TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Yesterday Valeska Paris and the Baxters asked Judge Thomas Barber to allow an evidentiary hearing to determine who is telling the truth about an aborted Scientology ‘arbitration.’ But the judge immediately denied that request. Is that good or bad news for the plaintiffs? [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“Ministers reporting all overts reported by the pc serves a triple purpose. A) It catches actual crimes by others which might otherwise remain undetected. B) It gets rid of withholds from the pc which he knows he should have reported and C) It gives evidence of a Black PR campaign in progress against principal people of Scientology and executives. The use that the Ethics Officer puts these reports to is very precise.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1981
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“The nitty-gritty of the West German raid on the dollar is to be found in a proposal to form a World Central Bank that ‘adjusts all the worlds currency.’ This is about the most cold-blooded effort at world domination I’ve ever seen. A country that surrenders its currency surrenders its sovereignty. It was Nazi banking expertise that saved the Third Reich and opened the door to WW II. What we DON’T need is Nazi control of all nations. Along with that goes psychiatric control, gas chambers, obliterated ‘impure’ minority groups. Heil Hitler. For the sake of German Scientologists of which there are now many, and the rest of the world, the new Nazi resurgence must end before it winds up in another blood bath.” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 8, 1971
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“FB: The FB including CS-G did a splendid fast job on the program to beef things up in event of a hostile UK ‘Enquiry’ finding release. Some Enquiry! Never called on us to testify on anything. Its secretary, Miss Lee, was a member of Smersh! Correction: Sir Joseph is the Minister of Social Services. He has it now. When the cabinet okays it maybe it will be out.” — The Commodore, May 8, 1971
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“Suggestion: don’t go into the light after death. it’s probably better to create your own if you want. talk about a mismash of flows, data, beingness and identities. Further suggestion: maintain your own identity at all times. if you want to go into the light after death, at least maintain your own beingness. maintaining a position in space is vital to power and sanity as a thetan.”
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1999: “Ethercat” reported revenge flyers at her home and “Wynot” described a protest at the Atlanta org this week. “Illegal activity by the Church of Scientology in Atlanta continues, as the ARSCC-ATL finds more ‘Religious Bigot’ flyers tacked to telephone poles. Some were put up either Sunday or Monday, more were put up yesterday. Again, we are leaving them up as evidence of lawbreaking by the ‘Church’. Ethercat and I arrived at the cult’s storefront at 4:00, signs ready. EC had the ‘suppresses free speech and free thought’, and I carried several signs, including the ‘is a scam’, and ‘convicted in canada’ backed with ‘banned in greece’, and the ‘$360,000 for Salvation?’ sign. After about half an hour, a Saab pulled in, and two young women got out and headed for the door. They turned the handle, but could not get in! They had to pound on the door until someone came and unlocked it to let them in. Are they so afraid of one man and one woman with paper picket signs? After about an hour Linda came out and began following me as I picketed, attempting to engage me in conversation. I mainly ignored her, responding just a little for politeness’s sake. The culties finally have a sign! Two, in fact – banners tied to posts, one for church of scientology, the other for hubbard dianetics foundation. As usual, they called the police, and as usual, the police officer told them that we had every right to picket. The nice officer did tell us that we could not go on their property, but we said we had no intention of doing that. The four of us picketed until just after 6:00.”
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“They sent me a notice for jury duty last year and I scrawled across it ‘I am a Scientologist and we do not recognize your authority in this sector of the galaxy.’ They sent me a notice back about having to get a letter from my clergyman and to bring it down to the court. I threw that in the garbage.”
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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] Dianetics 75: What the Nobel physicist got out of Scientology’s bible
[TWO years ago] Rock ‘n’ roll was their fame, Scientology was their game
[THREE years ago] Alanna Warren: What a Scientology PI report looked like when I was following Mike Rinder
[FOUR years ago] YouTuber takes a deep dive into Teami Blends and its connections to Scientology
[FIVE years ago] With lawsuit in limbo, Danny Masterson accusers still trying to serve David Miscavige
[SIX years ago] Scientology’s mystery sandwich: A ‘church’ where deception is a sacrament
[SEVEN years ago] New York Scientologist chiropractor pleads guilty in $80 million Medicare scam
[EIGHT years ago] Witness to Dianetics: For the first time, the letters of key Hubbard ally Donald H. Rogers
[NINE years ago] DRONE FLYOVER: Scientology’s Int Base and its hilltop camouflaged ‘Eagle’s Nest’
[TEN years ago] Giant certificates and other weirdness from Scientology in our weekly online review
[ELEVEN years ago] A voice from inside the Church of Scientology: Yes, the ‘Survival Rundown’ drives you insane
[TWELVE years ago] OREGON SENATOR RON WYDEN ASKS IRS FOR SCIENTOLOGY REVIEW
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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 3,622 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,126 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,632 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,182 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 3,172 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,558 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,053 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,357 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 5,008 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,226 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,780 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,121 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,692 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,608 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,775 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,361 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,620 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,368 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,937 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,248 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,423 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,105 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,442 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,295 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,411 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,773 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 4,187 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,572 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,456 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,020 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,532 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,792 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,896 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on May 8, 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
