Mike Rinder &#8211; The Underground Bunker

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 as Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.

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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH

— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see

[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf

— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond

[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney [43] Tory Christman [44] Kate Bornstein [45] Christian Stolte [46] Mark Bunker [47] Jon Atack [48] Luke Y. Thompson [49] Mark Ebner [50] Bruce Hines [51] Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley [51] Geoff and Robbie Levin [52] Sands Hall [53] Jonny Jacobsen [54] Sandy Holeman [55] Mark Bunker [56] Trish and Liz Conley [57] Trish Conley [58] Alex Barnes-Ross [59] Alex Barnes-Ross [60] Alex Barnes-Ross [61] Alex Barnes-Ross [62] Alex Barnes-Ross [63] Alex Barnes-Ross [64] Tory Christman [65] Tammy Synovec [66] Dennis Erlich [67] Alex Barnes-Ross [68] Valerie Ross [69] Kat in Austin [70] Mark Bunker [71] Phil Jones

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“Oh, Scientology. Oh, oh, yes, Scientology, all right. That’s, that’s fine. Well, they’ll make you an Operating Thetan there, and you’ll be nine feet tall, and you’ll be able to beat up on the local government, and you’ll be able to throw your wife in the Pacific Ocean, you won’t have to bother with her anymore. And you’ll just be all-powerful and so forth. Well, it probably wouldn’t be very real to the individual, even if he believed it. I can assure you it’s going to take him several years to make it and by the time he makes it he won’t have any interest in throwing his wife in the local ocean or beating up the local council.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 9, 1965

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“Jerry McLarty went off post to Chief Engineer of Bolivar and is reported by the new chief to have left things in beautiful order — ‘a piece of cake.’ I was thinking maybe we should award this type of action. It is usually the reverse. Joe Blow leaves and the incomer spends the next few weeks just trying to find the comm basket under that mess. So a guy leaving a post in good order and running well with a grooved in relief deserves an inspection and a reward. Any suggestions of how to get such a thing in and what award should be given?” — The Commodore, September 9, 1970

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“Squirrels and unethical people in the Freezone routinely use the ‘hidden data line’ argument to try to goad people of goodwill into giving them materials they will then use to spin people in or to deny their existence in order to falsely parade as an Authorities while being a complete ignoramus.”

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1995: Larry Wollersheim reported more dirty tricks by Scientology this week. “Lawrence Wollersheim has just learned that the security of his Rocky Mountain Internet email account has been breached by parties unknown. Within hours of the seizure of his computer by US Marshals and the Church of Scientology on August 22nd, an unknown party broke into two email accounts — lawrence@rmii.com and lawrence@factnet.org — changed the passwords, read, and then deleted the email. The church also has been pressuring the judge to force Larry to disclose his PGP passphrase, which would let them read more sensitive documents from his hard disk. Tonight’s local news included an interesting blurb about this case. The judge refused to order Wollersheim to disclose his passphrase, since the encrypted material comprised names of Co$ critics who could then be targeted by the Church.” And a disturbing portion from a report by the Denver TV station KUSA. “Outside the courthouse, Scientology Director Kurt Weiland held up a pair of handcuffs which he said symbolized what the church intended to do to Wollersheim. ‘Like I told you this morning, I brought these handcuffs here to show what it is that we are driving for, which is to bring this man to, to justice.’ Another issue has arisen. Some of the computer files the Scientologists seized from Wollersheim’s home are encrypted. Scientology has asked Judge Kane to hold Wollersheim in contempt. Wollersheim says the encrypted files are lists of people he says are victims of Scientology and he says he’ll go to jail before turning over his passwords, which unlock his secret files.”

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“After my dad’s POS father had abandoned him and my grandma in a one-room shack in the Arizona desert, and my dad, grandma, and his two sisters ended up in Northern California, I guess my grandfather ended up being one of the biggest contractors in the Tempe/Phoenix area. When he died he was worth millions and my dad and his two sisters never saw a dime. His new wife was a Mormon and all the money went to her and the cult.”

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody. Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Next pretrial hearing May 31, 2024.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.

Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Leah seeking to amend her complaint.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: motion to file new complaint, hearing on May 29.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, on hold until appeal over new judge heard.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.

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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.

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.

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] PODCAST: This week’s sentencing and letters drama left us needing some group therapy
[TWO years ago] Olmedo rules: Read the decision to deny Danny Masterson’s latest trial delay attempt
[THREE years ago] Let’s help the new Scientology ‘Ideal Org’ in Austin get staffed up!
[FOUR years ago] The Top 25 People Enabling Scientology, No. 15: Jeffrey Riffer
[SIX years ago] By any means necessary: Scientology’s bizarre war against psychiatry
[SEVEN years ago] Supporting Leah Remini and her show — what’s the risk for viewers who expose Scientology?
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology’s ‘disconnection’ policy gets sacrificed on the Burning Man altar
[NINE years ago] David Miscavige: Scientology saved the universe from its ‘reverse point’ in 2006
[TEN years ago] Longtime Scientologist Jim Jackson remembers Lyman Spurlock, 1945-2014
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology and Nation Of Islam Education Hucksters Marching on Sacramento!

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Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 3,018 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,513 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,028 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,578 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,568 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 4,954 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,449 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,753 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,624 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,176 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,517 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,084 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,003 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,171 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,753 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,013 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,049 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,765 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,329 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,644 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,819 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,370 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,501 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,839 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,692 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,813 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,169 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,472 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,578 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,976 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,852 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,417 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,930 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,184 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,292 days.

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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 9, 2024 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, 1995-2023 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2023), 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

When Scientology sent out its baddie to ‘handle’ the Lisa McPherson protests

Tony Ortega — Mon, 22 Jul 2024 11:00:06 +0000

[The protest, memorialized at Jeff Jacobsen’s Lisa McPherson website]

TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Some new photos have surfaced that document one of Scientology’s darkest scandals and how it handled public criticism. And wait till you see who shows up in them! [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]

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Technology Cocktail

“In the Interiorization Rundown, when Flow Zero is run one is running a lie. A static cannot go into itself. It can only appear to go into itself by calling other things ‘self.’ Further, in the Int RD some pcs get into an implant chain when they try to run F0 and the TA goes up. In getting in the fourth flow by rerun of singles and triples (was called Quading for Quadruple or 4) a pc is sometimes made to run a chain twice and this will send the TA up. Therefore, so as to simplify matters, do not run Flow Zero self to self on any rundown except 37R.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1971

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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see

[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf

— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond

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“I took a hard-boiled, hardheaded, sonic shut-off, somatic shut-off, reality shut-off case and had him pretend he was dead, in the hope that he would swing into the dead person in whose valence he was, and then he could tell us all about the funeral. So I said, ‘Go to the time when you were dead.’ So he obligingly went to 1797 in Sicily, when he was in a farmhouse dying. He died with full somatics. I thought this was very interesting, so I brought him up to present time and thought about it a little more, and took another case….We are discovering incidents back there. I never investigated them before, although I probably should have. We don’t currently know much about them except that people feel better when they are run. This is not part of the standard technique of Dianetics at present although I have known this material was there for some time.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 22, 1950

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“NOTICE: Any FEBC student who arrived here before April 20th is overdue for completion. Your Orgs need you; therefore, you should do everything in your power to complete all your outstanding cycles quickly and thoroughly so that you can be fired. As per HCO PL of Feb 22, 1968, ‘The secret of any executive success is the ability to COMPLETE cycles of action QUICKLY.’” — Mary Sue Hubbard, Controller, July 22, 1971

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“Never in history have I seen a religion so attacked and so maligned as Scientology, and mainly by its own ex-members and especially by its ex-executives. Look at all the people writing — for years and years — about how bad Scientology is. Well, they aren’t nuts per definition, they just have overts and especially missed withholds.”

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1995: Canada’s Supreme Court this week upheld the libel award against Scientology, as posted in a.r.s this week from a Reuters article. “Canada’s Supreme Court Thursday upheld a million-dollar libel award against the Church of Scientology in a case that saw writers and news organizations siding with the church. Casey Hill, a former Ontario prosecutor, sued the Church of Scientology for accusing him of acting improperly in connection with a raid on church offices in Toronto in 1983. Journalists, writers and newspaper groups pressing for free speech had backed the church in arguing for laxer rules on defamation, but the court upheld the $1.6 million Canadian ($1.2 million U.S.) award in favor of Hill. It is believed to be the largest libel award ever made in Canada.”

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“My opinion is that the ‘true believer’ type personality is as much, if not more, the reason why some people end up in cults, than the ‘mind control’ explanation.”

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

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Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] PODCAST: ‘Oppenheimer’ and Scientology, with physicist Bruce Hines
[TWO years ago] Is Scientology key to solving a young woman’s disappearance? Police want to know.
[THREE years ago] Here’s our motion to quash the subpoena Danny Masterson’s attorney slapped us with
[FOUR years ago] Scientology is a special hell for the ‘staff’ who work at your local ‘org’
[FIVE years ago] Sudden change in Maiden Voyage events in Los Angeles a clue to Ideal Org problems?
[SIX years ago] A tale of two cities: Scientology courts pols and police in one place, acts sneaky in another
[SEVEN years ago] Janis Grady’s new book on life in Scientology: Jon Atack’s take, and an excerpt
[EIGHT years ago] Was it something we said? Scientology wants Cindy Plahuta’s letter in fraud lawsuit struck
[NINE years ago] How Scientology is Tom Cruise? How he put ethics ‘ruthlessly’ in on his own family
[TEN years ago] More trouble for Scientology fundraising and recruitment in Europe
[ELEVEN years ago] DISCONNECTION: A Double Dose of Scientology’s Toxic Use of “Leverage”

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Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 2,969 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,464 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,979 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,529 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,519 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,400 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,704 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,575 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,127 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,468 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,035 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,954 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,122 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,704 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,964 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,000 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,716 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,280 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,595 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,770 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,321 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,452 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,790 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,643 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,764 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,120 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,423 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,529 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,927 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,803 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,368 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,881 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,135 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,243 days.

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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 22, 2024 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.

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.

Mike Rinder exposes Scientology ‘Fair Game’ for Leah Remini’s lawsuit

Tony Ortega — Sun, 03 Dec 2023 12:00:12 +0000

Yesterday we told you that Leah Remini had fired back at Scientology’s attempt to gut her lawsuit with a motion to strike and anti-SLAPP.

Included with her filing was a new, devastating declaration by Mike Rinder, exposing Scientology’s “Fair Game” policy along with his own experiences watching it being carried out, both when he was running Scientology’s spy wing OSA, and after he left the church and became a target of that harassment.

We figured you’d want to see the whole thing, and we’re happy to oblige.

COMES NOW, Mike Rinder, who hereby attests as follows:

1. My name is Mike Rinder. I became involved in Scientology in 1960 at the age of 5 because of my parents’ involvement. I joined Scientology’s Sea Organization (“Sea Org”) in 1973, when I was 18, and was a full-time employee of Scientology until June 2007. The Sea Org consists of the most dedicated Scientologists who commit to serving Scientology for a billion years and live and work in Scientology facilities 24/7. Sea Org members exclusively occupy the most senior positions in the hierarchical structure of Scientology and thus control all its activities around the world.

My Background in Scientology

2. Over the years, I rose in the ranks within Scientology and served in leadership positions, including becoming Scientology’s international spokesperson. I was on the Church of Scientology International’s board of directors from its inception in 1982 until I left in 2007. In these positions, and because of my status, I worked closely with the “Chairman of the Board,” David Miscavige.

3. I also served in the role of head of “OSA,” or Office of Special Affairs, for more than 20 years. OSA essentially serves as Scientology’s CIA and, under the direct supervision of David Miscavige, directs investigations and carries out operations against those who speak out against Scientology, or “Suppressive Persons.”

4. Because of my role in Scientology and, specifically, OSA, I am well aware of the types of Scientology’s methods to quell the voices of those who leave, speak out against or attack Scientology. These tactics include the type of character assassination, stalking, and harassment that Leah Remini and I, as well as many others, have been subjected to for many years.

5. Scientologists are directed to not only attack those who are vocal against Scientology, but also anyone close to them personally or professionally. Scientology policy also commands that, when individuals speak out against Scientology, they must be destroyed personally and professionally.

6. I escaped the Sea Org in 2007 and immediately became a top public enemy of Scientology.

Scientology’s “Fair Game” Policies

7. Beginning in the late-1950s, the Church of Scientology, through its founder and leader, L. Ron Hubbard, institutionalized a series of retaliatory activities to be taken against any individual, organization, business, or government that Scientology deems to be an enemy, otherwise known as a Suppressive Person or Group. Reflected in hundreds of published directives—Office of Special Affairs (“OSA”) Network Orders, Hubbard Communications Office Policy Letters (“HCOPL”), Hubbard Communications Office Bulletins (“HCOB”), and Executive Directives, these policies mandate “obliteration” of Scientology’s enemies, who are commonly referred to as Attackers under the banner of what was termed “Fair Game.”

8. Suppressive Persons are also referred to, among other names, as Attackers, Merchants of Chaos, Merchants of Fear, Antisocial personalities, Anti-Scientologists, Psychotics, Squirrels, Cancer on Society, Criminals, and Bigots. These classifications, laid out by L. Ron Hubbard’s directives, justify the destruction of Suppressive Persons. One does not need to be a Scientologist or former Scientologist to be on Scientology’s “Enemies List.”

9. Publicly departing Scientology is denominated a High Crime—the highest offense against Scientology as described in Hubbard’s “Justice Code.” Anyone who publicly leaves Scientology and speaks out about the abuses they witnessed or endured is automatically denominated a Suppressive Person.

