Scientology’s Concentration Camp for Its Executives: The Prisoners, Past and Present

This weekend, we published a two-part story about the rather amazing 32-year Scientology career of John Brousseau, whose adventures included driving for L. Ron Hubbard, spending time in the Sea Org’s prison program the RPF, and working in the Cruise household with Tom and Katie Holmes.

What seemed to generate the most comments, however, was Brousseau’s involvement in the creation of Scientology’s notorious office-prison for its top executives, variably known as “CMO Int,” the “A to E Room,” the “SP Hole,” and simply “The Hole.”

It was Brousseau who was ordered to put bars on the doors and locks on the windows to turn a set of offices at Scientology’s International Base east of Los Angeles into a prison that housed out-of-favor church executives from 2004 to the present day.

But over that time, Brousseau tells us, the conditions of The Hole changed, and so did the roster of people kept inside. After the jump, what we know about the place, and a list of people who spent at least some time there.

As Brousseau explained, it was after Scientology finally got out from under the Lisa McPherson wrongful death lawsuit with a settlement in 2004 that church leader David Miscavige’s attention seemed to turn inward.

Suddenly, he says, Miscavige directed an unending fury at his own top executives, some of his most loyal and longest-serving officials in international management. And in 2004, he rounded up about 50 of these Sea Org members, locked them in a room, and then confined them to another building for three days. He then asked Brousseau to secure the CMO Int offices, and then the next day moved the executives down to it.

The Hole was born.

Harrowing accounts of what occurred in The Hole turned up in a 2009 investigation by Joe Childs and Tom Tobin of the Tampa Bay Times, in Marc Headley’s 2009 book Blown for Good, and in Janet Reitman‘s 2011 history of the church, Inside Scientology.

Then, this year, we heard from two additional sources about conditions in The Hole — Debbie Cook’s dramatic court testimony this February in San Antonio, and Mike Rinder’s Voice video interview in March. (At Cook’s hearing in February, the church put out a statement denying that The Hole exists. But the attorney who uttered that denial was not, as Cook, under oath in a court of law. He’s also outnumbered by numerous former Scientologists who have spoken about the church’s concentration camp with utter consistency.)

Rinder estimates that he spent a total of about two years in the Hole — first in 2004 as it was beginning, and then later in 2006-2007.

Debbie Cook was in for only 7 weeks in 2007, but her experience was brutal. She testified that Miscavige had two hulking guards climb into her office through a window as she was talking to him on the phone. “Goodbye” he told her as she was hauled off to the gulag. Like Rinder, she described a place where dozens of men and women were confined to what had been a set of offices. Cook testified that the place was ant-infested, and during one two-week stretch in the summer with temperatures over 100 degrees, Miscavige had the air conditioning turned off as punishment. Food was brought up in a vat riding on a golf cart. Cook described it as a barely edible “slop” that was fed to them morning, noon, and night. Longtime residents of the Hole began to look gaunt.

They had to find places on the floor or on desks to sleep at night. Rinder said there were so many of them they slept only inches from each other, and having to get up in the middle of the night was a nightmare of stepping over sleeping figures in the dark.

In the morning, they were marched out of the offices and through a tunnel under Gilman Springs Road to a large building with communal showers. They were then marched back to the Hole, and during the day would be compelled to take part in mass confessions.

During these, Rinder says people he had considered friends would put on a show for the officials overseeing them, trying to outdo each other with vile accusations against each other. Cook testified that Miscavige wanted Marc Yager and Guillaume Lesevre, two of his longest-serving and highest-ranking officials, to confess to having a homosexual affair. The men were beaten until they made some forced admissions. When Cook objected to what was happening, she herself was made to stand in a trash can for twelve hours while insults were hurled at her, she was called a lesbian, and water was dumped on her head.

She testified that she saw one man, Mark Ginge Nelson, beaten and then made to lick a bathroom floor for half an hour. [Note: Cook testified that she witnessed this punishment at a Scientology location in Los Angeles, not in the Hole. Nelson, she testified, received this punishment for daring to object to the way executives were being locked up in the Hole.]

Rinder and Cook both eventually got out of the Hole in 2007 when Miscavige needed them on projects elsewhere. But others have reportedly spent five to seven years locked up in the Hole.

In more recent years, however, conditions have improved, Brousseau tells me.

“‘The Truth Rundown’ caused conditions to get better,” Brousseau says. The landmark 2009 Tampa Bay Times series featured several former executives accusing Miscavige of assaulting them and creating an environment of violence and incarceration. (The church vehemently denied the accusations.)

Brousseau says the publicity had an immediate effect.

“The mandate was to change the Hole’s appearance,” he says.

Over a two-week period, changes were made that were still in place when Brousseau left the base in 2010. (Through an intermediary, we’ve heard from Roanne Horwich, who left the base just a few months ago, that the changes are still in place.)

At night, the prisoners of the Hole were now allowed to sleep in actual beds, in one of several buildings on the south side of Gilman Springs Road which are collectively known as “Berthing.”

Brousseau was never held in the Hole, but he observed the prisoners often and describes their day:

“They slept in Berthing. They got up, showered, then went to the dining hall at 9:30. They had 30 minutes for breakfast,” he says. (No more bringing them a vat of slop on the back of a golf cart.)

“Then they walked up to the Hole. They sat down at desks. I have no clue what work they did,” he says. “They worked until 12:30 or 1 pm. Then they were marched back to the dining hall and had 30 minutes for lunch. Then they were marched back to the Hole and were there until 6 pm.”

The executives were then marched to the dining hall for a 30-minute dinner.

“Then they went up to the study hall. In the Qual building, the one with the big circular stained glass window,” he says.

“They were in there for two and a half hours, until about 9:30. Then they went to the Hole again to wrap up their day. At 11 or midnight, they’d get marched back to Berthing,” he adds.

“Seven days a week.”

I asked him if it was obvious to the rest of the people at the base that these were prisoners from the Hole, even when they were in the dining room that the rest used.

“Everyone knew. You stayed away from these people. They’re considered the worst of the worst,” he says.

Their phone access is strictly controlled and monitored, Brousseau says, but they were beginning to get more access to outside people — “with an escort who said they were a close friend.”

He said they all added up to small changes, but important ones.

“Journalists have made the quality of life for these people better,” he says. “You’ve given them a little bit of relief. Because Miscavige is afraid.”

We asked several former base workers who were in the Hole or saw the people coming in and out to put together for us a list of everyone who was once held in it — some were held only days, some were held for years, and some, we believe, are still spending their days in the gulag.

