It’s Boxing Day in some of the countries that read the Underground Bunker, and while we don’t really understand this strange custom, we’re just happy if you’re enjoying yourself on this day after Christmas.
We thought it might be a good time to remind the general public, at this quiet time of year, that Scientology is, to its very core, a deceptive, duplicitous organization, and that no public official, no government institution, no innocent onlooker, should ever take anything Scientology says on face value.
This is a totalitarian organization built on the principle of taking over the world by looking down on and disregarding the rest of us and our quaint laws and morals and ethics, none of which Scientology respects in the slightest.
Our helper who digs through newspaper archives recently brought to us a wonderful example of this, one of the best of all time really, which allows us not only to remind you about Scientology’s true nature, but also to celebrate the hard work done by the journalists of the St. Petersburg Times, now the Tampa Bay Times, which has done heroic work over the years exposing Scientology’s controversies, with Tracey McManus continuing that tradition today.
What we’re referring to is the way Scientology surreptitiously crawled into Clearwater, Florida in 1975 after founder L. Ron Hubbard had gotten sick of running Scientology from sea for the previous eight years and wanted a town to take over. In order to accomplish it, he had his minions create a couple of front operations — the Southern Land and Development Corporation, which said it was looking for buildings to purchase on behalf of a tenant it called the United Churches of Florida.
Both were actually Scientology, but they kept up the ruse long enough to get control of Clearwater’s iconic Fort Harrison Hotel and the nearby Clearwater Bank building, all without the locals realizing that they’d been invaded by Hubbard’s fanatical followers.
It was Clearwater mayor Gabe Cazares who began to ask publicly why something calling itself the “United Churches of Florida” had not only taken over the town’s major hotel, but also that it was patrolling it with security guards armed with billy clubs. What kind of a “church” was this?
Then, on January 29, 1976, the St. Pete Times revealed the truth that it was Scientology that had used fake names to buy the buildings.
We thought it would be fun to look at that piece again, and think about what it must have been like in that town to hear that news. If you were there at the time, we’d love to hear how it struck you.
But we’ll say it again: After this date, no public official should ever have taken Scientology at its word again, and it still shocks us that they do today.
Church of Scientology surfaces as Fort Harrison Hotel owner
By Ardith Hilliard and Jeanne Pugh
CLEARWATER — The controversial Church of Scientology of California, describing itself as “the foremost religious reform group in America and the world,” announced Wednesday that it is the real buyer of the Fort Harrison Hotel and is backing United Churches of Florida, the hotel’s tenants.
Pushed into revealing its “95 percent backing” of the venture by a rising tide of public curiosity and distrust, the Church of Scientology flew a spokesman to the Tampa Bay area in the early morning hours to make the announcement.
The spokesman, Rev. Arthur J. Maren of Los Angeles, told reporters that the church had decided originally to keep out of the picture, even to the extent of not letting the hotel sellers know about the tie, to spare the fledgling United Churches of Florida publicity.
“Because of previous controversy…(the Church of Scientology) would have overshadowed United Churches,” he said.
Since Southern Land and Development Corp. bought the hotel last month, the new renters, United Churches, have housed more than 300 persons in the former hotel and have evaded reporters’ repeated attempts to learn details about it and Southern Land. Armed guards at the Fort Harrison’s doors have thwarted many attempts to enter the building.
Clearwater Mayor Gabriel Cazares, publicly incensed by the guards’ presence and the renters’ evasiveness, reacted strongly to the Church of Scientology’s announcement.
“This confirms what we suspected from the beginning,” he said. “They did not level with us…they have misused our ministers, they have misled the public, and they have evaded the truth.”
Looking out his city hall office window at the hotel, he told a reporter…
“The Fort Harrison has been there for half a century and now, for the first time, it is actually a fort…it’s frightening.”
Pointing incredulously to guards on the hotel roof, he added, “There’s no doubt about it. Those are armed guards on regular patrol.”
A request by Cazares for an on-the-spot tour of the Fort Harrison and the old Bank of Clearwater building was turned down at a late-afternoon meeting between the mayor and the Church of Scientology representatives.