10. Attached hereto as Exhibit 1 is a true and correct copy of an L. Ron Hubbard directive entitled COUNTER ATTACK TACTICS, dated March 28, 1972. Exhibit 1 lays out some of Scientology’s Fair Game policies, which mandate that Scientology treat Suppressive Persons as attackers to “totally restrain[] and muzzle[].”

11. One method Scientology uses to “restrain[] and muzzle[]” a Suppressive Person is to financially ruin that person by attacking their sources of income. As Exhibit 1 explains, “These persons can always lose their jobs. . . . This is A POINT OF VULNERABILITY. . . . If the person’s job is also not valuable to him or if he cannot be made to cost his job, something can be found which he is seeking to protect and it can be threatened. . . . When identified or even suspected as the instigator, draw up a project which includes at least three channels to cost him his job” (emphasis added).

12. Attached hereto as Exhibit 2 is a true and correct copy of a Hubbard Communications Office Policy Letter entitled ATTACKS ON SCIENTOLOGY, dated February 15, 1966, which states that, to handle Suppressive Persons, Scientology should: “Spot who is attacking us. . . . Start feeding lurid, blood sex crime actual evidence on the attackers to the press. . . . Make it rough, rough on attackers all the way.”

13. Actions against Suppressive Persons are primarily carried out by members of the Sea Org who belong to OSA, which handles Scientology’s internal security and outside legal affairs and serves as Scientology’s intelligence and spying operations.

14. The letters and orders that comprise the handling of Suppressive Persons and Fair Game lay out the rules of engagement for OSA operatives, all Scientologists, and their allies, that must be followed with precision until the “Attacker” is put out of commission by Scientology’s operations. The duty of the Office of Special Affairs is to accomplish what is called a “Dismissed Attacker.”

15. One of Scientology’s Fair Game policies is a procedure known as a “Noisy Investigation.” Noisy Investigation is a formal Scientology policy written by L. Ron Hubbard involving pretending to conduct a criminal investigation in order to sow chaos and discredit and create fear for its targets, as well as their family members, friends, and colleagues.

16. Attached hereto as Exhibit 3 is a true and correct copy of Hubbard’s HCO Manual of Justice published in 1959 which states in part: “When we need somebody haunted we investigate. . . . When we investigate, we do so noisily always. And usually mere investigation damps out the trouble even when we discover no really pertinent facts. Remember that – by investigation alone we can curb pushes and crush wildcat people. . . .” Ex. 3 at 3.

17. Attached hereto as Exhibit 4 is a true and correct copy of part of The Technical Bulletins of Dianetics and Scientology Volume II by L. Ron Hubbard, dated 1954-1956, which states: “The law can be used very easily to harass, and enough harassment on somebody who is simply on the thin edge anyway, well knowing that he is not authorized, will generally be sufficient to cause his professional decease. If possible, of course, ruin him utterly.” Ex. 4 at 157.

18. Attached hereto as Exhibit 5 is a true and correct copy of a Hubbard Communications Office Policy Letter, dated February 16, 1969, and entitled “Battle Tactics.” This Policy Letter lays out some of Scientology’s Fair Game policies, including:

— “We must ourselves fight on the basis of total attrition of the enemy. So never get reasonable about him. Just go all the way in and obliterate him.” Ex. 5 at 2.
— “The prize is ‘public opinion’ where press is concerned. The only safe public opinion to head for is they love us and are in a frenzy of hate against the enemy. This means standard wartime propaganda is what one is doing, complete with atrocity, war crimes trials, the lot.” Ex. 5 at 3.

19. In furtherance of Fair Game policies against Scientology’s enemies, Scientology operatives will: hire private investigators to surveil and intimidate targets; picket targets’ workplaces, residences, and neighborhoods with posters falsely accusing targets of crimes, such as child molestation, with the purpose of humiliating them; frame targets for crimes; enlist homeless and mentally ill people to harass and intimidate targets; search targets’ trash; illegally obtain targets’ personal information, like credit reports and phone records; confront targets at home, workplaces, and airports to falsely accuse them of wrongdoing; harass targets’ family, friends, and employers in order to intimidate them; enlist Scientologist members to engage in online harassment campaigns against targets; and much more. The goal of these tactics is to make it impossible for targets to find work, isolate them from their family and friends, and ruin their lives, in order to neutralize the “threat” they pose to Scientology.

20. I have reviewed the declaration of OSA official Lynn Farny and am aware of Mr. Farny’s statements that “there is no doctrine of ‘Fair Game’ within the Scientology religion” and “[a]ny and all statements that the Church has a policy of ‘Fair Game’ are false.” Mr. Farny’s statements about Scientology’s Fair Game policy are incorrect. I know this because I personally carried out Scientology’s Fair Game tactics against its targets while I was the head of OSA.

21. L. Ron Hubbard laid out Scientology’s Fair Game tactics in a series of directives that have been used in Scientology since the late 1950s. The words and teachings of L. Ron Hubbard are the law of Scientology and the law for Scientologists. The policies of L. Ron Hubbard cannot be changed, modified, or interpreted. In fact, it is a High Crime in Scientology to disobey the exact words and teachings of L. Ron Hubbard, no matter how antiquated, abhorrent, and illegal they may be. The exact Fair Game policies that L. Ron Hubbard laid out, no matter how long ago, are still actively practiced by Scientology today.

22. Lynn Farny’s statement that “the purported ‘Fair Game’ policy was canceled in 1968” twists the truth. Attached hereto as Exhibit 6 is a true and correct copy of an October 21, 1968 Policy Letter authored by L. Ron Hubbard regarding Fair Game. This Policy Letter prohibits Scientologists from referring to Fair Game as Fair Game because the term “causes bad public relations” but also states clearly that this “does not cancel any policy on the treatment or handling of an SP [Suppressive Person].” In other words, Scientology’s Fair Game policy did exist and still exists in full force, all that changed in 1968 was Scientology’s “public relations” approach to the policy. This is consistent with my observations and experiences when I was the head of OSA. I personally carried out Scientology’s Fair Game tactics up until I escaped in 2007.

23. Likewise, Mr. Farny’s statement that Scientology’s Fair Game policy did not “endorse[] violating the law of the land” is also false. Scientology’s Fair Game policies, as taught to me and carried out by me during my time as the head of OSA, were to destroy Scientology’s enemies at any cost, even if it required illegal surveillance, harassment, threats, framing people, or other forms of breaking the law. Scientologists are trained to regard “wog” (non-Scientologist) laws as only worthy of contempt.

24. Attached hereto as Exhibit 7 is a true and correct copy of the Sentencing Memorandum from the United States Department of Justice in the prosecution of L. Ron Hubbard’s wife and 10 other senior Scientology officials (all of whom pled guilty). It contains the following, which demonstrates Scientology’s attitude toward non-Scientology legal authority:

Their total disregard for the laws is further made clear by the criminal campaigns of villification, burglaries and thefts which they carried out against private and public individuals and organizations and carefully documented in minute detail. . . . That these defendants were willing to frame their critics to the point of giving false testimony under oath against them, and having them arrested and indicted speaks legion for their disdain for the rule of law. Indeed, they arrogantly placed themselves above the law meting out their personal brand of punishment to those “guilty” of opposing their selfish aims The crimes committed by these defendants is of a breadth and scope previously unheard of. No building, office, desk, or file was safe from their snooping and prying. No individual or organization was free from their despicable conspiratorial minds. The tools of their trade were miniature transmitters, lock picks, secret codes, forged credentials, and any other device they found necessary to carry out their conspiratorial schemes. It is interesting to note that the founder of their organization, L. Ron Hubbard, wrote in his dictionary entitled “Modern Management Technology Defined” that “truth is what is true for you.” Thus, with the founder’s blessings they could wantonly commit perjury as long as it was in the Interest of Scientology. The defendants rewarded criminal activities that ended in success and sternly rebuked those that failed. The standards of human conduct embodied in such practices represent no less than the absolute perversion of any known ethical value system. In view of this, it defies the imagination that these defendants have the unmitigated audacity to seek to defend their actions in the name of “religion.” That these defendants now attempt to hide behind the sacred principles of freedom of religion, freedom of speech and the right to privacy—which principles they repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to violate with impunity—adds insult to the injuries which they have inflicted on every element of society.

25. Scientology’s authority with respect to its members is absolute, precluding even a role by law enforcement. Scientology strictly forbids members from contacting the police to report crimes committed by practicing Scientologists, no matter how violent or heinous the crime (except when directed by Scientology as part of operations against Suppressive Persons). Scientology trains its members how to lie to law enforcement. Scientologists are also forbidden from cooperating with law enforcement against another Scientologist and testifying against other Scientologists in court. Scientology also forbids Scientologists from seeking remedies in civil court against other Scientologists without prior approval from Scientology officials.

26. For example, one of the tactics employed when I was head of OSA was to illegally access enemies’ flight plans to track their movements and aid in Scientology’s surveillance and harassment of them. I know that this tactic is still employed by Scientology against its enemies because in the time since I escaped Scientology, my wife and I have been harassed at airports when Scientology would not have had any legal means of accessing my travel plans.

27. Scientology has carried out Fair Game tactics against many people who have publicly criticized Scientology over the years, including former Clearwater mayor Gabe Cazares, journalist Paulette Cooper, reporter Richard Behar, investor Bob Minton, research professor David Touretzky, former Scientologists Chuck Beatty and Tory Christman, as well as former Sea Org member Ron Miscavige, father of Scientology leader David Miscavige.

My Experiences in Scientology

28. During the several years in which I worked directly for David Miscavige, I endured verbal abuse, physical abuse, and near-constant humiliation from him. On numerous occasions, he punched, hit or otherwise physically abused me. No other Scientologists stepped in to stop him, nor was I allowed to defend myself, because Miscavige was the top-ranking Scientologist whose authority was accepted without question.

29. Periodically from January 2004 through 2007, I was incarcerated by direct order of David Miscavige in what he called “The Hole.” This was a building on Scientology’s “international headquarters” property near Hemet, California that consisted of two double-wide trailers connected by a conference room. I along with more than one hundred other Sea Org members were confined to this building for months on end by order of Miscavige.

30. The Hole was literally a prison, with bars on the doors and windows screwed closed and a security officer posted outside the only entrance 24 hours a day. While confined in The Hole, we slept on the floor and ate all our meals within that building. RTC President, Warren McShane was assigned by Miscavige to oversee the personnel and activities in The Hole. The only person anyone incarcerated in the Hole could communicate with outside The Hole was McShane.

31. Virtually the only thing that happened in The Hole was efforts to extract “confessions” from others in The Hole about their misdeeds and “evil intentions” toward Miscavige. This was done by “group pressure” (dozens of people screaming at one person for hours on end), lack of sleep, lack of food, and sometimes physical assaults or even torture.

32. Virtually everyone who was in The Hole eventually wrote self-incriminating “confessions” in an effort to prove to Miscavige that they no longer needed to be held prisoner. If the “confession” was not sufficiently contrite or dramatic, it would be rejected and the mental and physical torture would resume.

33. Scientology still maintains some of these coerced “confessions” from me on a website, https://www.whoismikerinder.com/#admitted-lies-doing-illegal-things, which they use to claim that I “admitted dishonesty, a criminal moral code and ‘doing illegal things.’”

Leaving Scientology and Becoming the Subject of “Fair Game”

34. I escaped Scientology in June 2007, after finally having had enough of David Miscavige’s physical and mental abuse and the lies that he, often through me, was telling the world.

35. When I left Scientology, my family disowned and “disconnected” from me, as required by Scientology policy. My wife divorced me. My mother shunned me until her death. My ex-wife, children, brother, and sister continue to shun me to this day.

36. Since leaving Scientology, I have spoken out about the abuses I witnessed, including to news media, to law enforcement, on various shows and podcasts, in my book and via my blog. As a result, Scientology has conducted a campaign of intimidation, spying, stalking, and harassment against me, my wife, and those with whom I have worked closely. Its purpose has been to intimidate me into silence, as was the purpose of the intimidation, spying, stalking, and harassment that I witnessed — and took part in — when I was head of OSA.

37. In 2009, I spoke to the St. Petersburg Times to confirm information they had been told by Miscavige’s former lieutenant Marty Rathbun. I was then stalked and surveilled by private investigators sent to Denver, Colorado, where I lived at the time. Scientology attorneys (Monique Yingling and Bill Walsh) and other high-ranking Scientology members (Tommy Davis and Jessica Feshbach) then followed me to Denver to attempt to “settle” with me so that I would withdraw the corroboration I had provided for Marty Rathbun’s interview. They threatened me, saying that I would never see or hear again from my mother, wife, siblings, and children to force me to cooperate with their demands not talk to the media. They offered to “make peace” (which I understood was a euphemism for reaching a financial settlement in exchange for a gag order – something I had done with Monique Yingling in the past on behalf of Scientology). They demanded that I not talk to the media. I refused.

