TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Val Ross has another memory from her remarkable experience in Scientology, much of which is quite dark. But this time, she says, she wanted to give us a chuckle. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“Tests show that footplates do not give exactly the same read as hand-held electrodes on pcs who have nothing wrong with their hands. This is probably due to body imbalances. Cans held under the armpits or under knees (not advised as there sometimes is a tiny electrical sting) give varied reads from hand-held cans. Where full weight rests on the footplates the read is also varied. To all practical purposes the differences can be neglected unless they give trouble in getting F/Ns. One should simply be alert in using footplates and find out the differences if new problems of false TA or no F/Ns develop and handle any such trouble when it occurs. A person used to going barefoot for instance would have foot calluses and would give a false footplate TA.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1971
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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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“I toured around the empty ship and it looked lonesome. The galley was kept going by deckhands. Vixie had some trouble towing the ship out to anchor but made it. (The Commodores Messenger couldn’t find the Main Engine throttles as the engineers evidently took them on liberty.) Six new X trainees came aboard and were quickly trained up and fired by Dimples the man-eating shark — at least she said they had been fired. All in all it was quiet and restful.” — L. Ron Hubbard, August 26, 1971
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“The Con of All Hands, the Navigator and the forward well deck fender tenders are assigned a Condition of Non Existence for approaching a dock too fast at too steep an angle and not correcting or recovering from an obvious pilot error and not buffering it with fenders. This resulted in a small dent and a crack in the hull. They may not have any liberty in this port. The area crack is to be welded and a small plate placed over it.” — The Commodore, August 26, 1969
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“This is what Justin Craig left to clean up after he was given free rent for 6 months at the property I am staying at. It has taken me one and a half days to clean it up and haul to the dump. This is inside a giant RV garage and he bought two old motor homes and then gutted them and threw it in a pile for the owner to clean it up. I helped her by doing the work in exchange for some storage space.”
In response to the Bunker’s inquiry about the photo, Craig sent us this: “I should have taken a shit on top and wrapped everything up with a little red bow.”
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1995: Scientology raided the homes of Larry Wollersheim and Bob Bingham, founders of FACTNet, this week. An excerpt from a cos press release: “Armed with a federal court order, United States Marshals today raided residences in Boulder and Longmont seizing computer software, hardware and other equipment and documents to halt copyright infringements of Scientology religious scriptures.” A poster summarized a report from The Rocky Mountain News: “‘Denver U.S. District Judge Lewis T. Babcock signed an order authorizing the raids’. According to Wollersheim, ‘They took us off line’. A picture accompanying the article shows Warren McShane, ‘president of the Religious Technology Center in Los Angeles, carr[ying] documents from the apartment of … Wollersheim. At left is U.S. marshal Steve Bush.’ According to the RMN, he ‘charges that the church practices secret rituals in which officials claim they are aliens from outer space whose purpose is to take over the Earth’. The raid started at 9a.m Tuesday morning and lasted for 8 hours, Scientology officials were present at the raid and took away material (see above). A 7 hour raid was made in Niwot. Karin Pouw of the Co$ ‘questioned why Wollersheim’s bulletin board should have non-profit, tax-exempt status’. Wollersheim hopes that he will be represented by the ACLU.” News coverage also included local television, which reported: “Nine News covered the raid, and pointed out over and over again that letting a ‘church’ raid and search/seizure critics poses tremendous implications for freedom of speech, freedom to criticize, etc etc etc.” Wollersheim apparently has a ACLU lawyer, David Layman.
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“Hubbard was making the whole thing up as he went along, and the ‘tech’ is nothing but mumbo jumbo. Until these people realize that LRH was the flim flam man, they will never be truly free.”
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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.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, fraud.
Civil litigation:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Leah seeking to amend her complaint.
— 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: motion to file new complaint, hearing on May 29.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, on hold until appeal over new judge heard.
— Chiropractors Steve Peyroux and Brent Detelich, stem cell fraud: Ordered to mediation.
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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] PODCAST: Jonny Jacobsen, our man in Paris, was on Scientology’s abuses before most
[TWO years ago] Andreas Heldal-Lund, who stared down Scientology, now faces his own mortality
[THREE years ago] Gerry Armstrong hits back at apologist journal for questioning Hubbard ‘pinks & greys’ letter
[FOUR years ago] Ahead of next week’s hearing, Danny Masterson’s accusers blast his attacks on their lawsuit
[FIVE years ago] Tonight, Leah Remini ends ‘Scientology and the Aftermath’ with a hard look at Danny Masterson
[SIX years ago] Scientology keeps pushing for ‘Ideal Orgs’ in places where it’s pure madness
[SEVEN years ago] DOX: The FBI’s 2008 investigation of Anonymous and its attacks on the Church of Scientology
[EIGHT years ago] Is the Enquirer’s ‘exclusive’ on Scientology’s ‘hooker orgy’ a David Miscavige backfire?
[NINE years ago] So much for tabloid rumors: Tom Cruise visits Scientology’s ‘Ideal Org’ while he’s in Bogotá
[TEN years ago] More trouble for Scientology’s drug rehab network, Narconon — this time in Florida
[ELEVEN years ago] What Motivated L. Ron Hubbard? Historian Jon Atack Follows the Clues
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 3,004 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,499 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,014 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,564 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,554 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,435 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,739 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,610 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,162 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,503 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,070 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 8,989 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,157 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,739 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 4,999 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,035 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,751 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,315 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,630 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,805 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,356 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,487 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,825 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,678 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,799 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,155 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,458 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,564 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,962 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,838 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,403 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,916 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,170 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,278 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on August 26, 2024 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, 1995-2023 Just starting out here? We’ve picked out the most important stories we’ve covered here at the Underground Bunker (2012-2023), 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, 15 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
