We told you earlier that Clearwater city councilman Mark Bunker was told that a recent secret meeting between the city’s mayor, city manager, and city attorney with Scientology leader David Miscavige was a 3.5-hour harangue by the diminutive church honcho.

Yesterday morning, there was the first sign that Dave’s bitch session might be bearing him fruit.

At [...]]]>

 
We told you earlier that Clearwater city councilman Mark Bunker was told that a recent secret meeting between the city’s mayor, city manager, and city attorney with Scientology leader David Miscavige was a 3.5-hour harangue by the diminutive church honcho.

Yesterday morning, there was the first sign that Dave’s bitch session might be bearing him fruit.

At a planning session, new City Manager Jon Jennings revealed that he’s had subsequent conversations with Miscavige, and he’s now convinced that the city needs to “develop a partnership” with Miscavige and Scientology in order to bring life back downtown.

We excerpted his brief words during the 3-hour session. Please give it a look, and read over the transcript.

As you know, the Mayor and City Attorney Margolis and I met with Mr. Miscavige a few weeks ago and I’m pleased to report to you that I’ve had multiple conversations now with Mr. Miscavige. The conversations have been honest, they’ve been direct and very productive. We are working on a plan to work more collaboratively on the Cleveland Street corridor, which will lead to, in my opinion, greater economic development, investment.

Mr. Miscavige has repeatedly promised a full commitment to work with the city to align with the goals to make our downtown more vibrant and active. As a new person who is really not encumbered with the past, I believe it is time to put the acrimony of the past behind us, to work with a real estate development partner, the church, to maximize a vision of our downtown.

I understand the anger and distrust that has been created over the years, but in order for the city to move forward we must develop a partnership with the Church of Scientology as was stated in the 2014 Urban Land Institute study, which was commissioned by the city.

I am not naive to the issues, but I know if an entity that owns portions of property in our downtown came to us wanting to work in partnership, we would jump at that opportunity.

I am only discussing the opportunity to work on improving our downtown and not a judgment on the church. As I personally know through my own faith has taught me that I am imperfect to pass judgment on anyone. So shortly I hope to bring to the council a proposal for your consideration that will enable the city to work collaboratively with the church on their real estate holdings for the maximum benefit of the city.

 
Bunker tells us that Jennings’ remarks caught him by surprise, and he’s not happy about what he heard.

“This is the kiss of death for downtown. You can’t get people down there now because they believe that Scientology owns the entire downtown.”

Bunker thinks Clearwater’s citizens will reject the idea that Miscavige’s plans, such as new facades for Cleveland Street businesses, will attract more visitors, but he thinks it’s time they find out for sure.

“The mayor has been talking about sending out a survey, finding out people’s opinions on things, among them Scientology. I am going to propose that before we do anything with Miscavige, let’s do that survey. Let’s ask people what they think about Scientology bringing us a new downtown,” he says. “I’m not sure how the rest of the council is going to feel about this.”

In our last article, we explained the background on Miscavige’s beef with city leadership, and how he’s been peeved ever since the city prevented him from getting a small parcel of land. The city wants to use the parcel as a small part of its redevelopment of the dead downtown, but it’s right up against two of Scientology’s most important Clearwater landmarks.

In that piece, we suggested that the fight over the land may be less useful than, perhaps, a swap for something so both the city and Miscavige get what they want. But Bunker tells us that Miscavige was adamant in the meeting that he has no interest in a swap, and won’t entertain one. He’s only willing to pay cash.

Miscavige’s plan, Bunker says, remains the same since 2017: Give him the parcel, and he’ll bring in developers to spruce up Cleveland Street.

“It’s my belief that the people of Clearwater are going to reject that 100 percent,” Bunker says.

As for the Urban Land Institute report that Jennings referred to, Bunker sent us a link to a video he did years ago, explaining why it was so wrongheaded.

“I’m going to be sitting down tomorrow with Jennings and with the city attorney,” Bunker says. And he’s interested to see the rest of the council’s reaction when Jennings brings his proposal for a partnership with Miscavige. Things have changed since a couple of years ago, he says, but he still often finds himself as the outsider, trying in vain to point out Scientology’s track record for mendacity.