“I think that’s out of line,” said Maren when Cazares proposed to walk from his city hall office to the nearby Fort Harrison for an impromptu look at what the mayor said has become “an armed fortress.”
Maren said it is not his right to intrude on the activities of United Churches of Florida with no warning.
Cazares had just questioned Maren about reports of motorcycles on the Fort Harrison roof, paper shredders and “coded messages” being sent into the building. Maren said he knew nothing about these reports but would “check into them.”
Maren said that in backing United Churches, “the idea was to unite religions for community and social betterment and not an idea to propagate Scientology.”
Cazares called this “a gratuitous insult.”
“I seriously challenge the need for such a group here,” he said, recalling that a cooperative enterprise organized about 10 years ago, Religious Community Services Inc., would seem to serve the same purpose.
Maren said Southern Land was set up as a sort of middleman to acquire the property, and 95 per cent of the $2.3 million cash came from Church of Scientology coffers.
He said L. Ron Hubbard, former science fiction writer who founded the church, was in the area for a short time helping to set up a radio show planned as a bulwarks of the financing of United Churches. Maren was vague on Hubbard’s whereabouts now, as he was on detailed questions about main figures in all the organizations involved.
He said the Church of Scientology amassed the wealth needed to buy the hotel by offering lectures and through “personal counseling.” He said the hotel will continue to be used as a convention center and meeting place for members of various religions.
He described Scientology as a non-denominational belief “akin to Buddhism in a sense.”
Two of eight Clearwater area ministers listed by United Churches as members said they were unaware of its tie with the Church of Scientology.
Rev. Otis Green of Everybody’s Tabernacle and Rev. John S. Gatewood, St. Paul United Methodist Church, said their agreement hinged solely upon their decisions to accept an unsolicited offer from United Churches to give them an hour of free radio time. Rev. Gatewood said he had decided before Wednesday’s announcement to withdraw.
The other six ministers could not be reached.
In a meeting with Cazares several hours after the announcement, Maren indicated that Sorrel Allen, United Churches’ membership and public affairs director, may be relieved of his position because of the publicity that got out of hand. He said Allen “was in a difficult position, and part of his difficulty was in not communicating how hot the situation was.”
Earlier, Maren had explained the guards as an attempt to prevent robberies, but conceded that their intense inspection of strangers could be an indication “that United Churches was getting a little uptight.”
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Continuing our year in review: The stories of June 2023
We began the month still reeling, of course, from the news of Danny Masterson’s conviction. But there was also the intriguing subplot of the leak of prosecution material to the Church of Scientology, and Judge Charlaine Olmedo ordered Masterson’s attorneys to appear at a meeting to discuss it.
It was in June that we got the distressing news that Mike Rinder had been diagnosed with stage four esophageal cancer. He’s doing remarkably well, and we’re glad that he and Christie Collbran have assembled such a good medical team to take it on.
After hearing from the DA’s office, Judge Olmedo ruled that Danny Masterson’s previous legal team, defense attorneys Tom Mesereau and Sharon Appelbaum, were responsible for leaking the sensitive prosecution evidence to Scientology’s attorneys, and she sanctioned them.
The same day, we learned that federal Judge Thomas Barber was granting Valeska Paris and the Baxters the right to appeal his ruling about forcing their labor trafficking lawsuit into “religious arbitration.”
With Masterson convicted, we could now tell the story of Damian Perkins, a remarkable former Scientologist who had helped bring Masterson’s victims together before they went to the LAPD.
Chicago Fire star Christian Stolte did us a favor by coming on our podcast to tell us about his days as a Scientologist.
We learned that an independent Scientologist named Victoria Palmer was running for Seattle City Council, and she was good enough to answer some of our questions.
In a surprise, one of Danny Masterson’s victims, Jane Doe 1, had filed a separate civil lawsuit against Scientology, its leader David Miscavige, and Sea Org recruiter Gavin Potter, alleging that she’d been forced to marry Potter and considered her sexual contacts with him to be non-consensual. In June, her lawsuit was unsealed and we began to read some of the terrible details about how she was forced into such an awful situation.
