Tony Ortega's Blog, page 35
May 25, 2025
Scientology trying to ban protests at UK headquarters: Alex needs your input!
TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: Former London Scientology staffer Alex Barnes-Ross has been keeping us current on the church’s efforts to get a law passed that would ban protesting at its UK headquarters. Now, he’s asking for your input as the local government asks protesters to abide by a set of protocols. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
——————–
Technology Cocktail
“I have been engaged for some months now in a round-up of out tech issues. And I have found, I am sorry to say, that mice have been gnawing at the pillars of the Bridge, putting up traffic barriers and false detour signs. I have been finding serious out tech issues and correcting them. Whether because of misunderstood words (the commonest cause of out tech alterations) or other reasons, there have been a staggering number of tech sectors that have been corrupted by issues by others that alter-ised.” — 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
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});[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
——————–
“How about the big boy who becomes the big boy, and he’s been a local boy in some town, and all of a sudden he becomes a big boy. And he’s highly powerful on Wall Street. And he never again speaks to any of his friends in the old home town. Jesus, those people resent that. That is so much the matter of the thing that I can tell you personally that it’s almost impossible to speak to them. That is to say, if you’ve been in an area where you’ve been very well known and you suddenly become, oh, you might say, become a celebrity or something like that, these people won’t believe that you want to talk to them, you see? They’re so used to having the formula violated. You get the idea?” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 25, 1965
——————–
“TO ALL ABOARD: (1) Anyone who makes any shuffle, bang, clatter — ANY NOISE — while the Commodore is IN SESSION will get NO AUDITING themselves for 3 months. (2) For FEBC’s — they lose a week’s stats. (3) The Commodore’s Messengers are keeping a list of these people and will turn the list in to D of P as well as a copy for Dir I&R. If one isn’t considerate enough to let the Commodore audit — one doesn’t deserve it himself. (4) If the Port Prom deck is roped off — it is for a PURPOSE — don’t go walking under the rope. IT IS OUT OF BOUNDS! (5) The radio room is OUT OF BOUNDS when LRH is IN SESSION too. (6) If the A & B Deck ladies heads are closed off with a sign saying ‘LRH IN SESSION NO ENTRY’ you don’t walk under the rope — go somewhere else!” — Msm Terri Gillham, Commodore’s Messenger, May 25, 1971
——————–
“I always had a lot of enturbulative mass in my space, but knew I was a really big Thetan. I’ve had almost no auditing but there are a couple of totally kick ass processes on the First American and I did them both and got so blown out I was able to change the weather and almost anything I would postulate would come to me magically, and many other Godlike OT powers that many piss and moan that they were never able to achieve. All that’s wrong with us is that we need to blow out all the mass and circuitry and then we are able to do pretty much anything, even those things that require study or a normal person, because you know it all — it’s up at Knowingness. I ran that process they do on the E-Meter to discover how long we’ve been in this universe – and I couldn’t possibly, possibly have been here longer than 2,000 years, I thought. Since I remembered about five Whole Track incidents without any auditing and even remembered being in native state before I came here. I think it’s that same ACC where LRH says that most people have been here 74 or 76 trillion years. He says he doesn’t know what they’re using for years, maybe just the swing of a planet around its star (which could all be different.) He says the least amount of time person has been here is 3,000 years. That’s when I recounted each lifetime being about 100 years and couldn’t possibly imagine being here more than 20. Then I went to Marty’s blog sometime after that and some guy said is only been here for 2400 years – I thought, OK so maybe that’s an average LRH gave or maybe he doesn’t know EVERYTHING.”
2001: The Los Angeles Times reported that investors in Reed Slatkin’s investment fund are unlikely to get back much of their money. “Investors who gave money to fallen investment manager Reed E. Slatkin already are looking for ways to recoup their expected losses through lawsuits – but they’re finding few obvious targets, investor attorneys said. Among the possibilities: a handful of banks that acted as custodians for individual retirement account and 401(k) funds invested by Slatkin; financial professionals who introduced clients to Slatkin, who wasn’t registered as an investment advisor; and even fellow investors who received principal and interest payments from Slatkin in recent years. Among his more than 500 clients nationwide were Internet executives, Hollywood celebrities, socialites and fellow Scientologists. The SEC, which won a court order freezing Slatkin’s assets May 11, said it has been unable to locate the Swiss bank accounts Slatkin said he used to trade stocks, or the financial advisory firm Slatkin said he used to facilitate the trades. Those who recommended Slatkin to others could be targeted for lawsuits as well. Many investors who gave money to Slatkin said in interviews that they met him through mutual friends who bragged about the returns Slatkin was making for them. Some investor attorneys say it’s possible that those later investors will sue the earlier investors, arguing the earlier investors duped them. ‘Everybody’s going to turn against each other,’ predicted one investor attorney, who also asked to remain anonymous.”
