I ran into a situation that made me like, frazzled. I was spending the night at my now-husband, boyfriend-at-the-time’s house. I was so used to the alarm that it didn’t wake me up, and I woke up an hour and a half after I was supposed to be there. I got in the car and I was all frazzled and starting to cry and was rushed, and I couldn’t think. Then I went, Wait a minute — that’s purely reactive and insane. Look, you’re in the car, you can’t get there any faster. So just turn the music on, enjoy. And I went da-da-da, da-da-da and got a lot more analytical about the situation. When I got there, I said, ‘I’m very sorry I’m late. The alarm didn’t wake me up.’ And they said, ‘That’s fine. We’re not going to get to you for another few hours.’ Like, wow! I went, This is great. It’s just very simple: Scientology helps me live my life better.”

 
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Random Howdy

“So the owner of a gay bar took money from the Church of Scientology? AAAAGGHH! Now I’m really in a bad mood.”

 
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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 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.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Pretrial conference March 25 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: Hearing held on February 15, awaiting ruling.

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.

 
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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.

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?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] ABC gives platform to Scientologist named one of 12 biggest sources of vaccine disinfo
[TWO years ago] Scientology’s bizarre response to the pandemic: Handing out sketchy cleaning products
[THREE years ago] Tom Cruise’s son Connor to marry Scientology staffer in the church’s Florida mecca
[FOUR years ago] Leah Remini is still being stalked, and now Scientology has turned to an ex-NYPD detective
[FIVE years ago] Scientology’s gateway drug: The personality test and what it’s actually telling you
[SIX years ago] Talking Scientology with actor and podcaster Ethan McKinley
[SEVEN years ago] ‘Going Clear’: Sara Goldberg on how Scientology turned her own daughter against her
[EIGHT years ago] Jillian Schlesinger: How I got into Scientology, and how I got out
[NINE years ago] Scientology’s Version of Family Values: The Group is Everything
[TEN years ago] Scientology’s ‘Writers of the Future’ Contest Loses a Participant After Our Expose

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on March 26, 2022 at 07:00

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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