TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: It has always struck us what a unique position Mike Goldstein was in as the man who handled L. Ron Hubbard’s cash. Mark Fisher remembers this fascinating Scientology figure for us in a touching tribute. ALSO: Muggles at Saint Hill? [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
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Technology Cocktail
“The case of the little boy who had been warned not to talk about his parents’ quarrels will serve to illustrate the type of action sometimes required in addition to regular processing procedures. The measures taken in this instance were rather extreme, but were necessary for the child’s health. Blowing of the locks on this case
revealed that violent quarrels occurred as a regular feature in the household, particularly during mealtimes. It was not uncommon for dishes to be utilized as weapons, and for the child to be caught in the line of fire. The child was continually being restimulated at mealtime and was not being fed properly. During the course of processing he had not only blown locks and grief over these and other incidents, but had begun to pick up weight.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1950
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“I toured around the empty ship and it looked lonesome. The galley was kept going by deckhands. Vixie had some trouble towing the ship out to anchor but made it. (The Commodores Messenger couldn’t find the Main Engine throttles as the engineers evidently took them on liberty.) Six new X trainees came aboard and were quickly trained up and fired by Dimples the man-eating shark — at least she said they had been fired. All in all it was quiet and restful.” — L. Ron Hubbard, August 26, 1971
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“The Con of All Hands, the Navigator and the forward well deck fender tenders are assigned a Condition of Non Existence for approaching a dock too fast at too steep an angle and not correcting or recovering from an obvious pilot error and not buffering it with fenders. This resulted in a small dent and a crack in the hull. They may not have any liberty in this port. The area crack is to be welded and a small plate placed over it.” — The Commodore, August 26, 1969
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“This is what Justin Craig left to clean up after he was given free rent for 6 months at the property I am staying at. It has taken me one and a half days to clean it up and haul to the dump. This is inside a giant RV garage and he bought two old motor homes and then gutted them and threw it in a pile for the owner to clean it up. I helped her by doing the work in exchange for some storage space.”
In response to the Bunker’s inquiry about the photo, Craig sent us this: “I should have taken a shit on top and wrapped everything up with a little red bow.”
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1997: Gerry Armstrong posted an appeal filed in the California Court of Appeal, asking for a reversal of a summary judgment in a Marin County court against Gerry. Scientology obtained a $300,000 award and a permanent injunction in that case. “The judgment and injunction are the result of the enforcement by way of breach of contract action of a 1986 ‘Mutual Release of All Claims and Settlement Agreement,’ (SA) which was to end then existing Los Angeles Superior Court litigation between Scn and GA. The SA requires, inter alia, that GA not mention Scn, his knowledge thereof or experiences therein, not voluntarily assist or advise Scn’s litigation opponents including governmental agencies, and avoid service of process. GA contends that his signature was obtained by Scn on the SA by duress, fraud and the compromise of his then attorney. GA contends that all his alleged breaches of the SA were in response to and in self-defense against Scn’s post-settlement attacks on him, and that as such his actions were legally justified. He contends that the purpose and function of the SA and its enforcement are obstruction of justice, and as such are against public policy. He contends that the SA and the injunction impermissibly violate his Constitutional rights to freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of association, due process and freedom from slavery; and impermissibly eliminate his litigant’s, clergyman-penitent, therapist-patient and doctor-patient privileges. GA contends that the liquidated damages provision impermissibly acts as punishment, that the amount has no reasonable relationship to Scn’s actual damages for his alleged breaches, and that there are sufficient disputed facts concerning circumstances at the time of the settlement of the Los Angeles action to make imposition of monetary damages and disposition of the case by summary judgment clear judicial error. GA contends that there is also a triable issue of fact as to the intentions of the settling parties regarding Scn’s being bound by the same silence conditions. Finally, GA contends that the court below erred in not considering his defenses and not considering the miscarriage of justice which would result from its erroneous judgment. GA was inside Scn from 1969 through 1981. From 1971 until he left the organization he was a member of the Sea Organization, the highly dedicated upper echelon of Scn, and worked for Scn founder and director L. Ron Hubbard. GA’s last position inside Scn involved assembling an archive of Hubbard’s personal documents and providing research assistance and copies of the archive documents to a writer Omar Garrison who had been contracted to produce Hubbard’s biography. GA attempted to get the organization to correct the lies, but his efforts were rejected and he was ordered to a ‘security check,’ a Scn interrogation using its lie detector, also called an E-meter. GA saw that his trust, which he had placed in Hubbard and Scn for more than 12 years, had no meaning, and that the frauds perpetrated about Hubbard’s life would continue; and as a result GA left the organization. Shortly after leaving, GA became the target of Scn’s ‘Fair Game Doctrine,’ which permits individuals designated as ‘enemies,’ also called ‘Suppressive Persons,’ hereinafter ‘SP’s,’ to be ‘deprived of property, injured by any means by any Scientologist… tricked, sued, or lied to or destroyed.’ Scn continued its fair game attacks on GA which included at least these acts: attempted entrapment; illegal videotaping; filing false criminal charges against him with the Los Angeles District Attorney; filing false criminal charges against him with the Boston office of the FBI; filing false declarations to bring contempt of court proceedings against him on three occasions; obtaining perjured affidavits from English private investigators who had harassed him in London, England in 1984, accusing him of distributing ‘sealed’ documents; international dissemination of Scientology publications falsely accusing him of, inter alia, crimes, including crimes against humanity; culling and disseminating information from his supposedly confidential auditing or psychotherapy file.”
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“Hubbard was making the whole thing up as he went along, and the ‘tech’ is nothing but mumbo jumbo. Until these people realize that LRH was the flim flam man, they will never be truly free.”
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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, oral arguments scheduled for June 25. 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. Now serving time in 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 June 19.
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, which is now fully briefed. Oral arguments hearing set for July 23.
— 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 upheld on appeal. Scientology expected to file additional petitions before case can return to Kalra’s court.
— Jane Doe 1 v. Scientology, David Miscavige, and Gavin Potter: Case unsealed and second amended complaint filed. Scientology moves for religious arbitration. 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] When a Scientology spy becomes a double agent — and then gets burned
[TWO years ago] The Hubbard tapes: When Scientology was all about reeling you in
[THREE years ago] PODCAST: Jonny Jacobsen, our man in Paris, was on Scientology’s abuses before most
[FOUR years ago] Andreas Heldal-Lund, who stared down Scientology, now faces his own mortality
[FIVE years ago] Gerry Armstrong hits back at apologist journal for questioning Hubbard ‘pinks & greys’ letter
[SIX years ago] Ahead of next week’s hearing, Danny Masterson’s accusers blast his attacks on their lawsuit
[SEVEN years ago] Tonight, Leah Remini ends ‘Scientology and the Aftermath’ with a hard look at Danny Masterson
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology keeps pushing for ‘Ideal Orgs’ in places where it’s pure madness
[NINE years ago] DOX: The FBI’s 2008 investigation of Anonymous and its attacks on the Church of Scientology
[TEN years ago] Is the Enquirer’s ‘exclusive’ on Scientology’s ‘hooker orgy’ a David Miscavige backfire?
[ELEVEN years ago] So much for tabloid rumors: Tom Cruise visits Scientology’s ‘Ideal Org’ while he’s in Bogotá
[TWELVE years ago] More trouble for Scientology’s drug rehab network, Narconon — this time in Florida
[THIRTEEN years ago] ANETTE IREN JOHANSEN: “I Auditioned To Be Tom Cruise’s Wife”
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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 3,732 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 4,236 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,742 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 4,292 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,668 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 3,163 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,469 days.
Marc Headley has not seen his mother Trudy in 5,118 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 4,336 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,890 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 5,231 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,802 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,718 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,885 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,471 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,730 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,478 days.
Marie Poulin has not seen her mother June in 4,047 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 2,358 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,533 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 5,215 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,552 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 10,405 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,521 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,883 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,682 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,566 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 4,141 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,642 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,902 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 16,006 days.
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Posted by Tony Ortega on August 26, 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, 1995-2025 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
