TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox, or go to this link: Readers have been messaging us in regards to a story about a missing sportfishing diver who didn’t surface last Thursday about 65 miles off the coast of Naples, Florida. He was a Scientology member, and the outpouring of support for his family has been very interesting to see. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
——————–
Technology Cocktail
“The CONTACT ASSIST is remarkable when it can be done. The patient is taken to the area where the injury occurred and makes the injured member gently contact it several times. A sudden pain will fly off and the injury if minor lessens or vanishes. This is again a physical communication factor. The body member seems to have withdrawn from that exact spot in the physical universe. The restoration of awareness is often necessary before healing can occur. The prolongation of a chronic injury occurs in the absence of physical communication with the affected area or with the location of the spot of injury in the physical universe.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1969
——————–
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
——————–
“The person who is suppressing thetans has an invisible field. He has a total nothingness involved and other types of suppression. So you’ll have suppression of visible things, suppression of invisible things, suppression of matter, energy, space, time. You get suppression of almost anything you can think of. And anytime you suppress anything in a certain time stream, you, of course, are also suppressing time. So time becomes the primary suppression. And therefore, you get the instantaneous quality of the reactive bank, so that all time is now in the reactive bank because of the suppression of the reactive bank. And that is simply not-isness in the reactive bank.” — L. Ron Hubbard, March 19, 1962
——————–
“THIS PORT: The Charterers play this port in lower key without press as press is restrained here. Otherwise it’s all as in PRO cruise.” — The Commodore, March 19, 1970
——————–
“Scientologists in general and Scientology OTs in particular are highly commended for attending the Trump Rally of January 6, 2021 at Washington DC. This ensured that the Rally remained peaceful in general. The rally had been sabotaged by Democrats and federal agencies. They had plans to turn it into a false flag attack on the Capitol to be blamed on Trump supporters and conservatives. Peaceful Trump supporters could be seen stopping antifas in disguise from destroying the building, and the mere presence and awareness of Scientologists and OTs changed history and so the pre-planned false flag attack on the Capitol failed miserably.”
——————–
1998: Former Scientologist Philip Gale committed suicide at MIT, reported Cambridge newspapers. From the Harvard Crimson: “Philip C. Gale, a 19 year-old MIT undergraduate, apparently jumped out of a 15th floor window of an MIT science building shortly after 7:30 p.m. last Friday night. Gale was pronounced dead on arrival at Massachusetts General Hospital at 8:05 p.m. According to Robert J. Sales, assistant director of the MIT news office, MIT police consider the incident an apparent suicide. Gale is thought to have thrown a chair through the thick plate glass window of the Green Building before he supposedly jumped. Gale entered MIT at age 15 and subsequently took three semesters off to work in computer science. He worked for the Earthlink Network, an Internet access provider, during his time off, according to Eric Hu, Gale’s Phi Sigma Kappa brother and former roommate. Gale was originally from Charlotte, N.C. His family practiced Scientology, according to Hu, but Gale gave up the religion shortly after his return to MIT last year, Hu said.”
——————–
“I love a good yodel. I think I’m going to have to upload some yodeling vids here shortly. I found some good ones by Nina Hagen and Jewel. I’ll let the people decide democratically.”
——————–
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. DA’s response to appeal brief due April 15.
— ‘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 March 31.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud, awaiting sentencing.
Civil litigation:
— 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.
——————–
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] Val Ross: What it was like to infiltrate the FBI for Scientology
[TWO years ago] Scientology fundraising goes down the rabbit hole in the most oblivious flier ever!
[THREE years ago] Scientology just sent its celebs the longest email in history. It’s an orgy of propaganda!
[FOUR years ago] It’s wedding bells for Scientology celeb and ‘The Walking Dead’ alum Alanna Masterson
[FIVE years ago] David Miscavige deposition in sex abuse lawsuit canceled after Scientology pushes back
[SIX years ago] Cops, soft porn, and psychiatry: The curious origin of Scientology’s Snow White Program
[SEVEN years ago] Not-ready-for-Scientology TV: L. Ron Hubbard’s fortune telling tricks still being sold today
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology’s pitch to Clearwater: Let us buy land for hotel, and we’ll gussy up downtown
[NINE years ago] A Scientology spy comes forward: Now he’s ready for ‘war’ with David Miscavige
[TEN years ago] ‘Going Clear’ fallout: Imagining the fate of Scientology and David Miscavige
[ELEVEN years ago] Finally, a last stand against space cooties: It’s Scientology’s New Operating Thetan Level 7!
[TWELVE years ago] Early On, Scientology Turns You Into a Snitch
——————–
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 3,208 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,703 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,218 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,768 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,758 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,144 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,639 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,943 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,814 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,366 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,707 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,274 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,193 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,361 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,943 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,202 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,239 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,955 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,519 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,834 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,009 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,691 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,028 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,882 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,997 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,359 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,768 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,166 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,042 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,607 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,118 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,374 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,482 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on March 19, 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
