Tony Ortega's Blog, page 335

“One of the prime principles you must know about any universe to keep it in a good, messy, chaotic, solid, disordered form is to take no responsibility for ever having created it. Say, ‘God did it,’ you’ve practically got it made! And the more you say, ‘God did it,’ the more solid the universe is going to get — if you made it up. Get the idea? Listen, if God made it and that was the true ownership of it, it would disappear! Because that’s assignment of proper ownership; that’s taking a full responsibility for it. That’s understanding exactly what its source was. And it would disappear, just like that.” — L. Ron Hubbard, April 9, 1959

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“When you view how far flung the SO is and how much it’s doing, I doubt there’s a group on the planet that could begin to equal it. Now in the wog world, there’s nothing but sunshine, chicken and ice cream. And H bombs and stupidity and snobs and aberration and the draft and droughts and inflation… Did you ever hear of troops fighting a comfortable war? I haven’t.” — The Commodore, April 9, 1969

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“If we look into the current new age mass awakening we are experiencing, former Scientologists certainly have played a major part. Among top conspiracy theorists Scios are up there and have helped awaken us. Some exteriorise out the top of Scientology and bring about a new world. Others get trapped, and although it might seem mean some of these people are naughty boys which need timeout on the naughty chair forever. Hubbard believed in Crowleyism, so this might have been one of his operating principles in life and it does make sense.”

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1999: La Nuova Sardegna reported that Italian authorities have raided and searched the homes of Scientology leaders in Cagliari. “Cagliari Digos searched some executives’ dwellings as well as the homes of other people connected to the religious organization that follows the ‘Dianetics’ bestseller author Ron Hubbard’s writings. The investigation is related to the suicide committed by a Cagliari 20 years old boy on March 1997: Roberto D. put an end to his life jumping from the 8th floor of a building. His relatives only knew that the boy attended the Scientology Cagliari branch office in his latest times. According to the accusation hypothesis on which Public Prosecutor Guido Pani is working, the boy would have been prompted to suicide after having been reduced into a psychological subjection by members of the Cagliari Scientology branch.”

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SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks

“So Miscavige quit doing processing right around the same time he assumed power? Sounds like he read OT 3, realized it was rubbish and went for the gold instead. That’s pretty much what I’ve always assumed.”

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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Masterson arraigned Jan 20. Discovery hearing on April 20, prelim set for May 18.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing delayed to April 13.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for May 20 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Charged in Brooklyn federal court on Feb 4. Arraigned on Feb 9. Pretrial conference set for Apr 29.

Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition for writ of mandate denied Oct 22 by Cal 2nd Appellate District. Petition for review by state supreme court denied Dec 11.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Dec 30, Judge Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to compel arbitration. June 7: Status conference.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 24.

Concluded litigation:
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.

——————–

The Australian Seven News network cancelled a 10-part investigation of Scientology and its history of dirty tricks. Read the transcripts of the episodes and judge for yourself why Tom Cruise and Tommy Davis might not have wanted viewers to see this hard-hitting series by journalist Bryan Seymour.

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Other links: Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?

——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Bobette Riales’ house burned? Scientology: ‘Can’t sue us. Didn’t happen in California.’
[TWO years ago] Scientology policy is to investigate rape victims seeking help, 1963 document reveals
[THREE years ago] Our prayers are answered — Freedom magazine is coming to Scientology television!
[FOUR years ago] Scientology spends millions on its shiny new buildings, but its workers have to beg for food
[FIVE years ago] Scientology buys ‘.org’ and ‘.net’ sites to battle anti-disconnection billboard in Los Angeles
[SIX years ago] Jenna Miscavige Hill on her uncle spying on her grandfather: The arrogance is astonishing
[SEVEN years ago] Appeals court: Would deposing Scientology’s leader violate Texas law?
[EIGHT years ago] How Scientology’s “Study Tech” Turns Schoolwork Into Conditioning

——————–

Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,266 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,770 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,290 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,310 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,201 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,508 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,376 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,150 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,480 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,954 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,270 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,836 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,755 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,923 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,504 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,765 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,803 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,516 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,041 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 396 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,571 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,122 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,271 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,591 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,446 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,565 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,921 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,224 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,330 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,732 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,604 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,187 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,682 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,936 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,045 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on April 9, 2021 at 07:00

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele

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Published on April 09, 2021 04:00

Newsweek cover on aging gives Q patriots rare ‘I told you so’ thrills

Some links to Q-related items today…

It’s all true! The Democrats really are satanic pedophiles drinking the blood of trafficked children! Q was right all along!

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The grift goes on and on…

New from me: Months after YouTube announced a crackdown on QAnon, the platform is still hosting multiple channels airing shows supporting the conspiracy theory, some of which run ads. That includes multiple ban evasion channels for banned QAnon figures. https://t.co/gUNdH5fAhw

— Alex Kaplan (@AlKapDC) April 7, 2021

Meanwhile, north of the border…

The Canadian Proud Boys Found The Most Q-Pilled Lawyer To Challenge Their Terrorist Designation.

It's wild. He's referenced Frazzledrip — the conspiracy theory that there's a video of Hilary Clinton drinking a kid's blood. @travis_view @QanonAnonymous https://t.co/vAWJpVJDEN

— Canadian Anti-Hate Network (@antihateca) April 7, 2021

Sean is suddenly shy.

Sean Hannity has hosted Matt Gaetz 127 times since August 2017. He hasn't mentioned the congressman's burgeoning scandals — not on his Fox show, radio show, website, or Twitter.https://t.co/H3Eo5yk7pG

— Matthew Gertz (@MattGertz) April 7, 2021

Only the best people.

“I'm going to war”; “I'm writing my letter to my wife and people will have it. But I might not even make it back”; “I'm bringing the big cock”; “I'm taking jin to a knife fight”; “I'm really ready to just the kamikaze.”

Latest Capitol defendant went by “Chris Trump” on Facebook. pic.twitter.com/VQisLNms3l

— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) April 7, 2021

Looking for some background on the QAnon movement? We recommend Travis View’s excellent recent article at New York magazine as a place to start.

————-

THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you’re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.

Posted by Tony Ortega on April 8, 2021 at 8:05

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Published on April 08, 2021 05:07

Talk about ‘enabling’ Scientology, watch this craven plan to kick Mark Bunker off board

[Attorney Elise Winters]

In 1997, when the death of Lisa McPherson had plunged the city of Clearwater into a frenzy of bad press and even the New York Times had come down to the Florida gulf town to cover the controversy, writer Douglas Franz found at least one local figure arguing that the town needed to find a way to appreciate the Church of Scientology, which had surreptitiously moved into town in 1975.

Others argue for more pragmatism, contending that accepting the Scientologists is the only way to revive downtown.

“The are not going to go away,” said Elise K. Winters, a lawyer and former chairwoman of the Downtown Development Board. “You can either treat them like the boogeyman and give downtown to them or you can treat them like any other property owner. You’ve got to decide if you want downtown to succeed or you want to nurse old grudges.”