38. Since 2009, my wife and I experienced the following at the hands of Scientology:

a. Repeatedly followed and filmed by private investigators, including David Lubow;
b. Harassed by Scientology’s “Squirrelbusters,” including Ed Bryan;
c. Had our garbage taken by private investigators;
d. Had surveillance cameras trained on our house from neighboring homes, including one disguised as a “birdhouse;”
e. Had friends, people with whom I worked, and neighbors “noisily investigated” by private investigators working for Scientology;
f. Had spies sent by Scientology to attempt to inveigle themselves into our lives;
g. Had private investigators take up residence 24 hours a day in a house within sight of our home, for purposes of watching our comings and goings;
h. Been “tailed” by up to six vehicles at a day driven by private investigators during a trip to Los Angeles to meet with the Federal Bureau of Investigation;
i. Been “tailed” by two cars for an entire drive from Tampa, Florida to Houston, Texas;
j. Been hassled at airports;
k. Had my phone records illegally accessed, resulting in a letter that I received from T-Mobile stating that it was conducting an internal investigation;

l. Been the subject of phony Craigslist postings about “estate sales” at my home, resulting in strangers arriving at my home starting at 6:00am on Saturday;
m. Had my car keyed;
n. Had my wife and children followed to the supermarket, doctor’s office, and park;
o. Had numerous websites and publications containing false and defamatory statements about me and my wife distributed by Scientology and maintained online to this day.

39. Each of the above is in accordance with Scientology’s pattern and practice for its treatment of enemies, with which I am personally familiar from my time in Scientology and OSA.

40. After Leah Remini escaped Scientology in 2013, we developed a friendship and started working together on projects to increase awareness of Scientology’s harmful teachings and providing support to those who had left Scientology or suffered under its policies. Ms. Remini and I have since co-hosted a docuseries, Leah Remini: Scientology and the Aftermath, and have also co-hosted podcasts in which we discuss Scientology

41. I am aware that Ms. Remini filed her lawsuit against Scientology in August 2023. I am also aware based on my conversations with her and based on my own interactions that the level of harassment of her and others by Scientology has increased significantly since that time.

42. I, personally, have been the subject of this surge in attacks.

43. On August 15, 2023, I was made aware first by my stepson and then by neighbors that a suspicious vehicle was seen parked in our neighborhood in view of my home. The vehicle was parked on the main boulevard of our community outside their house in a location where vehicles do not normally park.

44. That day, my wife and I left our home to run errands. This same vehicle began following me and my wife around town and into a parking lot. Later the same day, we again spotted the same vehicle in an otherwise empty church parking lot adjacent to the entrance to our community.

45. Concerned this was an effort to surveil me by Scientology operatives, I approached the car in my vehicle. As I approached the SUV, the driver pulled out of the parking lot speedily. We followed him out of the lot and the driver made an erratic and illegal U-turn over a traffic median, presumably to avoid us.

46. I chronicled the events of this day on my blog at https://www.mikerindersblog.org/new-fair-game-pi-activity-caught-on-camera/. As stated in my video, I am certain that Scientology is surveilling me and my family as a scare tactic because of my friendship with Ms. Remini. I also believe Scientology operatives were sent to watch me to ensure that I do not provide information that may lead to the discovery of the location of David Miscavige. These conclusions are based on my personal knowledge of Scientology’s Fair Game and “noisy investigation” policies, which I acquired during my time as the head of OSA.

47. On Tuesday, October 31, 2023, I was contacted by Delta Airlines reporting suspicious activity of a woman calling to ask about flight reservations for me and my son Jack. I had announced on my blog that I was traveling to Philadelphia with Jack (I was attending the annual Child USA Gala on November 2, 2023). Subsequently, a man who appeared to be a private investigator took photos of us as we traveled to Philadelphia on 1 December and on our return flight on 3 November. I chronicled this in a YouTube video and at my blog at: https://www.mikerindersblog.org/our-philly-trip-pis-ideal-org-and-more/.

48. It should be noted that I am currently undergoing treatment for Stage IV esophageal cancer, a fact publicly disclosed and of which Scientology is aware. In fact, tweets by Scientology operatives seemingly celebrate my diagnosis and poor health.

49. My current condition has left me in a weakened condition and therefore these harassing episodes by Scientology are distressing to both me and my family now more than ever.

I declare under penalty of perjury under the laws of the State of Florida and the State of California that the foregoing is true and correct.

Mike Rinder

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Technology Cocktail

“An auditor whose Basic Auditing is poor (who Qs and As, cuts Itsa, invalidates or evaluates, or who misses meter reads on rudiments or prepchecks or cleans cleans or misses withholds) can be spotted by his pc’s dirty needle. It’s an invariable sign. If the pc has a dirty needle the Basic Auditing of the auditor is bad.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1963

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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see

[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf

— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond

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“In the final run of it, he gets up to a fairly comprehensive idea of what he’s been and done….He gets himself one Godawful amount of time blocked out. Oh, some terrific amount of time blocked out. He gets up to trillions to the eighth power. Time, you know. Oh man, time, you see. First he gets horrified, you see, at the idea of twelve trillion years ago or something like that. He gets finally, up to a point where trillions to the eighth power take him back to some of the earliest implants. And he’s perfectly happy at this level that there’s an awful lot of track….Now, his track goes sizzling back to trillions to the 200th power. Well that’s, of course, one of these ridiculous figures. That’s trillion written two hundred times. Or one with two hundred times you write all the ciphers of a trillion. That gets to be quite a few ciphers and every one of those things is a year. You’re getting into the sweep of time by this time. Well, I myself have had, I just thought I was doing fine when I was doing some research this last summer. I said, ‘Gee, you know we’re getting clear back here.’ Trillions four, you know. Whew, you know? Dizzying. Concepts of time. Trying to date one of these confounded things, you know. Trying to handle these fantastic periods of time with arithmetic, and trying to dream up other methods of going into all this. Rough! Because it just took the auditor too tall, too long to say anything so you got crude rough approximations like, trillions 4.5, see?” — L. Ron Hubbard, December 3, 1963

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“PORT: All is cool. They didn’t even come aboard to clear us in. Customs and police just wrote us down as cleared in. We are now popular here after the attempted attack and our then asserting PRO Area Control. They are honestly glad to see us. We will be here about six days. It has rained so hard here they couldn’t unload ships and the storm drove even more ships in because it made crews nearly 100 percent seasick on other ships. Trust you had a good liberty.” — The Commodore, December 3, 1969

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“For some weeks late in 1982 I remained conscious, even when my body slept. I found that four hours of that kind of sleep was equal to eight of the usual, unconscious sleep, in terms of resting the body. Anyway, one night I was up late, standing nightwatch at Van Org, working on the word ‘postulate.’ When I figured I had it cleared I thought, ‘I want twenty bucks.’ I walked outside onto the street, walked about half a block, and there on the sidewalk were two ten-dollar bills, neatly folded. I picked up the twenty bucks, went back inside and signed off on the word ‘postulate.’ I’m past-life Clear and don’t know what-all I might have had run on me after going Clear way back then, but it was the early ’50s and research was raging ahead. I’m finally getting my Grades now and intend to complete the Bridge, eventually to regain that mastery over unconsciousness that I attained for a short while in the early ’80s. It’ll come in handy next time I want to leave a body for a new one.”

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2001: USA Today profiles Tom Cruise: “Part of it is a 9/11 awakening. He says the events made him want to ‘do more’ for others, and it made him take stock. ‘Taking time to look at Nic and I, and the kids, and our families and society, the world at large and seeing what things we can do to help out.’ It’s not a Scientology thing, he says. He was positive about life ‘before Scientology,’ which he found when he was about 20. But he quickly adds, ‘Scientology is great, because you’ve got a lot of tools with which you can help people.’ Whether it’s his personality or his religion that makes him so chipper about everything, Cruise and Kidman seem to have settled nicely into separate lives, he says. ‘We’re in a beautiful place right now.’ He won’t say in what beautiful place he’ll be for the holidays, however. ‘Nic and I agreed not to discuss this, because everyone’s going to speculate.'”

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“The really scary thing to me about Carla Moxon is that there are literally millions of others like her in this world that are seriously mentally deluded due to magical thinking and they are among us doing jobs that could cause the rest of us harm if they just go off a tad too much at the wrong time. Anybody keeping track of all the problems going on with members of the ICBM defense system? And that’s not even due to magical thinking.”

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

Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Complaint filed August 2, Scientology submitting anti-SLAPP response Oct 26.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration. Plaintiffs allowed interlocutory appeal to Eleventh Circuit.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Discovery phase.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.

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Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientology scolds Valerie Haney for nominating Tom Cruise to be an arbitrator
[TWO years ago] Scientology wouldn’t pull its ‘Chase Wave’ scam on military veterans, would it?
[THREE years ago] More Scientology orgs and missions got Covid bailouts than we knew: The detailed breakdown
[FOUR years ago] Scientologist says the church is telling Clearwater members not to vote for Mark Bunker
[FIVE years ago] Thar she blows: The ‘whales’ who are keeping Scientology afloat in 2018
[SIX years ago] Scientology loses another outlet for attracting young acting talent in Hollywood
[SEVEN years ago] In Scientology, dancing in a conga line might end up costing you thousands
[EIGHT years ago] Augustine: How Scientology changes its story to fit what it’s trying to get away with
[NINE years ago] About that Tom Cruise Scientology ‘co-leader’ nonsense spreading in the media
[TEN years ago] Our Experts Prepare Us for the Wall of Fire — Scientology’s Operating Thetan Level Three!

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Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,232 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,747 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,297 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,287 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,168 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,472 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,343 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,448 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,895 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,237 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,803 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,722 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,890 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,471 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,732 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,768 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,484 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,048 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,363 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,538 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,089 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,220 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,558 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,413 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,532 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,888 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,191 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,297 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,695 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,571 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,136 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,649 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,903 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,012 days.

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Posted by Tony Ortega on December 3, 2023 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.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2022 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2022), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

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.

Mike Rinder: A class act we’re proud to call a friend

Tony Ortega — Mon, 05 Jun 2023 13:00:30 +0000

About a week ago, Mike Rinder let us know that he was experiencing some health issues, and that he was awaiting test results to determine what was going on.

Yesterday, his wife Christie Collbran revealed publicly what they had learned: Mike has advanced esophageal cancer which is being driven by a mutation of a gene in his blood.

She said that they have an excellent medical team in place and that there is reason to be optimistic, which we were relieved to hear.

Naturally, there’s been an outpouring of support for Mike, who in September released his monumental book, A Billion Years: My Escape from a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology.

If you’ve read the book, you know that he frames it as a father who regretted getting his children into Scientology, and that he believes that anyone can change the path they’re on and rethink, for example, their connection to something as toxic and totalitarian as L. Ron Hubbard’s invention.

We’ve been fortunate to know Mike for more than a decade. We first met him when we flew down to Florida and interviewed him for The Village Voice.

But since then he’s been more than just someone we turn to for quotes on stories. He’s been a great friend, particularly when we’ve turned to him for advice when Scientology’s elaborate retaliation operations have been aimed at our family members.

Mike’s willingness to help us out during those periods told us so much about him and his integrity. And he never asked for anything in return.

We hope that as he goes through this challenging adventure, you will join us in offering him the kind of support he offered us when we were going through a scary time.

— Your Proprietor

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Technology Cocktail

“In an assist you always count on the fact that the thetan himself would, if he could, do the right thing. If you work on that postulate you will never be wrong. Get the idea that it is something else trying to do the wrong thing. The keynote of a thetan is order.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1958

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——————–

THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see

[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf

— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond

——————–

“One time a few years ago in a war that everybody fortunately has forgotten, a submarine appeared on my port bow. We’d been hanging over it for some time and it ran up its periscope. They used to throw up a patch of oil and then run the periscope up through the oil so as not to leave any salt scum or anything like that on their periscope lens, you know. So a blob of oil appeared and the fellow who was running the engine room telegraphs on the bridge was the only fellow looking in that direction. And he saw this blob of oil appear and he thought that was strange and interesting. We were going very slowly, we were almost dead in the water, and then right up through this big blob of brown oil on a blue sea comes a periscope — swswswswhhh — and looks around in every direction but at our ship! If it had turned another ninety degrees it would have read the biggest doggone 422 that you’d ever seen, fully magnified for the skipper. But anyway, the man on the engine room telegraphs is the only person who observed this incident in its various steps. The bridge was absolutely crammed with men because we were at general quarters. But nobody was looking right down there; they were looking out there, you know. And the fellow on the engine room telegraphs would say, ‘Thh.’ I finally noticed this strange performance and I was all set at this moment, you see, the second I saw this — flank speed and drop a depth charge right. Even if it blew our own stern off, that was fine, you see. And I said, ‘Khh!’ That was the awfulest mess of noncommunication! It finally came off all right. We dropped a depth charge and so on, but we were laughing about this for days. Nobody could talk!” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 5, 1955

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MAYFAIR: Mayfair magazine UK published an article by me as a ‘World Exclusive.’ It may effectively handle a lot of things. It ended off the William Burroughs thing. It said why we’re attacked and attacks hard. It appeared on the stands just before Parliament adjourned. Captain AOUK said it acted like an S&D on the crew there. INJURIES: Those recently injured were not PTS. Survey showed they were exterior and feeling powerful and didn’t watch where they were sending the body.” — The Commodore, June 5, 1970

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“I thought I was SP because I could not see pictures. Later I discovered that an SP could not think they were SP, so I then believed I thought I was SP so I could prove I was not SP. Either way I knew I was SP until the natural clear material came out and I self audited a pre-Dianetics experiment I was involved in with Hubbard, 1947, where my entire Whole Track was erased. I had no place to put pictures. I was overwhelmed and died (I think I just wandered out into traffic after the session), then I came back into a Scientology family in 1955 that gave me the tools to consider myself SP. I eventually attested to Clear OT but denied solo auditing because I had not done the Bridge.”

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1995: Dennis Erlich reported new acts of harassment this week. The JJ Gaw, cos investigator, visited his landlord, looking for dirt. Also, the company that holds the mortgage on Dennis’ house was hit for some documents, billed to the landlord. More random acts: “Two nights ago I noticed that the automatic lights in front of my house didn’t turn on when I approached. Checking the bulbs, I found them to have been screwed out 2 turns. “Three weeks ago someone came by and sanded the street # off the curb in front of the house. No other houses on the block got this treatment.”

