One of the side stories we’ve been watching in relation to the criminal prosecution of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson has been the $3.3 million bond he put up to keep himself out of jail while he’s awaiting trial, which is scheduled for August 29.
He’s facing allegations of violently raping three women (who were Scientologists at the time), and if he’s convicted, he’s facing 45 years to life in prison. He has vigorously professed his innocence.
Initially, if you remember, he secured that bond with his two houses: The one he lives in, which is in Santa Ynez in Santa Barbara County, and the other he was not living in, his circle-shaped estate on Hollyridge Drive, just up the road from Scientology’s Hollywood Celebrity Center.
Last year Masterson put that Hollywood Hills home up for sale, and he managed to sell it in December for $6.2 million to a Hollywood agent. We naturally wondered how this might affect the securing of the bail bond, because it had also become clear that Danny’s legal bills are climbing astronomically: Not only was he paying for one of the most famous defense attorneys in the world, Tom Mesereau, but he also recently doubled the size of his legal team by adding two more lawyers, including the very pricey Shawn Holley, a member of the original OJ Simpson ‘Dream Team.’
Well, we don’t have access to Danny’s personal receipts, but we did get a partial answer to that question when we noticed an interesting transaction that occurred late last year.
According to a filing in Los Angeles County records, Danny Masterson’s mother Carol Masterson, and his brother, Malcolm in the Middle actor Christopher Masterson, secured Danny’s $3.3 million bail bond with the house that the two of them own jointly in Glendale.
According to real estate websites, this Glendale home owned by Carol and Chris has a market value of about $2.5 million, not enough to cover the bond, but we believe that Danny’s Santa Ynez home is still securing it as well.
So we think what this does is free up the Hollyridge Drive house from the bail bond, and that’s good for Danny: Thanks to mom and bro, he can now pour whatever he’s cleared from the Hollyridge sale into the astronomical bills he’s going to be getting from Mesereau and Holley and the rest of the team.
And we remember that it was Joe Reaiche, who at one time was married to Carol and helped raise Danny and Chris, who told us that the Masterson family is extremely tight, and he predicted that Carol, Chris, and the other siblings Alanna and Jordan would stick by Danny no matter what. Looks like he was right.
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Leah Remini podcast: Julian Wain on WISE
Says Mike: “We speak to our old friend and Leah family member Julian Wain about his experiences with WISE (World Institute of Scientology Enterprises) companies and how they implement high pressure sales techniques into dental and chiropractic offices, and are recruitment agencies for Scientology.” Listen to the episode right here!
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“Nineteen fifty-one, I rolled up my sleeves and started to investigate the Whole Track. Because in late 1950 it had started to raise its ugly and unseemly head. And auditors who would run into it and try to audit it and pcs who dare bring it up, of course, ran into a considerable social ostracism of one character or another. That was not done. The first Foundation board tried to pass a regulation, a board ruling to the effect that nobody would ever look at, believe in or investigate past lives, and so forth. And yet auditors in auditing them kept running into them, you see? So that probably was the basic split-up of the first Foundation. The first Foundation wanted to sit there comfortably and just grind on and on in present-life engrams and consider that we had it all made and they wanted no further research or investigation of any kind whatsoever. Well, that wouldn’t go and that was that, because auditors were not turning out the results they should have turned out if one had only lived one life. So in 1951 this — I didn’t fly in the teeth of this. I would have investigated anything. I mean, there’s no real resistance on my part. You show me something, tell me I can’t investigate it, I’m liable to investigate it. You show me something and tell me I can investigate it, I’m liable to investigate it. I mean, there is no influence in that line. I, just down through the trillennia, I have not paid attention to and/or paid no attention to people who have told me not to look. I just have not paid any attention to this one way or the other. This, of course, adds up to a total neglect of the ‘finer sensibilities,’ I think they’re called, of other people. The finer sensibilities, I think, is another way of expressing the idea ‘he’s too yellow to look.’” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 25, 1962
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“If you can tolerate running your legs off, getting grey hairs, bags under your eyes, streteched wits in the course of a day’s work amongst the living lightning, these could be a place for you in the Office of the LRH Comm Flagship. You’ve no idea what it takes at times to get an order duplicated, activated, executed and completed! Cats with some lives left who want it hot and dangerous can volunteer for the hottest spot aboard. Drop me a line — today — saying WHY you want a job with LRH Comm Flagship and I’ll look it over.” — LRH Comm Flagship, January 25, 1971
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“If no one trains to be an auditor then Scientology will be dead in the future. There are two major ‘stops’ to training, time and money. There are people who might want to train who believe they can’t afford it. If someone would start a fund raising campaign and collect funds that could be given as grants for studying that might help. For example if there was a grant available for training, I could advertise for someone who would be willing to become and auditor if he/she had financial help. Just a thought.”
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1996: A German court this week banned a Scientology-operated company from training young people because of its use of the OCA personality test. From Reuters: “The court ruled that the personality tests were used to harshly interrogate the Dusseldorf real estate company’s trainees. The tests amounted to maltreatment of young people entrusted to the company, violating laws on vocational training. It was the first time a German court had ruled against the tests which the Scientology church also uses to recruit new members, offering expensive books and courses of treatment to resolve personality problems diagnosed in the tests. The Dusseldorf case centered on three young women who were in training at the real estate company in 1993. They were told to take the test to examine their communication skills. The women complained to the local Chamber of Commerce because they felt the company was exerting psychological pressure to make them take the test.”