More than 23 years later, Ms. Winters showed last night just how much she was willing to help Scientology with one of its biggest problems in today’s downtown Clearwater.

Seriously, this was mindblowing stuff, a naked power grab, and Tracey McManus’s excellent story last night at the Tampa Bay Times only hinted at how craven it was.

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Here was the situation: Last year, after Mark Bunker stunned the town by getting elected to the city council on a platform of standing up to Scientology, he also got himself appointed, along with Mayor Frank Hibbard, as an ex-officio (non-voting) member of another body, the Downtown Development Board, which is made up mostly of Scientologists.

Under its chairman, Scientologist Paris Morfopoulos, the DDB has tried to muzzle Bunker, voting, for example, to prevent him from actually mentioning the word “Scientology” during meetings, which was Orwellian enough.

But now, with the help of Elise Winters, Morfopoulos and the board are trying to remove Bunker’s ex-officio position, pretending that having two non-voting members is a waste of Mark Bunker’s time.

Winters gave a presentation to the DDB last night, explaining that although it had been the practice to have two ex-officio members since 1987, Bunker had made only two “representative” statements since being appointed and so it was a waste of his time to have him involved. She presented a motion that the board should ask the city council to remove one ex-officio seat.

This was such an astounding performance, with Winters trying to explain why something that no one had ever had a problem with for more than 30 years should suddenly be such a crisis that it needed an immediate vote from the board (which, with its Scientology majority, easily passed 5-1), that it left Bunker stunned and angry.

Here, you have to watch Winters pretend that what she’s doing is not simply a ham-fisted way to remove Bunker from his position to keep his views from polluting the pro-Scientology board. Her performance starts at about the 24-minute mark…

“The development board passed the resolution 5-1 with little discussion after Winters’ presentation, with board member Festus Porbeni voting no and Shahab Emrani absent. Only Porbeni, who is not a member of Scientology, questioned what was the harm in having two non-voting members,” wrote McManus.

We caught up with Bunker about an hour after the meeting last night, and he was still pretty steamed about what he’d witnessed.

“It was a surprise move, and Elise Winters, the attorney for the DDB, I don’t believe is being entirely truthful when she presents it as something she’s only bringing forth after years and years because she doesn’t want to waste the time of a second ex-officio member. This is an attempt to just get me off the board because the majority of the members are either Scientologists or one person works for Scientology’s go-to attorney, Johnson Pope. There’s only one person who didn’t vote for this nonsense and that was the one non-Scientologist on the board,” he told us.

“This lawyer Elise started showing up to meetings again after years, when I was appointed. And she’s not been happy about my appointment. She expressed that to me when we first talked about it. What galls me is her coming up with such a pretense. If they want to kick me off, kick me off. They can say I’m disruptive, even though I’m not disruptive.”

The argument that Winters made is just a ruse, Bunker says.

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“So from 1987 until now two ex-officio members has been fine, but now we’re wasting the second person’s time? This will be brought up at the city council meeting, and the city council will vote whether to accept this. We’ll find out. It is a power grab from Scientology, which is not happy that I was appointed to the board.”

He pointed out that Aaron Smith-Levin plans to run in the next election, and Scientology is worried that it only takes three votes to get things done that the church won’t like.

“If we can get a third person to hear what you posted at your website yesterday, leaked audio of the FBI saying yes, crimes are being committed by Scientology, that will be a victory for the city of Clearwater. It could finally stand up to this organization. Instead they’re playing games,” he says.

“When Scientologists come up to me and say something critical, it doesn’t bother me. But what does bother me is what you’ve been writing about in your ‘Top 25 People Enabling Scientology,’ the people like this attorney who speak disingenously to help out this organization. That is the kind of thing that is very frustrating.”

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“Is there any way to lick this thing called life? Well, that’s quite a thing to undertake, really. All in a few minutes, sit down with some preclear and go bang, bang, bang, and he feels better. Remember, this individual, at least so far as we can trace on an E-Meter has been about 76 trillion years on a track. He’s had experience after experience after experience after experience. He’s been through things they wouldn’t dare film or describe anywhere. And yet, we have the total conceit of — in using a few words — of attempting to resolve his wobbliness, his inabilities, his incapacities which have resulted from these experiences.” — L. Ron Hubbard, April 8, 1954

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“DEMOTION: Pending Comm Ev for muddying up port relations Mike Smith, Peter Warren, and Amos Jessup are removed from post and restricted to the ship. Ship’s Rep actions will be undertaken by the Purser and the 3rd Mate….I finally got data enough to get things handled and, with reservations, all is okay. If a problem or situation can’t be handled get it to somebody who can handle it. Don’t sit on it until the roof falls in. People only get bit for (a) not taking responsibility for their areas and for (b) failing to do their jobs or for (c) getting us in a mess through irresponsibility or stupidity.” — The Commodore, April 8, 1969

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“I found it confusing that Hubbard might have harmed some people. I think now I get it. Hubbard and possibly the real Illuminati see it as their duty to degrade the degenerate. If you let the moron go free, he might end up voting in a commie government or simply wreck life on Earth because he’s such an idiot. So Hubbard might have devised a way to trap and degrade degraded people so that they don’t stuff up Earth. Good and talented people rise above Hubbard’s tricks and break free to become a part of the elite of society and help the world. His trap is able to be gotten out of by logical people. Illogical people who are dangerous to the world (the degenerate lefty which you can see at silly protests in the streets) needs to be trapped and is trapped as they lack logic and only a logical classy mind can break free of Hubbards’ maze. So Scientology is a maze designed to trap the degenerate and to enhance the elite of society who are the only ones able to work out where the exit of the maze is.”

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1998: Michail Brzitwa reported that German TV aired a segment on Gabe Cazares, who led a German delegation through Clearwater, Florida. “There was a five minute report on how former Clearwater Mayor Gabe Cazares perceives the ongoing occupation of downtown Clearwater by the ‘Church of Scientology.’ Mr. Cazares lead the reporters through parts of Clearwater where Scientologists purchased very many premises through the last 20 years. The TV team and Mr. Cazares were followed closely all the time by Scientology official Brian Anderson who, when asked, said he wanted to know everything that’s being said. Mr. Cazares mentioned the Scientology secret service, the ‘Office of Special Affairs’, OSA.”

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SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks

“From what I’ve read registrars routinely tell prospective clients that Scientology can cure numerous physical aliments that the person is suffering from. That is medical fraud, is it not?”

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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:

Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Masterson arraigned Jan 20. Discovery hearing on April 20, prelim set for May 18.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing delayed to April 13.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for May 20 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Charged in Brooklyn federal court on Feb 4. Arraigned on Feb 9. Pretrial conference set for Apr 29.>

Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition for writ of mandate denied Oct 22 by Cal 2nd Appellate District. Petition for review by state supreme court denied Dec 11.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Dec 30, Judge Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to compel arbitration. June 7: Status conference.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 24.

Concluded litigation:
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.