We expect that this list is not yet comprehensive, and we’ll add names and details to it as we receive more information — we hope that it becomes a resource for Scientology researchers for years to come.

Mike Rinder, a former resident of The Hole, provided us with the titles of his former colleagues. Amy Scobee, meanwhile, generously provided us with her written remembrances of her fellow workers. (Although Amy worked out of the CMO Int offices when she was at Int Base, she was reassigned to another location just before they were turned into The Hole. She considers herself very fortunate.)

“It was heart-breaking to think about each individual person. I love so many of those people, having worked with them for 20 years or more. They just wanted to help people, and knowing that they were all locked down in the hell-hole with steel bars on the doors and windows just kills me. Since the FBI hasn’t done anything about it to date, I hope their families will act to get them out of that insanity and hopefully back home,” Amy says. (We’ve also received some additional information on some of the entries from Lana Mitchell, who once got into trouble for feeding Tom Cruise a bad shrimp at the base.)

 

Prisoners of The Hole
Tanya Alexander R Comps Sec — “Was the R Comps Secretary (head of LRH Compilations) and also was an MAA (Master at Arms/Ethics Officer).”

Lisa Allen (Schroer) CO Gold (commanding officer, Golden Era Productions) — “She worked in CMO Int and blew. After she was brought back, she was put in Gold. She worked in Cine, was promoted to Cine Sec and then eventually became the CO Gold. Originally from Australia. Her mother is Elaine Allen (a former executive in CMO Int) and her sister is Kate Markowitz, who was an electrician at the Hemet base for years.” [Much of “Int Base” is taken up by “Gold” — the studios of Golden Era Productions, which consists of the video and audio facilities for making Scientology’s training films. “CMO” is short for Commander’s Messenger Organization, which began as a troop of teenagers aboard the Apollo to see to Hubbard’s personal needs.]

Jennifer Alpers CO CMO Ship, CMO Int — “Was CO CMO Ship for several years, then came to the Int base for posting. She worked in WDC over various sectors. Her husband was Ludwig Alpers who was the PR for the Freewinds. When she came to Int, they ‘had’ to get divorced as he ‘had’ to stay at the ship. Jennifer’s sister is Monica Prince (formerly married to Jesse Prince). Monica has long since left the Sea Org.” [The Freewinds is Scientology’s private cruise ship that sails the Caribbean. Wealthy church members go there to receive the highest level of Scientology enlightenment, Operating Thetan Level Eight.]

Mary Arbuckle R Comps Sec — “Mary was the Materials Exec Int at one point in Exec Strata. She was allowed to have a baby and come back to the base (her husband is Tamia Arbuckle and they go back a long ways — Tamia was one of the original Apollo Troops musicians). Miscavige brought it up repeatedly that Mary was ‘worker oriented’ and ‘disaffected’ because she had a child and how he did her a favor by allowing them to come back which was normally against the rules.”

Gail Armstrong PR Aide OSA Int, Int Mgmt PR

Cheryl Azevedo WDC — “In and out of WDC. Was the Int Programs Director in CMO Int.”

Allen Baumgarten Int Finance Off — “He worked in Int Finance. Wayne Baumgarten is his son (and Debbie Cook is his daughter-in-law). Allen and his wife Sherry were roommates with my husband and I for a few years. They told me lots of stories of life in Australia. Sherry was petrified in her old age that she would be offloaded out of the Sea Org with no way to support herself (we were getting constant threats of off-load at the time). Allen and Sherry were very good friends.”

Russ Bellin CO CST — “I didn’t know him well — he was usually at CST. But he came to the Int Base in early 2000s on a project for Miscavige to design the new e-meter and packaging for LRH lectures. It was a ‘bypass’ — I attended several meetings with Russ. Miscavige held him up as so much more competent than the rest of us.” Lana Mitchell adds: “Russ was the CO CST (Church of Spiritual Technology) and brought to the Int base by DM and put onto the e-meter project to create the new Mark VIII e-meter. In 2003, he and Tom Devocht were put onto projects around the base to deal with other projects that Miscavige deemed were not being handled. Russ fell into disfavor and was then placed into the Hole and has been there for years. Very nice guy.”

Alison Biggs CMO Gold — “She was Bitty Miscavige’s Communicator for years when Bitty was the D/CO in CMO Int and as WDC FLB. Small blonde girl from England.”

Angie Blankenship COB Pjt Ops RTC/CMO Int/WDC [No longer in the Sea Org.] — “I didn’t know Angie until she came to the Int Base in the early 2000s from Clearwater. She was running for Miscavige along with Jenny Linson. Angie and Jenny relayed the order for me to scrub toilets with a toothbrush and to personally pay the Tampa rent bill of $5,000.” Lana Mitchell adds: “She was brought to the Int base as one of DM’s entourage attack dogs. She ran a number of projects and was the initial person responsible for the “Ideal Orgs” program in Buffalo org. She was made WDC Ideal Orgs by DM and then eventually was thrown into the hole with the rest. She blew in recent years, was recovered and isn’t talking.”

Dave Bloomberg Exec Strata — “Also held the post of LRH Personal Public Relations Officer International for a bit. Originally from Australia.”

Pam Bolstad/Gumm CO’s Comm CST

Veronique Bromberg CO OSA Int

Pat Buglewicz INCOMM Rep Int — “Held the position of CO INCOMM (International Network of Computer Management). Nice guy, very computer savvy.”

Marcia Callahan RTC/R Comps — “She was in RTC. Didn’t know her much. She used to chase me up for compliance and ‘ghost’ me (when a person is assigned to you to note your every action and report back to a senior with the specifics of what you’ve been doing).”

Aleah Chisholm Qual Gold

Amy Clifford Exec Strata/Gold Mfg — “Ran the Eval Corps. Was the CO Gold at an early time, as well as their Finance person.”

Lise Cohee Legal Off IAS

Amy Conley CMO Int/R Comps — “She worked in the Snr C/S Int office. Both of her parents and her sister were posted at the Int base.”

Gary Conley Gold — “Held numerous posts in Gold.”

Debbie Cook Captain FSO [Spent seven weeks in The Hole in 2007, then left the Sea Org that year. Cook was sued earlier this year for daring to criticize David Miscavige in her infamous New Year’s Eve e-mail that was sent to thousands of fellow church members. The lawsuit was settled in April.] — “I first met Debbie in CMO CW in 1981. She was a messenger for LRH and we worked on getting compliance to LRH orders together. She was the Captain FSO for many years.”

