Over at the Daily Beast today we have a story looking back at Scientology’s reaction to the 9-11 attacks in New York for the 20th anniversary of that infamous day. In the story, we featured Bruce Hines, who was actually on [...]]]>

Over at the Daily Beast today we have a story looking back at Scientology’s reaction to the 9-11 attacks in New York for the 20th anniversary of that infamous day. In the story, we featured Bruce Hines, who was actually on the roof of the New York org that morning when the attacks began. His work at Ground Zero aiding first responders had a profound effect on him and led him, two years later, to ditch Scientology altogether. But making that decision was just the beginning of an amazing story, and he tells it himself in this gripping narrative.

 
It started on the 19th of April, 2003. I was living in Manhattan in an apartment just off 51st and 9th. The short version is that I walked out of that apartment carrying just a few personal belongings, walked up to Port Authority on 42nd Street (went in a back entrance), travelled by bus to Denver, and started a new life.

OK, so how do I start filling in some of the details? Well, that day was a Saturday. I had the morning until noon to get breakfast, clean the apartment, wash my clothes at a nearby laundromat, maybe buy some shampoo or toothpaste, maybe get a haircut, and get ready for work. The rest of the week, and every week, I had to work from 8:30 A.M. until about 11:00 P.M., Sunday through Friday, with 30 minutes for lunch and 30 minutes for dinner. Meals were eaten in the communal mess hall, located in a converted office building on 48th between 8th and 9th Avenues.

You see, I was in a cult. What’s more, I was a member of the innermost part of the cult, made up of those most dedicated to the cause. Those members joined this inner organization, called the Sea Org, for one billion years. We even had to sign a contract to that effect. Our beliefs included the idea that we would be born again in a new body in our next life, and so on lifetime after lifetime, and in all those future lives we would remain Sea Org members. The founder of this cult said that it would take about a billion years for us to carry out our mission – to clear, or de-aberrate, this sector of the galaxy. We would start with Earth and then move on to other planets. Sounds reasonable, right?

Planet Earth was a hard one to have to start with. It was a prison and a dumping ground for other space civilizations. Almost all the people on Earth did not remember that they originally had lived in other parts of the universe. They had been given mental implants to make them forget. So our world was thought to have the dregs of the cosmos as its inhabitants, making the place especially crazy. We Sea Org members really had our work cut out for us. Because of the enormity of our task, we were expected to work very hard for very long hours with no time off. After all, the salvation of Earth depended on us and us alone.

For this reason, we were only given a few hours every Saturday morning to take care of our “personal hygiene.” The people I worked with looked forward to this interlude. The rest of the time one was nearly constantly around other Sea Org members. We had all been indoctrinated to keep an eye on each other and make written reports if any failings were observed in another member. One couldn’t complain or protest or express disagreements without being dealt with by the Ethics Department. As a result, everyone was careful to try to follow the extensive policies that had been laid out. These rules defined our existence. As examples, we all lived communally. No one had their own apartment or house. Married couples got a small bedroom.

Single people lived in dorms. We all wore uniforms, much like the military. After every meal, including breakfast, a muster was held, in which we stood at attention in lines and every member of the organization, the continental headquarters of the Church of Scientology for the eastern half of the U.S., was accounted for.

The one exception was Saturday morning. There was no muster after breakfast on that day. The next muster was after lunch. We could spend time on our own. If I was going to start a new life, before noon on that day was the best time to do so. I had been in the Sea Org for 24 years at that point. I was a little short on my billion. But I felt a strong need to get away, for reasons too involved to get into here. The only option, as I saw it, was to sneak away. That was not a decision that someone in my position could make lightly. It meant that every person I knew who was a Scientologist would disconnect from me – i.e. there would be no communication of any kind with them. That included my nieces and their families, my brother-in-law, my ex-wife who was the mother of my son, and many good friends of many years. It meant that I would be declared to be a “suppressive person,” someone totally anathema to all Scientologists in good standing. Because I had been immersed in the cult for so long, I barely had any relationship at all to the rest of my family nor to my friends from earlier. I didn’t know how much support I’d get from them in the outside world. On top of that, I had no credit card, no bank account, and only about $300 in cash that I had managed to save. I didn’t have many clothes that weren’t part of a Sea Org uniform. I didn’t have a work resume as I hadn’t held a real job in nearly 25 years. Employment prospects seemed slim at best. Plus, I would be giving away any possibility for me to achieve eternal salvation, only available to those who faithfully followed the practices of that cult.

One could wonder why I thought I should sneak away. Fair question. I could just go to my boss and say, “I quit; I’ll be seeking employment elsewhere.” Right? No. It was a serious offense to tell anyone in the organization, except the Master-at-Arms or a few other designated people, that one wanted to leave. In my case, even if I told the right people, I would have been sent back to Los Angeles, incarcerated, and made to perform manual labor for some months while receiving hours of interrogation sessions every day. No, I am not exaggerating. If I were to openly, within view of any other members, pack my things and walk out, many people in the organization would be alerted and there would be a concerted effort to keep me from leaving. I had seen things like that many times over the years. Someone trying to leave would be surrounded, reasoned with, cajoled, led back inside, threatened with excommunication, and sometimes physically restrained. The only people who had successfully gotten away that I was aware of in my 24 years had escaped secretly.

That Saturday morning I was in the apartment where I lived, having just done my laundry. It was about 11:30. It was a small Manhattan apartment on the third floor. It was narrow and long in comparison. Inside the one and only door there was a short hallway with a bathroom on the left. Continuing into the apartment, there was a kitchen area, then a small living room, and then two tiny bedrooms in the back. The doors to the bedrooms opened directly into the living room. I’d estimate the width of the apartment to be about 12 feet and the depth a little over 30 feet. In the living room there were two sets of three-high bunk beds, a chest of drawers, and a small wardrobe. Six guys slept in those beds and had very little space for their clothes – each person got a few inches to hang things in the wardrobe and a single drawer in the dresser. A married couple lived in each of the two bedrooms. That adds up to ten people living in that apartment. Since we all spent most of our time working, the apartment was mainly for sleeping and showering.

That morning all the people who lived there were coming and going – to a nearby store or laundromat or deli or barber. In amongst this activity I had to pack the things I wanted to take with me without it being noticed. I didn’t have a suitcase. I had only a small backpack and a couple of laundry bags. I had to leave stuff behind that I would have liked to keep, such as a collection of photographs that went back at least 35 years. These were in a box that would have been too bulky and heavy. I was acting like I was putting my clothes away, making my bed, rearranging the drawer, and the like, while slipping some things into the bags as if storing them. I had already thought out what I would be taking with me. Rather suddenly I had an opportunity. By chance, for a brief time, only I and my good friend Hiro were in the apartment. He had put his clean laundry away. He laid down on his bed and dozed off. If I was going to go, I had to go right then. I honestly didn’t know if I would get the chance that morning. I packed the last things, put on the backpack, picked up the laundry bags, and headed towards the door.

From that point on, if one of the other Sea Org members had seen me, it would have been obvious to them what I was doing. I proceeded out the door, fingers crossed, hoping that I did not encounter someone coming in. Outside the door was a small corridor and an elevator. Luckily no one was out there. I knew I couldn’t risk taking the elevator, so I went down the stairs. I reached the ground floor and looked out the small window in the door to the stairwell.

The lobby was empty. Wasting no time, I went across to the door to the outside, again in the hope that I wouldn’t run into someone coming in or out on the sidewalk. I got out the door and immediately headed towards 10th Avenue. My Sea Org mates would be coming back to the apartment from 9th, not 10th, which was much less busy and didn’t have the places where we would go for our Saturday-morning activities.

I hadn’t seen anyone. I walked as fast as I could up 51st Street to 10th and then turned left towards Port Authority. So far so good. I kept going. It was a good mile to where I was walking and the things I was carrying began to feel heavy. I turned left onto 42nd, continued east to 9th and went in an entrance on the west end of Port Authority. That side of the building would be less busy, I figured. There was generally a lot of foot traffic near the intersection of 8th and 42nd, bordering the northeast corner of the building. So I avoided that area where there was a greater likelihood of running into another Sea Org member, especially on a Saturday morning when they were out taking care of their weekly personal tasks, or worse, if they were already out looking for me.

My immediate goal was to buy a bus ticket and get out of there as soon as possible. Port Authority is a big place. I looked around and found a row of counters where one got tickets. It had ropes arranged so a line of people snaked through to get up to the front, where there were several people at their respective stations servicing the customers. Behind the counters was a large, illuminated board that listed departure times and gate numbers for buses going to many places in the New York area and beyond. I studied that board, while feeling very nervous that a group of my co-workers might come into that area and see me. The queue of people seemed to crawl along.

I decided that I would by a ticket to Philadelphia. I had never been there nor did I know anyone there. But it was relatively far from the city. And I could afford the price of the ticket out of the money I was carrying. That bus would be departing in about a quarter of an hour, which was a key factor in my decision. I finally got up to the counter and bought my ticket, all the while constantly looking around for anyone familiar.

Next, I had to find the gate from which the bus would be leaving. Luckily it was relatively close to the ticket counters, so I didn’t have to walk around the bus station very much. I took my place in another line of people waiting to board that bus. The line was inside the terminal, visible to people who could have been looking for me. By this time it was nearing 1:00 P.M. and my absence from the after-lunch muster must have been noted. I was ardently wishing for someone to open the door so we could go out and get on the bus.

In earlier years at other Scientology facilities, I had observed how a staff member going missing was treated as a kind of emergency. Many people would get involved in trying to find the missing person and bringing them back. Some of them would check nearby bus stops and bus stations. Some would go to where the absent person lived (which in their parlance was called “berthing”). Usually there was someone within the organization who was a registered travel agent and could therefore learn the names of people who had purchased plane tickets. Others would walk or drive up and down streets. I stood there uneasily.