——————–

The Australian Seven News network cancelled a 10-part investigation of Scientology and its history of dirty tricks. Read the transcripts of the episodes and judge for yourself why Tom Cruise and Tommy Davis might not have wanted viewers to see this hard-hitting series by journalist Bryan Seymour.

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Other links: Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?

——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] With Scientology largely shut down by the pandemic, the few remaining members reminisce
[TWO years ago] Scientology admits in planning docs it expects only 6 walk-ins daily at new facility
[THREE years ago] Scientology buys another derelict building in order to pretend that it’s expanding wildly
[FOUR years ago] You tell us: What’s the current condition of the Church of Scientology?
[FIVE years ago] Brian Sheen continues to fight Scientology’s ‘disconnection’ in unique and unusual ways
[SIX years ago] ‘Let him die’: Scientology leader David Miscavige had private eyes watching his father, say police
[SEVEN years ago] Mike Bennitt shares with us a creepy e-mail he received after filming Scientology events
[EIGHT years ago] An Interview with Brandon Ogborn About His Play, The TomKat Project
[NINE years ago] Marty Rathbun is Big in the U.K., Still Waiting for Major U.S. Treatment

——————–

Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,265 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,769 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,289 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,309 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,200 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,507 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,375 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,149 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,479 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,953 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,269 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,835 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,754 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,922 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,503 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,764 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,802 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,515 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,040 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 395 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,570 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,121 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,270 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,590 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,445 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,564 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,920 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,223 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,329 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,731 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,603 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,186 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,681 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,935 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,044 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on April 8, 2021 at 07:00

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele

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Published on April 08, 2021 04:00

Patriots debate: Is the death of an 84-year-old former congressman proof of Q?

Some links to Q-related items today…

The death of 84-year-old former Democratic US Representative Alcee Hastings after a lengthy battle with pancreatic cancer has Q patriots wrestling with whether this was proof that Q was right about satanic Democratic pedophiles getting their comeuppance.

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Moving on from Q to the sovereign citizen delusion…

NEW: The Oath Enforcers are a national network dragging disillusioned Trumpers and QAnon supporters towards sovereign citizen thinking. But other extremists have noticed their quick growth… https://t.co/zYGpQ2xDn0

— jason wilson (@jason_a_w) April 6, 2021

Italy gets its own Q Shaman…

Right now, during an anti-mask/anti-lockdown/anti-vax protest in front of the Italian Parliament, in Rome. 🤷🏻‍♂️@QanonAnonymous @travis_view @RealRockatansky @julianfeeld @Liv_Agar pic.twitter.com/HQIXDoc4fl

— Q (@desueto) April 6, 2021

All points bulletin…

Among the latest additions to the FBI’s Capitol wanted page: A man in a punisher skull shirt, Q mask and Trump hat who appears to be flashing some kind of badge. FBI no. 297. pic.twitter.com/Z5I4QpSehL

— Ryan J. Reilly (@ryanjreilly) April 6, 2021

The diehards aren’t giving up.

Major QAnon figure Jordan Sather, who has been in on "The Storm" since the very beginning, still has no doubt that Q is a military intelligence team posting at the elbow of Donald Trump.

But NESARA? Only an idiot would believe that. pic.twitter.com/6JnwXFpkRJ

— Mike Rothschild (@rothschildmd) April 6, 2021

Oh shit, Q said in 2018 that the Earth isn’t flat? Ouch.

A popular Q telegram channel with 60k subscribers shares the December 2018 Q drop in which Q unequivocally states that Earth is not flat.

In the discussion, we see…quite a heterodoxy of opinion. pic.twitter.com/sxI4JNSifV

— allie mezei (@pinealdecalcify) April 6, 2021

Fun in Dallas.

Who is behind the QAnon convention coming to Dallas over Memorial Day weekend?https://t.co/BUknkUdfvb

— Dallas Observer (@Dallas_Observer) April 6, 2021

Cullen: Mike Flynn is keeping the rubes going.

Jordan Sather said on camera, General Flynn sent him a DM in 2018. Same with QTuber Liz Crokin. Flynn appears to have been leveraging his status to keep anons on the line. It's no wonder they struggle to believe Ron is the lynchpin. https://t.co/AuVJt4IfZB

— Cullen (@CullenHoback) April 7, 2021

Looking for some background on the QAnon movement? We recommend Travis View’s excellent recent article at New York magazine as a place to start.

————-

THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you’re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.

Posted by Tony Ortega on April 7, 2021 at 8:10

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Published on April 07, 2021 05:12

Leaked audio: Proof that government officials know about Scientology’s crimes

Lucas Catton is a well-known figure here at the Bunker. He was once president of Scientology’s flagship rehab clinic, Narconon Arrowhead in Oklahoma, but then he became a whistleblower who has been featured on national television, and who continues to expose Scientology at his own YouTube channel.

We’re indebted to Luke for the many stories he’s helped us report about Scientology and Narconon over the years, and now we’re going into even deeper debt to him.

He’s handed over to us raw intel, something so massive we are turning to you, our readers, for help sifting through it.

Luke dropped in our laps an audio recording of a meeting he attended with federal and state investigators while they discussed all of the evidence that pointed to wrongdoing by Scientology and its drug rehab empire in the wake of several patient deaths, and that should result in various charges — charges that never came.

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Recorded on an October day in 2013, it captures a moment in time when governments were poised to haul Scientology into court, but later changed their minds.

Luke decided it was time to make the recording public, and at more than two hours, it’s a lot of information to take in.

Here is Luke’s description of what’s in the recording. We look forward to your reactions of discovering what it was like to sit in a room with law enforcement officials discussing the ways that Scientology should be hauled into court.

Right away early in the recording Paul Wilkening of the Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner’s fraud department talked about serving warrants.

This was after the Desmond case settling, and after Narconon of Georgia was raided by insurance fraud investigators.

Not mentioned in my book, but also present in the meeting was a female FBI agent, who can be heard discussing with Wilkening about trying to get the Assistant US Attorneys on board so the FBI could take over the cases.

The Oklahoma investigators revealed that they had plenty of documented evidence of insurance fraud, and that Narconon was already being investigated by at least one insurance carrier as well. In one poignant moment, one of the people in the meeting stated that as far as they were concerned all of the billing Narconon had done was fraudulent since they never had properly licensed therapists.

There is a lot in there, including names of people who have since left or are no longer involved. I think rather than any specific names, the focus should be about the multi-state effort to get federal authorities on board to prosecute known criminal acts committed by multiple Narconon centers. They wound up kicking things to the multi-county grand jury, who ran out of time and failed to complete their evidence gathering in order to issue indictments. The lone investigator after that presented evidence and the attorney general in Oklahoma at the time failed to file criminal charges.

Now that there are only five Narconon facilities operating on fumes, the ability for fraud investigators to recoup cash has dwindled, but if they follow through on the federal investigation of the Eliminating Kickbacks in Recovery Act (EKRA) violations tied to FSM commissions, and also looked for the additional insurance fraud since the time of these meetings, it is possible they could seize the remaining property.