Astra Parselle Croft D/CO CMO Int — “D/CO Internal CMO Int. From England. Once shaved Marc Yager’s head with a buzzer while in a meeting, on orders from Miscavige.”

Geray Cruzen Int Landlord Off — “Her maiden name is Jory. She was once married to Marty Rathbun, Rick Cruzen and Chris Maio. She and I were on the RPF together in 1983-85. She worked in the Int Landlord office.”

Rick Cruzen Gold Musician

Tony DeCrescenzo CMO Int Ext Comm — “He worked in External Comm, the branch responsible for transporting all communications to and from the Int base. His uncle is Mike Henderson, who spoke out against abuses in the church on BBC.” Lana Mitchell adds: “He came to the Int base from CMO PAC in LA as a young teenager. He’s been at the Int base his entire adult life.”

Julia Delderfield CMO Gold — “She was the Director of Inspections & Reports for CMO Int (responsible for the ethics and investigations of all Int executives). Boots way too big for her. She was a young girl from Europe.”

Tom DeVocht CMO CW/CO CMO Int [No longer in the church, spoke out in “The Truth Rundown” in 2009.] — “We worked together in CMO Int in the mid 80s. I was the Chief Officers Organizing Officer and he was the Operations Chief’s Organizing Officer. He became CO CMO PAC and then I replaced him to post him in WDC as WDC over Exec Strata. Later he became CO CMO CW and when he returned to Int in the early 2000s, he became Int Landlord. Was married to Jenny Linson, who is the daughter of film producer, director and screen writer, Art Linson. Wonder if he’s been following the news…”

Blandine DeVries R Comps Sec — “Tall French lady who worked in LRH Compilations.”

Liz Engen RTC/R Comps — “She was on an internal post in RTC and then became an Evaluator in Exec Strata.”

Sarah Fear Exec Strata — “Establishment Executive International (EEI). Her parents were also in the Sea Org, as well as her brother Ryan Fear, an Establishment Officer in CMO Int.”

Frank Fehn Gold Cameraman — “He was the first member of the CMO in Europe (prior to Frank, there was no CMO Cont unit there). We did a project together (I was in CW and he was in EU) to man up the Flag Bureau in 1982/83. He was a Cine Messenger for years in CMO Gold, then eventually became a Cameraman in Gold. He has a brother Thomas, who was also at the Int base for a period.”

Pauline Flood R Comps Sec — “She was in RTC and then sent to R Comps. I was on the RPF in Clearwater with her daughter Susie Flood (about 16 at the time). Susie attempted suicide in order to get off the RPF. Pauline’s husband was David Flood – former WDC SMI. Don’t know what happened to him. I have a group WDC photo and David is in that shot.”

Tom Ford R Comps — “Originally from Boston. He was holding the LRH Comm FSO post when he wasn’t even in the Sea Org. I received an order to interview him to get him to join in early 1983. I don’t know how he eventually made it up to the Int base, but he worked in the Snr C/S Int office. His wife Pam was a technical person in RTC.”

Monica Grannis Exec Strata. Int Mgt PR Off — “She worked in the Int Management PR office. She was also an org evaluator and worked in the AVC unit for a while.”

Russ Grielich LRH Lecture Mix I/C, Audio Prod Sec — “He’s also an awesome sax player. We twinned on the Key to Life course together. Great guy.”

Laurence Guenot (Stumbke, Barram) Int Landlord Off — “I brought her to the Int base in 1990 and posted her as my direct junior over the ‘HCO’ division (HCO is Hubbard Communications Office which handles personnel, ethics, communications). She replaced me when I went into WDC. She eventually worked as a designer in the Int Landlord office. She became the Int Landlord and I understand she left last year with her junior Bob Wright and they live in Tampa.”

Bettina Henderson Exec Strata/Gold — “She was the CO FB and came to Int and became the Services Exec Int.”

Dave Henderson Exec Strata/Gold — “Evaluator in the Eval Corps. He was briefly put on post as the Establishment Exec Int and was eaten alive within a few weeks. I witnessed the assigments he was given, which were nearly impossible to pull off and he didn’t sleep for days. Miscavige busted him to clean dumpsters.”

Steve Hodkin Int Landlord Off — “Worked in the Int Landlord Office as an architect.”

Karen Hollander Int Mgmnt PR — “Former President CC International. I worked with her for years. Came to Int to assume post as LRH’s Personal Public Relations Officer in the late 90s. Was busted to the decks. I was on the decks with her at the time. She told me Miscavige was really pissed with her as she kissed someone. After completing her amends, she was assigned to the Int Management PR office. She has two daughters who both left the Sea Org.”

Stephanie Horwich Qual Gold — “She was in the Senior C/S Int Office and got promoted to D/CO Internal for CMO Int. She ended up in LRH Compilations.”

Becky Hughes (Oaks) — “Worked in External Comm branch.”

Debbie Hughes Exec Strata/WDC [No longer in the Sea Org.] — “Books Exec Int then WDC ABLE. Brought 3 children into the Sea Org with her. The two girls (Becky and Lindsay) ended up taking off. Their son (Greg Hughes, Jr.) was still there. Debbie is diabetic. I observed someone getting pushed around the running track in a wheel chair (while the rest of the Int execs were running, as a punishment). Claire Headley confirmed that it was Debbie who had a diabetic attack while running and was made to continue the punishment from a wheel chair.”

Greg Hughes Exec Strata/WDC — “Married to Debbie Hughes. Used to be a successful dentist with his own practice before joining the Sea Org. I worked in WDC with him for years. I understand he and Debbie left the Sea Org due to medical problems and now live somewhere in the LA area.”

Marta Idda Data Dir CMOI — “Data Director CMO Int. Mother is Gloria Idda — the ‘Internet In-Charge’ (anyone who wants to have access to the Internet has to do a routing form through Gloria.” Lana Mitchell adds: “Arrived at CMO Int as a 16 year old and has been there for her whole adult life. Her mother and father are in OSA International, in LA, and she grew up in the cadet org in LA, joined CMO PAC as a 14 year old, and was then promoted to the Int base.”

Liz Ingber CMO Int/R Comps — “She was D/CO Conts when I first went into the CMO in the early 80s. When I arrived to the Int base in 1983, she was in WDC. Liz was a bridesmaid at my 1986 wedding and we were roommates for a time. She was known for her temper — she could scream like crazy about non-compliance. Married to Mark Ingber. She has a brother and sister in the Sea Org as well. Another sister routed out several years ago.”

