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]
FOLLOW ME ON
Daily Notifications
Sign up for free emails to receive the feature story every morning in your inbox at tonyortega.substack.com

Categories

Monthly Archives

Another dog poisoned: Bobette Riales says harassment worse since suing Scientology

[Bobette Riales and her dog Jet]

Ten days after Chrissie Carnell Bixler and Cedric Bixler-Zavala had to put down a dog that ate meat laced with rat poison tossed into their Los Angeles yard, another plaintiff in their lawsuit against the Church of Scientology, Bobette Riales, says her dog began a 42-hour ordeal of vomiting, diarrhea, []

ADVERTISEMENT

Here’s Scientology actor Danny Masterson’s legal response to his rape accusers

[Danny Masterson in 2003]

Four women have sued Danny Masterson, the Church of Scientology, and its leader David Miscavige, alleging that since those women came forward to the LAPD with rape allegations against Masterson in 2016, they have been subjected to a harassment campaign in an attempt to silence []

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 []

Professional ham hock Grant Cardone: I’m giving up the Super Bowl for Scientology

[Grant Cardone]

Some churches require that you give up pork. Others that you give up short pants.

But professional ham hock and OT Scientologist Grant Cardone has announced on a Facebook video that he’s making the ultimate sacrifice for his space-age religion: He’s not going to the Super Bowl today that is being played right in his []

What are Valerie Haney’s options after Scientology won its arbitration motion?

[Valerie Haney]

We’re still reeling after Thursday’s court hearing that dealt such a blow to Valerie Haney’s lawsuit. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Richard Burdge Jr. granted the motions submitted by two of Scientology’s entities to compel the case into “religious arbitration,” and stayed the lawsuit []

Scientology files anti-SLAPP, says stalking and smearing Valerie Haney is free speech

[Valerie Haney]

When Luis and Rocio Garcia sued in 2013, Scientology answered with a motion to force them into religious arbitration. When Monique Rathbun sued later the same year, Scientology answered with an anti-SLAPP motion. []

Cedric Bixler-Zavala blames Scientology for poisoned dog he had to put down yesterday

[Cedric and Biscuit]

For the second time, Cedric Bixler-Zavala and Chrissie Carnell Bixler are burying a dog whose death they blame on a Church of Scientology harassment []

David Miscavige in Miami sex abuse lawsuit: Catch me if you can, suckers

[David Miscavige]

The national legal team suing Scientology in three important lawsuits has asked a Miami court for more time — up to May 15, if necessary — because they still haven’t located David Miscavige to serve notice to the Scientology leader in a suit alleging a cover-up of child sexual abuse. The request was granted []

Lawsuit filed in death of man shot by police at Scientology’s Inglewood ‘Ideal Org’

[Brian Statler]

On March 27, Inglewood police officers shot and killed a mixed-race man named Brian Statler they claimed “opened fire” on them while wielding a sword at Scientology’s Inglewood “Ideal Org” in Southern California. []

Scientology, disconnection, and the worst Christmas ever

[Skip Young and his daughters]

One of our favorite stories of 2016 was the lengthy piece we wrote about Skip Young. At one point, he had worked as an operator for the Church of Scientology while he was a police officer, and he became a footnote in the Snow White Program of the 1970s. Years later, []