Here is what I had written in my book:

“Several months later I was brought into criminal investigations in three states by three different agencies. First I was contacted by agents Kevin Kearney and Matt Entrekin with the Georgia Insurance Commissioner’s fraud department and also Paul Wilkening from the Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner’s fraud department. They traveled to meet me at a Hampton Inn conference room in Canton and asked a lot of questions about how Narconon operated and what the relationship was to the church of Scientology. The delegation from Oklahoma asked where the records might be kept at the facility and requested a diagram of the property with labels in case they were going to perform a raid similar to one that was done at the Georgia facility. I brought a voice recorder with me since I was alone, and put it on the table. Paul Wilkening said, “oh good, we should record this too,” and his partner set his phone on the table and pressed record as well.

This meeting was eventually followed by a another one at the Georgia Insurance Commissioner’s office in Atlanta, where the lead investigator, Sherry Mowell, asked questions about evidence they had found. I recorded that meeting as well, openly placing my voice recorder on the table for my protection. However, after much deliberation about what they were going to do with the evidence they had, they ultimately declined to file charges because there had to be a specific person named. Although they indicated there was evidence of fraud, they couldn’t nail down who were the individuals responsible for it, as Mary Rieser and the other employees pointed fingers at each other and even tried to blame their billing company. During this time, the program requested to enter into a non-prosecutorial agreement with the Gwinnett County District Attorney, Danny Porter, where Narconon agreed to close its Georgia location for a minimum of two years and not admit any wrongdoing. Although there were people upset that two years was not enough punishment, they have not tried to open another program in the state since then.

One thing I really learned throughout this whole process, is that there is a reason for the saying that the wheels of justice turn slowly. As I look back at when specific events took place, I see that what now seems like months between some activities was actually years, and a lot happened in between. I’m apparently only recapping the highlights.”

And here’s another detailed breakdown that Luke sent over:

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The meeting was held on Oct 30, 2013.

At 12:35 Wilkening indicates they are the ones recording

There is some talk of Per Wickstrom in there. None of them had any jurisdiction over there, but I later was contacted by an FBI agent in Michigan investigating him based on their own work, though they also declined to file charges, as far as I know.

From the book: “In October of 2014 I received a call from another investigator. This time it was an FBI agent named Kurt Schichtel out of Michigan who was looking into insurance fraud allegations against Narconon and related organizations up there. He was loosely working with state agencies in Oklahoma and Georgia, but told me he didn’t have jurisdiction outside of Michigan at that time in order to take on a larger racketeering investigation. He was much more tight-lipped about the specifics of what he was doing compared to the guys who worked for state agencies. After that initial conversation, there was a follow-up done in early 2015 as well, but then no more word or contact from him. I don’t know what happened with it, as I never received an official subpoena and there wasn’t any news coverage of criminal prosecution up there.”

Around the 39:30 mark they say that the found that the Narconon Network was sending claims for $1 million per week to United Healthcare alone back in 2012.

Around 42:00 there is detailed information talking about falsified treatment records after someone had left the program.

Around 44:00 they’re asking me where treatment records are kept in Oklahoma and to draw a map for them for a search warrant.

Around 47:30 they ask what other crimes might they be guilty of, and we talk a bit about credit card fraud and racketeering. It starts getting into the assets of Scientology and money flowing between organizations, etc.

At 1:39:00 they begin to discuss the non-prosecutorial agreement with DA Danny Porter and how they weren’t fully included in how that played out and were surprised. Jackie from the FBI weighs in as well.

At 1:45: Bingo. Sherry says it’s all fraud because they didn’t have properly trained personnel.

——————–

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“I think California has laws that nobody can cure cancer. And they’ve just disobeyed that law in England because a doctor up there, who is a Dianetic Auditor, has just cured somebody of totally proven cancer. Has taken him over to the medical association and a big conference and so on, and displayed him complete with the X-rays and so forth. So, gee it’s a good thing he didn’t do that in California. We had an auditor, in 1950s, who was actually arrested for the fact of — proven conclusively, because he’d audited somebody and they had gotten well and it was against the law to cure that disease. He got off, there wasn’t anything happened to him at all, somebody was just making a push on it locally. Pretty crazy, huh? Proved it conclusively. Against the law to heal it and he’d done it.” — L. Ron Hubbard, April 7, 1972

——————–

“COMMENDED: Quentin Hubbard is assigned a Condition of Affluence and commended for a long time performance of high volume and high quality sessions. He is a very popular auditor and I am sure his many pcs will agree.” — The Commodore, April 7, 1970

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“Does anyone know around 50 years ago what people thought about the dinosaur extinction? Like when they thought it happened. Nowadays we think it happened 66 million years ago. I heard back then they thought it happened 75 million years ago. It’s very important, the validity of Scientology’s OT3 depends on it.”

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1997: The new Cult Awareness Network, now run by Scientology, issued a press release on the Higher Source cult, which committed suicide recently. “Information gathered by CAN indicates that the originators of the ‘Higher Source’ group were Marshall Herff Applewhite and Bonnie Lu Trousdale Nettles respectively a psychiatric patient and a psychiatric nurse. CAN is urging investigation into the presence of drugs at the Rancho Sante Fe mansion of the Higher Source and the psychiatric backgrounds of the group. Of interest is that psychiatric drugs were also found in large quantities at Jonestown and drugs were manufactured by and administered to members of the Japanese-based Aum Supreme Truth. CAN is continuing its own investigation into the background of the leaders of the group and will keep the media informed. In the meantime, CAN warns that the mass media beware of fanatical anti-religious statements being made, painting all religions or groups with the same brush stroke and creating further hysteria.”

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SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks

“‘Revolt in the Stars’ should be a new reality show where Scientology celebs are put into the Sea Org and the viewers watch as one by one they quit in anguish and leave stupid Scientology.”

——————–

Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Masterson arraigned Jan 20. Discovery hearing on April 20, prelim set for May 18.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing delayed to April 13.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for May 20 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Charged in Brooklyn federal court on Feb 4. Arraigned on Feb 9. Pretrial conference set for Apr 29.>

Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition for writ of mandate denied Oct 22 by Cal 2nd Appellate District. Petition for review by state supreme court denied Dec 11.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Dec 30, Judge Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to compel arbitration. June 7: Status conference.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 24.

Concluded litigation:
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.

——————–

The Australian Seven News network cancelled a 10-part investigation of Scientology and its history of dirty tricks. Read the transcripts of the episodes and judge for yourself why Tom Cruise and Tommy Davis might not have wanted viewers to see this hard-hitting series by journalist Bryan Seymour.

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Other links: Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?