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I almost got castrated by an emu when I was a teenager.”

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Trial scheduled for August 15.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for June 26 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration. Plaintiffs asking permission for interlocutory appeal.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place at least through June 28.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.

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Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] The Scientology celebrity exodus from LA to Clearwater continues
[TWO years ago] Was David Miscavige behind Tom Mesereau’s biggest blunder at Danny Masterson’s prelim?
[THREE years ago] Year after taping ‘Scientology & the Aftermath,’ Victoria Locke is still waiting for justice
[FOUR years ago] Scientology survey for its members: Why aren’t you giving us more money?
[FIVE years ago] First person: Four Scientologists have been shot, and you’re being sent to audit the pain away
[SIX years ago] Donna Fiore says Scientology is hounding her for dirt on stepdaughter Leah Remini
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology’s next big opening — its totally unneeded ‘Advanced Org’ in Australia
[EIGHT years ago] If the Sea Org doesn’t legally exist, how does it run Scientology?
[NINE years ago] 60 years ago and today: Scientology in its heyday, and now not so much
[TEN years ago] Just What Oklahoma Tornado Victims Need: Scientology to the Rescue!

——————–

Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,051 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,556 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,106 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,096 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,987 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,291 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,162 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,267 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,714 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,056 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,622 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,541 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,708 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,290 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,551 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,587 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,303 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,867 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,182 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,357 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,908 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,039 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,377 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,232 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,351 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,707 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,010 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,116 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,514 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,390 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,973 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,468 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,722 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,831 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on June 5, 2023 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.

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.

Here’s the link for tonight’s conversation.

Tonight: Our conversation with Mike Rinder on ‘A Billion Years’ for Mark Twain House

Tony Ortega — Thu, 19 Jan 2023 12:00:04 +0000

Our first trip to the Mark Twain House in Hartford was with our friend Dan Perkins, the man behind Tom Tomorrow and the This Modern World comic strip. We got a special tour, and at one point found ourselves in Twain’s upstairs billiards room where his writing desk was tucked away in a corner. It shook us to stand there, by that desk, and think about what the man had created there during the years 1874 to 1891.

On the wall nearby, there was a very curious artifact. Our guide, Jacques Lamarre, explained that it was a rare panel, about a foot on each side, made from thinnest bone, so that some light could come through from the outside, and it had some symbols carved in it. It was otherworldly.

After that experience, we knew we wanted to have a book event there in 2015 for The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, and Dan was good enough again to take part, asking questions.

So now we get to return the favor, and we’ll be asking questions of Mike Rinder about his excellent book A Billion Years: My Escape from a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology.

You can see our full-length review of the book here, which we posted the day after the book came out in September. And hey, we’d like your suggestions about what we should ask Mike about the book. Leave us a suggestion in the comments section here or at the dot org site.

While you wait for tonight’s event. Here’s a little something that Neil Clark spotted.

In 2016, a person calling themselves “Angry Thetan” approached us with some killer drone footage of Scientology’s secretive properties, including Int Base in Southern California and the smaller mountain compound where we believe Scientology is keeping Shelly Miscavige.

Well, someone has taken Angry Thetan’s lengthy drone flyover of Int Base, sped it up, and added helpful titles to identify various locations at the base.

The result is a fast and thorough inventory of the place, and we found it to be a very worthwhile updating of Angry Thetan’s work.

As you fly over the place, keep in mind that David Miscavige has apparently abandoned this compound for Florida, and that a much smaller crew lives here now than in years past.

——————–

Technology Cocktail

“IS SCIENTOLOGY VALID? Tens of thousands of case histories (reports on patients, individual records), all sworn to (attested before public officials), are in the possession of the organizations of Scientology. No other subject on earth except physics and chemistry has had such grueling testing (proofs, exact findings). Scientology in the hands of an expert (Auditor) can cure some 70% of Man’s illnesses (sicknesses). Scientology is used by some of the largest companies (business organizations) on earth. It is valid. It has been tested.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1956

——————–

——————–

THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— The Underground Bunker Podcast

— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see

[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf

— SPECIAL: Your Proprietor’s updates on the Danny Masterson trial

[1] Sep 21 [2] Sep 28 [3] Oct 4 [4] Oct 10 [5] Oct 11: Day One [6] Oct 12: Day Two [7] Oct 13: Day Three [8] Oct 17: Day Four [9] Oct 18: Day Five [10] Oct 19: Day Six [11] Special interview with Chris Shelton, Oct 19 [12] Oct 20: Day Seven [13] Oct 21: Day Eight [14] First week in review, with Jeffrey Augustine [15] Oct 24: Day Nine [16] Oct 25: Day Ten [17] Oct 27: Day Eleven [18] Oct 28: Day Twelve [19] Second week in review, with Jeffrey Augustine [20] Halloween special [21] Nov 2: Day Thirteen [22] Nov 3: Day Fourteen [23] Nov 4: Day Fifteen [24] Third week in review [25] Nov 5, Saturday special [26] Nov 6, Sunday special [27] Nov 7, Day Sixteen [28] Lisa Marie Presley breaking news [29] Nov 8, Day Seventeen [30] Nov 9, Day Eighteen [31] Nov 10, Day Nineteen

——————–

“You find many a girl — various stresses in the war you notice this: Some girl who was very much in love with some young man, and he got knocked off, something like that, and right away she becomes a lawyer — begins to talk in a rather husky voice. If you watch her a while longer, the next thing you know, she’s liable to start smoking cigars. You know? And in order to exteriorize her, you’d have to exteriorize her out of the body of a young man before you could exteriorize her out of the body she’s in. Now she doesn’t want to be in the body she’s in, so she’s not really in the body she’s in, and you just don’t have a dog’s chance of exteriorizing her out of that body. You say, ‘Be three feet back of your head.’ She’s not in it. So the whole command misses. You see that?” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 19, 1956

——————–

“1969 was the year of Out-Ethics. In 1970 I trust all SO members will wear their ethics hats. Every SO member has one. Every time we ease up or drop Ethics we get horrible problems and stats. It can be plotted on the Int GI. Fact is Ethics is madly out on the planet. Definition of some Earth wog leaders — somebody who is trying to get even with everybody else. Definition of psychiatry: the government’s method of getting even with the insane.” — The Commodore, January 19, 1970

——————–

“When you interweave your spiritual essence with too many other thetans, you are establishing too many anchor points on that Dynamic. When one does this, it makes it more difficult to once again find and re-unite with one’s true ‘soul-mate’ lifetime after lifetime. If ‘soul-mates’ mutually refrain from promiscuity prior to re-uniting, they find each other again and again, lifetime to lifetime. The indicator is this, trust your own knowingness as to whether you have a long term relationship with the person or not – and if not, do not get involved with them, especially sexually.”

——————–

1998: Skeptic Magazine published a letter from Scientology president Heber Jentzsch, in reply to an earlier letter from comedian Steve Allen. “You make several different claims of harassment and telephone threats and ‘similar offenses’ that are continuing to be perpetuated by individual Scientologists. If you have any such instances which are documented, then send them to me. And speaking of harassment, Cynthia Kisser attempted to silence me & the church regarding her perpetration of violent deprogrammings. The fact that she deprogrammed her own sister and then went on to conduct other assaults has been proved to be true by the Federal Court in Chicago, Illinois, supported by the verdict of a jury. I have admired your humor and your humanitarian goals since I first came here to California 35 years ago. I would hope that you would continue your wit and your talents to the enhancement of freedom of choice, not to be drawn into the melee of anti-religious bigotry by those who claim no religion is qualified or sacred.”

——————–

“OT 7 is just sitting in a room talking to yourself and seeing if the needle reacts. You’d think after a couple of years of doing that they would just say ‘fuck it!’ and tell the case supervisor ‘The belfry is bat-free’.”

——————–

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Mistrial declared November 30. Status conference scheduled January 10, retrial scheduled March 27.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Plea deadline scheduled for December 16.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff scheduled to time served with three years supervised release, restitution of $9.7 million.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for March 1 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial hearing December 9.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filed amended complaint on August 2. Hearing November 17 to argue the arbitration motions, awaiting ruling.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: February 2, 2023.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place at least through February 7.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Case settled ahead of scheduled Dec 6 trial.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.

——————–

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] SCIENTOLOGY ARBITRATION DENIED: Appeals court revives lawsuit by Masterson accusers
[TWO years ago] Danny Masterson accusers want emergency halt on ‘religious arbitration’ to protect rape case
[THREE years ago] Georgia puts legislator who promotes Scientology anti-psych efforts on mental health panel
[FOUR years ago] New Sea Org escapee says that Scientology still forcing abortions, decade after practice exposed
[FIVE years ago] More Scientology news is here: You won’t believe how fast this planet is being cleared!
[SIX years ago] Scientology in hot water again for cutting down trees without permission
[SEVEN years ago] When the feds tracked down L. Ron Hubbard’s boast about getting rich by creating a religion
[EIGHT years ago] Earache my eye: A Scientology official’s excuses why he can’t fly for deposition in fraud suit
[NINE years ago] Sunday Funnies: For the second year in a row, Scientology will have an ad in the Super Bowl
[TEN years ago] We Told You Jamie DeWolf Would Blow Up!
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology Spokeswoman Who Disconnected From Her Father Criticizes Scientology Victim Who Didn’t

——————–

Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,914 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,419 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,969 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,959 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,850 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,155 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,025 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,130 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,603 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,919 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,485 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,404 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,572 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,153 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,414 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,451 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,166 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,730 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,045 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,220 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,771 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,902 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,240 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,095 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,214 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,570 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,873 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,979 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,377 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,253 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,836 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,331 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,585 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,694 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on January 19, 2023 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.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2021 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2021), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

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.

Special Thanksgiving Podcast: ‘A Billion Years’ author Mike Rinder on Scientology’s epic fails

Tony Ortega — Thu, 24 Nov 2022 12:00:30 +0000

[Illustration by Observer]

On September 27, we had the treat of meeting Mike Rinder in Manhattan on the publication day of his book, A Billion Years: My Escape from a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology. (See our review of the book here.)

We were just plain lucky that we could dine with Mike that evening when he had so much going on. But neither of us really had any idea what the next several weeks would have in store for us.

Finally, almost two months later, we had time to meet up again, this time for the Underground Bunker Podcast.

We had a lot to discuss. About the media reaction to his book, the mayor’s race in Los Angeles, the Danny Masterson trial also in that city, and so much more. We even asked him about Marty Rathbun! So we hope you can set aside a little time on this holiday to join us.

And as ever, we’d like to hear what you’re thankful for this Thanksgiving. We hope this podcast is one of those things!

——————–

Technology Cocktail

“It was somewhat amusing to note that the auditor’s name, which will go unmentioned, was the kind of a name which lends itself to an engram phrase. An example of this would be (an actual case) where the individual had severe asthma and was named Sneezy and had lost his asthma simply because a professional auditor asked him one day whether or not he was trying to live up to his name. An individual (a thetan) is trying to be something rather than nothing and he will try to be the literal meaning of his own name and try to dramatize it. Well, a thetan can never be. The auditor in this case had a name which lent itself peculiarly to failure and this had never been touched in the school.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1953

——————–

——————–

THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— The Underground Bunker Podcast

— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see

[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf

— SPECIAL: Your Proprietor’s updates on the Danny Masterson trial

——————–

“Nobody ever objects to anybody in India being found dead. So they’re dead. They’re dead. They get married when they’re 12 or 14, kick the bucket when they’re 21, 28 — real quick. The only trouble with the people is, it’s too hot there and they key in all the prenatals they’ve got. It is about 90. Any time you get a climate which is approaching 98.6, you can get the whole prenatal bank keyed in almost perpetually, because that’s the temperature in the prenatal bank, 98.6. That’s why hot countries turn feminine, so forth, so it’s not a hardy country. But way up north, those boys live with kind of wild abandon, too. They always have.” — L. Ron Hubbard, November 24, 1953

——————–

“COMMENDABLE: CS-1 Cmdr Hana Eltringham is commended for getting out and duplicated the CLO org bd and MOs for getting it into action at CLOs in UK, DK and US. A very nice, rapid production requiring no further correction. All who helped her are also thanked.” — The Commodore, November 24, 1970

——————–

“The people who say Scientology is utter rubbish are clearly wrong, the people who say Scientology is utterly the best are also wrong. The truth like with most things really lies somewhere between. So that’s why I’m half a Scio. I’m also not afraid of the Covid hoax and the possible devastation it could cause. Somehow things tend to work out all right for me, so I expect Covid’s not going to cause all this badness. There’s no need to fear. Be positive because everything’s awesome. I also certainly ain’t a Christian, reading the Bible ruined the religion for me. I believe in Trump though so maybe that’s my official religion now.”

——————–

1997: Scientology issued a press release this week attacking the Channel 4 documentary on L. Ron Hubbard. “The Church of Scientology condemns as ‘journalistic terrorism’ the vicious rendition by Channel Four’s ‘Secret Lives’ of a purported ‘biography’ of L. Ron Hubbard, the Founder of Scientology and Dianetics. The program is the most contemptible form of tabloid disinformation and reeks of journalistic deceit and immorality. Boxes of factual information and documents disproving the lies of their sources were provided to 3BM, the independent company that produced the show, its director Simon Berthon and its producer Jill Robinson. The producers were offered an interview with L. Ron Hubbard’s official biographer, Mr. Dan Sherman, which they ignored. All of it was rejected in creating a programme dripping with bias, lies and a disreputable parade of self-serving and discredited sources. Through our own news journal, we are investigating how this atrocious programme came to be aired and we have uncovered the sordid tactics used by 3BM’s Jill Robinson and Simon Berthon.”

