Tony Ortega's Blog, page 365

VALERIE HANEY SEEKS WRIT: Victims’ rights groups show support, Scientology cries bigotry

 
In a court document, the Church of Scientology is accusing the National Center on Sexual Exploitation, formerly known as Morality in Media, of “religious bigotry” because it is siding with Valerie Haney, Leah Remini’s assistant, in her lawsuit against the church and its leader, David Miscavige.

NCOSE and another victims’ rights group, the National Crime Victim Bar Association, are both urging a California appellate court to grant Haney an appeal in a lawsuit that Scientology successfully derailed at the trial court level, and Scientology is not happy about it.

On August 19, we published a statement by Valerie, who said she was not giving up her fight, even after Scientology successfully convinced Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Richard Burdge to derail her suit and force her into Scientology’s “religious arbitration.” Valerie made it plain that she was dead set against submitting to Scientology’s arbitration after the way it had treated her, and we pointed out that her other avenue would be to file a petition for a writ of mandate with an appellate court, hoping that it would grant her an appeal of Burdge’s ruling.

Valerie’s attorneys quietly submitted a petition for a writ on September 10, and a fascinating fight over it has already shaped up behind the scenes, with the victims’ rights organizations throwing their support behind Valerie, each of them submitting “friend of the court” letters (amicus curiae briefs) arguing for her to be granted an appeal.

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Here’s the really unusual (but totally characteristic) Scientology angle: The church’s attorneys have filed a “response” amicus letter of their own, which we’re told is rather unusual.

And in that response, Scientology, which pretends that it’s an anti-trafficking champion, is calling NCOSE, an actual victims’ rights group, bigots.

It’s stupendous, and it’s classic Scientology.

Before we get into the details, some quick background for those confused on how we got to this point. Valerie filed her lawsuit in June 2019 with the help of a powerful national legal team that announced it was taking on Scientology in a big way, hinting that it was going to file quite a few additional suits in a major assault on the controversial church and Miscavige. But only two additional suits were filed, one in August 2019 by the women who accuse Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson of raping them; their lawsuit is aimed at the campaign of harassment they allege that Masterson, the church, and Miscavige subjected them to after they came forward to the LAPD. The third lawsuit was filed in September 2019 on behalf of a woman in Florida who alleged that she had been sexually abused as a child employee of the church, but she dismissed her lawsuit after the Clearwater Police Department informed her in May that it wasn’t going to file criminal charges after investigating her allegations.

Valerie’s lawsuit was particularly interesting because she had worked so closely with Miscavige, serving as his personal steward and having intimate knowledge of his personal life. She alleged in her lawsuit that as a lifelong Scientologist she had been subjected to emotional and psychological abuse since she was a child, and after she was demoted from her steward position she knew she might never escape from Scientology’s secretive Gold Base in San Jacinto, California, because she knew so much about Miscavige. She ultimately escaped by hiding in the trunk of a car driven by an actor who had been shooting a video at the base, and then she went to work for Remini, and appeared as the subject of the premiere episode of the third season of Remini’s A&E series, Scientology and the Aftermath, during which she said that Scientology was surveilling her and smearing her in online attacks. In her lawsuit, she alleged kidnapping for being held against her will for years at Gold Base, and she also alleged stalking, libel, slander, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress, and labor violations

After she escaped the base, Valerie, like so many other Scientologists who break free, was convinced by the organization to return and “route out properly,” which included signing a document in which she promised not to sue the church but to take any grievances to Scientology’s internal “religious arbitration.” Scientology successfully convinced Judge Burdge that Valerie was obliged to fulfill those terms, even though most of the allegations in her lawsuit — the stalking and the slander — occurred after she left the church. And Judge Burdge denied Valerie’s motion to reconsider, even after she pointed out that he was essentially sentencing her to a religious ritual in a church she no longer belonged to. Also, Scientology’s religious arbitration is not in any way like independent arbitration. It requires a panel of arbitrators who are members of the church. A California couple, Luis and Rocio Garcia, who became the first ex-Scientologists subjected to the procedure, described it as a kangaroo court.

We’ve noted that Valerie faced two different ways she could appeal Judge Burdge’s ruling. She could go through with the Scientology arbitration and after Burdge accepted the results then appeal his decision and a higher court would be obliged to consider it.

The other choice was to file a petition for a writ of mandate and try to convince an appellate court that extraordinary circumstances call for an appeal to be considered now, without Valerie having to subject herself to Scientology’s religious star chamber.

Legal experts tell us that the granting of such writs is relatively rare, but it can’t hurt that Valerie has two victims’ right organizations getting involved with their friend of the court letters.

First, we’ll quote from Valerie’s petition, which was written by San Mateo appeals lawyer Valerie T. McGinty. Here is its strong opening…

Petitioner, who escaped from traffickers in Scientology and now rejects Scientologist teachings, was born into Scientology with two Scientologist parents. As a young child, she was taught never to question Scientology and she was deprived of education, subjected to military treatment, trafficked, imprisoned, and abused, including having adults scream sexually lewd statements at her such as “I am going to fuck you and then your mother,” and “You are going to suck my dick,” which constitutes child abuse under California Penal Code § 273(a).

In her 30 years at Scientology, including at its paramilitary wings, Ms. Haney worked seven days a week with rarely a day off; she watched her supervisor abuse his wife; she saw the wife later escorted into a car, visibly upset, never to be seen or heard from again; and Ms. Haney was sentenced and subjected to physical labor and isolation by church leaders. When she tried to leave Scientology, she was threatened and even physically restrained until she finally escaped, hiding in the trunk of a car.

When Ms. Haney sued defendants for kidnapping, stalking, and human trafficking, among other claims, defendants moved to compel arbitration, relying on unenforceable “agreements” she was made to sign, which are all non-mutual contracts of adhesion, requiring that all arbitrators be ministers of Scientology, whose central tenet is that any person who speaks out against the church is an evil sinner who should be suppressed.

Despite this, and in violation of petitioner’s First Amendment right to freedom of religion, the trial court ordered that Petitioner be subjected to “Religious Arbitration,” subjecting Petitioner, a non-believer, to a Scientology religious ritual. Accordingly, writ relief is warranted.

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[Appeals lawyer Valerie McGinty]

 
The next day, September 11, NCOSE and NCVBA applied to the court to file their amicus briefs. In the NCOSE letter, written by attorney Peter A. Gentala, emphasis is made on the coercion that Valerie grew up with as a member of Scientology.

It is hard to conceive of a more comprehensive array of coercion, duress, undue influence, and trauma than the circumstances leading to the arbitration agreements the trial court is enforcing against the Plaintiff, Valerie Haney. From the time she was a little girl, the Plaintiff was subjected to an unrelenting succession of physical, psychological, and emotional abuse. The abuse continued over the course of the first three and half decades of her life.

At the age of ten she was forced to sit in a chair while adults screamed sexual threats at her. Just five years later, those responsible for her abusive environment became her legal guardians. Her daily life was an exhausting routine of forced labor, confinement, and always Defendants’ controlling influence.

When, as an adult, Plaintiff—who had known nothing but environments permeated by Defendants’ domineering and abuse—finally resolved to leave Defendants’ control for
good, she was subjected to an additional three months of constructive confinement until she “consented” to sign sweeping legal agreements purporting to alienate all of her legal rights to hold the Defendants accountable for their tortious and criminal conduct.

The foundation of arbitration is consent — not coercion. The trial court’s order compelling arbitration inverts this principal and closes courts of justice to the Plaintiff by enforcing unconscionable agreements that were utterly founded on coercion, duress, and undue influence.

Gentala’s letter goes on into great detail about the specific allegations made in the lawsuit, and comparing Valerie’s experiences with the findings of numerous studies about how victims are affected by years of coercion and control.

The amicus brief from the National Crime Victim Bar Association was submitted by attorney Antonio Sarabia II…

Valerie Haney’s complaint alleges long-term coercion, manipulation, exploitation, and abuse by agents of the Church of Scientology International (“CSI”) both during and after Ms. Haney’s membership in the church. As part of its tactics to control and manipulate Ms. Haney, CSI procured her signature on numerous documents, several of which mandated binding religious arbitration for all disputes arising between Ms. Haney and CSI before a panel of committed Scientologists.

Compelled religious arbitration in cases arising from intentional tortious acts violates public policy, and agreements that purport to require it are unenforceable.

Additionally, compelled religious arbitration for incidents arising after the termination of the relationship in which the purported agreement was made violates the First Amendment to the United States Constitution when one party is no longer a believer.

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Scientology — or rather David Miscavige — couldn’t take that drubbing sitting down.

Written by Scientology’s two attorneys handling the lawsuit, William Forman for CSI and Matthew Hinks for RTC, Scientology’s response starts out by taking a shot at NCOSE butting its nose in where it doesn’t belong…

NCOSE, formerly known as Morality in Media, is an American conservative non-profit known for its anti-pornography advocacy and such other issues as “child sexual abuse,” “child-on-child harmful sexual behavior,” “compulsive sexual behaviors,” “illicit massage businesses,” “prostitution,” “stripping,” and “the intersection of these issues with technology.” (Amicus Brief (“Am. Br.”), p. 2).

This case has nothing to do with NCOSE’s purported interests. These writ proceedings were filed by Valerie Haney, a former member of Scientology’s Sea Organization, a religious order composed of the most dedicated Scientologists committed to the lifelong volunteer service of their religion.

The document then quickly gets to Scientology’s familiar refrain, that it’s the real victim here…

NCOSE’s amicus brief offers three arguments: two of which concern matters that are not at issue in these proceedings at all and the last of which merely repeats the argument of Petitioner with an added dose of anti-Scientology religious bigotry (Scientologists should be disqualified to serve as arbitrators)…

…In short, NCOSE’s amicus brief is not based in reality. It is nothing but a slanderous, anti-Scientology screed offering opinions of an organization that have nothing to do with the case under consideration, based upon materials not before this Court and unproven allegations in an unverified complaint that it does not even correctly represent. The Court should reject the brief and not consider it.

 
“You know what, all I can say is that it’s like the pot calling the kettle black,” said NCOSE general counsel Benjamin Bull when we asked him about Scientology accusing his organization of religious bigotry. “It’s easier to say that than to respond to the amicus brief and what’s contained in it.”

Bull also took issue with Scientology’s characterization of NCOSE. “The National Center is made up of 28 full time employees. We have progressives and we have conservatives. We have faith-based people, and people with no faith. All we’re interested in is stopping sex trafficking and the kind of brainwashing we saw in the Scientology case,” he says.

Saying he was amazed that Judge Burdge had “punted” on Valerie’s lawsuit, he acknowledged that obtaining a writ of mandate is not easy, but it was the kind of case that did deserve more consideration than it had been shown at the trial court level.

“It’s extraordinarily unusual for a writ to be granted, yet this is the kind of case, with national significance and with issues of mind control and the coercion of victims, that it has a lot of currency and topicality. If the court is going to take a case on writ, it would be one like this.”

 
We know you’re going to want to go through these documents in detail. And we’re looking forward to your observations of them. First, here’s Valerie’s petition…

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Haney v. Scientology: Petit… by Tony Ortega

 
Here’s the amicus brief by the National Center on Sexual Exploitation…

 

Haney v. Scientology: Amicu… by Tony Ortega

 
Here’s the amicus brief by the National Crime Victim Bar Association…

 

Haney v. Scientology: Amicu… by Tony Ortega

 
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And finally, here’s Scientology’s response to NCOSE’s amicus brief…

 

Haney v. Scientology: Amicu… by Tony Ortega

 
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Source Code

“Do you know that absolutely standard tech, complete, proper, hair line standard tech, used in organizations throughout the world, will at least triple the stats of each within 90 days? Couldn’t help it. And if it was really applied in a business-like fashion, and nobody messed it up in any way, shape, or form, one of our Division 5 people said we might even be able to take the planet within a year. It is hot.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 24, 1968

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“Your Democratic friends and Democratic PCs are supporting the destruction of the USA, and with that, the rest of the world. You seem to forget LRH quotes on Marxism. Marxists today teach the children and teenagers in USA. The LGBT sodomite agenda is rampant. LRH said that the LGBT agenda had cause the destruction of the USA (he said that in the 60’s) like before with Rome, Greece etc. Finally, you don’t seem to have duplicated the LRH taped lecture The Free Being. In it LRH describes with detail how lower organized beings and entities can and have been bringing down Free Beings and OTs along the track. Those ‘lower but well organized beings’ are the Antifa and BLM communist leaders and their spiritual entities. Yes. Marxism is a spiritual movement pretending to be atheistic. Not to say of BLM and Vudu.”

 
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Random Howdy

“Yesterday you were merely irritating. Today you’ve placed yourself on the menu.”

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Demurrer filed by Masterson, arraignment delayed to October 19.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing is set for October 5 in White Plains, NY. Jeffrey’s is set for October 24.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Next pretrial conference set for Jan 12 in Los Angeles
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.

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 a writ of mandate filed with Cal 2nd Appellate District, Sept 10.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Sept 29 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales, Masterson demurrer), Oct 26 (motions to compel arbitration)
— 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.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Update required in federal lawsuit on Oct 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, awaiting verdict.

 
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Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!

[Jenna Elfman, Giovanni Ribisi, and Greta Van Susteren]

We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!

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 our weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Another national census is in, and Scientology comes in at a mighty 0.007 percent!
[TWO years ago] A Scientology enforcer dies, and one of his former victims is the only one to eulogize him
[THREE years ago] Scientology got plenty of photo ops out of hurricanes in Texas and Florida. But did it help?
[FOUR years ago] Flirt with Scientology, and its dogged letter writers will hound you forever
[FIVE years ago] Leah Remini book out Nov. 3: ‘Troublemaker: Surviving Hollywood and Scientology’
[SIX years ago] Rathbun v. Scientology: Another appeals court hearing, this time with everything on the line
[SEVEN years ago] JASON BEGHE ON LEAH REMINI: She’s Right, Scientology Does Want Her to Fail
[NINE years ago] Scientology Dropkick: Commenters of the Week!

 
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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 2,070 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,574 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,094 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,114 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,005 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,312 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,180 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,954 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,758 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,074 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,640 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,559 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,727 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,308 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,569 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,607 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,320 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,845 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,375 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,935 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,075 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,395 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,250 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,369 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,725 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,028 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,134 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,536 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,408 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,991 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,486 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,740 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,849 days.

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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 24, 2020 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, 1995-2019 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2019), 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, 14 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

 

Now that Scientology mega-donor Trish Duggan is famous, will the ditched-kid story blow up?

[Trish and Trump at the 2017 inauguration]

Politico had a tremendous scoop yesterday, as reporter Matt Dixon revealed that one of the country’s biggest financial supporters of the Trump re-election effort is none other than the wealthiest Scientologist in the world, Florida’s Trish Duggan.