——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] In the pandemic epicenter, Scientology’s New York Org puts on a fab virtual ‘Sunday Service’
[TWO years ago] Foreign ‘expansion,’ thanks to US Scientologists forking over the millions
[THREE years ago] On Day One, 2018’s Writers of the Future party betrays its connection to Scientology’s abuses
[FOUR years ago] XENU VICTORIOUS: Scientology bamboozles USA Today to help it fight the ‘evil psychs’
[FIVE years ago] Phil Jones reflects on the media frenzy at the dedication of his anti-Scientology billboard
[SIX years ago] 25 of the biggest lies told by L. Ron Hubbard and the Church of Scientology
[SEVEN years ago] SHOCK DOX: Scientology’s 2011 book value for just two of its entities is $1.2 billion
[EIGHT years ago] Narconon Tackles NFL Legend Jim Brown, Anne Archer Snags a Kennedy

——————–

Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,264 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,768 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,288 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,308 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,199 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,506 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,374 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,148 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,478 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,952 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,268 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,834 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,753 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,921 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,502 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,763 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,801 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,514 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,039 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 394 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,569 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,120 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,269 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,589 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,444 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,563 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,919 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,222 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,328 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,730 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,602 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,185 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,680 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,934 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,043 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on April 7, 2021 at 07:00

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele

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Published on April 07, 2021 04:00

Q patriots champion the ‘military,’ but not actually the military you can see

Some links to Q-related items today…

When Q patriots talk about the ‘military’ operating Deep Underground Military Bases, they don’t mean the military that you can see, but an entire shadow force that somehow really operates things in this country. Even some military veterans who are Q patriots apparently believe this was going on under their own feet.

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Assessing the fallout of ‘Q: Into the Storm,’ a salute to Fredrick Brennan.

Can we also get a big collective hand for @fr_brennan, who managed to escape dying in a Filipino prison, turned his back on hateful ideology, pegged the Watkins family as inextricably linked to QAnon before almost anyone else, and seems pretty content despite it all.

— Mike Rothschild (@rothschildmd) April 5, 2021

Not weird at all.

Steinbart had previously attempted to evade a drug test by using a fake penis. https://t.co/UrAjZpAqJB

— Travis View (@travis_view) April 6, 2021

More disconcerting data.

New: Discord saw huge growth among extremist communities last year and had to take down more than 2,000 extremist servers, and more than 300 associated with QAnon, in the second half of last year, according to a new company report https://t.co/Xuu1jjty34

— Bobby Allyn (@BobbyAllyn) April 5, 2021

Looking for some background on the QAnon movement? We recommend Travis View’s excellent recent article at New York magazine as a place to start.

————-

THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you’re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.

Posted by Tony Ortega on April 6, 2021 at 8:00

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Published on April 06, 2021 05:03

A fight against Scientology ‘disconnection’ now a remarkable illustrated book

We first told you about Brian Sheen’s struggle to reconnect with his grown daughter Springsong in 2015.

Sheen had spent some time in Scientology, but it was decades earlier, and he’d never said anything publicly about the reasons why he had left. So it was a mystery to him why the church suddenly required his daughter to cut off all contact with him in another example of its toxic “disconnection” policy.

Although Sheen had been out of the church for many years, he had never discouraged his daughter from being involved in it. But after her marriage into one of Scientology’s wealthiest donor families (who are also behind the Atkinson-Baker court reporting empire), Spring was suddenly instructed to cut Sheen out of her life.

Sheen fought back fiercely, trying in vain to get government agencies interested in the matter. And then adding to his heartbreak, Spring gave birth to a baby boy, a grandson Sheen has never seen.

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Now, Sheen has put together a gripping illustrated book about his struggle, laying out the full narrative of his involvement in Scientology and his fight against disconnection.

We were particularly interested in the pages about his experience filming for a television series that was never aired and that was going to feature Jamie DeWolf as its presenter. In a case of bad timing, the series was slated to be aired on the A&E network around the same time as Leah Remini’s series premiered and blew up with huge ratings. As a result, the DeWolf series was shelved and has never been seen. (We’ve published accounts by some of the other people who were filmed for the series, including Derek Bloch, Phil Jones, and Carol Nyburg.)

“Six years since seeing my daughter, I never thought it would go this long,” Brian tells us.

We salute his perseverance, and hope you’ll pick up a copy of his book to see how he has turned his struggle into a vivid visual adventure.

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Heartwarming Tom Cruise story making the rounds

It’s Elisabeth, not Elizabeth, and otherwise we don’t have independent confirmation of this tale. But we thought you’d like to see what is getting spread around on social media before it turns into a breathless tabloid “exclusive.”

Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});——————–

Leah Remini podcast: Chris Shelton, part 1

Says Mike: “This is a fascinating discussion that covers a wide range of topics — so much so that we recorded a second episode which will be Part 2 next week, taking a deep dive into two topics. A lot of what we talk about today concerns the fake ‘religious’ aspects of Scientology.” Listen to the podast here:

——————–

“You will be seeing a lot of this org board. And I’m merely pointing out to you about this, that there is something about it to understand. The first is that the org board does not change regardless of the size of the organization. It may get longer at the bottom, but it doesn’t change in its significant characteristics, departments, divisions or anything else. They remain constant, and it doesn’t matter if it’s a Class Zero Org consisting of three guys trying to lift their heads up off the pavement as an organization, or an organization of 200,000 staff members, it would be the same org board. And I know that startles you, but I almost told you the real figure: two billion. This board has a lot of back history, and it is a refined board. And I may as well tell you the truth here amongst us girls. This is a refined board that I spoke to you about in an earlier lecture of an old galactic civilization. And you say what’s that doing amongst us? Well, we applied Scientology to it, and found out why the civilization eventually failed. They lacked a couple of departments and that was enough to mess it all up. And they only lasted eighty trillion. We’ll be going a lot longer than that, so we want to get something substantial. We don’t want these temporary fly-by-night affairs, you know.” — L. Ron Hubbard, April 6, 1965

——————–

“ARTICLE: MSH has just had a hard hitting article by her published in the British ‘Mayfair’ magazine. SYSTEMS: The IBM Systems Engineers sales handbook is now drawn up using Scientology basic. This is the world’s largest electronic firms. The Moon Rocket and Fail-Safe bomb systems and almost every corporation’s computers are all IBM. I’m sure they’ve forgotten they used to use me in their ads 32 years ago ‘Famous Writer Uses IBM Electric Typewriters’. VALIDATION: When one wishes to help, is trying to help and is brought up sharly, he gets a failed purpose. I’d be very glad to hear how anyone’s effort to help has become invalidated. That’s all we’ve got really — both yours and my willingness to help.” — The Commodore, April 6, 1970

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“It’s been my life goal since embarking onto Scientology to have some kind of knowledge retention or spiritual stabilization that will serve me on the next ‘go-around’ whenever and whenever that may be? Through all my life’s adventures my attention has always been on this! Even moreso, like the late great Chick Corea’s music philosophy reflects, a hope to eventually ‘return to forever.’ If we somehow don’t learn to ‘end cycle’ on our slavery to the body, whatever will our civilization become?”

