TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Some of Scientology’s wealthiest donors descended on Manhattan recently to throw themselves a big party and to fundraise for turning all of New York ‘Ideal.’ What, you didn’t know the city was in David Miscavige’s crosshairs? Well, we have the photos to prove it! [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“A cognition is totally dependent upon the freedom to know. Overts and withholds are dedicated to another thing, these are dedicated to not knowingness. So if the person doesn’t cognite, you can immediately assume that he has a large area of not knowingness on the subject that he doesn’t even suspect. You as an outsider to his case can suspect where this fellow is having trouble. You dream up a Confessional to match it. The formula for making up a Confessional is just make up a list of all the items you can think of which have anything to do with that target.” — 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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“The guy for the last five years has been having trouble with his leg and he just sits in the auditing session with this hidden standard. He runs cows, crocs and alligators with great happiness. And at each moment after he runs the command, or every few commands, why, he kind of thetawise looks down at his leg, you see, to see whether or not that has been affected. “Well, alligators didn’t fit in that leg, so it must be something else,” you see? He’s running with his attention fixed on something else. And he broke his leg five or ten years ago and it has troubled him ever since. Well, you can assess that leg, and by the way, you can even assess it this way: His name, let us say, is John; you can assess ‘John’s leg,’ something of that sort. It’s always best to inspect the meter for a bit of reaction, but oddly enough, you don’t even have to, to do that. You just know this is a long-duration PI problem. The best way to do it is to make a list of terminals that the PC thinks it is. And then take a specific one, not take a general one. See, you don’t want this thing to be a profession. You don’t want it to be a profession, that’s all. Because he’ll run on it for quite a while if you take it as a general thing, see? ” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 1, 1961
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“Mr. Sibersky will be arriving aboard in a special motorcade. Any persons who wish to welcome him aboard on arrival are invited to be on hand, observing the following: 1) Dress Neatly, 2) To avoid a mob scene — crew and students should be on the dock lined up by Org (FB, FAO, FSO) and by course (for full-time students) (FEBC, CL X). The gangway, and all accesses to gangways should be kept clear except as noted in FSO 391. 3) Be on time. When exact ETA is known this will be made known by HCO Messenger so people can assemble ahead of time.” — W/O Mike Douglas, Org Off FSO, June 1, 1971
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“The being is a GodSoul, one coin, two operating mode sides. The Operating Thetan side is the God side. The preclear side is the Soul or human side. The difference between a human and an OT is only this: The OT says ‘I chose this.’ The Human says ‘I didn’t choose this.’ Above 26.0 on the tone scale the being is an OT operating in Creator mode. Below 26.0, the being is human operating in creature mode, whether he has a body or not.”
2001: Jam Showbiz News reported that the animated sequel to Battlefield Earth is in production. “Generally regarded as one of the most reviled big-budget films in recent history, the film of ‘Battlefield Earth’ was based on Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s novel of the same name. Despite the poor showing, Hubbard’s book has been licensed for a 13 episode animated series, to be done in the highly stylized Japanese animation format known as manga. Travolta will apparently not be providing the voice of Terl. Dan Haggerty, best known as TV’s Grizzly Adams, will fill the role, with action hero Chow Yun-Fat (Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon) mentioned as a voice for the non-English version of the series.”
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“Scientology’s aesthetic muse is the Hallmark Channel filming on location in Branson, Missouri with some Space Opera whipping on top.”
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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 June 13.
— ‘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 June 16.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud. Sentenced to 7 years in prison.
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. Leah’s appeal brief due June 3.
— 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] Scientology unbound: The grand jury indictments of L. Ron Hubbard 2.0
[TWO years ago] What it was like watching Danny Masterson get handcuffed in Judge Olmedo’s court
[THREE years ago] Scientology co-opts ‘Top Gun’ success for its own fundraising needs
[FOUR years ago] Does Scientology know that it’s a Truman Show? Let us show you their newest magazine cover.
[FIVE years ago] Boarded up and shut down, Scientology struggles to stay relevant in uncertain times
[SIX years ago] Scientology Lit: The verse stylings of L. Ron Hubbard, commodore of cool
[SEVEN years ago] When the famous war protester met Scientology: A spiritual encounter in Los Angeles
[EIGHT years ago] Remembering another Scientology ‘warrior’ — with the help of Mark Bunker
[NINE years ago] Now that Scientology has a TV and radio complex, will it air what Scientology really is?
[TEN years ago] Listen to Jim Jones root for Scientology against Paulette Cooper in a 1978 Jonestown address
[ELEVEN years ago] Sunday Funnies: Scientology’s latest attempts to get you amped up!
[TWELVE years ago] Here’s Some Photographic Proof that Scientology’s “Ideal Orgs” Are Killing the Church
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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 3,282 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,777 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,292 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,842 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,832 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,218 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,713 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,017 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,886 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,440 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,781 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,348 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,267 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,435 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,017 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,276 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,313 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,029 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,593 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,908 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,083 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,765 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,102 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,956 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,071 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,433 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,842 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,238 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,116 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,681 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,192 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,448 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,556 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 1, 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
