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 updated its plans to pave over fields near its UK headquarters for its once-a year gala, and is seeking council approval. And what of the poor protected amphibians in the way? Alex Barnes-Ross takes a look at the new proposal. ALSO: The toddler who just donated 50 grand! [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“In running a Dianetic chain to basic in triple you will sometimes see in one session a half dial on Flow 1, ¾ of a dial on Flow 2, a full dial on Flow 3. Or you may have 4 subjects to two-way comm or prepcheck in one session. First action 1/3 dial F/N. Then no F/N, TA up. Second action a dial F/N. Then no F/N. Third action ¾ dial F/N. Fourth action full dial-wide floating swinging idling F/N. You will also notice in the same session—long time for 1st action, shorter, shorter, shorter for the next three actions. Now you have an F/N that anything you try to clear and run will just F/N WITHOUT AFFECTING THE CASE AT ALL.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1980
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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 of the more fiendish tests that I conducted on this was on my own kid, I wouldn’t have done it to somebody else’s kid. I pretended to scatter an enormous amount of pepper into the palm of my hand and then pretended to eat it with some relish. I didn’t scatter any pepper at all on my hand. Hand it to my little girl, she promptly threw some pepper into the palm of her hand and ate it with considerable relish. And for some days was busy enjoying pepper in great quantity.” — L. Ron Hubbard, December 8, 1954
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“PROGRESS: We are continuing to make progress against the enemy who has shot at us and the planet for 18 years. The code name he now has is ‘SMERSH’ (from 007 fame) and his branch of offices are ‘Black Hats.’ He is oddly enough on both sides of existing political parties except in SA where he is mainly UP. This was a hidden government. It aspired to world domination! If you can imagine a psychiatrist in such a role. Wonder what it would be like to be governed by shock cases. Red as paint, he was really having a ball. We were in his road. Because we were fully effective. We undid his implants. A real psychotherapy had come along. This was not part of his plans. He shot at Scn to discredit it. It is quite obvious that western governments are fantastically weak and very unaware. They cannot or will not protect their people or their institutions. Thus, only one course is left open. To get rid of SMERSH and their thousands of kills weekly. Oddly enough, we’re doing just that. The one BIG mistake they made was to attack Scientologists. Which they did from hiding for 18 long years. It set us back, kept our field upset, our staffs enturbulated. But it also made us get tough and grow strong. SMERSH was the hidden government. Long may it fall.” — The Commodore, December 8, 1968
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“I was born this lifetime in 1957. So whatever I may say about the early days of Dianetics and Scientology is generally from my last lifetime, where I was more or less in the thick of things. I did know LRH, and I did attend some, but not all of his lectures. He and I were not ‘pals,’ but I had enough contact with him to be able to size up his character. This lifetime, I ‘returned’ to Scientology in 1976, at the tender age of 19.”
1995: Acting on complaints from Scientology, Northeastern University this week suspended the account of anonymous critic Rogue Agent. “I’ve just been told by the Dean of the College of Computer Science that my account has been frozen because of complaints from the church of Scientology. Until further notice I’ll be posting from an alternate account. Mail to this account will still work, I’ve got a .forward set up. Note: to anyone who’s sent me confidential messages, everything is safe.”
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“On more than one occasion I have met someone and after a few minutes of casual conversation I have been forced to ask myself whether this person is the sort of fellow who is going to attempt to run off with my wife and my car or if he’s the kind of guy that’s going to try and run off with my girlfriend and my boat. Thanks to L. Ron Hubbard I have knowingness of scamingness.”
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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] What Scientology leader David Miscavige told his minions at the IAS gala
[TWO years ago] Tom Cruise’s ‘religion’: Scientology has kept this family apart for a decade
[THREE years ago] EXCLUSIVE: The Danny Masterson jury foreman speaks in first public interview
[FOUR years ago] Irish courts issued 14,000 words on Narconon rehab: Not a single one was ‘Scientology’
[FIVE years ago] Scientology social media: Gearing up for R6, or what you humans call ‘Christmas’
[SIX years ago] Scientology’s biggest donors of late 2019: The whales giving millions to David Miscavige
[SEVEN years ago] Academic goes ‘Among the Scientologists’ to bring back what we already knew
[EIGHT years ago] A grim anniversary that should remind us Scientology has no business ‘testing’ anyone
[NINE years ago] Leah Remini told you about Scientology’s ‘Fair Game’ — and here’s the worst example of it
[TEN years ago] Leaked Scientology video: Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes front and center for ‘psych busting’!
[ELEVEN years ago] SUNDANCE BOUND: HBO’s film about Scientology will debut in Utah on January 25
[TWELVE years ago] Sunday Funnies: Scientology Gets Ideal in Taiwan
[THIRTEEN years ago] Scientology and Past Lives: Was L. Ron Hubbard Actually Serious?
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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 3,471 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,975 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,481 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,031 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 3,021 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,407 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,902 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,206 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 4,857 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,075 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,629 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,970 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,541 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,457 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,624 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,206 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,465 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,217 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,782 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,097 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,272 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,954 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,291 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,144 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,260 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,622 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 4,033 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,421 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,305 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,870 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,381 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,641 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,745 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on December 8, 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