——————–

1996: An anonymous person this week posted the partially recovered contents of a floppy disk he found in Tampa. “…important symbolic step towards Clearing the Planet, the Church of Scientology announced today it has obtained regulatory approval for a new satellite television network. Transmission is expected to begin in the the third quarter of 1996. The new satellite service, tentatively called KSWN (for ‘Keeping Scientology Working Network’), will broadcast Scientology and Dianetics news and technical programming 24 hours a day on two transponder channels. The second, scrambled, channel will consist of Scientology and Dianetics course material and training films, many of them produced by the late L.Ron Hubbard himself. Programming on the scrambled channel will be available to subscribers on a pay-per-view basis.”

——————–

SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks

“Scientology ‘the religion’ is still engaged in medical fraud and could be charged as such if politicians in general had any balls or morals.”

——————–

Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:

Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Masterson arraigned Jan 20. Discovery hearing on April 20, prelim set for May 18.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing delayed to April 13.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for May 20 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Charged in Brooklyn federal court on Feb 4. Arraigned on Feb 9. Pretrial conference set for Apr 29.

Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition for writ of mandate denied Oct 22 by Cal 2nd Appellate District. Petition for review by state supreme court denied Dec 11.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Dec 30, Judge Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to compel arbitration. June 7: Status conference.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 24.

Concluded litigation:
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.

——————–

The Australian Seven News network cancelled a 10-part investigation of Scientology and its history of dirty tricks. Read the transcripts of the episodes and judge for yourself why Tom Cruise and Tommy Davis might not have wanted viewers to see this hard-hitting series by journalist Bryan Seymour.

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Other links: Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?

——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientology million-dollar donor on COVID-19: ‘Healthy people don’t get sick’
[TWO years ago] Paulette Cooper’s ‘Scandal of Scientology’: The book that made Miss Lovely a target
[THREE years ago] Is Scientology really any different than other ‘churches’? Oh, you bet. Here’s one example.
[FOUR years ago] Scientology disconnection: A toxic policy that punishes innocent people every day of the week
[FIVE years ago] Lucia Ribisi ditches Scientology and says of famous dad Giovanni: ‘He’s questioned it’
[SIX years ago] Mike Rowe uses Facebook to rip Scientology over the treatment of his friend Spanky Taylor
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: Sydney nears its big day, and Silicon Valley is in high gear!
[EIGHT years ago] Reporter Sues Scientology’s Drug Rehab Facility, Alleges She Witnessed Sex for Drugs
[NINE years ago] Nancy Cartwright and Karen Black Announced For ‘Writers of the Future’ Gala — a Direct Response to the Voice?

——————–

Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,263 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,767 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,287 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,307 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,198 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,505 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,373 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,147 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,477 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,951 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,267 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,833 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,752 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,920 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,501 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,762 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,800 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,513 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,038 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 393 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,568 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,119 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,268 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,588 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,443 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,562 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,918 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,221 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,327 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,729 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,601 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,184 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,679 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,933 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,042 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on April 6, 2021 at 07:00

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele

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Published on April 06, 2021 04:00

After six hours of HBO’s ‘Q: Into the Storm,’ it was the smile that was the payoff

Some links to Q-related items today…

How was your Easter? Patriots found it inspiring.

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a sprinkling of Easter memes from conspiracy telegram pic.twitter.com/YLAJeRCZXO

— allie mezei (@pinealdecalcify) April 4, 2021

Ron and Jim did their best to deflect before last night’s two final HBO episodes.

In this Jim Watkins stream about #QIntoTheStorm Ron defends his "Steve Bannon is Q" line, says it was an "easy out" for @CullenHoback to "pin it on me" and bizarrely claims Hoback might be Q.

And Jim agrees: "Yeah. If anybody could actually be Q that I know, it would be Cullen." pic.twitter.com/jKRVB2whTA

— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) April 4, 2021

Fredrick Brennan’s mad escape from the Philippines was a gripping part of the story last night.

Amazing to finally see how @CullenHoback helped @fr_brennan escape the Philippines. #QIntoTheStorm https://t.co/Z4v6CuPbj5

— Travis View (@travis_view) April 5, 2021

It’s the smile that made it all worth it.

This is the big reveal in the finale of #QIntotheStorm where Ron Watkins says too much to Cullen Hoback and lets his guard slip.

It was so good it made the whole six hours worth it. pic.twitter.com/QzwTGNcl5q

— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) April 5, 2021

Yeah, pretty much.

Finished all six episodes now of #QIntoTheStorm on HBO. And my main takeaway is that the world is now run by sociopaths with good wifi. https://t.co/kwtCNZgVER

— Amarnath Amarasingam (@AmarAmarasingam) April 5, 2021

Former Scientology OT gets indicted on $4 million securities fraud

In November, Newport Beach insurance broker, financial advisor, and software purveyor Robert Andrew Lotter was arrested and charged with felony securities violations by the California Department of Insurance, which accused him of defrauding more than $4 million from over 20 victims. Also arrested was an insurance agent named Charles Albert Major of Irvine.

Bob, 64, and Chuck, 72, were accused of fraudulently selling “more than $4 million in stock certificates in Lotter’s companies, eAgency, Inc. and Mymobilewatchdog, Inc.” the state said in a press release.

The case has received considerable attention in local media, including stories in the Orange County Register and the Los Angeles Times. But we became interested in a detail that had been left out of those stories. Both Lotter and Major had been members of the Church of Scientology, and people who knew Lotter told us that after he left the church he continued to be active as an independent or Freezone Scientologist, continuing Scientology practices outside of the church.

We were told that Lotter’s Scientology involvement was extensive. In the late 1980s he had actually worked on staff at the Orange County “org” as a “reg” — short for “registrar,” which was Scientology slang for a salesman who puts the hard sell on church members to pay for more and more expensive courses and auditing. He had left that position to start up his own insurance company while also continuing up Scientology’s “Bridge to Total Freedom.” We heard from a former Scientologist who had personally seen Lotter at Scientology’s Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida, where he was doing the upper “OT” auditing levels. Lotter had reportedly completed OT 7, but then was disillusioned with the way church leader David Miscavige had made changes with the “Golden Age of Technology.” Like so many others, after 2005 Lotter had decided to look for further Scientology advancement outside of the church itself.

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Two former Scientologists both told us that Lotter had gushed about how happy he was with the esoteric auditing he was receiving in the “Freezone.” Specifically, said one, Lotter talked about going up the “Captain Bill Robertson Bridge.” Another said Lotter praised independent auditor David St. Lawrence for delivering that auditing.

All of this fascinated us at least as much as Lotter’s business history and the charges that the state of California had leveled against him. So yesterday we reached out to both David St. Lawrence and to Bob Lotter.

Happily, both responded almost immediately.

[Bob Lotter, right, and Chuck Major when they were arrested in November]

According to the state, between 2003 and 2018 Lotter and Major made misrepresentations to potential investors about the viability of Lotter’s companies, asking them to invest in schemes that were much riskier than the two of them were letting on.