Mark Ingber CO CMO Int/WDC Reserves — “I first met Mark in the mid 80s. He arrived back to the Int base from the Publications organization in Europe. He was a yo-yo, always getting in trouble. One day he’d be on the decks, the next he was wearing Captain stripes in a senior executive position.”

Michelle Jaramillo R Comps Sec — “She was married to Marc Yager for years.”

Kristina Jensen HCO Chf CMOI — “Internal-facing person responsible for personnel appointments and staff training in CMO Int.”

Mette Jensen AVC RTC — “She was the administrative assistant in AVC RTC – the one who constantly nudged for submissions to be returned and assigning amends if the submissions were late. Kristina Jensen is her sister. I believe they are originally from Denmark.”

Heber Jentzsch President, Church of Scientology International (CSI) — “At one point Miscavige made two ventriloquist dummies — one in the image of Mike Rinder and one in the image of Heber Jentzsch. This was done to humiliate these people, by making the dummies say very stupid things. Miscavige really gets a kick out of degrading people. It was sick to witness. I understand that Heber’s wife (Jane Jentzsch) blew from OSA Int a few years ago. Heber told me once that he had been an actor in the movie Paint Your Wagon. I only have fond memories of Heber.”

Charles Johnson RTC Cramming Off — “Cramming/Correction Officer in RTC. He did many of my corrections. Small balding guy from South Africa.”

Pall Johansson Int Landlord Off — “He worked in the Landlord Office. I think he was from Finland. Had a son Axel Johansson who worked in Cine.”

Sharon Johnston (Houck, Brandenberg, Arnold) D/CO CMO Int — “Was my closest friend for years. First met in 1980. She worked in CMO Gold as a Messenger and them came to CMO Int on internal facing posts. Held WDC SO for a while. Became D/CO Internal CMO Int.”

Jacqueline Kevenaar CMO Int/WDC — “Freedom Mag editor. We were on the RPF together in the mid 80s. She fell off a very tall scaffold and shattered her pelvis. She was out of commission for quite some time after that. She did a project to put all of LRH’s advices concerning the GO into OSA orders, which was completed.”

Coby Knight Int Finance

Sue Koon RTRC Dir — “When I first arrived to the Hemet base, Sue was the CO Gold. She was the Senior C/S for Gold for some time, responsible for all the staff cases. She was one of the first people on the base to do OT VIII. She was married to Dan Koon, who left the Sea Org in the early 2000s.”

Theresa Laner LRH PPRO Office — “She was the assistant to the LRH Biographer.”

Susie LaPlaine D/ED Int Internal — “One of my first seniors in the Sea Org when I was 16 years old. I just arrived to Flag and I was posted as her Communicator. We were responsible for getting recruits arrived from all over the world to the FLB. I came in late one day and she blasted my head off for several minutes straight, at the top of her lungs. That was the first time I had ever been yelled at in my life (but certainly not the last!)”

Tim Larson RTC AVC/Gold — “Worked in RTC in AVC to nudge submissions.” Lana Mitchell adds: “He was busted from RTC to CINE Gold, where he was
doing costume designing and uniform designs for Miscavige.”

Tanja Lefevre RTC AVC — Lana Mitchell: “Tanja was an Authorization approval, approving written traffic to management from CMO Int and WDC. Removed from RTC in
one of the big cleanouts done in the early 2000’s.”

Kathy Lemmer CO INCOMM, CO Gold, GIEI — “Very competent lady. Married to Chuck Lemmer, a technician in Gold.”

Angie LeMoine RTC/Gold — “She became a highly trained auditor and ended up as an RTC Rep. I first met her in Clearwater in the early 80s when we were both on auditor training. Both of her parents were on Solo NOTs and I met them when I worked in the Solo NOTs HGC at Flag in 1982.” Lana Mitchell adds: “She was recruited into RTC in 1995 as part of the RTC Representative teams. Worked at Flag for many years and was then rotated to several other continents between 1995 and the early
2000s.”

Robert Lemoine INCOMM — “French computer guy who worked in INCOMM. Almost immediately after getting married, his wedding ring got caught on a fence he was jumping over and it pulled his finger off.”

Andy Lenarcic LRH PPRO Bio — “Worked with Danny Sherman on the LRH Bio. Had a wife (Anne) posted in LA. She didn’t qualify for the Int base, so they were separated for many years. Their daughter worked at the Int base.”

Guillaume Lesevre ED Int — “My first job when I joined the Sea Org at age 16 was in Copenhagen. Guillaume was the Continental Commanding Officer. He was then sent to the Executive Strata to assume post as Executive Director International. I worked with him for years. In one of our group meetings where we were being directed to disclose our crimes, Guillaume wouldn’t speak. When he was made to say something, he said, ‘This is like a witch hunt during the Spanish Inquisition.’ Of course, he was jumped on for that attitude and made to confess to transgressions. He had two daughters that he rarely ever saw. They left the Sea Org when they were old enough and went back to France. His wife (Vanella) was on the RPF in LA the last I heard.”

Gary Lew LRH Audio Visual — “His nickname is ‘Luigi.’ Smart. Good friend. He figured out the electronics for the e-meter reads simulator — a machine used by all course rooms for training.”

Jenny Linson CO CMO Int/WDC — “Jenny and I worked together to establish the Manor Hotel in Hollywood. She then went to CMO CW then into WDC. For a very short time she was CO CMO Int/WDC Chairman. Was formerly married to Tom DeVocht. She is one of the ‘ex-wives’ who spoke out on Anderson Cooper 360 — SCIENTOLOGY, A HISTORY OF VIOLENCE. It was amazing to see someone you’ve known for years degenerate from a happy and fun person to a solid mass of hate.”

Tammy Lundeen WDC Sea Org — “She is the daughter of Edy and Jon Lundeen and her sister (Michelle) also works at the Int base. Tammy and Michelle were born in the Sea Org.”

Aron Mason OSA Int PR/Int Mgt PR — “He was mainly posted in OSA Int while I was there. We worked together on a strategy for Hamburg org. He was married to Bonnie Mason who worked in CMO Gold so they were often separated.”

