PODCAST: Looking back at the second week of testimony in the Danny Masterson trial

The second week of testimony at the Danny Masterson trial in Los Angeles had more surprises for us than we were expecting. And we’ve been glad you’ve been with us on this rather crazy ride.

The bizarre testimony of Scientologist Shaun Fabos got things going on Monday, but Jane Doe 3’s effective days on the stand, and the shocking picture she painted of Masterson, was the big story of the week.

And things ended on another bombshell Friday, with LAPD Detective Deborah Myers revealing that Jane Doe 1’s original case may have ended in 2004 not because the DA’s office didn’t think it was worthwhile, but simply because Myers had a vacation scheduled that she couldn’t change. Stunning. That was fresh in our mind as we left the courthouse yesterday and recorded our end-of-day video, which then went out to subscribers. We’re releasing the video below for everyone.

And once again, with the week done, we sat down with Jeffrey Augustine, who has also been in court with us, to go over some highlights of the last few days, which not only included Jane Doe 3’s revelations about Scientology, but also some strange courtroom behavior from an attorney who turned out to be tied to the Masterson defense.

Substack won’t let us embed the podcast here, but it went out on email this morning, and you can go to it directly with this link.

As always, we’re looking forward to seeing your thoughts on the trial as well. So please give us some of your thoughts about moments in testimony, or coverage of the case, or anything else that struck you this week.

 
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Technology Cocktail

“As an individual follows the dwindling spiral downward in regard to MEST, he attacks smaller and smaller spheres of activity or MEST. If he fails on a large sphere, he attacks a smaller one, and failing that then attacks yet a smaller sphere until finally there is but the last sphere available for attack: His own body. Psychosomatic illnesses then become chronic and the individual slides downward toward death.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1951

 
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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 as trial begins and Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison.

 
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THE PODCAST: How many have you heard?

— The Underground Bunker Podcast

[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker [15] Jon Atack [16] Mirriam Francis [17] Bruce Hines on MSH

— SPECIAL: The best TV show on Scientology you never got to see

[1] Phil Jones [2] Derek Bloch [3] Carol Nyburg [4] Katrina Reyes [5] Jamie DeWolf

— SPECIAL: Your Proprietor’s updates on the Danny Masterson trial

[1] Sep 21 [2] Sep 28 [3] Oct 4 [4] Oct 10 [5] Oct 11: Day One [6] Oct 12: Day Two [7] Oct 13: Day Three [8] Oct 17: Day Four [9] Oct 18: Day Five [10] Oct 19: Day Six [11] Special interview with Chris Shelton, Oct 19 [12] Oct 20: Day Seven [13] Oct 21: Day Eight [14] First week in review, with Jeffrey Augustine [15] Oct 24: Day Nine [16] Oct 25: Day Ten [17] Oct 27: Day Eleven [18] Oct 28: Day Twelve [19] Second week in review, with Jeffrey Augustine

— The Underground Bunker Podcast on YouTube

[1] Marc Headley [2] Claire Headley [3] Jeffrey Augustine [4] Bruce Hines [5] Sunny Pereira [6] Pete Griffiths [7] Geoff Levin [8] Patty Moher [9] Marc Headley [10] Jefferson Hawkins [11] Michelle ‘Emma’ Ryan [12] Paulette Cooper [13] Jesse Prince [14] Mark Bunker

 
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Source Code

“The fellow who has voices talking to him inside of his head is much better off than the fellow who has voices talking to him from way outside his head. Odd that psychiatry classifies people quite in reverse. People who have voices talking to them from the outside are sane and those who have voices talking to them from inside of their head are very often classified as insane. As a matter of fact, I read a paragraph in one of their innumerable, contradictory books which had to do with just that. It said that one could always tell whether or not a person was psychotic, because the spoken voices – the speaking voices and so forth – were invariably inside the person’s head if the person were psychotic. Couldn’t they face the idea that these voices very often come from outside?” — L. Ron Hubbard, October 29, 1953

