TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: On the surface, Scientology presents itself as a business-like self-help group. But as Bruce Hines explains in another of his detailed narratives, the strangeness is never far away. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“ANY GOOFED SESSION MUST BE REPAIRED WITHIN 24 HOURS. The reason for the rule is that occasionally, particularly when a person has had a sickly life, physical illness will key in after a session goof. Such are purely C/S or auditing flubs. A C/S flub consists of gross violations of case programming. Auditing flubs consist of corny things like running a Rud but no F/N, failure to flatten a Chain, bad TRs, auditing over out-ruds, chopping the pc before full End Phenomena is attained.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1970
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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 [55] Mark Bunker [56] Trish and Liz Conley [57] Trish Conley [58] Alex Barnes-Ross [59] Alex Barnes-Ross [60] Alex Barnes-Ross [61] Alex Barnes-Ross [62] Alex Barnes-Ross [63] Alex Barnes-Ross [64] Tory Christman [65] Tammy Synovec [66] Dennis Erlich [67] Alex Barnes-Ross [68] Valerie Ross [69] Kat in Austin [70] Mark Bunker [71] Phil Jones
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“I recall a patient encountering such a somatic where it seemed like mother had gotten the crabs. He complained about these crabs for about two weeks, and had scratched himself practically raw during that time. But he was held in that engram and had been there most of his life! That is what is known as getting crabs for 40 years.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 17, 1950
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“BIG WIN: The Adelaide Ban is to be repealed according to the Attorney General at the Adelaide Labour Convention. This is a GO victory. The A/G there Tom Minchin did it. He is being made a Kha Khan. So the tide rolls back the way it came. A lovely birthday present for Mary Sue. The Telex arrived in the first few minutes of her birthday today.” — The Commodore, June 17, 1971
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“We are making an offer to our ‘Clear Package Club’ members, of which we have many, we are happy to say! The org is expanding to larger and more upscale headquarters so, starting Monday, make an additional payment of $5K plus and receive your L11 free. A $5K service normally on its own.”
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1995: All Things Considered aired a 30 minute story on a.r.s vs. the cos this week. “The raid on Dennis and his litigation was discussed in detail, including the fact that they walked away with totally irrelevant documents. The description of the raid did not make the scienos look like the soul of propriety. I think Leisa Goodman was next, with her defense of the litigation. That was followed (or preceded) by Klemesrud explaining how it was impossible to monitor everything that passed thru his BBS, and why. He gave what I thought was a good explanation of the issues, in a way easily understood by the lay person. Following all this was an interview with a person whom I think was identified as a Georgetown law professor, coupled with some discussion of the recent Prodigy ruling and the efforts in the US Congress. The gist of the professor’s position was that the Scienos didn’t have a case, the Prodigy ruling argued for less, rather than more, monitoring by providers so as to avoid the publisher label, etc etc.”
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“People bandy about the term ‘Satanist’ in relation to L. Ron Hubbard somewhat disingenuously. Aleister Crowley didn’t consider himself a ‘Satanist’ and Hubbard was a dilettante poseur playing at what he perceived to be ‘Satanism.’ A goodly portion of the Internet sites I’ve encountered in my readings and ‘research’ in the last five or so years that try to paint LRH as a some kind of serious Satanist have been Born-Again Christian sites, so they definitely have an agenda. Hubbard was about as much of a ‘real’ Satanist as Anton LaVey was. It was all part of the geek show for the rubes.”
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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 May 31, 2024.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.
Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Leah seeking to amend her complaint.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to arbitration.
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson: motion to file new complaint, hearing on May 29.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, on hold until appeal over new judge heard.
— 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] PODCAST: ‘Chicago Fire’ star Christian Stolte on his Scientology experience
[TWO years ago] Scientology is bursting with news about its aging cruise ship, which is totally not sinking
[THREE years ago] Private investigators stalking Leah Remini and Jennifer Lopez: The complete texts
[FOUR years ago] SCIENTOLOGY CELEB DANNY MASTERSON CHARGED ON MULTIPLE RAPE ALLEGATIONS
[FIVE years ago] Mike Rinder returns to Scientology’s secretive Int Base! Well, sort of.
[SIX years ago] Scientology scores with political conservatives in Europe using the ‘religious freedom’ gambit
[SEVEN years ago] Paul Haggis: Marty Rathbun is using private info I gave him against Lawrence Wright
[EIGHT years ago] Maryland county explains why (don’t call it Scientology) can take a hike
[NINE years ago] Another document trove on L. Ron Hubbard’s troubled son, Nibs, the Scientology flip-flopper
[TEN years ago] LISTEN: Rare tape reveals how L. Ron Hubbard really came up with Scientology’s space cooties
[ELEVEN years ago] SCIENTOLOGISTS AT WAR, the Channel 4 Documentary
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 2,934 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,429 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,944 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,494 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,484 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,365 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,669 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,540 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,092 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,433 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,000 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,919 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,087 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,668 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,929 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 3,965 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,681 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,245 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,560 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,735 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,286 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,417 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,755 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,608 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,729 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,085 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,388 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,494 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,892 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,768 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,333 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,846 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,100 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,208 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 17, 2024 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, 1995-2023 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2023), 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
