Tony Ortega is a journalist who was formerly the editor of The Village Voice. He's written about Scientology since 1995, and in May 2015 released a book about Scientology's harassment of Paulette Cooper titled 'The Unbreakable Miss Lovely.' He continues to monitor breaking developments in the Scientology world from an undisclosed location in an underground bunker he shares with four cats and one of them wrinkly Shar Pei dogs. Despite his super-secret security protections, you can still reach him pretty easily by sending him a message at tonyo94 AT gmail.com (Drop him a line if you'd like to get an e-mail whenever a new story is posted.) [Header image courtesy John Rickard]
FOLLOW ME ON
Daily Notifications
Sign up for free emails to receive the feature story every morning in your inbox at tonyortega.substack.com

Categories

Monthly Archives

Scientology celebrated New Year’s Eve on Saturday, and once again we had someone there

 Scientology leader David Miscavige welcomed in the new decade Saturday night at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles as the church, per its usual custom, celebrated New Year’s Eve a couple of weeks early so it could be filmed and then shown at its facilities around the world on the evening of December []

ADVERTISEMENT

Scientology trying to use its UN connections to fight its favorite bogeyman, psychiatry

 Scientology has a new article from front group CCHR, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights. For years Scientology has courted the United Nations as it fights attempts by governments to tax, regulate, or prosecute the church. In August we reported that a Scientology front group was granted Special Consultative Status by the UN. []

Witnesses or no witnesses: How much of a sham trial will Republican senators put on?

 Attorney Scott Pilutik wrestles with the news of the day, from a lawyerly perspective…

Just as the House has the “sole power” to impeach, the Senate gets to conduct the trial. Since the House Republicans spent so much time feigning outrage about the supposed lack of due process, you’d think the Senate Republicans would be especially []

Glam for Xenu: When Scientology celebrities ruled the world

[Kelly Preston, Hubbardite]

We want to thank Karen de la Carriere for digging out of her huge collection some pure, unadulterated apex-Scientology nostalgia for us all to []

Scientology will try to force Danny Masterson accusers into its internal ‘arbitration’

[Plaintiffs: Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Chrissie Carnell Bixler]

The Church of Scientology has notified three women, each of them former Scientologists who say they were raped by Scientologist actor Danny Masterson and have sued the actor and the church, that it plans to derail their lawsuit and force them into Scientology’s brand of internal arbitration, citing contracts []

Pete Combs, 1959-2019: A reporter who believed in the power of digging for the truth

 We have interacted with many journalists around the world doing our work here at the Underground Bunker covering Scientology stories. Journalists who have come to get their questions answered, and others who have generously helped us with tips or documents, or just story suggestions. Scientology is an arcane and difficult subject to cover, and in []

The LAPD has evidence a Scientology official it’s seeking has been sent to the Freewinds

[Hiding in plain sight?]

There are six women talking to the Los Angeles Police Department now in the agency’s three-year investigation of rape allegations against Scientologist actor Danny Masterson. And the evidence the police have forwarded to the L.A. District Attorney’s office has been described as “overwhelming” by journalist Yashar Ali. []

In FBI probe, suddenly the Right cares about law enforcement and Fourth Amendment issues

 Attorney Scott Pilutik wrestles with the news of the day, from a lawyerly perspective…

[Regarding this New York Times story by Charlie Savage: We Just Got a Rare Look at National Security Surveillance. It Was Ugly.]

The FBI’s conduct in obtaining the Carter Page warrant is pretty bad, even if it seems likely that they’d have gotten []

Jehovah’s Witnesses giving advice about family happiness? Lord have mercy.

 Is an organization that rips apart families as a way to punish doubters really in a position to give advice about what’s best for family happiness? That’s the question that ex-JW activist Lloyd Evans asks in a new short video about a Jehovah’s Witnesses tract, “What is the key to happy family []

LEAH REMINI: ‘Jackie Lacey, you have forgotten what side you are on’

[Actress Leah Remini and L. A.’s District Attorney, Jackie Lacey]

Last week we reported that a source close to Los Angeles District Attorney Jackie Lacey tells us that Lacey has no intention of charging Scientologist actor Danny Masterson even after a three-year LAPD investigation of rape allegations by a total now of six different women. If []