TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Thanks to a new Netflix treatment, the 1998 disappearance of Amy Bradley is getting new interest. Her brother Brad, meanwhile, has suspected that Scientology might have something to do with his sister’s fate. He reached out to us, and we turned to the experts. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“The possibility of running a Drug RD flat on a pc is totally zilch and the reason for this is that there have been innumerable cultures in the several universes that were far more drug oriented than this one. And even on a person that’s not manifesting drugs and hasn’t taken any this lifetime, you can collide with these cultures and universes if you keep pushing it. You can always find more drugs on the track. What you’re interested in is this lifetime and this body. This doesn’t mean you don’t run track on the Drug RD, just don’t push it. Don’t ask for whole track drugs. When you list out the drugs a pc has taken, you only want the ones he has taken this lifetime.” — 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 took a hard-boiled, hardheaded, sonic shut-off, somatic shut-off, reality shut-off case and had him pretend he was dead, in the hope that he would swing into the dead person in whose valence he was, and then he could tell us all about the funeral. So I said, ‘Go to the time when you were dead.’ So he obligingly went to 1797 in Sicily, when he was in a farmhouse dying. He died with full somatics. I thought this was very interesting, so I brought him up to present time and thought about it a little more, and took another case….We are discovering incidents back there. I never investigated them before, although I probably should have. We don’t currently know much about them except that people feel better when they are run. This is not part of the standard technique of Dianetics at present although I have known this material was there for some time.” — L. Ron Hubbard, July 22, 1950
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“NOTICE: Any FEBC student who arrived here before April 20th is overdue for completion. Your Orgs need you; therefore, you should do everything in your power to complete all your outstanding cycles quickly and thoroughly so that you can be fired. As per HCO PL of Feb 22, 1968, ‘The secret of any executive success is the ability to COMPLETE cycles of action QUICKLY.’” — Mary Sue Hubbard, Controller, July 22, 1971
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“I don’t think LRH knew I was coming from the future. I didn’t get that until after I had the sessions where I listened to Alex Collier tell us this period of time had already happened and the future is in terror and we came back to fix it in Sept 11, 2012. Everything opened up then. I couldn’t get the Church of Scientology to know this because I didn’t know it yet. I think LRH spotted this in me and thought maybe I was another one of him and I could feel at FSO he was a bit afraid of me. I could feel it. I joined the Sea Org right after I went out of body into a UFO the night before I joined to Sea Org in 1971 and I had a compulsion to get to LRH and get him to Audit me and deliver whatever messages they flooded into me. If I could have gotten to him then maybe the takeover wouldn’t have happened.”
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1996: The Associated Press released an article entitled “Cyber War.” A few excerpts: “Some on the Net call it cyberspace’s Vietnam. Others prefer the analogy of the Spanish Civil War. Whichever it is, the back-and-forth skirmishes of this guerrilla conflict are an excellent example of the kind of vigilantism that rules in the anarchy that is the Internet. The ongoing confrontation is perhaps the best example of the Internet as a self-regulating anarchy: When the church made ample use of the U.S. legal system to stop the illegal posting of its copyright materials, Internet users countered with hit-and-run online networks to spread information faster than the church could file suits. Things boiled over in January 1995, when Scientology lawyer Helena Kobrin attempted to delete an Internet discussion group devoted to Scientology because she believed it violated the church’s intellectual property rights to the word ‘Scientology’ itself and that it had been initiated with a forged e-mail address — one that misspelled the name of a church leader. ‘It was intended as an attempt to protect intellectual property rights. Nothing more,’ Kobrin said from her Los Angeles office. Numerous anti-Scientology Web sites also have gone up, meticulously detailing each court case, summons and outcome, with whole libraries of newspaper and magazine article appended. Scientology has countered with its own massive Web site, weighing in with more than 30,000 pages in English, French, German, Spanish and Italian. It includes information on church beliefs, a virtual reality tour of Scientology headquarters in Los Angeles and even a sound clip of Scientologist John Travolta performing. The most recent engagement was last month’s massive ‘vertical spam’ of alt.religion.scientology, a tactic that overwhelmed almost all discussion. No one knows who was sending the messages, which sometimes came at a rate of 100 per hour. Scientology spokeswoman Debbie Blair said the church had no part in the attack.”
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“My opinion is that the ‘true believer’ type personality is as much, if not more, the reason why some people end up in cults, than the ‘mind control’ explanation.”
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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] When Scientology sent out its baddie to ‘handle’ the Lisa McPherson protests
[TWO years ago] PODCAST: ‘Oppenheimer’ and Scientology, with physicist Bruce Hines
[THREE years ago] Is Scientology key to solving a young woman’s disappearance? Police want to know.
[FOUR years ago] Here’s our motion to quash the subpoena Danny Masterson’s attorney slapped us with
[FIVE years ago] Scientology is a special hell for the ‘staff’ who work at your local ‘org’
[SIX years ago] Sudden change in Maiden Voyage events in Los Angeles a clue to Ideal Org problems?
[SEVEN years ago] A tale of two cities: Scientology courts pols and police in one place, acts sneaky in another
[EIGHT years ago] Janis Grady’s new book on life in Scientology: Jon Atack’s take, and an excerpt
[NINE years ago] Was it something we said? Scientology wants Cindy Plahuta’s letter in fraud lawsuit struck
[TEN years ago] How Scientology is Tom Cruise? How he put ethics ‘ruthlessly’ in on his own family
[ELEVEN years ago] More trouble for Scientology fundraising and recruitment in Europe
[TWELVE years ago] DISCONNECTION: A Double Dose of Scientology’s Toxic Use of “Leverage”
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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 3,333 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,837 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,343 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,893 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,883 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,269 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,764 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,068 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,937 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,491 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,832 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,399 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,318 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,486 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,068 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,327 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,364 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,080 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,644 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,959 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,134 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,816 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,153 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,007 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,122 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,484 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,893 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,283 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,167 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,732 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,243 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,503 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,607 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on July 22, 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
