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]
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Sword-wielding, Bentley-driving man killed by police at Scientology org identified

[Brian Statler in 2015]

The Los Angeles County Medical Examiner has identified the sword-wielding man who was fatally shot Wednesday by police at the Inglewood Scientology Ideal Org as Brian Statler of West Los Angeles, who was 30 years []

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Guy Gorney reveals trophy hunting’s eternal appeal: The stopping of a beating heart

[Like catching a ride on Aslan]

We want to thank retired Illinois power plant executive Guy Gorney for conserving so much exotic wildlife over his long career as a trophy hunter. By his own count, the dedicated conservationist and animal lover has conserved something like 70 different big game, including elephant, lion, leopard, rhino, and []

Jehovah’s Witnesses in Scientology’s ‘Mecca’: Is this the Armageddon we were promised?

 We want to thank regular reader Jeb Burton for taking the photo you see here during his adventures yesterday in downtown Clearwater. He snapped this outside the infamous “Scientology Starbucks” at the corner of Fort Harrison Boulevard and Cleveland Street, the crossroads at the very center of Scientology’s “spiritual Mecca,” the Flag Land Base in []

Scientology is putting Ideal Orgs in every country where it operates — except one

 Rod Keller keeps an eye on the Ideal Org racket David Miscavige is running, and he notices something very []

Remembering a mighty hunter who became one with the animal kingdom to honor us all

 This is Scott van Zyl, a South African hunter who really knew how to show off a customer’s attributes, like Mr. Lion here and his magnificent gums. []

NXIVM: Government drops Keith Raniere’s child sex charges for Albany prosecutor to handle

[Keith Raniere]

Surprising news in a document filed yesterday by prosecutors in the Nxivm case: They have agreed with Nxivm leader Keith Raniere that the new child sex charges in a superseding indictment don’t belong in the Brooklyn trial which is scheduled to start on April 29. Instead, those charges will be considered for prosecution by []

As Allison Mack nears guilty plea, remembering her frightening portrayal as a flight risk

[Allison Mack]

After the roller coaster week we’ve had in the Nxivm criminal prosecution, we’ve been leafing through older documents in the court file to help us understand how we got []

Leaving Scientology’s ‘Sea Org’ isn’t easy, and some turn to desperate measures

 Why do people do extreme things to disqualify themselves from the Sea Org? You’ve heard harrowing stories about Sea Org members making suicide threats and suicide attempts, making hazardous attempts to run away, and some have even threatened to go to the press just to get themselves out of the Sea Org. A Sea Org []

Alaska father and son unfairly persecuted for bagging hibernating bear mom and her cubs

[Alaska man Andrew Renner]

Well the whole dang country is in an uproar over a viral video that shows an Alaska man named Andrew Renner and his son, Owen, dispatching a hibernating bear and her two shrieking, panicky cubs and then high-fiving each other in []

Allison Mack wanted 30-day delay for plea; Keith Raniere opposed and judge denied

[Keith Raniere and Allison Mack]

With a little more than a week before jury selection is scheduled to begin in the Nxivm trial, defendant Allison Mack, the Smallville actress accused of running a sex-slavery ring for Nxivm leader Keith Raniere, submitted a letter to Judge Nicholas Garaufis asking for a 30-day delay so she could work []