At long last the door out to the bus opened and the passengers started filing out. I felt some relief when I finally boarded and found a seat, near the back and on the side opposite to the door. But I still had visions of some other staff member or members bursting onto the bus and getting me to get off and go back with them to the Sea Org facility. I knew of an instance where a person who was trying to leave the organization was sitting on an airplane waiting to fly off somewhere when another staff member, who had bought their own ticket for that flight (paid for by the organization), came onto the plane and convinced the one who wanted to get away to not leave. They got off the plane and the wayward person was taken back for “handling.” I don’t know if I ever felt the elation that I felt when the bus driver finally closed the door and pulled away.

Now, granted, looking back, I did not have to make such a big deal about all that. If someone had approached me on the street or inside the bus terminal, I could have, for example, simply told them to leave me alone and move away or I would start yelling, or something. But, as I said earlier, this was a cult. Thought-reform is a real thing. I did not know that then, but I do know that now. I had been through years of indoctrination and manipulation to condition me against any idea of leaving the organization. On that Saturday morning my state of mind was not exactly rational. But some urge within me to get away was stronger than a whole slew of reasons why I should stay.

I spent the next two days and nights riding on a bus or waiting to transfer buses in stations along the way. Initially I still had no final destination in mind. That first bus pulled into a station in downtown Philadelphia. I stepped out into a sunny afternoon, feeling relieved and maybe a bit disoriented. I hadn’t eaten since breakfast and was hungry. There was a place nearby where I treated myself to a Philly Cheesesteak. I had never had one before, and it was delicious.

I had to figure out what I would do next. My options were limited by the little money that I had, all of which was in my pocket. Philadelphia in that area was much nicer than I expected. But I had no reason to stay in that city, which ruled out finding somewhere to spend the night. I found a pay phone, called an airline, and quickly realized that taking a flight someplace was out of the question. All I could think of was getting on another bus. But where to? Denver seemed to offer the most possibilities. My brother, the only surviving member of my family, lived there. He was a successful doctor. I had visited him and his family two years earlier for a few days and re-established, to a degree, my relationship with him, which had been more or less ruined prior to that. Life in a cult that did not value family, together with very long work hours and no time off, had resulted in me basically ignoring my family. Another reason for choosing Denver is that I had grown up there and had some old friends who still lived in the area, though I hadn’t spoken to them in a long time either. It was a familiar place to me. I had the idea that I could move up into the mountains, where I would be far from the reaches of Scientology, and find a simple job.

I bought another bus ticket to Denver and set off on that leg of the journey. A cross-country bus trip is pretty tedious and boring. From time to time, I think every few hours, we would stop at a place where we could get some food, use the restroom, and stretch our legs. I was trying to be careful about how much I spent, as I had by then, as I remember, only a bit over a hundred dollars to my name. At one point during the night, I think it was somewhere in rural Pennsylvania, our bus broke down. We had to wait for another bus to come pick us up. That sucked.

Sometime Sunday morning, or early afternoon, I’m not sure, we arrived at a large bus station in Chicago. There we transferred to a different bus with some waiting time in between. Along the way I had gotten into a conversation with a man sitting next to me. He was friendly and complained about how bad the traffic had gotten in Denver in recent years. He had a cell phone. I knew little about cell phones. I had never owned one. I had used one that belonged to the organization in New York, for official business, a few times. I was quite unfamiliar with how to use one, and knew nothing about having to buy cell phone plans with limits on usage and all that. But in my wallet was a small scrap of paper with a phone number on it. It belonged to a guy named Hank, whom I had known since the third grade. When growing up, he lived three houses away, we went all through school together, and he was my roommate during our freshman year of college. While I was in the cult we exchanged letters every year or two.

Somehow I had hung on to this phone number that he had given me at some point. Sitting there in the Chicago bus station, I asked the man with the cell phone if I could use it to make a call. With what I know now, that was a very inappropriate thing to ask of him. But he was generous enough to let me try to phone Hank. For all I know, I could have been using his last minutes. I asked him to show me how I could place a call. I really had no clue what all those buttons did. It seemed that the microphone part should be closer to my mouth. I dialed, waited, and by some miracle Hank answered. He must have been pretty puzzled. He acted like it was a normal conversation though. I explained that I was in a bus station in Chicago and would be arriving in Denver the next day (Monday). I had left Denver 25 years earlier and had had very little contact with him since then. He knew that I had been a full-blown cult member. I don’t know what was going through his mind.

He was very gracious. I didn’t know exactly where in Denver the bus was headed. We decided I would most likely be arriving at the Greyhound station downtown. As luck would have it, Hank was working downtown at that time. He explained how I should walk to 16th Street, which had a free bus shuttle that travelled up and down. I should take the shuttle up to Broadway as he worked near there. We would meet outside a particular building. I handed the cell phone back to my fellow bus traveller, feeling relieved and hopeful. I hadn’t had any other plan. Onward drove my next bus from Chicago. Iowa and Nebraska seemed to take forever. That same bus was going all the way to Denver, via Cheyenne, Wyoming, I think it was. I arrived in Denver, but without my bags. On those buses, luggage is placed in compartments underneath the passenger compartment. When the earlier bus broke down, we were told that our bags would be transferred to the replacement bus. Somehow my backpack and two laundry bags didn’t make it. A couple of days after my arrival, my bags arrived to the bus station in Denver where I could go pick them up. When I met Hank I had only the clothes I was wearing. That was on the 21st of April. Luckily, the weather was mild.

Hank drove me to his home and let me stay there. He lived in a three-bedroom house in southwest Denver. He had gotten divorced and was living there by himself. He was very generous. He fed me meals, took me out to eat, showed me how I could use his computer to look for jobs, let me drive an old Jeep that he was no longer driving himself, and showed me around Denver. It had changed quite a bit over the years.

I had my brother’s phone number but I didn’t call him. I knew that he would be getting calls from people in the Scientology organization asking if he had heard from me. I didn’t want him to be bothered by their efforts to track me down. I was afraid that someone might show up at his house or something. I was in Denver about a month before I contacted my brother.

During that week, Hank went to work in the day time and I looked for a job. I used his old Mac computer as best I could, and looked in the Denver Post want ads. I wasn’t sure where I would be living. After a couple of days I suggested to Hank that maybe I could just live in his house. From my point of view at the time, he had plenty of room, lived there by himself, and maybe would like some company. Hank immediately shot that idea down. In retrospect, it wasn’t a good idea for me to invite myself like that. I was fresh out of life in a cult, where everything was communal. All meals were served buffet style in large mess halls. I had slept in dorms or in a small room with my ex-wife. There had been many times when I slept on a floor or in someone else’s bunk. The times when I had been all by myself had been very rare. I did not have much sense of privacy or personal space. Clearly if Hank had wanted a roommate, it would have been up to him to originate that. This was one of many examples where my way of thinking did not jibe with the real world.

I inquired about several job offerings. I even had a couple of interviews, to which I drove in Hank’s old Jeep. One of these interviews was for a groundskeeper at an apartment complex in a suburb of Denver. I went in, filled out an application, and then was given a written examination. While this came as a total surprise, fortunately in school I had been a good test-taker. Plus, one thing that I had gained from my time in the Sea Org was a rudimentary knowledge about various construction trades. This experience was from some years of having to do manual labor as a kind of punishment for perceived wrongs. I had also worked for a while as an electrician prior to joining the Sea Org. The manager of the apartment complex was so impressed with the results of my exam that she hired me on the spot.

Wow! I was thrilled. While the pay for that job was not great, it included a free apartment for as long as I worked there. The salary was still way, way more than I had made in my life. I did not need a car to get to work. There was a shopping center across the street that had a bank, a supermarket, and any other stores I might need. That job was the solution to all my problems at the time. What incredible luck!

Good ol’ Hank lent me a bed and a few other pieces of furniture, bought me some dishes and things to cook with, got some other items I would be needing to get started, and helped me move in. I am forever grateful for his generosity. I paid him back as soon as I could after my first couple of pay checks. I occupied the apartment over that weekend, a week after leaving New York City, and started work the following Monday.

I sat in my new apartment and couldn’t believe it. It was like a palace to me. I had it all to myself. It had a bedroom with a large closet, a living room with a dining area, a kitchen with a refrigerator, a stove with an oven, a built-in dishwasher, and lots of drawers and cabinets. It was bigger than the apartment that I shared with nine other people in New York. It had sliding glass doors to a patio that looked out onto a lawn with trees and shrubbery. The apartment complex was pretty nicely landscaped with lots of grassy areas, trees, and gardens. My job would include taking care of those areas.

I am still amazed at my good fortune. I truly was on my way to a new life.

— Bruce Hines

 
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Source Code

“You’ll find the artists and musicians of this particular planet always have some schnook alongside of them to cave them in. They always marry the wrong girl, you know, and get the wrong agent, and, because they’re creating. The industrialist, the manufacturer, that sort of thing, these boys, it’s not because of any deep-seated communist plot, it’s just they are in trouble, that’s all. They haven’t got enough force to protect their own creativeness, and as a result, why, people attack them. Elementary. Basic answer on the whole track, if you had never had anybody create anything, you would have no trouble. Nothing had ever been created, why, of course you wouldn’t have any universe to be in trouble with. This is all very elementary.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 10, 1963

Avast, Ye Mateys

“Did you notice ashore how the native pesetas have inflated??? Wow. We better start getting our stats up. World inflation is ZOOMING. That would eat up all our reserves in a minute. So Hi Ho for the open sea. Farewell and adieu to you Spanish ladies. Farewell and adieu to you ladies of Spain. Until we strike soundings in the Channel of Old England. But we hope in a short time to see you again.” — The Commodore, September 10, 1969

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“I say LRH had to return like he said he would and he had to create a totally different beingness in order to understand and communicate with the newest most severe levels of degraded beings here on Earth. I myself know: I was a former criminal and even a psych on my track, having done so I could penetrate their veils and then break their spells on others. One never knows all unless one experiences all.”

