TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: We are devastated to learn that Joe Reaiche died recently while on a business trip to London. A former Aussie rugby pro, he was a key Scientology whistleblower for more than a decade, and also Danny Masterson’s former stepfather, providing key insight into the Masterson family. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“Some people have to be ordered and ordered and ordered and threatened and howled at. Then, in a bewildered way, they do a target, sometimes half, sometimes nearly all. Behind this apparent blankness lies an omitted datum. When they’re like that they don’t know what their product is or what it adds up to. Or they think it’s something else or should be. That blankness can invite overts. It is very seldom that malice or resentment or refusal to work lies behind the inaction. People are seldom that way. They usually just don’t understand what’s wanted or why. Because they don’t know what a PRODUCT is!” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1972
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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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“The fellow wants to get out of the woods and there are two trails. And one trail lies much deeper into the woods and the other trail goes out on to the plain. And all you have to do is put up a sign at the crossroads and point to that trail which goes deeper into the woods and say, ‘This way lies freedom,’ you see, and you’ve promptly trapped a lot of people.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 18, 1963
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“I was looking over Base Order No. 29 from 1967. There is no reason really it had to suffer such radical changes except that it was never checksheeted and packed for posts. The large amount of know-how in Flag Orders was never fully mimeo filed and related to posts by checksheet. This also solved a long standing mystery. The officer corps of some professional armies is terrible while their enlisted ranks up to non-comm are excellent. Germany lost 2 wars because of this. The US armed forces are remarkable examples of this. Suddenly dawn broke. The duties of everyone are well and totally written up and published right up to the top non-comm. Officers from low to high never had to learn any of this, even built up contempt for such knowledge and had no such plain texts for their own duties. I’ve seen it in commercial companies and elsewhere for a long time. Never could figure out why leadership was so poor even for excellent troops or workers. Well, there it is. Hats, texts training in the lower echelon and almost none in the upper.” — The Commodore, September 18, 1970
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“Imposing Scientology like Islam could not be done out of gradient. That would be done first on a Scientology country first. Processes for the lower levels are very simple. Change of environment and betterment of conditions is one.”
1997: A transcript of the Howard Stern radio show, with call-in guest Senator Alphonse D’Amato was posted this week. “Howard Stern: What?! You’re hanging out with that wacko? Alphonse D’Amato: John Travolta came to Capitol Hill yesterday and testified about the Scientologists who are being persecuted and being denied jobs and being boycotted…. Stern: And what did you do? Did you throw him out of there? D’Amato: His films aren’t being permitted to be shown in Germany because he’s a Scientologist. Stern: All right, do me a favor. Will you blow up John Travolta too? Did you actually hang out with the Travolta? D’Amato: No, but he’s a very nice guy. Stern: And where do you stand on Scientology? That can’t possibly be a religion can it? D’Amato: Well listen, I think you have a right to believe whatever you want. If you want to believe in the sun god I will defend your right, Howard, to believe in whatever you want. Stern: All right, listen to me, Senator. But, in no way I can believe that my senator believes L. Ron Hubbard is god. You should have thrown Travolta right out of there, kicked him down the steps. Do you know John Travolta thinks he can heal people with his hands? D’Amato: No, I don’t know that. If he believes that, that’s his belief. Stern: I can’t believe it. What are you going to do about Germany now? D’Amato: Well, what we have done, our commission, Helsinki Commission, will be looking into a number of the charges–people who have lost their jobs because… Yeah, you know, ordinary working families. One lost her license, she ran an employment center, it was revoked just because it was revealed that she was a Scientologist, and they wanted her to renounce this.”
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“One of the few things I agree with the Scientologists on is that the whole Vistaril thing is weak. Vistaril, a/k/a hydroxyzine, is one theetie-wheetie drug. You need to take a whole bottle of this shit to even remotely get a buzz. Vistaril has never been considered a true psych drug. I know it is an antihistamine, anti itching agent. That’s how I first encountered it. The point is that us trying to say it’s a psych dug like Valium is absurd.”
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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.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Next pretrial hearing May 31, 2024.
— 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] ‘Ellen’ from the Scientology ‘Day Care from Hell’ story comes forward
[TWO years ago] Bombshells in Danny Masterson case: Grand jury testimony, and evidence against Scientology
[THREE years ago] VIDEO: Scientology turns to rock ‘n’ roll to save its soul, and you’re invited!
[FOUR years ago] Scientology celeb Danny Masterson to be arraigned today for raping three women
[FIVE years ago] Scientologists facing felonies try ‘sovereign citizen’ gambit in tense L. A. court hearing
[SIX years ago] Giving Scientology TV a run for its money — it’s the premiere of the Bunker network!
[SEVEN years ago] Moss wins Emmy for portraying totalitarian cult victim and doesn’t care what you think about it
[EIGHT years ago] In the wake of raids, Scientology’s sneaky consulting front shrinks markedly in Russia
[NINE years ago] Scientology about to throw its Harlem party — and we need your eyes and ears!
[TEN years ago] RATHBUN SUIT: Scientology’s last swipe in its anti-SLAPP appeal before hearing next week
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology’s “Bridge:” Claire Headley Gets Us to CLEAR!
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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 3,027 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,522 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,037 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,587 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,577 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 4,963 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,458 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,762 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,633 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,185 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,526 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,093 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,012 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,180 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,762 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,022 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,058 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,774 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,338 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,653 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,828 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,379 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,510 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,848 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,701 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,822 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,178 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,481 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,587 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,985 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,861 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,426 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,939 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,193 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,301 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 18, 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
