TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: We asked former Scientology Sea Org member Chris Shelton what he’s been looking into recently, and wow, did he have a fascinating and really weird response. Even after all that Chris has written and said about L Ron Hubbard, he says the truly weird stuff is where the truth lies. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“To run imaginary incidents, the auditor discusses with the pc how they will be running imaginary incidents and gets the pc’s agreement to do so. The auditor then asks, ‘What imaginary incidents or pictures have you touched on?’ All the pc’s responses to this question, with their meter reads are noted by the auditor. He then takes up the best reading incident or picture and runs it out R3RA Narrative Quad, first checking interest. Lesser reading items are then taken up. This action is done until the pc is brighter and more able to confront actual incidents as they come up in auditing. In doing this remedy be certain the pc understands R3RA procedure and has NO MISUNDERSTOODS.” — 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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“I can very easily go 500 years ago back into France and give you the name, rank, and serial number of a lot of things, see? And I can give these things to you, but after I’ve run a few of them, I start running into ‘Let’s see, was her name Mary? or was it Marie? or was it … ? And did that happen at Agincourt? or was that at Poitiers?’ And next thing you know I’m in a fog. And if I go on this way very long, I’ll start wondering whether I even was alive yesterday because I haven’t entered it from a zone of certainty. See?” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 2, 1964
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“By advices from the MO the entire crew will be innoculated today. (Groan.) There will be two shots a week or so apart. This means on many auditing will be suspended for two weeks. Also solo. Some are not badly affected and these will be audited. TR course and study will not be suspended. This is a good time for auditors and internes and the tech personnel connected to catch up with their study and admin backlogs.” — The Commodore, July 2, 1971
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“In the 1950s LRH spoke of people who could have OT perception. Something like guys going to the park to see pedestrian female bodies through their clothes. Also Inelia Benz (the first dynamic personification of thetan Gaia, the planet) describes in an interview with Bill Ryan how she was exterior in her childhood and saw through her thetan ‘eyes’ before ‘moving’ to her body’s head. Contactee Alex Collier describes how he was taken to a UFO of his friends (Andromedans on this galaxy) and underwent a ‘cleansing,’ the result of which was a 360 degree spherical perception/awareness of everything that happened in his surrounding. This suggests that one can have full OT perception by getting rid of entities implanted on the body.”
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1997: Dick Cleek reported that Cynthia Kisser has lost a libel suit against Scientology. “A jury reached a verdict in favor of the Church of Scientology International and its president, Heber Jentzsch, today in a libel suit brought in 1992 by Cynthia Kisser, the former executive director of the non-profit which once operated under the name Cult Awareness Network. Kisser filed the civil suit against Scientology and Jentzsch in United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois over statements in an October, 1991 issue of Scientology’s Freedom Magazine which she felt labeled her as a criminal. Kisser had an especially difficult hurdle to overcome in bringing the libel suit because Judge James Zagel declared Kisser a public figure, requiring her to prove not only that the statements in the Freedom Magazine about Kisser were untrue, but that they were printed with reckless disregard for the truth.”
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“OT 2 is where the bait and switch part of the long con kicks in. It switches from a pseudo Freudian-Jungian neo Buddhist self help scam to full blown Buck Rogers and Ming the Merciless malarkey. At this point Hubbard is softening up the marks for the big reveal that comes at OT 3.”
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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 July 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 July 7.
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 was filed June 3. Oral arguments are probably next.
— 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 Does’ response to Scientology’s appeal brief is due July 3.
— 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] Courts have no excuse: Scientology’s ‘Fair Game’ harassment tactics were exposed early on
[TWO years ago] Secrets of Scientology’s most secretive branch, part 2: CST’s property holdings
[THREE years ago] Podcast: Claire Headley on the questions Tom Cruise never gets asked
[FOUR years ago] ‘Global psychiatric obliteration’: Scientology’s ongoing war on psychiatry
[FIVE years ago] A family’s Scientology drug rehab nightmare: The Narconon ‘Fresh Start’ scam strikes again
[SIX years ago] Introducing ‘The Cult Awareness Podcast,’ recorded at HowdyCon 2019 in Los Angeles
[SEVEN years ago] Freed files: Scenes from a government investigation of Scientology
[EIGHT years ago] Facing government opposition, Scientology prepares to play dirty
[NINE years ago] Field report: Visiting the mission that told the Church of Scientology to take a hike
[TEN years ago] How to read a tabloid magazine story about the Church of Scientology: A primer
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology litigation update: The Garcias respond, and the NAFC plays hardball
[TWELVE years ago] Scientology Turns Over Documents, Laura DeCrescenzo Begins Process to Review Them
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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 3,313 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,817 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,323 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,873 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,863 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,249 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,744 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,048 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,917 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,471 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,812 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,379 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,298 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,466 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,048 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,307 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,344 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,060 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,624 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,939 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,114 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,796 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,133 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,987 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,102 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,464 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,873 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,263 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,147 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,712 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,223 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,483 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,587 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 2, 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