“I can see eyes roll on the council. I know how they react to me talking about Scientology. And you can’t help feeling like a QAnon nut, raving about this mythical creature that is destroying our downtown. And that’s very frustrating,” he says. “They can’t seem to get beyond, well, they’re a religion what can we do?”

 
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Leah Remini podcast: Claire Headley

Says Mike: “We talk to our old friend and Aftermath OG Claire Headley again this week, this time to discuss Committees of Evidence. What are they exactly, our personal experiences convening, participating and being victims of them, and how they differ from arbitration. We have quite a lot of documents to go along with this episode — a great repository of information for future reference.” Listen to the episode right here!

 
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Sign up for a daily email when we post a new story on Scientology.

Did you know you can get an email every morning when we post our daily Scientology story? We know some of the folks who come to the Underground Bunker aren’t here to talk about the politics of the day, and that’s why we created a daily politics feature over at our other blog, The Lowdown, and we ask readers to take their political discussions over there. And if you drop us a line at tonyo94 AT gmail, we’ll put you on the list so you get a morning reminder that a new Scientology story has been posted — and only for our Scientology stories.

 
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Source Code

“A god of this universe, an anthropomorphic god — and I hope that you understand me very clearly when I use this word ‘god’ loosely and even blasphemously, for the good reason that this thing g-o-d is something which man has set up in his image. And it is merely an ambition on the part of a thetan, it’s an effort, a co-effort on the part of thetans to have a playing field and so on. And there is, actually, beings above the beingness of this universe. There are beings, but they are not this anthropomorphic thing who is the jealous god, who has hate and vengeance and so forth, that happens to be above that level. And the jealous god, the most jealous god there would be, would be a god who would insist at all times that he must not be duplicated, even to the point of not using his name in vain. He mustn’t be duplicated. No graven images. His space, it’s all his space and so forth. And we go on this way. Interesting, isn’t it?” — L. Ron Hubbard, December 14, 1953

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“SMERSH: Good news. Adelaide trouble had a reprieve when they did not pass a ban bill at once but delayed it until Feb due to the filibuster tactics of our opposition and the ferocity of the defense. The ‘Parliament’ there was considering a bill to ban Scn, backed of course by the Health Minister who is a SMERSH appointee.” — The Commodore, December 14, 1968

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“There is a big difference between the Hanas of the world and the new public who really don’t know the subject. Hana, and some others, who present themselves as long term Scientologists, worked with LRH, etc, who then bash the subject — I have no respect for them whatsoever or desire to help them as they are doing real damage to the uninformed. (After all, they must know, right?) And damage to me as the bad PR muddies up the general public image. No, they have placed themselves beyond receiving any help and their only course is to get their own ethics in and figure out what they could do to make up the damage.”

 
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Past is Prologue

1995: The case against Karin Spaink and a number of Dutch Internet providers took a sudden turn when Scientology pulled away from the current suit. Here’s an excerpt from De Volkskrant. “The Church of Scientology has asked the president of the court of The Hague to delay the case against writer Karin Spaink and several Internet providers. The church has problems with proving her copyright on Scientology documents published on the internet by Spaink. The church accuses the writer Karin Spaink and the Internet providers Xs4all, Cistron, Dataweb, The Digital City and Planet Internet of ‘violation of copyright’ of documents which have been put on the worldwide network by users.” Says Spaink: “Seems like they’re stalling for time. Whether it’s fear or strategy is not clear; probably it’s a mixture of both. They have always said they were so convinced they’d win this one, it was a piece of cake they claimed. A new case will take at least a year before there’s a verdict; probably longer. And all this time the Fishman Affidavit will be available from a hundred sites in Holland. Also, my guess is that it will have severe repercussions for them in the American lawsuits. Dropping the case here, and still suing in the US?”

 
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Random Howdy

“Most animals have more of an affinity for their offspring than the average Scientologist.”

 
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next hearing set for February 8. Trial scheduled for August 29, 2022.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), false imprisonment, aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Next hearing scheduled for December 21.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Pretrial conference December 17 in Los Angeles

Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Eleventh Circuit affirmed ruling granting Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Garcias considering next move.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ US Supreme Court denied Valerie’s petition Oct 4.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: California Supreme Court granted review on May 26 and asked the Second Appellate Division to direct Judge Steven Kleifield to show cause why he granted Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Oral arguments held November 2, awaiting a ruling.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9, 2020 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for June 28, 2022.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 23. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27. Awaiting a ruling.