 
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Past is Prologue

1998: The St. Petersburg Times reported that Scientology is opening a new school in Clearwater, the Clearwater Academy. “A new private school using educational concepts promoted by Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard is scheduled to open today downtown. Clearwater Academy International, at Drew Street and Myrtle Avenue, will have an enrollment of 120 students from pre-kindergarten through the 12th grade, said executive director Pam Chipman. A new $1.5-million facility now holds the combined enrollment and resources of three smaller schools that merged last year — A to Be School, Jefferson Academy and Renaissance Academy. About 150 people attended the event, including several top officials from the Church of Scientology, Clearwater’s Assistant City Manager Bob Keller, city Public Works Administrator Rich Baier and Nancy Cartwright. The annual tuition at Clearwater Academy is $7,800. School is in session year-round from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. each weekday, except for 6 weeks of off time sprinkled throughout each year.”

 
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Random Howdy

“After all these years a Scientologist is trying to dox me? I gave vaLLarrr more than enough clues to dox me but OSA was too incompetent to pick up on it. Actually it’s probably just Flunk looking for revenge.”

 
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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 November 10. Trial tentatively scheduled for February.
— 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 October 7 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for November 19.

Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30, 2020 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. Oral arguments scheduled for Oct 5.
— 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 23. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27.

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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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

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

 
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientology’s ‘Super Power’ couple slammed down by appeals court over tax debt
[TWO years ago] Scientology: So much effort and heartache, for such little effect
[THREE years ago] A dispatch from the front: Protesting Scientology’s anti-psych quackery
[FOUR years ago] Ideal and Ideal-er: England org coming soon will be Scientology to the max
[FIVE years ago] Laying to rest the obfuscations of L. Fletcher Prouty, Scientology’s conspiracist-for-hire
[SIX years ago] Another trial ordered against Narconon as Scientology derail attempt mostly fails
[SEVEN years ago] Finally! Scientology begins selling its mysterious ‘OT’ levels more openly with slick new videos!
[EIGHT years ago] SCIENTOLOGY MOVES TO DISQUALIFY MONIQUE RATHBUN’S ATTORNEYS
[TEN years ago] Scientology Schweinehund: Commenters of the Week!

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 10, 2021 at 07:00

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Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

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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

I had been sucked back into Scientology after 30 years. As I said last time, I was a Ronbot through and through.

However, on the academy levels I learned quickly to never, ever say what I really thought about Hubbard’s tech. There were many pieces that did not fit and eventually I realized I [...]]]>

I had been sucked back into Scientology after 30 years. As I said last time, I was a Ronbot through and through.

However, on the academy levels I learned quickly to never, ever say what I really thought about Hubbard’s tech. There were many pieces that did not fit and eventually I realized I had to keep my mouth shut. I wish I could recall all of them, but the one that most stands out is this ludicrous thing called “Listing and Nulling.” Every bit of that section of training caused what-the-hell moments. I must have had 50 hours of word clearing on the correction list alone.

Because Kim supported us, I was a full-time student, every day from 9 to 6. And I kicked ass (except for L&N). Have I mentioned that I hated it? And did I say how confused I was that I was even there?

Still, I made it to the Internship. The Supervisor was a sweet young woman who had not done any training, except the Sup course. She was very likable but somewhat clueless about my concerns about auditing other people. I would be given PCs and told to do this and that by all sorts of other people around the org, mostly the staff section officer (if that’s the right term for the the guy who gets the staff trained and audited). One day he tells me to take a staff member in session and do a Listing and Nulling correction list. Uh-oh. And this PC is not the brightest bulb in the marquee — nice lady, but left her education too early. I am supposed to word clear every single one of the questions on this freaking list while watching for reads. No way. Not going to happen. Ever. Plus, she will not sit still. It’s my worst nightmare. I sat in that chair and imagined myself getting up and walking out the door. It was all I could think of. I fiddled around talking to her about what seemed to be coming up and then just ended the session. Just ended it. Bam. She F/Ned at the examiner and joined the Sea Org the next day. Huh.

The end of the Internship came when they assigned a brand new public to me. I was supposed to teach her how to be audited — what the E-meter was, what we were doing, etc. I tried. She red-tagged at the examiner (that means her session was not OK and she would have to be cleaned up by someone else within 24 hours). She got fixed up and came back to me for more. She red-tagged again. I went home after that session and crawled into bed and pulled the covers up over me and stayed there for three days. The org called, begging, then threatening. At one point, the Internship Sup called and left a message: “Cathy, You are crashing the orgs stats. Get in here!” My husband asked me what had happened and all I could say was “I fucked somebody up, I can’t go back, I don’t ever want to do that again.”

Here’s the craziest part: The org acted like nothing had happened. I never went back on the Internship and no one said a word about my continuing it. I did get “interviewed” by one of the high muckety-mucks and was asked what I thought was wrong with the Internship. It was multiple choice, so I picked one. And that was it for my training. I never had to listen to another tape, do another checkout, talk endlessly to the wall, go to the word clearer and so on.

In 2005 we thought we ought to move. San Diego’s housing market was about to crash and we needed the money badly that we could get for our house. We even went to Tucson to house hunt. How silly. There’s no Scientology in Tucson. What were we thinking? It’s really too bad we didn’t just buy a house there and get while the getting was good. Instead, we went to a Flag tour event. At the end, we both had the same idea, as if it was the most logical thing in the world: Move to Clearwater. That’s the ticket. Our house sold for way more than it was worth and we were very lucky. That’s not going to happen again for a very, very long time.

While we were in escrow, we flew to Clearwater to see about purchasing a house to live in and one to rent out. A realtor who was a Scientologist had been recommended so we went with him to look at property. Well, first, this realtor seemed lazy to me. He knew Scientologists were going to be moving to Florida in droves so he did the bare minimum. And second, Florida sucks. And it stinks. We were amazed at every house we looked at. There were two types: Gaudy MacMansions or do-it-yourself nightmares.

We spent five hours with the realtor, picked two not-too-horrible DIY projects, made offers, got acceptances, flew home. We did all the rest long distance. We managed to hang onto almost all of the money from the San Diego house. We got really stingy.

Unfortunately, the housing market crashed in Florida and when we finally left, we lost it all.

We lived in Clearwater for three years, from Spring 2005 to Spring 2008. Which was three years too long. Every day we’d open the front door, look out, and shrug, “Crap, it’s still Florida.” I had put some money on account at Flag and went to see about getting started. Not easy to get anything done around there unless you have your checkbook out. Then, everybody’s your best friend and will get you going ASAP. First stop, Ethics. Seems somebody there didn’t like the results of the conditions I’d done way back at AOLA and wanted them re-done. OK. Actually, I did a long write-up about all the stuff we’d done with Way to Happiness, VMs, auditing, and helping the San Diego Org with their Ideal Org boogie, and after about three weeks, I finally heard back that it was OK’d. Great, now I get the auditing. The C/S had a big Advance Program all laid out for me. Wait, what? I’d just done a big Advance Program at AOLA. Seems Flag has different Advance Programs from AOLA’s programs. Why would that be?

I don’t remember much, but I DO remember the tailor-made False Purpose Rundown. Because I’d worked with Hubbard, they came up with all kinds of questions having to do with hurting, lying to, cheating, doing bad things to Hubbard. Oh. My. God. Whatever. I had to come clean about that stupid compass cover that I hid in the Bosun’s Locker. Fine, now you know. Eventually I was sent to Qual for some kind of interview. The person doing it seemed uncomfortable and was tippy-toeing around, not quite saying what she wanted to say. I got so frustrated I finally asked her, “Are you trying to tell me I’m not Clear?” She was so relieved. Yup, not Clear. And I just realized today as I was thinking about writing this, how did they come up with that? They had never found my folders and I’d done the Clearing Course and attested at Saint Hill. They never explained it. But now, looking back and putting the pieces together, I believe they really had no idea at all about whether I was Clear or not — it was a good way to get me to buy more intensives. Which I did. Next up was New Era Dianetics. Maybe the reasoning behind ‘not Clear’ was that I’d never done any Dianetics. None. Nada. Not even Book One and certainly not NED. Boy, I hated that! Hated it. It just ground on and on. And I said so, every session. “This is not helping, I hate this, I can’t do this.” And so on. Finally the C/S had a cognition and let me off the NED. The auditor asked me a listing question, and boom! we were done and I was Clear. Whoopee. It wasn’t anything like the first time when I felt so fantastic. I was truly flying when I left Saint Hill. It didn’t last long, but at the time it was absolutely the best thing that had ever happened to me.

I didn’t get any more auditing at Flag. We’d run out of money, thank God. Actually we still had some, but we weren’t telling anybody about it. We were putting money on account from time to time for Kim to do OT 5, which he’d already paid for twice and been detoured. To actually make progress on the “Bridge” would have been a very, very big deal. Don’t they want to deliver what they promised? Guess not.

The bottom started to drop out soon after that. We’d go to events and be chased out of our seats because some muckety-muck wanted them. We were regged heavily for Super Power, IAS, OT Committee, advance payments, CCHR, ABLE. It never stopped. One night Howard Becker and Michael Roberts showed up at our front door. Pretty weird since they’re West Coast IAS freaks. But there they were in all their paranoid glory. Had we invited them? Were we expecting them late at night? Hell no. We were dumb enough to let them in. We’d had experience with Becker and knew he liked to lay it on thick. So I told him what I really thought (for a change), which was, “How come all these emergencies never get taken care of? Why do they keep coming up? Why don’t we ever see any indication in the media that all the stuff you’re doing is being noticed? No one ever hears anything after you raise all that money for whatever the project du jour is and then it just drops off the edge of the earth. What’s that about?” He was very good. Didn’t bat an eyelash. Smiled. Rambled on using Scieno baffle-gab for a bit and then said how much money he needed that minute for that week’s dire critical crucial grave momentous earth-changing crisis. We wrote a check for a few hundred dollars. He tried hard to get more, but we were done with him. Our response: Take it or leave it.