And then another surprise: After years of waiting for Rizza Islam’s charge on Medi-Cal fraud to begin, the state dropped its case against him just as the trial started. We still don’t know why.
Yashar Ali had a bombshell report about Shelly Miscavige, showing that when Leah Remini had filed her missing person report, the LAPD had met with Shelly in a coffee shop in West Covina, and while she was accompanied by David Miscavige’s personal attorney, Jeffrey Riffer. Also, that she had renewed her drivers license, also in West Covina, in 2010, and her years of confinement showed in her photo.
A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2022: California Supreme Court refuses to dismiss rape charges against Danny Masterson. Michael Peña and his wife Brie Shaffer join the Scientologists moving from Los Angeles to Clearwater, Florida. Joy Villa spotted staffing a Scientology table in Brighton. After Roe v. Wade, we asked Claire Headley how it might affect Scientology.
A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2021: An indication that Scientology was calling the shots in Danny Masterson’s defense, and why he needed to sell his Hollywood Hills home in a hurry. Video leak of a crazy Austin fundraiser. The Bunker lost Puget Buckeye. And then the world lost Ron Miscavige.
A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2020: Scientology orgs were being boarded up for questionable reasons. Danny Masterson’s stepdad Rusty Tweed was sued for running a Ponzi scheme. Mark Bunker got bizarre records requests from Scientology. LA’s DA finally charged Danny Masterson for three rapes. And we pointed out there was a good reason he changed his DJ name in 2004, the year one of his alleged rape victims went to the LAPD. Derek Bloch wrote us another killer piece, on disconnection. And why Tom Mesereau’s private investigator might become a key witness for the prosecution>
A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2019: Chris Owen demonstrated how L. Ron Hubbard sought to prop up the apartheid government in South Africa in 1960s. Mark Bunker announced that he was going to run for city council in Clearwater. A national legal team starts its onslaught on Scientology, filing a lawsuit on behalf of Valerie Haney. Journal claims L. Ron Hubbard never falsely claimed to have a college degree, so we published a letter to prove it. HowdyCon took place in our ancestral homeland, Los Angeles. We didn’t get invited to Tommy Davis’s wedding.
A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2018: Chris Owen uncovered a previously unpublished and damning testament by the ‘world’s first true Clear,’ John McMaster. Actress Erika Christensen dropped a few interesting details in a conversation with Dax Shepard. HowdyCon was held in Chicago, and we revealed the cover of our new book with Paulette Cooper. Actor Christian Stolte was the star of the show with a song about Scientology. Sunny Pereira had three big pieces about a shooting in Portland, more about how children are raised in Scientology, and another slice of Sea Org horror.
A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2017: Leah Remini’s stepmother Donna Fiore was being hounded by Scientology for dirt on her stepdaughter. Handbag designer Rebecca Minkoff stepped up her support of Scientology front groups. Marty Rathbun started posting attack videos against his former allies, prompting responses from your proprietor, Gary Morehead, Victoria Britton, Paul Haggis, and John Brousseau. And HowdyCon 2017 went down in Denver.
A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2016: We marked Muhammad Ali’s passing with a look at a Scientology video he was in. We published Dani Lemberger’s “declare.” And we broke the news that Leah Remini was shooting a television series.
A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2015: We wrote about that time Jim Jones talked about Paulette Cooper from his Guyana compound. We wrote about a person in our book, the inspirational Len Zinberg. We did some live-blogging from the epic Toronto conference organized by Jon Atack. We broke the news that Scientologist Ponzi schemer Reed Slatkin had died. Some poor schlub went to prison after trying to hack Mike Rinder and your proprietor on behalf of Scientology. And we had our biggest audience yet with Paulette Cooper in Clearwater, the belly of the beast.
A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2014: Another distressing disconnection story: Where is Sami Sterne? A rare audio recording captures L. Ron Hubbard and his wife Mary Sue using an e-meter to come up with the space cooties portion of Scientology. Why we think Original OT 8 is not a hoax — the George White story.
