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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Apparent suicide of witness to a mysterious Scientology drug rehab death

 This is a strange one, folks.

For a couple of years, we’ve been telling you that Scientology’s drug rehab network, Narconon, has been in real trouble, particularly after the deaths of three patients at its flagship facility in Oklahoma over a nine-month period. Gabriel Graves, Hillary Holten, and Stacy Dawn Murphy each died at Narconon Arrowhead []

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Three videos the Church of Scientology would rather you not watch

Our video sources came through again this Friday, and we have a collection of fun things to watch.

First up, we have another “quote video” that you normally can’t see outside of a Scientology ‘org.’ It dramatizes a segment from L. Ron Hubbard’s 1957 “Freedom Congress,” and the video’s intention is to get you to shell []

Hey, IRS: Stunning photos inside the lavish personal offices of Scientology’s leader

In 1978, the Church of Scientology paid $2.7 million to acquire a fading resort in the California desert known as Gilman Hot Springs. The 550-acre parcel included a relatively modest house named “Bonnie View” that founder L. Ron Hubbard intended to live in, once it was renovated. But he never got the chance. By the []

Scientology’s drug rehab system hit with tenth federal fraud lawsuit by Las Vegas attorney

Las Vegas attorney Ryan Hamilton has filed his tenth federal fraud lawsuit against Scientology’s drug rehab network, Narconon. Filed in Nevada, the lawsuit alleges that the Scientology rehab center in that state, Rainbow Canyon Retreat, promised effective drug counseling delivered by licensed medical personnel, and instead delivered Scientology training from former []

Life after Scientology: The post-Sea Org baby boom

Yesterday, we mentioned that there’s been something of a baby boom among former Scientology officials who left the church in a small wave in the last several years.

We thought we’d follow up on that by pointing out that leaving the Church of Scientology appears to be very beneficial for the people who accomplish it. []

The David Miscavige summons, and other dire news for Scientology’s drug rehab network

We’ve been reporting on so many problems for Scientology’s drug rehab network, Narconon, and they just seem to be getting worse and worse.

For decades, when Scientology itself came under fire for its alleged abuses, odd beliefs, and bullying tactics, it reflexively pointed to its Narconon network as proof that it did good works. “But []

Scientology Sunday Funnies: Save the date for Maiden Voyage!

It’s time for Sunday Funnies and another round of Scientology’s latest mailers and fliers sent in to us by our great tipsters.

We love these weekly snapshots of Scientology’s fundraising fever. They give us a real sense of how leader David Miscavige is trying to get more and more money from fewer and fewer people. The []

When Scientologists sell each other Scientology: ‘I’m me for the first time in trillions of years’

We can’t get enough of Scientology success stories, and this newest video, gushing about the ‘Golden Age of Tech Phase II,’ is one of the best we’ve ever seen.

Internal e-mails smuggled out of the church (particularly those showing up lately at Mike Rinder’s excellent blog) have made clear just how desperate Scientology leader David Miscavige []

Richard Teague speaks out after his horrific ordeal at a Scientology rehab center

You may remember that we’ve written previously about the ordeal of Richard Teague, a man who in 2011 set himself on fire at a Scientology-affiliated drug rehab center in Michigan, resulting in a lawsuit that we’ve been keeping an eye on.

The last time we checked on the case, Teague’s attorneys had found some fascinating new []

Scientology Hip Hop: Is there anything better in the world?

The Underground Bunker is proud to present another example of Scientology hip hop so new, it was sent out to church members today.

Yes, our tipsters are amazing, and we are grateful that they take the chances necessary to bring us this amazing material.

We have, in the past, marveled at amazing examples of Scientology hip hop []