TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Scientology leader David Miscavige promises followers that ‘Ideal Orgs’ create booms of interest. Instead, when we check in with these places, they seem mostly empty. If there’s one place where an Ideal Org should be booming, however, it’s the biggest city in the world, right? [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“The Glib Student can confront the words and ideas. He cannot confront the physical universe or people around him and so cannot apply. He does not see Mest or people. The reason for this is that he is below non-existence on one or more dynamics and so cannot align with the others. As a spirit or being in a body he has no past or future and so is just a social machine.” — 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 history of Guk should be known to you. For a long time we had been scouting for the one-shot Clear, whereby a person walks in, you take a hypodermic syringe and shoot it in his arm, he goes up against the ceiling and comes down Clear. And we had been talking about this for some time as something feasible. Around 15 July 1950 a chemical engineer (the ex-director of research at the Bloch Chemical Company) told us about an atropine derivative that might be used.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 29, 1950
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“BULL: Do not snort suddenly behind Peter Gilham. It is a tender subject. Not every day does one get plowed 15 feet down the street by a made 1,000 lb. Bull! The main damage was hurt feelings. A general good time was had by all.” — The Commodore, September 29, 1970
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“We have great news — the Theta-Meter app for Apple Watch has been released. Now you don’t even need the phone to do auditing. Happy owners of bluetooth Theta-Meter e-meter, you can download Theta-Meter Watch program to your Apple Watch in the AppStore!”
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2001: The San Francisco Chronicle reported that Scientology celebrity Jenna Elfman has worked to open a new mission in San Francisco. “Jenna Elfman was helping an eager crew put finishing touches on the new Scientology mission set to open tomorrow. She told TIC she’s been spending a lot of time in San Francisco helping to build and paint the children’s art center in the basement. Elfman had befriended firefighters who stopped by yesterday morning. She was wearing a red aluminum bracelet sold by L.A. firefighters to raise money for New York disaster relief efforts. When fellow Scientologist Kirstie Alley called, the four firefighters shouted their hello. Elfman described a day of fire training she’d once done for a magazine story and praised her visitors’ courage and superhuman strength, and they joked about coming to the mission for dance lessons.”
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“More people are killed by domestic pigs around the world annually than are killed by sharks.”
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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:
— 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] Scientology’s elder abuse: The legal demand that even the church couldn’t ignore
[TWO years ago] Double storms hit Scientology: Hurricane Ian and Hurricane Mike Rinder
[THREE years ago] Appeals court moves back hearing, and asks if Scientology arbitration is ‘neutral’
[FOUR years ago] Leah Remini podcast: Attorney Ray Jeffrey on Marty Rathbun’s betrayal
[FIVE years ago] Who had the biggest booth at the Black Caucus DC confab this month? Scientology, that’s who.
[SIX years ago] Inside Jesse Prince’s book about Scientology: Doing L. Ron Hubbard’s dirty work
[SEVEN years ago] Turning hurricane chaos into gold? Scientology might learn something from L. Ron Hubbard
[EIGHT years ago] ‘The Unbreakable Miss Lovely’ audiobook on sale, and we’re doing a Reddit AMA at noon
[NINE years ago] O Canada: We’re in Vancouver today, getting our British Columbia on. Let’s talk Scientology!
[TEN years ago] Jon Atack takes his presentation — ‘Scientology: The Cult of Greed’ — to Russia
[ELEVEN years ago] Sunday Funnies: Nothing But Unstoppable Scientology Expansion in Every Direction!
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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 3,037 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,532 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,047 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,597 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,587 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 4,973 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,468 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,772 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,643 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,195 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,536 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,103 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,022 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,190 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,772 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,032 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,068 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,784 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,348 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,663 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,838 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,389 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,520 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,858 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,711 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,832 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,188 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,491 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,597 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 3,995 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,871 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,436 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,948 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,203 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,311 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on September 29, 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