Somewhere around this time, Kim got an email from his daughter saying Jefferson wanted to let us know he was “out” and how to contact him if we wanted to. IF WE WANTED TO? Yikes! Kim got in touch immediately and wanted the whole story. Jeff went easy and didn’t unload everything all at once. He was being careful in case we were still true-blue bubble-heads. He was “protecting” us. Huh. We made a trip to San Diego and spent a day with Jeff, hearing a little more about what was going on.

A pile of little things finally tipped us. I was happy the end was coming, it was miserable being in Florida and I was getting more and more hostile toward the church. One day I called Jeff and asked him to tell me all of it. He did. And he’d already told Kim a lot of it. Now Kim and I were on the same page. It was all crap, lies, a big con. And, on top of that, the head of the whole disgusting circus was a maniac and a thug. OK.

Jeff told us about Mick Wenlock’s ex-Sea Org group. We joined with phony names and started chatting with other exes. So interesting. Well, I posted something that apparently was traceable to me. OSA sent someone to our house with printouts of our posts. She said we had to stop being on that board and we had to stop talking to Jeff. Oh really? We laughed. And laughed and laughed and laughed. “You want us to choose YOU over JEFF?” Come on. Do your worst, sister. Nobody fucks with this family. Nobody.

And then we were out. Done. No more regges (except for the poor slobs who didn’t get the memo). No more stupid committee meetings. No more volunteering at CCHR. No more dumb seminars put on by worn-out OTs.

Yes, we got all our money back — even some we’d forgotten about. It was fast and easy.

It took another year for our house to sell because of the market crash, but we left Florida. When we crossed the state line into Georgia, we opened a bottle of champagne.

Now we’re free. We’ve been married almost 30 years and we’re still best friends. We live in eastern Oregon (after 8 years in Portland) and grow lots of food and flowers. We build things, we hike, we have friends who have never heard of Scientology. It’s perfect.

— Cathy Mullins

 
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Source Code

“Now, what’s the matter with the planet at this particular time is ethics is out. And that is proven by the fact that you are having a hard time getting tech in. With the technology which you know at this particular moment and the results which you are delivering even at lower levels, you have a total monopoly of all mental activities, all religious activities and all social activities on this planet. That is what you are entitled to at this moment. Do you have them? Well, therefore, tech is out. Obvious. So, the only thing that puts tech out is if ethics is out. The only thing that can get tech in is ethics.” — L. Ron Hubbard, August 2, 1966

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“Recruits are not the answer, not the total why to no production. Lots there already. Training and hats are needed. 2.5 hours a day study time. Part time Crew Cse Super and properly programmed crew students properly enrolled and properly mustered at suitable times will improve things faster than new recruits. Recruits are longer range.” — The Commodore, August 2, 1971

Overheard in the FreeZone

“Give it a blind eye if you want, and people will for various mostly personal reasons. I however will not. Reverse Scientology started in 1973, the main obstacles were dealt with, handled, reversed and pushed through during 1978-82. Confronting evil, for me, is seeing things for what they are, to deal with that which can be confirmed. The stories told by people (tale telling) is surely not part of that! You don’t give matters a blind eye because of personal preference. Start to realize that David Miscavige is only the face outward! My research does not suffer from ‘bank generalities and identifications.’ If it does, you can point out exactly where I went in the wrong.”

 
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Past is Prologue

2001: The St. Petersburg Times reported that Dr. David Minkoff has been suspended as a doctor and fined for his treatment of Lisa McPherson, who died as a result of her care in the Fort Harrison Hotel in 1995. “Florida’s Board of Medicine has sternly sanctioned Clearwater physician David I. Minkoff, finding he improperly prescribed medicine for a patient he had never seen – Scientologist Lisa McPherson. Minkoff, also a Scientologist, prescribed Valium and the muscle relaxant chloral hydrate at the behest of unlicensed Church of Scientology staffers who were trying to nurse McPherson, 36, through a severe mental breakdown. When they failed after 17 days of isolating her, Minkoff was recruited again. This time, he pronounced McPherson dead. For his role in the 1995 episode that Minkoff himself calls a ‘fiasco,’ the 53-year-old doctor will lose his medical license for one year and then be made to practice under probation for two more years – unless he appeals and wins a reversal. He also was fined $10,000. Ken Dandar, the Tampa lawyer who represents McPherson’s family, called the sanctions too lenient. Dandar set off the inquiry that led to Friday’s action, complaining about Minkoff to state health officials in 1997. He nevertheless credited Minkoff on Friday for the candid accounts he has given in sworn statements. It was Minkoff, a Scientologist for 20 years, who told prosecutors in 1998 that McPherson’s care at Scientology’s Fort Harrison Hotel in Clearwater was seriously flawed.”

 
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Random Howdy

“Massholio is 4 months of winter wasteland followed by a month of sumptuous spring followed by four months of hellish heat and humidity followed by two and half months of fabulous fall weather. There’s definitely room for improvement, Sherb.”

 
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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: Next pretrial conference set for Sept 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. Oral arguments scheduled for Oct 5.
— 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 23. Appeal hearing scheduled for Aug 23-27.

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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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

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

 
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] VIDEO LEAK explains how to rope in the unsuspecting: ‘We don’t explain Scientology’
[TWO years ago] Scientology finds a friendly physician to help out in its attack on an effective drug
[THREE years ago] Colombian roast: Will Scientologists care about David Miscavige’s latest fraud?
[FOUR years ago] Carol Nyburg is back, and she has a Scientology story that will rough you up
[FIVE years ago] For Scientology’s most infamous dirty trickster, retirement has a happy ending
[SIX years ago] Garcias’ appeal rejected; now the couple faces the real possibility of Scientology arbitration
[SEVEN years ago] Video proof that Scientology makes you a stellar communicator
[EIGHT years ago] Underground Bunker Night at The TomKat Project — Get Your Tickets Now!
[NINE years ago] Scientology’s Concentration Camp for Its Executives: The Prisoners
[TEN years ago] Scientology Goes Hillbilly; Also, Broke in Ireland and Big in DC

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

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele

Last time, I mentioned that when my mother went off to Saint Hill in the mid-1960s, she left me the phone number of the Scientology org in Phoenix and I began taking courses there. But I left something out: I met the love of [...]]]>

Last time, I mentioned that when my mother went off to Saint Hill in the mid-1960s, she left me the phone number of the Scientology org in Phoenix and I began taking courses there. But I left something out: I met the love of my life there, Kim Hawkins. And when I came back a “Clear” after my own trip to Saint Hill, my friends were very impressed. They thought I had superpowers or something. A few of them, including Kim, let me audit them.

And then, love or my life or not, I kissed Kim goodbye and went off to join the Sea Org in early 1968. Kim went back to LA where his brother Jefferson Hawkins had also been introduced to Scientology. They were excited to share it with each other. The brothers went to Scotland and then Denmark to work for this thing called “Pubs Org” — where they published Hubbard’s books. When I arrived back at my mother’s house after escaping AOLA (1969, which I wrote about last time) I found out where Kim was and wrote to him. I told him I was pregnant, not married and living at my mom’s. He jumped on a plane and came to Phoenix to marry me. He’s that kind of guy. Unfortunately, I was overwhelmed with the personal crap that Scientology had never made a dent in. Eventually my mother told Kim he should probably leave. So he did. Five years passed; we didn’t write or talk on the phone. But in the summer of 1975 I was asked to house-sit in LA, so I dropped him a note to say I’d be seeing him soon. I figured we’d get married and live happily ever after. Oops. Kim had joined the Sea Org. At some point he told me he couldn’t leave what he was doing. Not getting married now. Nope. I went back to Arizona, continued my education and bringing up my daughter, and forgot about the love of my life. It sounds awful and cruel but it just had to be that way.

In 1993 I was drinking with a friend and talking about Kim. Again. She’d heard the story about a million times. Finally she cut me off: “Piss or get off the pot!” Oh. Ok. I knew that Kim was the only one for me and that if he didn’t want to be with me I would be better off knowing it so I could just get on with my life. But 18 years had gone by. We hadn’t kept in touch at all, nothing, no letters, no phone calls. How was I supposed to find him? He could have been anywhere. That was the summer that Sleepless in Seattle came out. As I watched it I knew what I had to do. I simply had to find him. I started with L.A.-area phone books, looking up Scientology organization numbers. I didn’t call any of them, not in the beginning. I also wrote down a few numbers for people with the name Hawkins, still not making any calls. I was terrified. What if he said “Cathy who?” or “Oh please, not again.” Or “It’s great to hear from you, I know you’ll just love my wife and kids, can’t wait for you to meet them.”

I finally got up the nerve to make some calls. As crazy as it sounds I ended up finding someone who knew where he was. She forwarded a letter to him, he called, and we were married a month later. It was definitely meant to be.

When we got married in 1993, he’d been out of the Sea Org for some years, but was still a bubble-head. We had a tacit agreement not to discuss Scientology. We simply ignored it — for about two years. I don’t know what got me started, but one day I was fiddling around on the Internet reading about what the “church” was up to and came across information about Lisa McPherson, who had died in 1995. I didn’t get deeply into it — I was a bit scattered in my thinking and there wasn’t much available at that point. But it made an impression on me, so much so that I told Kim I didn’t think he should be involved with Scientology anymore. Well, this didn’t go over at all. We had a heated exchange and maybe the word “Nazi” came up at one point. I packed a bag and left.

While I was gone, I picked up a book and just started randomly reading it. It was something about unconditional love. I began to question whether I was willing to lose Kim because of my position. It came down to this: Would I rather be without him or would I rather be with him while he continued in Scientology? I decided it wasn’t up to me to choose his path and that if he got “good stuff” from it, who was I to say he had to stop? I went home and we went back to ignoring the issue.

