TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: What if a powerful elected official took a real interest in the abuses of Scientology? We have another stunning report from Alex Barnes-Ross as he gets government interested in amending the law to hold abusive groups to account. And he has some breaking news for us today! [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“A Cramming Officer can fall into the trap of going rote and simply carrying out a cramming order robotically. This is a sort of non-involvement on the Cramming
Officer’s part. He goes through the motions of the cram and does exactly what was ordered, without question. He does not really participate in the cram and, at best,
hopes for a result. This sometimes occurs on incorrect cramming orders where the person being crammed and the Cramming Officer both just resign themselves to doing the cram, without getting the matter properly resolved. It also occurs sometimes because the Cramming Officer thinks he has to know all about the subject before he can cram the person on it. So the Cramming Officer just robotically does what was ordered. That is a confession that the Cramming Officer doesn’t know Study Tech and
Cramming Tech. These are his tools. If a Cramming Officer knows these then he can handle anyone, even if the person is having trouble learning Chinese!” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1981
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“I remember training generals in Egypt. It was difficult. You say, ‘When fighting Numidians, you inevitably and invariably make very certain that your flanks are secure, because the Numidian — because of horses and that sort of thing — can very easily collapse your flanks. So one of the first things you do in fighting Numidians is make sure that both flanks are very secure. And the best way to do this is to put one flank against the seacoast. You see? And the other flank against a wadi. You see, that’s the best way to do that. No general you ever taught ever fought any Numidians on the seacoast. You see, you run into these small difficulties in training. That’s typical of Earth.” — L. Ron Hubbard, April 19, 1962
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“The Ponies are to be made operational for use in All Hands Evolutions. Lafayettes are not to be used due to their long range per LRH order.” — Lt. Cmdr Diana Hubbard, CS-1, April 19, 1969
“There is another life energy that I don’t think LRH addressed and that had to do with the physical body and the trillion-plus cells. Some of these cells are bacterial in nature, they keep some of the body functions balanced. They too have a life force, an urge to survive. Now when a case gets overloaded by stress, plus multiple engrams, a thetan and the body’s immune system gets out of balance, allowing the life force of the micro life forms to have a greater say, stealing theta. To me this is part of the equation and recognizing it helps bodies and thetans who run them in the end be more in PT and have increased telepathy. By the way, being telepathic is a natural state, so one would have to ask what stands in the way of experiencing this ability, both from a theta and body perspective. We are so connected to a body it’s hard to disconnect from the MEST of it. But both theta and MEST/body need to be addressed to be able to reliably be telepathic.”
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2002: Lawrence Wollersheim posted an update to his long-running case, in which he is trying to collect a multi-million dollar judgment against Scientology for abuse while he was a member. “The case has now entered the last part of its third and final phase. The first phase was the original case, which showed Scientology’s auditing practices as dangerous mind control. The case was won, but Scientology conveyed $500,000,000 out of the Church of Scientology of California in order to claim that CSC could not pay the now approximate $9,000,000 judgment. The second phase was the Wollersheim victory in a Strategic Lawsuits against Public Participation lawsuit against Scientology in which Wollersheim was awarded, and Scientology paid, $500,000 in fines. The third phase is just about to go to the judge for a ruling. This phase involves showing that Church of Scientology International and Religious Technology Corporation controlled CSC and therefore are responsible to pay the CSC Wollersheim judgment. The Judge will be listening to the MCCS tapes where Scientology discusses transferring assets and committing a fraud on the IRS. The judge may order David Miscavige to the witness stand as he was involved in most of the CSC, CSI, RTC and MCCS transactions. The final evidence for phase three will be heard May 9-15, 2002. The judge is expected to issue his final ruling within 30-90 days after that. Here is how I see the case ending and the realistic timetables: The judge will rule in our favor. Scientology will then spend another two to three years appealing that new decision. Scientology will have to put up about a 15 million dollar bond. We will survive their appeals and enforce the collection against the 15 million bond or CSI and RTC by seizing their assets.”
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“Denise is teaching the kids how the barter system works.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7, 2023. Appeal now fully briefed, waiting for 2nd Appellate District court to set a hearing date. Masterson has also submitted a habeas corpus petition.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Pleaded guilty on Nov 10 to a 17-year prison sentence (eligible for parole in two to three more years). Awaiting transfer to state prison.
— Aaron Matthes charged for SA of child under 12 years old: OT Scientologist facing multiple mandatory life sentences. Next pretrial court hearing set for March 9.
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, which is now fully briefed. Awaiting the setting of an oral arguments hearing.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ 15 days of arbitration completed, Val waiting for further word from the IJC.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal. Appeal fully briefed. Motion to replace Jane Does’ AI-tainted brief denied by court. Oral arguments hearing on March 3.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration. Trial has been set for January 10, 2028.
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Other links: The prosecution of Danny Masterson. Leah Remini’s Fair Game Podcast. Leah Remini’s A&E Series. Scientology’s Celebrities, from A to Z. Bryan Seymour’s suppressed series, 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] Killer Scientology documentary from 1985 is put online by network
[TWO years ago] Scientology email claims massive new construction plans by year end
[THREE years ago] Judge Olmedo begins quizzing prospective jurors in the Danny Masterson retrial
[FOUR years ago] Scientology features director’s mom as John Malkovich movie hits theaters
[FIVE years ago] Fun new leak: The current Scientology staff application and contract
[SIX years ago] Scientology: Earth is a prison planet and the virus just another fake threat. So study LRH!
[SEVEN years ago] COMING MAY 9: Silvertail Books publishes Chris Owen’s ‘Ron the War Hero’
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology’s greatest lecture of all: It’s finally time we look closer at Xenu in all his glory
[NINE years ago] How a recanted John Travolta gay sex allegation led to a bizarre Michael Jackson scoop
[TEN years ago] Ron Miscavige’s book ‘Ruthless’ gets a UK publisher and it’s a familiar one
[ELEVEN years ago] Another wacky Scientology testimonial video — and an Underground Bunker announcement!
[TWELVE years ago] Is Google aiding a Scientology front group that claims the Holocaust was caused by psychiatry?
[THIRTEEN years ago] Jason Barclay’s Sea Org Adventure: A Fresh Scientology Escapee Details Abuse
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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 3,603 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,107 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,613 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,163 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 3,153 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,539 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,034 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,338 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 4,989 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,207 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,761 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,102 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,673 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,589 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,756 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,342 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,601 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,349 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,918 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,229 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,404 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,086 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,423 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,276 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,392 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,754 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 4,168 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,553 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,437 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,001 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,513 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,773 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,877 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on April 19, 2026 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter.
Our book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is 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)
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Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
