TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Scientology has been livid ever since a court allowed affidavits by Mike Rinder and Claire Headley to keep its subsidiary RTC in Leah Remini’s ‘Fair Game’ lawsuit. The case is on appeal, and once again RTC bellyaches about those declarations. We have the whole thing for you. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“Crashing Mis-U finding differs from regular Word Clearing in that it is an investigatory procedure which utilizes all methods of Word Clearing and whatever else it takes to find the Crashing Mis-U. You can use Method 2, Method 3, Method 4, Method 5, Method 6 or Method 9 to help you find the misunderstood. The person you are handling may be sure that the Mis-U is in a certain issue but doesn’t know what the word is. It may require Method 2 or Method 9 to actually dig it out. Often Method 5 is used whereby the Word Clearer asks for the definition of individual words, checking to make sure that he knows the definition as well.” — 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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“The fellow who has voices talking to him inside of his head is much better off than the fellow who has voices talking to him from way outside his head. Odd that psychiatry classifies people quite in reverse. People who have voices talking to them from the outside are sane and those who have voices talking to them from inside of their head are very often classified as insane. As a matter of fact, I read a paragraph in one of their innumerable, contradictory books which had to do with just that. It said that one could always tell whether or not a person was psychotic, because the spoken voices – the speaking voices and so forth – were invariably inside the person’s head if the person were psychotic. Couldn’t they face the idea that these voices very often come from outside?” — L. Ron Hubbard, October 29, 1953
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“In the early days of the ship the entire crew consisted of only 79 to 90 people. When the ROYAL SCOTMAN became an AO, students crowded aboard and the ship was forced into cope in order to handle them. Spaniards made up the bulk of the stewards and cooks. A non SO chief steward, who later blew, kept the Department in, for him, a suitable state of chaos. After the AO was moved to Alicante, the Stewards Department did well when Mary Sue was Captain and afterwards began to have its ups and downs.” — The Commodore, October 29, 1971
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“While he was able to establish a secure base in Morocco in 1972 with the help of the local government, the former colonial power of France had issued an international arrest warrant via Interpol for L. Ron Hubbard for alleged fraud. When LRH flew to the US within hours due to this on December 3, 1972, in order to defend himself in this matter – which the former basis for operation at sea made impossible – he was taken into custody by US agents at the New York airport and taken into a secret US prison as an enemy of the state, without the chance of a fair hearing and trial. He has been missing ever since.”
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1997: The Detroit Free Press carried an article this week on the Germany/Scientology debate. “By her own account, Germany’s top Scientology hunter is doing a great job. She ran the Scientologists out of the real estate market in her hometown of Hamburg. She convinced the local banks to deny Scientologists loans. And this month, the Scientology school across the border in Denmark may finally shut down. Scientologists call her ‘the new Goebbels,’ after Nazi propagandist Joseph Goebbels, and U.S. officials have criticized her tactics. But Ursula Caberta, director of Hamburg’s anti-Scientology task force, has no plans to back down. ‘We know people working in Scientology …intend to eliminate the German state. Here, we’re trying to stop it,’ Caberta said in an interview in her office earlier this month. She offered a sweet smile. ‘In America, they obviously are much farther along.’ Caberta is one of the most influential members of a growing battalion of German officials arrayed against the Church of Scientology, a Los Angeles-based spiritual movement founded in the 1950s by the late science fiction writer L. Ron Hubbard. According to Caberta, Scientology is a blueprint for world domination. It calls for the creation of a new world order, she said, in which Scientologists alone would be permitted to marry, procreate and exercise other rights. As part of their plan to ‘clear the planet,’ Caberta said, Scientologists are even breeding something like a new race. ‘In America right now, you have the second and third generations of clear and pure Scientologists, brought up entirely in Scientology schools,’ she said. Scientologists call this analysis absurd and say Caberta is drawing conclusions about the church by reading Hubbard’s science fiction. ‘We have nothing to do with political games or purposes. Nothing,’ Hackenjos said. ‘Basically we’re no different from any other religion, except for the fact that we’re a very modern religion,’ said Mary Anne Ahmad, the church’s director of special affairs in Chicago, who was working in Ann Arbor last week. ‘We were the first major religion to come out of the 20th Century.'”
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“You kids need to look around before you start posting comments willy-nilly.”
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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:
— 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. Respondent briefs are due September 2.
— 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] How a Scientology recruiter gets kicked out of a country
[TWO years ago] All the parts of Leah Remini’s lawsuit Scientology wants the court to strike
[THREE years ago] PODCAST: Looking back at the second week of testimony in the Danny Masterson trial
[FOUR years ago] After a year and a half, Scientology’s cruise ship finally sails — to Curaçao drydock
[FIVE years ago] Truths about Nxivm leader Keith Raniere that his loyalists still refuse to face
[SIX years ago] Scientology threw its annual IAS party on L. Ron Hubbard Way, and once again we had a mole
[SEVEN years ago] Ahoy, matey: We have Scientology’s new Sea Org application!
[EIGHT years ago] In Canada, Scientology does not get the welcome it might have been expecting
[NINE years ago] Amassing the real history of Scientology has been a long and dramatic relay race
[TEN years ago] Hey, tabloids: Tom Cruise once again attends Scientology gala as its poster boy
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology’s ‘Mecca’ awaits: More tantalizing glimpses of Hubbardian Heaven on Earth
[TWELVE years ago] Claire Headley Gets Us Ready to Go Solo: More Prep for Scientology OT!
[THIRTEEN years ago] List of People Who Have Left Scientology and Spoken Out Reaches 2,000 Names
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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 3,431 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,935 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,441 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,991 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,981 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,367 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,862 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,166 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 4,817 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,035 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,589 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,930 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,501 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,417 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,584 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,166 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,425 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,462 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,177 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,742 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,057 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,232 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,914 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,251 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,104 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,220 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,582 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,993 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,381 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,265 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,830 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,341 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,601 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,705 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on October 29, 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
