TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Prepare yourself for a brutal story of Scientology manipulation and extortion, carried out for no more reason than totalitarian control of vulnerable people. This is what Scientology does, again and again. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“Man, in an apparent civilization, is haunted by instincts he cannot understand. He has prisons where he puts men such as one cages wild beasts. He has institutions
which house millions upon millions of men who are insane and can no longer reason. And Man gazes with collective horror upon the prospect of being obliterated by a weapon so sweeping and terrible that all of civilization may perish in the click of a button — the atomic bomb. Man is grasping wildly today for some method of restraining the brutality of his fellows or even himself. And he is motivated in that brutality by all the crimes of his yesterdays.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1952
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“I call to your attention something that every motorist has noted and no motorist had quite understood: that when he failed to drive his car it went to pieces. Have you ever noticed that? You park it in the garage the battery goes down, the tires go flat. Maybe it was up on blocks, maybe the battery was taken over to the service station and put on continuous charge and all of this was done. That’s some small prevention of the situation. But then three months later you put the battery back in, you take it down off the blocks and oil smoke goes out the rear end, won’t steer. That’s an oddity. The only reason it stayed there at all is because Earth is going around and it was being changed in space, at least to some degree. If it were not being changed in space at all, it would not be there; it would cease to persist. Now this is a great oddity. I don’t call upon your superstition in this regard, I merely call upon you to observe in its crude form something else.” — L. Ron Hubbard, June 4, 1955
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“Did you see in the news where Nelson (Smersh) Rockefeller was asked NOT to visit Venezuela? One smart country. Nelson’s National Health Foundation money finances Smersh. He also runs Stockades in NY where youth who MIGHT become delinquent are sent. (They really are called stockades). His oil companies also exploit Venezuela and drain off her natural resources. He’s touring Latin America with 26 top advisors (psychiatrists) at Nixon’s request to ‘find out what they want”. He stopped a whole 8 hours in one country. He has now found they don’t want Rockefeller. We have a personal note to one Central American Country’s No. 2 man. The area is too hot politically just now. We avoid such areas as political heat brings in the KGB of Russia, CIA of US and the British Intelligence and they file false reports with each other. Makes anyone in the area subject to hammering.” — The Commodore, June 4, 1969
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“Andy never got a standard ethics handling on his wog ethics cycle (defacing Eurydice Dixon’s memorial) and faking a change of sex. After Andy said he was a student at the AO-GP, he began to promote the use of drugs to ‘go up the bridge’ (increase awareness). The AO-GP never handled Andy’s out-ethics case, with the consequence that he is now in jail, not as an expelled member of the Freezone but as a student at the AO-GP. Andy Nolch and the Advanced Organization of the Great Plains should be applied standard ethics to handle this Public Relations flap.”
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1998: Neal Hamel reported that Craig Miller, a former Scientologist and a.r.s poster, took his life this week. “Craig was found dead in his home. He had taken his own life. Craig contributed a only few posts a year ago or so, and probably is not remembered by the people who read this newsgroup. Craig was one of the people who helped me see that homosexual ‘orientation’ was most probably biological in nature. You see, Craig spent at least $50,000 dollars at scientology’s so-called technical headquarters in Clearwater trying to become a heterosexual so he could continue on in scientology. In scientology, homosexual activities are considered ‘out-ethics’ and people who are ‘out-ethics’ cannot get scientology services. Craig found out he had AIDS about 6 years ago and so he left work and did some travelling and even got around flying some ultra-light aircraft. However depression was a recurring problem as his physical condition varied. Eventually the depression overcame him and he’s gone now. He was a good man who was a friend and who helped me many times and I will miss him.”
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“They do what’s called in Scientology ‘off-loading’ which is when some elderly staff member can no longer perform on the most basic level they throw their meager belongings into a garbage bag and drive them what they consider to be a safe distance from the org and they stop and open the door and tell them to get out. And I’m not joking.”
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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] Scientology’s bonus trophy ceremonies: The millionaire donors of 2025!
[TWO years ago] VIDEO: Claire Headley on Scientology’s insane employment contracts
[THREE years ago] French minister details escaping Scientology as a child in social media spot
[FOUR years ago] The Insider speaks: Scientology’s recent crises, now in a podcast with Chris Shelton
[FIVE years ago] Scientology veterans fend off attack in vicious new Clone Wars offensive
[SIX years ago] Which of the Masterson brothers profited from their Scientology stepdad’s Ponzi scheme?
[SEVEN years ago] Why is the YMCA helping spread Scientology to kids?
[EIGHT years ago] Why don’t Scientologists go to authorities about the abuses they have seen or experienced?
[NINE years ago] Around the globe, Scientology relies on guys like this to promote L. Ron Hubbard to your kids
[TEN years ago] That time Muhammad Ali got blindsided by the Church of Scientology
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology’s plan to take over the planet: All Ideal Orgs ‘Saint Hill size’ by 2016!
[TWELVE years ago] OY VEY: Scientology invokes Jewish Law to answer lawsuit by attorney Vance Woodward
[THIRTEEN years ago] Claire Headley Helps Us Get Back in the Good Graces of Scientology
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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 3,649 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,153 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,659 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,209 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,585 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,080 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,384 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 5,035 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,253 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,807 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,148 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,719 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,635 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,802 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,388 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,647 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,395 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,964 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,275 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,450 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,132 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,469 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,322 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,438 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,800 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,599 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,483 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,047 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,559 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,819 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,923 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on June 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)
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Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
