Scientology’s favorite LAPD shill now in hot water over Les Moonves ‘allegiance’

One of the interesting things we heard from Jane Doe 2 during her testimony yesterday at the Danny Masterson trial was that she and the other victims were very suspicious of the LAPD detective who was initially assigned to their case. She testified that the detective’s behavior was so strange, they suspected she might be “corrupt.”

In our end-of-the-day video that we put out yesterday at the courthouse for subscribers, and that we’re releasing below, we reminded viewers that this was a theme going back all the way to 2017 and our story that first broke the news that Danny Masterson was under investigation. In that initial story, we quoted from a letter written by Jane Doe 3 (we called her “Victim A” back then) complaining to then-Chief Charlie Beck of the LAPD about how badly the probe was being handled. And our previous stories have included allegations that the LAPD itself knew that its Hollywood Division, for example, was hopelessly compromised by its relationship to the Church of Scientology.

But surely, all these allegations about LAPD corruption are just overblown, right?

Well, the notion of the LAPD being compromised received a huge confirmation yesterday, as Gene Maddaus explained in a terrific new piece for Variety that lays out how an LAPD captain tipped off CBS executives just hours after a woman made a sexual assault report in November 2017 against CEO Les Moonves, and that the captain, now retired, worked behind the scenes to help kill the investigation and make sure it never became public.

That retired captain is none other than Cory Palka, the subject of several stories here at the Bunker about his Scientology-promoting ways, and he’s also a person Leah Remini has in the past accused of being corrupt.

Gene’s story is pretty much a textbook for how police corruption actually works, with Palka literally pledging his “allegiance” to Moonves while he worked to kill the investigation, which was successful. Eventually, however, Ronan Farrow interviewed the woman who had made the sexual assault report, Phyllis Golden-Gottlieb, for a 2018 New Yorker article, and Moonves resigned the day it came out.

Two days later, Palka wrote a note to Moonves: “Les — I’m deeply sorry that this has happened. I will always stand with, by and pledge my allegiance to you. You have embodied leadership, class and the highest of character through all of this.”

Keerist. Will Palka face criminal charges? We’ll be watching.

In 2020, we published similar mash notes from Palka to Scientology officials, which had become public in a records request made by an advocacy group. Emails to and from Palka showed a chummy relationship between the Hollywood Division’s top cop and the church.

In that 2020 story, we pointed out that when the Danny Masterson accusers came forward to the LAPD in 2016, “they were told that the investigation would be handled downtown because the Hollywood Division had been hopelessly co-opted by the Church of Scientology.”

In other words, the LAPD itself knew that the Hollywood Division, under Capt. Cory Palka, had been corrupted by its relationship to Scientology.

But even with that precaution, the women who went to the LAPD with their allegations about Danny Masterson found that going downtown was still a risk, as they soon had problems with the woman assigned to their case, Det. Esther Reyes. Masterson’s defense has based much of its case on Det. Reyes being right about things and these women going against her recommendations.

We are more interested than ever to see Det. Reyes testify in this trial. And it may come as soon as today.

Here’s the video we made from the courthouse yesterday afternoon. We’ll have more reports coming at you from the court later today.

 
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Technology Cocktail

“In the running of concepts, it must not be omitted that a preclear is quite often too low on the tone scale to remember things that are absolutely real to him, times when he was in good communication, etc. Further, the running of concepts actually can blunt his reality if he is permitted to go into incidents which are too heavy with these concepts, a thing an auditor finds difficult to prevent and about which he should not particularly worry beyond this remedy: After every period of Concept Running, the auditor should cause the preclear to remember specific incidents on the time track which seem absolutely real to him, and in which he was in good communication, where he felt affinity, or affinity was felt for him, or good communication was being given to him, and where he was able to give reality to someone.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1952

 
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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 as trial begins and Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.

