TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Scientology will no doubt say that it just plunked down $26 million to double the size of its European ‘Advanced Org’ because of increased demand. But we think there’s a different reason for it. ALSO: Ex-Scientologists strike back cleverly at the church’s new ad campaign. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“If any auditor has a poor record of getting Dianetic Results, of bogged flows, etc, he needs an HDC Retread. His drills and TRs are out or he is committing Gross Auditing Errors. Dianetics gives remarkable results only when flawlessly done. The commands must be precisely given and all commands 1-9 A-D are used. It is NEVER shorted ‘because the pc did it’.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1974
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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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“Man is continually representing to you that he owns a body, and he doesn’t. He steals one. And Freud was looking for guilt. Do you want to find some guilt? Let’s look that one in the eye for a moment. The very thing he owns with he stole and he knows he stole. And somebody comes along and grabs him and throws him into the clink or something for having run off with a couple of teaspoons from the local manor or something, and he goes into a complete fit. Why does he go into a fit? He thinks he’s going to be tried for his basic crime in this life which is the theft of one Homo Sapiens, which is kidnapping.” — L. Ron Hubbard, January 23, 1953
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“JANIS GILLHAM is assigned a condition of LIABILITY for goofing up an LRH Conference recording resulting in that one side of the tape did not record. I am assigning myself a condition of NON-EXISTENCE for not testing recorder before the recording started.” — Msm Anne Tidman, January 23, 1971
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“Just started reading and looking at videos on app downloaded. I’m 64 years old — person my age, is there any help for a person in my late years to begin this journey? Many years looked and traveled seeking truth only find out wanting. My desire is not just to improve myself but humanity as a whole. All of these religions and other ideas on spirituality of searching for over 50 years still leave me as something missing. I do know God created us to be as he intended but mankind has missed the mark. My heart breaks seeing the world in shambles and lack. Not just money, but peace, love, kindness and help mankind be whom we were actually designed as we are supposed to be. This will and is my last call for help as all other systems have failed. There is truth, but truth must be allowed to be put in action. May God help us all.”
1999: Bob Minton announced that Factnet had discovered a Scientology operative working under-cover. “They had unfettered access to information about me and my whereabouts, Stacy’s inner circle of friends, FACTNet records, Dan Leipold’s office, Graham Berry’s office and other juicy bits of info. Not only that, this plant had worked for the Cult Awareness Network for years and was an intimate friend of Cynthia Kisser, Craig Branch and a number of others active in the counter-cult movement. Her name is Laura Terepin. We hired some PI’s with impeccable credentials to check up on a few points about Laura. Laura lied about living alone in Madison WI. She never mentioned that one of her 3 house mates was a co$ chicago staff member. Laura cell phones were billed to a Hollywood, CA private investigator who seemingly had at least 13 other phones billed to him that were linked to co$ operatives. Laura’s boyfriend works for the same PI who handled the phones. And the clincher is that daily calls to OSA in LA showed up on Laura’s phone records.”
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“Typical Space Ozzie & Harriet ‘Remember the good ole days before all the perversion and permissiveness that lead to the downward spiral?’ reactionary bullshit. Except for the Space Opera, Scientologists have the same mindset as your average teabagger, fundie christian, conspiracy nut, gun lovin’ closet Nazi wingnut. I suggest we round them all up and send them to the FEMA camp called Branson MO.”
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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, 2023. Appeal brief due by December 23.
— ‘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 February 24, 2025.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud, awaiting sentencing.
Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Judge Hammock’s ruling is on appeal.
— 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. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, gets ruling to depose Jane Doe 1.
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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] Did Marc and Claire Headley just find Shelly Miscavige’s new location?
[TWO years ago] DONOR DRAMA: Stunning new data on the life cycle of a Scientology whale!
[THREE years ago] Scientology on the Autobahn: Selling blue sky to the Germans and Swiss back in the day
[FOUR years ago] Tom Cruise doesn’t want you to visit his camera-heavy condo in Scientology’s mecca
[FIVE years ago] Where in the world is Scientology leader David Miscavige?
[SIX years ago] Never forget: Scientology calls exes liars, but spells out its own abuses in documents
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology celeb Kerri Kasem marches for religious freedom in Hungary
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology wastes no time making a move on the new president, but where does Trump stand?
[NINE years ago] Whale watching, 2016 edition: Who’s keeping Scientology afloat?
[TEN years ago] VIDEO LEAK: Another segment from Marty Rathbun’s deposition — his ‘Liability Formula’
[ELEVEN years ago] Ray Jeffrey on Scientology in the courtroom: ‘Constantly getting tripped up on the facts’
[TWELVE years ago] SCIENTOLOGY SUED FOR FRAUD OVER REFUND SCHEME, MORE PLAINTIFFS TO COME
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Joe Reaiche (1958-2024) did not see his daughter Alanna Masterson in his final 6,999 days.
Mike Rinder (1955-2025) did not see his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in his final 7,589 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 3,153 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,648 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,163 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,713 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,703 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,089 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,584 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,888 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,759 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,311 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,652 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,219 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,138 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,306 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,888 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,147 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,184 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,900 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,464 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,779 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,954 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,636 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,973 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,827 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,942 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,304 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,713 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,111 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,987 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,552 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,063 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,319 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,427 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on January 23, 2025 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