Barbara McHenry CMO Int/WDC/Gold — “Italian lady who worked in WDC for a while (WISE). I have a picture of us together at some event. She’s like an energetic tomboy with long curly hair. We were busted and doing heavy manual labor together a few times. One time I got such a bad sunburn with huge blisters on my wrists as we were digging trenches in the desert heat. She gave me an assist. She was scared of being off-loaded as a failure and said she would fight to stay. Unfortunate. I heard she was posted as CO Gold but then Miscavige said he was looking for WDC members and when Barbara volunteered to return to WDC, he busted her as CO Gold.”

Janet McLaughlin (Light) President IASA (Now out of the Sea Org) — “Janet got me into the CMO in Clearwater in 1982. She was the Chief Officer over the divisions on one side of the organization and I became the Supercargo over the other side of the organization. I went ‘over the rainbow’ and next I heard, Janet became the President of the newly formed International Association of Scientologists (IAS). I would rarely see her as she operated from the Freewinds. She would occasionally come to the Int Base to meet with the Int execs. She was married to Andrew Stevens and had a few kids, was married to David Light (a long term registrar) and then married McLaughlin.”

Carly McShane CMO Gold — “She was a young Programs Operator in CMO Gold.”

Marcy McShane LRH PPRO — “Married to Warren McShane in RTC. They had two children — both posted at the Int base as well. Marcy worked in the LRH Personal Public Relations Office and also in the Senior Case Supervisor’s office. I did a submission to modify a procedure being done on the RPF which was nearly impossible for people to get through. This submission was approved by Marcy McShane and Sue Koon in the Snr C/S Int office and from what I understand, both were told by Miscavige that they were ‘SPs’ for passing it on and that the procedure was to stay as it was.”

Abigail Miller CMO Int/WDC — “CMO Programs Ops then became WDC IHELP (International Hubbard Ecclesiastic League of Pastors). It was a new sector created to license and monitor (and collect tithes from) all auditors in the field.”

Ray Mithoff RTC/Snr CS Int — “I first met Ray in 1980 at Flag in Clearwater. We worked in the same office. He was the Senior Case Supervisor for the Flag Land Base. He was then promoted to Snr C/S International. He was the first person I saw Miscavige beat up. Ray is tall and Miscavige had Ray sitting in a chair where he couldn’t defend himself. This was 1995. Shortly after that, Miscavige put Ray on the RPF. When he returned a few years later, he was reinstated to Snr C/S International, but would repeatedly get in trouble and pulled off post. He was the last person to audit LRH and was charged with the responsibility of compiling the upper level materials, which he could never manage to get to. He’s originally from Texas and loves country western music. His wife is Gelda Mithoff and brother is Bob Mithoff.”

Bruno Moresi CST — “Was in Action CMO Int for years. Then went to CST.”

Jan Mortensen CMO Int/WDC/Gold — “Worked in WDC, CMO Int and Gold. We both got assigned to the ‘It’s Got Nothing To Do With Me’ Club for some stupid reason. This is an actual ‘club’ established by an LRH issue with directions of how you get out of the club. You have to do amends, write a 500- (or so) word essay about how your job has nothing to do with you and various other steps. Jan and I worked through the night to get through these steps. Lame.”

Clark Morton CO CMO Gold/Cine Sec Gold [No longer in the Sea Org.] — “Held CO CMO Gold for a while, then busted down into Gold and worked in Cine. Was the Cine Sec for a while (head of the division).”

Barbara Newton CMO Int/CMO Gold — “Worked in WDC over Gold and the Sea Org service org sectors. She was D/CO for CMO Cont units for years. In one of our ‘group confession’ meetings, Barbara said she had ‘fleeting thoughts’ that Miscavige was an SP… The group jumped down her throat to find out what crimes she committed before she had that idea. Was married to Norm Newton who was offloaded by Miscavige — apparently he disagreed with Miscavige on something. I think he went to an outer RPF.”

Cory Norton R Comps — “She was an MAA (Master at Arms/Ethics Officer) in CMO Int. She put me on the e-meter for hours as she was ordered to ‘find my hidden crimes.’ She also worked in the Senior Case Supervisor Office on tech pilot and export and compilations. Was married to Adam Parselle, who is out of the SO now.”

Anna Maria Ogeltree LRH PPRO — “Worked in the LRH Personal PRO office. An Italian lady that didn’t speak English very well. When I was on the ‘extended purif’ in 2002/03 at the same time as Anna Marie, she told me that she spent about 360 straight days on the purif (done to rid the body of drug residue and toxins), and she had never taken any drug in her life. I hope she’s physically OK after almost a year of 5000mg niacin a day! It definitely took a big toll on me and I was on it for only 8 months.”

Claudia Olander CMO Int/ Gold — “She was Estab Exec Int at one time. She went into the Int Landlord Office as a designer.”

John Oldfield CMO Int — “He worked in Action which is the branch that briefs and fires (and runs) missions and projects to handle various situations. His dad worked at the FSO as a Class XII auditor. Literally, it’s hard to believe all these people were in the hole. They are good-hearted people.”

Jan Olsen LRH PPRO — “Worked in the LRH Personal Public Relations Office.”

Cathy Ondreicka Exec Strata/Gold — “For the longest time, she was an evaluator in the Exec Strata. She was also a short-lived Exec Int (Establishment Executive International).”

James Perry INCOMM — “Didn’t really know him. He worked in INCOMM, which is the computer branch of the Sea Org.”

Marie-Noel Pietch — “Worked in the Data branch. Earlier was a Programs Operator in CMO Int extension unit in LA (CMO IXU).”

Lucky Porter (Story) D/CO CMO Int — “She got into the Sea Org as a young girl as her parents were SO members. She worked in Data branch and in the Personnel/Ethics branch. She was also a Programs Operator.”

Marion Pouw RTC/ CMO Int — “Used to be married to Bill Dendiu, who was formerly the CO of Marketing and blew the Int Base. She worked in RTC over their ‘public’ bureau, producing the ‘Keeping Scientology Working’ newsletter, issuing awards from RTC for stellar production or whatever. I was awarded a Permanent Posting certificate by RTC as WDC for Celebrity Centers. She then became a ‘messenger’ for Miscavige — often coming to CMO Int to tell us to get our act together. I see that she was sent around with Mike Sutter and Hansueli Stahli to try to recover people in the field who were ‘talking to SPs’ and becoming ‘disaffected’ with the church.”

Urd Priester RTC — “I got her up to the Int base from Europe. She was the Deputy Establishment Executive International, then she went to work in RTC. Not sure what position – an administrative assistant.”