Our readers have certainly heard a lot about Trish and her ex, Bob Duggan, over the years. The wealthy couple rewrote the record books when it comes to donating to the church, forcing Scientology leader David Miscavige to come up with ever greater honorifics and bigger trophies to bestow on them for their largesse. At last count, Trish had reached the status “Patron of Legend,” and the Duggans may be nearing half a billion in giving to the church through various initiatives.

 

 
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We detailed, for example, how in one transaction, they had set aside about $60 million in Abbvie stock, a pharmaceutical giant that had bought up Bob’s company Pharmacyclics. The deal had netted Bob about $2.5 billion, but we noted that just as Bob and Trish were splitting up, they set aside the Abbvie stock in a foundation so that it could reliably deliver about $3 million a year in interest that would go to Scientology or its front groups, according to the Foundation’s own documentation.

As long as Abbvie, maker of the biggest selling drug in the world, Humira, kept making a profit, its stock would generate many millions for Scientology into perpetuity. But after only a year, we learned, they abandoned the scheme and just turned the stock over to Scientology directly. (We figured Miscavige was too impatient with their original plan.)

But that’s not even the craziest story involving the Duggans and their millions that we’ve covered here at the Bunker. That certainly goes to the strange and disturbing story we wrote back in 2014 about their adopted kids, a story the Duggans have taken steps to try and suppress.

 
[One of the great illustrations by Chad Essley]

The Duggans tried to attack the piece through the photos we’d used to illustrate it, attempting to get Google to de-index the story by claiming we’d violated their copyrights. So, we simply replaced the photos with some fun illustrations by the very talented Chad Essley, and the story remains searchable.

But it’s no wonder that the Duggans don’t want people reading the story. It’s some ugly stuff, involving the allegation that one of the children the couple adopted (they’ve adopted at least six) was later fobbed off on a Scientologist couple in South Africa when he turned out to be a handful. But now that Trish is getting attention as one of Trump’s biggest individual donors, might some other press finally take a look at the story and the compelling evidence we gathered for it? That would be a kick.

And, heck, maybe there’s hope for another of our wacky stories here that the rest of the media has ignored. Now that Brad Pitt’s brief dalliance with Scientology nearly 30 years ago is a hot story again, maybe someone will get around to picking up the story we did about Brad asking for Scientology auditing for his pet iguana.

 
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The order that would have put Dennis Nobbe in jail

For what it’s worth, we got our hands on the court order that was going to put Scientology donor and Miami chiropractor Dennis Nobbe in jail, a prospect that resulted in his sudden death on Sept 14.

Nobbe was charged at the end of July with Medicare fraud and PPP loan abuse. He was allowed to post a $200,000 bond to stay out of custody, but as part of his release he agreed not to contact former employees the government planned to call as witnesses. Weeks later prosecutors came back to court saying that Nobbe had immediately violated that agreement, not only contacting a couple of former employees, but even offering one of them a bribe. They wanted his bond revoked and Nobbe put into custody, but Magistrate Judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes allowed him to remain free while raising his bond to $350,000 and confiscating his mobile phone.

Prosecutors, believing that Otazo-Reyes had been confused about the evidence and believing Nobbe really should be in jail, appealed her order. On Sept 14, District Judge Ursula Ungaro sided with prosecutors, and here’s part of what she had to say about it…

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The Court finds that it is unlikely that Defendant will abide by any conditions of release, including those imposed by the Order. Defendant wasted little time after his Initial Appearance on July 29 before violating the conditions of his bond the very next day on July 30 by contacting Garcia through a number beginning with 305. D.E. 15, Ex. E. Defendant later contacted Garcia through a number beginning with 786, as well. Id., Ex. F. Defendant continuously contacted both Zager and Garcia over the next few weeks, during which Defendant’s bond paperwork was entered on the docket on August 5, 2020, until at least August 15, and through at least two different phone numbers. See generally id., Exs. A–E. Defendant immediately violated the conditions of his bond once he was released, did so repeatedly, and even secured a second phone number to continue doing so. Notably, despite being ordered to surrender all cell phones, he used two telephone numbers to violate the conditions of his release and surrendered only one. See D.E. 16; D.E. 27 at 13. The Court finds that it is unlikely that Defendant will now begin abiding by the conditions of his bond given his already well-established record of zero hesitance in swiftly, deceitfully, and continuously violating conditions of release.

Although the government had only submitted its final reply the morning of the 14th, Nobbe was notified by a court employee that afternoon that he’d have to surrender the next day. Nobbe called his attorney, H. Dohn Williams, who told the court later that they were both confused by how quickly the court had come to a decision. While Williams was checking his computer to see if an order had actually been issued, he heard a sound on the other end of the line, and no longer heard from Nobbe, whose daughter found him unresponsive a few hours later.

When Nobbe was charged in July the news was carried by numerous outlets, including the Miami Herald. Oddly, no other news organization has noted his death.

 
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Your proprietor on the airwaves

We enjoyed this discussion with brothers Jordan and Dylan Harari, who have a podcast that focuses on the cultural upheavals of the early 2000s. Some fun threads were woven together here.

 

 
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Source Code

“And by the way, anybody who had sexual relationships with a little boy ought to be killed! The idea! Horrible! Why that’s the most disgusting thought he’s ever heard. What? Sexual relationships with a little boy? Oh, no. Except in the DED you find him taking a little boy and driving the little boy up to sexual enthusiasm, up, up, up, up, up and the little boy just can’t give any more, and so forth, and on the last jolt of demand on the part of the thetan, the little boy who actually did have a thetan in him anyhow, goes PANG. And it goes straight down to 0.0. BzzzUm. And that’s why being a body is death of a body, is thetan into the body. That’s 0.0. Death of the body is being the body. And you’ll find him having his most enjoyable times thereafter as a little boy. He, he’s doing a super life continuum for this little boy. And this little boy bit the dust and was chewed up and spat out maybe 70, 60, 30 trillion years ago.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 23, 1952

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“We are not all OT so we need each other. The Org Board is the Props of the Bridge. Millions need to walk this Bridge. Who’s gonna hold it, or better say WHAT’s GONNA HOLD IT? World going down… Zombies is the end product of this civilization… Will you take it or allow it to happen? Live in a world full of Zombies? Imagine the ideal scene: Thousands working together, thousands of aware thetans like you and me. Thousands, not hundreds… That’s what I am aiming for… And they all have one thing in common: A strong conviction they are immortal beings. Those are the ones I want. Aware Thetans. The world is going down fast now… we have been losing all the way. There comes a guy who says: Admin is completely out… Too few get it. Other-intentionedness… a disease worse than COVID-19. As long as I am keyed out I am going to post so You, yes You, see this and Re-cognite!! Maybe new people, fresh in mind and mental vigor need to get to know Scientology. At least you can help with that.”

 
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Random Howdy

“How many Scientologists are left in the world who would stand up and say ‘I’m proud to be a Scientologist!'”

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Demurrer filed by Masterson, arraignment delayed to October 19.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing is set for October 5 in White Plains, NY. Jeffrey’s is set for October 24.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Next pretrial conference set for Jan 12 in Los Angeles
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.

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.’ Motion for reconsideration denied on August 11
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Sept 29 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales, Masterson demurrer), Oct 26 (motions to compel arbitration)
— 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.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Update required in federal lawsuit on Oct 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, awaiting verdict.

 
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Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!

[Elisabeth Moss, Michael Peña, and Laura Prepon]

We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!

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 our weekly series. How many have you read?

 
——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Leah Remini mourns the estranged father who denounced her on behalf of Scientology
[TWO years ago] Scientology’s private cruise ship had a fitful history before becoming a floating cathedral
[THREE years ago] Director Paul Haggis pens an open letter to Marty Rathbun after Scientology’s latest smear
[FOUR years ago] Beware, protesters: Scientology has been training attack dogs at a Clearwater warehouse
[FIVE years ago] We’re in Cleveland today to talk about Scientology and you’re invited
[SIX years ago] NARCONON DENIED: Damaging Oklahoma report on Scientology rehab facility will be turned over
[SEVEN years ago] LEAH REMINI: Scientology Wants Me to Fail on Dancing With The Stars
[NINE years ago] The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology, No. 4: Tom Cruise

 
——————–

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 2,069 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,573 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,093 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,113 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,004 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,311 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,179 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,953 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,757 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,073 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,639 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,558 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,726 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,307 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,568 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,606 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,319 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,844 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,374 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,934 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,074 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,394 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,249 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,368 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,724 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,027 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,133 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,535 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,407 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,990 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,485 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,739 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,848 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on September 23, 2020 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, 1995-2019 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2019), 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, 14 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

 

VIDEO: See Danny Masterson’s initial court appearance on rape charges

 
You’ve seen descriptions of Danny Masterson’s first appearance in court on rape charges, but here’s a chance to see what it was like for yourself as we present the video recording of the hearing that took place Friday in Los Angeles.

Unfortunately, the most interesting stuff wasn’t caught on tape: Masterson’s large entourage clogging up the hallway outside, for example, causing the court to scramble and delay the hearing a couple of hours so deputies could figure out how to accommodate attendees from both sides while maintaining social distancing.

And also missing is the rant from Masterson’s defense attorney, famed litigator Tom Mesereau, who denounced the case as politically motivated and asked Judge Miguel Espinoza to keep cameras out of the courtroom.

Mesereau claimed that he was just trying to prevent a “circus-like atmosphere” being created by the press, which was rich, coming from the party that had brought a couple dozen onlookers and throwing the court into a quandary.

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Anyway, Espinoza refused Meserau’s request and the cameras began rolling.

(What you also won’t see in the footage is a corner of the room that cameras purposely avoided, where two of the three women who accuse Masterson of raping them were sitting with Leah Remini and her assistant Valerie Haney. Leah was chosen as the support person for victim Chrissie Carnell Bixler, whose husband rocker Cedric Bixler-Zavala was home taking care of their twins.)

 
[Judge Miguel Espinoza]

 
The That ’70s Show actor and Scientology celebrity is facing 45 years to life for allegedly raping three different women in incidents in 2001 and 2003. (See Friday’s curtain-raiser for a breakdown of the individual allegations.)

Friday’s hearing was scheduled for Masterson’s arraignment, when he would enter a plea of not guilty. But he took the uncommon step of filing a demurrer at this stage, trying to get the charges against him dismissed even before he enters a plea.

While demurrers are somewhat common in civil litigation, they are rarer in criminal cases, and particularly at this early stage. Why? Well, one reason is that they are expensive and most criminal defendants can’t afford them. On Saturday, we published Masterson’s 10-page demurrer in full, and it’s a document that clearly took Mesereau and his co-counsel, Sharon Appelbaum, considerable time to put together. How much did that cost Danny?

Consider that in another case we’re watching, when Valerie Haney filed a motion asking a judge to reconsider a ruling, Scientology’s two attorneys claimed that producing a 30-page opposition to Haney’s motion had cost the church $160,000. And neither of those attorneys, William Forman or Matthew Hinks, have the national stature of a Tom Mesereau.

You’ll see in the video that Judge Espinoza sets a briefing schedule for the demurrer, which will have the two sides back in court on October 19. He also explains to Masterson what he’s prohibited from doing under a protective order that was granted to the women accusing him. As part of that order, Judge Espinoza gave Masterson, an avid gun collector, 24 hours to turn in all of his firearms and ammunition to law enforcement. (We’re told this is unusual because Masterson hasn’t been convicted of anything yet.)

Masterson’s side also wanted a protective order — aimed at the press. But you’ll see prosecutor Reinhold Mueller argue that the proposed order submitted by Masterson’s attorneys was “grossly overbroad,” as it tried to prevent any evidence from making its way to the public. Also, he pointed out that the motion was premature because it made some assumptions about evidence in the case, when prosecutors had only turned over descriptions of their evidence to the other side that morning.

Espinoza rejected Masterson’s proposed protective order, reaffirmed Danny’s $3.3 million bond, and then adjourned.

Here’s the briefing schedule he gave the two sides as they prepare to do battle over the demurrer: Mueller has until Oct 2 to submit the government’s opposition, Masterson then has to reply by Oct 9, and Mueller can submit a sur-reply by Oct 15.

In the demurrer, Masterson is arguing that the rape allegations from 2001 to 2003 are past the statute of limitations, and grouping them together under California’s “One Strike Law” to have him facing 45 to life in prison doesn’t extend the statute of limitations when there are no aggravating factors. But as Mueller pointed out, when Masterson submitted his demurrer, his side hadn’t seen the evidence that the prosecution has, which it only revealed Friday morning. And from our own reporting we know about very significant aggravating factors — Victim B will testify that Masterson brandished a firearm as he raped her, for example, and a witness we’ve interviewed said he saw Masterson and a friend coercively carrying Victim B upstairs after she tried to escape.

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But who knows. Maybe Danny’s pricey and early roll of the dice will pay off. We’ll find out soon enough.

Here’s the video. We’re looking forward to your observations of Danny’s day in court.

 

 
SOME OF OUR PAST REPORTING ON THE MASTERSON CASE

March 3, 2017: LAPD probing Scientology and Danny Masterson for multiple rapes, cover-up
March 8, 2017: Danny Masterson: Victim C gets support from a veteran actress
March 11, 2017: Scientology made Danny Masterson’s Victim B search past lives to explain being raped
May 9, 2017: Masterson hires Michael Jackson criminal defense attorney Tom Mesereau in rape probe
Nov 2, 2017: Read the threatening letter Danny Masterson’s attorney Marty Singer sent a victim’s husband
Nov 26, 2017: EXCLUSIVE: Scientology interrogated Danny Masterson and accuser, didn’t notify LAPD
Feb 14, 2018: PROSECUTORS PREPARE CHARGES CARRYING LIFE SENTENCE FOR DANNY MASTERSON
Apr 27, 2018: Strange days for a woman accusing Danny Masterson of rape — and for her rocker husband
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July 8, 2018: Masterson witness fears for safety as investigation drags on and on
Nov 30, 2018: LEAH REMINI: Los Angeles DA Jackie Lacey, do your job already
Aug 14, 2019: RAPE ACCUSERS SUE DANNY MASTERSON, CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY, AND ITS LEADER
Jan 22, 2020: Cedric Bixler-Zavala blames Scientology for poisoned dog he had to put down yesterday
Feb 3, 2020: Here’s Scientology actor Danny Masterson’s legal response to his rape accusers
Feb 10, 2020: Another dog poisoned: Bobette Riales says harassment worse since suing Scientology
Feb 26, 2020: SEVENTH victim comes forward to LAPD accusing Scientology actor Danny Masterson
Feb 29, 2020: Amended complaint filed against Danny Masterson with new stalking allegations
March 14, 2020: Danny Masterson’s victims speak out in sworn documents in lawsuit against Scientology
June 17, 2020: SCIENTOLOGY CELEB DANNY MASTERSON CHARGED ON MULTIPLE RAPE ALLEGATIONS
June 19, 2020: Records show that Danny Masterson is a woeful Scientologist — would he turn on the church?
June 23: 2020: The key thing about Danny Masterson’s ‘DJ Donkey Punch’ nick is why he stopped using it
Sept 18, 2020: Scientology celeb Danny Masterson to be arraigned today for raping three women
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Sept 19, 2020: Read Danny Masterson’s ‘demurrer’ he’s hoping will get his criminal charges dismissed

 
——————–

Leah Remini podcast: The fair gaming of Steve Cannane

Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue to focus on people who have been the target of Scientology’s slimy Fair Game campaigns with an episode this week dedicated to Australian journalist Steve Cannane, seen here in a photo with your proprietor at our HowdyCon celebration in Denver three years ago.

