TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Is the reincarnation of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard really sitting in a Tennessee jail awaiting trial? His followers believe so, and send him money every month. And now he’s rewarded them with his greatest insight ever: Why Clears aren’t what they’re cracked up to be! [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“When you go past the postulate or insist on an earlier similar when there isn’t one the pc can go later or jump chains and put into action other phenomena. This, and bad assessment is when you get tangled cases and repair. When you get a blowdown and the pc tells you the postulate and then you tell him to return to the beginning of the incident again, you can overrun the incident and turn the analytical concept of it back into a solid picture which will just get more and more solid and you’ll think there was nothing erased. What you’re erasing, actually, is the basic postulate that made the chain occur in the first place.” — 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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“Faith is a very fascinating subject. Faith can be artificially installed. You can take a person as a clinical experiment, hypnotize him and install the Great God Motaw. You tell him that the Great God Motaw is now taking care of his life, safeguarding him, looking after his concerns, will see that the future is all arranged for him, will see that all goes well and that everybody loves him, and will, beyond everything else, give him absolutely correct data every time he asks for it. The Great God Motaw, installed in such a circuit, more or less takes the whole computer, moves it over, and now he has the Great God Motaw sitting there. You can even install it so that the Great God Motaw has sonic, which is strictly hallucination.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 13, 1950
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“The Supreme Test of a thetan is to make things go right. I want every divisional officer to spot those on the ship who pass this test.” — The Commodore, July 13, 1969
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“Again a tornado skips hitting the Scientology town of Clearwater, Florida. It happens time and time again. Would you like to know why? Because the church calls in its top wizards to use their thoughts to create reality, and these dudes sit around doing Scientology mind exercises and this sends the tornado away from Clearwater. Lol, I’m not joking, the truth about spiritual abilities is being hidden from us by the powers that be because only they want the powers!”
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2001: Spiegel magazine published an article on the decline of Scientology in Germany and the efforts of Ms. Ursula Caberta. “It is difficult for a business to differentiate between harmless providers and Scientology members. For this reason the Hamburg Anti-Scientology Crew works closely together with the Chamber of Commerce. Their goal is to help businesses protect themselves from Scientology’s attempts at infiltration. An important means of doing this is the so-called ‘Technology Statement’ developed by Caberta and her team. In the Statement, companies, staff and seminar directors must declare that they reject the technologies of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. ‘That’s a genuine mortal sin for Scientologists,’ explained Caberta. Denying Hubbard, together with the technology he propagated, would be viewed as a ‘high crime,’ so that signing the statement would not be possible for members. Ursula Caberta has first-hand experience in finding out that the fight against Scientology is not without adverse effects. For years she has been spied and informed upon by the organization’s intelligence agency. Telephone calls to her friends and acquaintances or specific questions to her neighbors have been the daily routine for years, reported the Scientology opponent with near disinterest. In the Administrative Court in Saarland one of the Scientology organizations members denied responsibility for carrying out ‘operative measures’ against the Task Force director. In its decision of March 29, 2001 in which it dismissed the charges, the court nevertheless did determine that Scientology had authorized the procedural methods being used against the Task Force director. The State Office for the Protection of the Constitution said somewhat more clearly how these methods were to be understood, namely the ’employment of intelligence agency methods.’ It is exactly with these methods that the organization is currently trying to silence their highest-profile opponent in Germany. The accusations against Caberta go up to soliciting for favors and to bribery, for which the psycho-concern has filed charges. Scientology asserts that
the director of the Hamburg Task Force accepted money from American businessman and renowned Scientology opponent Bob Minton on a trip to the USA. Caberta views the charges as part of Scientology’s overall strategy to torpedo the critics it does not like. That strategy would also include a petition from Scientology to the Hamburg Burgerschaft, the goal of which is to have her removed from her position. In order to be able to counter the organization’s measures she is promoting legislation for Germany – similar to the so-called anti-cult law passed in France in June. ‘We should recognize that psychic bodily harm is criminal, too,’ Caberta demands. And ‘The organizations responsible for their subordinate members’ deeds should finally be held accountable.'”
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“Scientologists believe that the Narconon treatment can cure you of alcoholism and once completed you can drink in safety again. In fact from what I’ve read they sometimes make you drink before you leave to prove this.”
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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:
— 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 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] Mike Silverman: A popular figure in Scientology, an enigmatic figure after leaving
[TWO years ago] Mark Bunker: How I changed seats and freaked out Scientology last night in Clearwater
[THREE years ago] ‘Arbitration,’ again: Here’s Scientology motion to derail new labor trafficking lawsuit
[FOUR years ago] Scientology’s response in Danny Masterson case appeal: ‘I changed my mind’ is not a defense
[FIVE years ago] Kelly Preston dies; Lisa Marie Presley loses son to suicide; Scientology remains useless
[SIX years ago] Scientology’s targeting of children is only getting more blatant as the church struggles
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology scrambles to keep Miscavige out of forced-abortion trial
[EIGHT years ago] Almost 12 years ago, Shelly Miscavige vanished. Here’s why we keep asking about her.
[NINE years ago] Hey, thetan: Scientology has a few questions for you
[TEN years ago] Hey, Star magazine, why is Tom Cruise afraid of Aussie journo Bryan Seymour?
[ELEVEN years ago] Sunday Funnies: Scientology lets slip the reason it still produces L. Ron Hubbard’s bad fiction
[TWELVE years ago] Leaving Scientology: Jon Atack Navigates the Labyrinth of Paranoia
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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 3,324 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,828 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,334 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,884 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,874 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,260 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,755 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,059 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,928 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,482 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,823 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,390 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,309 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,477 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,059 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,318 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,355 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,071 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,635 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,950 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,125 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,807 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,144 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,998 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,113 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,475 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,884 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,274 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,158 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,723 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,234 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,494 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,598 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 13, 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
