TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: The tabs are saying Tom Cruise’s romance with fellow actor Ana de Armas is already kaput. We don’t know if that’s true, but once again Scientology has tapped into Tom’s fame to help it convince members they must give even more than they already have for an ‘All-Ideal USA.’ [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“We think of ‘insane people’ as being wild-eyed maniacs but such is seldom the case. More often they are quiet types who have little or nothing to say and speak softly. This person would not have been seen as insane on casual observation. And so he had worked his way into the post of training in charge. Just so he could protect his withholds. And, on that post. then carefully mistrained all auditors in sight. So this brings to view that there is a new type of crime: TO ALTER AND PERVERT TECH OR PROCEDURE TO PREVENT DISCOVERY OF WITHHOLDS.” — 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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“The fellow who says, ‘Well, all right, all right, so they’re fighting in M-ghanistan. I can’t do anything about it.’ You’ve suddenly — you’ve suddenly had him admit that he couldn’t, he couldn’t have the space of M-ghanistan. And now, this is the biggest trick that your real entheta boys use. They get people to go around admitting they can’t have any — can’t do anything about things.” — L. Ron Hubbard, October 16, 1953
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“Command Intention for the ship at this time is TO HAVE A FULLY OPERATIONAL SHIP, SMART COMPETENT CREW AND A POSH YACHT ATMOSPHERE AND APPEARANCE FOR SHIP AND CREW. Command Intention for the Flag Org at this time is TO COPE AND CONTINUE AT HIGH SPEED THOSE ACTIONS ALREADY IN PROGRESS AND PROVING SO WORTHWHILE IN Station Ships, AOs and orgs. Flag personnel, attention to the external affairs of the SO and improve those down stats.” — The Commodore October 16, 1969
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“Something else is operating the matrix and it can all be re-arranged in a moment — so it wouldn’t matter then, what one did, would it? That is the intention of the Time implants — the most basic on the track and always the most insidious of modern-day psychological operations. To drive one into apathy and plant the seeds of defeat before even moving into implanted suggestions, which depend on this confusion to even take hold. I think Hubbard was one of those who made the greatest strides in seriously breaking that mystery down.”
1998: David Alexander reported an attempt by Scientology to buy his silence this week. “My personal P.I., Ted Banas, sent an associate, Monte Drake, to deliver a $10,000.00 check to me today. To get the $10,000.00, all I had to do was to sign an agreement that I would never again say anything ‘not-good’ about Scientology. The agreement stated the purpose of the money was to purchase my silence, but that I could never discuss this to anyone. I didn’t learn the amount of the check until I got to the restaurant. The insulting amount, plus the suppressive agreement, and the labeling of the money as payment for silence, instead of a ‘refund’, led me to immediately refuse. The agreement would force me to pay $10,000.00 for each instance of saying or writing anything negative about Scientology. Also I would never be permitted to report this to anyone. This was one more criminal act by OSA, trying to pay me to keep silent after they defrauded me of $112,822.26.”
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“The only sexual magick Crowley had came from an opium pipe or a syringe loaded with smack that let him keep it up all night. In street parlance it’s called ‘dope dick’.”
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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] Scientology fruit loop Vivian Kubrick says her dad Stanley would have supported Trump
[TWO years ago] Mirriam Francis: Scientology’s system of abuse was exposed by the Danny Masterson trials
[THREE years ago] PODCAST: Auditing Mary Sue Hubbard while Scientology kept her on house arrest
[FOUR years ago] When L. Ron Hubbard’s Scientology followers put him on the spot about space opera
[FIVE years ago] Danny Masterson ‘accidentally’ outs Jane Doe accuser after judge told him not to
[SIX years ago] Tom Cruise at the IAS gala with his kids Connor and Isabella? We think it’s likely.
[SEVEN years ago] Growing up in Scientology, and growing together outside of it: An appeal
[EIGHT years ago] Crashing a ‘Mace-Kingsley’ event in Pasadena to get some answers about Scientology and kids
[NINE years ago] Our story last week about Narconon deaths kicked up a fuss — and news of two more deaths
[TEN years ago] Scientology on trial in Belgium: An update from our man in Europe
[ELEVEN years ago] Garcias answer Scientology’s ‘International Justice Chief’ with a Mike Rinder affidavit
[TWELVE years ago] SCIENTOLOGY’S FRAUD CONVICTION UPHELD BY FRANCE’S HIGHEST COURT
[THIRTEEN years ago] Rumors That Tom Cruise is Breaking with Scientology: “Bullshit With a Capital B”
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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 3,418 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,922 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,428 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,978 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,968 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,354 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,849 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,153 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 4,804 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,022 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,576 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,917 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,488 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,404 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,571 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,153 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,412 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,449 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,165 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,729 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,044 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,219 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,901 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,238 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,091 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,207 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,569 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,980 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,368 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,252 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,817 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,328 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,588 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,692 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on October 16, 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, 1995-2024 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2024), 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, 20 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
