Tony Ortega is a journalist who was formerly the editor of The Village Voice. He's written about Scientology since 1995, and in May 2015 released a book about Scientology's harassment of Paulette Cooper titled 'The Unbreakable Miss Lovely.' He continues to monitor breaking developments in the Scientology world from an undisclosed location in an underground bunker he shares with four cats and one of them wrinkly Shar Pei dogs. Despite his super-secret security protections, you can still reach him pretty easily by sending him a message at tonyo94 AT gmail.com (Drop him a line if you'd like to get an e-mail whenever a new story is posted.) [Header image courtesy John Rickard]
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Scientology rehab: A new Narconon horror story that will remind you of all the others

[Narconon Warner Springs]

In July we posted another nightmare story from yet another family that was duped by Narconon, Scientology’s bogus network of []

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PPP small-business coronavirus bailout loans went to Scientology and Narconon centers

[Scientology’s ‘Ideal Org’ off Times Square got a PPP loan]

Yesterday the Trump administration released data about thousands of companies that received loans of $150,000 or more that were intended to help “small businesses” get through the coronavirus health crisis.

Multi-billion-dollar international religious organizations don’t appear to fit that description. But among the recipients of loans []

A family’s Scientology drug rehab nightmare: The Narconon ‘Fresh Start’ scam strikes again

 Twice recently we heard from families going through the now-familiar Narconon nightmare: Desperate to find help for a son or daughter, they are fooled by Scientology’s slick online operation that convinces parents they are talking to a legitimate drug rehab. And only after sending their loved one across the country at great expense do they []

Whoopi Goldberg recommends Scientology’s drug rehab Narconon on ‘The View’

 On Friday, as the hosts of The View were shooting an episode from each of their homes, Whoopi Goldberg tried helpfully to remind the audience that some people getting through the pandemic will also be struggling with addictions to alcohol and []

Scientology provides all the proof you need that Narconon is more than ‘tied’ to it

 We’ve seen enough reactions to know that it irks you as much as it does us when a press outfit reports on another Narconon debacle and says that the drug rehab network is “tied” to Scientology, or “supported by” Scientology, like there’s some arm’s-length distance between the []

Scientology builds tiny new drug rehab, marking Narconon’s dwindling US fortunes

[Narconon Arrowhead, where Dave’s dream died]

In the year 2000, the Church of Scientology paid $1.9 million for a 256-acre resort in Oklahoma from the Choctaw Nation, which had purchased it in a government fire sale fifteen years earlier for about the same price. The resort had been built by the state in 1965, and it []

Narconon whistleblower Lucas Catton puts out a new memoir about his Scientology nightmare

[Lucas Catton]

We have a new entry in our ‘Scientology Lit’ series, this time an excerpt from a new book by Lucas Catton, who at one time was president of Scientology’s flagship drug rehab clinic, Narconon Arrowhead in Oklahoma. Back in 2012 Luke became a major whistleblower which got him an appearance on NBC’s ‘Rock Center’ []

SCIENTOLOGISTS FACE ADDITIONAL CHARGES IN NARCONON FRAUD CASE AHEAD OF TRIAL

[Hanan and Rizza Islam in court]

So, there’s some good news and some bad news for Hanan Islam, the Scientologist who is accused of running a sophisticated $3.8 million fraud scheme out of a Scientology Narconon clinic in Compton and is facing trial next []

A Scientology front group that duped celebrities for Narconon: It’s baaaack!

[‘Family Ties’ stars Justine Bateman, Michael J. Fox, and Tina Yothers, 1985]

A once-dormant Scientology front group is making a resurgence. This month Friends of Narconon launched a new Twitter account, and they’re making the remarkable claim that their educational program is endorsed by SAMHSA, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. The agency is []

SCIENTOLOGIST ARRESTED IN L.A. COURT: Narconon fraud defendants in wild scene

[Hanan Islam and her son Rizza]

Hanan Islam, a Scientologist who is accused of using a Scientology Narconon drug rehab and unwitting high school students to defraud millions from the state Medi-Cal program, was arrested today in the courtroom of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor, who also issued an arrest warrant for one of []