 
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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, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.

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] The Top 25 People Enabling Scientology, No. 7: The litigators
[TWO years ago] Glam for Xenu: When Scientology celebrities ruled the world
[THREE years ago] Finally, L. Ron Hubbard’s first ‘Clear’ — Sonya Bianchi — found again after 68 years
[FOUR years ago] He was Scientology’s most famous spy, then he turned witness and vanished. Now, here he is.
[FIVE years ago] Nora Crest’s powerful new video: Why you can’t be gay in Scientology
[SIX years ago] Who are those WISE guys? A tipster helps us get some names of Scientology operatives
[SEVEN years ago] Another Scientology ambush, this time of Marty Rathbun with Louis Theroux present
[EIGHT years ago] Jon Atack: What we have here — in Scientology — is a failure to communicate
[NINE years ago] DOX: Florida Officials Fight Attempt to Hide Drug Rehab’s Scientology Connections
[TEN years ago] Scientology Story of the Year: Cast Your Vote Now!

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on December 14, 2021 at 07:00

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, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), 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

 Like the rest of you, we’ve been fascinated by the skillful reporting by Tampa Bay Times writer Tracey McManus as she’s covered the ongoing strife between the Church of Scientology and the city of Clearwater, Florida.

McManus has twice delivered blockbuster investigations about how, since the city in 2017 spurned Scientology leader David Miscavige’s attempt to [...]]]>

 
Like the rest of you, we’ve been fascinated by the skillful reporting by Tampa Bay Times writer Tracey McManus as she’s covered the ongoing strife between the Church of Scientology and the city of Clearwater, Florida.

McManus has twice delivered blockbuster investigations about how, since the city in 2017 spurned Scientology leader David Miscavige’s attempt to get his hands on a small downtown parcel of empty land, wealthy Scientologists have gone on a buying spree of property there, seemingly in a bid to snuff out the city’s attempts at revitalization. The maps accompanying those stories have simply been stunning, showing how much Miscavige has increased his stranglehold of downtown land.

Yesterday, McManus had another breaking story, about how Miscavige had suddenly met with three top city leaders after a couple of years of silence. The story, quoting those city leaders, gave the impression that the meeting was a productive one, and a positive sign for ongoing relations between the church and the city.

But city councilman Mark Bunker tells us he got a very different impression after talking to the people who were actually in that meeting.

“They said it was a three and a half hour lecture by Miscavige about how poorly he was being treated by the city,” Bunker tells us.

Having watched quite a few of Miscavige’s hourslong stemwinders on video, we can imagine just how much fun that must have been.

“It was a chance for Miscavige to make his case to the city,” Bunker added. “And I guess we’ll have to proceed from there. But none of them bothered to ask him about who owns the properties that were recently sold, and whether he had any influence over them.”

Bunker judged it a missed opportunity.

But if he was disappointed to hear that Miscavige had lectured city leaders in a harangue, he still had hopes that progress could be made, as long as new city manager Jon Jennings and city attorney David Margolis understand that at this point, Miscavige needs to give more than promises that the church is going to hold up its end of the deal.

To understand what’s going on, we want to remind readers about a few things that didn’t make it into McManus’s otherwise excellent piece.

You see, Underground Bunker readers will probably remember why that little 1.4-acre parcel of empty land sitting by the old City Hall is so important to Scientology, and why Miscavige covets it so much and wants to keep the city from including it in its plans to revive the area.

Someone new to the story might ask, why would Miscavige be bothered by the idea of a downtown revitalization and an increase in tourists to Clearwater? After all, wouldn’t tourists mean more people to give personality tests and lure into Scientology?

No, that’s simply not the case. You have to understand, Scientology’s “Flag Land Base” in Clearwater is the organization’s “spiritual mecca,” and it’s a place where longtime, wealthy Scientologists from around the world fly in for very expensive upper-level processes they can’t get anywhere else. Because of this, “Flag” has for decades been Scientology’s financial engine. It brings in more money, week after week, than all the rest of Scientology’s locations around the world combined.

The city of Clearwater, to Miscavige and the church, is about one thing and one thing only: Separating those wealthy Scientologists from their cash, not recruiting new beginners.