——————–

“My take on it is that Hubbard created Dianetics as a ‘short con’ and when it took off on a level he didn’t expect and when everyone by the early 60’s had reached ‘Clear’ and the gravy train started to slow down he created the ‘long con’ of the OT levels. The $64,000 question is whether due to mental illness and perhaps drug use did he start to believe in his own bullshit? When he says at the end of OTVIII ‘now that you know what you aren’t are you ready to find out what you really are?’ I see this as phase 2 of the long con. Hubbard is saying ‘Hey, guess what kids, I took a detour and I was on the wrong road but now I’m on the right one, so lets go.’ The bottom line and perhaps unanswerable question is how much was calculated and how much was crazy.”

——————–

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

Criminal prosecutions:

— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Trial began October 11 in Los Angeles.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Arraigned on August 29.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff scheduled to be sentenced on Oct 28.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for March 1 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for September 19.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filed amended complaint on August 2. Hearing scheduled November 17 to argue the arbitration motions.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: February 2, 2023.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place at least through December 13.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Case settled ahead of scheduled Dec 6 trial.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.

——————–

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Check out the US government’s new whales: Feshbachs go Diamond Meritorious for the IRS!
[TWO years ago] Scientology predictably trashes Valerie Haney’s request for state supreme court review
[THREE years ago] Scientologists use faith healing to convince fire victims they’re actually helping
[FOUR years ago] Xenu’s first public outing: Robert Kaufman’s stunning 1972 testament, ‘Inside Scientology’
[FIVE years ago] KID CORPS: When a disease outbreak brought Scientology unwanted attention
[SIX years ago] Leah Remini’s Scientology series opens with a gut-wrenching story of ‘disconnection’
[SEVEN years ago] Strange scenes from the Moscow hearing that banned Scientology yesterday
[EIGHT years ago] Jon Atack: At the heart of Scientology is L. Ron Hubbard’s paralyzing use of contradiction
[NINE years ago] Jenna Miscavige Hill on Scientology’s New Dawn: ‘I Can’t Believe People Still Buy This BS’
[TEN years ago] Scientology Leader David Miscavige Added as Defendant in Ken Dandar’s Federal Lawsuit
[ELEVEN years ago] Paulette Cooper, Scientology’s Original and Worst Nightmare: A Thanksgiving Tribute by the Village Voice

——————–

Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,858 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,363 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,913 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,903 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,794 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,099 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,969 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,074 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,547 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,863 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,429 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,348 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,516 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,096 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,358 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,394 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,109 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,674 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 989 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,164 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,715 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,846 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,184 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,039 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,158 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,514 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,817 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,923 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,321 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,197 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,780 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,275 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,529 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,638 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on November 24, 2022 at 09:00

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.

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.

Motion to strike Mike Rinder’s declaration.
Motion to strike Valeska Paris’s declaration.
Motion to strike Gawain Baxter’s declaration.
Motion to strike Laura Baxter’s declaration.
Motion to strike Florence Burke’s declaration.

How a major Scientology donor family is caught up in the Danny Masterson case

Tony Ortega — Sun, 09 Oct 2022 11:00:03 +0000

[The $10 million couple: Steve Fabos and Peggy Oppenheim-Fabos]

In court on Monday, Deputy DA Reinhold Mueller described to Judge Charlaine Olmedo one of the witnesses the prosecution plans to call in Danny Masterson’s criminal rape trial, which starts Tuesday.

Masterson is accused of forcibly raping three women between 2001 and 2003, and if he’s convicted of all three counts faces 45 years to life in prison.

The That ‘70s Show actor is a Scientology celebrity, and the three alleged victims were Scientologists when the incidents occurred, but they are no longer involved in the church today. At last year’s preliminary hearing it became clear how much Scientology would be a part of the case when Judge Olmedo allowed the women to testify that Scientology’s policies and their fear of retaliation from the church prevented them from coming forward sooner. (On Friday, we posted lengthy excerpts from her decision to allow Scientology in the trial as well.)

But there are other ways that Scientology is intertwined in the case, and today we have another example for you.

Mueller on Monday was arguing for being allowed to include what are known as “fresh complaint witnesses” in the trial, which is expected to last about a month. Fresh complaint witnesses are brought in because they would have been told about an assault by a victim around the time it happened. Their testimony would otherwise be considered hearsay, but under California law it can come into sexual assault cases under certain circumstances.

Mueller went into some interesting detail about the first of the witnesses he wants to include, and what one of the victims, known as Jane Doe 1 in the case, told the witness about a month after her attack, which she alleges occurred at Masterson’s house in the early morning hours of April 25, 2003.

Based on what Jane Doe 1 testified to at the preliminary hearing last year, and what Mueller said in court on Monday, we can piece together some interesting things about this witness and his connection to some major Scientology donors.

At the preliminary hearing, which took place in May last year, Jane Doe 1 testified that after the night of her attack, she reported the incident to the church. When she tried to describe what had happened to a Scientology “ethics” officer named Julian Swartz, he stopped her.

Jane Doe 1: I started to tell him what happened. I said, “Julian, something really bad happened. I have to talk to you.” He closed the door to a room. And I said, “I got covered in bruising. I got hurt.” All of this stuff I started to tell him, and he said, “If you’re going to say the word ‘rape,’ don’t say it now. We don’t use that word.”

All three of the alleged victims testified last year that in Scientology, it’s against policy to turn in fellow Scientologists even for serious crimes. They said they knew they would be in serious trouble if they went to the police with accusations about Masterson.

Scientology’s solution for Jane Doe 1 was to put her through about $15,000 of past-life counseling in order to find out what evil things she had done in previous incarnations that had made her a victim in this lifetime.

But then, in June 2004, she decided to defy Scientology policy and she reported the incident to the LAPD. At the prelim, she testified that when she made that report to the police, she said that the first person she told about the attack was a friend named Shaun Fabos.

“Shaun Fabos was a friend of mine, also my mother’s assistant. But I would say mostly my friend,” she testified last year.

On Monday, Mueller revealed a little more about that conversation, which occurred a few weeks after the April 2003 incident with Masterson.

Mueller: She was giving Mr. Fabos some details about the events that were occurring. She did not use the word “rape” but was giving some details about what happened. Mr. Fabos had gotten upset, got angry, because he was starting to understand what had occurred, and then said some things about — that he wanted to go and settle this with Mr. Masterson because of what he had done to her. When she started — when [Jane Doe 1] started to recognize he’s getting real upset and thinking things might escalate, she said, “Then you know what, let it be. I’m just kind of making this up.” But it was literally to de-escalate his anger at the time. That was a statement — that was a conversation that they had.

Mueller then revealed that after the new LAPD investigation began in 2016, Jane Doe 1 was instructed to make a “pretext call” to Fabos to find out what he remembered from that conversation, and to record it for the police.

Mueller: Subsequently — 2017, I want to say — there was a pretext call where she was talking to Mr. Fabos and said, “Hey, do you kind of remember when I talked to you about what happened?” and he acknowledged, “Yes, I do.” and she said, “What do you remember?” And he kind of laid it out. “I remember you coming to me. I remember you saying that, you know, you ended up going to his house and just having one drink, got in the jacuzzi.” I think he mentions all of those details in that pretext.

On Monday, Mueller informed Judge Olmedo that the prosecution intends to call Fabos to the witness stand to ask him about this.

On Tuesday, Judge Olmedo said she wanted the fresh complaint witnesses to come in only under narrow circumstances, and she indicated that there may be more discussion about them in the coming days.

Meanwhile, we find it interesting who Shaun Fabos is. He’s the son of Steve Fabos, and the two of them operate a North Hollywood music studio Shaun built that they call Fab Factory.

[Steve and Shaun Fabos at their studio]

Steve Fabos and his wife Peggy Oppenheim-Fabos are also known as major donors in Scientology.

Scientology celebrates its biggest donors with trophies and appearances in Impact magazine, and we do our best to document them and track their progress.

That’s how we can tell you that Steve and Peggy went from “Gold Meritorious With Honors” ($1.5 million) in 2017 to “Patron Laureate” ($10 million) in 2022, a very fast rise.

Meanwhile, Steve and Peggy have popped up in a lot of Scientology’s fundraising flyers recently, showing them giving dozens of “humanitarian” grants (at $100,000 each) for new “Ideal Org” projects around the country.

The couple (who are often in costume) have become so ubiquitous at fundraising events for building projects in places like Hawaii, Philadelphia, Long Island, and Battle Creek, Scientology has dubbed them the “Fabos Factor.”

We briefly reached out to Shaun Fabos in 2017, but he never got back to us. We’re still interested to learn how he feels about the situation.

The prosecution wants to put on a witness who talked to Jane Doe 1 shortly after the alleged 2003 attack, and who also happens to the be the son of one of Scientology’s biggest current donors.

That has to make Scientology leader David Miscavige uncomfortable.

——————–

Again! Scientology has seriously lost it over Mike Rinder, Valeska Paris court documents

[Valeska Paris and Mike Rinder]

Two weeks ago, we told you the situation with the labor trafficking lawsuit in Tampa federal court, and how Judge Thomas Barber told Scientology he didn’t need more briefing while he considered its latest motions intended to derail the case. Settle down, he seemed to tell them, he had everything he needed to make an informed decision.

But this is Scientology. You think they’re going to take a hint from a judge?

The lawsuit was first filed on April 28 and alleges that Valeska Paris and Gawain and Laura Baxter, all residents of Australia, were forced into the Sea Org as children, suffered neglect and harsh punishments as children and adults, and served as virtual prisoners aboard the ship.

Scientology responded by filing motions to compel arbitration, a strategy that has largely been a successful one for the church in recent years. The church says that Valeska and the Baxters signed contracts between 2003 and 2015 that obliged them not to sue but to take their grievances to Scientology’s internal form of arbitration.

Valeska and the Baxters responded with well-written briefs that included declarations by Valeska and the Baxters saying they had signed those contracts in the Sea Org under duress.

They also submitted a declaration from an expert on trafficking, Florence Burke. And maybe most irritating to the church, they filed a declaration from former spokesman Mike Rinder describing Scientology’s control of its Sea Org minions.

Scientology (or rather, church leader David Miscavige) was livid that the declarations had been attached (Mike Rinder tends to trigger them like nothing else), and they asked Judge Barber for permission to file a whole new set of replies in order to counter the declarations.

Judge Barber, essentially, told them to sit down.

“Defendants’ motions for leave to file replies are denied. If necessary to resolve the pending motions, the Court will direct the parties to file supplemental memoranda or set a hearing to further address the legal issues and arguments in this case,” he ruled.

Since then, he did set a hearing for oral arguments that both sides had asked for. It’s scheduled for November 17.

One of our legal friends, TX Lawyer, who specializes in appeals, told us that Judge Barber’s instruction to Scientology not to submit more documents might be a sign that he’s actually leaning their way and might be preparing to find for the motions to compel arbitration.

There’s a reason to suspect that might be the case: A 2013 lawsuit filed by two former Scientologists, Luis and Rocio Garcia, was forced into arbitration in the same Tampa courtroom, and it was upheld on appeal by the federal Eleventh Circuit. That seems like a fairly heavy precedent that the Baxter lawsuit must overcome.

We really don’t know what Judge Barber is going to do, but with the Garcia precedent hanging over the Tampa courthouse, and Barber telling Scientology that he had what he needed and that if he needed more information he’d ask for it, you’d think Scientology would just sit tight and prepare for the November 17 hearing, right?

Nope. Dave is clearly still seriously triggered about Mike Rinder’s entry into the case and the declarations by the others, and this week his attorneys bombed the court with seventeen new filings totaling more than 250 pages, and all aimed at striking the five declarations from the record.

And some of this stuff is just classic David Miscavige spleen.

By his own admission, Michael Rinder left the Church of Scientology in 2007, fifteen (15) years ago. Therefore, he has no personal knowledge of many of the “facts” he asserts in his declaration concerning the current organizational structure and practices of the Church. For instance, Mr. Rinder purports to describe the chain of command within the Church, but then describes his so-called experiences from 1982 to 2007. Mr. Rinder claims that RTC and Mr. Miscavige have offices in the Flag Building but provide no basis for this claim. Nor could he. The Flag building was not opened until 2013 – years after Mr. Rinder left the Church…
Since his departure from Scientology in 2007, Mr. Rinder has devoted his life to falsely and publicly attacking the Church for opportunistic ends. He has served as the co-host of an anti-Scientology cable television program and maintains a blog and, at times, a podcast for the exclusive purpose of spreading false propaganda and attacking the Scientology religion, its leadership, and adherents. In his podcast, and other media, he has referred to the ecclesiastical leader of the Scientology religion, David Miscavige, as “Kim Jong,” “Hitler,” “Stalin,” and “the emotional equivalent of Jeffrey Dahmer,” among other highly offensive, malicious and defamatory insults. He has also referred to Scientologists as “rabid vermin,” “cornered rats,” “dumbass extremises [sic, extremists],” “will lie [liars],” “brainwashed,” “perniciously evil” and “Kool Aide drinking bubble-dwellers.”

Stop, stop, Dave. Yer killing us.

From the motion to strike Valeska’s declaration, this is the paragraph that should be enshrined in the Scientology hypocrisy hall of fame:

Multiple paragraphs of the Paris Declaration must be stricken because they are improper opinion testimony regarding the doctrines, practices, and beliefs of the Scientology religion. Ms. Paris is not qualified to opine on such matters. Ms. Paris is a non-believer who has left the faith. She offers no foundation for her opinion testimony regarding the religion and its practices. For instance, she is not a religious scholar and does not claim to have held any doctrinal position when she was a member of the Sea Org.

