TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Scientology, through its most unhinged front group, CCHR, has roped in another politician, this time in Florida, to forward a bill that advances Scientology’s anti-psychiatry agenda. But the church itself spelled out those goals in a secret document we can show you now. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“PCs who blow their auditing in orgs, staff who want to leave, out-ethics mushrooming up in an org can usually be traced to one or more auditors who miss withholds either by their own out-tech or mutual ruds. It is highly possible that the reason husband/wife teams often fail is that they have mutual out-ruds or that they miss withholds on each other. This is no light thing. If this order is not vigorously enforced, lack of enforcement will end up destroying lives, just as it does in the wog world every day. So, get your ethics presence up and make sure that Sec Checking is done correctly, without error and with no missed withholds.” — 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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“One day I was doing some processing on a Theta Clear and I had just lit a cigarette. And the Theta Clear was running this and running that, and trying to straighten himself out on this and change postulates on that and so forth, and all of a sudden the body sort of went rigid for an instant. And the Theta Clear must have been up in the corner or something of the sort, and the ashtray was out of my reach on a concrete floor, very slippery floor. And the ashtray was out of my reach and I had my cigarette and I was about to light it and I was looking around for an ashtray. And the ashtray came over, bzzt!, and I dropped a match in it. The thetan was just being polite, that was all, and had never thought twice about it. And I said, ‘Thank you,’ and the person became very confused. Because this person wasn’t up at the level where they were supposed to see or supposed to be or supposed to do things like that yet, you see?” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 22, 1952
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“The WHY of departure from the Ideal Scene personally and organizationally came back to recruiting and hats. Everywhere I look hats fell out on all posts. Some of the wows! I am hearing and the cogs and enthusiasm to get this back in promise fast progress for this action. It is interesting that it has taken 13 months of very hard work on my part to run down and isolate this WHY. THE WHY WAS THE ABSENCE OF FULLY CHECKED OUT HATS. Simple now you see it. Nothing is quite as obscure as an omitted datum. Now, with this hat project rolling I can get back to my own hats!” — The Commodore, September 22, 1970
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“I wouldn’t be surprised if Mark Twain and LRH were the same being. Both were prolific writers. Both were very well traveled at a young age. Both achieved notoriety.”
1995: “A US Supreme Court justice yesterday denied an appeal by the Church of Scientology to stay a district court order that it return computer materials to a man the church has accused of stealing church secrets, an attorney said. The stay was denied late yesterday by associate Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer, according to Natalie Hanlon-Leh, an attorney for Lawrence Wollersheim of Boulder.” And from UPI: “Justice Stephen Breyer refused without comment Wednesday to enforce federal judge’s order authorizing the seizure of Church of Scientology materials published on a computer network. A federal judge in Colorado had authorized the seizure, but that order was vacated, or thrown out, by a senior judge. According to papers filed Tuesday with the Supreme Court, a director of F.A.C.T.Net Inc. posted 64 pages of the church’s ‘confidential material’ on the Internet in early August. The church sued the director and obtained an order seizing the material on Aug. 12.”
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“Scilon is a play on ‘Cylons,’ the robotic invaders in Battlestar Galactica. It is particularly appropriate because Hubbard was a science fiction writer, and the top-seekrit ‘OT levels’ are based on the belief that we are infected with ‘body thetans,’ the confused, immortal souls of space aliens who became disoriented 75 million years ago when the evil space warlord Xenu brought them to Earth (or Teegeeack, as it was known then), dropped them into volcanoes and blew them up with nuclear weapons. ‘The Scilons tried to talk me into taking a Free Personality Test.’”
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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] Your Scientology superpower is here, Thetan, and it’s for the birds!
[TWO years ago] Predictable: Scientology tries to derail Jane Doe 1 lawsuit with ‘religious arbitration’
[THREE years ago] Scientology is fuming about Mike Rinder, Valeska Paris testimony in trafficking case
[FOUR years ago] Scientology and anti-vaxx, a marriage made in heaven?
[FIVE years ago] VIDEO: See Danny Masterson’s initial court appearance on rape charges
[SIX years ago] Scientology is making plans for a Narconon drug rehab in the land of the rising sun
[SEVEN years ago] Get a look inside Nathan Rich’s unique book about his Scientology upbringing
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology’s tiger: How L. Ron Hubbard created a language trap
[NINE years ago] ‘The Unbreakable Miss Lovely’ goes on sale as an audiobook on September 29
[TEN years ago] Visualizing Scientology’s latest ‘Going Clear’ public relations disaster
[ELEVEN years ago] New videos leaked from Scientology, including a sobering call for help from Nashville
[TWELVE years ago] The Scientology Guide to Craigslist
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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 3,394 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,898 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,404 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,954 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,944 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,330 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,825 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,129 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 4,780 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,998 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,552 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,893 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,464 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,380 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,547 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,129 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,388 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,425 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,141 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,705 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,020 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,195 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,877 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,214 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,067 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,183 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,545 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,956 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,344 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,228 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,793 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,304 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,564 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,668 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 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
