Hey, we’re back at the Clara Shortridge Foltz Criminal Justice Center this morning to find out if Danny Masterson will be facing a retrial on rape charges that could put him in prison for life.
On November 30, his first trial ended in a hung jury when deliberations were deadlocked on all three counts of forcible rape he’s facing. But in each case, there were more votes for acquittal than conviction which, Meghann Cuniff wrote in an excellent summary of the case yesterday for Los Angeles magazine, “certainly gives District Attorney George Gascon’s office something to chew on.”
She also pointed out that defense attorney Philip Cohen himself said at a news conference after the mistrial that it would be a longshot to ask the court to toss the rape charges and prevent the DA from retrying Masterson. We told you previously about the motion that Cohen filed last week, which relied heavily on the juror interview that was conducted by Chris Shelton and your proprietor.
Other attorneys we’ve talked to said that Cohen’s filing was “perfunctory.” In other words, Judge Charlaine Olmedo is not likely to toss the charges if the DA wants another go.
But does he? The DA’s office will be represented again by Deputy DAs Reinhold Mueller and Ariel Anson.
Like during the trial, we plan on being in the courtroom writing down as much that is said as we possibly can. It’s a tougher task when the attorneys are presenting arguments but we’ll try to keep up.
Make sure to watch your inbox for a report coming on Substack, and after the hearing is done we’ll go outside the courthouse to make a short video, just like during the trial.
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Mark Bunker making progress in Clearwater?
We received this message late last night from Wise Beard Man…
“We discussed a potential land swap with Scientology at today’s work session. I came up with my proposed solution…and one council member actually agreed with me. A sure sign of the apocalypse.”
Watch it yourself in this video from the session…
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Technology Cocktail
“We find this fellow who has been a linotype operator for eight thousand seven hundred and sixty-two months, or something of the sort. We don’t have to be specific. We pick a linotype machine, and we say if he got into earth he certainly got there via some sort of apparatus he was controlling, so we say, ‘All right, what could a linotype machine say to you?’ He would think it over for a moment. A very literal-minded fellow would probably say, ‘It could say clank’.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1954
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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 Danny faces a potential sentence of 45 years to life in prison. NOW WITH TRIAL INDEX.
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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 [20] Halloween special [21] Nov 2: Day Thirteen [22] Nov 3: Day Fourteen [23] Nov 4: Day Fifteen [24] Third week in review [25] Nov 5, Saturday special [26] Nov 6, Sunday special [27] Nov 7, Day Sixteen [28] Lisa Marie Presley breaking news [29] Nov 8, Day Seventeen [30] Nov 9, Day Eighteen [31] Nov 10, Day Nineteen
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“A little bulletin here: Aussies, hang your head in shame! All through the Commonwealth with the greatest of ease, I was able to slow down this government raid on the church in Washington, but not in Australia. You see, the lines go straight from Australia to the United States and back and forth. And the whole rigged government release in Washington landed scram-bang into the press in Australia. So Australia is a seething mess of ‘God ‘elp us’ now, and somebody from the Australian syndicate is coming down to see me tomorrow, and they want to know all about it. I’m not going to tell them very much beyond a fascist government raided a church. I’ll tell them, Be very, very careful, though, because apparently there’s a million dollars in the offing to fight this in the United States. They actually got all kinds of leads and money pouring in like mad from all directions, and the situation looks very dark for the United States.” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 10, 1963
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“Bless AOLA! They held their trend and all the GDSes continue to go up like rockets and their GI is over $41,000. They’re a great team, and we admire them.” — The Commodore, January 10, 1971
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“The mainstream media is a classic example of the third party law in our 4th dynamic. It’s just so damn evil and is stirring up all these problems amongst us, yet appears superficially to be just reporting the news. The people chose Trump and the media are totally assisting in the stealing of the election. They are so so bad and if we eradicated them life on earth would be so much better. They are 1.1 disgusting scum. The media is a classic example of a 1.1 industry.”
1996: In Entertainment Weekly, Scientologist Kirstie Alley follows the party line in attacking Psychiatry. “FREE ADVICE – Producers of Frasier take note. Don’t expect Kirstie Alley to join the parade of former Cheers stars…dropping in on Kelsey Grammer. The actress admits she disapproves of Dr. Crane’s profession. ‘I don’t condone psychiatry or helping people with drugs,’ says Alley, whose views are in keeping with her status as a card-carrying Scientologist. ‘When he was on Cheers, Frasier was so goofball. But Frasier [the show] makes a hero out of a psychiatrist, and in my book they ain’t heroes.’ Alley confesses there might be one way to lure her onto the hit NBC sitcom: ‘I’d do a cameo if I could play the world’s most screwed-up psychiatrist.'”
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“Miscavige isn’t that old and he’s got plenty of money, real estate, and willing slaves to play with. I saw an interview with Pol Pot shortly before he died and it boiled down to him saying he wished he could do some things over but he did what he thought was best for the people of Cambodia. Miscavige is either a non-believer who thinks ‘suckers get what they deserve and if it wasn’t me somebody else would be fleecing these idiots’ or he’s a believer and thinks ‘Yes, I’ve been a strongman, but that’s what was necessary to insure the survival of this organization.’ Caesar or charlatan?”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Mistrial declared November 30. Status conference scheduled January 10, retrial scheduled March 27.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Plea deadline scheduled for December 16.
— Jay and Jeff Spina, Medicare fraud: Jay sentenced to 9 years in prison. Jeff scheduled to time served with three years supervised release, restitution of $9.7 million.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud: Next pretrial hearing December 9.
— 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 November 17 to argue the arbitration motions, awaiting ruling.
— 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 February 7.
— 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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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] Another ‘Chase Wave’ witness, and Scientology’s ‘ludicrous’ money grab!
[TWO years ago] Adding insult to injury, Valerie Haney faces a hearing for $160,000 in sanctions this week
[THREE years ago] Activists find Scientologist French police tried for years to question about 2006 suicide
[FOUR years ago] Uh-oh. Someone trusted a whole bunch of money to a wealthy Scientologist.
[FIVE years ago] Xenu or Xemu? Here’s our take on one of Scientology’s galactic-wide mysteries
[SIX years ago] Tonight on ‘Leah Remini’: Once again, Scientology’s a horror show for the mentally ill
[SEVEN years ago] A business executive looks at Scientology as a (poorly run) business
[EIGHT years ago] COMING IN MAY: A book about Scientology’s most infamous campaign of terror
[NINE years ago] Black hearts and burning crosses: Scientology litigation is getting weird in Texas
[TEN years ago] Scientology True Crime: A First Look at Nancy Many’s Docudrama Airing January 16
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology and Oiliness: More Renderings from the Super Power Building
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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 2,905 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,410 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 2,960 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 1,950 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 1,841 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,146 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,016 days.
Doug Kramer has not seen his parents Linda and Norm in 2,121 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,594 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 3,910 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,476 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,395 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,563 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,144 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,405 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,441 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,156 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 2,721 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,036 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,211 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 6,762 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 3,893 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,231 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,086 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,205 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,561 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 6,864 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 2,970 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,368 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,244 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 2,827 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,322 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,576 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 14,685 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 10, 2023 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
