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 Jon Atack is the author of A Piece of Blue Sky, one of the very best books on L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. He has a new edition of the book for sale, and for more than a year on Saturdays he helped us sift through the legends, myths, and contested facts about Scientology that tend to get hashed and rehashed in books, articles, and especially on the Internet. He was kind enough to send us a new post.
Jon, thanks for another new post. Tell us about the question Scientologists can’t ask each other! Continue reading Jon Atack: The question Scientologists aren’t allowed to ask each other
 On September 23, we told you about the struggles of a process server who was trying to serve a lawsuit on Scientology leader David Miscavige. Despite the best efforts of the security guards at the Hollywood Guaranty Building to keep the process server from getting anywhere near Miscavige, he managed to succeed under California law by making three attempts and then mailing a copy to the Scientology honcho.
Continue reading Scientology leader David Miscavige gets in just under the wire in NAFC lawsuit
 Last time we checked in on the federal fraud lawsuit brought by Luis and Rocio Garcia against the Church of Scientology, we told you about a rare appearance by the church’s “International Justice Chief,” Mike Ellis.
We explained that the IJC is something of a notorious figure in Scientology because he’s an excommunicated member’s only “terminal” for communicating with the church. And so he handles the requests of kicked-out members as they complain about getting money back that they left on account. Continue reading The Garcias answer Scientology’s ‘International Justice Chief’ with an affidavit by Mike Rinder
[Illustrations by Chad Essley]
Gentle readers, we have an unusual and, we must say, rather mystifying story to tell you today. It’s about a successful businessman by the name of Robert W. Duggan. This illustration of Bob, who is a robust 70 years old, is inspired by an image from his personal website, which we encourage you to visit. Continue reading A perplexing tale about Bob Duggan, the richest Scientologist in the world
 Frank Pate On August 13, a man named Frank Pate was indicted on federal wire fraud charges in the Eastern District of Texas. According to Pate himself, who has written a short blog about his legal troubles, he was arrested in Phoenix on September 2 and arraigned in Texas later in the month. At the arraignment he entered a plea of not guilty. Continue reading Former Scientologist indicted in financial scheme that victimized other ex-church members
We’ve heard from multiple sources that at Friday night’s weekly graduation celebration at Flag — Scientology’s spiritual headquarters in Clearwater, Florida — Kelly Preston celebrated her completion of Operating Thetan Level Seven. Continue reading Kelly Preston finally blows away the last of her Scientology space cooties!
 We sure do love Sunday Funnies. They give us an opportunity, each week, to check in on what Scientology is telling its members in the form of fundraising fliers. Over the years, our readers have picked out many significant clues about what’s ailing the church. it’s become a really substantial history of an organization in trouble.
We can’t wait to see what you make of today’s items, which we’ve sifted from many mailers and messages sent to us by our great tipsters. Continue reading Scientology Sunday Funnies: In valleys near and far, it’s time to stand and deliver!
 The last time we checked in on the federal fraud lawsuit against the Church of Scientology filed by Luis and Rocio Garcia of Irvine, California, we told you that Judge James D. Whittemore had given Scientology a pretty good challenge.
Scientology wants Judge Whittemore to dismiss the lawsuit in favor of the Garcias being compelled to take their grievances to the church’s internal system of arbitration. The Garcias object to that notion, and say that not only are their allegations of fraud not an internal matter, but Scientology’s supposed arbitration system is a sham anyway. The Garcias have produced declarations by former church officials who say Scientology’s rules of arbitration are illusory. Scientology fired back with a 1963 policy written by L. Ron Hubbard outlining the church’s internal justice system, which is built on hearings known as “committees of evidence” or “comm evs.” Continue reading Scientology’s ‘International Justice Chief’ surfaces for the Garcia lawsuit
 Vance Woodward On Monday, Judge Michael Johnson of the Los Angeles Superior Court granted an anti-SLAPP motion and dismissed Vance Woodward’s lawsuit against the Church of Scientology. Woodward filed his lawsuit in March, saying that he had been harmed by his years in Scientology and asked for money back that he gave for services that he would never have use for after leaving the church. If you recall, we reported in June that Scientology filed a motion to compel Woodward to dismiss the suit and submit his grievances to Scientology’s internal arbitration procedures instead. Continue reading Vance Woodward’s lawsuit dismissed as judge grants Scientology’s anti-SLAPP motion
 Las Vegas attorney Ryan Hamilton is still on a roll, filing his 23rd and 24th lawsuits this week against the Church of Scientology’s drug rehab network, Narconon.
Beginning in January, Hamilton has been filing lawsuits against the Narconon facilities in California, Nevada, and Colorado, and over that time we’ve seen him bolster his complaints with material from other suits following patient deaths in Georgia and Oklahoma. In each case, Hamilton targets the local facility and two umbrella corporations, Narconon International and the Association for Better Living and Education (ABLE), which are staffed by Scientology “Sea Org” officers. Continue reading Ryan Hamilton files two more federal lawsuits against Scientology’s drug rehab network
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Jon Atack is the author of A Piece of Blue Sky, one of the very best books on L. Ron Hubbard and Scientology. He has a new edition of the book for sale, and for more than a year on Saturdays he helped us sift through the legends, myths, and contested facts about Scientology that tend to get hashed and rehashed in books, articles, and especially on the Internet. He was kind enough to send us a new post.
