TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: It recently came to our attention that we missed the news of the passing of an interesting figure from Scientology history. He was a religious lobbyist whose connections to the Vatican were being secretly employed by Scientology’s spy wing when he was outed by its defectors. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“Unless there is something to free men into, the act of freeing is simply a protest of slavery. And as no humanoid is free while aberrated in the body cycle, it is of course a gesture to free him politically as it frees him only into the anarchy of dramatizing his aberrations with NO control whatever and without something to fight exterior and with no exteriorization of his interest he simply goes mad noisily or quietly. Once as great a wrong as depraving beings has been done there is of course no freedom short of freeing one from the depravity itself or at least from its most obvious influences in the society. In short one would have to de-aberrate a man before his whole social structure could be de-aberrated.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1979
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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 admiral’s office thinks very poorly of a person who gives any understanding to a crew about what they’re about, and who thinks very poorly of a ship that has fairly good morale. To have good morale is a condemnation. Got this? Now, that expediency goes up to a final peak where, man’s walking down the street, he’s picked up, he’s taken down to a spaceship, he’s laid in a bunk, he’s strapped down, given an injection. A speaker-phone starts going yap-yap-yap at him, indoctrinates him as a member of the crew, wipes out all former memory, works him over in general and he’s now part of the navy. Get the idea? It goes down to total no-determinism. Now, you just think I’m showing you a few of my engrams. They’re not my engrams; they’re the engrams of this race, and of all races in all times.” — L. Ron Hubbard, August 5, 1958
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“LONG VOYAGES: WE will sail on the 12th on a 450 mile voyage. The radio direction finder must be checked for operation and accuracy. Freight etc must be all in hand in this country. Various ports need notifying of new schedule. MEA will have to be alerted. Should remaining TRCs be brought aboard? The awnings come down. Lot of work to do on all this. The Capt FSO should schedule such cycles and get them done on a realistic basis so its not a last minute flat out. A nice long sea voyage followed by others will get your sea legs working. It’s a calm part of the year.” — The Commodore August 5, 1971
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“Here is my success story. I found myself in the restimulated being of the ‘intergalactic mercenary.’ I realized that it was because of this restimulation that I have no feeling of Home — a road and a constant movement are my home, no ties to any cozy place. The coolest one is my house on Alpha Centauri: I once woke up in the morning at the age of 18 with a clear confidence in this, I had only these words in my head: ‘my house is on Alpha Centauri.’ I had no idea what it was. Only when the Internet and the possibilities of Google reached me, I found complete information about this star and constellation. I also discharged a lot of electronic incidents and incidents connected with shells and those times when the human body was not yet created on Earth. The sensations are the most amazing after the releases!”
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1996: Keith Henson reported on a settlement conference held with Scientology defendant Grady Ward and Scientology’s lawyers.
“Grady was in a settlement conference with CoS in front of Judge Infante. The Judge went out for lunch, and the CoS folks took advantage of him not being there to start verbally abusing Grady, trying to intimidate him. (They started this in the elevator, where I was a witness to it.) Grady got so mad he walked out. When the Judge came back, the CoS folks told the Judge they were sorry for abusing Grady right there in the Judge’s chambers, and Grady said he was too upset to continue the negotiations. So Judge Infante dismissed the lot of them. Mike Sutter — Miscavige’s extension into the world — tried in vain to get Grady to continue out in the hall and down in the lobby of the court house.”
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“One man’s moonbat is another man’s freedom fighter. Winning is the only thing that truly matters.”
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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. DA’s response to appeal brief due August 13.
— ‘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 December 1.
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. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal. Jane Does’ response to Scientology’s appeal brief was due July 3, extension granted.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration, gets ruling to depose Jane Doe 1. Trial has been set for January 10, 2028.
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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 secret sauce that supposedly booms businesses: What’s actually in it?
[TWO years ago] PODCAST: Spanky Taylor and Karen Pressley assess Leah Remini’s damage on Scientology!
[THREE years ago] Jane Doe 1 makes rare statement: Don’t delay Danny Masterson trial for baseball conflict
[FOUR years ago] John Travolta sells Clearwater house: What are the Scientology ramifications?
[FIVE years ago] As Los Angeles schools prepare to reopen, Scientology keeps trying to worm its way in
[SIX years ago] Scientology is the coolest religion on earth, video proves
[SEVEN years ago] California is on fire, and Scientology naturally sees a golden recruiting opportunity
[EIGHT years ago] An unusual Scientology advertisement leads to new intel on secretive ‘Int Base’
[NINE years ago] Florida man sues medical sleep testing company after its dapper CEO forced Scientology on him
[TEN years ago] What really happens at a Scientology rehab? Nick Lister dishes on the Narconon experience
[ELEVEN years ago] Mareka Brousseau compares growing up in Scientology to The Hunger Games
[TWELVE years ago] Will Shelly Miscavige Be Trotted Out at the Celebrity Centre Gala As a PR Stunt?
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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.
Mike Rinder (1955-2025) did not see his son Benjamin and daughter Taryn in his final 7,589 days.
Tammy Synovec has not seen her daughter Julia in 3,346 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,850 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,356 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,906 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,896 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,282 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,777 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,081 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,950 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,504 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,845 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,416 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,332 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,499 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,081 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,340 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,377 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,093 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,657 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,972 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,147 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,829 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,166 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,020 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,135 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,497 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,906 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,296 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,180 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,745 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,256 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,516 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,620 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on August 5, 2025 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