So, for that reason, the more that Miscavige can keep the gawking public away from what’s going on in Clearwater’s downtown, the better it is for him.

But several years ago the city came up with an interesting idea for how to revitalize its core: Bring the aquarium downtown. You see, while the downtown is dead, Clearwater’s beach, a couple of miles west, is thriving. And one of the best attractions there was its aquarium, and its famous star: Winter the dolphin (who, sadly, died recently).

In what seemed like a genius move, the city and the aquarium came up with a plan which would benefit both: Move part of the aquarium downtown in an expansion on a 1.4-acre lot the aquarium owned. The city was all for it, but it horrified Miscavige. Why?

Well, as we’ve pointed out numerous times, the location of that small piece of empty land happens to be right next door to Scientology’s Oak Cove hotel, and more importantly, right behind the Fort Harrison Hotel. The last thing Miscavige would want are tourists at a new aquarium expansion slam up against the holiest of Scientology’s locations. (And especially, we have noted, because that part of the Fort Harrison Hotel, the bungalows, is where parishioner Lisa McPherson was killed in 1995 by Scientology’s neglect.)

With the church opposed to the plan, the aquarium eventually gave up on it, and then decided to sell the plot of land. Miscavige wanted to get his hands on it so badly, he spent a boatload on fancy presentations about how he would turn the land into a nice swimming pool for the Oak Cove, and then make a lot of other improvements to the downtown.

But you have to understand, the last thing the aquarium folks wanted to do was reward David Miscavige for his opposition to their plans by handing over the parcel to him. So even when Miscavige said he’d pay up to $15 million for the land, which was valued at more like $4 million, the aquarium still turned him down and sold the plot to the city.

Miscavige was livid. It was then, as McManus explained yesterday, that he stopped meeting as often with city leaders, and the secret land buying spree began. Miscavige had declared war on Clearwater, even though he kept it as secret as possible.

Thanks to McManus, his plans became public. (The church has denied that it is directing the land purchases, but come on.)

And now, this week, Miscavige finally had a chance to lecture Clearwater’s mayor, city attorney, and city manager about how mean they’ve been to him.

But here’s the thing, now that Miscavige has told them off, does it really make sense for the city to keep fighting him over that mostly useless little parcel?

We certainly understand why the aquarium leaders didn’t want to give it to Miscavige after the way he ruined their plans. But if the city can get a nice swap for something even better or more useful from Miscavige, should they take it?

Bunker tells us he’s interested in seeing the possibilities.

“It sounded like Miscavige is still offering that same deal: Let us put in that swimming pool, and we’ll bring in all these developers in other parts of downtown,” he tells us.

Miscavige also used the word “leverage” in an intimidating way, Bunker was told, which made him laugh. He reminded us how much “leverage” is the operative word in L. Ron Hubbard’s wretched novel (and even worse John Travolta movie) Battlefield Earth.

“Unless Miscavige goes first, he’ll always have that leverage, and the ratbrains at City Hall will be at his mercy,” he said with a laugh, quoting another favorite word from Terl, Battlefield Earth’s villain.

Knowing how much Miscavige wants that little piece of land, couldn’t Clearwater’s leaders use their own leverage to get not only a good swap from Miscavige that could help the revitalization plan, but also get him to cough up what’s going on with the land purchases and what he intends to do with them?

Bunker says he’s going to do his best to try. We’ll be watching at tonight’s city council meeting.

And to help make his point about Miscavige and “leverage,” Bunker threw together this delightful video and shared it with us.

 
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Sign up for a daily email when we post a new story on Scientology.

Did you know you can get an email every morning when we post our daily Scientology story? We know some of the folks who come to the Underground Bunker aren’t here to talk about the politics of the day, and that’s why we created a daily politics feature over at our other blog, The Lowdown, and we ask readers to take their political discussions over there. And if you drop us a line at tonyo94 AT gmail, we’ll put you on the list so you get a morning reminder that a new Scientology story has been posted — and only for our Scientology stories.

