TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Million-dollar Scientology donor Joe Cecala is suing former employee Jeff Ferrell for speaking out about Cecala’s failed attempt to get stock exchange status for his Chicago startup that hid its Scientology connections. Ferrell told the court he still needs a lawyer. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“The co-audit is an early Scientology and Dianetics innovation. It was the bright idea used in the early days to get a lot of auditing done in more volume and on a broader scale than would ever have been possible on a one-for-one basis at that time. It was also the means of training the many who were demanding training in this new technology, and providing them with the opportunity to get their own cases handled while at the same time giving them a subjective reality on the processes
they were delivering to others. The term ‘co-auditing’ is an abbreviation for ‘cooperative auditing’.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1980
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“I had the officers of six other ships in my squadron come aboard, and only one of them stood alongside of me, and the other five were trying to convince me that if I kept this up I was going to get everybody killed. I said, ‘Kept what up?’ ‘You keep attacking these submarines.’ I said, ‘What are we supposed to be doing, gentlemen?’ And they said, ‘Well, every time a submarine shows up, you needn’t signal attack! It’s stupid! You’re going to get somebody hurt!’ I proved to them tactically that if you did not suddenly attack a submarine and if you did retire behind the convoy every time one showed up, you’re going to get yourself killed for sure — for sure! This was not in their level of agreement. They never did get it.” — L. Ron Hubbard, February 1, 1957
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“You realize, Officers and Crew, if you bring this cruise off splendidly, no port of the entire Med or Continental Europe is closed to us. The enemy anti-ship action will have been totally defeated. Keep that in mind when a little extra zing has to go into the action. It will be a big coup if you bring it off.” — The Commodore, February 1, 1970
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“I got a private message from someone who was from Ron’s Org. He claims he has done superstatic rundown at Ron’s org. I asked him if a being went completely out of the physical universe to a complete void and re-entered the physical universe in another time then what would that be. He said that is superstatic rundown. Able to leave this physical universe and enter into any other time period. It happened to me when the class 8 auditor was doing integrity processing on me and asked me a question that would take me into a past life. The past life of this orb [thetan with a location] I’m running is blank, because this orb was created new right out of the source, like inelia Benz, but the meter was reading an incident on one of my timelines. I had to go out of this physical universe to source and re-enter in my other timelines track to erase the incident.”
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2002: BBC News reported that Tom Cruise took time from promoting his latest movie to lobby the American ambassador to Germany on behalf of Scientology. “He met with US ambassador Dan Coats while in the country promoting his new movie Vanilla Sky with co-star and girlfriend Penelope Cruz. Germany refuses to recognise Scientology as a legitimate church, claiming it is a fake religion based on making money from its followers. Scientology was put under official scrutiny in Germany in 1997, followed by France which outlawed it as a cult. Following Cruise’s hour-long meeting with Mr. Coats the star signed autographs and chatted to embassy staff, who remarked on how friendly and patient he was. Mr. Coats later attended the German premiere of Vanilla Sky, but would not comment on the meeting.”
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“I still keep coming back to the fact that the mind control/brainwashing/undue influence only worked on a very small percentage of those exposed to it. I think that the focus should be on what the 5 percent (or thereabouts) of the exposed population who joined groups like Scientology, the NSDAP or the Khmer Rouge have in common.”
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Full Court Press: What we’re watching at the Underground Bunker
Criminal prosecutions:
— Danny Masterson charged for raping three women: Sentenced to 30 years to life on Sep 7, 2023. Appeal now fully briefed, waiting for 2nd Appellate District court to set a hearing date. Masterson has also submitted a habeas corpus petition.
— ‘Lafayette Ronald Hubbard’ (a/k/a Justin Craig), aggravated assault, plus drug charges: Grand jury indictments include charges from an assault while in custody. Pleaded guilty on Nov 10 to a 17-year prison sentence (eligible for parole in two to three more years). Awaiting transfer to state prison.
— Aaron Matthes charged for SA of child under 12 years old: OT Scientologist facing multiple mandatory life sentences. Next pretrial court hearing set for Feb 2.
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 respondent’s brief is due February 11.
— Baxter, Baxter, and Paris v. Scientology, alleging labor trafficking: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’
— Valerie Haney v. Scientology: Forced to ‘religious arbitration.’ 15 days of arbitration completed, Val waiting for further word from the IJC.
— Chrissie Bixler et al. v. Scientology and Danny Masterson. Judge Upindra Kalra’s ruling denying Scientology’s motion to strike is on appeal. Appeal fully briefed. Motion to replace Jane Does’ AI-tainted brief denied by court. Awaiting a court hearing date.
— 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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Other links: The prosecution of Danny Masterson. Leah Remini’s Fair Game Podcast. Leah Remini’s A&E Series. Scientology’s Celebrities, from A to Z. Bryan Seymour’s suppressed series, 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] An appellate lawyer looks at Danny Masterson’s appeal arguments
[TWO years ago] Scientology hopping mad after Mike Rinder and Claire Headley help out Leah Remini
[THREE years ago] She was branded a Scientologist villain by some online. But is she a villain at all?
[FOUR years ago] This document really captures what it’s like to be a Scientology indentured servant
[FIVE years ago] Did Tom Mesereau just reveal his strategy for Danny Masterson’s crucial prelim?
[SIX years ago] What are Valerie Haney’s options after Scientology won its arbitration motion?
[SEVEN years ago] NFL great Marshall Faulk plugs Scientology front group on Fox News
[EIGHT years ago] Viewers react to Tampa NBC affiliate saying Scientology is sponsoring Winter Olympics
[NINE years ago] The odd and slightly troubling thing Elon Musk and L. Ron Hubbard have in common
[TEN years ago] MONIQUE RATHBUN FIRES HER ENTIRE LEGAL TEAM, REPORTEDLY SEEKS SETTLEMENT
[ELEVEN years ago] About that Scientology ad you saw on TV before and during the Super Bowl
[TWELVE years ago] Jon Atack takes apart the Scientology E-meter
[THIRTEEN years ago] Blogging Dianetics, Part 5: Your Mind is a 1950s Computer
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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 3,526 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,030 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,536 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,086 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 3,076 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,462 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,957 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,261 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 4,912 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,130 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,684 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,025 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,596 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,512 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,679 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,261 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,520 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,272 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 3,837 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,152 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,327 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,009 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,346 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,199 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,315 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,677 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 4,088 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,476 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,360 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,925 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,436 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,696 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,800 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on February 1, 2026 at 07:00
E-mail tips to tonyo94 AT gmail DOT com or follow us on Twitter.
Our book with Paulette Cooper, Battlefield Scientology: Exposing L. Ron Hubbard’s dangerous ‘religion’ is 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)
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Tony Ortega at The Daily Beast
