TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: While most view illness as something that happens to everyone sooner or later, Scientologists live in an environment where catching a cold or getting the flu can carry stigma, blame, and often financial consequences. Once again, we have Phil Jones on another Scientology fear! [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“Exteriorization is defined as the act of moving out of the body with or without full perception. It is the fact of this act which proves that the individual is not a body but an individual. This discovery in 1952 proved beyond any question the existence of a thetan, that the individual was a thetan, not a body, and disproved that Man was an animal and that he was a spiritual being timeless and deathless. Techniques have existed since 1952 that exteriorize a person. These are not now used because (a) the person, still being aberrated and not Clear, soon returns to his body and (b) when audited thereafter has trouble. This is a major problem a thetan sometimes has at death. How to exteriorize? He makes it eventually of course but he should be able to do so at once.” — 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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“Ninth of August? What planet? Nine August, AD 12….You are Scientologists. You are scientists. You are people who can do things with the human mind. You practically — this small confine here — practically all the people on Earth who are experts on the subject are confined at this moment in this very small area. See? All right. The trick is from my viewpoint, to get somebody who can clear somebody else while being cleared, see, that’s the stunt. Otherwise nothing else works. Not on this planet, you see.” — L. Ron Hubbard, August 9, 1962
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“The UK ban is about to come off we hear by rumour. The Adelaide Aust ban bill is cancelled. The GPO lets us mail at bulk rates again in the US. I think we’ve even found the bug in the TR Course length! So here on Flag the few of us, on long, long lines, are working like mad, short-handed but rolling it out. We ARE very upstat. When you feel critical, just realize it’s a wish to do more better faster. For these 3 small orgs to handle what they’re handling is itself an epic. The thing legends are made of. The lowest downstat amongst us would be a king in any other culture than Flag.” — The Commodore, August 9, 1971
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“There were already human beings and advanced civilization at the same time as the T-Rex and other dinosaurs. And there were then – just like today – corrupt politicians who wanted to establish a dictatorship and who would kill in the process. They wanted to reduce ‘overpopulation’ and committed genocide. The iridium layer found worldwide in 1978 is evidence of the catastrophe that Hubbard described in detail as early as 1967. Memories of it can also be found in the Vedas. The film series ‘Star Wars’ describes the same event from a different perspective. Had George Lukas been commissioned by Hubbard to make it? The similarity is too striking.”
2000: Der Spiegel published an article describing the behavior of Scientologists towards Ursula Caberta during her recent trip to
Clearwater. “Ursula Caberta, Director of the Work Group on Scientology in the Hamburg Interior Agency, had to leave the USA in a hurry. Caberta met with Scientology opponents Stacy Brooks and Bob Minton and took part in a press conference on the practices of the psycho-concern. Then she unexpectedly left the country one day earlier than planned. Caberta had no sooner landed at the airport in Tampa than she was received by Scientologists screaming ‘Nazi go home’; she was subsequently followed at every turn. Then German software businessman Hubert Heller, who lives in the USA, sued Caberta for 75,000 dollars in damages. Allegedly a major contract from German company POS Partner Gmbh had slipped through his fingers after the company had presented him with a so-called ‘sect filter’ – a ‘security statement’ in which the signer asserts that he does not operate according to the ‘technology’ of Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. The German Consul General in Florida urged that she leave: Caberta had had a summons to a deposition by Scientology attorneys shoved under her hotel room door. It said she would have to sit through a five-hour hearing in the business’s center in Clearwater. It had to do with the case of Lisa McPherson, who died under unexplained circumstances in the USA. She left the country in secret ‘before anything worse happened.’ Caberta lost her belief in the American legal system. She had never experienced anything like that before. ‘One hears about that only in dictatorships.'”
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“The ultimate goal of becoming an Operating Thetan is that you would no longer need a MEST body and you could return to being an all powerful, immortal non-corporeal being. OT 8 is actually the first ‘real’ Operating Thetan level. Hubbard croaked, so everybody’s screwed. Thetans are immortal. Mesty meat bodies, no.”
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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:
— Leah Remini v. Scientology, alleging ‘Fair Game’ harassment and defamation: Some defamation claims were removed by Judge Hammock. Judge Hammock’s ruling is on appeal. Leah’s appeal brief was filed June 3. Respondent briefs are due September 2.
— 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 ecstasy: When your space cooties finally get sober
[TWO years ago] Oh, now they’ve done it: Scientology gets in trouble with the Smurfs
[THREE years ago] Rizza Islam’s sisters plead no contest, leaving him last facing trial in Medi-Cal fraud case
[FOUR years ago] Tom Cruise’s Scientology superpowers, No. 13: Communicating with anyone on any subject
[FIVE years ago] Leaked Video: Scientology’s anti-psychiatry front talks strategy with psych professor
[SIX years ago] TOM CRUISE CAUGHT ON TAPE: Saving face after a Scientology disaster
[SEVEN years ago] Why Scientology is a haven for sexual abusers — it’s the way L. Ron Hubbard designed it
[EIGHT years ago] Hey, moneybags, Scientology has a bridge to sell you. Here’s the new price list!
[NINE years ago] The dapper CEO’s detailed response: Scientology wasn’t forced on disgruntled employee
[TEN years ago] Why no one should ever believe anything said by Scientology Sea Org or staff members
[ELEVEN years ago] Jon Atack: Escaping the trap Scientology sets for the mind
[TWELVE years ago] PZ Myers Helps Us Plunder the Riches of L. Ron Hubbard’s Book of Scientology Evolution!
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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 3,350 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,854 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,360 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,910 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,900 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,286 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,781 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,085 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,954 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,508 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,849 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,420 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,336 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,503 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,085 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,344 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,381 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,097 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,661 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,976 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,151 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,833 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,170 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,024 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,139 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,501 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,910 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,300 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,184 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,749 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,260 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,520 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,624 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on August 9, 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
