TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: While Scientology leader David Miscavige’s effort to take control of a short street near the Flag Building in downtown Clearwater, Florida has been temporarily foiled, that doesn’t mean that his plan for making Clearwater the first ‘Scientology City’ isn’t still on his mind. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“I recently took over the C/Sing of a case on a Dianetic Assist and found that F/Ns were being neglected as reads. This pc had a Dianetic list listed out that gave an F/Ning item. All the other reading items were handled with the exception of this F/Ning item. An F/Ning item is a reading item. An F/N is only a read when an item F/Ns at the end of you calling it. The F/N would occur instantly upon calling the item. So what does this mean that an F/N is a read? A read means there’s charge there to handle. It means there is force connected with that significance that is available to the pc to view and run. An F/Ning item means there’s charge there as the F/N means something just keyed-out so there must be charge there for there to be a key-out. After all what is keying out?” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1978
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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 individual is in contest with his environment. We’ll just take off from that point. Now, that’s a very true observation. Particularly, if we qualify that observation just a little bit further and we say that a contest is not necessarily a battle of fisticuffs….Once umpty-skillion years ago I got swatted, and sat there very, very immobile, being right. I went on being right for quite a little while. See, by permitting myself to be immobilized, it made the other fellow wrong. It wasn’t really doing anything to him, taking no action, absolutely no forward thrust of any kind whatsoever, no outward motion, no outward flow of any kind, not even a thought of an outward flow and yet that was the method of handling the environment. So the way we qualify this is the method is not necessarily smart.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 16, 1964
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“A Comm Ev was ordered by Telex on the non-SO auditor at Asho (Sheila Aldrich) for evaluating and feeding cognitions and all but destroying tech. Pokras and Eltringham on the US Station Ship were ordered transferred to deck for 6 months for neglecting to report or put right area out tech. Another Comm Ev has been ordered on the Broadbents for fostering the situation. This was what had Asho stats down so long! So it’s time we got sharp and drilled up and put our own house in good order.” — The Commodore, June 16, 1970
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“John McMaster was certain that LRH wanted to take over the planet. Today it is clear that the world under LRH is a far more ethical scene than the world under Angela Merkel in Germany or the Clintons in USA, or under the rule of third world country dictators and their drug ridden ‘shitholes.’ Germany is now on the verge of extinction as a country. McMaster was not seeing into the future. LRH was. Clearly very few besides LRH confronted the future track of this prison madhouse planet.”
1995: NPR’s All Things Considered aired a 30-minute story on a.r.s vs. Scientology this week. “The raid on Dennis and his litigation was discussed in detail, including the fact that they walked away with totally irrelevant documents. The description of the raid did not make the scienos look like the soul of propriety. I think Leisa Goodman was next, with her defense of the litigation. That was followed (or preceded) by Klemesrud explaining how it was impossible to monitor everything that passed thru his BBS, and why. He gave what I thought was a good explanation of the issues, in a way easily understood by the lay person. Following all this was an interview with a person whom I think was identified as a Georgetown law professor, coupled with some discussion of the recent Prodigy ruling and the efforts in the US Congress. The gist of the professor’s position was that the Scienos didn’t have a case, the Prodigy ruling argued for less, rather than more, monitoring by providers so as to avoid the publisher label, etc etc.”
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“There are no theologians in Scientology. No one is allowed to interpret or tell a student what they think L. Ron Hubbard meant.”
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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] When Father’s Day 2024 reminds you that Scientology ripped apart your family
[TWO years ago] THE WITNESS: Damian Perkins opens up about how the case against Danny Masterson began
[THREE years ago] Valerie Haney facing new court hearing: why hasn’t Scientology ‘arbitration’ happened yet?
[FOUR years ago] Scientology has been desperate to produce results in Texas for a very long time
[FIVE years ago] Buffy goes Clear, and other signs that Scientology has survived the coronavirus
[SIX years ago] While Scientology shrinks, its ‘Ideal Orgs’ pretend they are booming
[SEVEN years ago] The trauma of leaving Scientology: ‘Who wants to believe they’ve thrown away their best years?’
[EIGHT years ago] Marty Rathbun’s project becomes clear: Someone’s worried about Scientology & the IRS
[NINE years ago] Our money maverick dives into Scientology’s latest financial house of horrors
[TEN years ago] O Canada! All eyes in the Scientology-watching world will be looking north next week
[ELEVEN years ago] LEAKED: The slick campaign Scientology had planned for UK expansion!
[TWELVE years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: When David Miscavige Made RTC Look Like The Matrix
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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 3,297 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,792 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,307 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,857 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,847 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,233 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,728 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,032 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,901 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,455 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,796 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,363 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,282 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,450 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,032 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,291 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,328 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,044 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,608 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,923 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,098 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,780 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,117 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,971 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,086 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,448 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,857 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,253 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,131 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,696 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,207 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,463 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,571 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 16, 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
