TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: How much did Riley Keough leave in their ‘memoir’ that her mother Lisa Marie Presley might have said about her Scientology involvement and her fiery exit from it in 2014, a story Lisa told several of us personally? We go over every mention of the organization in this short book. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“There is a great deal of upper-echelon theory connected with the Remedy of Havingness as a process, for here we are dealing with energy and the reasons and operations of a thetan in regard to it. Just why a thetan should get himself so completely snarled up in energy might be an entire mystery to anyone who did not realize that a thetan has to cut down his knowingness and his total presence in order to have a game. The awareness of awareness unit builds space to cut down knowingness. Space makes it necessary, then, to look at something in order to know about it.” — 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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“Anderson, Q.C., Melbourne inquiry. Complete gibbering psychotic idiot. Up to the gills with R-6. ‘Scientology must be wrong, because we cannot explain where all the new bodies come from. All the new spirits. Where would all the new spirits come from if everybody had a spirit, why, where would all the new spirits come from, huh?’ Actually, what he didn’t realize, this silly ass — he was disproving Catholicism. Catholicism claims there’s one spirit per body, so he was asking some silly little kid question that is asked of his own religion, Catholicism. And yet he was busy hanging Scientology because it couldn’t… You get the irrationality of it? The man occupies a perfectly valid position. He’s looked on. He’s a Queens’ consulate. Actually he’s just a gibbering idiot. You probably couldn’t even catch him to get a straight jacket on him.” — L. Ron Hubbard, October 9, 1968
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“SECURE THE PORT: We are very popular in this port. Were publicized heavily before arrival. Snap up the PR. Get out your white uniforms for watches and good clothes for the beach. Make a splash here. We’ll be here 3-4 days and will push to make it heavy PR.” — The Commodore, October 9, 1970
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“I did some paranormal abilities training before knowing about Scientology. I remember one of the first paranormal detections I did many times about Scientology: I detected that it would degrade and degenerate; but I didn’t expect it would happen so soon. I’m glad that even though the Church of Scientology has been degraded, there are people outside the church doing sane and good Scientology.”
1997: Following a recent phone call from Scientology attorney Elliott Abelson, Bob Minton reported an investigation by private investigators into his background and family. “I got a call tonight from the daughter of my deceased step-mother (who had died about 7 years ago) which was the last time I had contact with this relative. Now for background, my impression is that my father basically screwed my step-mothers’ relatives from any of her estate; and, a rather nasty court fight took place while the estate was being settled. Well, I have the same name as my father – except I am a ‘Junior’ but never use it – but live 1000 plus mile away from him. In any case, a court record exists about this suit and guess who was staying at a Motel 6 in Nashville, Tennessee at least yesterday and last night trying to find out some ‘dirt’ no doubt about Robert S. Minton. It was someone who was directly traced to the church of $cientology Boston named Mary Newey. When asked why she was checking, I’m told that Mary stated she was doing a ‘background check.’ Next question was ‘For who?’ Well it seems that Mary was evasive but when pressed said ‘for a friend who is an attorney in Los Angeles’. For some reason, Mary called back my distant relative in Nashville tonight from Boston and left a message for my relative to call her back at (617) 266-9504 – you guessed it – the church of $cientology in Boston. I called there about 10:00 PM and asked for Mary Newey and the lady who answered the phone said you mean Mary Frances and I said yes. When she answered I asked her if she was the church of $cientology bloodhound who stayed at the Motel 6 in Nashville last night and was calling around the country looking for information on me? I asked if she was going to be at the Boston org tomorrow and if so I would be happy to come by and let her ask me directly what she wanted to know instead of going around the country digging up DA material. Just this week I sent off a few checks to help critics of $cientology–total $150,000. That was since Ableson’s warning but before last nights call. This morning I drove to co$ Boston on Beacon St. after returning from my kids’ school where I spent 2 pleasant hours early this morning. I asked the friendly receptionist at 10:05am for Mary Frances Newey and she said she was not there today. ‘Can I tell her who was looking for her?’, the receptionist said and I gave her my particulars and WHY I was there–to let Mary get some first hand information from me so she would have to spend less time traveling to Nashville, staying in a Motel 6 and slinking around for information on me. The receptionist became noticeably less friendly from the moment I mentioned my name (maybe they do read ars). In any case, I stood there and helped her with the details as she wrote down all the information I was requesting she pass along to Mary including where and when Mary could most easily reach me.”
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“This place is nuts, but not half as nuts as YouTube. It’s just a little bit more serious and astute and friendly.”
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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] It’s spooky season, and Scientology doesn’t want to miss out on the recruiting opportunity!
[TWO years ago] How a major Scientology donor family is caught up in the Danny Masterson case
[THREE years ago] He was Scientology ‘I/C’ — ‘in charge’ — of Paulette Cooper’s harassment. And now he’s dead.
[FOUR years ago] SCIENTOLOGY BLACK OPS, Episode 10: Bryan Seymour wraps up his series axed by Seven News
[FIVE years ago] CLEARWATER APOCALYPSE! No, not really. But let’s help Scientology run its new board
[SIX years ago] What it was like last night at Scientology’s Los Angeles TV ‘season’ premiere party
[SEVEN years ago] BLOCKBUSTER EXCLUSIVE: It turns out the National Enquirer is blowing smoke again
[EIGHT years ago] EXCLUSIVE: Recent deaths of Scientology rehab staffers points to ongoing problem
[NINE years ago] The Scientology-Ireland connection that propelled Cathriona White to Hollywood
[TEN years ago] Ryan Hamilton files two more federal lawsuits against Scientology’s drug rehab network
[ELEVEN years ago] Anonymous and Craigslist: Proof that Scientology Knows It’s Under Attack
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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 3,047 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,542 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,057 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,607 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,597 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 4,983 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,478 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,782 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,653 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,205 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,546 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,113 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,032 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,200 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,782 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,042 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,078 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,794 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,358 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,673 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,848 days.
Joe Reaiche has not seen his daughter Alanna Masterson in 7,399 days
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,530 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,868 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,721 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,836 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,198 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,501 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,607 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,005 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,881 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,446 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 3,958 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,213 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,321 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on October 9, 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