If you were fortunate enough to be with us, you will remember that we asked Cannane to speak at our Saturday event, and he used the occasion to respond to the sliming he’d just received from Marty Rathbun, who was once again doing Scientology’s dirty work with a set of slick videos he put out beginning that year. Rathbun took shots at Cannane’s definitive book on Scientology in Australia, titled Fair Game, ironically enough.

Steve is still taking shots over his excellent book. We’ve told you recently about the strange defamation trial he went through in Sydney, a lawsuit that would never happen in the U.S., as Cannane was asked to prove allegations in a royal commission he quoted from that had taken place 30 years earlier. Testimony in the trial has concluded, and Cannane is awaiting a verdict.

Have a listen as Leah and Mike talk with yet another person who has paid the price for telling the truth about Scientology.

 

 
——————–

Source Code

“One day I was doing some processing on a Theta Clear and I had just lit a cigarette. And the Theta Clear was running this and running that, and trying to straighten himself out on this and change postulates on that and so forth, and all of a sudden the body sort of went rigid for an instant. And the Theta Clear must have been up in the corner or something of the sort, and the ashtray was out of my reach on a concrete floor, very slippery floor. And the ashtray was out of my reach and I had my cigarette and I was about to light it and I was looking around for an ashtray. And the ashtray came over, bzzt!, and I dropped a match in it. The thetan was just being polite, that was all, and had never thought twice about it. And I said, ‘Thank you,’ and the person became very confused. Because this person wasn’t up at the level where they were supposed to see or supposed to be or supposed to do things like that yet, you see?” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 22, 1952

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——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“Scientology’s name has been injured badly by the church. We need to reverse that. Also, with all of the corona restrictions all over the world, almost no one is progressing up the bridge. This has harmed the Free Zone like never before, especially with actions done by the church. Scientology WILL grow outside of the church, but it depends on how much volunteer time we are all going to put into it. L. Ron Hubbard managed to hold all those years because of people that have decided to devote a lot of hours a day for his technology and for it to work, so why aren’t we doing the same?”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“Scilon is a play on ‘Cylons,’ the robotic invaders in Battlestar Galactica. It is particularly appropriate because Hubbard was a science fiction writer, and the top-seekrit ‘OT levels’ are based on the belief that we are infected with ‘body thetans,’ the confused, immortal souls of space aliens who became disoriented 75 million years ago when the evil space warlord Xenu brought them to Earth (or Teegeeack, as it was known then), dropped them into volcanoes and blew them up with nuclear weapons. ‘The Scilons tried to talk me into taking a Free Personality Test.'”

 
——————–

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Demurrer filed by Masterson, arraignment delayed to October 19.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing is set for October 5 in White Plains, NY. Jeffrey’s is set for October 24.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Next pretrial conference set for Jan 12 in Los Angeles
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.

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.’ Motion for reconsideration denied on August 11
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Sept 29 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales, Masterson demurrer), Oct 26 (motions to compel arbitration)
— 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.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Update required in federal lawsuit on Oct 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, awaiting verdict.

 
——————–

Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!

[The Big Three: Tom Cruise, John Travolta, and Kirstie Alley]

We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!

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 our weekly series. How many have you read?

 
——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientology is making plans for a Narconon drug rehab in the land of the rising sun
[TWO years ago] Get a look inside Nathan Rich’s unique book about his Scientology upbringing
[THREE years ago] Scientology’s tiger: How L. Ron Hubbard created a language trap
[FOUR years ago] ‘The Unbreakable Miss Lovely’ goes on sale as an audiobook on September 29
[FIVE years ago] Visualizing Scientology’s latest ‘Going Clear’ public relations disaster
[SIX years ago] New videos leaked from Scientology, including a sobering call for help from Nashville
[SEVEN years ago] The Scientology Guide to Craigslist
[NINE years ago] Scientology Overseas: More Bad News in Australia, Israel, and the UK

 
——————–

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 2,068 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,572 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,092 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,112 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,003 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,310 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,178 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,952 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,756 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,072 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,638 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,557 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,725 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,306 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,567 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,605 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,318 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,843 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,373 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,933 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,073 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,393 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,248 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,367 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,723 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,026 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,132 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,534 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,406 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,989 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,484 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,738 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,847 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on September 22, 2020 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, 1995-2019 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2019), 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, 14 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

 

SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS, Episode 6: Dirty tricks are a sacrament in this ‘church’

 
‘Dirty Tricks,’ the sixth episode of ‘Scientology Black Ops,’ a special 7NEWS Australia investigation that was cancelled by the network in July, has been leaked to the Internet.

Ten episodes were scheduled to be published to the 7NEWS website on July 14 when the network changed its mind, cancelled the program, and also pulled down a trailer it had made for the series. On August 31, we found that the first episode in the series had been leaked, and we embedded it along with a transcript we prepared. We also did the same for the second episode, ‘Witness X,’ on Sept 4, the third episode, ‘Taken,’ on Sept 11, the fourth episode, ‘The Star,’ on Sept 14, and the fifth episode, ‘Always Attack,’ on Thursday.

We’ve done the same for the sixth episode, in which 7NEWS reporter Bryan Seymour looks at the creepy stalking that Scientology hires private investigators to practice on former members and on journalists. That includes the visit that was made by a PI, caught on tape, when she attempted to “question” Paul Haggis’s daughter Lauren Haggis after she filmed an episode with Leah Remini.

It’s straight out of L. Ron Hubbard’s playbook, and it’s great footage.

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Here’s the video, and then the transcript. (For those confused by the length of these short “episodes,” please keep in mind that this was a nightly news investigation and these segments were created to run during a news broadcast, not as longer shows on their own.)

 

Episode title: DIRTY TRICKS

Bryan Seymour: You know who I am?

Scientology videographer: Yeah, you’re Bryan Seymour.

Seymour: So the Church of Scientology has sent young Chris here to document my reporting… If you take on Scientology, they will attack you. I learned that very quickly after my first reports exposing abuse in Scientology in 2007.

 

 
News videographer: G’day, mate. Can I ask why you’re filming people going into the conference?

Scientology videographer: Aren’t you?

News videographer: Yes, I am. Yeah, I’m a journalist from Australia.

Seymour: Will the church go after me for an AVO because I’m trying to interview you about the intentions behind this. Can I ask, who sent you here to photograph us here today? And for what reason? You don’t want to tell me your name?

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Scientology videographer: I’m not here to be interviewed.

Seymour: No well, I’m not here to be filmed by you either, but that’s OK…. They have followed me, filmed me, bugged me, tried to get me sacked, tried and failed to injunct my stories, published an attack website on me, attack videos, and, appallingly, tried to convince me to commit suicide. One of their favorite ploys, as it turns out. One of them leaned in when he knew we weren’t filming, leaned in and whispered into my ear, we know you grew up in an orphanage, we know they gave you drugs, what’s wrong with you, why don’t you kill yourself? This is what he whispered into my ear. Now, they prepped someone, had the discussion, this is how we can try and unsettle Seymour. And I’ve got to say and I hate to admit it, it did get to me a little bit. Just the awfulness of thinking that you can plan to try and throw someone off by throwing up childhood trauma at them and suggesting they commit suicide. That’s what Scientology is.

 

 
Tony Ortega: They never call me up. And they never complain to me about my stories, they never try to influence me directly — they go after my family members. And Mike Rinder and Leah Remini have experienced this as well, is they go after your loved ones, they go after your support system. They do their best to intimidate and frighten people.

Seymour: One famous victim was the pioneering author Paulette Cooper, who wrote ‘The Scandal of Scientology’ in 1971 after infiltrating the cult. A Scientologist moved into her building, and would often buy her wine and try to talk her into jumping off the roof. They also broke into her apartment and typed a bomb threat on her typewriter. Then they lifted her prints from a wine glass and put it on the threat and mailed it to the Church of Scientology. Their goal was to have Cooper imprisoned or committed to a psychiatric hospital. Ortega detailed the unbelievable plan, code-named Operation Dynamite, in his book ‘The Unbreakable Miss Lovely,’ Scientology’s nickname for Cooper.

Ortega: The dirty tricks, the elaborate operations against people did not end in the 1970s. They were exposed in the 1970s, but they continue to do them today. We’re still finding remarkable operations that Scientology is working against people it considers enemies.

Tiziano Lugli: Stop following me, stop it, stop it! You’re never going to get shit from me.

Seymour: This is typical of Scientology’s tactics. It was 2010, Los Angeles. Sick of being stalked by an army of private investigators, former Scientologist Tiziano Lugli decided to turn his camera on them.

 

 
Lugli: Fucking piece of shit. Huh? You want to fuck with me now, huh? You try to hide but you fucking can’t. Just got away from the PI. We’re trying to figure out if there’s a, if they’ve installed any tracking device.

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Seymour: More recently, Paul Haggis’s daughter Lauren was paid a visit by a private investigator.

Private investigator Olivia Robinson: I’m following up on an interview that she did.

Male resident: Interview with whom?

Robinson: It was the one on TV.

Seymour: Lauren joined her father Paul to appear on Leah Remini’s show ‘Scientology and the Aftermath.’ That sparked this visit. And Scientology hired a lawyer to write this letter, outlining how they wanted to interview Lauren about the claims she made on Leah’s show.

Robinson: I’d like to just talk with Lauren about the interview only because there were some concerns that came about as a result of the interview and so it would be very helpful to talk to her.

Male resident: OK, I’m sorry, so you’re representing who?

Robinson: I’m a private investigator, a licensed private investigator, somewhere here I have my card. Maybe I dropped it. Oh God. I think maybe I dropped it on my way up here.

Seymour: Scientology can afford these armies of proxies to do their bidding. It’s estimated they have more than $3 billion in cash reserves, much of it donated by wealthy members, including celebrities. More on that later. The reason why they have so much is because they don’t pay tax. We’re constantly told by Scientology that an attack on them is an attack on religious freedom because they are, first and foremost, a religion. Was that reinforced to you, as a member, in those early decades?

 

 
Paul Haggis: Well, in the 70s, we all sort of winked at it, you know? We knew it was a tax dodge.

Seymour: You winked at it?

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Haggis: I didn’t care it was a tax dodge. Who cared, you know?

Seymour: Is that all it was?

Haggis: Well, I don’t know, I didn’t do, I wasn’t around in the 50s when he created it, but I have to assume so. They didn’t have to pay any tax. He was a genius in that way. I mean, why, his thought was, why pay tax if you didn’t have to when all you have to do is call it a church?

Tony Hitchman: It tends to be something of a racket, to make money for those people who are running it.

Seymour: With inexhaustible funds at their disposal, Scientology is collecting real estate at a voracious rate in the United States and here in Australia, holding grand openings for centers which are deserted once the confetti and hired extras leave. The stakes are high, and so are the costs for everyone in this battle, in every way. How much has it cost you, as a result of your determination to, as you say, clear your name?

Haggis: It’s cost me everything I have so far. And I’m selling this place. And so then when that’s done I’ll borrow after that.

Seymour: How much are you willing to give to this enterprise to prove your innocence?

Haggis: Everything. Every penny I have in the world, what do you mean? I have no choice. My name is everything to me. Well, that’s not everything, my children mean everything to me. My family, that’s everything. My name is secondary to that. But, it’s their name too. So, no, I’d, everything, every penny I have.

Leah Remini: That’s exactly what they want. They want Paul Haggis to have to sell his apartment. They want Paul Haggis bankrupt. They don’t want people to want to hire him as a writer, as a director. This is a man with an Oscar. This is a man who was Fair Gamed by Scientology for speaking out against a $3 billion cult. It is simply what they want to have happen, and they don’t care.

 

 
Seymour: Did the calls dry up? The calls from Hollywood?

Haggis: I shouldn’t laugh, but you know, yeah, immediately. I lost the feature I was doing immediately. And I haven’t really worked since. Of course, no. I expected that. There are those, I mean, there are a lot of people who know me and support me. Many, many, many. Agents have stood with me, my long time agents, and my manager, and all the people in my life I’ve known for years, men and women, have all stood with me. And I’m so grateful, deeply grateful for that. But, you know, Hollywood’s run by corporations, corporations are run by lawyers.

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Seymour: I’ve just finished filming with Paul Haggis. And, the thing is, of course, though that, I’m really not prosecuting the case against him, the civil case and his guilt or innocence, as I said at the start. I’m talking to him about what we’ve uncovered, which is in a sense a much bigger story in terms of, you know, it involving institutions going after people that are, frankly, astonishing and very sinister level. And, you know, if they were engaging in that type of behavior, what else have they done that we don’t know about. Where is the money coming from, that’s a legitimate question. And it’s something I’ll be asking Haleigh Breest’s lawyers, and I’ll be interested to hear their response, just how they’re funding this. Is it some sort of litigation funding? Is it contingency funding, no win no fee? If so how much are they willing to spend in case they don’t win? I mean, these are legitimate questions. Where is the money coming from for this civil suit? And the answer to that question might prove to be one of the most important in this case. In a statement, Ms. Breest’s lawyers told us, “There is absolutely no evidence that Haleigh Breest, or any of Haggis’s other victims, have anything to do with the Church of Scientology. The Church of Scientology is not funding this lawsuit or paying our law firm. And we have never done any work for the Church of Scientology.” You can read their full statement on our website.

 

 
Title card: COMING UP

Ortega: People like Tom Cruise believe that this is a prison planet.

Haggis: He should admit the truth. Should at least admit the truth.

Remini: John knows the truth. John said, “I don’t give a shit.”

 
Additional note: The attorney who hired private investigator Olivia Robinson to pretend that they had legitimate questions to ask Lauren Haggis was Julia Azrael, who has made several appearances now as part of Scientology Fair Game operations.

She represented Marc Headley’s Scientologist disconnected mother in order to write a nastygram to Leah Remini’s A&E show. And she was also involved in the Heber Jentzsch operation, feigning outrage over Tammy Clark’s attempt to see her uncle at Gold Base, as Mike Rinder reported.

As a Scientology hired gun, she’s an up-and-comer.

