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 Mary Morton Pete Combs of WSB Radio comes through again. Yesterday, we were both reporting that Scientology’s drug rehab program in the Atlanta area, Narconon Georgia, has worked out a deal with county and state officials which allows the facility to surrender its state license and in return is spared criminal prosecution for credit card or insurance fraud. One person Pete talked to was Mary Morton, whose complaints about the center sparked the criminal investigation to begin with. Morton told Pete (and we have the audio, below) that when she called Narconon Georgia this week, she was told by executive director Jeannie Trahant that the facility was not taking new patients — not because it was closed, but because it was too full. Combs says he took those statements to Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter who admitted that it sounded like Narconon was violating the spirit of the agreement, and if he found they continued to spread those kinds of lies, it could jeopardize the agreement itself. Continue reading Shut-Down Scientology Drug Rehab Claiming It’s Full, Says Mother of Insurance Fraud Victim
 The Arnold Building Last night, Tampa Bay Times reporter Charlie Frago published another fascinating scoop: The Church of Scientology paid a premium — more than $3 million — for a parcel of land in a key downtown Clearwater, Florida location which included an aging five-story office building. Frago said the church wasn’t saying why it paid so much money for a collection of properties that the county had assessed at about $610,000. Rumors, he said, had the church buying the land for new housing for workers, or perhaps for a retirement home for church employees. A retirement home. Yeah, that’s a good one. We think we’ve solved this mystery, and we did it by talking to someone who often purchased property for Scientology leader David Miscavige and did so, he tells us, not because the church needed it, but simply to keep it out of the hands of Miscavige’s perceived enemies. Continue reading Did Scientology Pay $3 Million To Foil an “Independent Scientology Org” in Clearwater?
 Scientology’s drug rehab center in the Atlanta area, Narconon Georgia, has cut a deal with county and state officials, and in return for surrendering its license and shutting down an operation that was already on life support, the facility escapes prosecution on credit card fraud and insurance fraud that was said to be in the millions of dollars.
But Gwinnett County District Attorney Danny Porter tells us that doesn’t mean he’s given up on prosecuting individuals. “Our investigation is ongoing. If we find individuals were engaged in criminal conduct, we will prosecute them,” he told us today by telephone. Continue reading Scientology Drug Rehab Shut Down in Georgia, Ordered to Turn Over Records in Oklahoma
Claire Headley is taking us on our journey to train as Scientologists. She and her husband Marc were Sea Org workers who escaped from Scientology’s International Base in 2005. She spent years working with Scientology’s “tech,” and was trusted to oversee the auditing of Tom Cruise. Go here to see the first part in this series.
Claire, last week on our trip up the Bridge to Total Freedom we completed New Era Dianetics and went Clear. That was a big moment. But you were telling us that in recent decades, there’s been an additional step at this point to make certain that we’ve actually gone Clear. Do we have that right? CLAIRE: Yes, the Clear Certainty Rundown, or CCRD, is a set of steps to confirm the state of Clear, once the person has voiced the Clear cognition. Continue reading Scientology Catechism: Claire Headley Puts Our State of Clear to the Test!
 Last night, on Dancing With The Stars, Leah Remini was heard telling her dance partner, Tony Dovolani, that Scientology, which she left this summer, wants her to fail on the program so its members would think that’s what happens to anyone who leaves. “You’re used to taking a lot of negativity on yourself,” she said about being a part of Scientology.
We wanted to ask another actor who left the church recently what he thought about her words. We spoke to Jason Beghe last night and asked him, was Leah Remini correct to say that Scientology wants her to fail? Beghe left Scientology in 2008 in a very public way, recording a YouTube video denouncing the church. Since then, the veteran film and television actor’s career has taken off with recurring roles in Californication and Chicago Fire, and now he’s filming episodes for his own spinoff series, Chicago PD. But in spite of that success, he’s dealt with severe harassment from Scientology since he left, and he told us there was no question that Remini was right about what she said on television last night. “It’s not just that they want you to fail. It’s kind of like they want you to die.” Continue reading JASON BEGHE ON LEAH REMINI: She’s Right, Scientology Does Want Her to Fail
 Leah Remini continues to use her access to a huge media platform to jab the Church of Scientology in the ribs.
Previously, she had prominently displayed ex-Scientologist Marc Headley’s book about escaping Scientology, Blown For Good, while on her way into rehearsals for ABC’s Dancing With The Stars. And tonight, on the show itself, she was heard to tell her dancing partner Tony Dovolani that she has to do well because her former church wants her to fail. Continue reading LEAH REMINI: Scientology Wants Me to Fail on Dancing With The Stars
 Since the Tampa Bay Times broke the news Wednesday afternoon that Scientology had postponed indefinitely the October 6 grand opening of its “Super Power Building,” we’ve been digging for answers to why that decision was made, and what it might mean.
Formally known as the “Flag Building,” the massive edifice in Clearwater, Florida has been in progress for 15 years, and for at least a decade Scientologists who have been asked to fund its construction have been told it was on the verge of opening for business. The Tampa Bay Times estimates that about $145 million has been raised for its completion, but some former top Scientology executives say the true figure is closer to $200 million to $230 million. It’s a 300,000 square foot, seven-story structure with hundreds of auditing rooms, dozens of space age installations, and a giant indoor running track. And finally, after months of frenetic activity to finish up preparations, it was supposed to open on October 6 in a grand opening that the city was told would draw 10,000 Scientologists. But then the event was suddenly cancelled. Why? Continue reading Why Scientology Postponed The Super Power Event: Our Archeological Dig For Answers
 On Sundays we like to reveal to you the mailers and fliers that our network of tipsters forward to us during the week.
This week we received something unusual and enlightening. While we’ve been focusing lately on major crises gripping the top echelons of the Church of Scientology, it’s useful to remember there are still quite a few folks out there in far-flung locations, doing what they can to “clear the planet” — spread the word about Scientology so it can take over the world. And what better way to do that than with ads placed on Craigslist? Continue reading The Scientology Guide to Craigslist
 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 on Saturdays he’s helping 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.
Jon, we’ve seen some amazing bravery on the part of people speaking out about the abuses in Scientology. Just yesterday, Jenna Miscavige Hill’s response to Barbara Walters really took guts, and we’ve seen many other examples of people like Lori Hodgson and Monique Rathbun daring to speak out or take on the church in litigation. But you know as well as we do that the vast majority of people who leave Scientology with similar experiences never speak out about them. We’ve talked to people who were shockingly mistreated, but years later they still can’t talk about it publicly. You said you had something to tell us that might help explain that situation. Continue reading FEAR: Jon Atack on Scientology’s Essential Ingredient
 On Tuesday, Barbara Walters once again came to the rescue for Scientology, this time sticking up for the church’s “educational programs” on The View.
Whoopi Goldberg started the discussion by bringing up Jaden Smith’s infamous tweet, in which the 15-year-old actor encouraged kids to drop out of school. Jenny McCarthy then brought up Scientology, which the Smith family has been said to dabble in. At that point, Walters spoke up, saying, “I’m not going to speak about Scientology in general, but Scientology has a pretty good educational program. They’re not telling people to drop out.” That surprised Sherri Shepherd, who remembered that the program had recently had a guest who said just the opposite. “She said they pulled her out and put her in a camp. What kind of school is that? It’s like it was a hard labor camp. She built the doggone — the huts that they lived in.” Shepherd was speaking, of course, of Jenna Miscavige Hill, who had visited The View in February. And Jenna has a message for Barbara Walters. Continue reading JENNA HILL RESPONDS TO BARBARA WALTERS ON SCIENTOLOGY EDUCATION
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