TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Readers who messaged us last night about Trump’s pick of Pam Bondi for AG remember what we’ve written about her in the past. She’s one of the very few politicians to make multiple personal appearances at Scientology’s most holy site in Florida. David Miscavige must be in heaven. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“The technology of Confessionals has been upgraded enormously in the last year. If any student, beginning in a school or on a Course, is given a standard Confessional before beginning serious study, he will proceed much more rapidly, will study honestly, will apply study materials and, if actual study tech is used, will become a successful student of that subject and will be able to apply what he learns. Study tech used by itself will succeed somehow in a large number of cases. But when it is preceded by a well done and thorough Confessional its results are more thorough and far more rapid.” — 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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“When you start to double people’s scores and push people upstairs in terms of sports abilities, this becomes a foul and fiendish plot from our standpoint. If you were to take the football Cards, or the baseball Cards or any one team, and give it a heavy shove in the direction of better ball playing, you would at once, of course, find that the opponents had no other choice but to get a heavy shove in the direction of ball-playing. See, no other choice. We haven’t started this program yet in America. We’re looking around for some volunteers to go on payroll and go up and haunt one of these baseball clubs or football clubs. And just do nothing but process the boys and so on. A very interesting project. Because, of course, they will then take all pennants, awards and TV programs. And then we can then go around to their archenemies and say ‘See what happened.’” — L. Ron Hubbard, November 22, 1956
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“Stats trended the same over the world last week, paid completions soaring, GI a bit lower. WE are at least winning back the field and building strong orgs that deliver.” — The Commodore, November 22, 1971
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“Does eating meat suppress your Theta flow on your 5th dynamic?”
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1999: A hearing was held in St. Petersburg this week on the restraining order placed on Bob Minton following a protest at the Fort Harrison Hotel in which he struck a Scientologist. Stacy Brooks reported on the hearing. “Bob wanted Denis de Vlaming, a very well-respected attorney in Pinellas County, to represent him, but Mr. de Vlaming was out of town and couldn’t meet with Bob until right before the hearing this morning. We drove to the courthouse in St. Pete and met him in the law library for twenty minutes, just long enough to meet him and give him a very short briefing of the history of Scientology’s harassment of Bob, including the current circumstances. It was decided last week that we would have Mr. de Vlaming request a continuance to give him a chance to prepare for the hearing. The attorneys included Paul Johnson, Lee Fugate and Michael Hertzberg. Richard Howd (the ‘petitioner’) and Ben Shaw were sitting at the table with Howd’s attorney Paul Johnson. Mike Rinder was sitting in the front row with Michael Hertzberg, Lee Fugate and a blonde OSA Legal go-for. One of the OSA handlers who has been assigned to handle Bob at several pickets in Clearwater, the one we call Spencer, was sitting in the next row with a long-time OSA Legal staff member whose first name is Joyce but whose last name I have forgotten. Also sitting in that row was Steve Marlowe. Steve was one of DM’s fair-haired boys back in the early 1980s, but he was booted out of the inner circle and sent to the RPF for being disaffected with DM. Mr. de Vlaming got up and asked the judge for a continuance based on the fact that he had only just met his client twenty minutes before the hearing. Paul Johnson got up and said a continuance would be fine with him, but that his schedule was so full that he would not be able to reschedule a hearing until mid-December or early January. Mr. de Vlaming
then stood up again and explained to the judge that waiting till mid-December would not be acceptable to his client. There is an important protest in the first week of December which Mr. Minton wants to attend. For another reason, Mr. de Vlaming said, Mr. Minton has bought a building in downtown Clearwater which he intends to use as a personal residence as well as for a business and he cannot be prohibited from entering his own property. This was a bombshell in the Scientology camp. He took a short break, and when he came back he said, OK, let’s have the hearing on November 29. The TRO is still in place until the hearing on November 29.”
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“When I first read about the solo auditing I remember thinking, ‘This is genius! Hubbard has these dupes so bamboozled he’s got them ripping themselves off.’ The most expensive part of the Bridge and you’re conning yourself. How would that hold up in court on a fraud charge?”
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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, 2023.
— ‘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 November 15.
— 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] Report: Scientology’s Los Angeles bash will include New Year’s event at the Shrine
[TWO years ago] The Scientology oversharer becomes a faith healer: It’s a Dianetics miracle!
[THREE years ago] Scientology gets another $1 million donor to make entire United States ‘ideal’ for takeover
[FOUR years ago] In this week’s social media leak, a Scientology school is offering ‘doctorates’ for donations
[FIVE years ago] Beck tells Australian newspaper: ‘I’m not a Scientologist’
[SIX years ago] As Leah Remini returns for a third round, here’s Scientology’s side of the story
[SEVEN years ago] VIDEO: Scientology gives its highest award to Nation of Islam minister, who thanks Allah
[EIGHT years ago] Leah Remini demands $1.5 million from Scientology for interfering with her A&E series
[NINE years ago] Scientology drug rehab policy: Get the sexual assaulter out of state before police arrive
[TEN years ago] The Scientologist who wouldn’t fly: The rise and fall of insurance mogul Richie Acunto
[ELEVEN years ago] Mark Bunker Returns to Clearwater: Wise Beard Man Back in Scientology’s Mecca!
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Bernie Headley (1952-2019) did not see his daughter Stephanie in his final 5,667 days.
Joe Reaiche (1958-2024) did not see his daughter Alanna Masterson in his final 6,999 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 3,091 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,586 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,101 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,651 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,641 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,027 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,522 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 5,826 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,697 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,249 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,590 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,157 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,076 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,244 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 4,826 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,086 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,122 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 3,838 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,402 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,717 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 2,892 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,574 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 4,911 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,765 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 4,880 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,242 days.
Mike Rinder has not seen his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in 7,545 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,651 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,049 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 3,925 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,490 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,001 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,257 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,365 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 22, 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