 

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——————–

Source Code

“Today we’re processing the present. We’re processing energy flow — live energy flow — in present time. We’re processing ‘right now.’ And ‘right now’ gets affected by ‘then,’ just as you learned in the first book and just as you learned in subsequent publications, and all you’ve been practicing to date. ‘Then’ affects ‘now.’ But all you will have to process, really, to get rid of ‘then,’ is ‘now.’ So you can process ‘now.’” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 21, 1952

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“Note that after the McPherson Affair there was a radical change in the delivery of Scientology known as the Golden Age of Tech. Coincidence? Sure if you believe in such things. Personally I don’t think many Scientologists can confront that much evil so they create a synthetic terminal like ‘Miscavige,’ ‘DM’ or ‘COB’ and fixate on him as the cause of all evil and that anyone who suggests otherwise is a ‘conspiracy theorist’ or an ‘OSA plant’ or whatever. Worse they support such idiocies as signing a petition calling on the *in*justice department and the FBI to ‘investigate’ Scientology. As far as I’m concerned Lisa McPherson and the ‘Trust’ that followed was a planned covert operation allowing former plants like Robert Vaughn Young and others to ‘defect’ and further discredit the subject and make absurd claims that it was the Introspection RD that caused her demise. Interesting fact is that the Introspection Rundown if properly done would eliminate the need for Psychiatry and their monopoly over the ‘insane.’ An existential threat to their existence for sure.”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“I wish that the OSA or their private dickheads would show up were I live because I live in the toughest building on the toughest street in my city. The cops are afraid to come in here. Also, I am much beloved by the denizens.”

 
——————–

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Demurrer filed by Masterson, arraignment delayed to October 19.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing is set for October 5 in White Plains, NY. Jeffrey’s is set for October 24.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Next pretrial conference set for Jan 12 in Los Angeles
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.

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.’ Motion for reconsideration denied on August 11
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Sept 29 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales, Masterson demurrer), Oct 26 (motions to compel arbitration)
— 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.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Update required in federal lawsuit on Oct 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, awaiting verdict.

 
——————–

Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!

[Alanna Masterson, Terry Jastrow, and Marisol Nichols]

We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!

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 our weekly series. How many have you read?

 
——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] The new ‘Freewinds’: Founder L. Ron Hubbard says Scientology is ‘supermagic’!
[TWO years ago] Is David Miscavige making changes to Scientology to fend off media glare?
[THREE years ago] Federal judge says he has the Scientologists for a justice panel, but Garcias say, ‘not so fast’
[FOUR years ago] DRONE FLYOVER: Scientology’s secret ranch where L. Ron Hubbard departed this Earth
[FIVE years ago] United Kingdom sees Scientology documentary ‘Going Clear’ tonight on Sky Atlantic
[SIX years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: Turning begging for cash into an art form
[SEVEN years ago] FEAR: Jon Atack on Scientology’s Essential Ingredient
[NINE years ago] The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology, No. 5: Joe Childs and Tom Tobin

 
——————–

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 2,067 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,571 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,091 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,111 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,002 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,309 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,177 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,951 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,755 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,071 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,637 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,556 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,724 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,305 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,566 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,604 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,317 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,842 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,372 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,932 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,072 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,392 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,247 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,366 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,722 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,025 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,131 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,533 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,405 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,988 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,483 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,737 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,846 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on September 21, 2020 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, 1995-2019 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2019), 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, 14 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

 

How should we judge the rejection Scientology received in the heartland this week?

[The KCK building Scientology wanted to turn into a dormitory.]

What a week it’s been here at the Underground Bunker. On Monday, Episode Four of the ‘Scientology Black Ops’ series leaked to the Internet, with Bryan Seymour’s damning look at how in 2004 Tom Cruise fired his legendary publicist Pat Kingsley with the help of Scientology’s dirty tricks department. Then that evening we celebrated the stunning news that Leah Remini had won a second Emmy award for her A&E series, this time for the show’s final episode, which featured two of Danny Masterson’s rape accusers.

On Wednesday, we continued our series about Scientology’s enablers and put the Los Angeles Times on notice for its recent lack of curiosity about Scientology. The next day was yet another online leak of a Scientology Black Ops episode, the fifth, and then that afternoon the shocking news that Scientology donor and Miami chiropractor Dennis Nobbe had dropped dead when he learned that he was going to jail while awaiting his trial on Medicare fraud. And then the week ended with Danny Masterson’s court appearance on rape charges and the demurrer he filed to delay matters.

Whew. We haven’t had a moment’s rest, but we didn’t want to overlook some other stories that unfolded this week, including an odd situation with the new Scientology Ideal Org in Kansas City.

You probably saw the news item, that the people of Kansas City, Kansas rejected Scientology’s attempt to turn an empty office building into a dormitory for the workers at its Kansas City, Missouri Ideal Org, which opened its doors on November 2. Local residents spoke out in opposition to Scientologists moving into the building, which was in a residential neighborhood, and the plan was rejected.

And we could see that former Scientologists were perplexed by the plan to open a dormitory. What did it mean? Was the KC Ideal Org going to become a Sea Org operation, and cheap housing was needed for the Sea Org workers, who make almost no money as they toil 365 days a year?

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We turned to Chris Shelton for his thoughts, since he had himself been a Sea Org official in the Midwest. Like us, he was skeptical that the Sea Org was moving in, but he did think the dormitory idea, and its rejection by the city, were bad indicators for the struggling church.

The Bunker: We looked at the map, Chris, and realized that the house we owned in KCK is exactly one mile from the building Scientology was trying to take over. We lived there in 2003-2005, when we worked at The Pitch, the weekly newspaper whose offices were in downtown Kansas City, Missouri, the big city that people usually think of when they hear the name “Kansas City.” The Missouri-Kansas state line runs right through town, but Kansas City, Kansas is a smaller burg, and much of it is in a state of decay. We lived in a wonderful little KCK neighborhood, Westheight, that even most people from the area didn’t seem to know about. But it was surrounded by some pretty depressed areas. The building that Scientology wanted to turn into a dorm had previously been used by Catholic Charities, and it’s surrounded by residential homes, and the people who lived there made it quite obvious that they didn’t want Scientology turning the building into a crash pad for its KCMO workers. We noticed that former Scientologists and other Scientology watchers were confused and surprised by the news — not because the locals had spoken out and rejected Scientology’s plan, which was to be expected, but that Scientology was trying to set up a “dormitory” at all.

Chris Shelton: Yeah, weird. It sounds like staff housing. Such things have been done in the past informally but not officially by the church. It might be also a pilot they’re trying. Or, we’ve also seen people suggest that it might be a sign that they’re turning the KC org into a “Sea Org Org,” but that sounds crazy even to me.

The Bunker: Yeah, we’re skeptical about the Sea Org thing.

Chris: Me too. Of all the places to choose, KC would be one of the worst.

The Bunker And Kansas City is so cheap for housing in general. It’s really sad that they need to set up a dormitory if their workers can’t afford to live there on what they pay.

Chris: Yeah, big time. That’s my guess. With the COVID economy, staff may really be hurting.

The Bunker: And isn’t it consistent with the idea that they have to import all of their workers to a place like Kansas City, because there actually isn’t any local interest in Scientology, and that the staff might be coming from places like Russia or South America, and so they can’t afford to rent anything?

Chris: Yep, exactly. It could be part of the Ideal Org rollout to avoid losing so many new recruits after the opening. Loss of staff then is usually immense, and the cost of living is the usual reason why. That was a problem in every Ideal Org opening. We were getting them jobs and stuff to try to keep them.

The Bunker: How do you respond to the folks who are saying that it’s unusual for an Ideal Org to set up a dormitory because it shows more compassion for workers than Scientology usually does?

Chris: Well, it might look like compassion, but having been behind the scenes myself, I know that humanitarianism is the last thing in the calculation. These decisions are based on two things: economics and cult retention. Ideal Orgs are sieves for staff after their big grand openings. Within a month or two they have usually reverted back to their pre-Ideal size. It was horrifying to watch over and over again so the Sea Org took measures to try to prevent this. It costs them little and potentially gains that many more hours of labor.

The Bunker: So less concern for the well being of the workers, and more about stopping the bleeding of staff.

Chris: Exactly. It’s always a numbers game but reducing the variables like staff housing makes it easier to control the situation.

The Bunker: And did we see you say that you worked with the woman, Maggie Kittinger, who was representing Scientology to the city on the project?

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Chris: I have a whole story about it. It’s never come up before. Just one of many missions to orgs that needed finance bailout. It was my very first project.

The Bunker: Please, lay that story on us.

Chris: In 1995, as a fresh-faced Sea Org recruit arriving into continental management, I learned quickly how wildly insane it was trying to get city-level orgs out there across the western United States to “get their stats up.” This was especially true when the org in question couldn’t even pay its rent and was about to be evicted – an event that happened fairly regularly until orgs started being purchased as part of the Ideal Org strategy. So the very first Sea Org project I was ever sent on was to Kansas City in July, 1995. Apparently there was a Sea Org member named Patty holding the post of Executive Director because the last one had blown or somehow been removed. Patty had been sent out to be the temporary ED and get herself replaced so she could come back to management, but somehow couldn’t “make it go right” and so had been stuck out there. And as far as management was concerned, it was her fault that she was still there and really her fault the rent hadn’t been paid.

I went out with another new Sea Org management recruit. Where I had experience in the technical areas (the Scientology classes and auditing rooms), she had come up to the Sea Org as a staff member and registrar (sales person). So my job was to whip the place in shape and get some public in to the course room while she went out and did door-to-door sales appointments, which of course were mostly “surprise visits.” We were ordered to get the rent money in anyway we could and then bring Patty back with us. We were told that she might not even be willing to come back and we might have to “8C” her (manhandle her). Yeah, this was our first Sea Org assignment and it was a doozy.

Well, we made the rent and got Patty back safely to the Los Angeles base and then it was up to the org manager and the Commanding Officer of the management unit to get that missing Executive Director job filled fast. We’d been forced to leave one of the existing staff in charge temporarily – not a Sea Org member but a veteran Kansas City staffer who did fine on making money but wasn’t up to running the whole place. Well, we moved pretty slow sometimes and I recall it took about a year or maybe two before an “ED resource” was figured out. Somewhere in the search for this new Executive Director, the name Maggie Magerowski came up. In my memory, she was somehow related to the Los Angeles organization. If I’m recalling this right, she worked under the infamous John Woodruff back in the early 90s when the LA org was still staffed by regular contracted staff and had achieved “Saint Hill size.” So she had serious experience and a real record of getting products and, again if I’m recalling this right, she was now living in Kansas City. She was named to be the person to recruit for Kansas City.

She was recruited hard and relented and soon after was the ED Kansas City. That is one of about a hundred such anecdotes I have from my time in Sea Org management alone. When I talk about how there were emergencies all the time and we were kept up late solving them and constantly under the gun, these kinds of personnel problems and income problems made up the vast bulk of those emergencies.

The Bunker: It’s a great slice of Scientology management life, so we thank you for that glimpse behind the scenes. And now, Maggie Kittinger just got her head handed to her by the residents of KCK, who didn’t want the Ideal Org workers to crash there during their few off hours. Brutal.

 
——————–

Source Code

“Age is hooked on to the body, normally, by the thetan himself as self-expression. And it is held in place in terms of engrams and secondaries. It’s held right there, man. Anything that is wrong with a body is held into it and on it by the thetan who has that body. That’s it. As long as he believes he can’t grow a new leg, he won’t have one, either.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 20, 1962

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

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“If you don’t know yet, Ron has reincarnated in a new body in the USA. Right now he is developing new tech which goes much more deeper in the case, and much more easy to audit with real wins! I am using this new tech since 2018, and all my guys who were bogged in NOTs, solo NOTs, Ron’s Org, any level are now flying and are stables! Furthermore a new bridge is being created! and all the bridge will be done in solo auditing even for someone starting! By the way the name of this new Scientology is ESPERIANISM. ESP means extra-sensory perceptions! We are aiming to make real OTs now!”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“Seeing as how there’s no objective reality in Scientology, everything is a game. The Thetans created the MEST universe so they could have a playground to play in.”

 
——————–

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Demurrer filed by Masterson, arraignment delayed to October 19.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing is set for October 5 in White Plains, NY. Jeffrey’s is set for October 24.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Next pretrial conference set for Jan 12 in Los Angeles
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.

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.’ Motion for reconsideration denied on August 11
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Sept 29 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales, Masterson demurrer), Oct 26 (motions to compel arbitration)
— 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.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Update required in federal lawsuit on Oct 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, awaiting verdict.

 
——————–

Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!

[Catherine Bell, Chick Corea, and Nancy Cartwright]

We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!

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 our weekly series. How many have you read?

 
——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Garcias answer Scientology’s cross-appeal, COSRECI coughs up dox, and a new church vid!
[TWO years ago] Scientology ‘disconnection’ and the incalculable damage it does to children
[THREE years ago] Of course Jada Smith was a Scientologist, says principal who ran her Scientology school
[FOUR years ago] EXCLUSIVE: Cat White’s marriage to man suing Jim Carrey was a sham to beat immigration
[FIVE years ago] L. Ron Hubbard, would-be conqueror: Scientology’s fable about Rhodesia is a riot
[SIX years ago] Sneaky Scientology finds another way to get access to high school students
[SEVEN years ago] JENNA HILL RESPONDS TO BARBARA WALTERS ON SCIENTOLOGY EDUCATION
[NINE years ago] Scientology Has Marty Rathbun Arrested

 
——————–

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 2,066 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,570 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,090 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,110 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,001 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,308 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,176 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,950 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,754 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,070 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,636 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,555 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,723 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,304 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,565 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,603 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,316 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,841 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,371 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,931 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,071 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,391 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,246 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,365 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,721 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,024 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,130 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,532 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,404 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,987 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,482 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,736 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,845 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on September 20, 2020 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, 1995-2019 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2019), 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, 14 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

 

Read Danny Masterson’s ‘demurrer’ he’s hoping will get his criminal charges dismissed

[Danny Masterson and his attorney, Tom Mesereau]

Our legal experts tell us that our perception yesterday wasn’t incorrect: They say that it is unusual for a “demurrer” to be filed in a criminal prosecution at this stage, which gives Danny Masterson a chance, however slim, to get his charges dismissed before he’s even entered a plea.

That’s what happened yesterday in Los Angeles as Masterson’s attorney, Tom Mesereau, raised a host of objections about the case, which has the That ’70s Show actor facing 45 years to life for allegedly raping three different women in incidents in 2001 and 2003. (See yesterday’s curtain-raiser for a breakdown of the individual allegations.)

We had expected that the arraignment would be a very quick affair. Masterson would answer a few questions, plead not guilty to the charges, and the whole thing would be over in minutes. Instead, it took hours. Why? Because Masterson showed up with a large entourage.

That threw the court, which was practicing social distancing methods, into a quandary, and what should have taken a few minutes instead took a couple of hours. Masterson was ultimately able to bring in only six people from his posse, and he chose his sister Alanna, brothers Will and Jordan, brother-in-law Billy Baldwin, producer Paige Dorian, and another woman we weren’t able to identify.

Left on the outside were several of Masterson’s longtime friends, which included fellow Scientologist Emily Armstrong, lead singer of Dead Sara. And hearing that name, we remembered that she was photographed at a Scientology Celebrity Centre annual gala seven years ago with fellow rocker (and then Scientologist) Cedric Bixler-Zavala, who is now married to one of Masterson’s accusers, Chrissie Carnell Bixler.

