TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Phil Jones is back with a fun look at the thing that strikes fear into any Scientology member paying for courses at his or her local org! [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“In engram running by chains, when you demand a pc go through the incident more than twice, and it is not basic that incident will grow more solid. A good Dianetic auditor watches his TA and the moment that TA starts to rise while running an incident on the chain he knows there is an earlier similar incident. It is told to him by the TA, which is saying this incident is getting more solid. When he sees this, he immediately asks for an earlier incident after either Step 9 or Step C of R3RA. When you ask for earlier beginnings and then run the incident again and keep doing this you can run a non-basic through several times and it will inevitably become more solid. The degree that this can exert pressure on a pc is very great and is extremely uncomfortable. A really smooth Dianetic auditor never increases the solidity of the bank. It is a non-determined point whether an earlier beginning alone will, if found, decrease the solidity of a non-basic.” — 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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“So, somebody trying to understand life sitting down on a mountain top some place in lower Jesus or some place — Jerusalem, excuse me — and he’s contemplating his navel or something, and trying to get the hot dope, he gives you all sorts of things. If he starts to get close to the truth, then the things he utters appear to be idiocies, see. If he gets close to the truth. Like, there really is no universe – Mary Baker Eddy. There is no universe. All is infinite mind. Isn’t it true? It’s very, very, very true but that doesn’t prevent Christian Science from being the leading religious faith you find on the rosters of insane asylums.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 14 1964
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“To all staff & students: Per HCO P/L 26 July 1965, ‘All students of any course are debarred from visiting any medical or healing practitioner unless they are given Ethics clearance first and all possibility of ‘rollercoaster’ (sudden case decline) has been looked into and any suppressive or bad auditing precisely isolated. The exception is an emergency involving severe injury, or infectious disease, but in this case the student must be cleared by Ethics to be permitted back on course or even in the Org. This includes all accidents.’ This line is to be in as of now. Course Admin is to ensure student goes to Ethics first. Staff are to go to HCO Reception and route to MO then MAA & Examiner. Until the new routing forms are approved & issued — Reception and Course Admin will have to write it in. The point is this line is effective now and no one sees the MO without following the line.” — Norma Randell for HAS, July 14, 1971
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“Did Leah Remini really leave the Church of Scientology, or was it a ‘reverse psychology’ operation to expose hundreds of thousands of people to the church? I once saw an article that after her series started Scientology had a huge run of people ordering books and taking auditing.”
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1995: Helena Kobrin, chief legal intimidator of the cos, kept busy this week with several threatening letters, both to participants in a.r.s, and to their site administrators. Martin Poulter’s sysops suspended his account for one day last week while they investigated her complaint. Martin described the complaint this week. “Her complaint is specifically about a message I posted to a.r.s on Sunday, which contained a small extract from OT7 material. She demands that I remove this post from the Internet (which is, of course, impossible) She claims that the OT7 document is copyrighted *and* a trade secret. She is emphatic that Fair Use does not apply, specifically because the documents are *unpublished*. She also says that there is no Fair Use (Fair Dealing in England) defense to trade secret misappropriation. She claims that downloading of SCAMIZDAT is a breach of copyright and trade secret laws.” Damon Cheston’s site received a similar threat. “I was notified today that Helena ‘Mizz Probert’ Kobrin has written my system administrators complaining about an alleged copyright violation. She alleges that I violated the copyright on OT-VII documents when I followed-up to Martin Poulter’s post. I believe, and I’m sure any sane person would agree with me, that the 8 or 10 lines of text quoted from OT-VII clearly fell within Fair Use guidelines.” William Barwell posted his entire letter from Helena, including this snippet. “In addition, your downloading of the copyrighted and trade secret OT VII materials also violates laws prohibiting copyright infringement and trade secret misappropriation. Your use and disclosure of these materials is *not* fair use. No case in the United States has ever found fair use to apply to copying unpublished materials, as even Dennis Erlich’s attorney had to admit in open court. There is also no fair use defense to trade secret misappropriation.” And from the Pope’s reply: “You may quote my posts on ARS to show us what you mean I posted. Until you do I am not exactly sure what the hell you are on about. Actually, Kobby, I don’t care that much either. And I think it would be wise for you to send me those posts if you want further colloquy on this subject. Tonight, get out your law books and look up fair use. A few paragraphs in my post are fair use and that is that. And I intend to keep using fair use to from time to time post directly or indirectly as in quoting other posts, parts of the incredibly brain damaged swill you clams and your silly clients dare to call ‘secrets’. Yes, you have rights, but fair use gives ME rights to and I intend to use my rights as regard fair use to discuss the hilariously inept bilge you clams hold as scriptures.” Zane Thomas’ site admin received a similar threat. “Our very own dear, sweet Helena has sent a letter to the sysadmin here at igc.apc.org alleging that I have posted some copyright and/or trade secret materials. Now I’ve been pretty careful lately due to numerous threatening letters from Kobrin. I don’t believe that I have done anything remotely resembling what she claims and would appreciate some help accumulating evidence to that effect.”
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“If the ‘tech’ is perfect, how did all these SP’s slip through into the upper echelons of Scientology management in the first place?”
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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 mid-August.
— ‘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 was 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] US government proposes new rule on ‘religious visas’ Scientology is obsessed with
[TWO years ago] Losing a friend they knew in Scientology: A tribute to a remarkable woman
[THREE years ago] The nice Scientologist who was caught writing code for ransomware scammers
[FOUR years ago] Another hype video! Scientology still begging members to go to the cruise ship’s ‘OT Bubble’
[FIVE years ago] ‘Scientology Black Ops’ series with Leah Remini & Paul Haggis spiked by Aussie network
[SIX years ago] Is it time for Scientology to replace its cruise ship? If so, we’ve done the shopping.
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology fundraiser: ‘It was commonplace to lie to church members to get donations’
[EIGHT years ago] Now that Neil deGrasse Tyson is up against Leah Remini for an Emmy, will he rethink Scientology?
[NINE years ago] To Scientology’s Emily Jones: We have a message from your mother
[TEN years ago] Wise Beard Man visits Scientology’s new Fantasyland in Clearwater
[ELEVEN years ago] The Dallas Morning News asks a question about Scientology, and we want your response
[TWELVE years ago] Someone Apparently Forgot to Notify the VA that Scientology is a Religion
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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 3,325 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,829 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,335 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,885 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,875 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,261 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,756 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,060 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,929 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,483 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,824 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,391 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,310 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,478 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,060 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,319 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,356 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,072 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,636 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,951 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,126 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,808 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,145 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,999 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,114 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,476 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,885 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,275 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,159 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,724 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,235 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,495 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,599 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 14, 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
