Alex Barnes-Ross on his win for East Grinstead records regarding Scientology

TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Alex Barnes-Ross reported yesterday that a UK commission instructed the East Grinstead Council it would have to turn over records regarding Scientology he had been asking for. We asked him why the Council was holding back these records, and what he expects to get his hands on! [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]

 
——————–

Technology Cocktail

“On 12 1/2 hour intensives, cease to run Triple Lower Grades. They are not true lower grades and pcs seldom make the factual EP. Advance Programs should contain Expanded Lower Grades, Triple. QUICKIE LOWER GRADES (also called “Triple Grades”) means one F/N for each of three flows or 3 F/Ns per grade. There are not just 3 F/Ns per grade. There are dozens of F/Ns. Also, do not rob Expanded Lower Grades of processes in order to do Repair Programs or ‘Special Intensives.’ Follow the Grade Chart.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1971

 
——————–

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.

 
——————–

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

 
——————–

Source Code

“We come along to this bird and we say, ‘Hey, bud, you’re a convict. You live on a planet called Earth; it’s part of the Marcab Confederacy….Now, is there some other planetary system, is there some other empire system which is deeper in to the heart of this galaxy which is going to backfire against this one? I would say probably yes. Probably yes. There, probably this is coming right up over the hill. I mean it probably is not long. Maybe this confederacy or this activity right now is in trouble. But conquerors nearly always spare the jails. Did you realize that? The Allied troops going in — Auschwitz, Belsen, places like that — they didn’t knock those apart. They knocked apart the belligerents’ property, but they didn’t knock apart their jails. All kinds of political situations complicate this picture.” — L. Ron Hubbard, August 22, 1963

 
——————–

Avast, Ye Mateys

“I’ve just okayed the recommendation to sell the Commodore Queen as unsuitable and too costly to repair. They need the Apollo and we need a new ship.” — The Commodore, August 22, 1971

 
——————–

Overheard in the FreeZone

“I suspect that the majority should spend time at the level of mission or field group before becoming actual Scientologists and working up the Bridge. Directly working with people on life repair services should be the #1 program for anyone and everyone. It is so obvious that the collapse of real Div 6 in the 80’s is the only reason we have failed as a group to achieve what we should have. Rectifying this is now harder but completely doable.”

 
——————–

Past is Prologue

1998: The text of two letters from OSA head Mike Rinder to Therese Minton, wife of anti-Scientology activist Bob Minton, was posted to a.r.s this week. “Dear Mrs. Minton: I am certain you are unaware of the real activities and nature of the people Bob is involved with, and I do not believe you would want your family engaged in these matters if you knew the character of these people or their agenda with respect to the ‘Minton money.’ While Bob claims that the Church has sought to upset his family, in truth it is his activities that are the source of the turmoil that now surrounds his life and yours. It comes about as a result of his relationship with a group of morally bankrupt individuals who are taking money from him while they are engaged in unethical and even criminal activities. Stacy Young is the center of much of the harm that is being caused. She has a history of engaging in illicit relationships, Bob is not the first to be lured into her web. While Bob denies that this relationship exists, however, I have documentary evidence that on July 24 and 25, 1998, Bob and Stacy are at your home in New Hampshire together. Their affair is alive and well and the manipulation and deceit continues. Your husband, so far as we know, has spent almost $2 million dollars – at least funding Vaughn and Stacy Young (a house and various payments); Lawrence Wollersheim (to the tune of over $500,000); Ken Dandar ($250,000); Arnie Lerma ($60,000); Keith Henson ($25,000); Grady Ward ($60,000); Dennis Erlich ($5,000); and Jessie Prince (reportedly $100,000). There may be more. Courts have found several of this group of low-lifes guilty of violating the Church’s rights and yet Bob gives them money to continue. A couple of them are wife abusers and child molesters. None are fit to be in the presence of you or your children, yet Bob is playing Santa Claus to them with your money. Bob’s irresponsible, if not outright malicious acts, are damaging my church and individual Scientologists as well as you and your children. I believe a face-to-face meeting between us would be helpful.” “Dear Mrs. Minton: You are probably under considerable stress and you need to understand that my interests at this point are similar to yours. I want to inform you of facts and assist you, and I think I am in a position to do so. Neither I nor anyone in the Church of Scientology has ever had any intention to interfere with your life and happiness. For reasons unbeknownst to me, your husband set upon a vicious crusade against my religion. He gallantly stated on national television that when you said you’d had enough, he’d stop. It is ironic that in this same show Stacy Young referred to him as an angel who came out of nowhere into her life. It’s a well-known fact that people have had violent reactions when their hidden secrets are revealed and this appears to have been the case after Bob’s affair with Stacy Young was inadvertently exposed. As you may have learned, he fired shots at people who saw him and Stacy together at your home in Sandown. I would imagine that at this point you have had enough, yet he is clearly not stopping and, in fact, is now going to dangerous extremes. I wish to make you aware of information through a face-to-face meeting at your convenience. Again, I believe that if you were aware of all the facts you would not support what is happening.” Bob also reported that the anti-Semitic magazine The Spotlight has apologized for printing a Factnet article under Bob’s name. “Page 24 of the July 6 issue I of The SPOTLIGHT carried a story, ‘What’s Scientology-IRS ‘Mystery’? Mr. Robert S. Minton was credited as author. This was an error. The article was compiled primarily from data issued by Fight Against Coercive Tac-tics Network, Inc. (FACT-Net), of which Mr. Minton is only one director, Additional data was added to the article by The SPOTLIGHT. All data in the article is correct except the identification of the author. The SPOTLIGHT regrets this error.”

 
——————–

Random Howdy

“You should have seen me on stage. I could move, baby!”

 
——————–

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.

 
——————–

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?

 
——————–

THE WHOLE TRACK

[ONE year ago] The delightful result when Scientology was infiltrated by a reporter — in Hawaii
[TWO years ago] Academics line up to help Scientology gaslight the US Supreme Court
[THREE years ago] Tom Cruise’s Scientology superpowers, No. 8: Recovering unspeakable acts from the past
[FOUR years ago] The Top 25 People Enabling Scientology, No. 20: Gensler
[FIVE years ago] The FBI wants recent cases of Scientology fraud? We’ve got them right here, for crissakes
[SIX years ago] Colombian senator cites Xenu, ‘the Hole,’ in wild televised hearing about Scientology scandal
[SEVEN years ago] Tonight on ‘Aftermath’: Suicide in Scientology, where sympathy and compassion are outlawed
[EIGHT years ago] Trump is drawing comparisons to L. Ron, but will Hillary favor Scientology as much as Bill did?
[NINE years ago] A revealing look inside the warped ‘kingdom’ of Scientology leader David Miscavige
[TEN years ago] Scientology skates (so far) as OK grand jury says “keep investigating” Narconon Arrowhead
[ELEVEN years ago] Report From the Fringe: Underground Bunker Night at The TomKat Project

 
——————–

 
——————–

Posted by Tony Ortega on August 22, 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

 

Tony Ortega at Rolling Stone