 
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Source Code

“Sex — it’s interesting, but aberrative value of sex compared to the aberrative value of eight is zero. Of course, what happens to somebody like Freud that concentrates on sex, is he really doesn’t have guts enough to just kick completely outside all agreements with his civilization. And for somebody in 1894 to have suddenly said, ‘God — well, I tell you about God, he’s a trick!’ They probably would have lynched him. They’ll probably lynch me yet, but anyway … For somebody to have kicked outside the confines of the church at that time would have been too adventurous to contemplate. It almost is now.” — L. Ron Hubbard, December 2, 1953

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“A Court of Ethics is convened on MSM Ann Tidman. She did not come on duty till 0930. This violates Policy No. 10. Ann Tidman is to appear before the Court at 1930 in the Aft Lounge. Court Officer is Ens. Wayne Alkire.” — Ens. C. Cariotaki, T/3rd Mate, Convening Officer, December 2, 1970

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“Now there also exists bad angels/aliens outside this dimension. Beings and some people here on Earth are in telepathic/mind communication with them. Certainly Jews are more likely to have this special communication or spirit guide guidance you could say. Of course not all of them have it, it’s just that they are more likely to have this ability in their DNA which enables this special connection, hence the huge amount of super evil people here on Earth who have Jewish DNA/family backgrounds…In reference to Scientology, implants seem to be able to affect DNA according to OT8 Student briefing, so people could be getting abducted, which changes their DNA which then can be passed onto their children. So basically we could be dealing with bad aliens implanting people so that they have telepathic communication with them forever.”

 
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Past is Prologue

1997: Scientology appears to have destroyed years of public relations efforts with the city of Clearwater by staging pickets of the police and the Times. From the St. Petersburg Times: “City leaders Monday said the Church of Scientology’s angry protests of the Police Department over the weekend badly damaged Scientology’s image in Clearwater and set back the church’s efforts to become part of the city’s mainstream. The church continued to blast police Chief Sid Klein on Monday with another in a series of public letters accusing him of ‘orchestrating harassment’ against the church and its members. Church representatives also passed out fliers at the city’s downtown office complex and at police headquarters, asking for reports of corruption, abuses and discrimination in Klein’s department. City officials responded in strong terms to the church’s allegations. ‘If they can prove what they say, Sid ought to be in prison,’ City Commissioner Ed Hooper said. ‘If they can’t, they need to let this go. You either go to the state attorney’s office (with the evidence) or you get over it. They just can’t make wild allegations that can’t be substantiated.’ Church spokesman Brian Anderson said, ‘We can back up everything in those letters and will do so. Everything we say is documentable, and that will be presented at the right place and at the right time.'”

 
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Random Howdy

“I’m an old punk who never had much time for hippies, but in retrospect I gotta admit they accomplished more than we punks did. We just had better fashion and got the music back to where it should be. I don’t know, but it always seems that after a certain point in any movement that the soldiers outlive their usefulness and the diplomats always take over.”

 
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Next hearing set for February 8. Trial scheduled for August 29, 2022.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), false imprisonment, aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Next hearing scheduled for December 21.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Pretrial conference December 17 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for February 11.
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.

Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Eleventh Circuit affirmed ruling granting Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Garcias considering next move.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ US Supreme Court denied Valerie’s petition Oct 4.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: California Supreme Court granted review on May 26 and asked the Second Appellate Division to direct Judge Steven Kleifield to show cause why he granted Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Oral arguments held November 2, awaiting a ruling.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9, 2020 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for June 28, 2022.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 23. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27. Awaiting a ruling.

 
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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, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.

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] The Top 25 People Enabling Scientology, No. 8: The ghost private eyes
[TWO years ago] TWO MORE WOMEN COME FORWARD TO LAPD WITH DANNY MASTERSON RAPE ALLEGATIONS
[THREE years ago] How to finance a Scientology church in a city without any Scientologists
[FOUR years ago] DOX: Scientology’s pricey Florida ‘spiritual mecca’ keeps up its value in latest tax records
[FIVE years ago] You saw Bonny Elliott talk about her battle with Scientology; Now hear it from her husband
[SIX years ago] Hey, Legoland: A former Scientology youth explains what your money will buy
[SEVEN years ago] Another Riffer-ific salvo from Scientology leader David Miscavige in our legal roundup
[EIGHT years ago] Here Comes Scientology, Here Comes Scientology, Right Down Hollywood Boulevard!
[NINE years ago] Scientology Targeting Eagle Scouts In New Initiative
[TEN years ago] L. Ron Hubbard Schools Richard Nixon: Sailing on the Apollo

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on December 2, 2021 at 07:00

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, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), 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

This week five secret proposals for Clearwater downtown development were made public by the city, and Tracey McManus gave a summary of them at the Tampa Bay Times.

