TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Scientology was in a panic: It was 2005, and they knew that Rolling Stone was digging into a story. What to do? They had Tom Cruise call Jann Wenner and ask him to talk to Mike Rinder. When Wenner called, Scientology was taping, and now we have the transcript. It’s fascinating. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
——————–
Technology Cocktail
“A dirty needle will either clean or turn into an rock slam (R/S). It is your hottest string to pull in finding and turning on an R/S. Thus it is not to be overlooked. The area that is producing a dirty needle when questioned for full data will either clean or go into an R/S. The area that gave the dirty needle is considered clean when you can go over it and it no longer produces a dirty needle. If a dirty needle still persists then there is more to the withhold itself or something the pc isn’t voicing about the withhold or how he feels about the withhold. But, pushed. with auditor’s TRs in, this dirty needle will turn into an R/S or it will fully clean.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1978
——————–
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.
——————–
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
——————–
“You could teach people quite a bit about just any one of these Security Checks, you see. Like the children’s check. Teaching them how to use a children’s check. That’s quite interesting. You, of course, mustn’t ask a question which the child can’t understand because you will have an immediate ARC break. He thinks he’s being accused of something; he doesn’t know what you’re talking about. So you have to rephrase all of the questions in the child’s Security Check, you see, so as to reach the comprehension level of a child.” — L. Ron Hubbard, September 26, 1961
——————–
“PARTY: That was a great party. The actors in the skits were marvelous. Bill’s Apollo Elastic Band was surprisingly competent. Didn’t know we had that many real musicians and Bill has been hiding a very low and dirty clarinet.” — The Commodore, September 26, 1970
——————–
“In case it’s not clear to everyone, Scientologists have a clear advantage over non-Scientologists in almost every way. Let me be even more bold about that. Scientologists are superior to non-Scientologists with regard to a huge number of issues. This is simply a fact.”
——————–
1999: Scientology celebrity John Travolta fled France this week to avoid being called to testify at the trial of French Scientologists. From the Independent: “The actor and Scientologist John Travolta has cut short a visit to Paris apparently because he feared he might be called to give evidence in the trial of seven French members of the Church of Scientology in Marseilles. Members of his entourage told the French news agency, Agence France Presse, that Travolta feared that he might be forced to give evidence at the fraud trial of seven French Scientologists. The judgment on the seven, accused of claiming sums of up to pounds 15,000 for bogus treatment, has been delayed until 15 November.”
——————–
“Vallarrr use to blather on about how if someone had an irrational fear of spiders and they did some auditing and that fear was gone that was proof of auditing working.”
——————–
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.
— 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 submitted July 30. Scientology’s reply due October 20.
— 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.
——————–
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?
——————–
THE WHOLE TRACK
[ONE year ago] HEDGE WIZARD: Busy apostate deals another blow to Scientology’s sneaky ways
[TWO years ago] Court today: Masterson victims want to resume lawsuit, Scientology wants it kept on ice
[THREE years ago] Watching Scientology lie to foreigners about ‘religious’ visas: A very personal account
[FOUR years ago] Russia’s latest strategy to curb Scientology: Shut down the money pipeline
[FIVE years ago] Scientology ex-Sea Orger with ties to dark secrets running for city council in Oregon
[SIX years ago] City councilman demonstrates why Scientology puts so much effort into its front groups
[SEVEN years ago] A conversation with Nathan Rich about the unique Scientology hellscape he survived
[EIGHT years ago] To help you through withdrawals tonight, take our poll on Leah Remini’s Season Two so far
[NINE years ago] SCIENTOLOGY’S TOP 20 CELEBRITIES — in order of those most likely to defect
[TEN years ago] ‘Darth Xander’ files motion challenging Scientology’s anti-protesting injunction
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology prepares for its big party in England, Maureen Bolstad on the Purification Rundown
[TWELVE years ago] Did Scientology Pay $3 Million To Foil an “Independent Scientology Org” in Clearwater?
——————–
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 3,398 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,902 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,408 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,958 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,948 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,334 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,829 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,133 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 4,784 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,002 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,556 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,897 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,468 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,384 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,551 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,133 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,392 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,429 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,145 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,709 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,024 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,199 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,881 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,218 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,071 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,187 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,549 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,960 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,348 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,232 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,797 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,308 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,568 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,672 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on September 26, 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, 1995-2024 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