OK, just so we’re clear, Dave: Valeska’s opinion about Scientology’s practices are not valid because she’s left the church, but that contract you forced her to sign is still valid, right?

Amazing.

Anyway, for all we know Judge Barber might not mind being paper-bombed with this dreck when he explicitly told them not to file replies, and in the end it might make no difference to what he ultimately rules.

But we still find the thought of Miscavige throwing a fit over Mike Rinder entertaining as hell.

Here are the motions to strike (the rest of the filings were joinders from the various defendants saying, essentially, “us too!”, and we’re not going to post them).

——————–

Technology Cocktail

“People, by the way, will tell you, ‘Oh, I’m not PTS.’ ‘But your father is suing the org.’ ‘Oh yes, I know, but it doesn’t bother me. Besides my illness is from something I ate last year. And I rollercoaster because I don’t like the Examiner. But I’m not PTS.’ The mystery is solved when you find they haven’t a clue what the letters mean or what the condition is, so give them a copy of HCO PL 5 Apr 72 and let them read it. If they still want to know more give them HCO PL 23 Dec 65. (Remembering it has to be Word Cleared Method 4 or he won’t have a clue even if he reads it.) We are on no campaign to rid the world of suppressives when we are handling a PTS pc. But facts are facts and tech is tech.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1972

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Programming note: Beginning tomorrow, new stories will post at 9 am Eastern (6 am Pacific, 2 pm in London)

——————–

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 as trial begins and Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.

——————–

THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— The Underground Bunker Podcast

— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see

[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf

— SPECIAL: Your Proprietor’s updates

[1] Sep 21 [2] Sep 28 [3] Oct 4

— The Underground Bunker Podcast on YouTube

[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley

——————–

“Anderson, Q.C., Melbourne inquiry. Complete gibbering psychotic idiot. Up to the gills with R-6. ‘Scientology must be wrong, because we cannot explain where all the new bodies come from. All the new spirits. Where would all the new spirits come from if everybody had a spirit, why, where would all the new spirits come from, huh?’ Actually, what he didn’t realize, this silly ass — he was disproving Catholicism. Catholicism claims there’s one spirit per body, so he was asking some silly little kid question that is asked of his own religion, Catholicism. And yet he was busy hanging Scientology because it couldn’t… You get the irrationality of it? The man occupies a perfectly valid position. He’s looked on. He’s a Queens’ consulate. Actually he’s just a gibbering idiot. You probably couldn’t even catch him to get a straight jacket on him.” — L. Ron Hubbard, October 9, 1968

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“SECURE THE PORT: We are very popular in this port. Were publicized heavily before arrival. Snap up the PR. Get out your white uniforms for watches and good clothes for the beach. Make a splash here. We’ll be here 3-4 days and will push to make it heavy PR.” — The Commodore, October 9, 1970

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“I did some paranormal abilities training before knowing about Scientology. I remember one of the first paranormal detections I did many times about Scientology: I detected that it would degrade and degenerate; but I didn’t expect it would happen so soon. I’m glad that even though the Church of Scientology has been degraded, there are people outside the church doing sane and good Scientology.”

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2000: “M” reported that Scientologists protesting at his workplace attempted to be hit by his car as a set-up for him to be arrested. “I came driving my vehicle around the corner, and as I pulled into the driveway, at the last minute, I saw this guy just standing there. I had to brake really hard to avoid hitting him, and my tires ‘chirped’ as I did this. He then stepped out of the way, and I proceeded to park and go into the office. He and another Scientologist were hanging around the office, handing out some of their negative literature. I then went outside and videotaped the two of them. I told them that it wasn’t a good idea to be standing in driveways, that it was dangerous. The second Scientologist made a remark to his friend that essentially expressed that he was disappointed that I hadn’t hit him. The Scientologists then called the Tampa Police. An officer came and spoke with them, and also with me. I told the officer ‘my side’ of the story, after he had talked with the complainant. I also showed the officer my videotape and gave him a copy for evidence. This only included tape of the conversation I had with the Scientologists, after the ‘incident’ in the driveway. The officer pointed out the remark made on the tape, but it didn’t immediately register to me what relevance it held.”

——————–

“This place is nuts, but not half as nuts as YouTube. It’s just a little bit more serious and astute and friendly.”

——————–

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Jury selection scheduled to begin October 11.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Arraigned on August 29.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff scheduled to be sentenced on Oct 28.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for October 24 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for September 19.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filed amended complaint on August 2. Hearing scheduled November 17 to argue the arbitration motions.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: February 2, 2023.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place, next status hearing October 25.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for December 6.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.

——————–

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] He was Scientology ‘I/C’ — ‘in charge’ — of Paulette Cooper’s harassment. And now he’s dead.
[TWO years ago] SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS, Episode 10: Bryan Seymour wraps up his series axed by Seven News
[THREE years ago] CLEARWATER APOCALYPSE! No, not really. But let’s help Scientology run its new board
[FOUR years ago] What it was like last night at Scientology’s Los Angeles TV ‘season’ premiere party
[FIVE years ago] BLOCKBUSTER EXCLUSIVE: It turns out the National Enquirer is blowing smoke again
[SIX years ago] EXCLUSIVE: Recent deaths of Scientology rehab staffers points to ongoing problem
[SEVEN years ago] The Scientology-Ireland connection that propelled Cathriona White to Hollywood
[EIGHT years ago] Ryan Hamilton files two more federal lawsuits against Scientology’s drug rehab network
[NINE years ago] Anonymous and Craigslist: Proof that Scientology Knows It’s Under Attack

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Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,812 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,317 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,867 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,857 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,748 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,053 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,923 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,028 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,501 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,817 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,383 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,302 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,470 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,050 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,312 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,348 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,063 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,628 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 943 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,118 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,669 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,800 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,138 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,993 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,112 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,468 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,771 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,877 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,275 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,151 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,734 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,229 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,483 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,592 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on October 9, 2022 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.

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.

Double storms hit Scientology: Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Mike Rinder

Tony Ortega — Thu, 29 Sep 2022 11:00:46 +0000

With all of their purported super powers, the OTs of Scientology were unable to fend off a double-bullseye yesterday as the church was rocked by two very different kinds of storms.

In New York, on Tuesday evening we were surprised that we got to have dinner with former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder on the very day his new book — A Billion Years: My Escape from a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology — was published by Simon & Schuster (see our review here, if you haven’t already). We were surprised because we knew he was inundated with media requests and we figured we wouldn’t even be able to get a word in edgewise with him until the dust settled.

But it turned out that he had come into town a little early and he actually had some free time. So we met in midtown for a great Italian meal with a delicious side dish of Scientology chisme.

While we can’t divulge much from that conversation, we can tell you what Mike himself told us over pasta because he also revealed it at his blog: His scheduled appearance on Wednesday morning on CBS was scrapped.

Because of storm coverage, we asked?

No, because Scientology’s attorneys had been rattling their sabers.

Say what?

So, some 15 years after Mike Rinder came out of Scientology, some 13 years after he began going public with what he had seen while in its ranks as a high-ranking executive, seven years after he appeared in HBO’s Going Clear, and after three seasons of the Emmy-winning A&E series Scientology and the Aftermath (2016-2019) — all of which resulted in zero lawsuits from Scientology — and after Simon & Schuster, one of the country’s biggest and most powerful publishers put Mike’s book in stores around the country, CBS was shuddered into silence by David Miscavige’s legal chihuahuas.

It’s stunning, it really is. Come on, CBS, stiffen that spine and air the interview.

Meanwhile, in Florida, Scientology was being hit with another whammy as Hurricane Ian slammed into Florida not too far from Clearwater and Scientology’s spiritual mecca, the Flag Land Base. We are waiting for damage reports, and we are hoping to hear from a number of our readers in the area to make sure that they are OK.

But our readers brought to our attention a news story from the area that seemed to capture Scientology’s arrogance and cluelessness at the same time.

It was a labor journalist who first published communications from Postcardmania CEO Joy Gendusa that the Clearwater mail-order business would work through the hurricane, and that she expected employees not only to be at their desks but also to bring their kids and pets to the building in case they were, you know, worrying about dying or something.

Vice then picked up the story and had a ball with it, pointing out that once the news had gotten out that Gendusa’s insane company memo was rapidly going viral the company announced that the business would actually be closed and that they simply meant the building could be used as a shelter. (Yeah, sure.)

And then Creative Loafing Tampa Bay added the delicious final layer to the story: Gendusa, of course, is a well known Scientologist in the area, and Postcardmania is known as a sort of employment agency for Scientologists living near the base.

We thought Stefani Hutchison’s droll observation about the situation said it best…

Ah, Scientology it will never change. At a time when its spiritual headquarters was facing an existential threat, it was expecting employees to stay at their desks, while they were dispatching their attorneys to New York to go after the hurricane hitting them from Simon & Schuster.

Well, CBS may have blanched, but Megyn Kelly didn’t, who had Rinder on her SiriusXM two-hour show, and Mike will be giving plenty of other interviews to media with more sand than CBS.

We can’t wait to hear about more fallout.

And to our Florida readers, please do check in and let us know that you’re OK. We rode out Wilma in 2005 in Fort Lauderdale, and it was no joke. Keep safe out there.

——————–

Technology Cocktail

“[TR 0 Bullbait] HISTORY: Developed by L. Ron Hubbard in Washington in March 1957 to train students to confront preclears in the absence of social tricks or conversation and to overcome obsessive compulsions to be ‘interesting.’ Revised by L. Ron Hubbard April 1961 on finding that S.O.P. Goals required for its success a much higher level of technical skill than earlier processes. Revised by L. Ron Hubbard in August 1971 after research discoveries on TRs.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1971

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Now available: Bonus for our supporters

Episode 14 of the Underground Bunker podcast has been sent out to paid subscribers: We check in with Clearwater city councilman Mark Bunker about Scientology’s latest attempts to sabotage progress there. Meanwhile, we’ve made episodes 1 through 13 available to everyone, with such guests as Jesse Prince, Paulette Cooper, Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan, Jefferson Hawkins, Patty Moher, Geoff Levin, Pete Griffiths, Sunny Pereira, Bruce Hines, Jeffrey Augustine, and Claire Headley. Go here to get the episodes!

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Now with no restrictions: Our podcast series on the Scientology docuseries that never aired

In five episodes, we recently looked at something we’ve been curious about for several years: The potentially explosive television show, produced by Sirens Media, that would have featured L. Ron Hubbard great-grandson Jamie DeWolf as its presenter, and that would have taken an active look at the families ripped apart by Scientology’s “disconnection” policy. Unfortunately, even though the series was ready to air on the A&E network in 2016, it never has. Our podcast series turned out even better than we were hoping, and we’ve made all five episodes available to everyone.

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“The history of Guk should be known to you. For a long time we had been scouting for the one-shot Clear, whereby a person walks in, you take a hypodermic syringe and shoot it in his arm, he goes up against the ceiling and comes down Clear. And we had been talking about this for some time as something feasible. Around 15 July 1950 a chemical engineer (the ex-director of research at the Bloch Chemical Company) told us about an atropine derivative that might be used.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 29, 1950

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BULL: Do not snort suddenly behind Peter Gilham. It is a tender subject. Not every day does one get plowed 15 feet down the street by a made 1,000 lb. Bull! The main damage was hurt feelings. A general good time was had by all.” — The Commodore, September 29, 1970

——————–

“We have great news — the Theta-Meter app for Apple Watch has been released. Now you don’t even need the phone to do auditing. Happy owners of bluetooth Theta-Meter e-meter, you can download Theta-Meter Watch program to your Apple Watch in the AppStore!”

——————–

1997: German Life magazine’s latest issue carries an article on the controversy over Scientology in Germany. “To explain the furious hostility between Germany and the Church of Scientology, German officials might point to the story of a young man from Braunschweig named Jurgen Behrndt. Shortly before his graduation from technical school in 1989, Behrndt received an offer of free career counseling in a brochure from an employment agent in Hamburg. But the man turned out to be a Scientologist recruiter, and instead of employment advice, he gave Behrndt a copy of the Scientologists’ Bible, ‘Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health.’ Then a woman from the Scientologists’ Hamburg office began calling, Behrndt said, and pressuring him to take a 200-question personality test. He did, beginning a six-year membership with the group, an endless series of ‘audits’ of his mental health and classes to ‘stabilize’ his mind. ‘When things went well, I paid evermore money out of my pocket,’ Behrndt recalled. ‘When things went poorly, I was insulted and rebuked.’ In Behrndt’s first year of membership, Scientology officials visited his parents with him seeking a DM 75,000 ($50,250) loan toward his activities. By the time he broke from the group in 1995, Behrndt had spent some DM 200,000 ($134,000), was unemployed and emotionally ravaged: ‘Many days I saw no reason to even get up.’ ‘We have to be more sensitive of these radical, undemocratic movements,’ said the German embassy official. ‘After all, we had a very bad experience with such a movement 60 years ago.’ Hubbard’s writings call for ‘a civilization without insanity, without criminals, and without war, where the able can prosper and honest beings can have rights, and where man is free to rise to greater heights.’ This contrasts wildly with the experience of Albert Anhut from the city of Hamburg: ‘Friends of mine landed in the gutter, began to booze, and became very sick.’ A 36-year-old graphic designer, Anhut says he lost DM 50,000 ($33,500) to Scientology in two years. ‘They had easy play with me,’ he lamented. ‘You give money, work, and effort for something that turns out to be a deceitful, empty lie.'”