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[Emily Armstrong and Cedric Bixler-Zavala at the 2013 CC gala]

Masterson himself was in a light blue suit and a grey colored mask, and he had his sunglasses sitting on the back of his neck so that the temple tips were sticking out on either side of his tie. (We saw a lot of people on social media wondering what they were.)

On the other side, two of his three victims were in the courtroom, along with Leah Remini and her assistant Valerie Haney. Leah had been selected as the support person for Chrissie Carnell Bixler because Cedric was at home taking care of their twins.

Mesereau tried to keep cameras out of the courtroom by going into a rant about how the case was based on old allegations that had been pushed by the media, and that LAPD Chief Charlie Beck and DA Jackie Lacey had been “bullied” by the victims into charging Masterson. The judge, however, allowed cameras.

Instead of having Masterson enter a plea, Mesereau revealed that he was filing a demurrer, which the judge was then obligated to consider, moving the arraignment back to October 19. Demurrers in civil lawsuits are common, and Masterson has filed one in the lawsuit that the same women have filed against him down the street at the Stanley Mosk Courthouse. But a demurrer at the arraignment in a criminal case? Not common, our experts tell us. And probably very expensive for Masterson.

Mesereau indicated that if the judge denies the demurrer, Masterson will at that point enter a not guilty plea — and he signed a waiver yesterday that will allow him to avoid being in court if that happens.

So Masterson buys another month, won’t have to be in court to plea, and gets a longshot attempt at having the case dismissed. Here’s the document itself that Mesereau and co-counsel Sharon Appelbaum filed. We look forward to your thoughts on it.

TO THE HONORABLE JUDGE OF THE ABOVE-ENTITLED COURT, TO LOS ANGELES COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY JACKIE LACEY AND HER REPRESENTATIVES:

Please take notice that on September 18, 2020, in Department 30 at 8:30 am or as soon thereafter as may be heard, the defendant DANIEL PETER MASTERSON, by and through counsel, Thomas A. Mesereau, Jr and Sharon Appelbaum, demurs to the felony complaint filed against him in the above-entitled case on the ground that it appears from the face of said complaint that the prosecution is barred by the statue of limitations. This demurrer will be based on the attached supporting memorandum, on the charging document in this case, and on such argument as may be made at the hearing on this demurrer.

MEMORANDUM OF POINTS AND AUTHORITIES

I. INTRODUCTION

Mr. Masterson is charged with 3 counts of forcible rape under Penal Code section 261(a)(2). Count One is alleged to have occurred on or about April 25, 2003, involving a Jane Doe #1, Count Two is alleged to have occurred on or between October 1, 2003 and December 31, 2003, involving a Jane Doe #2, and Count Three is alleged to have occurred on or between January 1, 2001 and November 30, 2001, involving a Jane Doe #3. All three charges are alleged to have occurred in the County of Los Angeles. The prosecution has also charged Penal Code section 667.61(b) and (e)(4), the One Strikes Law for multiple victims.

An arrest warrant was issued for Mr. Masterson on June 16, 2020, the same date that the felony complaint was filed.

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II. LEGAL ARGUMENT

A. A DEMURRER IS A CHALLENGE TO THE JURISDICTION OF THE COURT OVER THE OFFENSE CHARGED; THE REMEDY FOR LACK OF JURISDICTION IN THIS CASE IS DISMISSAL

Under Penal Code section 1004, “The defendant may demur to the accusatory pleading at any time prior to the entry of a plea, when it appears upon the face thereof… (1)…any information or complaint that the court has no jurisdiction of the offense charged therein.” When the Court has no jurisdiction over the offense charged, the Court is to sustain the demurrer. Penal Code section 1007.

1. The court has no jurisdiction over the offense charged in that it alleges that the offenses were committed on dates beyond the statute of limitations

Failure to comply with the appropriate statute of limitations is a jurisdictional question. Cowan v. Superior Court, 14 Cal.4th 367 (1996); People v. McGee, 1 Cal.2d 611 (1934); People v. Williams, 21 Cal.4th 335 (1999). The Court must dismiss charges filed after the appropriate statute of limitations has run, if the limitations period has not been tolled, otherwise the defendant’s right to a fair trial is prejudiced. United States v. Marion, 404 U.S. 307,322 (1971), People v. Angel, 70 Cal. App. 4th 1141, 1144, 1150 (1999), see In re Demilio, 14 Cal. 3d 598 (1975).

a. The statute of limitations for Penal Code 261(a)(2) has run

Statutes of limitations are to be strictly construed in favor of the defendant. People v. Zamora, 18 Cal. 3d 538, 574 (1976) (dismissing convictions for grand theft and conspiracy to commit arson because they were barred by the statute of limitations).

Prior to the change in Penal Code section 799 in January 2017, violations of Penal Code section 261(a)(2), forcible rape, were subject to a ten (10) year statute of limitations. Penal Code section 801.1(b)(2016). The ten year statute of limitations was only allowable for those crimes committed on or after January 1, 2015, or those crimes whose statute of limitations had not expired by that date.

Before the extension in 2015, the statute of limitations for Penal Code section 261(a)(2) was six (6) years because the offense was punishable by up to eight (8) years in jail. Penal Code 800. Six years is the applicable statute of limitation in the instant matter.

The felony complaint alleges that the crimes occurred in 2001 and 2003. For the purpose of calculating the statute of limitations, the prosecution is considered to have begun on June 16, 2020, the date when an arrest warrant was issued for Mr. Masterson and the information on this case filed with the Court. Penal Code section 804.

The changes against Mr. Masterson expired in 2007 and 2009. All three (3) counts’ limitations periods had expired before the 2015 and the subsequent 2017 changes in the law. Therefore, this prosecution did not begin within the statute of limitations period.

b. The One Strike Law does not apply a separate statute of limitations nor does it supersede the statute of limitations of the underlying statute

Penal Code section 805(a) states, “An offense is deemed punishable by the maximum punishment prescribed by statute for the offense, regardless of the punishment actually sought or imposed…” In the case at the bar, the offenses with which the defendant is charged area three counts of Penal Code section 261(a)(2), whose statute of limitations has expired for each count.

The One Strike Law, Penal Code section 667.16(b) and (e)(4), provides a punishment of 15 years to life per count, if the allegation, here multiple victims, is found true by a jury. The prosecution is relying on the life in prison potential punishment to extend the statue of limitations by invoking Penal Code section 799. Their reliance is misplaced.

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The One Strike Law has been called a penalty provision and an alternate sentencing scheme and is not an enhancement. People v. Jones, 58 Cal.App.4th 693, 709, fn. 9 (1997), People v. Acosta, 29 Cal. 4th 105 (2002). The One Strike Law does not provide an additional term of imprisonment, but rather an increased base term if a jury finds that a defendant commits a particular crime under a specified set of circumstances, Jones at 709; Acosta at 119.

The Acosta opinion discussed two alternate sentencing schemes, the One Strike Law and the Three Strikes Law, and their interrelationship at sentencing. The Court described the separate legislative purposes of both alternative sentencing schemes, explaining that the Three Strikes Law is to “provide greater punishment for recidivists” while the One Strike Law’s purpose “is to provide life sentences for aggravated sex offenders, even if they do not have prior convictions.” Acosta at 127 (internal citations omitted).

i. In the absence of an aggravating factor during the particular offense, a subsequent crime is necessary to be committed for the One Strike Law to apply

The multiple victims provision of the One Strike Law is different from the other statutory circumstances which require an aggravating factor be committed during the underlying offense. The other circumstances include committing another crime during the commission of the offense such as kidnapping, burglary, use of a deadly weapon, tying or binding a victim, or administering a controlled substance to a victim by force or fear. Penal Code section 667.71.

No additional action during the offense is required for the multiple victims circumstance. The statute reads that for the One Strike Law to apply, “the defendant has been convicted in the present case or cases of committing an offense against more than one victim.” Penal Code section 667.61(c). The prosecution does not have to prove any additional elements from what any case with 3 counts of Penal Code section 261(a)(2) would require. If the prosecution were successful on only one count, the One Strike Law would not apply. The multiple victims provision is more like a recidivist theory since it is based on the accumulation of offenses rather than the aggravation of a particular incident.

ii. The underlying offense should govern the statute of limitations

Two Courts of Appeal have come to opposing conclusions on whether an alternate sentencing scheme can lengthen the statute of limitations of the underlying offense. The Supreme Court of California has not yet weighed in on the subject.

The First District Court of Appeal held that the Three Strikes Law did not extend the statute of limitations in a robbery case. People v. Turner, 134 Cal.App.4th 1591, 1596 (1st Dist. 2005). The Court used statutory construction and interpretation and found that the discussion of Penal Code section 805 regarding the “offense”, specifically refers to the underlying offense and not the alternate sentencing scheme. Id.

The Turner court determined that the statute of limitations was based on the offense rather than facts relating to the offender himself or “based upon facts other than the commission of the offense.” Id.at 1597. Punishing the defendant for recidivism was a fact that related to the defendant and was not an act or omission that was part of the crime itself.

Here, the issue under the One Strike Law, multiple victims, would also be a fact relating to the defendant, rather than an act or omission. The determination of whether there were multiple victims over the course of separate crimes is a fact similar to recidivism in that it is triggered by bad conduct on the part of the defendant rather than any act he committed that was specific to a particular count. The multiple victims provision is about the offender, not the offense. The Turner standard should be applied here.

In the Sixth District Court of Appeal, the court narrowly construed the First District’s ruling in Turner to apply only to the Three Strikes Law, People v. Perez, 182 Cal. App. 4th 231,236 (6th Dist. 2010). The Perez court decided that an alternate sentencing scheme should define the statute of limitations for the substantive offense and that a prosecution on the One Strike Law could commence at any time. Id. at 239-240.

Perez incorrectly relied on two cases in which the California Supreme Court dealt with imposing additional penalties for defendants who committed gang related offenses either directly or indirectly using a gun. See People v. Jones, 47 Cal.4th 566 (2009); People v. Brookfield, 47 Cal.4th 583 (2009). Significantly, neither case dealt with the statute of limitations nor required a subsequent crime to be committed to apply the penalty provision, but both required the prosecution to prove an additional element and fact, that the shootings at issue were for the benefit of a gang. Only then could the more severe penalty be leveled on the defendant at sentencing.

Turner is the more compelling decision as it involved prosecuting a defendant for the underlying crime, not prior or subsequent actions of the defendant. At sentencing, the Turner court was free to utilize the alternate sentencing scheme. Here, the defense moves the court to agree with the Turner court and find that the One Strike Law has not extended the statute of limitations for Penal Code section 261(a)(2).

B. VIOLATION OF THE DEFENDANT’S DUE PROCESS RIGHTS

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In Stogner v. California, 539 U.S. 607, 617, the United States Supreme Court determined that the Ex Post Facto Clause prohibits resurrecting time-barred prosecutions, but found it is lawful to extend a limitations period before the prior period expires. Here, the time period clearly expired years before either extension to the limitations period began.

To proceed with this prosecution would be to deny the defendant his Fifth Amendment right to due process by way of the Fourteenth Amendment. The statute of limitations exists for a reason: to ensure that criminal defendants are not prosecuted for stale cases caused by pre-accusation delay. U.S. Amend V., U.S. Amend XIV; Cal const. I section 15. Evidence and witnesses are lost with the passage of time and prejudice to the defendant is caused by the delay.

In Zamora, the Court found that law enforcement must exercise reasonable diligence in the investigation of a case and to exercise that diligence within the time period of statue of limitations. Statutes of limitations have been said to be a defendant’s primary safeguard against the possibility of prejudice from preaccusation delay. See United States v. Lovasco, 431 U.S. 783, 789 (1977).

This is true for the case at bar. The allegations here are by complainants who were adults at the times of the alleged incidents which occurred between sixteen and nineteen years ago. In the intervening years, witnesses have died, memories have faded, potential exculpatory evidence has been lost, all resulting in prejudice to the defendant. This case should not be allowed to proceed.

1. Due Process requires an evidentiary hearing

When the statute of limitations is extended or tolled, the legislature created mechanisms to ensure due process, notice and a hearing, for defendants. The reason for these statutory rules is fairness. Evidentiary notice to the defense is necessary when due to the passage of time evidence is lost and proving a negative becomes that much more difficult.

Cases that fall within Penal Code section 803(f)(2), dealing with sex crimes of minors, entitles the defense to an evidentiary hearing before the preliminary hearing. The prosecution would need to prove that 1) prosecution began within 1 year from date of report, 2) the statute of limitations period had expired, 3) substantial sexual conduct as described in section 1203.66 had occurred and 4) that there is independent evidence that corroborates the victim’s allegation. If the victim was 21 years old or older at the time of the report, the evidence must be proven by clear and convincing evidence. Penal Code section 803(f)(2).

2. Request for an evidentiary hearing

Should the Court find that the statute of limitations has been extended by the One Strike Law, the defense requests an evidentiary hearing be conducted.

Trial courts have discretion to hold such a hearing, People v. Zamora, 18 Cal. 3d 538, fn. 25 (1976). The Court stated that trial courts have discretion whether to hold a hearing on the limitation issue before proceeding to a trial. Id. at fn 25. They went on to say that:

if it appears possible that the evidence will establish as a matter of law that the period of limitation has run, then judicial economy may be far better served if the issue is resolved at the earlier possible stage of the proceedings rather than waiting until an entire trial on multiple issues is completed. Moreover, the determination of the trial court after such a hearing will be similar to that on a motion for a directed verdict (ss 1118, 1118.1) with the necessity of first litigating the merits of the case. We conclude therefore that a trial court has within its discretion the power to hold an evidentiary hearing for the purposes of determining as a matter of law the statue of limitations bars the prosecution.

Id. at fn 25. Should the Court find that the statute of limitations has been extended by the One Strike Law, there is a possibility that the jury does not find the defendant guilty on more than one count. That would result in the entire case being dismissed after trial because the One Strike Law would not apply since it is based on multiple victims. In order to avoid undue consumption of time, a hearing would be best to review the evidence.

3. Request for specified information

If this Court decides to follow Perez, the defense requests specified information as why allegations from 2001 and 2003 by complainants, who were adults at the time, were filed in 2020. When was the prosecution made aware of each allegation? When was each reported? What caused the delay? How much time did they spend investigating these allegations? Did law enforcement exercise the appropriate amount of due diligence as required under Zamora? If not, the case should not be allowed to proceed.

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III. CONCLUSION

Defendant respectfully requests that the charges in this information be dismissed as they are barred by the statute of limitations. Alternatively, should the Court allow the case to proceed, the defendant requests an evidentiary hearing and specific information regarding the time delay and investigation during the intervening years.

Dated: September 18, 2020

Respectfully submitted,

Sharon Appelbaum
LAW OFFICES OF SHARON APPELBAUM

 
A couple of things surprise us here. First, the document refers to the absence of an aggravating factor in the commission of these rapes. Does the defense team not read this website? We’ve written several times that at trial prosecutors will enter evidence that during his violent rape of Victim B, Masterson brandished a firearm. Sheesh. Also, we’ve previously reported that the night of Victim B’s incident, a witness we talked to said he saw her coercively being carried back upstairs to Masterson’s room by Masterson and one of his friends, which suggests “kidnapping in concert,” a major aggravating factor.