——————–
“There is plenty room around here for the J&D’s as well as the ‘Herberts’ and if people cross way over the line they usually get their asses straightened out by both sides.”
——————–
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 June 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 June 16.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud. Sentenced to 7 years in prison.
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 due June 3.
— 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 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] Scientology thinks it’s caught a reporter in a scandal. Has it?
[TWO years ago] Deborah Rennard fends off ugly accusations by Haleigh Breest in new affidavit
[THREE years ago] Meet the heavy-hitter lawyers Scientology has hired for labor trafficking case
[FOUR years ago] Is Scientology protecting Danny Masterson or is it protecting itself? A Sea Org perspective.
[FIVE years ago] On Memorial Day, Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s ‘stolen valor’: His bogus war injuries
[SIX years ago] Behind enemy li(n)es: Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard’s secret mission that never was
[SEVEN years ago] Erika Christensen shows off her new Scientology trophy for donating half a million bucks
[EIGHT years ago] Our photographer goes back for more Scientology ‘body routing’ on the streets of LA
[NINE years ago] As Scientology prepares for Saturday’s grand opening, its controversial sign goes up
[TEN years ago] On Memorial Day, some new revelations from L. Ron Hubbard’s military record
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology Sunday Funnies: Save the date for Maiden Voyage!
[TWELVE years ago] TMZ The Latest To Mix Up Tiziano Lugli for Tom Cruise
——————–
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 3,275 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,770 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,285 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,835 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,825 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,211 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,706 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,010 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,879 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,433 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,774 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,341 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,260 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,428 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,010 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,269 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,306 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,022 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,586 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,901 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,076 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,758 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,095 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,949 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,064 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,426 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,835 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,231 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,109 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,674 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,185 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,441 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,549 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on May 25, 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
Libturds fainting over Trump getting real about trophy wives
Some links to Q-related items today
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Trump asked Melania to walk around in her bathing suit at Mar-a-Lago "so all the other guys could get a look at what they were missing."https://t.co/funiPBNakZ https://t.co/fryUszplWB
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 24, 2025
Trump: “The job of the U.S. Armed forces is …to spread democracy to everybody around the world at the point of a gun…” https://t.co/TYcmCvd0VD
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 24, 2025
I must have seen a different speech than this Bloomberg reporter. I saw him tell Army Grads:
•Stealth Technology is Bad
•“Trophy Wives” are good
•Qatar and UAE says we are “hot”
•Army must be sent to border
•Transgender soldiers are bad
•Obama gave Russia hypersonic tech https://t.co/xft8YOFnty
— Ben Meiselas 🎤 (@meiselasb) May 24, 2025
Jong-Fast: It’s also important to mention that this bill grows the deficit. I don’t know how it manages to do the two things you absolutely don’t want—starve children and grow the deficit—but it does.
And look, the bond market isn’t happy. It’s kind of the last thing we’ve got… pic.twitter.com/oFkkUo7v7B
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 24, 2025
Much as the enemy is both too weak and too strong at the same time COVID was both a bioweapon the Deep State used to kill your grandmother and made her and countless others die alone, but also was totally harmless and the media lied to us about it's lethality. pic.twitter.com/BcnPrLveuN
— Poker and Politics (@PokerPolitics) May 25, 2025
Year 8 of “Oh this guy is totally getting indicted” any day now the bad guys are getting arrested. Always soon, never now. pic.twitter.com/suIyBf3ADL
— Poker and Politics (@PokerPolitics) May 24, 2025
Looking for some background on the QAnon movement? We recommend Travis View’s excellent article at New York magazine as a place to start.
THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.
