TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: One of the best things about Scientology is that as much as it denies its controversies in ludicrous statements to the public, it just can’t help documenting its own crimes in detail in fliers and mailers for its own people. And this week, we received a copy of a real doozy. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“The fantastic results I achieve as a C/S mainly stem from not permitting what I know of tech and cases to be clouded by ‘Human Emotion and Reaction’ (a Scn Public Relations term) by others. Part of a C/S’s duty is to get the case through it despite auditor opinions and flubs or the opinions of others. A C/S has no political or personnel opinions. He can of course have his own opinions of the pc’s case. But he is the FRIEND of the pc even when being harsh.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1971
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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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“So you’ve got the other fellow’s universe and you got the physical universe. Now, the other fellow, in his universe, can cause you problems while communicating to you through the physical universe, and the physical universe itself can cause problems, and so we can get a thing called a present time problem that doesn’t have anything to do with a mental image picture. Doesn’t have anything to do with the reactive bank, but it can restimulate the reactive bank and make it harder to solve the present time problem. But a present time problem can actually exist. That’s one of the things that auditors don’t always notice.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 27, 1965
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“CONGRATULATIONS to Bill Robertson and Nate Jessup on passing the Dianetic written examination 100 percent. Nate is the 3rd Staff student to pass the examination. Nobody on the ship part time course has taken the exam yet. You should quickly complete 3 times through the checksheet before your time expires so that if you miss out on the 100 percent you still have time to restudy and pass the exam within the 8 week period.” — Brian Livingston, July 27, 1969
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“If you love your car but can’t afford to buy the latest model, then buy some stock shares or make time to promote the car and company to others so they will consider buying it, otherwise, one not-so-fine day, you may not find your favorite brands. Please don’t let others do the hardest, most difficult work alone. Freedom and Relief is a team effort. Give. I always have, in one way or another, and I hope you will too. Give to Ron.”
2000: Ursula Caberta, head of the Scientology task force in Hamburg, Germany was greeted at the Tampa airport by a group of Scientologists protesting her visit to the Lisa McPherson Trust. “A beige shirt is shouting ‘Go back to Germany, Nazi criminal!’ twice through cupped hands. Meanwhile crowd of clams is pointing and shouting ‘This lady is a criminal!’ ‘You’re not welcome!’ ‘Nazi!’ and similar shouts. Blonde middle aged woman, ‘Go back to Germany, we like freedom of religion here.’ Airport cops hold them back, and there are shouts ‘You’re all damned! You’re all damned!’ An announcement was made in the terminal after the crowd died down: ‘Ladies and gentlemen, in case you were worried about what just happened here, those people were members of the Church of Scientology.’ End of announcement. That was all that was needed to be said.”
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“The regs do all the fluffing in Scientology, but there are no happy endings. It’s all a tease.”
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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] Charlie Nairn tells us about getting L. Ron Hubbard & Scientology on air in the 1960s
[TWO years ago] Scientology trafficking case do-over: Both sides reload in light of ‘arbitration’ motions
[THREE years ago] A Scientology escape saga, which includes serving L. Ron Hubbard a bad meal
[FOUR years ago] EXCLUSIVE: The real Tom Cruise — Leah Remini exposes Scientology’s biggest asset
[FIVE years ago] When your ex is into Scientology, a custody battle can get cosmically worse
[SIX years ago] Why did a 26-year-old ‘Clear’ kill herself at Scientology’s spiritual mecca?
[SEVEN years ago] Derek Bloch on fighting Scientology ‘disconnection’ in an unaired TV series
[EIGHT years ago] How Scientology split up teen sweethearts who reunited more than 40 years later
[NINE years ago] A new look inside Scientology’s bomb-proof vaults, and a visit to Hubbard’s final rodeo
[TEN years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: The Nancy Cartwright countdown to godhood edition!
[ELEVEN years ago] Jon Atack: A Case of Scientology Fair Game Deflected with Disinfecting Sunlight
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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 2,974 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,469 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 3,984 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,534 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,524 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,405 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,709 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,580 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,132 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,473 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,040 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,959 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,127 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,709 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,969 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,005 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,721 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,285 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,600 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,775 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,326 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,457 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,795 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,648 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,769 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,125 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,428 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,534 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,932 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,808 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,373 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,886 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,140 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,248 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 27, 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
