Scientology donor Rebecca Minkoff gets star turn as RHONY 15 begins

TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Handbag designer and major Scientology donor Rebecca Minkoff admitted she joined the catfighting on RHONY’s 15th season because her business has been in the toilet since the pandemic hit. And so far she’s getting the entertainment press fluffing her business desperately needs. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]

 
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Technology Cocktail

“Starvation for energy is the keynote of any case which maintains facsimiles in restimulation. The thetan who holds facsimiles to the body has chosen to have the energy in spite of the perceptions and significances in it. He is attempting to have the energy and not have the aberrative quality of it. Thus he is posed the problem of trying to reject the thought and accept the energy and thus he cannot do either. In Dianetics we gave him the energy by processing out the significances (perception) in it. When well exteriorized a thetan may have his energy so far reduced that he becomes unhappy. Having him create and snap in anchor points upon himself (not the body) will remedy this unhappiness.” — 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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Source Code

“‘Be three feet back of your head.’ Please tell me why nobody ever said this in the last ump-thousand years. This is fantastic. Because 50 percent, at least, of the people who come in and sit down, I don’t care what their age is — something like this — you say, ‘Be three feet back of your head.’ Sometimes you get the reaction, ‘Why?’ ‘Well, it might be more comfortable outside.’ ‘Might be more comfortable outside! You mean people are inside their heads!’ You would be just amazed how often one gets that reaction. One girl I know was given 125 electric shocks because the psychiatrist found she was outside of her head. Too sane for him.” — L. Ron Hubbard, October 2, 1953

 
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Avast, Ye Mateys

“This evening there will be a cocktail party aboard and 100+ top VIPs are expected as well as one very, very VIP person. The cocktail will be held in the main dining room and will as usual extend into the B Deck Foyer. Therefore body traffic into this area is to be kept to an absolute minimum. Male & Female occupants of B deck cabins are asked NOT to wander up the passageways and into toilets clad only in a towel during cocktail time. Remember that the VIPs will be using these heads. LAST REQUEST: Please try not to hang around the aft quarter deck or Prom decks during the cocktail — many of the guests will be taking a tour to the bridge at some time during the evening. As these requirements have been made publically known in the OODay, there will be no excuse for offenders, and I will take very strong action on any I find. Remember we are TOP EXECS of an INT BUSINESS MANAGEMENT CORP.” — Lt. N.F. Starkey, Captain, October 2, 1971

 
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Overheard in the FreeZone

“Case in point was an LRH lecture where he found himself up in the Van Allen belt, so the Church of Scientology pulled it, telling Ted Koppel it’s no longer part of current Scientology to appease extant scientific data. With the more recent discoveries, are they going to reissue it? Same when LRH stated he nearly got run over by a train on Venus. No one is going to disagree there are no trains on Venus, but the lecture still nicely correlates and furnishes insight what goes with the case as LRH was about to unravel the implant data on the CC and OT II among other findings. To me, the lecture was a perfect delineation on the power of the case over one’s perceptions.”

 
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Past is Prologue

1997: Former Scientologist Robert Vaughn Young this week described attacks by Scientology on an animal sanctuary he and his wife Stacy run in Seattle, Washington. “One morning, our neighborhood awoke to find that someone had left a sheet of paper on every doorstep. It was anonymous but purported to be from a ‘concerned neighbor’ and said our cats were a nuisance and urged neighbors to complain to Animal Control and the city. (It should be noted that the WSCR cats are all kept indoors. Our three cats are allowed in and out and there are a number of other outdoor cats that belong to neighbors.) We soon identified the attack as coming from Scientology when a private investigator, David Lee, began to call around Seattle, using the same allegations that appeared in the anonymous flyer. He also told people he was investigating us for ‘animal abuse,’. He said he was working for LA Private Investigator Eugene Ingram, widely known to work for Scientology attorney Kendrick Moxon. After no complaints to the city in two years, they were pouring into city officials on a daily basis. Calls were made to various Seattle City offices, including Animal Control, from people who asked to ‘remain anonymous.’ According to officials we spoke with, the callers said the house was filthy and our cats were diseased with ‘open sores.’ Besides calling various agencies, they also called city council members to complain that the agencies were not acting fast enough against us, urging political pressure. Seattle Land Use visited and did an inspection. He had no objections to the state of the house or the grounds. The section of Seattle law being used says that a residence cannot have more than three small animals. So we were issued a citation, giving us 14 days to comply (get rid of the animals) or to respond. He would not tell us who had complained. The next day, Animal Control visited us, unannounced, saying they had received numerous complaints about animals with ‘open sores’ and ‘filthy conditions’ etc. The officer commented how clean it was, how it smelled very nice, that the cats were well-behaved and that he saw no abused animals, let alone any with ‘open sores.’ Despite the fact that the environment was completely contrary to the complaints, he gave us citations for having 10 extra unlicensed adult cats. [W]e also had a visit from two county mental health workers who asked for Stacy. They said they had a call from a ‘concerned neighbor’ (anonymous again) who said a Stacy was acting erratic, not eating and was ‘collecting cats.’ It was obvious that they were there to see if Stacy should be committed. We invited them in to see that the information they had been given was completely bogus. They too had been told the house was filthy and the cats unhealthy. Scientology learned that my wife and I may be key witnesses in a prominent homicide case (featured in Newsweek and other national media) in which the cult is the defendant. Scientology is terrified of a rumor that my wife and I were recently interviewed about them by ’60 Minutes,’ a hard-hitting investigative show that, with 30 million viewers, is the most-watched program on American TV. Scientology has apparently heard that the German federal government wants me to testify about the cult’s crimes and abuses before a parliamentary body. As far as the animals themselves, we will protect them. They will not be abandoned and we will not give up our work. While dealing properly with the various citations, we will find a new location for them so that our work can legally continue.”

 
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Random Howdy

“I’ve been in a ‘Is that all there is to Scientology?’ mood lately. It comes with the territory.”

 
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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:

 
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SCIENTOLOGY: FAIR GAME

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 whines that the Jane Does leaked info worse than Tom Mesereau did
[TWO years ago] Clearwater CEO Joy Gendusa recorded sychophantic video for Scientology’s leader
[THREE years ago] Academics who ignore defectors as ‘apostates’ will never see Scientology for what it is
[FOUR years ago] New in court docs: Scientology bashes victims’ rights group, trashes Mike Rinder
[FIVE years ago] Scientologists led away in handcuffs after stunning evidence of fraud heard in L.A. court
[SIX years ago] Clear body, wiped mind: Another woman comes forward about forced abortion in Scientology
[SEVEN years ago] Another Scientologist becomes instant star with Trump supporters, this time in Puerto Rico
[EIGHT years ago] How Scientology plans to take over the world: By boring us to death, apparently
[NINE years ago] An email that demonstrates how much Scientology loves going after the ‘evil psychs’
[TEN years ago] Q&A with Mike Rinder: Understanding the sudden changes at Scientology’s LA complex
[ELEVEN years ago] FORMER SCIENTOLOGY SPOKESMAN TOMMY DAVIS SUBPOENAED BY MONIQUE RATHBUN

 
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Posted by Tony Ortega on October 2, 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

 

Tony Ortega at Rolling Stone