The city called for developers to pitch them on what to do with three plots of land that are each between [...]]]>

This week five secret proposals for Clearwater downtown development were made public by the city, and Tracey McManus gave a summary of them at the Tampa Bay Times.

The city called for developers to pitch them on what to do with three plots of land that are each between 1.2 and 2.6 acres in size and make up key parts of the Imagine Clearwater redevelopment plan to revive downtown. Five developers submitted plans that involved one or all three parcels.

Two of the projects were selected as finalists, McManus reported, but all five will be presented to the city council.

We were most curious, of course, to see the Church of Scientology’s proposal, which once again is to offer way more money than the appraised value for one of the parcels, the smallest one at 1.23 acres along Pierce Street, which Scientology is offering $7.5 million for, even though it’s only assessed at $5.5 million.

If you remember, Scientology leader David Miscavige at one point offered to pay $15 million for that small plot of land to the previous owner, the Clearwater Aquarium, and we explained why the Aquarium was in no mood to sell to Scientology, even at that price. (Scientology had wrecked the Aquarium’s plans to develop the parcel, and then picked a fight with a dolphin.) Instead, the Aquarium spurned Miscavige and took the city’s offer of $4.25 million.

Why is David Miscavige still so desperate to obtain that small piece of land that he’s still offering a couple of million more than its assessed value, and about three million more than his competitors?

We thought we’d show you the answer to that question in graphic form.

First, here’s the rendering of their plan for the Pierce Street parcel from finalist City Center Development…

 
And here’s the proposal from the other finalist, SROA Capital.

 
The city council will also consider this pitch from Elevate Clearwater…

 
Beginning to see the picture?

David Miscavige is making no proposal for the other two parcels, he just wants the Pierce Street location. Why? Because it’s right next to the Oak Cove hotel, which the church owns, and more importantly, across Osceola Avenue from the bungalows of the Fort Harrison Hotel.

 
The Fort Harrison is the holiest place in the Scientology universe, the center of its “mecca” of technical perfection. And the bungalows out back? In one of those, room 174, is where Lisa McPherson was held for the final 17 days of her life while undergoing quack mental health care spelled out by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard.

As Mike Rinder has explained repeatedly, the last thing David Miscavige wants is a lot of non-Scientologists spending time and enjoying themselves just feet away from Scientology’s spiritual mecca, where wealthy church members from around the world fly in to be fleeced at the Fort Harrison Hotel, the Flag Building, the Sandcastle, and other Flag Land Base landmarks.

The less the outside world actually sees what’s going on at Flag, the better, and the thought of a hotel or brewpub or, hey, just look at that big walking plaza being proposed by SROA Capital, right across from the Fort Harrison bungalows, what a nightmare!

We’re glad to see that SROA project chosen as one of the finalists, and we look forward to the day that tourists can enjoy that spot, and from their hotel rooms or a restaurant patio look across the street, gawk at Scientology, and maybe even raise a glass to the memory of Lisa McPherson.

McManus reported that the city council members will be interviewing the two finalists, City Center Development and SROA Capital, on Monday.

 
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Source Code

“You ever been on the Pacific Ocean? You look an awful long distance on the Pacific Ocean and you’ll find space, you know. The speculative horizon is like that. It’s way out, man. Boy, I mean we’ve collided with data which is highly debatable as to whether it will be popular or unpopular. And I’m afraid I have to go along with the first foundation decision I made, back in 1950 when they had that board meeting and told me I wasn’t to research on any more past lives. I don’t think they ever did get that end of the building back together again. The bricks are still cracked. And I said, well, psychology and other activities in the field of the mind have always had a large eye on popularity. And they would actually throw away materials which didn’t agree with things. They’d throw away the things which didn’t agree. And that’s why they’ve not come up with any answers. They consult this thing of the popularity of a datum, the acceptability of a datum and have therefore compromised truth. So you either accept truth or popularity.” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 14, 1963