Lotter and Major continued to lure victims with assurances that profits from eAgency, Inc. and Mymobilewatchdog, Inc. were “just around the corner.” They claimed to have partnerships with large Internet companies and prominent mobile carriers. They showed clients newspaper articles and televised interviews featuring Lotter to cement victims’ confidence in their investments and mitigate concerns victims had about their investments and the continued delays of their investment returns.

According to the state’s press release, Lotter’s bail was set at $4 million and Major’s at $2 million, and the prosecution would be handled by the Major Fraud Unit of the OC District Attorney’s Office.

In the last couple of years we’ve noticed a significant uptick in the number of fraud and other criminal cases leveled against Scientologists, including chiropractor Jay Spina in New York (Medicare fraud), chiropractor Dennis Nobbe in Miami (Medicare fraud and PPP loan abuse), the Islam family in Los Angeles (Medi-Cal fraud), investor David Gentile in New York (a Ponzi scheme), and actor Danny Masterson, who is accused of raping three women who were Scientologists.

Scientologists claim to be the most “ethical” people on the planet, but ex-Scientologists point out how much they were conditioned, while members, to have contempt for the laws of “wogs” (non-Scientologists). We couldn’t help wondering if that might extend to Freezone Scientologists as well.

David St. Lawrence responded to us first. He’s well known in the Freezone community, and we’ve mentioned him and his rather unusual ideas in the past.

We told him that we had been speaking to people who heard Bob Lotter praising his auditing skills. We also told St. Lawrence that we realized he might not be in a position to comment on his own clients. Here’s his reply, in its entirety:

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I think that is absolutely fantastic but I never had a client by the name of Robert Lotter. I do have people come to me under false names so that it doesn’t get back to the church that they’re getting my services.

If you are at all interested I can give you the 25-word description of how my spiritual rescue technique differs from Scientology. I teach my clients how to speak to the spirits who surround them. This is different from the OT levels in that the OT levels are mini–exorcisms and spiritual rescue technology is a series of conversations with spirits until they wake up and either leave or agree to help the client in some way. All of my sessions are delivered over Zoom now as my clients find it far more convenient than driving to Cary, NC.

I think you are doing a great job publicizing the sins of the Church of Scientology and the good work done by those who are out in the field.

One last difference between myself and the Church of Scientology is that I teach my clients to solo audit almost from the very beginning.

We thanked him for that glimpse into his business, and told him it made sense that some of his clients approach him using pseudonyms.

He then surprised us by bringing up our reporting on Justin Craig, the ex-felon who claims he is the reincarnation of L. Ron Hubbard, but who has split with much of the Freezone after some of the people who were initially his followers turned away from him.

St Lawrence assured us that Justin is the real deal.

I have corresponded with him last year and he really is good old Ron in a new body. He is a walk-in, meaning that Justin Craig is still there so the final result is at least two personalities running the show these days. If you observe him closely, you will see flashes of Justin Craig appear when things do not go well with him.

St. Lawrence really is a goldmine of information and we do hope that he continues to put up with our questions in the future.

Soon after that conversation we received an email from Bob Lotter.

He mistakenly thought he might have known us in the church (your proprietor has never been involved in Scientology), and imagined that we had become disillusioned with it. And based on our questions, he assumed we were going to write a particular kind of story.

He suggested a headline: “Former Scientology OT gets indicted on $4 Million bail for Securities Fraud!”

Done.

He then indicated that he had been out of the church since 2005 and that his arrest has nothing to do with Scientology.

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“Furthermore, I am not being indicted on securities fraud. My bail was dropped to $100,000 and I am actually innocent. Soon this will be resolved so, if you want to write a story about me or my experiences and how and why this happened to me, wait another few weeks and maybe there will be a scoop. I wouldn’t be the first person ever falsely arrested. My story is actually very interesting,” he wrote.

A check of the court docket confirms that Lotter is free on a $100,000 bond.

Besides suggesting a headline, Lotter also sent a different version of his story than what the Department of Insurance described in his press release. Here’s what he sent:

Autistic kid who had a traumatic brain injury at age 11 gets recruited to work in the Top Secret Nuclear weapons branch of the U.S. Army. Serves for nine years and receives distinguished commendations for his work goes on later in life to become an Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year but also a tech guru. After taking the very first smartphone to the cloud, and armed with eight patents, Robert Lotter repurposes this technology and takes on Child Predators pursuing children on their smartphones. Hundreds of arrests and convictions later, including work with Homeland Security, the FBI, local, state and federal law enforcement world wide (Even a case with Scotland Yard and the Secret Service), Robert is written up in TIME Magazine, Newsweek, Business Week, the Wall Street Journal and much more. He also appears on Dr. Phil, Good Morning America, TODAY Show, FOX, CNN, CNBC etc. as well as many many other local radio and TV stations across the country. Robert has received personal commendations from the President of the United States, the OC Sheriff, Jefferson County Colorado DA, Dr. Phil and many more. Later Robert went on to create an application for families called, MyMobileWatchdog which was also received with broad acclaim.

He added that he had zero criminal record and had never been arrested before. “Not a DUI, nothing. He has lived a life of duty to others. How was it that he was arrested and falsely accused and why?” he wrote.

We also asked him about an unusual story that was posted on January 7, more than a month after his arrest. It was a splashy announcement by GoGirl Worldwide Magazine that it had named Lotter its “GoGuy With a Heart of Gold.”

Just conversing with Robert Lotter for an hour, one will quickly learn this amazing man not only possesses many talents, but many irons in the fire. Exuding conversational eloquence, with a positive, entertaining personality, Robert’s story isn’t one you read about every day. His unique, unconventional approach to challenges in both life and business using austere, military-style probing, testing, and problem-solving, while employing “patterns” has afforded Robert a myriad of unparalleled entrepreneurial achievements.

A copy of the story was also posted as a press release on the AP’s Accesswire.

We couldn’t help wondering about the timing of this gushing endorsement from a publication we had never heard of, but Lotter said the interview was done well before his arrest.

Lotter said that he would be able to speak more freely at a later date, and planned to start both a blog and podcast to tell his story.

“Maybe I can interview you some time?” he added.

As for Scientology, he questioned our word choice.

“I am curious why you find the idea of David auditing people over Skype and the Freezone ‘fascinating.’ It is interesting, I agree, but why fascinating?”

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We’re really pleased that both Lotter and St. Lawrence responded to our questions, and we’re looking forward to seeing how this case turns out.

Will Bob end up doing a lengthy prison stint, or instead vindicate himself and have us on his show? Will David find convincing proof that Justin Craig is the returned Ron Hubbard?

Honestly, it’s all gripping stuff as far as we’re concerned.