A LOOK BACK AT JUNE 2013: Channel 4’s documentary about Marty Rathbun, Scientologists at War, Neil Gaiman’s Scientology history behind his novel The Ocean at the End of the Lane, and Joe Childs on Denise Gentile’s blunts.
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Technology Cocktail
“I have seen much human misery. As a very young man I wandered through Asia and saw the agony and misery of overpopulated and underdeveloped lands. I have seen people uncaring and stepping over dying men in the streets. I have seen children less than rags and bones. And amongst this poverty and degradation I found holy places where wisdom was great, but where it was carefully hidden and given out only as superstition. Later, in Western universities, I saw Man obsessed with materiality and with all his cunning, I saw him hide what little wisdom he really had in forbidding halls and make it inaccessible to the common and less favored man. I have been through a terrible war and saw its terror and pain uneased by a single word of decency or humanity. I have lived no cloistered life and hold in contempt the wise man who has not lived and the scholar who will not share. There have been many wiser men than I, but few have travelled as much road.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1965
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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?
[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
— The first Danny Masterson trial and beyond
[18] Trial special with Chris Shelton [19] Trial week one [20] Marc Headley on the spy in the hallway [21] Trial week two [22] Trial week three [23] Trial week four [24] Leah Remini on LAPD Corruption [25] Mike Rinder 2022 Thanksgiving Special [26] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part One [27] Jane Doe 4 (Tricia Vessey), Part Two [28] Claire Headley on the trial [29] Tory Christman [30] Bruce Hines on spying [31] Karen de la Carriere [32] Ron Miscavige on Shelly Miscavige [33] Karen de la Carriere on the L’s [34] Mark Bunker on Miscavige hiding [35] Mark Plummer [36] Mark Ebner [37] Karen Pressley [38] Steve Cannane [39] Fredrick Brennan [40] Clarissa Adams [41] Louise Shekter [42] John Sweeney [43] Tory Christman [44] Kate Bornstein [45] Christian Stolte [46] Mark Bunker [47] Jon Atack [48] Luke Y. Thompson [49] Mark Ebner [50] Bruce Hines [51] Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley [51] Geoff and Robbie Levin [52] Sands Hall [53] Jonny Jacobsen [54] Sandy Holeman
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“A good manager or executive works hard hour by hour to keep the show on the road but always with a long-term view as well. And he intends that org and staff will prosper. The auditor in Post Purpose Clearing will get a lot of glib answers. The stats, the honest ones, and the true long-term performance of the executive, measured by the health of his zone of responsibility, tell the tale and should be consulted when in doubt.” — L. Ron Hubbard, December 26, 1981
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“SECOND DANGER FORMULA: (1) So that the Ship can get upgraded to EMERGENCY the following actions are to be done as indicated: (1:1) All Divisional Heads are requested to do a full star-rate check-out with the STO on the ‘Second DANGER Formula,’ (HCO PL 07 Feb 70, steps A-G). Time Machine Order 48 hours. (STO to inform FMAA at the end of 48 hrs of those who have checked-out.) (1:2) All Divisional Heads are requested to submit a complete and realistic application of the ‘Second DANGER Formula’ for their Division in writing to 3rd Mate, (CC). Time Machine Order of one week. (2) The intention is that the ship will be upgraded to EMERGENCY for the New Year, (AD 21).” — R.S. Prior, FMAA, December 26, 1970
“I’ve been told (scouting various sites and listening to interviews) that certain ‘aliens’ envy human bodies for their sensitivity and ability to emote and feel with sensitivity. Apparently theirs are constructed for war and space duty, and have a pretty drab existence (but less pain and injury — the apparent trade-off in this place and time). That said, auditing doesn’t seem to work as well on bodies being loaded down with animal flesh and animal products and chemicals that the body wasn’t designed to process. Living in such a body can sometimes indeed, fit the description of ‘hell.’ Expecting auditing to make a well and happy body without some attention to detox (Purif), seemingly can’t go too far for too long. Hence, the Purification Rundown.”
