TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: L. Ron Hubbard’s earliest attempts to get the Scientology movement going were rocked by a series of booms and busts. And as a science fiction writer trying to enslave his fellow man, Hubbard wrote himself into some continuity problems! We have a great example. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“While Date/Locate is a precise action, it is by no means a rote procedure. The auditor must know the theory of the action if he is to Date/Locate successfully. He must understand that he takes the pc’s data and he works with the pc. Robotic application of the steps will not only not produce the desired result but can result in messing up a case badly. Definition of ‘blow’: The sudden dissipation of mass in the mind with an accompanying
feeling of relief. (Technical Dictionary.) This definition must be understood by both auditor and pc. It is cleared with the pc before beginning the Date/Locate steps. Have the pc demo it, using a demo kit, if necessary, so he has no confusion on it. A blow is a definite manifestation. Vital data for the auditor is that the pc must say ‘Something blew’ or ‘It disappeared’ or ‘It’s gone’ or ‘It vanished,’ not simply ‘I feel lighter.'” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1979
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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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“Handling Security Checks in a society of this particular character, then, runs into a little bit of heavy weather. And you very often run into some heavy weather. Somebody’s sitting there and, good God, they’re the fellow who did it, you know, and what are you going to do as the auditor, you know?…What is your responsibility as an auditor? Well, it’s, your responsibility as an auditor is first and foremost as an auditor, is get the person out of it. You’re not the police force. Don’t you see? And then you actually are not honor bound from that point there on to be under a stamp and seal of total secrecy with regard to the fact that the First National Bank was robbed by Joe, you see. But don’t go calling up the police. They’re on the wrong road. Cops never get a society anyplace. Cops are a short-term proposition, strictly. The more cops, the more crime.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 13, 1961
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“We have so far sent back two FEBC graduates. W/O Owen Starkey to AOSHDK and Wayne Marples to NY. They both left in a hurry to save their orgs. Starkey has halted the GDS collapse and has most of them on a healthy climb. They both had a lot of beautiful things to say about Flag and its people.” — The Commodore, September 13, 1970
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“About 18 months ago, I began to wake up to the fact that I was in the Church of Scientology in my last lifetime. After more auditing and more mind expansion, I realized, ‘oh, maybe I am/was Clear.’ So, I came to believe I was Clear. Today, I don’t think I was Clear, but, I’m almost sure I did believe I was Clear in my last lifetime. In fact, I kind of see I reached OT2. As I said, I’m not sure, and I speculate that I had good auditing, but also bad auditing. I also was probably subjected to Black Scientology.”
2000: Mark Bunker posted an update on the Scientologist who attacked him with a hammer during a video assignment in Clearwater, Florida. “Richard Barnard is now serving a one year jail term in Key West for skipping bail on a cocaine trafficking charge. He lied about his identity to the police at the scene and later when Sgt. Zegzdren went to do a follow up report. The first officer at the scene of the attack, Terrance Kelly, was ordered to do an investigation of the hammer incident but he never even asked Barnard for an I.D. When Sgt. Zegzdren arrested Barnard weeks later, Barnard told him that Scientology had offered to provide him an attorney. A friend of Barnard’s also assured him that he had nothing to worry about since 85% of the Clearwater police force are Scientologists Zegzdren told him he thought that number was a little high. Barnard was working for Joe Duncanson, a member of the OT Committee.”
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“It seems to me that Narconon preys on folks out in the hinterland and down south where detoxes are few and far between and the people are less up on this kind of stuff.”
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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 August 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 December 1.
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 submitted July 30. Scientology’s reply due October 20.
— 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] Family forced disconnection: A wound Scientology won’t stop pouring salt into
[TWO years ago] More letters — from Ethan Suplee and others — on behalf of Danny Masterson to Judge Olmedo
[THREE years ago] AUDIO: Nation of Islam’s Louis Farrakhan says Rizza Islam is accused of ‘horrible charge’
[FOUR years ago] Scientology sends out creepy letters to lure you back in, and other gems from our mailbag
[FIVE years ago] What Scientologists are telling each other on social media right this very minute
[SIX years ago] No, RadarOnline did not discover a new underground bunker at Scientology’s Gold Base
[SEVEN years ago] How a Scientology-run business preyed on Silicon Valley icons in the name of ‘wellness’
[EIGHT years ago] Ford Greene responds to Marty Rathbun, and brings up a previous Scientology secret deal
[NINE years ago] Co-writer Dan Koon answers accusations about the accuracy of Ron Miscavige’s ‘Ruthless’
[TEN years ago] Paul Haggis, Lawrence Wright react to Alex Gibney’s Emmys sweep for ‘Going Clear’
[ELEVEN years ago] Ryan Hamilton files 20th lawsuit against Scientology’s drug rehab network
[TWELVE years ago] MONIQUE RATHBUN VS SCIENTOLOGY, DAY 2: Texas Showdown Shifts Gears
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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 3,385 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,889 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,395 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,945 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,935 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,321 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,816 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,120 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 4,771 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,989 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,543 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,884 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,455 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,371 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,538 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,120 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,379 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,416 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,132 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,696 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,011 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,186 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,868 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,205 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,058 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,174 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,536 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,947 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,335 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,219 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,784 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,295 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,555 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,659 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 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