A few years later Kim’s mom passed away. We went up to Santa Barbara to have a memorial service and pack her things. After many tries, Kim was finally able to get in touch with Jefferson. And, after much hassling, Jeff was able to make it to S.B. for the service. The brothers put together an amazing ceremony — straight out of Hubbard’s book of church services. None of his mom’s friends were Scientologists and probably had never even heard of it. But the part at the end, where the folks all say goodbye, was totally perfect and everyone in the room felt it. I was extremely moved and impressed by the effect on her friends.

Not too long after we returned from S.B., Kim went to AOLA for some auditing. He’d paid for OT 5 and had been trying to get on it for some time, but the “Bridge” was always closed for repairs. He booked himself into the Manor Hotel for two weeks (a/k/a the Hollywood Celebrity Centre). I went up there to spend the weekend with him. I know this sounds really stupid, but the place had a profound impression on me. As I was driving home, I felt light and calm and serene, things I had associated with auditing. I really noticed it. I am not light or calm or serene as a rule.

I’d gone to the local Org with Kim once or twice to see some event — I remember going for a big Dianetics thing, all about how it had been translated into millions of languages and everyone in the world was forming groups, blah, blah, blah. I mention this because it’s interesting, in retrospect, that the org didn’t give him any trouble about me not being “in” — another case of situational ethics. One day a Sea Org mission was in town “recovering” lost souls and called Kim to see if they could come to our house and talk to me. He asked me and I said “Yes, but I will not be talked into anything!”

Three fancy-fake officers showed up. We sat on the patio and drank tea. It was very civilized…until I mentioned Lisa McPherson. As I’ve said, I didn’t have all the information and it was easy for them to deny, deny, deny. They were so sincere, like Tommy Davis, right? I believed them.

These three incidents — the memorial service, the floaty feeling from two days at the Manor, and the artlessness of the Sea Org troop — worked on me. It didn’t take very long and I started to “come around.” So insidious.

I have to say that, looking back, seeing what I did and how I stuck my head in the dirt after knowing what I knew, I feel deeply embarrassed. I know other people have done similar things and probably felt a bit shame-faced, but that doesn’t help me feel any less of a jackass.

I had jumped down the rabbit hole — for the second time! And I knew how awful it was. I’d been there, seen it for myself. But I did it anyway. I don’t know what I was hoping for — certainly not “OT powers,” I already knew that was phony-baloney. One day I was not a Scientologist and the next day I was at AOLA, routing in for who knows what? I’d been away for 30 years, what were the chances they even had my folders? The folks there made a very big deal about me: “Look!! She was lost, but now she’s found! She’s been recovered!” It was 2002 and I was back in the fold. Whew.

First things first: my “freeloader” debt. That’s a bizarre thing, isn’t it? I worked for a year and a half for almost no money, barely enough for cigs and Tampax, working 16 hours a day, no days off. (Wait, I actually do remember two days off.) And while I was on the Royal Scotman in the 1960s I did the OT levels above OT 1: OT 2 to OT 6. I have no idea what any of them were about except OT 3, which unfortunately I can’t unknow. I also have no idea what their monetary value was at the time, but if you’ll recall, the “church” had been hounding me, through a collection agency for $10,000 (give or take). So how does that work, exactly? I’m their unpaid slave for 18 months, I do some ridiculously weird Scientology “levels” and I owe them money? Huh.

Well, let me just say, the regs at the AO saw me coming. Somebody dug up my freeloader bill. It said I owed about $2,000 and for OT 2 to OT 6. There was a lower condition assignment — something obligatory, just so I’d know they were taking it seriously. I knew that they were supposed to declare me — I’d blown from the Sea Org. But they needed the money that week, so what the hell? I paid the freeloader debt, emptied some trash cans and washed a few windows and bingo! I was back in good standing.

They never did find my folders. I spoke long and often with the Director of Processing about what I remembered being audited on. A program was devised and I went in session. Oh boy. There were sec checks and FPRD (False Purpose Rundown, one of Hubbard’s most bizarre inventions) and lots of other stuff I don’t remember. I do remember the day my auditor (Ken Markin, a truly wonderful person who I hope has returned to Canada and his son) pulled his chair around the desk and sat right in front of me and demanded, “Give me that hand.” What? I’d never heard of this. I had no idea what was going on. I thought it was a game, so I put my hand behind my back. There were some other fabulously kinky “processes,” like this series of commands: “Look at that window. Walk over to that window. Touch that window. Keep it from going away.” Really? Was it leaving? I laughed and laughed. And I was paying big time for this silliness.

Needless to say, they dragged this out as long as they could and wrung every penny out of us. In the five years I was back “in,” I did not move at all on the Bridge. And my husband never did get to do OT 5, after paying for it twice and being run around the maypole both times, using up the intensives for all manner of invented problems.

I had the distinct misfortune of meeting up with an old co-worker, David Light, PAC base Superpower super reg. He’s another one who saw me coming. I won’t disclose just how much he saw me coming, suffice it to say it might have involved a second mortgage. (Oh god, it’s so embarrassing. I feel such the idiot.)

The Case Supervisor ordered me onto the Solo Auditor’s course. The one I’d done back in 1967 was considerably shorter, but not easier by any stretch. Have you listened to Hubbard on reel-to-reel? In an over-heated room? Argh. She said I’d be going back onto OT 3. I took the course at the San Diego Org. Somewhere in all this, I also did the Student Hat course, Pro TRs and the E-meter course. At one point I had Ken for my auditor on Method One. That was actually kind of fun. Kind of.

I became a Volunteer Minister. I set up the tent every weekend and tried to rope people into buying something…anything…please.

I turned off my thinking. I went wherever I was directed. I did whatever I was told to do.

I had become the perfect Ronbot.

How did I get out of it for the second time? That’s a story for another day.

— Cathy Mullins

 
——————–

Beck has interesting new friends

Our thanks to the reader who spotted that Beck, at his Instagram account, posted an arresting shot of himself yesterday from the Newport Folk Festival.

In 2019, Beck made it public that he’s no longer a Scientologist (and Leah Remini called him out for the way he did it), but we do think it’s interesting that he posted a shot of himself yesterday with Fred Armisen, ex-husband to Scientologist actress Elisabeth Moss.

A slight dig at his former co-religionist? Tell us what you think.

 
——————–

Source Code

“Do you realize the value of auditing is not measurable in dollars and cents to a person who is being audited properly? It is just not measurable. A hundred thousand dollars an hour would be something he would talk about. Got the idea? He would talk about. He might not be able to pay it but he could consider it. Now, that’s quite interesting. He could consider it, without gaping and jumping out the window and so forth.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 29, 1958

 
——————–

Avast, Ye Mateys

“The enemy seeks by false reports to blunt our org image and this by depressing stats recoils into Div III making finance hard. It is interesting that the enemy is also depressing world stats in this same way. False alarming reports of conditions are made so that the finance of nations is being injured. The World Bank loans the bulk of its funds to India. It has now pressured India to nationalize its banks. It also forces birth control and unpopular measures on India to cause civil unrest and give the government a bad name with its people. The world bank’s biggest debtors are forced to act in criminal and unpopular ways. False reports are spread to injure credit. We were smart enough never to borrow or subsidize. Thus we are still alive.” — The Commodore, July 29, 1969

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“I see the whole story as a CIA plot to destroy Scientology. For this narrative they wanted a monopoly to write the history of Scientology. Not a pro-Scientology history, of course an anti-Scientology history. To make this narrative believable, they need documents to prove their viewpoint. How to get these? To be convincing, they needed docs ‘from LRH himself.’ How to get access? So they used their shills within Scientology to create a project-CSW to write the LRH bio by a writer with an excellent reputation: the non-Scientologist Omar Garrison. With this CSW it was possible to get the support of everyone and to collect all needed documents in 21 boxes and to bring them out of the orgs. And no Scientologists had an overview, which docs are included in these 21 boxes. Now Gerry put an ARCx there to explain, that he run away with the docs and handed them over to his lawyer and later to the court. In this time it was possible to insert any needed faked docs into the boxes. No one could later prove that these newly introduced docs have not been there in the first place. So they get validated ‘as the original raw data’ by the court proceedings. This is the raw material on which any evil ‘history maker’ can base their propaganda against LRH and Scientology. An intelligently set up plot — I can only admire it (in the hope that it then vanishes).”

Past is Prologue

1997: A letter and declaration from Garry Scarff were posted this week. As part of Garry’s settlement with Scientology, he is demanding that the German TV show he participated in not be rebroadcast. “I was a featured subject in your program ‘Looking for..The Dark Side of Scientology’, which aired on station ARD/WDR. I have been told by Ms. Mona Botros that it is going to be aired again. Having seen the show and the ridiculous falsehoods contained in it, I demand that you not re-air the show again. I lied numerous times and Mona Botros & you knew that I was lying, that I was not a credible witness and not worthy of your trust or being relied on. The show creates a completely false and reckless impression of Scientology and I can imagine that Scientologists world wide in fact find it civilly libelous. If you choose to air this program again, I will pursue every legal claim that is available to me under the laws of every country exposed to this trash.”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“I want a cheap E-meter so I can sec-check my cats and I can get to the bottom of mysteries like, why do you chew on plastic bags? Why do you eat your own hair? Why do you refuse to help me do the dishes?”

 
——————–

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

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. Oral arguments scheduled for Oct 5.
— 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 23. Appeal hearing scheduled for Aug 23-27.

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.

