Anyone who is interested in watching Scientology go down in Xenu-tinged flames should bookmark Tony Ortega’s website. He covers daily news on the cult and hits some intriguing stories that the mainstream media doesn’t notice. Ortega also has a new book out, The Unbreakable Miss Lovely, which reveals how the CO$ tried to take down journalist Paulette Cooper in the 1970s. That’s the Scientology M.O. – destroy all critics (never mind that the critics might be correct).

Ortega featured an interview clip from Aaron Smith-Levin from his Growing Up in Scientology project. Aaron interviewed Nick Lister, who was a topic of the Going Clear documentary . Lister is a former household servant of Tom Cruise, so he knows some dish. Lister says Tom kicked his 14-year-old niece out of the family for making out with her boyfriend. Tom considered this behavior to be shameful towards Scientology’s honor (because couch jumping is fine, but kissing is baaaaad):

In this video Nick describes how shortly after Tom Cruise won his IAS Freedom Medal of Valor in 2004, Tom kicked his niece Jamie Lesavoy out of the family (who was 14-years old at the time) for about two years for behavior which he deemed was “unbecoming of a Scientologist and out-PR” (creating a bad image for oneself or Scientology).

Jamie’s offense was simply making out with a boy in Tom’s house in Los Angeles, where Jamie lived with her mother Cass Mapother. Jamie’s activity was caught on Tom’s in-house security cameras. The Scientology security staff working at the house reported Jamie to Tom. Jamie’s punishment was to be sent to Scientology’s “Applied Scholastics” facility in St. Louis to complete Scientology’s lower ethics conditions under the supervision of high-level public Scientologist Bennetta Slaughter.

Scientology’s lower ethics conditions are essentially a series of steps one does to make amends for having done wrong. Lower conditions can usually be completed in days or weeks. Jamie spent two years working on lower conditions before Tom decided she’d done enough and could be allowed back in the family. After working for a full year at the Applied Scholastics facility in St. Louis, Jamie was sent to live with a Scientology family and attend a Scientology private school in Clearwater, FL. Nick met Jamie while he was working at the school Jamie was attending.

Jamie’s mother, Cass Mapother, was working for her brother Tom in Los Angeles. During this two-year period Jamie was allowed to speak with her mother on the phone but was not allowed to go to LA to see her because Tom did not want Jamie near him. Jamie was not allowed to spend holidays with her mother or attend family gatherings.

Jamie had to submit a written request to be accepted back into the family. Final approval of the request could only be given by Tom, not Jamie’s mother. Before Tom would even review Jamie’s request it had to first be submitted for approval by the President’s Office at Flag and then the request had to be forwarded to RTC, the senior-most organization that controls all of Scientology and which is run by David Miscavige.

Only once the request had been approved by the President’s Office at Flag and by RTC could it be sent to Tom. The first time Tom received the request he disapproved it, saying that more amends needed to be done. Eventually Jamie was accepted back into the family by Tom and was allowed to move back to Los Angeles.

[From Tony Ortega’s Underground Bunker]

Jamie now labors in the Sea Organization, where sge does hard labor and eats beans for dinner almost every night. Her life must be pretty terrible after signing the famed billion-year contract. Sometimes family members of celebrities do wind up in the Sea Org, but Ortega notes that “Sea Org recruiters had very explicit orders never to attempt to recruit any members of Tom Cruise’s family.” So it is highly unusual that Jamie would choose to enter the Sea Org of her own accord.

Stories like this remind me of how deeply committed Tom is to the insanity of Scientology. Unlike what the tabloids report on occasion, he’ll never leave the cult. He’s absolutely militant in enforcing the COS on his own family. The cult runs Tom’s life, and he has no problem using it to run his family’s lives as well.

Side note: This week’s issue of Star says Katie Holmes started wearing an “engagement” ring because she “heard rumors that Tom had gotten engaged.” They show her wearing a tiny gold band on “that” finger because “she doesn’t want anyone to think she’d be bothered by Tom remarrying, and she figured the best way to make that statement was to lead people to believe she’s in love — be it with Jamie or whomever.” Katie is not engaged.

Here’s the full clip of the interview between Aaron and Alex.

Photos courtesy of Fame/Flynet & WENN