Two decisions made by Judge Miguel T. Espinoza were also important yesterday. He denied Meserau’s request for a protective order to keep the media from seeing any evidence in the case, and he granted the protective order requested by the victims that will keep Masterson from coming anywhere near them during the case.

And a surprise: Judge Espinoza ordered Masterson, a gun collector, to turn in all of his firearms by this morning, which we’re told is not common in protective orders.

So sure, take your longshot, Danny, but so far things seem to be going against you in court.

 
——————–

Source Code

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“I remember one space academy, I think the curriculum was two thousand years. I was a student there.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 19, 1961

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“When checking out a used car, one can sort of ‘shroud’ it and get a feel for its chronic emotion, look beyond its scuffs into its heart, hear its noises in your mind and home in on the car’s voice, unscramble the frequencies, maybe even spot a postulate or two. You can get a sense of previous owners, scan to where they lived, where they took the car, what the car saw on its travels, if there were children and pets. Was the car happy? Explore its time track back to the factory; are there any hidden moments? It doesn’t take long to do if you can get the seller to shut up for a minute. Service histories can be falsified too, it’s not unheard of. Does the car even want another owner? Dependency on MEST documentation is only one route to knowing something.”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“I always wanted to start my own cult even more than I ever wanted to be a rock star. I’m going to go watch some gun videos and start winding down. Goodnight Sherb, get some sleep.”

 
——————–

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Demurrer filed by Masterson, arraignment delayed to October 19.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing is set for October 5 in White Plains, NY. Jeffrey’s is set for October 24.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Next pretrial conference set for Jan 12 in Los Angeles
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.

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.’ Motion for reconsideration denied on August 11
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Sept 29 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales, Masterson demurrer), Oct 26 (motions to compel arbitration)
— 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.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach tax debt: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy. Update required in federal lawsuit on Oct 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, awaiting verdict.

 
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Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!

[Erika Christensen, Ethan Suplee, and Juliette Lewis]

We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!

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 our weekly series. How many have you read?

 
——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Here’s the Kent team’s 3rd lawsuit against Scientology and David Miscavige — dive in!
[TWO years ago] Scientology’s minion lawyer stretches his ‘theta arm’ to touch the future!
[THREE years ago] Tonight, Paul Haggis calls out Scientology’s celebs: ‘Damn them for being purposely blind’
[FOUR years ago] Talking highlights of ‘Fair Game’ with its author, Aussie journalist Steve Cannane
[FIVE years ago] THE GETTING CLEAR CONFERENCE: How to see the videos that lay Scientology bare
[SIX years ago] Scientology’s tent party in England: The 9-minute trailer!
[SEVEN years ago] Scenes from Scientology’s Armageddon
[NINE years ago] The Top 25 People Crippling Scientology, No. 6: Anonymous

 
——————–

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 2,065 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,569 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,089 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,109 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,000 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,307 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,175 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,949 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,753 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,069 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,635 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,554 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,722 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,303 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,564 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,602 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,315 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,840 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,370 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,930 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,070 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,390 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,245 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,364 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,720 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,023 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,129 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,531 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,403 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,986 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,481 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,735 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,844 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on September 19, 2020 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, 1995-2019 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2019), 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, 14 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

 

Scientology celeb Danny Masterson to be arraigned today for raping three women

 
At 8:30 am Pacific today at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center on West Temple Street in downtown Los Angeles, Scientology celebrity and That ’70s Show actor Danny Masterson is scheduled to make an appearance and be arraigned on criminal charges. We expect to have someone on the scene and we’ll be bringing you reports as they come in.

Masterson is accused of raping three different women between 2001 and 2003 who were each Scientologists at the time. We’ve been reporting on these incidents since we first broke the news that the LAPD was investigating them in 2017, and we have a lot of background on their cases and why things have taken so long to get to this point. Here’s a brief breakdown on the individual cases.

Victim A (Chrissie Carnell Bixler)

[From DA Jackie Lacey’s June 17 press release: “The defendant is accused of raping a 23-year-old woman between January and December 2001, according to the complaint.”] Chrissie Carnell dated Masterson for six years but then broke up with him after, she says, he raped her anally while she was unconscious in 2001. She reported the incident to the church at the time, which encouraged her not to take her allegations to law enforcement. In 2016 she learned for the first time that there were other women who had allegations against Masterson, and so she decided, with two of them, to approach the LAPD. She didn’t plan on making her name public, but when we broke the news of the investigation in March 2017, Masterson’s publicist Jenni Weinman attacked her by name. Most media redacted the name, but a few didn’t, and Chrissie felt at that point that she had no choice but to go public. Since then she’s been outspoken about Masterson and the harassment she says she’s been through since going to the LAPD. Last year, she appeared on the series finale of Leah Remini’s A&E program Scientology and the Aftermath, an episode that on Monday won the show its second Emmy award. In that episode, Chrissie described her allegations against Masterson, as well as Scientology’s efforts to keep her quiet. From the Daily Beast’s description of the show…

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“Last thing I remember is getting up from the restaurant to go home. Complete blackout,” Bixler said. “The next day when I woke up the back of my head hurt, and I thought I’d fallen. I thought I was poisoned. I didn’t know where I was. He was downstairs sitting at his desk… I went downstairs and asked what happened. He just kind of chuckled. I said, ‘I’m in a lot of pain.’ I was ripped. I was injured. He started laughing. He said “Oh, I had sex with you last night.” I said, ‘Was I unconscious?’ He said, ‘Yeah.’”

In August 2019, Chrissie, along with three other victims, filed a civil lawsuit against Masterson and the Church of Scientology over the harassment they say they’ve been through for coming forward. She was also joined as a plaintiff by her husband, rocker Cedric Bixler-Zavala, and the two of them talked to us about the surveillance they’ve been subjected to, which they say has included the death of two of their dogs.

Victim B (‘Jane Doe 1’ in the civil lawsuit)

[Lacey’s press release: “In April 2003, Masterson allegedly raped a 28-year-old woman…”]
Unlike the others, the woman we’re calling Victim B overcame Scientology’s objections and did report her incident to the LAPD at the time. She was a friend of Masterson’s but they were not dating when she attended a party at his house in April 2003. Late that night, she began to feel suspiciously drowsy after a single drink the actor brought her, and he tossed her in his backyard jacuzzi, then carried her up to his upstairs room. In and out of consciousness, she came to and realized that he was raping her. When she tried to push him away, she alleges that he choked her and brandished a firearm. When she complained to the church, it put her through months of bizarre counseling (known as “auditing” in Scientology) asking her to examine her past lives to find what evil things she had done in earlier centuries that would cause her to be a victim in this lifetime. The counseling cost her about $15,000 and was designed to keep her from going to the police, but she defied her “handlers” and went to the LAPD in June 2004. Scientology responded by submitting affidavits from church members calling her a liar, and the police closed the case, telling Victim B that they coudn’t continue it without other victims coming forward. When her case was re-opened in 2016 after Chrissie Carnell Bixler and Victim C came forward, the police department found that the reports from the 2004 investigation had mysteriously disappeared, the Huffington Post’s Yashar Ali reported. After the original LAPD investigation was closed in 2004, a church attorney brought Victim B a hand-written letter of apology from Masterson and asked her to sign a non-disclosure agreement so she would never make her allegations public. Under pressure from the church, which threatened to “declare” her unless she complied, she signed the agreement and was paid in the low six figures. Key evidence bolstering Victim B’s case is documentation by her own mother which included correspondence with the church at the time, including her complaints to Scientology leader David Miscavige, proof that he was aware of the allegations and how the church was handling them.

Victim C (‘Jane Doe 2’ in the civil lawsuit)

[Lacey’s press release: “…and sometime between October and December of that year he is accused of raping a 23-year-old woman who he had invited to his Hollywood Hills home.”]
Like Victim B, Victim C was someone who had known Masterson but was not dating him when she accepted his invitation and went to his house in late 2003. She told us what happened in an interview.

Before coming over, she says she did have one glass of wine, and then she had the one Danny gave her. And it was having an unusual effect on her, she says. “I felt really tired and drunk.”

And it seemed to have an effect on her memory. “I don’t really remember being in the jacuzzi. But I can remember that we were in his shower, and I was saying ‘No, I don’t want to do this.’ He entered me, and I flipped out because I had been saying I didn’t want to do this.”

Her next memory is being in his bed. “He flipped me over and just started pounding me. I was trying not to vomit. I said no like 50 times. But it was just sort of happening. I was saying no a lot, but it didn’t matter to him. I kept trying not to puke on his bed while he was doing it. It was pretty brutal. I said no 50 fucking times, but he wasn’t listening. And it was really horrible the way he was doing it.”

Key evidence in Victim C’s case is that a veteran actress (we’re not naming her) told us that Victim C recounted these details to her at the time, in 2003, and that the details of her allegations have never changed.

District Attorney Jackey Lacey decided to file charges based on the allegations of these three women, and she’s seeking a penalty of 45 years to life. But in the same press release she said that she was not seeking charges on the allegations of two other women.

One of these two women is Bobette Riales, who is among the four women suing Masterson, and her allegations are from 2003. In a charge evaluation worksheet, the DA’s office explains that the fifth woman’s allegations were from 1996 and sound very consistent with the other cases: “Victim-2 and the suspect are acquaintances. Victim-2 alleges the suspect sexually assaulted her on two separate occasions while unconscious, once in his home and subsequently in her home. The alleged offenses are beyond the statute of limitations for prosecution.”

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We previously reported that seven women in total came forward to the LAPD, even if Lacey only made reference to five in her press release.

Masterson has maintained his innocence and has called the civil lawsuit a publicity stunt. We expect that he’ll enter a plea of not guilty this morning.

 
SOME OF OUR PAST REPORTING ON THE MASTERSON CASE

March 3, 2017: LAPD probing Scientology and Danny Masterson for multiple rapes, cover-up
March 8, 2017: Danny Masterson: Victim C gets support from a veteran actress
March 11, 2017: Scientology made Danny Masterson’s Victim B search past lives to explain being raped
May 9, 2017: Masterson hires Michael Jackson criminal defense attorney Tom Mesereau in rape probe
Nov 2, 2017: Read the threatening letter Danny Masterson’s attorney Marty Singer sent a victim’s husband
Nov 26, 2017: EXCLUSIVE: Scientology interrogated Danny Masterson and accuser, didn’t notify LAPD
Feb 14, 2018: PROSECUTORS PREPARE CHARGES CARRYING LIFE SENTENCE FOR DANNY MASTERSON
Apr 27, 2018: Strange days for a woman accusing Danny Masterson of rape — and for her rocker husband
July 8, 2018: Masterson witness fears for safety as investigation drags on and on
Nov 30, 2018: LEAH REMINI: Los Angeles DA Jackie Lacey, do your job already
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Aug 14, 2019: RAPE ACCUSERS SUE DANNY MASTERSON, CHURCH OF SCIENTOLOGY, AND ITS LEADER
Jan 22, 2020: Cedric Bixler-Zavala blames Scientology for poisoned dog he had to put down yesterday
Feb 3, 2020: Here’s Scientology actor Danny Masterson’s legal response to his rape accusers
Feb 10, 2020: Another dog poisoned: Bobette Riales says harassment worse since suing Scientology
Feb 26, 2020: SEVENTH victim comes forward to LAPD accusing Scientology actor Danny Masterson
Feb 29, 2020: Amended complaint filed against Danny Masterson with new stalking allegations
March 14, 2020: Danny Masterson’s victims speak out in sworn documents in lawsuit against Scientology
June 17, 2020: SCIENTOLOGY CELEB DANNY MASTERSON CHARGED ON MULTIPLE RAPE ALLEGATIONS
June 19, 2020: Records show that Danny Masterson is a woeful Scientologist — would he turn on the church?
June 23: 2020: The key thing about Danny Masterson’s ‘DJ Donkey Punch’ nick is why he stopped using it

 
——————–

Source Code

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“The fellow wants to get out of the woods and there are two trails. And one trail lies much deeper into the woods and the other trail goes out on to the plain. And all you have to do is put up a sign at the crossroads and point to that trail which goes deeper into the woods and say, ‘This way lies freedom,’ you see, and you’ve promptly trapped a lot of people.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 18, 1963

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“Imposing Scientology like Islam could not be done out of gradient. That would be done first on a Scientology country first. Processes for the lower levels are very simple. Change of environment and betterment of conditions is one.”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“One of the few things I agree with the Scientologists on is that the whole Vistaril thing is weak. Vistaril, a/k/a hydroxyzine, is one theetie-wheetie drug. You need to take a whole bottle of this shit to even remotely get a buzz. Vistaril has never been considered a true psych drug. I know it is an antihistamine, anti itching agent. That’s how I first encountered it. The point is that us trying to say it’s a psych dug like Valium is absurd.”

 
——————–

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Arraignment scheduled for September 18.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing is set for October 5 in White Plains, NY. Jeffrey’s is set for October 24.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Next pretrial conference set for Jan 12 in Los Angeles
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29. Bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.

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.’ Motion for reconsideration denied on August 11
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Sept 29 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales, Masterson demurrer), Oct 26 (motions to compel arbitration)
— 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.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach bankruptcy appeal: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, awaiting verdict.

 
——————–

Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!

[Stacy Francis, Jason Dohring, and Anne Archer]

We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!

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 our weekly series. How many have you read?

 
——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Scientologists facing felonies try ‘sovereign citizen’ gambit in tense L. A. court hearing
[TWO years ago] Giving Scientology TV a run for its money — it’s the premiere of the Bunker network!
[THREE years ago] Moss wins Emmy for portraying totalitarian cult victim and doesn’t care what you think about it
[FOUR years ago] In the wake of raids, Scientology’s sneaky consulting front shrinks markedly in Russia
[FIVE years ago] Scientology about to throw its Harlem party — and we need your eyes and ears!
[SIX years ago] RATHBUN SUIT: Scientology’s last swipe in its anti-SLAPP appeal before hearing next week
[SEVEN years ago] MISCAVIGE BLINKS: SCIENTOLOGY POSTPONES SUPER POWER INDEFINITELY

 
——————–

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 2,064 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,568 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,088 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,108 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 999 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,306 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,174 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,948 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,752 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,068 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,634 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,553 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,721 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,302 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,563 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,601 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,314 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,839 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,369 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,929 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,069 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,389 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,244 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,363 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,719 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,022 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,128 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,530 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,402 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,985 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,480 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,734 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,843 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on September 18, 2020 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, 1995-2019 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2019), 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, 14 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

 

Scientology chiro Dennis Nobbe drops dead after being informed he’s going to jail

[Dennis Nobbe and his former clinic]

Scientology donor and Miami chiropractor Dennis Nobbe, 63, learned on Monday that the US district court had decided to revoke his bond and put him in custody while awaiting trial on Medicare fraud and PPP loan abuse. He immediately called his attorney to tell him the news, and while on the phone, dropped dead.