Avast, Ye Mateys

“In the early days of the ship the entire crew consisted of only 79 to 90 people. When the ROYAL SCOTMAN became an AO, students crowded aboard and the ship was forced into cope in order to handle them. Spaniards made up the bulk of the stewards and cooks. A non SO chief steward, who later blew, kept the Department in, for him, a suitable state of chaos. After the AO was moved to Alicante, the Stewards Department did well when Mary Sue was Captain and afterwards began to have its ups and downs.” — The Commodore, October 29, 1971

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“While he was able to establish a secure base in Morocco in 1972 with the help of the local government, the former colonial power of France had issued an international arrest warrant via Interpol for L. Ron Hubbard for alleged fraud. When LRH flew to the US within hours due to this on December 3, 1972, in order to defend himself in this matter – which the former basis for operation at sea made impossible – he was taken into custody by US agents at the New York airport and taken into a secret US prison as an enemy of the state, without the chance of a fair hearing and trial. He has been missing ever since.”

 
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Past is Prologue

1999: Bob Minton reported friends in Boston and New Hampshire, and his daughter’s schools have been sent packets from Scientology. “This past weekend I got calls from people in Boston who said they received a letter from Scientology that read as follows: ‘If you have any dealings with Bob Minton of 137 Fremont Rd., Sandown, New Hampshire, please be aware of his activities on the Internet.’ Attached to the unsigned note were 2 posts to a.r.s made by Diane Richardson on 29 Sept and 30 Sept which amounted to 7 pages attached to the letter. Diane’s messages were purported to be IRC logs in which I had allegedly used profanity. I received calls from 5 different people in Sandown, New Hampshire, from different parts of town, telling me of the same letter. So that is the second mailing to over 4,000 residents here. Today, the two schools that my daughters attend in Boston received the same letter, again mailed from Boston.”

 
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Random Howdy

“You kids need to look around before you start posting comments willy-nilly.”

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

Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Trial began October 11 in Los Angeles.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Arraigned on August 29.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff scheduled to be sentenced on Oct 28.
— Rizza Islam, Medi-Cal fraud: Trial scheduled for March 1 in Los Angeles
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial conference set for September 19.
— Yanti Mike Greene, Scientology private eye accused of contempt of court: Found guilty of criminal and civil contempt.

Civil litigation:
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Complaint filed April 28 in Tampa federal court, Scientology moving to compel arbitration. Plaintiffs filed amended complaint on August 2. Hearing scheduled November 17 to argue the arbitration motions.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ Selection of arbitrators underway. Next court hearing: February 2, 2023.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Appellate court removes requirement of arbitration on January 19, case remanded back to Superior Court. Stay in place at least through December 13.
— Brian Statler Sr v. City of Inglewood: Case settled ahead of scheduled Dec 6 trial.
— Author Steve Cannane defamation trial: New trial ordered after appeals court overturned prior 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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SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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] After a year and a half, Scientology’s cruise ship finally sails — to Curaçao drydock
[TWO years ago] Truths about Nxivm leader Keith Raniere that his loyalists still refuse to face
[THREE years ago] Scientology threw its annual IAS party on L. Ron Hubbard Way, and once again we had a mole
[FOUR years ago] Ahoy, matey: We have Scientology’s new Sea Org application!
[FIVE years ago] In Canada, Scientology does not get the welcome it might have been expecting
[SIX years ago] Amassing the real history of Scientology has been a long and dramatic relay race
[SEVEN years ago] Hey, tabloids: Tom Cruise once again attends Scientology gala as its poster boy
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology’s ‘Mecca’ awaits: More tantalizing glimpses of Hubbardian Heaven on Earth
[NINE years ago] Claire Headley Gets Us Ready to Go Solo: More Prep for Scientology OT!
[TEN years ago] List of People Who Have Left Scientology and Spoken Out Reaches 2,000 Names
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology Dumpster-Dive: Commenters of the Week!

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on October 29, 2022 at 09:00

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