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 The last time we spoke with Florida attorney Ken Dandar, he had put on a brave face about what appeared to be another setback in court. Federal Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington had refused, again, to intervene with a state court that had saddled Dandar with a $1 million judgment, payable to the Church of Scientology.
Dandar told us, however, that he was encouraged that Covington had allowed part of his lawsuit against Scientology and the lower court to stand. “She denied their motion to dismiss. That’s huge. She recognizes the federal rights in this case, but she’s reluctant to interfere with the state courts,” he told us. Continue reading Ken Dandar could use a cool million in his fight against Scientology
 Ryan Hamilton gets some blowback! We have some legal updates, and they involve several different filings from attorneys for Scientology’s drug rehab network, Narconon, as it begins to hit back at the 16 federal lawsuits filed by Las Vegas attorney Ryan Hamilton. Hamilton’s strategy has been consistent and simple: His lawsuits allege that Narconon’s business model is essentially deceptive in nature. Prospective patients and their families are told that they’ll receive drug counseling delivered in a safe setting with medical professionals, and that Narconon’s sauna-and-vitamins regimen is safe, effective (with 76 percent and higher success rates), and based on scientific purposes. Continue reading Scientology begins hitting back at Ryan Hamilton and his lawsuits
 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, it’s great to see you back, at least for a one-off. Please take us on another dive into the history of Scientology and L. Ron Hubbard. Continue reading Jon Atack: The abandoned ideas that L. Ron Hubbard turned into Dianetics
 He’s like a machine. Since late January, Las Vegas attorney Ryan Hamilton has filed sixteen federal fraud lawsuits against Scientology’s drug rehab network. The latest was filed this weekend, and we have the details.
In February of this year, Jerry Courson went looking for a suitable rehab program for his wife, Christy, and found himself talking to a Narconon “Fresh Start” recruiter, in this case about Narconon’s facility in Fort Collins, Colorado, which is also known as “A Life Worth Saving.” Continue reading Ryan Hamilton files lawsuit 16 against Scientology’s drug rehab network
 Even as more people leave and Scientology continues inexorably to dwindle, the church never gives up trying to spread its message, sometimes in subtle ways.
The latest example is a campaign we learned about before Scientology has even been able to launch it. It’s the newest ad from the Florida chapter of its anti-psychiatry front group, the Citizens Commission on Human Rights, CCHR. Continue reading Scientology tries to psych out Florida — and Chill EB is back!
 We hope you’re enjoying your holiday weekend as we turn to our Sunday tradition of sharing with you some of the Scientology fliers and mailers our excellent tipsters have forwarded to us.
If you’ve been with us for a while, you know that most of these church communications are focused on fundraising. And if anything, the desperation for money has only gotten ramped up higher and higher. Members are implored to come down to events that are made to look as fun as possible, when really attendees are “regged” intensely — pressured, in other words, to give large sums even if they’ve given plenty already. Continue reading Sunday Funnies: Scientology finally starts making its members superheroes!
We knew him only as “Plain Old Thetan.” He began communicating with us during our Village Voice days, and quickly became one of our most productive and most trusted sources about what was happening inside the Church of Scientology. On Thursday, Plain Old Thetan — whose real name was John Joseph — died after suffering complications from appendicitis. He was 59. Continue reading John Joseph, 1955-2014: A Scientologist, and a friend to the Underground Bunker Advertisement
We couldn’t think of a more appropriate breaking story for Independence Day: Jeremy Powers, who we first wrote about more than two years ago, has ditched the Church of Scientology and was reunited yesterday with the family he “disconnected” from, including his grandmother, Edie Fields. Continue reading Scientology’s ‘Disconnection’ policy foiled as Jeremy Powers reunites with his family
 Two recent newspaper reports indicate that despite the opening of its “Ideal Org” in Berlin seven years ago, Scientology is essentially defunct in the city, with only about 130 members in a metropolis of more than 3 million.
Drawing from the most recent report from the country’s Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, the Berliner Zeitung BZ, Berlin’s largest newspaper, reported that 130 members is also the same number Scientology had the year before. Continue reading German media: Scientology is essentially dead in Berlin
 Squirrel Busters Ed Bryan and Joanne Wheaton on a boat in a 2011 video we’d like to see again We’re trying to stay on top of a lot of different litigation involving the Church of Scientology that’s happening around the country. We’re fortunate to have numerous tipsters and legal experts who help keep us up on what’s going on. Let’s start with the federal fraud lawsuit in Tampa filed by Luis and Rocio Garcia. You’ll remember that the Garcias survived a daunting challenge to their lawsuit and its “diversity jurisdiction.” They dropped three defendants in order to get around an objection by Scientology, but then the church accused the Garcias of cutting corners in order to make that change. Continue reading Scientology litigation update: The Garcias respond, and the NAFC plays hardball
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The last time we spoke with Florida attorney Ken Dandar, he had put on a brave face about what appeared to be another setback in court. Federal Judge Virginia M. Hernandez Covington had refused, again, to intervene with a state court that had saddled Dandar with a $1 million judgment, payable to the Church of Scientology.