That’s the account that attorney H. Dohn Williams Jr. told the court this week in a court filing. And so ends the life of Nobbe, who we had known for years as a major Scientology donor who had run into trouble repeatedly for trying to force Scientology on his employees.

We were stunned when Nobbe was arrested and charged in July for defrauding Medicare and for misusing money he had obtained from the Small Business Administration for COVID relief. He bonded out of custody for $200,000 and hired Williams to represent him.

Just two weeks later, Nobbe violated the conditions of his release by contacting two of his former employees that the government planned to call as witnesses. US Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan and trial attorney Sara Clingan urged Judge Alicia Otazo-Reyes to revoke Nobbe’s bond, saying that not only had Nobbe tried to continue in the same behavior that had got him in trouble, but that he had also tried to bribe a physician.

Judge Otazo-Reyes instead raised Nobbe’s bond to $350,000 and confiscated his mobile phone. But the prosecutors appealed that decision, and the two sides filed briefs arguing over what Nobbe had done and whether he should go to jail for it.

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The last of those documents was due on Monday, so Nobbe and his attorney were apparently both confused when Nobbe received a call that afternoon from the court’s pretrial services officer, telling him to prepare to turn himself in to jail on Tuesday.

Nobbe called his attorney, and Williams told him that it was strange he’d been told that when the last of the documents had only been filed that morning.

“With the Dr. Nobbe on the telephone, the undersigned told Dr. Nobbe to hold-on. While the undersigned was checking PACER, the undersigned heard a noise and was no longer able to talk to Dr. Nobbe,” Williams wrote in his notice to the court that Nobbe had died, which he confirmed when Nobbe’s daughter later arrived at the chiropractor’s home to find him unresponsive.

As a longtime Scientologist and major donor to the church, Nobbe, or rather his disembodied self known as a thetan, will now be whisked to Venus or Mars, where his memory will be wiped by invader forces and he will return to earth after a period of some days in order to make his way to a maternity ward and jump into a newborn child to begin another lifetime on this prison planet.

 

 
——————–

Source Code

“Unfortunately, Black Dianetics is inherent in Dianetics. In 1945, this was all the Dianetics there was: how to drive people crazy, how to foul up political systems, how to restimulate individuals just by talking to them, without planting engrams. And in addition to this, how to interrupt life force in an individual. We haven’t gone into that very much. It is a wonderfully smooth way of committing murder.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 17, 1951

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

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“Book one? Nobody cares about Book One. That faded away seven decades ago. You need to be less politically correct. What you need is celebrities who actually speak their mind. Not Tom Cruise. OTs, almost by definition, do not organize Book One events. One can’t be an actual OT and involve oneself with that, because it is a waste of time. Napoleon got things done. And he had R6. You are not an OT, and no one should treat you as such. You can’t get things done and refuse to support people who do. You are as causative as a mentally disabled person in a wheelchair. Scientology OTs, putting the tech aside, are probably some of the least effective beings on this planet. I haven’t seen good results. And that’s because of lower grades.”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“I’ve always wanted a goat. A small place in the country with a goat, a couple of pigs, some chickens, a duck or two and of course the usual cats and dogs…oh, and a semi-tamed crow or raven.”

 
——————–

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Arraignment scheduled for September 18.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing is set for October 5 in White Plains, NY. Jeffrey’s is set for October 24.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Next pretrial conference set for Jan 12 in Los Angeles
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29, bond revoked Sep 14. Nobbe dead, Sep 14.

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.’ Motion for reconsideration denied on August 11
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Sept 29 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales, Masterson demurrer), Oct 26 (motions to compel arbitration)
— 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.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach bankruptcy appeal: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, awaiting verdict.

 
——————–

Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!

[Jenna Elfman, Giovanni Ribisi, and Greta Van Susteren]

We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!

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 our weekly series. How many have you read?

 
——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Why isn’t Scientology’s ship the Freewinds hauling emergency supplies to the Bahamas?
[TWO years ago] Visit to London Ideal Org shows that the Scientology bubble is still firmly in place
[THREE years ago] Scientology leader David Miscavige has empty buildings all over the world — here’s a rundown
[FOUR years ago] With Jason Lee out, what does it mean for Scientology’s tightest celebrity clique?
[FIVE years ago] Surreal encounter at Scientology’s secretive Int Base shows up in Danish documentary[SIX years ago] New leaked videos from the super beings at Scientology!
[SEVEN years ago] Jenna Miscavige Hill Talks to Us As Her Book Comes Out in Paperback
[NINE years ago] Scientology Oz-fest: Commenters of the Week!

 
——————–

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 2,063 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,567 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,087 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,107 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 998 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,305 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,173 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,947 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,751 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,067 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,633 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,552 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,720 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,301 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,562 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,600 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,313 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,838 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,368 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,928 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,068 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,388 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,243 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,362 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,718 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,021 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,127 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,529 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,401 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,984 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,479 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,733 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,842 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on September 17, 2020 at 14:00

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, 1995-2019 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2019), 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, 14 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

 

SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS, Episode 5: A ‘church’ that used a dying woman to ‘always attack’

 
‘Always Attack,’ the fifth episode of ‘Scientology Black Ops,’ a special 7NEWS Australia investigation that was cancelled by the network in July, has been leaked to the Internet.

Ten episodes were scheduled to be published to the 7NEWS website on July 14 when the network changed its mind, cancelled the program, and also pulled down a trailer it had made for the series. On August 31, we found that the first episode in the series had been leaked, and we embedded it along with a transcript we prepared. We also did the same for the second episode, ‘Witness X,’ on Sept 4, the third episode, ‘Taken,’ on Sept 11, and the fourth episode, ‘The Star,’ on Monday.

We’ve done the same for the fifth episode, in which 7NEWS reporter Bryan Seymour examines Scientology’s mandate that it subject its perceived enemies to vicious attacks, in the case of Paul Haggis posting videos of his own sister denouncing him even more than a year after she had died of cancer. Seymour also dives into Scientology’s long history of elaborate attacks on the government and former members, including a recent escapee, Valerie Haney, who had to hide in the trunk of a car to escape one of the church’s secretive compounds.

Here’s the video, and then the transcript. (For those confused by the length of these short “episodes,” please keep in mind that this was a nightly news investigation and these segments were created to run during a news broadcast, not as longer shows on their own.)

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Episode title: ALWAYS ATTACK

Kathy Slevin: And that I had spent most of my life protecting a vicious bully.

Bryan Seymour: This video was uploaded by Scientology’s propaganda publication Freedom magazine in January 2018, shortly after the rape allegation against Paul Haggis became public.

 

 
Scientology attack video: He’s also an accused rapist.

Seymour: It features Haggis’s sister Kathy, who had died just over a year earlier.

Slevin: And I turned around to walk out, and I’m walking for the door, and I hear him come running up behind me. I am thrown against the door and kicked from behind. And I couldn’t believe it.

Seymour: What was your reaction when you saw your own sister sitting down doing interviews about you like that.

Paul Haggis: She’d always been a troubled person. I actually thought by getting her into Scientology way back then it might help her.

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Seymour: You got her into it?

Haggis: I did. I did. And she met her husband in the Sea Org. They were in the Sea Org together. She died of cancer two years ago. They were still auditing her on her deathbead. Because of course Scientology says they can cure cancer. Even though they say they don’t really say that, they say they can. On her deathbed they were charging her money to cure the cancer that was killing her. These are scumbags. My sister and I had our problems. We had a lot of problems. But she was my sister.

 

 
Seymour: Scientology has revealed itself as a group that is a law unto itself, plotting, in the words of its founder, to destroy enemies, assigning private investigators to follow, film, and research anyone.

Tony Ortega: They’re still surveilling people, they’re still hacking people. In fact a private investigator went to federal prison because he was caught trying to hack me and Mike Rinder. So they’re doing the same kind of dirty tricks that they did 40 years ago.

Seymour: None of this should be surprising. After all Scientology is guilty of committing the worst case of domestic espionage in US history.

Ortega: In 1967 L. Ron Hubbard and his wife Mary Sue created something called the Guardian’s Office, which became a very sophisticated intelligence operation. It matched the intelligence abilities of some small countries.

Seymour: It was called Operation Snow White. In 1973 after years of planning, the Guardian’s Office, the forerunner to the Office of Special Affairs, waged all-out war against the Internal Revenue Service and the FBI to learn what information they had on Scientology by covertly bugging meeting rooms, installing undercover agents in the US government, and stealing documents. The conspirators were caught. Eleven Scientologists were convicted, among them L. Ron Hubbard’s wife Mary Sue, who served one year of a five-year prison sentence. Never defend, always attack. That is gospel in Scientology as written down by its founder, L. Ron Hubbard. How to attack is laid out in a policy called Fair Game, in which Hubbard describes how to lie to, trick, deceive, and destroy anyone who poses a threat to his creation.

L. Ron Hubbard: That’s the background of all of this, that’s what started all the trouble.

 

 
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Seymour: Hubbard ruled with unquestioning authority. Now David Miscavige rules with a similar legacy.

Ted Koppel: What do you call the folks who are up at the higher level of your church, the ones in the uniforms. What do you…

David Miscavige: Staff members. Sea Org members of the church.

Koppel: Sea Org.

Miscavige: Yes.

Ortega: The only person who has total control of Scientology is the captain of the Sea Org, and that is Captain David Miscavige.

Seymour: So everyone in the Office of Special Affairs is in the Sea Organization.

Ortega: Everybody in OSA is Sea Org and they all work directly for David Miscavige.

Seymour: Everyone?

Ortega: Everyone.

Seymour: So could anyone at the Office of Special Affairs carry out work or an operation without David Miscavige knowing about it?

Ortega: What they would do is the people who run OSA then hire outside contractors. They hire the private investigators, the former cops, and it’s always kept several layers away from David Miscavige. But none of it is done without the approval of David Miscavige. ‘

Miscavige: That may not seem fair…

Seymour: Miscavige has been named in three lawsuits alleging the cover-up of child sex abuse, human trafficking, slave labor, and a raft of abuses over decades. One case has been dropped by the female complainant, another has been forced into religious arbitration.

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Ortega: One of the most interesting involves this young woman Valerie Haney. And the reason why Valerie’s lawsuit is so interesting is that for years Valerie was David Miscavige’s personal steward. Meaning, like, she served him his meals in his quarters. She knew everything about his private life, and she was very close to both David and his wife Shelly for many years. She then was demoted from that job when Shelly vanished, and she was then working in the sort of video-making department and she knew she could never leave the base because she knew too much about David Miscavige’s private life. She ultimatey had to escape by hiding in the trunk of a car.

Seymour: Valerie joins a long list of victims, many of whom I have personally met. They include David Miscavige’s own father, Ron Miscavige.

Ron Miscavige: It’s brutal. It’s inhuman. It’s nuts.

Seymour: There are many hundreds more, possibly thousands, some too scared to show their face or be interviewed. Others have passed away. Some have simply vanished without a trace. What should I be wary of in terms of what they could and are capable of doing to me?

Ortega: If they did decide to come after you like they have others, the usual thing is they will focus on your job, they will try to influence people that could have some power over who you work for. They will go after your loved ones. They will start a smear campaign about your wife in some way. These are the things that they do to people, and again, they’re following a playbook that L. Ron Hubbard created 50 years ago. And they don’t know anything else.

Hubbard: We’re not interested in ultimate or absolutes, we’re interested in what produces results. What is good for a duck hunter is not good for the duck.

 

 
Title card: NEXT

Tiziano Lugli: Fucking piece of shit. Huh? You want to fuck with me now, huh? You try to hide, but you fucking can’t!

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——————–

Source Code

“Unfortunately, Black Dianetics is inherent in Dianetics. In 1945, this was all the Dianetics there was: how to drive people crazy, how to foul up political systems, how to restimulate individuals just by talking to them, without planting engrams. And in addition to this, how to interrupt life force in an individual. We haven’t gone into that very much. It is a wonderfully smooth way of committing murder.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 17, 1951

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“Book one? Nobody cares about Book One. That faded away seven decades ago. You need to be less politically correct. What you need is celebrities who actually speak their mind. Not Tom Cruise. OTs, almost by definition, do not organize Book One events. One can’t be an actual OT and involve oneself with that, because it is a waste of time. Napoleon got things done. And he had R6. You are not an OT, and no one should treat you as such. You can’t get things done and refuse to support people who do. You are as causative as a mentally disabled person in a wheelchair. Scientology OTs, putting the tech aside, are probably some of the least effective beings on this planet. I haven’t seen good results. And that’s because of lower grades.”

 
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Random Howdy

“I’ve always wanted a goat. A small place in the country with a goat, a couple of pigs, some chickens, a duck or two and of course the usual cats and dogs..oh, and a semi-tamed crow or raven.”

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Arraignment scheduled for September 18.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing is set for October 5 in White Plains, NY. Jeffrey’s is set for October 24.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Next pretrial conference set for Jan 12 in Los Angeles
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29, bond raised to $350,000 on Aug 27. Prosecutors appealed denial of their motion to have bond revoked, response from defense due Sept 11, response by prosecutors on Sept 14.

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.’ Motion for reconsideration denied on August 11
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Sept 29 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales, Masterson demurrer), Oct 7-19 (motions to compel arbitration)
— 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.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach bankruptcy appeal: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, awaiting verdict.

 
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Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!

[Jenna Elfman, Giovanni Ribisi, and Greta Van Susteren]

We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!

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 our weekly series. How many have you read?

 
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THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Why isn’t Scientology’s ship the Freewinds hauling emergency supplies to the Bahamas?
[TWO years ago] Visit to London Ideal Org shows that the Scientology bubble is still firmly in place
[THREE years ago] Scientology leader David Miscavige has empty buildings all over the world — here’s a rundown
[FOUR years ago] With Jason Lee out, what does it mean for Scientology’s tightest celebrity clique?
[FIVE years ago] Surreal encounter at Scientology’s secretive Int Base shows up in Danish documentary[SIX years ago] New leaked videos from the super beings at Scientology!
[SEVEN years ago] Jenna Miscavige Hill Talks to Us As Her Book Comes Out in Paperback
[NINE years ago] Scientology Oz-fest: Commenters of the Week!

 
——————–

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 2,063 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,567 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,087 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,107 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 998 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,305 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,173 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,947 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,751 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,067 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,633 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,552 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,720 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,301 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,562 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,600 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,313 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,838 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,368 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,928 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,068 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,388 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,243 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,362 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,718 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,021 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,127 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,529 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,401 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,984 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,479 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,733 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,842 days.

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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 17, 2020 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, 1995-2019 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2019), 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, 14 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

 

The Top 25 People Enabling Scientology, No. 14: The Los Angeles Times

 
What happened to the Los Angeles Times?

That’s a question we’ve asked ourselves often in recent years as we’ve watched what was once one of the best investigators of Scientology’s controversies become almost completely incurious about stories unfolding right in the newspaper’s own backyard.

In 1990, a legendary series by LA Times reporters Joel Sappell and Robert Welkos rocked Scientology so hard, the church fired back by renting billboards to selectively quote from their work as a bizarre sort of turnabout.

Sappell and Welkos wrote about the ordeal they went through putting together the series, the ‘Fair Game’ harassment they endured. Sappell saw his beloved dog poisoned, and he always wondered if the church was behind it. Welkos had funeral pamphlets anonymously dropped on his front porch.

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The work they did was monumental, paving the way for so many investigations to follow. And through the early 2000s, the LA Times continued its excellent tradition of fearlessly digging into Scientology. As late as 2005, the Times put together an important look at Gold Base and the relationship of Scientology leader David Miscavige and actor Tom Cruise.

Miscavige tried to head off that story by having then-spokesman Mike Rinder give the newspaper this photo of Dave and Tom to show what a normal couple of guys they were…

 

 
Since then, however, the Times has displayed a remarkable lack of interest in anything to do with Scientology. It’s become such a running joke here at the Bunker, our readers will often keep track of how many other publications will jump on some new Scientology item without the Times joining in.

A couple of examples not only prove the point, but also suggest that the lack of interest by the Times is having a real effect on Scientology’s ability to get away with its infuriating slipperiness with law enforcement and with its confounding litigation strategies.

Take Laura DeCrescenzo, for example. This is a woman who not only sued the Church of Scientology in Los Angeles in 2009, and for alleged abuses that happened in Los Angeles, but the New Mexico woman even held a press conference in Los Angeles about her lawsuit with the help of Anonymous in 2010.

As a young girl who had grown up in the church, she took part in pickets at the Los Angeles courthouse which the Times reported on back when it was still interested in the subject. Now she was suing Scientology because of the horrors she had been through as a child in the Sea Organization, working 90 hours a week for virtually no pay as a 12-year-old. When she turned 13, she was moved up to the adult schedule, 112 hours of work a week.

And then, at 17, while still technically a child, Laura was coerced into having an abortion, because that was Scientology policy. Again, that happened in Los Angeles as well, just a few blocks from the headquarters of the Los Angeles Times.

Laura fought bravely with Scientology in court, and the documents that became available in her case — which she had to fight to the US Supreme Court to get her hands on — contained stunning evidence of the way Scientology mistreats children, which we reported on here in story after story.

But year after year, Laura had to wait through more delays, get through more court hearings, and endure depositions and court filings that attacked her, with no pressure to speed the case along that might come with some big media attention.

Finally, after nine years of battles, with just days to go before a trial was finally scheduled to begin, Scientology leader David Miscavige threw in the towel and cut a huge check to end the case.

Nine years of battles. Nine years of delays. Nine years of incredible revelations about Scientology’s abuses of children, and nearly all of it in Los Angeles.

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And in that time, the Los Angeles Times had not written a single word about Laura DeCrescenzo or her lawsuit.

Finally, after we broke the news that the case was ended, the Times ran a short wire story written by the Associated Press. Even then, the Los Angeles newspaper of record couldn’t be bothered to put one of its own reporters on the story.

Or take the Islams. We first broke the story of Hanan Islam and her son Rizza five years ago. They’re accused of running a sophisticated Medi-Cal scam that stole about $4 million from the state of California through the use of a Scientology drug rehab clinic in Compton, a Los Angeles suburb. That scam also roped in three prominent local African-American high school officials, two principals and the coach of a legendary football program, who all lost their jobs when the crime, which made use of unwitting high school students as fodder for bogus insurance claims, was uncovered.

Five years later, Hanan and Rizza Islam are still awaiting trial after their case has been delayed and delayed, while the lack of media interest has provided no pressure to bring it to a conclusion.

And yet, even though this case not only involves Scientology, the Nation of Islam, the use of high school students as patsies, the destruction of the careers of African-American educators, and also some wild scenes in court when the Islams tried, briefly, to use some bizarre sovereign citizen arguments to clog up the proceedings, the Los Angeles Times has, again, not written a single word about the case.

Judges pay attention. They know when a case is being ignored by the media, and when one is on the front burner. And we believe there’s no question that these cases and others have been allowed to go on year after year because the Los Angeles Times can’t be bothered to cover them, even though they’re unfolding right down the street.

Even in a case as obvious as Danny Masterson’s criminal prosecution and the civil lawsuit filed by his rape accusers, the Times has written only the most superficial pieces at the most obvious junctures, like the day we first broke the news of the LAPD investigation of Masterson, or when charges were finally laid against him in June.

Where is the in-depth coverage of the incredible background of Masterson’s case and Scientology’s involvement in it? It’s only here at the Underground Bunker that you’ve read, for example, that the Scientology auditor, Angie LaClaire, who interrogated both Masterson and his accuser we’ve named Victim B vanished before the LAPD could interview her. Or that Masterson was brought in by the church to “confront” Victim B’s allegations in a meeting that ended because Masterson made jokes about his rape of her. Or that Victim B ended up getting paid by Masterson to shut up after Scientology had managed to derail the original LAPD investigation.

Why are you reading those things here, and not on the front page of the Los Angeles Times?

But wasn’t it the LA Times, a reader might point out, that in 2015 had a blockbuster story about David Miscavige paying private investigators to follow his own father, Ron Miscavige, and those private investigators getting busted by police in a small Wisconsin town and then spilling their guts?

Yes, that was a terrific story, and we then subsequently revealed that the LA Times had that story because Lisa Marie Presley dropped it in their laps after getting it from Ron Miscavige himself. Lisa Marie was media savvy enough to know that it would be a much more impactful for the story to come from the Times than from Ron (he did include the story in his subsequent book, “Ruthless”), and even the incurious Times couldn’t ignore it after Presley put it in their hands.

And wasn’t it the Times that had the great little story that the only precinct in Los Angeles to vote for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election was the one that includes Scientology’s PAC Base (“Big Blue”), with Scientology employees making up a large percentage of the voters?

Yes, that was a great story. And it only reminded us of what the Times can do with its proximity to some of Scientology’s most important locations and with a little shoe leather. For some reason, however, the Times just seems to have little curiosity about what Los Angeles resident Leah Remini has been going through as she’s picked up two Emmy awards while putting together a TV series and now a podcast about Scientology, or why a Black man was gunned down by Inglewood police at a Scientology church last year, or how a prominent African-American clergy figure and USC fellow got caught up in a bizarre probe about a bogus letter forged by Scientology in his name, or questions about where Scientology has been keeping David Miscavige’s wife Shelly for the last 15 years.

Last year, we were fortunate enough to hook up with a great news crew that took us with them up to Twin Peaks to see the compound where we believe Shelly is being held. It’s just a couple of hours drive from Los Angeles, but the crew that brought us along wasn’t from LA, it was from Australia.

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For fifteen years Shelly has been kept in that compound, just a short drive from the LA Times offices. And the first news organization to actually ring the buzzer on the gate flew from the other side of the frigging globe.

And yet, what really stunned us was to learn that some LA Times journalists may not be aware of the problem.

Last year, we were gobsmacked to see this exchange on Twitter, when a woman named Sandy Marks challenged Times reporter Joel Rubin about his newspaper’s lack of Scientology coverage…

 

 
Rubin’s condescending response was so galling not only because he seemed unaware of what Sandy was talking about, but that he answered questions about the Times’ current lack of Scientology coverage by pointing her to heroic work Joel Sappell did thirty years ago.

Are Times reporters really this clueless about what a joke their publication has become when it comes to Scientology coverage? And what keeps them from covering even the most obvious Scientology stories going on in their coverage area?

How does this happen, for example: In November 2019, the Times noted that That ’70s Show might be dropped by Netflix (which recently did happen). The article discussed various things about how shows get renewed or not, and then, it ended with these paragraphs…

The value of some of Carsey-Werner’s shows, however, could be affected by controversies surrounding its stars.

One series that has been hurt is “The Cosby Show,” which is streaming on Amazon Prime Video. Bill Cosby was sentenced to up to 10 years in prison after he was convicted in 2018 on three counts of aggravated indecent assault.

In 2018, comedian Roseanne Barr posted a racist tweet, causing ABC to cancel her revival of the original “Roseanne” series. A spinoff, “The Conners,” has been a hit without Barr.

End of story. No seriously, that was it. There was no mention in the Times story, which specifically brought up the subject of actor controversies and how they might affect syndication, that Scientologist actor Danny Masterson, a member of the That ’70s Show cast, was being investigated for the rape of four different women by the LAPD, three of whom were Scientologists at the time. Eventually, seven women came forward to the police, and the DA in June charged him for the rape of three of them.

It’s almost like the Times goes out of its way to avoid the S-word.

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And while we will admit that we’ve enjoyed beating the Times to some stories in its own backyard, we’d really like to see the kinds of stories that a major publication like the Times could do with its resources. Look at what Tracey McManus has been able to accomplish at the Tampa Bay Times, with her amazing investigation last year that Scientology quietly doubled its footprint in downtown Clearwater after the town spurned David Miscavige over a tiny plot of land.

And McManus managed to put together that investigation even as the paper she works for, like so many others, has been ravaged by the economic forces that are destroying the news industry, an excuse we see people advance as a reason why the LA Times can’t cover Scientology like it used to. The Tampa Bay Times is in such dire shape, it’s no longer putting out a print version of the paper every day, and yet it still has the fortitude to monitor David Miscavige’s moves in Clearwater. What’s the LA Times’s excuse?

It must be the ownership, we are sometimes told. But the Times has changed hands twice since 2000, the latest time in 2018, and that change in who’s holding the reins hasn’t seemed to affect its incuriosity about Scientology. And at a time when Scientology stories at other publications are just as popular as ever, in case the Times was concerned about, you know, attracting readers.

Here’s something we wish the LA Times would look into: In recent years, we’ve noticed a distinct trend of Miscavige shifting Scientology’s center of gravity from Southern California to Clearwater. And in recent months, it has appeared to accelerate, with evidence that suggests Scientology may be all but abandoning Los Angeles as it builds up Clearwater for a sort of last stand.

McManus’s reporting has certainly bolstered the Florida side of that equation. Imagine what the LA Times, with its talented reporters, could turn up about Scientology’s demise if it really wanted to.

Isn’t it time that LA’s big media dog started acting again like the bulldog it once was instead of the lapdog it’s become?

 
The Top 25 People Enabling Scientology
14: The Los Angeles Times
15: Jeffrey Riffer
16: James Packer
17: Louis Farrakhan
18: Mark “Marty” Rathbun
19: Wally Pope
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20: Gensler
21: Parents who subscribe to ABCMouse
22: Graham Norton and other celebrity strokers
23: The apologist academics
24: Rebecca Dobkin and other low-level PI grunts
25: DirecTV and filmmakers buffing Dave’s channel

 
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Source Code

“Now, you’ve got the Havingness Process established. And you say, ‘Where isn’t that wall’ or whatever it is, see, whatever the Havingness Process is. ‘Thank you. Where isn’t that wall? Thank you. Where isn’t the ceiling? Thank you. Where isn’t the floor? Thank you. What have you withheld from a home?’ And the guy goes figure, figure, figure, think, think, think, clank, clank, clank, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure, figure. ‘Well, in a past life I used to take all my money down to the pub and I never gave any to the wife. I withheld money from the home.’ And you say, ‘Thank you. Where isn’t the wall? Thank you. Where isn’t that ceiling? Thank you. Where isn’t that floor? Thank you.’ Got the idea?” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 16, 1961

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“Well, if there are a bunch of out of touch retards like yourself who are divorced from the society that you live in, aren’t able to get a large group of people together, and aren’t able to get good results visible to other people, then criticism of Scientology technology is merited. Scientology advanced tech doesn’t matter, and is out-gradient. Get 20 million people to do early processes from 1953 or 1956. Force Scientology to be the state religion. Impose it on the land like Islam. Make there be Cohesion and Unity. Then handle other case factors if you want. A group of 5,000 people (the Sea Org) isn’t saving anyone. A group of 10 million would be far better but still would be too low. Apply the Confusion Formula and figure out how to help people at lower levels.”

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Random Howdy

“Their only real motivation is to eliminate the competition. All the humanitarian shit is window dressing.”

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Arraignment scheduled for September 18.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay’s sentencing is set for October 5 in White Plains, NY. Jeffrey’s is set for October 24.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Next pretrial conference set for Jan 12 in Los Angeles
— Dennis Nobbe, Medicare fraud, PPP loan fraud: Charged July 29, bond raised to $350,000 on Aug 27. Prosecutors appealed denial of their motion to have bond revoked, response from defense due Sept 11, response by prosecutors on Sept 14.

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.’ Motion for reconsideration denied on August 11
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Sept 29 (CSI/RTC demurrer against Riales, Masterson demurrer), Oct 7-19 (motions to compel arbitration)
— 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.
— Matt and Kathy Feschbach bankruptcy appeal: Eleventh Circuit ruled on Sept 9 that Feshbachs can’t discharge IRS debt in bankruptcy.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Second amended complaint filed, trial set for Nov 9, 2021.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, awaiting verdict.

 
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Scientology’s celebrities, ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and more!

[Elisabeth Moss, Michael Peña, and Laura Prepon]

We’ve been building landing pages about David Miscavige’s favorite playthings, including celebrities and ‘Ideal Orgs,’ and we’re hoping you’ll join in and help us gather as much information as we can about them. Head on over and help us with links and photos and comments.

Scientology’s celebrities, from A to Z! Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!

Scientology’s ‘Ideal Orgs,’ from one end of the planet to the other! Help us build up pages about each these worldwide locations!

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 our weekly series. How many have you read?

 
——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] Charles Barkley becomes a slam dunk photo opportunity for Scientology
[TWO years ago] Scientology’s surprisingly weak attempt to turn Hurricane Florence into PR gold
[THREE years ago] Disconnected at birth — another infuriating Scientology saga
[FOUR years ago] VIDEO: City council candidate exposed as Scientology spy in live public hearing
[FIVE years ago] ‘Fundamentalist’ Scientology means chasing the ideal of Neo while turning your back on family
[SIX years ago] Scientology says it’s received $5.7 million from Google in advertising grants
[NINE years ago] Scientology Dodges a Bullet in Australia: Church Told to Pay Workers, Says “We’ll Get Right On That”
[TWELVE years ago] Jason Beghe Is Still Denouncing Scientology — This Time in Germany

 
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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 2,062 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 2,566 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,086 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,106 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 997 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,304 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,172 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 2,946 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 3,750 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,066 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 11,632 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 7,551 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 3,719 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,300 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 3,561 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 2,599 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,312 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 1,837 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,367 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 5,927 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,067 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,387 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,242 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,361 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 1,717 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,020 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,126 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 2,528 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,400 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 1,983 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,478 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 2,732 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 13,841 days.

——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on September 16, 2020 at 07:00

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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, 1995-2019 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2019), 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, 14 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

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