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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Bruce Hines: Scientology has always protected abusers and always will

[Dark secrets in the South Tyrol]

[While we have a day off from deliberations at the Danny Masterson retrial, we have this treat to tide us over, the latest vivid narrative from Bruce []

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Former London staffer tells his story: ‘Abuse is fundamental to Scientology’s very nature’

 You can’t leave the room until you’ve written down everything you’ve done wrong. “Have you ever masturbated?” I was asked. “Write down every instance you’ve done this in as much detail as you can: when, where, how many times. Did you watch porn? What type? How long for?”. These were my last few moments in []

A Scientology childhood: Jon Atack talks to ‘Bad Cadet’ author Katherine Spallino

 Last month we published an excerpt from a new book, The Bad Cadet: Growing Up in the Church of Scientology’s Sea []

PODCAST: Paulette Cooper has been exposing Scientology’s abuses for more than 50 years

[Paulette Cooper in 1967, before all the trouble started]

This week at the podcast, we’re coming back around to why we created the Underground Bunker to begin with. In 2012, we began working on a book that eventually gained the title The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, and we created our website in order to make sure the []

THE VALESKA PARIS DECLARATION: Here’s her full report to Clearwater PD on Scientology abuses

 On April 28, Valeska Paris and two other Australian former Scientology Sea Org workers, Gawain and Laura Baxter, filed a new labor trafficking lawsuit against David Miscavige and the Church of Scientology, alleging that they had been forced into hard labor and harrowing punishments while still only children. []

Trafficking lawsuit: In Scientology, the tables turn quickly on abusers and the abused

[The new lawsuit focuses on hellish tales from Scientology’s cruise ship by Valeska Paris and others]

One of the really remarkable things about the new labor trafficking lawsuit filed against the Church of Scientology is that its 88-page complaint names so many []

When you’re a child in Scientology’s Sea Org, the stress is meant to overwhelm you

[Mark in Clearwater with his grandmother, who died in the Sea Org]

It was night when I landed in Florida after leaving England. I was accompanied by a female stewardess who had been charged with seeing me to a security []

Surviving Scientology’s Sea Org for children was a nightmare of parental abandonment

[The cadets at Stonelands, with Mark Stevens and Claire Headley circled.]

Another former Scientologist has reached out to us with a harrowing account of what they went through. We’ve confirmed that Mark was known to others who were in the Cadet Org at the time, and we’re honored that he’s allowed us to help him tell []

Neil Sarfati on the perils of telling mainstream media about Scientology’s abuses

 Neil Sarfati has a wild and colorful story to tell about being a member of the Sea Org on the Apollo with Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard, and being a member of the ship’s jazz band, the Apollo []

A new group comes forward, saying it’s going to spill secrets of Scientology’s abuses

[The Portland Ideal Org]

Recently, we heard from a former Scientologist who said that they represent a group of former Sea Org and staff who are determined to make public new stories of abuse in the []