Marty Rathbun Inspector General, RTC [Spent 4 days in The Hole in 2004 before escaping. After vanishing for several years, he resurfaced in 2009 with a blog that is harshly critical of Miscavige]. — “Was IG and IG Ethics. Sometimes I didn’t have a clue what his post was — he was just the ‘go to’ guy for Miscavige, working on special projects in relation to OSA matters and celebrities — and the church tax exemption. He was often in LA or Clearwater. He interviewed me once on the e-meter for Miscavige. When I was on the RPF in Clearwater in 2004, Marty was working at the furniture mill where the RPF also worked. We were surprised to see him as last we knew, he was IG. He was getting picked up and dropped every day at the mill by CMO CW. Mat Pesch was a mill staff member at the time and has known Marty since 1978 — he asked Marty what he should call him — ‘Sir, Mr. Rathbun, Marty?’ In response, Marty said, ‘You can call me “asshole” if you’d like!'”

Ellen Reynolds Int Finance Off — “She was married to Wendell in the 80s. She was the Audits Officer in Int Finance. She is the one who always took the professional accountants around to the various church entities for inspection as per the tax exemption requirements. There had to be a certain number of inspection passes before no more inspections were needed by outside professionals. I can’t imagine that the expenses for Tom Cruise and Miscavige’s personal extravagances (including a $70 million dollar office building for just him and his staff…) would have passed an outside inspection.”

Wendell Reynolds Int Finance Director — “He was the Int Reserves/Finance Director. Also held CO Gold. First met in 1982 then later worked together on the RPF in 1984-85. Miscavige assigned us both to dig up and ‘white-glove’ a huge, overflowing septic tank because Wendell gave me a back rub after several all-nighters working on building LRH’s house. In 2002/2003, Wendell and I did the ‘extended purification program’ together. To make a long story short, he began helping me with my plan to get away from the Int base. He told me he would never leave (despite how oppressive it was getting) because he could take it and he was ‘waiting for LRH to come back and take back over.’ So sad.”

Cathy Rinder CMO Int/R Comps — “As the D/Commanding Officer CMO Int for Production, Cathy ran me when I was first on post as WDC for Celebrity Centers to establish CC Int. Cathy later became a WDC member over the Scientology Class V organizations and when she was busted by Miscavige for failing to do anything with the New York organization after 9/11, I was put in her place. Was separated from Mike for very long periods of time when Mike was posted in LA as the CO OSA Int.”

Mike Rinder CO CMO Int/CO OSA Int/WDC [Spent two years in The Hole, left the church in 2007] — “CO OSA Int and WDC OSA. Was LRH’s Personal Public Relations Officer at one point. Also held CO CMO Int/WDC Chairman for a time as my direct senior. Was an LRH messenger on the Apollo when he was young, worked in CMO in Clearwater, which is when I first met him in 1980/81. I was posted in CMO CW shortly after he left for the Int base. I witnessed Miscavige commit assault & battery on Mike Rinder by strangling him and knocking him to the ground.”

Linda Rodin R Comps — “She was an administrative assistant in the Exec Strata. Young girl. Her brother also worked in CMO Int (and later marketing).”

Steve Rule Exec Strata/Int Landlord — “Chipper Australian guy who came to Int from the FSO for Call-In Exec Int. Steve made the mistake of saying that the reason something wasn’t done was because he spent almost his entire time in meetings… The executives used to sit for hours, day after day, in meetings listening to Miscavige. You’d get reams of instructions and were to report on them the next day, but you rarely had time to do anything. Steve was new and he learned fast that the consequences for ‘crossing Miscavige’ with such a ‘disaffected’ statement were severe. Steve was assigned to grounds where he remained for years. Had a wife (Linda Rule) who wasn’t posted at the Int base.”

Faith Shermerhorn Exec Strata — She worked in Exec Strata as the services person and ‘BP I/C’ — which is a person responsible for making sure that everyone’s battle plan for the week was getting done. She had a husband (and kids I believe) in LA that she almost never saw — went for years without seeing from what I remember. We got along really well. She was always rolling her eyes (privately) about how nutty things could be. It got really bad after I left. Former Scientology executive Tom DeVocht was interviewed by the St Petersburg Times and they reported: ‘The executives would confess sins they had committed against Miscavige, reveal their bad thoughts about Scientology and make personal disclosures, including sexual fantasies. If someone couldn’t come up with a transgression, the others bullied him into admitting something. Anything. And Dave would sit there and listen to it and enjoy the hell out of it,’ said De Vocht, who recalled one seance when he said Miscavige struck executive Marc Yager and threw him to the floor, then singled out Faith Schermerhorn, a midlevel administrator who is black. ‘He goes, “By the way, (Yager) thinks black people are n——, and he doesn’t want Scientology to help blacks. Go kick him.” So (Yager) is down on the ground and she’s kicking him,’ De Vocht said.”

Peter Schless Gold Musician, Freedom Medal Winner — “He was an accomplished musician (wrote the song ‘On the Wings of Love’) so with his ‘celebrity’ status, he was wanted as part of the Gold Musicians team. He scored lots of music and became Music Director. We were on the Purification rundown at the same time — for months. Sitting in a sauna together for 5 hours a day, every day, you get to know someone pretty well. Couldn’t be a nicer guy.”

Rita Schwartzgruber CO FCB — “Rita was the CO Flag Command Bureaux when I left. She apparently was pulled up to the Int base for the ED Int position. While she was CO FCB (located on Hollywood Blvd), her husband was in the WUS cont office (located on Franklin Ave just a few miles away), I received a despatch from Miscavige that spouses should work in the same organization (with Rita and Herbert as an example) and otherwise they can’t remain a couple. I did not activate the order. I tried to figure out how to replace Herbert so he could be promoted back to FCB level with his wife. That was the first I heard about this separation issue, but it then started coming up more often. Rita and Herbert have a middle-aged kid who also worked at the Int base — Alexander. I believe he was a supervisor in Qual.”

Deborah Siegal Int Landlord Off — “She worked in the Int Landlord Office — design research, I believe.”

Ingrid Sjogren Int Landlord Off — “Though she was very tall and big boned, she was one of the meekest people I’ve known. She worked as an internal person for the Int Finance Office.”

Denise Sommerville Audio Prod Sec Gold — “She worked in Audio. Sometimes on lower positions, sometimes as the Audio Production Secretary. The musicians were under her, as well as the sound engineers who were always working to restore Hubbard lectures and put sound effects on film, etc. She was the daughter of some basketball player. We were on the RPF together at one point. She’s a hard worker and reminds me of a bulldozer type of product officer.”