 
——————–

THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

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

 
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Miami chiropractor and Scientology donor Dennis Nobbe charged with COVID relief fraud
[TWO years ago] Driving people away (and begging them back) was built into Scientology from the start
[THREE years ago] Nancy Cartwright goes home as Scientology ‘Ideal’-izes the world
[FOUR years ago] Jon Atack: The biggest thing L. Ron Hubbard got wrong about Buddhism
[FIVE years ago] Arlene Cordova, 1933-2016: In her 80s, she took on Scientology and reunited with her daughter
[SIX years ago] ow Scientology schools prepare young minds for the rigors of the Sea Org
[SEVEN years ago] VIDEO: Scientology gets a grilling at Chautauqua
[EIGHT years ago] Jim Lynch, Scientology’s Shill, Dies at 59
[NINE years ago] ‘Tom Cruise Worships David Miscavige Like a God’: The John Brousseau Story, Part Two
[TEN years ago] Scientology’s Hollywood Landmarks: More from THR Reporter Daniel Miller

 
——————–

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on July 29, 2021 at 07:00

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele

 I read this website every day. For a while I even commented (nobs and nobs2). But I’m not particularly good at social interactions and may even have a bit of envy for the camaraderie, so I stopped. Now I’d like to tell a few stories.

My mother got into Scientology in the mid 60s in Phoenix. [...]]]>

 
I read this website every day. For a while I even commented (nobs and nobs2). But I’m not particularly good at social interactions and may even have a bit of envy for the camaraderie, so I stopped. Now I’d like to tell a few stories.

My mother got into Scientology in the mid 60s in Phoenix. She was so into it that she went to Saint Hill in England to go Clear. She left me in charge of the house and my younger siblings. On her way out the door she said, “By the way, if you’re interested, I left the address and phone number of the Scientology office on the counter.” I could not resist. I went down to the franchise (missions hadn’t been invented yet) and signed up for everything: Personal Efficiency Course, Communication Course and lots of auditing. At that point in Scientology, folks were doing what later came to be called “quickie grades”: only a small portion of all the processes for a grade were run. So a person, like me, could go all the way to Grade 4 in a few weeks, unheard of now.

When my mother returned it was my turn. Off I went to Saint Hill for Power Processing and the Clearing Course. Maybe there was something in between, like R6EW. It was a long time ago and all of it was completely weird. But just before my introduction into Scientology, I’d been a hippie and had happily been smoking dope and dropping acid. So the bizarre stuff I was asked to swallow didn’t seem like a big deal. I had actually hoped when I started, back at the franchise, that auditing would help me with lots of personal issues. It never did. Yet I stuck with it, perhaps it was that thing — “it’ll happen on the next level.” Also, you don’t realize it hasn’t done anything until that deeply buried personal junk rears up and bites you years later.

When I was getting ready to leave Saint Hill, I saw a poster of L. Ron Hubbard that said I was needed to help “clear the planet” and would I join the elite team called the Sea Organization. I didn’t join right that minute. I went home and sold everything I owned and bought a one-way plane ticket to Alicante, Spain. I was 19 years old. The first Advanced Org had been set up there and I signed my contract there. It did not phase me that it said a billion years. I think I was still high. (You may be wondering about me being allowed to join since I’d taken acid. The rule about no acid came much later.)

I’d never seen an “Org Board”, Hubbard’s convoluted layout of titles and jobs in one of his organizations. I’d never worked in one of his organizations. I’d never heard of or read an HCO Policy Letter. I had absolutely NO idea what I was expected to do. And I didn’t understand anything these folks said — it was all Hubbard-speak, a completely different language. I worked at the AO for a few weeks and then was sent to the Royal Scotman. Maybe it was in Valencia at that time. I was stunned immediately by the horrible conditions, the bad smell and the unfriendly people. My bed was a bunk in a dorm full of unwashed women and girls. The first job I had was dishwasher in the gigantic galley. That’s all I did. Wash dishes. Once, I was woken up in the middle of the night and told to get back to the galley. Something had not been completely cleaned and I was now going to thoroughly clean it and the entire galley.

A nice lady came to see me one day and asked if I could type. I said ‘yes’, she said ‘great’ and the next thing I knew I was working in something called HCO. My new job was typing the Orders of the Day working for a really nasty piece of work named Baron Berez. After that I was transferred to the Deck Force. I liked that a lot. I worked for a sweet man whose name might have been Des. I loved learning knots and sanding railings and polishing brass. While cleaning up the bridge one day I decided I would make the compass cover look like new — it had a few dents and needed polishing. I took it to the bosun’s locker, found a ball peen hammer and got busy. I hammered away until that compass cover looked like it had really horrible acne. I couldn’t very well take it back to the bridge, so I buried it under a big pile of rope.

I was bounced around job-wise, from one thing to something completely different and never, not once, was I trained or helped to learn what the job was all about. I got in a lot of trouble which could easily have been avoided if I had had only one job to do and the opportunity to learn it well and just get on with it. Every time I got into trouble I’d write to the Commodore and ask if I could please leave. I got the same answer every time: “Just wait a little while and see if you don’t feel better about staying.” Sigh. So I went along with it. Somebody got the bright idea to make me the steward to Hubbard’s highest muck-a-mucks — his Aides. These were the 7 people at the very top who ran Scientology from the ship. One of them was Mary Sue. The only other name I remember is Alex Sibersky.

I served their meals and did their laundry and cleaned their cabins and generally was not too unhappy. But one night, I was told that I was now the Commodore’s Steward. His steward, the lovely Julia Migenes, had escaped and run away to sing opera in Italy. I was promoted. My new job had a boatload of rules, in a “hat write-up” written by Mary Sue. It was a very thick book that I never had time to read. I did the best I could. Hubbard had his own private chef, a strange man who was from St. Thomas. He hated all of us but made great meals for the “old man.”

The Commodore ate dinner at midnight and then audited (solo auditing) until 3 or 4 a.m. I served him his dinner one evening and I noticed that the mood at the table (he ate with Mary Sue and the other Aides) got real quiet and a bit chilly when I took the cover off the plate. I had no clue there was anything wrong with the food. Apparently there was. Around 3 in the morning, some thugs banged on my door (I now had a small cabin to myself) and told me someone needed to see me on the well deck. Huh? Like the good do-bee I was, I went with them. As soon as we were outside they marched me to the open gate over the harbor and tossed me in the water. We were docked in Malta. It was 3 a.m. My experience with harbors before this incident was nil. I’d never seen one up close and personal like this. Floating in the water were dead animals, shit, oil and plenty of other terrifying things. Good thing I know how to swim. By the way, no one asked. I got myself back onto the ship, into my cabin, cleaned myself up and went back to bed. I was never told what caused this insane thing to happen. Not a single word was said about it or what I had done wrong. Scientology can definitely make a person go nuts.

I finally got a job I was good at — organizing and coordinating the installation of new navigation equipment. We were in Greece, just before the government tossed us out. I didn’t need to know anything about the equipment and I didn’t need to speak Greek to communicate with the crew doing the installation. The leader of the crew spoke English and he and I would meet every day and plan out the next steps. I went around the ship and told people they had to be out of their offices or whatever at a certain time. It was going really well so I wrote another letter asking to go home. This time the answer was yes. I’d asked for a year’s leave and it was granted. I didn’t do anything about it because I wanted to finish the equipment job. But then the order came to get out of Greece and we had 24 hours. I took my permission letter and ran all over the ship getting signatures so I could get off before the ship sailed. I managed to do all the “routing out,” throw together my stuff and run down the gangplank. Whew! Wait. I was standing on the dock in Corfu, Greece with exactly $5. I hadn’t had time to think past just getting off the damn boat. There was a “mission” being “fired” from Greece that day — a group of maybe eight high-ranking SO who were about to rain some heavy stuff down on the LA Org. They were headed to Athens to await their flight to California. I hitched a ride with them and they let me sleep on the couch in their hotel. I used my $5 to call my mother in Phoenix, she paid for a ticket home and I was out! Except that I went to LA a month later and continued to work for the SO at the original AOLA.

I was living in a horrible house with a bazillion other people. We were crammed into every available space. It was bad. We worked all day and most of the night every day of the week. Then a weird thing happened: a “public” asked me out on a date. For some reason I was allowed to go. I got pregnant on that date. When I told my date that I had gotten pregnant, he brought me a document to sign. It said that I would not ask him for any money and that I would not say who the father was. I tore that up and told him how pathetic he was and that I would take care of my baby myself. So now I’m pregnant and working all the time and not getting decent food or rest. I called my mom and told her about my situation. She was happy that she was going to be a grandmother. Shortly after that conversation, my sister walked into my office at the AO, an office I shared with three other people and announced that she’s there to take me home. All well and good but for the snitch who ran back to the house and told one of the big muck-a-mucks that I was about to leave.

Earlier I had asked to leave because I had a letter from the Commodore giving me a year off and had only been away a month. I was told I’d have to write again, ask again and wait for an answer. I’d been waiting a couple of months. If I recall correctly, the woman who came to “handle” me was Sue Chaleff. She sat me down in the Master-at-Arms office and told me I was in treason and would have to work my way out of that condition. She got out a pair of handcuffs and attached them both to my left wrist. Then she locked me in the basement. I sat down on the stairs and had a moment of supreme clarity. I knew exactly what I needed to say, I knew what she would say, I knew what she would do and I knew that I was going to get out. I knocked on the door and said I was ready. We had the exact conversation I had imagined. She took me out the back door and told me I would be working all night in the garage helping up-date old addresses. I sat down, she went back inside and I snuck around the building, jumped in my sister’s car and told her to drive. No stopping.

At my mom’s house I crawled into bed and slept four days. My mom fed me really good food any time I asked. Someone from the AO called several times a day saying I ought to come back, that everything was fine. I didn’t speak to them, mom did. The calls stopped after a week. Then I got bills which I trashed. It was too ridiculous.

I went about my life, had a beautiful baby girl (February 1970), finished college, worked like a regular person and forgot about Scientology.

Then, about 30 years later, I stepped back into Scientology. But that’s a story for another day.

— Cathy Mullins

 
——————–‘

Bruce Hines

Says Mike: “We continue breaking down the Bridge to total Freedom towards the level of Clear with Bruce Hines. It’s the stairway to heaven with turnstiles at every step. The State of Clear — halfway up the Bridge. What is the E-Meter?” Listen to the episode right here!