——————–

“Sacredity. I think it’s very amusing, if you like to laugh at funerals. I do myself. I do. The last funeral I saw in Kansas, a dead wagon went by, you know, and it was one of these hearses, you know, with the great big plate glass side windows, you know. You could see the coffin in there. Flowers all over it. And here came limousines after it, you know, one after the other. And there were people crying and people sobbing in these limousines. I pulled off to the side of the road, naturally, and I took off my hat. And all this was just automatic, you know, took off my hat. I sat there and watched this thing go by. And car by car my risibility started getting the better of me, you know. I thought here’s this bird, he kicked off, you know, and they shoved this body full of embalming juice, and this bird is sailing around here someplace or another. He probably already picked up somebody in a maternity ward or something of the sort, and he’s long gone, you know, and here’s these birds left with this piece of MEST, you know. And they’re crying and sobbing, you know, and they’re filling it full of flowers and embalming fluid, and going to take it out to the graveyard and erect some stone over the top of it, you know. The unreality of these people and their attitude and what they believed, and what I myself knew for a fact, you see, were so far apart that I’m afraid that by the time the last funeral car had passed, I was just doubled up with laughter. I just can’t take funerals very seriously. I’m sorry. It’s too silly.” — L. Ron Hubbard, April 5, 1962

——————–

“TO THOSE LEAVING

Farewell
God Speed
And Early Return

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I thank you
The Sea Org thanks you
For your good work
And Contribution
To us all.

I know
The good things you’ve done
And good intent.
Forgive the conditions
And any hardship

And carry away
No bitterness
But only pleasant
Memory of Flag.

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In appreciation
Gratitude
And full respect:

Farewell
God Speed
And
Soon Return

Love
Ron
April 5, 1969”

——————–

“I’ve audited at least two Jesus Christs and one Ann Boleyn. And a Don Juan, come to think of it, too. I wasn’t entirely convinced by any of them, but of course one doesn’t evaluate or inval.”

Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});

——————–

2002: The Santa Barbara News-Press reported in a series of articles on the guilty plea of Reed Slatkin, Scientology minister and creator of a fraudulent investment scheme. “Waiting to serve what will likely be a long prison sentence and shunned by ex-friends, bankrupt investor Reed Slatkin had another punishment befall him recently when he learned that he has been excommunicated from the Church of Scientology. Church officials held a hearing and decided to expel the former Hope Ranch resident. While the church benefited indirectly because Mr. Slatkin and many of his investors were generous donors, Mr. Neilson concluded that so far there is no evidence that the church was a large beneficiary. In addition, Scientologists were just as much victims in the scam as non-Scientologists, court records show. ‘He misused his connections to the church tremendously,’ said Linda Simmons Hight, a spokesperson for the Church of Scientology International. ‘He overstated his connections. He hasn’t ministered in the church since 1983 and he has abused his position since then.'”

——————–

SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks

“It’s ‘nix’ on ESP and telepathy, but ‘ja’ on Telekinesis and Astral Projection? No reason or rhyme to the mind of Mother Hubbard.”

——————–

Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Masterson arraigned Jan 20. Discovery hearing on April 20, prelim set for May 18.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing delayed to April 13.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for May 20 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Charged in Brooklyn federal court on Feb 4. Arraigned on Feb 9. Pretrial conference set for Apr 29.

Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Oral arguments were heard on July 30 at the Eleventh Circuit
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Petition for writ of mandate denied Oct 22 by Cal 2nd Appellate District. Petition for review by state supreme court denied Dec 11.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Dec 30, Judge Kleifield granted Scientology’s motions to compel arbitration. June 7: Status conference.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Dec 17: Feshbachs sign court judgment obliging them to pay entire $3.674 million tax debt, plus interest from Nov 19.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 24.

Concluded litigation:
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.
— Jane Doe v. Scientology (in Miami): Jane Doe dismissed the lawsuit on May 15 after the Clearwater Police dropped their criminal investigation of her allegations.

——————–

The Australian Seven News network cancelled a 10-part investigation of Scientology and its history of dirty tricks. Read the transcripts of the episodes and judge for yourself why Tom Cruise and Tommy Davis might not have wanted viewers to see this hard-hitting series by journalist Bryan Seymour.

After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.

An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.

Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Other links: Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?

——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Whoopi Goldberg recommends Scientology’s drug rehab Narconon on ‘The View’
[TWO years ago] Scientology gets away with abuses because it has friends like author Orson Scott Card
[THREE years ago] What do super powers smell like? For around 30 grand, Scientology can help you with that.
[FOUR years ago] Bryan Seymour: Scientology’s sniffer-dog problem is bad timing for Narconon in Australia
[FIVE years ago] After their daughter died at Scientology training, a friend makes off with the funeral money
[SIX years ago] Saturday Night Live’s genius spoof of Scientology: Lyrics and images
[SEVEN years ago] Jon Atack’s final weekly column for us on Scientology, and it’s a doozy
[EIGHT years ago] NBC ROCK CENTER LIVE BLOGGING: NARCONON ON THE HOT SEAT

——————–

Scientology disconnection, a reminder

Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 2,262 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,766 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,286 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,306 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,197 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,504 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,372 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,146 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,476 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,950 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,266 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,832 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,751 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,919 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,500 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,761 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,799 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,512 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,037 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 392 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,567 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,118 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,267 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,587 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,442 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,561 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,917 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,220 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,326 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,728 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,600 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,183 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,678 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,932 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,041 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on April 5, 2021 at 07:00

E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter. We also post updates at our Facebook author page. After every new story we send out an alert to our e-mail list and our FB page.

Our new book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is now on sale at Amazon in paperback and Kindle formats. Our book about Paulette, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely: How the Church of Scientology tried to destroy Paulette Cooper, is on sale at Amazon in paperback, Kindle, and audiobook versions. We’ve posted photographs of Paulette and scenes from her life at a separate location. Reader Sookie put together a complete index. More information can also be found at the book’s dedicated page.

The Best of the Underground Bunker, 1995-2020 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2020), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)

Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ

Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…

Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.

Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele

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Published on April 05, 2021 04:00

Ron Watkins, ahead of more HBO episodes tonight: I’m not Q, honest

Some links to Q-related items today…

With nothing happening the way they predicted, Q patriots deal with Negative Nancys the best they can.

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One of many mysteries.

We've been trying for some time to nail down Joe M – an extreme QAnon influencer – to no avail. Doesn't really help that his entire social media footprint was removed last year and he no longer posts on either Gab or Telegram.

Joe's content pilled and radicalised so many. https://t.co/eDHScqCGla

— Shayan Sardarizadeh (@Shayan86) April 3, 2021

The Post really stepped in this one.

Very nice choice of picture https://t.co/jERG8I5PtW

— QAA Podcast (@QanonAnonymous) April 3, 2021

History repeats.

We're almost exactly two years removed from the #2 book on Amazon being "QAnon: An Invitation to the Great Awakening." Nothing has been learned. https://t.co/9CMsOgIfFi

— Mike Rothschild (@rothschildmd) April 3, 2021

Ron Watkins gets out ahead of tonight’s new episodes.

lol pic.twitter.com/pp81dAh5Db

— Rumor Flies (@RumorFlies) April 4, 2021

Looking for some background on the QAnon movement? We recommend Travis View’s excellent recent article at New York magazine as a place to start.

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THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you’re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.

Posted by Tony Ortega on April 4, 2021 at 9:55