Josie Spittell CMO Int — “Started in the SO very young. She was a program operator, then became the Services Chief CMO Int. She lent me some money when I was ordered by Miscavige’s henchmen to personally pay the Tampa Org’s overdue rent bill in 2003 — which I paid back. Her mother Gerta Herrara was in RTC as a security checker.”

Lyman Spurlock ASI/RTC/Int Finance — “Corporate Coordinator both in CSI and in RTC. Worked in ASI. For some time he was in Gold as an auditor. He came back into management and still audited on the side (he was my auditor for original OT V and New OT V). He worked with Int Finance and on corporate matters in coordination with OSA. Worked for ages on the tax exemption in terms of laying out internal requirements. We worked together on the command channel issues for the 1996 New Era of Management launch. Often harassed by Miscavige who mocked him like he was slow or dumb (which he isn’t). He was married to Carol Spurlock who worked in Qual Gold and in grounds.”

Daniella Starkey D/CO CMO Int — “From Switzerland. Married to Sharder Starkey (Norman Starkey’s nephew). Daniella was always on internal-facing positions. She was my direct junior as the Director of Routing & Personnel in CMO Int when I was the division head. Very sweet girl.”

Norman Starkey ASI/RTC — “Trustee ASI. His rank was Captain Right Arm as he was actually a captain of one of the Sea Org vessels in the early days and worked with LRH. He became a shadow of a man. He was on the Anderson Cooper week-long series on violence in Scientology, claiming Miscavige never laid a hand on anyone. He once got his ears boxed so bad that he had ruptured his eardrum. He once was made to wear only diapers by Miscavige. He was part of the group of people who were made to sleep out on the grounds and only take a shower with a hose and poop in a little bucket while chipping rock all day. I saw him hauling wheelbarrows in a blue boiler suit several times after he would be in trouble. He’s originally from South Africa and his wife is Maria Starkey — Miscavige’s typist or secretary (and person who handles his dogs). Norman also held the AVC Aide post for a while.”

Jon Stumbke Gold — “He used to be the Director of Inspections & Reports (a senior MAA function) in CMO Int as my direct junior. He was ordered by Miscavige to be removed from the CMO and busted to Gold for failure to handle someone on Miscavige’s lines doing base renovations. In Gold, he was in estates for years as an electrician.”

Anke Sutter RTC AVC Cram Off — “She was the AVC Cramming Officer. Told me I was 1.1 (someone who is supposedly in a chronic tone level of covert hostility). She was a German bitch, honestly, with her nose really high in the air acting like she was hot stuff because she was in RTC. Married to Mike Sutter, someone often used by Miscavige to ‘handle’ someone in trouble, like Annie Tidman after her blow.”

Fred Swartz Exec Strata — “Fred was Deputy Gross Income Exec Int and then held GIEI directly when Greg Hughes became WDC WISE again. Before that, Fred was an FSC Reg (Flag Service Consultant) in LA. He worked at getting public to make donations for their services at the FSO for years and years. He was brought up to the Int base around 1991 but his wife Gretchen Swartz had to stay in LA to take over his money-making position (she was also one of the highest-producing regges for years). They rarely saw each other. Gretchen died while on the job on 6 August 2009. I wonder if Fred was let out of the hole to attend her service? Or if she even had a service?”

Michelle Tampion HCO Chf CMO Int — “Australian. Worked on internal functions (personnel hiring and posting, communications, ethics). Her sister is Melita Tampion.”

Melita Tampion LRH PPRO Off — “Worked in LRH PR Office and was in WDC for a short time (replaced me as WDC for Celebrity Centers). She was removed from that position and reposted as the Port Captain for CMO Int. Used to be married to Chris Guider (who is now out and re-married to Valeska Paris with two children).”

Fleur Thomas RTC AVC Eval Auth — “We did missions together to CC Int, then she went into RTC. She worked in AVC and bounced around in there on various posts such as Eval Auth and she held AVC Aide as well (the person in RTC in charge of giving Issue Authority for all submissions from Int Mangement. AVC stands for Authorization, Verification and Correction). Her sisters are Darnelle Bloomburg and Laurisse Stuckenbrock (COB’s Communicator). They all originally came from Australia. Their mother is Eunice Henley-Smith, who used to work at CC Int.”

Katie Tisi (Feshbach) Qual Sec Gold — “Katie was an auditor and then became the Qual Sec (head of the Qualifications Division — which is where all of the study and auditing is done for staff, as well as correction. The RPF is also under Qual.) At one point, she was in charge of getting fitness boards done on base staff and hauling in people to let them know their spouse was going to be offloaded. Before she was put in that position, she was very sweet and gung-ho to audit the staff.”

Bert Trussell CST

Jens Urskov Exec Strata/Gold — “Was the Deputy ED International at one time. He was busted to Gold and worked in HEM (Hubbard E-Meter manufacturing) then was an Evaluator in the Executive Strata. Was a very good friend. Had physical issues and was worried he would be off-loaded (since we were constantly threatened with that by Miscavige) and not be able to see his wife and not be able to take care of his medical problems. Wish I knew what happened to him.”

Tom Vorm CST — “Saw him around a lot but never worked with him. He was super nice to me. He was married to a beautiful lady at Celebrity Center International (Darleen) who is now out of the SO. They were rarely together because of their different SO base locations.”

Bruce Wagoner Port Captain Gold — “Was the Legal Director Gold. He’s the one who sent me the notarized divorce papers from my ex-husband Jim Mortland which was the first time I found out Jim was declared and out of the Sea Org, living in Arizona — we had been married 17 years.”

Karen Wagoner CMO Int/Gold Mfg Div — “(Griffin, Kamen, Seybold, Priori and nick-name ‘KK’) – She was the Chief Officer over the production divisions of CMO Int for years (I was her Organizing Officer) and worked in WDC for years over several different sectors, including SMI (Scientology Missions International) and the Scientology Class V and Sea Org service org sectors. She was also in Gold — both Cine and Manufacturing. I understand she’s now out and living in the Seattle area with her husband Bruce Wagoner, still being a loyal church member. Hope I run into her… we were once busted to the decks together, restricted to the trailers out at OGH (Old Gilman House). She was under a Committee of Evidence, awaiting the findings and recommendations. She felt the committee was going to send her to the RPF, and they did. Security came and escorted her away.”

Cebron Walker CMO Int/Marketing — “He worked in the LRH PPRO (Personal Public Relations Office) and in Marketing.”