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“More people are killed by domestic pigs around the world annually than are killed by sharks.”

——————–

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

— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for October 24 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for September 19.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filed amended complaint on August 2.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: February 2, 2023.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place, next status hearing October 25. Scientology petitioning US Supreme Court over appellate ruling.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for December 6.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.

——————–

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.

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Appeals court moves back hearing, and asks if Scientology arbitration is ‘neutral’
[TWO years ago] Leah Remini podcast: Attorney Ray Jeffrey on Marty Rathbun’s betrayal
[THREE years ago] Who had the biggest booth at the Black Caucus DC confab this month? Scientology, that’s who.
[FOUR years ago] Inside Jesse Prince’s book about Scientology: Doing L. Ron Hubbard’s dirty work
[FIVE years ago] Turning hurricane chaos into gold? Scientology might learn something from L. Ron Hubbard
[SIX years ago] ‘The Unbreakable Miss Lovely’ audiobook on sale, and we’re doing a Reddit AMA at noon
[SEVEN years ago] O Canada: We’re in Vancouver today, getting our British Columbia on. Let’s talk Scientology!
[EIGHT years ago] Jon Atack takes his presentation — ‘Scientology: The Cult of Greed’ — to Russia
[NINE years ago] Sunday Funnies: Nothing But Unstoppable Scientology Expansion in Every Direction!
[TEN years ago] Michael Lewis (Johnny’s Dad) Scheduled for Scientology Event Tonight
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology High School, Dating, and Super Powers! A Post-Countdown Roundup

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Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,802 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,307 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,857 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,847 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,738 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,043 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,913 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,018 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,491 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,807 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,373 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,292 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,460 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,040 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,302 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,338 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,053 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,618 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 933 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,108 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,659 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,790 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,128 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,983 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,102 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,458 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,761 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,867 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,265 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,141 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,724 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,219 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,473 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,582 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on September 29, 2022 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.

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.

Mike Rinder’s ‘A Billion Years’: A gripping takedown of Scientology and its leader

Tony Ortega — Wed, 28 Sep 2022 11:00:36 +0000

There are many books about Scientology now, including some put out by major publishers. If you wanted a robust history of where Scientology has been over many decades, you could turn to Lawrence Wright’s Going Clear, or the earlier, deeply researched investigations by Russell Miller (Bare-Faced Messiah) or Jon Atack (A Piece of Blue Sky).

If you wanted to know what it was like to work in the rarefied heights of Scientology’s Sea Org, you could pick up titles by Amy Scobee (Abuse at the Top) or Marc Headley (Blown for Good) or Janis Gillham Grady (Commodore’s Messenger) or Jefferson Hawkins (Counterfeit Dreams). And if you wanted to understand what it was like to go from one of Scientology’s most useful supporters to one of its biggest critics, you could read the personal stories of Leah Remini (Troublemaker) or Ron Miscavige Sr (Ruthless).

So where does the new book from former Scientology spokesman Mike Rinder — A Billion Years: My Escape from a Life in the Highest Ranks of Scientology, released yesterday from Simon & Schuster — fall in that cluttered landscape of histories, tell-alls, and escape narratives?

We’d argue that not only is it a terrific and enlightening book, but it also inhabits a somewhat unique position in the literature that has come before it: Perhaps no other book has managed to put together all of those perspectives in a single volume.

A fast read and yet incredibly comprehensive, Rinder’s book covers a vast amount of material as he grew up in Australia in a family that were among the earliest adopters of L. Ron Hubbard’s snake oil, Dianetics. He then personally witnessed virtually every important development in the Church of Scientology from the mid-1960s onward.

And Rinder was not only a witness. Few people have been in a better position to observe current leader David Miscavige take over Scientology after Hubbard’s 1986 death and then mold it into his own merciless and totalitarian force, for the simple reason that, as Rinder explains in some detail, he was often the person carrying out those merciless plans for his diminutive boss.

But first, he had to negotiate growing up in a town, Adelaide, where Scientologists were not only rare but also seen with suspicion. When his family made the pilgrimage to Hubbard’s headquarters in the UK in 1967, Rinder blended in easily, getting to know Hubbard’s own children, who were about his age. In ensuing years, he continued his Zelig-like rise in the organization, being the right guy at the right time, joining Hubbard’s navy then sailing the Mediterranean and Atlantic.

On a trip we made to Florida a decade ago, Rinder told us in an interview about the infamous “rock concert” incident in Madeira, when the locals took Hubbard and his strange ship for a CIA operation and tossed rocks at them until they sailed away for safety. In the book, Rinder gives a vivid rendition of the incident, which stranded him on the island and nearly made him the target of an angry mob.

And so it went for the young Sea Org operative as he rose in the ranks: Rinder repeatedly found himself in a position where he was fending off the attacks of the outside world, while doing his best to justify and resolve himself to the madness and contradictions in Scientology itself. Rinder knows that, while he describes one insane situation after another, and as he and other dedicated Sea Org soldiers were put through humiliating punishments and endless deprivations, the reader will repeatedly wonder, what kept you in? Why did you put up with it? Why didn’t you run away? And Rinder, maybe better than anyone before him, spends considerable time not only explaining what he did in Scientology, but what was going through his mind that kept him a loyal Miscavige foot soldier for so many years.

And it didn’t come without enormous personal cost. Rinder frames his book by placing it in the context of losing his adult children Taryn and Benjamin to the organization, and never tries to excuse the way he had been an absent parent in the Sea Org way. Since his defection from the organization in 2007, Scientology has viciously attacked him using his own children, primarily Taryn, who keeps up a bogus campaign blaming Rinder for supposedly causing her mother a horrible arm injury that seems to get worse every year.

Rinder has taken pains to explain the bizarre ambush by his former wife and other Sea Org officials that took place in the parking lot of a doctor’s office while Rinder was on the phone with BBC reporter John Sweeney. (We even published the audio from that encounter here at the Bunker back in 2014.) There’s simply no question that the slight injury his ex-wife received was judged “incidental contact” by the local sheriff’s office, and that Scientology is merely following the L. Ron Hubbard playbook by calling Rinder a “wife beater.”

Rinder opens the book with a letter to his two estranged children, and that device creates a tension that hangs over the entire book. While we’re drawn through this fast-paced adventure and look forward to learning how Rinder finally escaped from the madness in Scientology, we know from the start that it’s not going to have a happy ending.

Along the way, for this longtime Scientology watcher, Rinder recites a history that we already had some familiarity with, but with new details that we found absolutely fascinating. From the reorganization of Scientology following the 1977 FBI raid which was the agency’s largest in its history at that time, to Hubbard’s final years in hiding and who was with him, to Miscavige’s moves to take over as undisputed strong man, to the years of effort to wrestle the IRS to its knees in 1993, Rinder has brilliant new personal insights that help complete the picture of this evolution.

And yes, Rinder was also a personal witness to Miscavige’s obsession with celebrities and Tom Cruise in particular. You may have seen the excerpt published last week at the Daily Beast, which contained such morsels as Rinder’s experience showing Michael Jackson around the Hubbard Life Exhibition in Hollywood, or showing Barbara Walters around the New York org as a prerequisite to her getting an interview with Cruise. Rinder also saw John Travolta kiss his male massage therapist on the mouth, and he says that a soccer field was built at Int Base in California in an attempt to lure David Beckham into the church. You’ll be hearing plenty about those things from the tabloids. But even Rinder himself, at his website, acknowledged that the celebrity stuff was not the point of his book.

More interesting to us, for example, was Rinder’s description of the operations run by the organization he oversaw, the Office of Special Affairs, Scientology’s secret police and PR wing, which went after enemies and pursued scorched-earth litigation with an army of lawyers.

When Scientology was in a particularly bad spot after the 1995 death of a parishioner named Lisa McPherson, Rinder was dispatched to Clearwater, Florida to run the lawyers who were defending the church in criminal and civil cases stemming from her demise. He then had to deal with an upstart New England businessman, Bob Minton, who had decided to spend a large part of his personal fortune leading a protest effort over McPherson’s death by opening a storefront just down the block from Scientology’s holiest spot, the Fort Harrison Hotel.

When Rinder’s efforts were successful and Minton finally cried uncle and agreed to a settlement with Scientology, Rinder says that Miscavige was upset that his wife Shelly, who was in charge of the operation, didn’t manage to get a personal payment of a half million dollars to Miscavige out of Minton, something the lawyers advised was a terrible idea. Rinder wonders if Shelly’s inability to get her husband this kickback may have helped motivate him to banish her a few years later, in 2005. (In general, however, Rinder still agrees with us that Shelly is, to this day, being held at the Church of Spiritual Technology headquarters in a small mountain compound near Lake Arrowhead, California, and his book doesn’t offer any new revelations about that.)

Despite his handling of Minton and many other matters for the church, Rinder repeatedly found that his loyalty was rewarded with increasingly harrowing punishments from Miscavige, who was always looking for ways to prove that he was top dog. This led to the creation of “The Hole” at Scientology’s secretive Int Base in early 2004, as an increasingly paranoid Miscavige created a bizarre office-as-prison for his top lieutenants, including longtime colleagues who had been among his best friends. Rinder himself ended up in The Hole, and so he can personally describe its depravations.

But he was pulled out again when Miscavige needed him for a special operation: Handling the BBC’s John Sweeney, who was proving to be too much for the young new international church spokesman, Tommy Davis, son of Oscar-nominated actress and longtime Scientologist Anne Archer. Miscavige then personally directed Rinder and Davis to harass and surveil Sweeney as he was filming his 2007 special about the church. And we know this not only because Rinder says so (and the church, of course, will put out numerous denials as this book comes out), but he has long had proof of it: Actual texts from Miscavige that were on Rinder’s Blackberry when he made his escape later that year. Those texts have been entered as evidence in court, and Scientology did not dispute their authenticity.

That’s important, because it backs up Rinder’s assertion that Miscavige is not only a ruthless micromanager and sadistic meddler in the lives of the people under him, but also that far from the “ecclesiastical leader” image the church tries to put out, Miscavige is a foul-mouthed thug. It’s right there in his texts.

When Rinder finally got out of the Sea Org and then began finding a way to make a living in a modern world he had never really been a part of before (and that in itself is a fascinating story, the details of which we had never really heard before), he gradually began coming around to the idea that he must dedicate himself to exposing Miscavige and the insane cruelty of Scientology, and he begins talking to journalists and the FBI.

It’s at that point, however, that Scientology then begins targeting him with the same cruel vindictiveness that he’s seen it aim at others, and it goes immediately for the jugular: His relationship with his mother, still a Scientologist in Australia, as well as what little connection he still has with his children.

Like it would be for so many other former Scientologists, Rinder would now have his lifelong loyalty to the idea that Scientology was based on the betterment of mankind pitted against the reality that this bullying, ruthless organization was now spending vast resources to destroy him.

We remember interviewing Rinder a few years later, and we can personally attest that at that time (March 2012), he was still somewhat protective of Hubbard and the subject of Scientology itself. In that interview, for example, he didn’t hesitate telling us his “OT” level and that he was still doing Scientology, but outside the church. Later, at his blog, Rinder obviously went through a period of rethinking Hubbard and the subject of Scientology (which, tellingly, he now insists on not capitalizing). Now, we learn that it was reading Miller’s Bare-Faced Messiah, the first, and still the best, full biography of Hubbard, that finally convinced Rinder that the founder was always selling deceptive nonsense.

This also became clear as he and Leah Remini took on the subject in their groundbreaking and Emmy-winning series for A&E, Scientology and the Aftermath. If a bit slowly at first, after the first season the duo eviscerated Hubbard and the subject of his “technology” in multiple episodes.

So, where does that leave Rinder today? Still in pain over the loss of his adult children, but grateful to have met another former Sea Org worker, Christie Collbran and her young son Shane, which resulted in a marriage that has given Shane a younger brother, Jack. With his new family, the promise of his partnership with Remini, and his new book, Rinder has found a way to turn all of the pain and insanity of his years in Sea Org, and the loss of his first family, into a fulfilling journey dedicated to exposing Miscavige and his toxic organization that deserves to be investigated by the federal government. In this, Rinder’s book succeeds brilliantly.

As much as we found this to be an enormously satisfying book with a lot of great new information, we know that there will be some readers who see it differently. While Rinder goes into rich detail about the way he and Christie were harassed and surveilled in the years after Rinder first began talking to the media in 2009, former targets of the Office of Special Affairs under Rinder may be left wondering whether there might have been a similar amount of detail in his book about their operations from OSA’s former director.

We expect that such OSA targets as Gerry Armstrong and Dennis Erlich and Jesse Prince, who are all mentioned in the book, will be left wanting more information about the specific ways that OSA made their lives miserable literally for years as they were targeted for destruction by Scientology. Yes, Rinder covers an incredible amount of information in this book and we’re fortunate that he touches on so many fascinating chapters from Scientology’s history. But expect to hear complaints from OSA’s past victims that its former boss still hasn’t come through with enough detail about the spying, the illegal tactics, and the skullduggery done against them in the name of L. Ron Hubbard and David Miscavige.

As it is, however, the general reader should not come away with anything but astonishment that such a vicious, vengeful, and dishonest organization is still doing business in the United States. And perhaps Rinder’s well written book will help convince someone in a position of authority to finally do something about it.

We can only hope.

——————–

We’re celebrating a little anniversary in the Bunker this morning. Yes, it’s been ten years since we started up this website, and we can hardly believe it’s been a decade already.

