TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Three ex-Scientologists say they were put through an abusive ‘arbitration’ that was so unprofessional, they want a judge to intervene. Scientology denies this and has submitted a declaration from someone who was in the room. Here it is in full. Who will the judge believe? [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
——————–
Technology Cocktail
“Every auditor has, from time to time, found himself in difficult and peculiar circumstances while auditing a preclear. How about the PC who makes a perfectly frank sexual pass at you? What about the time you said, ‘Walk over to the wall?’ and the preclear looked at you intently and asked, ‘Are you a Theta clear?’ Then there’s the pc who sits down, presumably to be audited, and launches forth: ‘Oh, what a pretty tie you’re wearing today. I got one just like it for my husband — except it’s green instead of blue, the one I got for him I mean. And it was supposed to be three-fifty, but I got it at wholesale for two-ninety-five because I know the owner
of the store. I went to his daughter’s wedding last week. My niece was supposed to be a bridesmaid, but right at the last minute…’ Non-stop. Or perhaps you’ve run into a ‘Tone Twenty’: ‘Do I see that wall? Why, I can see right through the wall! I can see the entire MEST universe, any time at all. Right now the Solar System looks about the size of a printed period to me.’ Unreality, unreality, unreality.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1981
——————–
“Every physicist, every single physicist, including Newton, and all the rest of the boys, have fallen flat on their faces by not establishing the basic conditions of what they were dealing with. They have started from an unreasonable assumption. They’ve assumed that somebody knew what space was, and have gone on from there. And they’ve decided that somebody knew what a static was, and they’ve gone on from there. And of course they’d wind us up in trouble sooner or later with a thing like an atom bomb. Naturally, they’d wind us up in trouble because they didn’t know where they were proceeding. This is not an indictment, you understand, of science at large. It’s just hoping it will perish soon. Because if this is the scientific method, to start with unreasonable assumptions and never discover what your definitions are before you proceed into a problem, then we want nothing to do with a scientific method. And you actually are then not following the scientific method, because that is the scientific method. You’re really not dealing, then, in the field of science if the field of science is what we have had in psychology and physics. Because then we are not dealing with this. Because we do this, and there are a new set of principles established here. And the only thing you could call them, I guess, would be a Scientological method, as unhandy as Scientology becomes when you start to add suffixes to it.” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 4, 1954
——————–
“HARD WORK: Diana, in readying up the CS-6 post so she could leave, worked 72 hours straight through and then boarded the plane. It is not fully known that, with Franchise and Celebrity Centres, Diana handles many more orgs herself than the whole FB. Blackburn Smith is standing in as her deputy during her three week absence. Due to the jumbled state my photo gear was allowed to get into I couldn’t find a camera to give her but fixed it so she could buy one and thus bring back pictures of her travels. I think this is her first vacation in four years in the SO.” — The Commodore, May 4, 1971
——————–
“Weird little wins with new found abilities. Today I wondered what it felt like to be a cloud, so I did.”
——————–
1995: Jeff Jacobsen reported a visit this week from private investigators. Here’s his description of the events. “From about 7:30am to 8:45am a private investigator sat in his car near my house. The police came by and asked them (at times it was 2 guys) what they were doing. They told the police that they were private investigators. I went and talked to them and they told me they were not private investigators. I took their license plate numbers. One guy had straggly long black hair. The other, who seemed to be in charge, had short brown hair and a long nose. They were both perhaps 35 or so. They also went through the garbage cans in the alley.” Dennis Erlich also reported that a letter from his parents had been opened before delivery.
——————–
“People keep calling for the government to do something about Scientology. I just hope none of those people are the same people calling for a lot less government, because that would be kind of hypocritical, don’t you think? And I’ll leave it at that.”
——————–
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.
——————–
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?
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] Dianetics 75 countdown: New Scientology song from the original volcano ad genius!
[TWO years ago] The Scientology/Christian Science mix-up will live forever, but here’s a new look at it
[THREE years ago] What Marc Headley’s ‘Blown for Good’ says about Scientology ‘expert’ Hugh Martin Whitt
[FOUR years ago] Danny Masterson’s rape prosecutors tell Calif. Supremes why his Scientology argument is weak
[FIVE years ago] Scientology is back! Fundraising back on to turn the entire country ‘Ideal,’ praise Xenu!
[SIX years ago] Danny Masterson: Drop me from Scientology lawsuit if the ‘Jane Does’ won’t name themselves
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology measles ship back in Curaçao, which talks tough about quarantine
[EIGHT years ago] Federal judge smacks down Scientology’s shameless attempt to delay forced-abortion case
[NINE years ago] Forced abortions, beatings, and sleep deprivation: The FBI on Scientology’s Sea Org
[TEN years ago] Scientology confirms it won’t oppose Monique Rathbun’s plans to ditch lawsuit
[ELEVEN years ago] More from a secretly-recorded executive griping about Scientology’s sad state of affairs
[TWELVE years ago] Sunday Funnies: Scientology says, May the Fourth be with you
[THIRTEEN years ago] SCIENTOLOGY TO CALIFORNIA SUPREMES: State’s Priest-Penitent Law is Unconstitutional
——————–
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 3,618 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,122 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,628 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,178 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 3,168 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,554 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,049 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,353 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 5,004 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,222 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,776 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,117 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,688 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,604 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,771 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,357 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,616 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,364 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,933 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,244 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,419 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,101 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,438 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,291 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,407 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,769 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 4,183 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,568 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,452 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,016 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,528 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,788 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,892 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on May 4, 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)
Check your whale level at our dedicated page for status updates.
Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
