TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: It used to be Scientology’s practice to post lavish slide shows of major events on their websites, but those sites have been static since February. In the meantime, a church magazine has published an account of LRH Birthday. Which of Dave’s statements is the biggest whopper? [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“Some auditors ‘spook’ (leap off the road like a horse frightened by something blowing along) at the very thought of high or low TAs. This is because they haven’t got the TRs to handle a low TA nor the tech to handle a high one. Making a meter read falsely low with cream or falsely high with talcum powder or wiping hands continually will not handle the pc’s CASE. That is what the auditor is there to do, not make his session look good! The funniest one I have ever heard was a Solo auditor who had high TA trouble. So he used to fill up a bathtub with scalding water, fill the bathroom full of clouds of steam and then sit in the bath, holding onto his electrodes ‘Solo auditing.’ It gave him a lower TA but it sure didn’t give him any case result.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1977
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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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“That which men fear, they become. That’s a cinch. That which men resist, they become. Now, you know the Christian idea of turn the other cheek? Well, let’s get a comparable idea in Scientology. Not comparing Scientology to Christianity, but let’s get the comparable idea. The Christian idea of turn the other cheek had a little truth in it. Let’s get the comparable idea, and that is assume the other viewpoint. No more vicious and horrible person could possibly be alive than one who is willing to assume any viewpoint whatsoever. The MEST universe has rigged up more fairy tales to condemn people who would do this….You see, the MEST universe really wouldn’t be here at all unless people didn’t object to shifting viewpoints. People insist continually on a persistent viewpoint. They say you must have the same viewpoint over and over, day after day, year after year, century after century, and if they could enforce it they would put you into solid concrete and give you just the one viewpoint at the center of the solid concrete and say, ‘There you are and you had certainly better stay there or we’ll get impatient with you.’ You can’t control anybody who won’t assume the same viewpoint continuously.” — L. Ron Hubbard, April 26, 1954
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“GOOD NEWS: With the return of 3 Missionaires a flood of good news was brought. The US Court of Appeals fired back and refused the FDA petition for a re-hearing in the meter case. So that is definitely ended. John McMasters has been touring with huge successes in the Western US and Hawaii and has been seeing many wigs in higher favourable interviews and has been on many national TV shows in the US all very well done. He has been highly commended and his mission ordered to be reinforced. We have a lovely new base all bought. We have been invited to participate in a beachhead. Plans are afoot from a new active group to open up Latin America. They already have a fine beachhead secured.” — The Commodore, April 26, 1969
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“L. Ron Hubbard was right: Christianity is today an Illuminati trap. The hearth of Judaism and Christianity, Jerusalem, is today the house of the Illuminati. ‘Biblical prophecy’ is under the control of the New World Order. According to Capt Bill Robertson of the Freezone, the auditing research indicates that the Illuminati founder, Adam Weshaupt, is the chap that has sunk planet Earth in disaster and chaos since 70 million years ago. So Illuminati disclosure is the very truth.”
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2000: Slashdot reported on April 28th that online auction host eBay has been removing auctions of e-meters due to demands from Scientology under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act. “Does the Digital Millennium Copyright Act cover electrical religious artifacts? Apparently the Church of Scientology thinks so. eBay has been yanking auctions of e-meters because of complaints by the CoS. In response to queries by a collector, eBay said ‘the Church of Scientology is giving us Notices of Infringement, which we are legally required to honor. These items are being ended for that reason.’ This is just one more data point in the disturbing trend of the DMCA being used as an all-purpose club to remove material from the Internet. The device itself is just an electrical mechanism, somewhat like a fancy multimeter or oscilloscope. It’s patented, but of course thousands of patented items are sold on eBay every day. To members of the Church of Scientology, however, it’s more than just an electrical device. It’s used in ‘auditing,’ which apparently helps new members advance in the program. Rod Keller, a Scientology critic, noticed that e-meter auctions were being taken down, and wrote eBay to ask why. The response was: ‘These items are not prohibited due to their nature, but the Church of Scientology is giving us Notices of Infringement, which we are legally required to honor. These items are being ended for that reason.’ When Mr. Keller expressed surprise at this, the next message went into a little more detail: ‘There is a procedure under the Digital Millennium Copyright Act whereby someone who claims to be an owner of Intellectual property can send a notice sworn under penalty of perjury that an item is infringing. The internet provider must then remove the item. The seller of the item (not a third party) can request and fill out a counter notice. If he/she does so, the complaining party who filled out the original notice has a limited period of time to file suit, or the provider can go ahead and relist the item. Based on eBay’s statements, the Church of Scientology has sworn under penalty of perjury that it has an ‘exclusive right’ to copyright on the material that was posted in the auction. To me, that seems obviously wrong. But to enjoy the protections of the DMCA, service providers must remove any material as soon as they’re told it infringes on copyright. Once material has been challenged, the service provider must act ‘expeditiously’ to remove it. Only when the material is gone can the accused user make a case to defend it.”
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“If it weren’t for the celebrities, David Miscavige would have less name recognition than Marshall Applewhite or whoever is running the Raelians.”
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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. DA’s response to appeal brief due May 14.
— ‘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 April 25.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud. Pre-sentencing conference was held April 4. Sentencing hearing scheduled for May 5.
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. Trial has been set for January 10, 2028.
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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] Valerie Haney describes 2 more days of Scientology ‘arbitration’ torment
[TWO years ago] DA led Jane Doe 3 through devastating testimony yesterday, today cross begins
[THREE years ago] AUDIO LEAK: Scientology leader David Miscavige announces ‘Golden Age of Admin’
[FOUR years ago] Scientology is not a cult: The reasoning of an OT 3 Scientologist
[FIVE years ago] Scientology shows that if government gives it even an inch, it tries to take over like a virus
[SIX years ago] Scientology, breaking bad: Signs of desperation here and abroad
[SEVEN years ago] Kim Poff, finally free to speak: ‘I want this story out. I want people to know what Narconon did.’
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology retaliates against Clearwater land deal by trying to shiv a beloved dolphin
[NINE years ago] SCIENTOLOGY LEADER DAVID MISCAVIGE THREATENS TO SUE FATHER OVER BOOK
[TEN years ago] EXCLUSIVE: Secretly taped briefing uncovers precarious state of Scientology right now
[ELEVEN years ago] Selling out, and other strange side-effects of Scientology watching
[TWELVE years ago] RAID ON SCIENTOLOGY’S DRUG REHAB CENTER IN ATLANTA
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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 3,246 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,741 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,256 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,806 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,796 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,182 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,677 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,981 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,850 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,404 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,745 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,312 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,231 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,399 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,981 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,240 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,277 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,993 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,557 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,872 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,047 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,729 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,066 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,920 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,035 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,397 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,806 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,204 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,080 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,645 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,156 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,412 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,520 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on April 26, 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