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“People say to me, ‘So, have you met a Scientologist?’ And I laugh and think to myself, ‘What a beautiful thing,’ because maybe one day it will be like that, you know? You know what I’m saying. Maybe one day it will be that ‘Wow, Scientologists, they just read about those in the history books.’ You know?”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Last hearing was on January 18, referred to grand jury.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff’s sentencing to be scheduled.
— Hanan and Rizza Islam and other family members, Medi-Cal fraud: Pretrial conference January 27 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for February 11.
— Joseph ‘Ben’ Barton, Medicare fraud: Pleaded guilty, awaiting sentencing.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Next hearing February 15.
Civil litigation:
— Luis and Rocio Garcia v. Scientology: Eleventh Circuit affirmed ruling granting Scientology’s motion for arbitration. Garcias considering next move.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ US Supreme Court denied Valerie’s petition Oct 4.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Scientology has said it will file an anti-SLAPP motion.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Third amended complaint filed, trial set for June 28.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: Trial concluded, Cannane victorious, awarded court costs. Case appealed on Dec 23. Appeal hearing held Aug 23-27. Awaiting a ruling.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Lawsuit filed by the FTC and state of Georgia in August, now in discovery phase.
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THE PROSECUTION OF DANNY MASTERSON
We first broke the news of the LAPD’s investigation of Scientology celebrity Danny Masterson on rape allegations in 2017, and we’ve been covering the story every step of the way since then. At this page we’ve collected our most important links, including our four days in Los Angeles covering the preliminary hearing and its ruling, which has Danny facing trial and the potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.
After the success of their double-Emmy-winning, three-season A&E series ‘Scientology and the Aftermath,’ Leah Remini and Mike Rinder continue the conversation on their podcast, ‘Scientology: Fair Game.’ We’ve created a landing page where you can hear all of the episodes so far.
LEAH REMINI: SCIENTOLOGY AND THE AFTERMATH
An episode-by-episode guide to Leah Remini’s three-season, double-Emmy winning series that changed everything for Scientology watching. Originally aired from 2016 to 2019 on the A&E network, and now on Netflix.
SCIENTOLOGY’S CELEBRITIES, from A to Z
Find your favorite Hubbardite celeb at this index page — or suggest someone to add to the list!
Other links: SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS: Tom Cruise and dirty tricks. Scientology’s Ideal Orgs, from one end of the planet to the other. Scientology’s sneaky front groups, spreading the good news about L. Ron Hubbard while pretending to benefit society. Scientology Lit: Books reviewed or excerpted in a weekly series. How many have you read?
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THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Scientology in Russia: Historian Chris Owen does the deep dive we’ve been waiting for
[TWO years ago] My mom is the auditor in the ‘Reckless Ben’ Scientology infiltration videos
[THREE years ago] Scientology’s ‘grass roots’ social media effort is actually led by its most mediocre spokesman
[FOUR years ago] The Battle of Portland, part 2: Pressuring a court by surrounding it with Scientologists and celebs
[FIVE years ago] Brandon Reisdorf: Scientology complained to probation dept. over ‘Leah Remini’ appearance
[SIX years ago] For a class-action lawsuit against Scientology’s rehab network, a setback in California
[SEVEN years ago] ‘Going Clear’ premieres at Sundance, and we watched in awe with the celebs
[EIGHT years ago] Jon Atack: Do Scientology’s training routines turn you into a sociopath?
[NINE years ago] Newsweek Confirms It: L. Ron Hubbard Was a Blowhard
[TEN years ago] The Strange Death of Flo Barnett, Mother-in-Law to Scientology Leader David Miscavige
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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 2,555 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,060 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,580 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,600 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,491 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 4,798 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 2,666 days.
Carol Nyburg has not seen her daughter Nancy in 3,440 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 1,771 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,244 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,560 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,126 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,045 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,213 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 3,794 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,055 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,091 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 2,806 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,331 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 686 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 1,861 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,412 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,561 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 3,881 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 8,736 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 3,855 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,211 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,514 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,620 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,018 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 2,894 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,477 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 2,972 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,226 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,335 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 25, 2022 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, 1995-2021 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2021), The Village Voice (2008-2012), New Times Los Angeles (1999-2002) and the Phoenix New Times (1995-1999)
Other links: BLOGGING DIANETICS: Reading Scientology’s founding text cover to cover | UP THE BRIDGE: Claire Headley and Bruce Hines train us as Scientologists | GETTING OUR ETHICS IN: Jefferson Hawkins explains Scientology’s system of justice | SCIENTOLOGY MYTHBUSTING: Historian Jon Atack discusses key Scientology concepts | Shelly Miscavige, 15 years gone | The Lisa McPherson story told in real time | The Cathriona White stories | The Leah Remini ‘Knowledge Reports’ | Hear audio of a Scientology excommunication | Scientology’s little day care of horrors | Whatever happened to Steve Fishman? | Felony charges for Scientology’s drug rehab scam | Why Scientology digs bomb-proof vaults in the desert | PZ Myers reads L. Ron Hubbard’s “A History of Man” | Scientology’s Master Spies | The mystery of the richest Scientologist and his wayward sons | Scientology’s shocking mistreatment of the mentally ill | The Underground Bunker’s Official Theme Song | The Underground Bunker FAQ
Watch our short videos that explain Scientology’s controversies in three minutes or less…
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates, or join us at the Underground Bunker’s Facebook discussion group for more frivolity.
Our non-Scientology stories: Robert Burnham Jr., the man who inscribed the universe | Notorious alt-right inspiration Kevin MacDonald and his theories about Jewish DNA | The selling of the “Phoenix Lights” | Astronomer Harlow Shapley‘s FBI file | Sex, spies, and local TV news | Battling Babe-Hounds: Ross Jeffries v. R. Don Steele
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
