Tony Ortega | The Underground Bunker

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]

Another Narconon Lawsuit, Oregon Dentist to Fight Order, and More Scientology Links

Stacy Dawn Murphy

Friday turned out to be an incredibly busy day for Scientology watchers. After putting up our morning post about the church’s troubles in Atlanta, where its drug rehab program, Narconon, is being investigated by the state of Georgia, we then had to scramble when we received an e-mail from a state […]

Oregon Dentist Ordered to Pay $348,000 After Pressuring an Employee to Attend Scientology Symposium: The FULL Order!

A Bend, Oregon dentist, Andrew Engel (pictured), has been ordered to pay a former employee $348,000 after he pressured her to attend a 3-day Scientology symposium, and she quit her job rather than comply.

We contacted Oregon’s Bureau of Labor and Industries, and they sent over the 69-page order in the case, which is chock-full of […]

How Much Proof Do Reporters Need that Narconon is a Scientology Front Group?

Here’s some classic 1992 Nightline footage of Scientology leader David Miscavige defending his drug rehab program, Narconon, to Ted Koppel in the last television interview he would give.

These days, Miscavige talks up Narconon at the large annual Scientology events he emcees, and there’s no question that the drug program is a big part of the […]

Mark Bunker Speaks, and Atlanta Burns

A FULL HOUR of Wise Beard Man? Grab some popcorn and find a comfy chair, because you’re going to want to hear Radio Paul interview Mark Bunker about his experiences as one of the most reliable and level-headed of Scientology Watchers.

Hearing this only makes us want to see his movie Knowledge Report more than […]

Scientology’s Meltdown: A Story Told in Pictures

So there was this Nebraska cornhusker, L. Ron Hubbard, who convinced some people that he had unlocked the mysteries of the universe as no one had ever done before or […]

Scientology’s Georgia Drug Rehab Hit with Double-Barreled Media Onslaught

For years, people like Mary McConnell and Carnegie Mellon University professor Dave Touretzky have worked tirelessly to get the word out about the deceptive practices and documented abuses at Scientology’s drug rehab program, Narconon.

Several recent deaths at Narconon’s flagship facility in Oklahoma have received a lot of attention lately, but Touretzky urged us to look […]

Secrets of The Master: Elements of Scientology That Didn’t Make It into the Film

By now you’ve no doubt either seen Paul Thomas Anderson’s film The Master or you’ve read about it. You’ve probably heard from writers like yours truly who say that the film is filled with references to Scientology’s early history, while some reviewers, unfamiliar with that history, seem to think the Scientology in it is only […]

Scientology Sunday Funnies!

So where were we? Oh yeah, we remember:

Just about every day, we receive the latest wacky and tacky fundraising mailers put out by Scientology orgs around the world. Thank you, tipsters, for forwarding them to us! On Sundays, we love to reveal them to you.

Things here in the underground bunker have been a bit chaotic […]

Michael Lewis (Johnny’s Dad) Scheduled for Scientology Event Tonight

We can only hope that Michael Lewis — Operating Thetan Level Eight and Homo Novis Übermensch — will see fit to cancel his appearance at a scheduled “Admin Scale Workshop” that is scheduled for Scientologists at the Advanced Org Los Angeles tonight at 6 pm.

Lewis is a gung-ho Hubbard enthusiast, and helps run a Valley […]

Johnny Lewis Vying with Luka Magnotta for Title of Wackiest Scientology Madman

Johnny v. Luka: Who’s nuttier?

We were intrigued when we learned that several years ago, Canadian murder-dismemberment suspect Luka Magnotta had professed to be a Scientologist, and wrote in a blog post, “I wished every night that Tom Cruise would adopt me.”

As far as we could tell, however, Magnotta’s actual involvement with Scientology was […]

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