TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Previously unpublished internal Scientology documents give us a new glimpse behind the scenes as church leaders were freaking out over the Tom Cruise-Brooke Shields feud. And wait until you hear who they sent to get intel on the matter! [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“The search to unravel the mystery of the human mind was so long and so complex that it had many turnings. Methods were changed so as to be perfected as understanding increased in the research line. Unfortunately this was taken advantage of by some of questionable intent. Because there had been changes and perfecting actions they could introduce unworkable changes that would go relatively undetected. Probably this is the fate of all subjects and why Man is in a state of high material cultural achievement yet does not have really workable equipment and is in a terrible mess, surrounded on every hand by a failing material culture. Probably the heaviest hat I’ve worn in recent years is the recovery of lost Dianetic and Scientology tech and eradicating and correcting alterations introduced into the subject by others.” — 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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“A few days ago I decided I would look young. Well, how do you look young? All you do is take flesh off certain planes of the face. This is what artists do in making faces old or young. So, I selectively ran incidents until the planes of the face were smaller. Oddly enough you run out tiredness also when you do this. You can actually select off certain pieces of flesh, and change your appearance. You have with this technique the power of changing your own physiological being. You go on up, theta line running, and you have another choice: You can change beings. You could! Of course you have been growing and nurturing this body, and you are somewhat attached to it. But it is just as much an object as this eraser, and your existence with this body is something like going around holding this eraser all the time, and saying, ‘I’m the eraser.’” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 24, 1952
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“TROUBLE: The fastest possible way for a senior to get into trouble is to fail to get in Ethics on a downstat junior. The US ‘solves’ all this with huge government pay offs and propitiation. And look at the upsurge of riots. Capitalism works only on the reward side. It takes two sides to make a game. If an I/C lets Ethics go out on his juniors he pulls the rug out from under himself — and slaughters the juniors also. A team is composed of teammates. Those who mess up the team aren’t teammates. The decline of the FSO and FAO WHY is really — the seniors let ethics go out on their juniors and sought to be ‘good fellows.’ This dumped the lot back onto me. The VFP of our 3 orgs is not juniors who think their seniors are good fellows. And it isn’t ‘good fellows’ either. Effective SO Members is one of our VFPs. We have some. We will have more.” — The Commodore, June 24, 1971
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“The independent field is a scattered, disjointed effort to preserve standard tech but many auditors and c/s’s are senior citizens and we have to ask ourselves urgently what will be available for the next generation!? A unification process is needed where one standard set of materials is authorised by what I call a WDC consisting of all the greatest independent minds currently doing Scn for a living. Decent groups exist in Russia, Israel, Switzerland, Ukraine, Taiwan, South Africa, the US and Germany. Somehow these should come together and simply supplant the church. Having already lost people like David Mayo and all the Class XIIs I identified with my very first survey, the urgency to form up a strong international group, is urgent. The only alternative is to take back the church, which can be done if the truth can be vested as reality with its remaining sheeple. And that will take some doing.”
1996: The office of Scientology lawyer Kendrick Moxon issued a press release concerning the recent demise of the Cult Awareness Network. Moxon litigated the Scott case, which led to the award that caused CAN’s insolvency. “The civil rights attorney who filed the motion to dismiss CAN’s attempt to protect its assets in the bankruptcy court, Kendrick Moxon, said ‘CAN’s sole purpose now is to start paying off its victims and the people it has hurt’ referring to the $4.9 million judgment against CAN and three others in the kidnapping of a Seattle area man who belonged to a Pentecostal church. That 1994 civil rights case was brought under the federal statute commonly known as the Ku Klux Klan Act and was the largest civil damages award rendered against CAN or any deprogrammer in U.S. history. CAN tried to avoid paying the punitive and actual damages assessed against it by declaring Chapter 11 bankruptcy late last year. Moxon, who has fought for civil and religious rights for decades, added, ‘CAN was a hate group that promoted religious intolerance, broke up families and incited hatred. It had a long history of criminal acts and kidnapping activities. Religious freedom is a little more free now.'”
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“An ice cold martini sure sounds better than lukewarm vodka and lemonade”
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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] Why Tom Cruise’s abandonment of Suri for Scientology is even worse than most realize
[TWO years ago] UNSEALED: Jane Doe 1 sues Scientology for sex assault at 16 by Sea Org groomer
[THREE years ago] Scientologist scammer, long on the run, ends up murdered in Mexico
[FOUR years ago] His son may rule moneyed Scientology, but Ron Miscavige needs help to pay for his own funeral
[FIVE years ago] Danny Masterson’s Scientology upbringing: An interview with his former stepdad, Joe Reaiche
[SIX years ago] YouTube permanently shutters channel that exposed Scientology’s bigotry
[SEVEN years ago] Coming soon, our collaboration with ‘Miss Lovely’ herself, Paulette Cooper!
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology watchers, one mile high: HowdyCon 2017’s big night is here
[NINE years ago] Scientology stealth opening: Tomorrow, David Miscavige will dedicate two buildings in Florida
[TEN years ago] A rundown on the truth being delivered at the Toronto Scientology conference
[ELEVEN years ago] UP THE BRIDGE: We finally reach ‘OT 8’ — but was its first version really a hoax?
[TWELVE years ago] Laura D to Scientology: It’s Too Late for a Protective Order in Forced-Abortion Case
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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 3,305 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,800 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,315 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,865 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,855 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,241 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,736 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,040 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,909 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,463 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,804 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,371 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,290 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,458 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,040 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,299 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,336 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,052 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,616 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,931 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,106 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,788 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,125 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,979 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,094 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,456 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,865 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,261 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,139 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,704 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,215 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,475 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,579 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 24, 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