We’ve had so much fun over that time, live-blogging court cases, for example, in California, Texas, Florida, and New York. Those days are always milestones. But we’re especially fortunate to have such a great commenting community. It’s what keeps us going.

So we’d like to hear what your highlights have been over the last decade. A HowdyCon? A court day? Some wild conversation in the comments section? Let us know.

We’re starting out our eleventh year preparing to cover perhaps the biggest court case we’ve ever watched, the Danny Masterson prosecution in Los Angeles, and we are so looking forward to having you along.

——————–

“The faults I find with Scientologists is they very often will see somebody fall on his head, get run over by a truck, and do some kind of a light touch assist and say ‘That’s that.’ And then wonder why the guy is limping. And then they sort of say, ‘Scientology doesn’t work.’ Man, I’ve got a word for you. That auditor is afraid of work. Do you see?” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 28, 1968

——————–

“ETHICS: The following are Fair Game for the current week for No Report of their stats. John Wiley, Kristina Brorson, Vicky Alpe, Janice Tidman, Geary Titus, Wayne Alkire, Robert Williamson, Ron Straus, Dekki Le.” — Lt. Jeff Walker, Ship Stats, September 28, 1970

——————–

“I was always aghast at many Scientologists’ willingness to accept verbal tech and policy or the staff’s willingness to follow illegal orders. Most ‘Scientologists’ including many ‘OTs’ are untrained morons and thus are vacuums for verbal tech and policy and false data. Most staff these days haven’t even completed Staff Status II, never mind any actual hatting. Then of course there is what they call ‘Instant Hatting’ which was supposed to be a temporary solution but has become an excuse for verbal policy and tech. Worse there is false tech and policy included like GAT and such things as ‘Message to Garcia’ and so called ‘SRAs’ and what are called ‘Seances’ which are straight out of Communist China’s Cultural Revolution and what was called Brain Washing.”

——————–

1996: The Conan O’Brian show ran a sketch introducing Johnson, the Scientology Chicken. A portion of the transcript: “Conan: I’d like to introduce a new character to the show. I’ve never met him but he’s sure to be a favorite of kids everywhere. Please welcome folks, our cartoon friend, Johnson the Chicken! Johnson: Hi Conan. Yeah, I hope you’re having a cluckarific day! Every day can be a cluckarific day if you follow the path set down by my hero, L. Ron Hubbard. Conan: What? Johnson: L. Ron Hubbard, the visionary genius who wrote Dianetics. Conan: Yeah, I know, the Scientology guy. Johnson: The CHURCH of Scientology Conan! Conan: Look Johnson, let’s change the subject all right? You’re a cartoon happy guy. Tell the kids just how are you. Johnson: Well, kids, I was depressed, ineffective at work and only using 20% of my brain capacity. But then, I took a personality test in a storefront church and read DIANETICS! Conan: Look, don’t you have a story for the kids? C’mon! Johnson: Can it be about – SCIENTOLOGY? Conan: No! It cant’ be about Scientology! C’mon! Let’s make this fun! C’mon!”

——————–

“Human rights education brought to you by slave labor and the church of ironictology.”

——————–

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Trial scheduled for October 11.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Arraigned on August 29.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff scheduled to be sentenced on Oct 28.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for October 24 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for September 19.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filed amended complaint on August 2.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: February 2, 2023.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place, next status hearing October 25. Scientology petitioning US Supreme Court over appellate ruling.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for December 6.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.

——————–

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.

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientology’s personality test is a hit on TikTok: Can David Miscavige capitalize on it?
[TWO years ago] Hip, hip hooray! Scientology success stories you weren’t meant to see
[THREE years ago] Answering Scientology’s smears with truth: Phil Jones takes a STAND
[FOUR years ago] US Government ‘adopts’ Russian Scientologist in religious rights protest
[FIVE years ago] ‘Aftermath’ fan gets into party at Scientology’s ‘Int Base,’ brings Karen Pressley’s book along
[SIX years ago] DRONE FLYOVER: First images of Scientology’s Gold Rush mine in California
[SEVEN years ago] If it’s Monday, it must be Seattle: Let’s talk Scientology!
[EIGHT years ago] Celebrating two years in the Bunker: Jonny Jacobsen on Russia, and Sunday Funnies!
[NINE years ago] Blood Relation, Blood Ritual: A Hubbard Family Occult Mystery
[TEN years ago] Talking About The Master on Public Radio
[ELEVEN years ago] The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology, No. 1: L. Ron Hubbard

——————–

Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,801 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,306 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,856 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,846 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,737 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,042 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,912 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,017 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,490 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,806 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,372 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,291 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,459 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,039 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,301 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,337 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,052 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,617 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 932 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,107 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,658 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,789 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,127 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,982 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,101 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,457 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,760 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,866 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,264 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,140 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,723 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,218 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,472 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,581 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on September 28, 2022 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.

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.

Jon Atack and Mike Rinder on Scientology’s wackiest book: ‘A History of Man’

Jon Atack — Sun, 04 Jul 2021 11:00:58 +0000

We’re very glad that Jon and Mike have taken on this awesome task, and you might also look at the fun we had when we read this most insane of Scientology textbooks with biologist PZ Myers in 2013. Now, here’s Jon’s introduction to today’s video, which is worth the price of admission all on its own.

When I last chatted with Mike Rinder, he suggested that we discuss Scientology’s founding text, Scientology: A History of Man. In the comments section, several people endorsed this crazy idea, so I had to read the damn book. In doing so, I realized that it is almost forty years since I read a Scientology (or Dianetics) book from cover to cover. It will be the last. It was an endurance test, and, if I hadn’t agreed to the chat with Mike, I would have put this bizarre and silly book down after the first page.

Perhaps a little background is pertinent. In 1952, down on his luck after the collapse and bankruptcy of the Dianetic Foundations, Hubbard set about creating Scientology. To escape prosecution for practicing medicine without a license and to side-step the massive debts his princely lifestyle had generated, Hubbard had signed over all of his rights in Dianetics to oil man Don Purcell. He had to find a new name and a new technique, which took only a few days.

Hubbard College started out across town from the bankrupt Dianetic Foundation in Wichita, Kansas. After “inadvertently” acquiring the address printing plates from the latter organization (about 40 pounds weight), Hubbard bombarded the mailing list with more than 30 letters complaining about Purcell (a “monied montebank”, sic) and his own debilitated state – “My bank account is $0.02”. Nonetheless, he boasted new and infinitely superior techniques that, as ever, would fulfill all needs. He started to air a mixture of ideas from science fiction and his prime guru Aleister Crowley (my “Possible Origins of Dianetics and Scientology” expands on Jeff Jacobsen’s excellent work) and picked up the word Scientology – used forty years earlier to mean “pseudo-science” and twenty years earlier to mean Nazi Aryan race craziness. The first mention of indwelling “entities” and a fixation with electronics characterize this period.

Hubbard hit the ground running on 25 February with the “whole track lectures” where he expanded his ideas into what both he and Crowley before him called “past lives,” giving a “Summary of Aberrative Incidents (before time begins…).” A few days later, he first used the word “Scientology” and gave the first demonstration of the Mathison electrometer, which would soon become the Hubbard electrometer.

As part of the sales promotion for the E-meter, Hubbard wrote, “With the advent of the 1952 dianetic techniques, your electropsychometer became a tool so vital in processing that I actually do not know how an auditor can work without one; and know certainly that an auditor who does try to work without one sacrifices the reality of his preclear [client], and at the very minimum quadruples the amount of time he should put on the case.” (How to “sacrifice the reality” of a preclear is not explained.)

Hubbard worked fervently, ignoring the Dianetic debacle. In May, John Campbell Jr, the man who two years before had been Hubbard’s chief publicist, complained, “In a healthy and growing science, there are many men who are recognized as being competent in the field, and no one man dominates the work…. To the extent Dianetics is dependent on one man, it is a cult. To the extent it is built on many minds and many workers it is a science.”

Despite a barrage of publicity, many followers had been shaken by the scandal of Hubbard’s divorce and the antagonism he had roused in many of those who’d helped him (and the barrels of cash he’d managed to squander). From 150,000 book sales in 1950, Hubbard was only able to persuade 38 people to fork out the $500 for the Philadelphia “Doctorate” Course, in December of 1952.

Although Hubbard would assert that people leave because of guilt at their transgressions (“overts”), he frequently “blew.” He rarely stayed in one place for any length of time, such were his “overts.” May found the Hubbard College in Phoenix, Arizona. This is where, his abandoned but doting firstborn, Ron Jr or “Nibs” turned up.

Nibs would be his father’s right-hand man – and enforcer – for seven years. In a few weeks, the eighteen-year-old was Director of Training and Chief Instructor. He was also enlisted in the latest research program – to write a “factual and cold-blooded account” of our “last sixty trillion years” (or “seventy-six trillion” in the Miscavige edition of 2007 – the text does veer into “70-74 trillion” and “76 trillion”).

Nibs, his dad and his newly married stepmom, Mary Sue (who was only three years his senior) took handfuls of amphetamines and examined their “whole track” – the complete history of their existence since the beginning of time.

This awesome project took a mere two weeks. An 89-page mimeographed (old school photocopied) book called What to Audit began the printed outpourings of Scientology. The book would later be
restyled, Scientology: A History of Man.

Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health had confidently claimed success in 273 cases having found “the single and sole source of aberration,” among a host of claims – resilience against the common cold, cures for asthma and tuberculosis, an IQ hike of 50 points, and the ability to do a computation which a “normal would do in half an hour, in ten or fifteen seconds.” It also claimed a cure for all psychoses, neuroses, psychosomatic ills (70 percent of all ailments), compulsions, repressions and irrational behavior. Now, What to Audit blew all of that away (the following is in capitals in the book, but I don’t want to shout at you – imagine Hubbard shouting, if you must):

The auditor who insists on auditing the current lifetime only [as DMSMH advocates], when he has the whole track techniques is available, is wasting time and effort and is, in fact, swindling his preclear [client].” So much for Dianetics.

So, there’s the preamble. Learn all about the Boo Hoo aka Grim Weeper, the Jack-in-a-Box and how Mike Rinder and I use mirrors to avoid being driven into apathy by electronic glare fights.

— Jon Atack

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On this day of declaring independence, we want to hear about your own fight for freedom

Here in the United States we are celebrating our independence, and we hope you are too, wherever you are.

As usual, we mark Independence Day by asking readers to tell us about their own declarations of freedom from Scientology indoctrination. What first led you to question your involvement in the organization? How did you negotiate the tricky path of leaving if you still had family members in?

If you’ve told us before about how you left Scientology, what’s changed for you in the last year or two? Has your conception of your Scientology experience changed over time? Would you have done things differently to leave the group if you could?

And for the never-ins, tell us which of the escape stories you find most illustrative, most exciting, most devastating.

And maybe most importantly, what advice can you offer to those under-the-radar types who today are sneaking a peek at this website as they consider whether it’s time, finally, for them to declare their own independence and dissolve the bands which have connected them to David Miscavige and the Church of Scientology?

— The Proprietor

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“Moral codes are solutions to problems which aren’t announced. And you can therefore define a moral code, technically. A moral code is a series of solutions to problems which have not been confronted or analyzed. And you get upset about moral codes. ‘Thou shalt not drink pitchers of milk after three P.M. before thy parents,’ or something like this. Do you realize that almost all of those commandments which are in the Bible at this particular time, that we call the Ten Commandments, are prompted by some obsessive crimes that existed at that state of the game, and that several of these commandments are solutions to venereal disease? Isn’t that interesting? I think it’s fascinating.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 4, 1961

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“RADIO NEWS: I don’t know what happened to our daily radio news and ALSO why we use radio news. There’s nothing much on it. Recent radio news was carefully censored of all major actions. US news magazines and Herald Tribune headlines are available daily in the port. (By the way, the Manson trial prosecutor says Manson said nothing about Scn and was worlds away from it and BBC is sweating to find out WHO said it on their pgm! Fair shook them. Our PR people are all over them and our legal is sharpening up an axe. BBC has stuck its neck out a half mile.)” — The Commodore, July 4, 1971

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“Exterior with full perception may be a false goal. Consider that it takes agreement with the physical universe to see and feel it. As we go up the bridge we have less and less agreement with the physical universe and more and more we are in a creative band, creating something in the physical universe, or just for others to see. While it is delightful, while exterior to ‘feel’ a wall as it feeds its solidity back to you, I just do not understand why the goal of exterior with full perception was so important to LRH. Does anyone besides me really care if I am exterior with full perception, or not? Not really. They care about who I am and maybe what I am doing. Being exterior with full perception, does that really help clear the planet, or is it just a first dynamic ego trip?”

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2000: Cinema magazine published an interview with Scientology celebrity Tom Cruise. “CINEMA: It could be read recently in the U.S. press that you wanted to leave the Scientology Church. Can you comment on that? CRUISE: Look, people make mistakes. If you read the counter-presentations in certain magazines, you’ll see what I mean. CINEMA: What advantages do you see in your membership in Scientology which is controversial in the media? CRUISE: I know that sometimes the media plays havoc, especially outside the USA. No belief is free from the hate of intolerant people who, luckily, only make up a minority of people. Actually, my religion has already helped me much – in private life and in work. Nevertheless, I hope that people judge me based on my films, regardless of which church I belong to.”

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“There aren’t enough Scientologists left in the world to fill a sports arena, let alone a stadium.”

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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 August 9. Trial tentatively scheduled for early November.
— 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 August 21 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: June 18 pretrial conference delayed until July 9.

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 to US Supreme Court submitted on May 26. Scientology responded on June 25.
— 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.
— 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: Third 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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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.