 
——————–

Source Code

“So you’ve got the other fellow’s universe and you got the physical universe. Now, the other fellow, in his universe, can cause you problems while communicating to you through the physical universe, and the physical universe itself can cause problems, and so we can get a thing called a present time problem that doesn’t have anything to do with a mental image picture. Doesn’t have anything to do with the reactive bank, but it can restimulate the reactive bank and make it harder to solve the present time problem. But a present time problem can actually exist. That’s one of the things that auditors don’t always notice.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 27, 1965

 
——————–

Avast, Ye Mateys

“CONGRATULATIONS to Bill Robertson and Nate Jessup on passing the Dianetic written examination 100 percent. Nate is the 3rd Staff student to pass the examination. Nobody on the ship part time course has taken the exam yet. You should quickly complete 3 times through the checksheet before your time expires so that if you miss out on the 100 percent you still have time to restudy and pass the exam within the 8 week period.” — Brian Livingston, July 27, 1969

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“If you’re a big enough Thetan and you stay on the bridge, you will be like floating, your postulates creating anything you desire pretty much and you will be completely protected from any other SP’s invalidation. It’s a mystery why in other planets Thetans can destroy all the people on them. I projected myself in full color from all around a planet and reached down and tortured all the people just before getting implanted and coming here. So there must be some sort of ‘protection’ around this planet so other Thetans can’t do that here – maybe a force screen? But still creating MEST out of thin air here is not possible and is a mystery as of yet.”

 
——————–

Past is Prologue

1995: Helena Kobrin, lawyer in charge of harassment for the Church of Scientology, was busy this week sending threatening letters to a.r.s posters for quoting 5 lines from the OT7 document. New recipients this week include Bruce J. Bell, Blind Carlos, Maggie Council, Jesse Garon, James J. Lippard, Old Salt, Doctorb Science, Tony Sidaway, Tim Skirvin, Keith Spurgeon, Steve, Donna Stuckert, and TarlaStar.

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“The regs do all the fluffing in Scientology, but there are no happy endings. It’s all a tease.”

 
——————–

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.

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. Oral arguments scheduled for Oct 5.
— 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.

 
——————–

THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

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

 
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?

 
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] EXCLUSIVE: The real Tom Cruise — Leah Remini exposes Scientology’s biggest asset
[TWO years ago] When your ex is into Scientology, a custody battle can get cosmically worse
[THREE years ago] Why did a 26-year-old ‘Clear’ kill herself at Scientology’s spiritual mecca?
[FOUR years ago] Derek Bloch on fighting Scientology ‘disconnection’ in an unaired TV series
[FIVE years ago] How Scientology split up teen sweethearts who reunited more than 40 years later
[SIX years ago] A new look inside Scientology’s bomb-proof vaults, and a visit to Hubbard’s final rodeo
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: The Nancy Cartwright countdown to godhood edition!
[EIGHT years ago] Jon Atack: A Case of Scientology Fair Game Deflected with Disinfecting Sunlight
[NINE years ago] Scientology’s Worlds Colliding: Bert Leahy and David Edgar Love Together in Oklahoma on August 25!
[TEN years ago] Tom Cruise Proves He Has a Sense of Humor, Signs Anti-Scientologist’s Guy Fawkes Mask

 
——————–

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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 27, 2021 at 07:00

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele

Recently we heard from Pamela Williams, who told us she was working on a book about her life, titled “Clearly, Lies Are True.” She says that a part of her story involved Scientology, and she sent us the prologue. We told her we thought she had put together an interesting [...]]]>

Recently we heard from Pamela Williams, who told us she was working on a book about her life, titled “Clearly, Lies Are True.” She says that a part of her story involved Scientology, and she sent us the prologue. We told her we thought she had put together an interesting snapshot of the organization in its early history. She graciously agreed to allow us to share her chapter with our readers.

 
I have often and seriously wondered, what came first? Insanity or Scientology?

Were my parents destined to suffer from mental health issues and abusive tendencies, or was Scientology the catalyst that activated these behaviors? Trying to explain, or at least learn which came first, and how their beliefs evolved, has guided my writing, and my search for the truth, in as much as it can be found.

L. Ron Hubbard published Dianetics: The Modern Science of Mental Health in 1950. My father, who was an avid science fiction reader, had read many of Hubbard’s stories in the science fiction magazine Astounding Science Fiction. He immediately bought the book, read it from cover to cover, and began attending lectures at the Wichita foundation. He was hooked! In his early 20s, the book “spoke to him” in a way that nothing else had.

However, the Wichita foundation suffered financial issues and mismanagement, leading to its closure, just a year after opening. By the time it closed its doors, my father had met my mother, and L. Ron Hubbard had moved to Washington D.C. and in 1955 opened the Founding Church of Scientology. (Hubbard had created the first “Church of Scientology” corporation in 1953, and the first “church” opened in 1954, but he still called the DC location the “Founding Church” or “FCDC”.) In 1957, my parents married quickly, after a brief romance, and moved to D.C.

My mother worked at the Founding Church and both of my parents were active members, participants, and leaders in the Hubbard Association of Scientologists (HAS) from 1957 to 1958. With a small, but devoted following, Scientology was growing. Franchises were developing in other cities and membership was expanding, and so was Hubbard’s bank account. Tax evasion charges, an FDA raid in D.C., and fraudulent claims were all real, constant, and looming threats against his burgeoning empire.

So in 1959, L. Ron Hubbard, along with his wife Mary Sue Whipp Hubbard and their four young children — Diana, Suzette, Quentin, and Arthur — packed up and moved to Sussex, England. Hubbard bought Saint Hill, a mansion just outside East Grinstead in the idyllic English countryside. Saint Hill became the center of the Scientology universe in the 1960s. Members flocked there to receive “new” training and to hear Hubbard speak. While living and working at Saint Hill, he gave many lectures that were recorded and are still used today by the Church of Scientology.

He was an incredibly charismatic leader who attracted an almost all white, privileged following from the U.S., Australia, New Zealand, and a few other European countries. His “new age” beliefs, along with his philosophy of man and his many troubles, with Scientology as the answer, created a “counter culture” to the turmoil, rebellion, and political and social unrest of the 1960s.

In 1960, my parents, who were postwar middle class white adults, moved from D.C., after Hubbard’s departure, to a suburb of Colorado. A Scientologist couple they knew from D.C. had started a franchise there and they followed them. Suburban life in Colorado, and an opportunity to continue dabbling in Scientology, lasted a few years until we moved to a small town outside of New Orleans due to a job offer for my father. The South was an adjustment for all of us. It was a very different form of suburbia. Scientology was also harder to access there. By 1966, or probably sooner, my parents’ marriage had begun to unravel.

Of course, the solution to all problems was based in Scientology. In the summer of 1967, my mother, my little brother and I flew to England. Our destination was a small town, Tunbridge Wells, just outside of East Grinstead and within driving distance to Saint Hill. Like many other Scientologists, my mother paid thousands of dollars to enroll in Scientology training courses at Saint Hill. While my mother shuttled back and forth to Saint Hill every day from the Harewood Hotel in Tunbridge Wells, where we lived for about two months, my little brother and I were cared for by a young nanny, and we attended a small English Episcopal school for a short time.

While Hubbard lived and worked at Saint Hill, in addition to expanding his base and number of followers, he was getting richer and richer, and tax collectors were getting closer and closer. Unfortunately, his new address did not afford him complete tax exemption from the U.S. But L. Ron Hubbard was above all else, a survivor, and an artful creator of plots and schemes based in both fantasy and fiction.

In 1967, he purchased an older ship that had been used to carry cattle. Docked at Southampton, England, he had it somewhat renovated to include nicely furnished living quarters for both himself and his family. The Royal Scotman set sail in November of 1967 for its maiden voyage into the Mediterranean Sea. Hubbard could not be taxed at sea. He could continue to lead and operate the Church of Scientology from this new, exotic, remote, and safe location.

Maybe due to my parents’ former connection with Hubbard, or maybe because it was exciting and on the “cutting edge” of Scientology’s new path, my mother, my little brother and I all boarded the Royal Scotsman late at night. Her maiden voyage was rough, as there was a storm at sea, and the mostly young, untrained crew, made up of only Scientologists, blindly sailed into the night. Thankfully, the ship and all those aboard survived, and the next chapter of Scientology began in the Mediterranean Sea.

We lived on the ship for about a month, along with the crew and other Scientologists who were receiving auditing (kind of like therapy – more about that later), just like my mother. We saw my mother very little during that time as she was only allowed to visit us briefly, and not very often. We were tutored along with the two younger Hubbard children, Suzette and Arthur, and watched over by a nanny, who also somewhat supervised other children who had boarded the ship with their parents.

In January 1968 the Scientology Sea Organization evolved and all “civilian Scientologists” were literally shipped off the Royal Scotsman, soon to be renamed the Apollo. My mother flew back to Louisiana with both me and my little brother in tow. Not surprisingly, my parents’ marriage was in no better shape than when we left. My father had stayed in the U.S. to work so he could continue to make money to pay for our trip as well as my mother’s training and auditing bills. Financial troubles only exacerbated their issues. Again, my parents, probably mostly my father, truly believed that the answer to all problems could be found in the philosophy and teachings of L. Ron Hubbard.

After a brief stay back home in Louisiana, my mother left, alone this time, for Los Angeles. Scientology was booming in L.A. with the opening of the American Saint Hill Organization (ASHO) and the American Organization in Los Angeles (AOLA). More training and auditing would “fix” my mother, or so they believed, and L.A. was the place to go. By the summer of 1968, my father had sold our home, or possibly foreclosed on it, sold all of our furniture and worldly possessions, and drove with me and my little brother in the backseat (no seat belts back then!) to Los Angeles. The three-day trip, with only my father behind the wheel, and me as his navigator, was a bit surreal.

