TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: The same day one of our readers forwarded to us a clip that featured Elena Cardone flogging Scientology’s bible for a Scottsdale podcaster, we also heard from an expert who really put the video into perspective: This new surge in Dianetics promotion tells a story, he says. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“When you have handled a particular false datum to a blow, going earlier similar as necessary, you would then go back and repeat the question from E (the detection step) that uncovered the false datum. If there are any more answers to the question, they are handled exactly as in Step F (location) and Step G (handling). That particular question is left when the person has no more answers. Then, if the person is not totally handled on the subject under discussion, one would use the other questions from Step E and handle them in the same way. All the questions can be asked and handled as above but one would not continue past a point where the whole subject has been cleared up and the person can now duplicate and apply the data he has been having trouble with.” — 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 ship in question — the ship in question was a heavy cruiser and its four-stripe captain had first come ashore and had looked at me, you know, ‘What! You’re Senior Officer Present ashore?’ and had sniffed. And I was trying to get him orders and he was trying to get orders and everybody was trying to do something to get it out of here, because the Japanese might strike in the north at any time. He finally came in the office, you know, all four stripes and gold braid and so forth, and he said, ‘Mr. Hubbard,’ he said, ‘if you will sign — if you will sign sailing orders for me, I’ll sail.’ So I scribbled out: ‘You are hereby detached from this station and shall proceed upon your way as befits your duties and missions. Signed, L. Ron Hubbard.’” — L. Ron Hubbard, November 7, 1959
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“SUCCESS: My sincere gratitude to L. Ron Hubbard, Commodore, for my recent auditing program. Thanks to Tommy Klingvall my auditor for helping me to see the TRUTH and as-is the lies and take responsibility for the overts on the old Time Track. This IS what Total FREEDOM is. Nothing there but me.” — Lt. N.F. Starkey, Clear OT, November 7, 1971
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“I had an excellent psychic tell me amazing stuff about me that was accurate and she mentioned how I was Nicolaus Copernicus, that rings true for me, it could very well be true, I today am thinking totally out of the square and trying to expose the truth similar to how Copernicus was all those years ago.”
1999: CNN newsreader Greta Van Susteren is the subject of a story in this month’s issue of George magazine, including her relationship to Scientology. “Raised as a Catholic, Van Susteren apparently left the church after marrying Coale, who was already a Scientologist, and she converted to his faith. Both Van Susteren and Coale have reached senior levels in the Church of Scientology, having passed a stage called ‘The Bridge to Total Freedom’ some time ago. But for Coale, Scientology is not just a church; it is a business. He has represented fellow adherent Lisa Marie Presley in her divorce from Michael Jackson. His firm, Coale, Cooley, McInerney & Broadus, has employed Loretta Miscavige, the mother of David Miscavige, who is currently the head of the church. Scientology’s ‘spiritual headquarters’ are located in Clearwater, Florida, where Van Susteren and Coale keep a vacation home. Friends of Van Susteren’s are at a loss to explain what appeal the church holds for her. Several surmise that her relationship with Coale is the determining factor. In any case, her colleagues at CNN consider her religious affiliation to be immaterial. ‘We’ve all looked for it,’ says CNN veep Gail Evans. ‘I’m a Jew. If people went at me about my religion they way they do Greta, there would be defamation groups all over the country.’ In 1994, Van Susteren and Coale used WISE to arrive at a settlement for their ex-partner Phil Allen. Also a Scientologist, Allen said he had been introduced to the church by Van Susteren after he joined her law firm, and relied on the church for help in overcoming marital problems. GEORGE obtained documents relating to the Allen separation that show Van Susteren can slip easily into the strange jargon of WISE arbitration. Participants file ‘knowledge reports,’ counterfile ‘false reports,’ and disclose information about each other in ‘Things That Shouldn’t Be’ reports. The detail in these documents is remarkable: In one of them, Van Susteren reports that a colleague at the firm, a man only tangentially related to the arbitration but a new adherent to Scientology, indulged in pornography and that she had found women’s lingerie under his desk. True or not, neither claim appears to have much relevance to the dispute with Allen. According to Van Susteren and Coale’s version of events, Allen had a problem with ‘honesty and candor.’ As a result, Allen was ‘in liability’ to them, which made it necessary for him to be ‘handled’ by a Scientology counselor. For Scientologists, being in liability is a result of committing ‘overts’, the church equivalent of a legal tort. The only way to get out of ‘liability’ is to write a ‘liability formula’, a written plan on how to make up for the offense to the church and the injured party. In a September 1994 letter to Allen, Van Susteren alleged that he had confessed to committing overts against her, Coale, and the law firm – acts that created ‘enormous enturbulation,’ a phrase apparently unique to Scientology.”
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“I’m still nursing injuries from slam dancing.”
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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 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.
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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] Leaked: A Scientology plan to ‘clear’ Hollywood
[TWO years ago] PODCAST: Apostate Alex says things really got weird on Day 3 of the IAS protest
[THREE years ago] Death of a ‘whale’: Scientology loses a major donor and Mark Bunker critic
[FOUR years ago] Spanish news website calls out Scientology volcano vultures at La Palma
[FIVE years ago] Medal by medal, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s ‘stolen valor’ is laid bare
[SIX years ago] Scientology proudly now displaying miserable secret deal it offered Clearwater leaders
[SEVEN years ago] Here’s an example of how Scientology’s ‘disconnection’ is designed to eat away at you
[EIGHT years ago] Tonight on ‘Leah Remini’: ‘I just walked away from Scientology after seeing Leah’s show’
[NINE years ago] On the ballot tomorrow: The former lawman who let Scientology’s drug horror clinic off the hook
[TEN years ago] Desperate to hurt Going Clear‘s Oscar chances, Scientology goes down a dangerous path
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientologist (and Tea Partier) Brent Jones is elected to Nevada’s legislature
[TWELVE years ago] Statistically Speaking: Jefferson Hawkins Takes Us Into Scientology’s Numbers Fixation
[THIRTEEN years ago] FOUR MORE YEARS!…Of Inaction On Scientology?
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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 3,440 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,944 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,450 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,000 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,990 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,376 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,871 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,175 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 4,826 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,044 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,598 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,939 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,510 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,426 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,593 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,175 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,434 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,471 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,186 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,751 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,066 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,241 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,923 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,260 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,113 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,229 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,591 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 4,002 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,390 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,274 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,839 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,350 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,610 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,714 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on November 7, 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 (2012-2024), 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, 20 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