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“Smersh operates on false data and has not changed his Situation Analysis in a whole score of years and does not vary tactics to fit new situations. That is valuable information. A general who fought that way would be busy fighting the 151st Bavarian Light Infantry as they were deployed at Niems in 1870! Since then they’ve been disbanded, forgotten, and that trench has been empty for 80 years. Yet such a general would have his whole army concentrating on it! Viewing national governments through this developed logic tech applied to their data and their idea of the situation reveals them to be crazy. And gives one the reason for both war and failing societies. No wonder they end up shooting people.” — The Commodore, May 14, 1970

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“I’m not sure if LRH agrees with the CIA and IRS running Scientology after 1982. There was a takeover. That’s a turning point. That’s not real Scientology after 1982 and I no longer ‘felt’ LRH on lines after that. Of course I could grow my own food, but why be forced to grow food just because a fucking pack of R6 zombies don’t see the poison in their diet? And more, they follow R6 commands to lynch you if you happen to ‘open their eyes’ to see. Sorry, but it’s some three years now I can’t get my body clean of this fucking R6 zombie food. Nice you have your own RPF (mest work). You won’t be running to LA to climb the barbed wire at Hemet to pound on ‘The Hole’ to meet Heber to share some rice and beans.”

 
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Past is Prologue

1998: Downtown Clearwater, Florida is preparing for the construction of the Super Power building. From the St. Petersburg Times: “If the Church of Scientology builds its 300,000 square-foot building and 3,500-seat auditorium, as it says it will, the church will have accomplished something city leaders have so far failed to do: formulate, refine and execute a complex development plan. For that, even Scientology’s harshest critics would have to give grudging credit to the church. Can both sides — Scientology and the city — work together for the benefit of all downtown on parking and other issues that are sure to come up? To be a trusted partner in downtown planning, the church should do two things: open the veil of secrecy it wraps around all of its activities and stop its irresponsible attacks on police Chief Sid Klein. Scientology bashers, on the other hand, should admit two facts: the Church of Scientology is here to stay, and it is in the city’s best interest not to abandon downtown but to put money and effort into its redevelopment. The church says the new buildings will bring 3,000 to 5,000 parishioners a week to downtown Clearwater and double the staff size to 2,000. Even if those numbers are exaggerated, it is almost certain that more Scientologists would be coming to downtown. It is the beginning of a promising plan, and Clearwater residents should eagerly await details. The Scientology office/counseling building will take two years to complete, church officials say.”

 
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Random Howdy

“The FDA could have busted Scientology a thousand times over for medical fraud if they simply sent in undercover agents wired for sound and vision to sign up for courses. Scientology registrars will promise any and all medical cures as long as you show them the money. The government is an ass.”

 
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Preliminary hearing set for May 18.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for May 20 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for June 18.

Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition for writ of mandate denied Oct 22 by Cal 2nd Appellate District. Petition for review by state supreme court denied Dec 11.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Dec 30, Judge Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to compel arbitration. June 7: Status conference.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 24.

Concluded litigation:
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.

 
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SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks

The Australian Seven News network cancelled a 10-part investigation of Scientology and its history of dirty tricks. Read the transcripts of the episodes and judge for yourself why Tom Cruise and Tommy Davis might not have wanted viewers to see this hard-hitting series by journalist Bryan Seymour.

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’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] A look inside a Scientology org as it prepares to reopen for the public
[TWO years ago] Why the quarantine is such a fail: Scientology ship was set up as an interrogation factory
[THREE years ago] Scientology’s reclusive ‘president,’ 82-year-old Heber Jentzsch, tells a niece he’s doing fine
[FOUR years ago] With its Mexico City project halted, Scientology fans out across town to promote its pablum
[FIVE years ago] Ron Miscavige shakes off Scientology smears, rockets to #1 in ebooks
[SIX years ago] Guest post: Five extreme examples of hypocrisy in Scientology’s ‘Freedom’ magazine
[SEVEN years ago] Falling death of a Russian Scientologist in Clearwater: The police investigation
[EIGHT years ago] How to Confront and Shatter Suppression, Scientology Style!
[NINE years ago] Lisa Marie Presley Removes All Mention of Scientology From Her Official Website
[THIRTEEN years ago] Jason Beghe to Scientology Mouthpiece Tommy Davis: ‘You’re Losing Your Soul’

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on May 14, 2021 at 07:00

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, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), 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