Danielle Walker Bailey D/CO CMO Int — “She was the D/Commanding Officer over the CMO Cont Units. The external CO CMO’s reported to her as their direct senior. When I was assigned to clean garage toilets with a toothbrush, she came down to the garage and tried to encourage me to ‘get with the program’ so I could rejoin the group.”

Rena Weinberg ED ABLE Int, Freedom Medal Winner — “She was the President ABLE International when I was there, which is a position in Los Angeles. She’s from South Africa. Worked in the field of education for years. One time we considered her for the WDC ABLE position, but it came up that she really didn’t want to work at Int — she was ‘disaffected’ because she wanted to be able to go get her legs waxed every once in a while (not something you do on the Hemet compound). If she was stuck in the hole, I’m sure it was a very harsh reality for her.”

Richard Welch Int Finance — “Worked in the Int Finance Office. Intelligent English guy, very quiet.”

Michelle Wheelis CST

Jessica Wieneke (Gilchrist) Qual Gold — “She was a word clearer in the Qualifications Division.”

Kurt Wieland CO OSA Int/WDC OSA — “Big guy from Austria. Always worked in the OSA area and drove cars like a bat out of hell.”

Gary Wiese Chf Editor Gold — “Senior Editor for years. When I first arrived to the Int base in 1982, he was the Chief Officer Gold. Been in the Sea Org about 35 years. I was in several meetings with Miscavige ‘toasting’ Wiese over video edits. Miscavige put out a base-wide issue entitled, THE DEFINITION OF INCORRIGIBLE — GARY WIESE. He could operate a backhoe like nobody’s business. We worked on renovations projects together over the years (every weekend, the Int base staff did one day of ‘all-hands’ to do renovations and construction at the Int base.)”

Greg Wilhere RTC — “Miscavige used Wilhere to do a lot of his message runs and execution of assignments like making all of the Int execs run around the pole for hours on end or sitting in the conference room confessions transgressions for two weeks straight while he supervised and recorded our actions for Miscavige. Put me on the e-meter a few times to find my ‘crimes.’ Was the IG, was the AVC Aide.”

Kirsti Wilhere CO FCB — “She worked as the Exec Aide and the CO of Flag Liaison Office (FLO – middle management level) when I was there. Didn’t know she was pulled up to the Int base. Australian lady, was married to Hugh Wilhere (Greg Wilhere’s brother) who was ASI staff.”

Sue Wilhere RTC — “Sue was never in comps to my knowledge. She was the AVC Corrections Officer (where you’d be sent for ‘cramming’ — a word for a type of Scientology correction procedure, for mistakes on submissions to AVC.) She later was put in charge of all the outer RTC Reps. She was in Clearwater for some time as well when DM was there to oversee the Golden Age of Tech implementation and firing (assigning) of all RTC Reps to the various continental areas.”

Diane Williams RTC AVC — “She was a word clearer in AVC Corrections in RTC. She was my roommate at one point. Her husband Stewart worked in Gold, so I can’t imagine that they were allowed to stay married.”

Tom Willis CST — Lana Mitchell: “He was from CST and came with Russ Bellin, working as his assistant, on DM projects in the early 2000s.”

Marc Yager CO CMO Int — “Was a messenger for Hubbard, starting on the Apollo as a young teenager. Held CO CMO Int/WDC Chairman for about 20 years. Was IG Admin in RTC then came back to CO CMO post. Spent 4 years under guard and in the RPF (1996-1999)”

Laurie Zurn D/ED ABLE Int — “Spent her whole career working in ABLE (Association for Better Living and Education) and SOCO before that (Social Betterment Corporation — part of the old Guardian’s Office). Have no idea what she was doing at Int as she never worked there while I was there. She was in ABLE Int in LA as the second in command (D/Executive Director ABLE International). When I was the WDC ABLE, I once sat in an all-day meeting with Laurie, Simon Hogarth (the ED ABLE Int at the time), the DSA ABLE Int, Lyman Spurlock (Corporate Coordinator CSI) and two church attorneys (Monique Yingling and Tim Bowles). Legally, the ABLE sector was not supposed to be sending money into the Sea Org reserve accounts, but it was, and the tax attorneys were trying to figure out a solution. I had made a proposal on how to organize the sector based on the attorney’s advice, which would have meant that the funds that had been going to Int Reserves would get rerouted to the social betterment programs themselves, instead. This didn’t fly with Miscavige, who said that it’s up to legal to find a way to set things up the way we (church management) want it, not the other way around. My proposal was therefore rejected and I was removed from post, restricted to the property and once again assigned to berthing out by the swamp. ”

See also:
What Katie is saving Suri from: Scientology interrogation of kids
Scientology’s new defections: Hubbard’s granddaughter and Miscavige’s dad
Scientology’s disgrace: our open letter to Tom Cruise
Scientology crumbling: An entire mission defects as a group
Scientology leader David Miscavige’s vanished wife: Where’s Shelly?
Neil Gaiman, 7, Interviewed About Scientology by the BBC in 1968
The Master Screenplay: Scientology History from Several Different Eras
And a post that pulls together the best of our Scientology reporting

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Tony Ortega has been the editor in chief of the Village Voice since March, 2007. He started writing about Scientology in 1995. You can catch his alerts at Twitter (@VoiceTonyO), at his Facebook author page, on Pinterest, and even this new Google Plus doohickey.

New readers might want to check out our primer, “What is Scientology?” Another good overview is our series from last summer, “Top 25 People Crippling Scientology.” At the top of every story, you’ll see the “Scientology” category which, if you click on it, will bring up all of our most recent stories.

As for hot subjects we’ve covered here, you may have heard about Debbie Cook, the former church official who rebelled and was sued by Scientology. You might have also heard about the Super Power Building, Scientology’s “Mecca,” whose secrets were revealed here. We also reported how Scientology spied on its own most precious object, Tom Cruise. (We wrote Tom an open letter that he has yet to respond to.) Have you seen a Scientology ad on TV lately? We debunked some of the claims in that 2-minute commercial you might have seen while watching Glee or American Idol.

Other stories have looked at Scientology’s policy of “disconnection” that is tearing families apart. You may also have heard something about the Sea Org experiences of the Paris sisters, Valeska and Melissa, and their friend Ramana Dienes-Browning. We’ve also featured Paulette Cooper, who wrote about Scientology back in the day, and Janet Reitman, Hugh Urban, and the team at the Tampa Bay Times, who write about it today. And there’s plenty more coming.