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1996: Excerpts from an article in St. Petersburg Times concerning Scientology in Germany. “Germans can be the most convenient of scapegoats, and it’s not too hard to figure out why. Today’s Germany may be a modern, liberal democracy but half a century after World War II, millions of people around the world still have trouble thinking about the country without dredging up images of Adolf Hitler and jackbooted SS killers. “So even though most of today’s Germans weren’t even alive during those brutal years, if some little understood group claiming to be a religious organization complains about being singled out for persecution, there is often a presumption of guilt. The words ‘Nazi’ and ‘Holocaust’ somehow don’t seem all that out of place. “All these presumptions and prejudices are being debated here these days because of an increasingly bitter dispute between German authorities and the Church of Scientology, the controversial group whose spiritual headquarters is in Clearwater. Just this past week, Chancellor Helmut Kohl announced the creation of a federal office to monitor Scientology’s activities in Germany and keep church members out of key public jobs. The Church of Scientology is fighting back the best way it knows how – accusing German authorities, in the most public and embarrassing way possible, of reverting to the country’s Nazi past. And even if some might consider the charge a far-fetched exaggeration, it’s gaining resonance in Germany and throughout the world. [A] dedicated Scientology foe is Ralf Burmester, a 40-year-old Hamburg lawyer who specializes in representing ex-Scientologists who feel the organization has taken financial advantage of them. ‘Normally, by the time they come to me they are finished, ruined, and they know it,’ says Burmester ‘Typically, it’s a young man or woman who’s an office worker, a clerk or an accountant in a large firm. They join Scientology and buy a flat through a company controlled by Scientologists for about 200,000 deutsche marks ($135,500). This is not the kind of flat they can afford, but with the help of the Scientologists, they get a bank loan for that amount. But only 150,000 deutsche marks ($102,000) is for the flat. The other 50,000 marks goes directly to Scientology. ‘After a while,’ continues Burmester, ‘they can’t make their payments. The bank starts pressing but they don’t have the money. They’re stuck. Scientology has its 50,000 but they’re stuck. It’s an impossible situation but it happens all the time here. Eventually many of them come to me, usually frightened and desperate, no money, no more job, no insurance or social security.”
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“You’re better off trying to kick dope or booze at home than going to a Narconon. It would be safer and a hell of a lot cheaper. For 100 bucks you could get some benzos, Imodium, and prilosec and you’d be better off and safer than going to a Narconon cold turkey death camp.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Found guilty on two counts on May 31, remanded to custody. Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Next pretrial hearing January 29, 2024.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.
Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Complaint filed August 2, motion to strike/anti-SLAPP motions by Scientology to be heard January 9, 2024.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration. Plaintiffs allowed interlocutory appeal to Eleventh Circuit.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: Discovery phase.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.
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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] What it was like to be an operative in Scientology’s massive spy apparatus
[TWO years ago] INSIDER: What the pandemic and its protocols have looked like from inside Scientology
[THREE years ago] Is David Miscavige boarding up orgs in anticipation of inauguration riots?
[FOUR years ago] Scientology has its dukes up for Boxing Day, but we’re still thinking of warmer days
[FIVE years ago] Nation of Islam takes a bigoted swipe at Leah Remini and the ‘Jews’ behind her show
[SIX years ago] 2017: In June, Rathbun became Scientology’s attack dog, but we got mile high in Denver
[SEVEN years ago] Why would an academic speak up for Scientology? Dr. Stephen Kent has an answer.
[EIGHT years ago] On Boxing Day, we remember the last time Scientology tried to knock out the press
[NINE years ago] Give Scientology $1,000 and all you’ll get is this lousy T-shirt
[TEN years ago] Scientology’s 2013 in review: Madness set in as spring arrived!
[ELEVEN years ago] Narconon Georgia Facing Closure: It Shouldn’t Have Taken a Death
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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 3,255 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,770 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,320 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,310 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,191 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,495 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,366 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 4,918 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,260 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 12,826 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,745 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 4,913 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,494 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,755 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,791 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,507 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,071 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,386 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,561 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,112 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,243 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,581 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,436 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,555 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 2,911 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,214 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,320 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,718 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,594 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,159 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,672 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 3,926 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,035 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on December 26, 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, 1995-2022 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2022), 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