From 1968 to 1970, we lived in an apartment complex not far from the Scientology organizations near downtown Los Angeles. The orgs, as they were called, were housed in cheap properties that were in older, poor neighborhoods. Shortly after we arrived in L.A., my mother suffered a psychotic breakdown or “episode.” She was removed by Scientologists from our apartment and housed in a room at one of the orgs. Scientology auditing had stirred up old traumas and troubling life events, in addition to alleged events that had occurred in past lives.

However, trying to cure or “fix” herself through Scientology was a bit like drinking poison, but thinking she was drinking a remedy that would help get rid of something harmful. The more auditing my mother had, or the more poison she drank, the sicker she became. Fortunately, she recovered fairly quickly from the psychotic breakdown and returned home after several weeks.

After moving to L.A., my father found a job in Palmdale, California, where he worked as a technical writer at Lockheed. He commuted about two hours a day, each way, from our apartment to work and back. He left early in the morning, probably around 6am and returned at night by 8pm. While my mother was gone, and my father was at work, my brother and I mostly fended for ourselves. We got up, ate breakfast and walked back and forth to school together every day. We also ran around the apartment complex mostly unsupervised, except by the manager, who lived right next door.

When my mother returned home, after being sequestered due to her psychotic breakdown, she began to suffer from debilitating agoraphobia, an anxiety disorder in which you fear and avoid places or situations that might cause you to panic or feel trapped. This fear was so intense for my mother that she was unable to leave our apartment. She would venture out to the pool area, or a fellow Scientologist’s apartment, who lived in the same complex. But going to the store caused her so much anxiety that she would send my brother or me to the local liquor store to purchase her cigarettes, snacks, milk, bread, and other necessities.

My own journey and exposure to Scientology began in Los Angeles. Until then I had never really engaged in Scientology training or auditing, aside from a children’s Communication Course that I had taken at Saint Hill, which I do not remember, but I do have the certificate to prove my participation. In the summer of 1970 I was twelve years old, soon to turn thirteen in November. My parents, mostly my father, urged me to become active in Scientology. In actuality, I believe that since neither one of my parents were actively taking courses or receiving auditing at that time, or in other words paying good money to the Church, that I became the target.

In 1971, we moved into a different apartment complex which was closer to one of the orgs. that offered the latest and the greatest in Scientology training. It was also in a better neighborhood, which might have been a motivation for my parents. In November, I turned thirteen and my father was diagnosed with full blown MS – Multiple Sclerosis.

In six short months, he went from walking to being fully confined in a wheelchair. He continued to work for a few more months, commuting to Palmdale in his car that was outfitted with hand controls, since his feet could not feel the pedals. But his disease progressed rapidly, and my mother moved him into a local convalescent hospital by my fourteenth birthday.

In the meantime, I became active in Scientology. I volunteered at the newly opened Celebrity Centre, an org. that was established with the intention of recruiting celebrities into Scientology, along with all of their money. I fondly remember Yvonne Gillham Jentzsch greeting me each day with her lovely Australian accent in her sunny, friendly manner.

In the summer of 1971, I began taking courses and receiving auditing. Ray Mithoff, who later became a top official in the church, was one of my earlier auditors. By the time I was fourteen, I had progressed to being an auditor myself. Although I was very young, I was treated just like the other auditors. The expectations and amount of work were the same for everyone. Scientologists believe that children are just thetans, similar to souls, who are in young bodies. However, I was not paid as an auditor, and I had not joined the Sea Org, like the other auditors that worked there. I’m not quite sure how the arrangement was set up, but I felt very grown-up and loved hanging out with the older, twenty- and thirty-year-old Scientologists. I idolized them!

After my father became ill, and could no longer work, my mother found a secretarial job and went back to work. Again, my brother and I fended for ourselves. We lived in a safer neighborhood though and my mother worked close by. We were typical “latch key” kids growing up in the 1970’s. Most of my school friends had parents that worked while they went to school. It was the norm.

With my father disabled and my mother working full-time, Scientology had pretty much stopped targeting them. They still received newsletters and written communication such as postcards and flyers from the Church on a weekly basis, but they were no longer being hounded to buy more training or auditing.

Without my parents pushing me to stay active in Scientology, I started to tire of it. When I turned fifteen, I became active in a local youth group that my girlfriends had joined. The girls’ youth group frequently attended sporting events, dances, and other events with the boys’ youth group. As a teenager, being with my peers, particularly boys, became much more interesting than spending time with unavailable and self-absorbed male Scientologists.

Also, I believe I was becoming more and more disenchanted with Scientology. It just started to seem weird. My world, and my parents’ world no longer revolved around Scientology. My mother never paid for any further auditing or training, and sadly, my father was moved into the Veteran’s Hospital in Long Beach. By 1975, we had all left the Church of Scientology.

My last Scientology memory is of an incident that took place when I was sixteen. My boyfriend was at our apartment and there was a knock at the door. My mother wasn’t home. I opened the door and two Sea Org Scientologists stood in the hallway. They wondered why I hadn’t been at the org lately. I think I told them that I was busy with school. My boyfriend, now husband, stood behind me. He towered over them at six feet five inches tall. We chatted a little more and they left.

However, my husband remembers the incident a little differently. He felt that if he had not been there, they might have pushed their way into the apartment and tried to coerce me to go back to the org. They were the same Scientologists who had almost succeeded in getting me to join the Sea Org, sign a billion-year contract, and leave home a few months earlier. Thankfully, I didn’t join.

I’ve always wondered what came first, my parents’ neuroses, or Scientology. Maybe, the truth, as it most often does, lies in between. Their propensity towards certain thoughts, beliefs and behaviors may have been exacerbated and fueled by their personal experiences in Scientology. Whatever the case, they were not alone in being recruited, milked, and duped of their money, and then left abandoned when they were no longer useful resources for the organization.

My hope is that after reading this you are able to understand a little more about Scientology’s history, and more clearly see it as the cult that it was and continues to be. A cult set up to profit only its leader, while prophesizing about saving the planet. Like most cults, my hope is that it will eventually extinguish itself, freeing its followers to live more sane, productive, and fulfilling lives.

— Pamela Nickel Williams

 
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Source Code

“When you take bodies which have been mocked up and thetans who have been indoctrinated in very definite lines — to fight, to do this, to have certain types of societies; to do this, to do that, to do the other thing — and then they get scooped up from this galaxy and that system and this star and here and there and the other place and are dumped in on one system as unwanted merchandise, you have these tremendous impulses which are at work, one against another. And it works up a lot of heat of friction. You have such a society here at this particular time. This society belongs nominally to the Espinol United Stars. This is Sun 12, and it is one little tiny pinpoint. Their whole title is Espinol United Stars, pardon me, Espinol United Moons, Planets and Asteroids, this part of the Universe is ours, Hup!” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 9, 1963

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“A very warm welcome aboard to Jane Kember The Guardian WW, on behalf of The Commodore, myself, Aides Council, The Captain and all officers and crew of the ‘Apollo’. All who have kept up-to-date with the news and events posted on my board in CIC will know what a great task the Guardian’s Office has performed for Scientology, Scientology Orgs and Scientologists throughout the world. It is an honor and a privilege to have you with us, Jane, and may your stay be most enjoyable.” — With love, Capt Mary Sue Hubbard, July 9, 1970

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“The field is almost dead. It is well possible that the Scientology third dynamic dies by the next generation. It could be saved, but there’s no reason to believe it might occur. I’ve written and wondered about what’s needed to prevent this from happening. It’s gotten old. People have gotten tired. Too many disappointments. Many survivors have huge egos that prevent them from agreeing with others. It’s low-toned. Funnily, this is the best possible time for the Scientology third-dynamic to thrive. There’s Internet and it’s cheap. The Church has ceased to exist as a threat. There’s a friendly and interested world that is willing to see what we have to offer. But it’s arrived too late. There’s too much unhealed pain. Too much shouting that hasn’t been fully listened to. Expectations of major spiritual breakthroughs that never occurred. Bankruptcy. I’ve made proposals — Magick rituals, PR campaigns — But what I deem is really-really-really important is more simple. And it’s been overlooked: Diagnosis. Simply diagnosis. A simply thorough looking of the area to see what is really going on. How are we doing. How do we feel. Maybe we can at least die as saints?”

 
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Past is Prologue

1998: The Jacksonville Times-Union reported that Scientologist John Travolta was confronted by actor Woody Harrelson concerning Scientology. “Travolta and co-star Woody Harrelson verbally jousted about Scientology while making their upcoming movie, Thin Red Line, insiders claim. ‘Woody has a problem with Scientology and he went up and told John what he thought,’ says a source close to the production. ‘John and he got into some heated arguments. They never came to blows, but it got pretty tense on the set.'”

 
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Random Howdy

“Scientology….the Renaissance Faire meets the ‘Invasion of the Body Snatchers’.”

 
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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.

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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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON

We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.

SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z

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

 
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Internal LAPD emails show the department’s cozy relationship with Scientology
[TWO years ago] To be fair, we went by a Scientology ‘Ideal Org’ on its biggest day of the week
[THREE years ago] Scientology’s blatant social media fraud fuels attacks on Leah Remini and Mike Rinder
[FOUR years ago] Scientology trying to salvage its derelict Narconon flagship as new training center
[FIVE years ago] Atack: Which of Scientology’s thought-stopping clichés has stayed with you the longest?
[SIX years ago] How Scientology’s 1970s infiltration scandal led to the creation of its IAS slush fund
[SEVEN years ago] Jon Atack: The abandoned ideas that L. Ron Hubbard turned into Dianetics
[EIGHT years ago] Claire Headley Shows Us That in Scientology, You Just Can’t Shout at Ashtrays Enough
[NINE years ago] 10,000 Scientologists Got This E-Mail Today About ‘Disconnection,’ their Church President, and a Mysterious Death
[TEN years ago] Placido Domingo Jr: Scientology’s Retaliation is ‘Scary and Pathetic’

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 9, 2021 at 07:00

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele