Scientology’s 2022: Another year is in the books at the Underground Bunker!

Another great year is ending here at the Underground Bunker, and the stories just won’t stop, even on a holiday week like this.

Just last night, for example, we heard from one of our best sources inside Scientology that not only is church leader David Miscavige at the Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida (while his attorney is telling a federal court judge that he’s in California), but that Miscavige was seen meeting with IAS donors at the Fort Harrison Hotel.

Oh, does that mean we’ll be hearing about new trophies soon? We always love to find out about the big donors and which ones have reached sky-high new donation levels of “Gold Meritorious” and “Patron Laureate” and the rest.

And so we end 2022 with a news tidbit that Scientology of course just keeps on doing what it always has: Gulling rich fools out of their millions.

And we’ll keep doing what we always do, reporting on Miscavige and his followers as we enter yet another year.

We want to thank our readers for another trip around the sun with so much great interaction in our comments section. It’s what sustains us and keeps us going, year after year. And this year, for joining us here at our new experiment at Substack, which has been a huge success for us.

So here’s our plan for today. First, here is the finishing installment of our 2022 year in review. Later today we’re going to send out a separate post on Substack that will have our top 20 stories of the year, Observer’s favorite shoops of the year, and some hint for what’s coming at midnight.

And then, as 2023 dawns, we’ll be sending out a special treat.

So, with that said: Continuing with our year in review, here are the highlights of November and December…

As November began, so did the third week of testimony in the Danny Masterson trial, and with a new witness: Jane Doe 2, whose direct and cross-examination finished on the same day.

That was followed by corroborating witnesses for Jane Doe 2, which included the actress Jordan Ladd and Jane Doe 2’s mother.

And right in the middle of trial, we landed a scoop: Jane Doe 2 and Jane Doe 3 were now represented by David Boies firm, “for their rights,” which sure sounded like they were ditching the vaunted Philly team. (And we got confirmation of that later.)

On Day 15 of the trial, we heard from Dr Mindy Mechanic, who explained why rape victims who know their attacker react differently than when the rapist is a stranger.

Then the bombshell: Lisa Marie Presley had intended to take the Fifth Amendment if she was called to testify because she had taken part in a crime to dissuade one of the Jane Does to go to the LAPD about her rape. Wow. But then Judge Olmedo ruled that it was irrelevant for the criminal charge, and the prosecution didn’t call Lisa Marie.

Another crazy story while we were at the trial: In New York, Tommy Davis had accosted the ex-wife and daughter of Paul Haggis on the street in Soho.

Jane Doe 4 arrived to testify, and she allowed us to identify her as actress Tricia Vessey. She recounted being raped twice by Masterson in 1996.

Meanwhile, the LAPD and Leah Remini were in a dustup over a breaking scandal about a former captain in the Hollywood division who for years was a Scientology shill. Leah then joined us for a podcast episode about it, our most-listened to episode ever.

After closing arguments, the jury in the Danny Masterson trial had the case and began deliberations.

While we waited, Mark Bunker gave us a great report from a hearing in the labor trafficking case in Tampa.

Deliberations were interrupted by a holiday week, but that gave us an opportunity for a Thanksgiving day podcast episode with Mike Rinder!

Back in LA, we waited as new jurors were seated and deliberations had to start over from the beginning.

Then, we brought you the Great Breakfast Burrito Scandal of 2022!

And then on November 30, the great let-down: The jury was hung on all three counts, and Judge Olmedo declared a mistrial. A retrial is scheduled for March 27, when the whole thing may start over again.

We then revealed a crucial document that the jury never saw, which described the account of a witness, Damian Perkins, who never got to testify. Will he get that chance in a retrial?

We learned that Scientology wasn’t happy that Valerie Haney had nominated Tom Cruise and Shelly Miscavige as arbitrators, and told her to choose once again.

Then a shock: Kirstie Alley was dead of colon cancer at only 71.

Two huge scoops for us then at the Bunker. First, Chris Shelton invited us to join him in an interview of the Danny Masterson trial’s jury foreman, who explained why no verdicts were reached in the case. And then, we released a two-part podcast with Jane Doe 4, actress Tricia Vessey, who described what it was like to testify in the trial, and reacted to the juror interview.

We confirmed that Kirstie Alley received only a small, private memorial service at Scientology’s Flag Land Base in Clearwater, Florida, and nothing at all at the Hollywood Celebrity Centre, where she had been such a fixture for so many years.

We learned that Jane Kember, Scientology’s legendary spymaster during the Snow White years, had died at 85.

Tory Christman joined us for a fun podcast episode, and revealed that she had used a story we wrote about her in 2001 to help keep Rosie O’Donnell out of Scientology. That was a secret we’d kept for more than 20 years!

A poll revealed that Americans hated Scientology as much as they did Satanism!

And we broke the news about a horrible tragedy: Whitney Mills, a 40-year-old real estate agent and OT 8 Scientologist, had set herself on fire and then shot herself over her physical and mental health issues.

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021: We listened live to an appeals hearing in the Bixler case. The Garcia appeal was struck down by the Eleventh Circuit. Finally, a mostly full transcript of the infamous 1982 Mission Holders Meeting. L. Ron Hubbard’s last living son Arthur begins blogging. We sadly noted the passing of a gentle soul, Jim Dincalci. A document leak describes the “Chase Wave” that became an important ploy used by Scientology until about 2019. To our surprise, ex-con flim flammer LRH 2.0 showed up in a Tennessee jail. The real LRH shows up in a new WW2 private diary. We start to get reports about the state of Scientology from “The Insider.”

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020: A military vet takes a new, and more thorough, look at L. Ron Hubbard’s “stolen valor.” Julian and Katherine Wain, part of Leah Remini’s extended family, tell their Scientology escape story. Other exes tell the stories of what they would have missed if they’d stayed in the church. The London Ideal Org’s swanky new look. Steve Cannane is victorious in his ridiculous libel trial. Danny Masterson’s sketchy friends are ripe for investigation. The California state supreme court won’t consider Valerie Haney’s petition. Tom Cruise screams at the Mission: Impossible 7 crew over Covid protocols, and Leah Remini weighs in.

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019: David Miscavige presided over Ideal Org grand openings in Kansas City and Columbus. Guy White, L. Ron Hubbard’s former son-in-law, goes public for the first time. We said goodbye to Nan McLean and Pete Combs. Beck said he was not a Scientologist, and Leah Remini called it a “pussy move.” “Harlem Homie” is really a new status in the church. Evidence surfaced that Scientology is keeping at least one witness in the Danny Masterson case out of police reach at the Freewinds. A Scientology spy’s interrogation is leaked.

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018: We published a 1972 account of his life by L. Ron Hubbard Jr (with Paulette Cooper) that had never before seen the light of day. Clay Irwin sold his bar and tipped us off that Scientology was secretly buying up more property in Clearwater (which Tracey McManus at the Tampa Bay Times proved in a brilliant 2019 investigation). Leah Remini focused on Jehovah’s Witnesses, and then started out her third season about Scientology with the bombshell story of Valerie Haney’s escape from Scientology’s Gold Base. Sunny Pereira revealed the moment she realized Clear doesn’t exist. We interviewed Valerie Haney about about David Miscavige’s private life. Leah exposed the Nation of Islam, and we learned then that Tiponi Grey had died. NOI’s Tony Muhammad then took a slimy jab at Leah. After 68 years, we finally found Sonya Bianchi, L. Ron Hubbard’s first “Clear.”

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017: We learned that Aftermath had filmed an episode with Danny Masterson’s accusers that was not going to air. But the second season ended with a stunning reunion. We provided a roadmap for the new president if he was really serious about reviewing Scientology’s tax-exempt status. We wrote about the death of Brad Bufanda and said goodbye to Sinar Parman. We wondered if Bob Duggan had flown the coop, and we made public for the first time the FBI file of former Clearwater mayor Gabe Cazares. We tracked down notorious Snow White spy Michael Meisner, and finished up the year with a heartwarming story of love.

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016: Scientologist Vivian Kubrick’s plan to raise money for Shelley Duvall falls apart. David Miscavige’s claim that L. Ron Hubbard brought surfing to California is debunked. Scientology tries to derail the premiere of Leah Remini’s new series with a scummy letter. And Leah’s first “special” episode features Paulette Cooper.

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015: Leah Remini’s memoir, Troublemaker, hit bookstores. The Texas Third Court of Appeals handed Monique Rathbun a huge victory that seemed to pave the way for a world of hurt for Scientology. We began a day-by-day look at the final days of Lisa McPherson, 20 years after her tragic death. Tabatha Fauteux became Narconon’s newest victim. Legoland funded a Scientology front group on behalf of Jenna Elfman. And one of our biggest stories of the year, felony charges for Scientologists who had used students from primarily minority high schools in a suburb of LA to scam state insurance money.

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014: Leaked plans show that a new $37 million Scientology facility in Australia will serve only 87 people, on average, at any one time. Some great nuggets about L. Ron Hubbard turned up in Robert Heinlein’s letters collection. We learned how Scientology strains to erase Hubbard’s second wife, Sara Northrup, from the historical record, while Hubbard’s first wife, Polly, filed an affidavit that Hubbard was a deadbeat dad. We went long with the surprising saga of Richie Acunto’s rise and fall. And Marty Rathbun gets ambushed again, this time with Louis Theroux.

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013: Mike Rinder and Mike Bennitt in a helicopter over the Super Power party, our exclusive interview with Jacqueline Olivier, the principal at Will and Jada’s Scientology school, and we marked the actual 60th anniversary of the first ‘Church of Scientology.’

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Thank you for reading today’s story here at Substack. For the full picture of what’s happening today in the world of Scientology, please join the conversation at tonyortega.org, where we’ve been reporting daily on David Miscavige’s cabal since 2012. There you’ll find additional stories, and our popular regular daily features:

Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history

Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea

Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time

Past is Prologue: From this week in history at alt.religion.scientology

Random Howdy: Your daily dose of the Captain

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