 
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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— The Underground Bunker Podcast

[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH

— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see

[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf

— SPECIAL: Your Proprietor’s updates on the Danny Masterson trial

[1] Sep 21 [2] Sep 28 [3] Oct 4 [4] Oct 10 [5] Oct 11: Day One [6] Oct 12: Day Two [7] Oct 13: Day Three [8] Oct 17: Day Four [9] Oct 18: Day Five [10] Oct 19: Day Six [11] Special interview with Chris Shelton, Oct 19 [12] Oct 20: Day Seven [13] Oct 21: Day Eight [14] First week in review, with Jeffrey Augustine [15] Oct 24: Day Nine [16] Oct 25: Day Ten [17] Oct 27: Day Eleven [18] Oct 28: Day Twelve [19] Second week in review, with Jeffrey Augustine [20] Halloween special [21] Nov 2: Day Thirteen

— The Underground Bunker Podcast on YouTube

[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack

 
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Source Code

“People look all the way through books of philosophers, the Bible, life, to find something that will agree with them. At first glance, they’re trying to look for something to agree with. Nah, they’re not looking for something to agree with, they’re looking for something on which they have sufficient experience to establish a certainty. And you go down and you get a book — old Will Durant’s book The Story of Philosophy — whenever you get it out of the library you’ll find page after page, underscore, underscore and an underscore here and an underscore there and exclamation points over in the borders and it’s all marked up, old copies of it. Libraries have to replace it every time they turn around. Because people in their great enthusiasm will underscore ‘God is good.’ Here these rather clever statements one way or the other which are quite profound and quite interesting of which somebody could be certain and then they pick all the way through. The thing they find ‘God is good.’ Fine.” — L. Ron Hubbard, November 3, 1953

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“ETHICS: Fair Game for current week for no report of stats are, Annabelle Buchanan, Jo Albert, Donna Tidman, Clarisse Barnett, Ron Stone.” — Lt. Jeff Walker, I&R, November 3, 1970

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

 
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Past is Prologue

1997: The New York Times reported that a German Scientologist has been granted asylum in the United States. “A federal immigration court judge has granted asylum to a German member of the Church of Scientology who claimed that she would be subjected to religious persecution had she been required to return to her homeland, the woman’s lawyer and a Scientology official said Friday. While few details of the case were available, it is believed to be the first time the United States has given asylum protection to a Scientologist. The Church of Scientology has been waging a highly public international campaign against what it considers discrimination against its members by the German government. Officials at the German Embassy in Washington said Friday that they had not heard of the asylum decision and would have no reaction until it was confirmed. An immigration court judge decided to approve the woman’s application to remain in this country after a hearing last February. Officials at the State Department and the Immigration and Naturalization Service in Washington said they were unaware of the case. John Lund, an immigration lawyer in Tampa who represents the German woman, said his client was in the United States legally. ‘She voluntarily applied for asylum,’ Lund said, ‘and the matter was referred to the immigration court by the Immigration and Naturalization Service. The court made the decision, based on her individual facts, that she should be granted asylum.’ Lund said the woman’s case was not part of any orchestrated effort by the Church of Scientology to publicize its claims of discrimination. ‘Our matter was totally outside of any campaign by the church,’ Lund said. ‘This individual was acting solely on her own.’ To protect relatives still in Germany, Lund and Scientology officials refused to disclose the woman’s name or where she lived.”

 
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Random Howdy

“Opus Dei wields more political influence around the world than the Church of Scientology could ever dream of.”

 
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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 began October 11 in Los Angeles.

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. Hearing scheduled November 17 to argue the arbitration motions.
— 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 at least through December 13.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Case settled ahead of scheduled Dec 6 trial.
— 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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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] Scientology had an historic day in court yesterday, and the experts weigh in
[TWO years ago] Luke Catton still being ‘Fair Gamed’ years after he exposed Scientology’s rehab racket
[THREE years ago] Add ‘The Last Samurai’ to Tom Cruise movies Scientology uses for themed fundraising
[FOUR years ago] Never public: L. Ron Hubbard Jr.’s devastating 1972 takedown of his father and Scientology
[FIVE years ago] EXCLUSIVE: DA’s office asked Leah Remini not to air episode about Danny Masterson
[SIX years ago] Scientology strikes back at Leah Remini as publicity for her upcoming series explodes
[SEVEN years ago] Ten years ago, ‘South Park’ rocked Scientology in a way it’s never recovered from
[EIGHT years ago] Dani Lemberger, who led a breakaway Israel mission, sues Scientology for libel and fraud
[NINE years ago] Sunday Funnies: Roslyn Cohn’s One-Woman Show Set to Skewer Scientology
[TEN years ago] Scientology’s Policy of ‘Disconnection’: A Mother’s Open Letter to Her Children
[ELEVEN years ago] Tom Cruise and Baby Suri Embarrassed? This is Scientology, So Someone Has To Pay

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 3, 2022 at 09:00

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