Posted by Tony Ortega on May 25, 2025 at 08:00
May 24, 2025
The disciplinary report of lawyer who abused the trust of a Scientology victim
TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: The Pennsylvania Bar has revealed it is suspending the license of attorney Brian Kent for 3 years, and published its report of what occurred between Kent and a woman who had come to him with allegations of abuse by the Church of Scientology. We have the report for you to read. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
——————–
Technology Cocktail
“There is no pc on this planet or any planet that wants to experience over-repair and misery due to false TAs. You will be doing them a great service to handle it for them so they can happily be audited after that. Don’t Q&A with the pc’s considerations just find what ‘in the physical universe’ is causing the false TA and remedy that in the physical universe.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1977
——————–
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
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});[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
——————–
“This is probably how the ancient magician enchanted things. Possibly princes have turned into deer in the forest. If you took a period in the magic universe when thetans were still capable of mocking up their own bodies, and you pulled some shocking stunt on the person and sandwiched them in that ‘You are now a deer,’ why, he’d cease to mock up the prince and start mocking up a deer, don’t you see? And he would be an enchanted deer. That would be how enchantments were accomplished. I mean, the mechanism of enchantment is no cruder than that.” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 24, 1962
——————–
“FISH AND SAUSAGES: There’s a native street off the main drag where fresh grilled fish, and a kind of hot dog and other bits cost about 10 cents apiece or less. Cokes can be gotten nearby. Don’t shoot the prices up. Interesting area.” — The Commodore, May 24, 1970
——————–
“What the hell is this MEST universe composed of, anyway? I watch the History Channel, H2 specifically, a lot and they’ve said things which made me wonder. Even astronauts experimented and found out if they go up in space time slows down and they age less faster, but this makes sense since they are a lot further away from the gravity of this solar system, or planet, and also there are less particles in that manner traveling through space, as such, which is all that’s causing ‘time’ anyway. After listening to the old man I am totally left speechless, which is an understatement of his abilities and I’m positive there is no other being which is as elevated as him at least as far as inventing the tech goes, and my reality is that he invented it long ago in outer space because I also had a clear memory flash in my mind of a woman auditing me with an E-Meter in outer space, which looked exactly like the ones used in Scientology 8 or 9 years before I found it. I’m sure he is gone throughout the universe bringing the tech to as many beings as he can, and this is what he’s continuing to do – freeing beings is one of his most favorite games. In my reality he only came to us 2,500 years ago as Buddha because the planet was so primitive still that that’s all that would’ve been accepted or real to them, or able for them to preserve. He says on the PDC or First American ACC that the only difference between us and him is that he never agreed to be a slave – sorry – but that’s all that it is! This makes sense because if one gives in to excruciating pain, they can then become enslaved and entrapped.”
2000: Bryan Zwan issued subpoenas this week to critics of Scientology, attempting to obtain information on former Scientologist Brian Haney. Haney is suing for delivery of stock options that were awarded him in a fraud case. Zwan cited Haney’s support of Scientology critics as the reason for withholding the options, worth hundreds of millions of dollars. From Gregg Hagglund: “I recently received a subpoena from a US District Court in Southern Ohio in the Zwan/Haney raucous. Since I consulted my lawyer and I am entitled to my expenses for your willful harassment. Please remit to me $500 Can. Since you have gone to so much trouble to engage a Reporting firm here in Canada for me to bring my documents to for copying on June 1, I intend to go. I shall bring close to 500,000 pages of documents and correspondence for copying and transmission to your offices on your clients nickel. If you can find any communique in that pile from Mr. Haney, Brown or HSH Investments you are welcome to it.”
——————–
“There are no shortage of folks here who enjoy a serious discourse, and there are those like myself who love satire, snark, and the absurd. That’s what makes this place so special. You need to be able to appreciate both to truly get the whole groovy effect of this place. And there’s a difference between respecting people and respecting their ‘beliefs’.”
——————–
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 June 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 June 16.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud. Sentenced to 7 years in prison.
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 due June 3.
— 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 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] Scientology has perfect metaphor for their operation in industrial wasteland
[TWO years ago] Bruce Hines: Scientology has always protected abusers and always will
[THREE years ago] Yes, Narconon IS Scientology, and we have video that settles the matter
[FOUR years ago] How the Scientology drama in Danny Masterson’s prelim appeared to a former Sea Org official
[FIVE years ago] VIDEO: Proof Scientology still promotes Hubbard’s bizarre ideas about evolution
[SIX years ago] How Scientology created its own prison for children who chafed at lifetime service
[SEVEN years ago] When rabid Scientologists got into a fistfight with US marshals to protect L. Ron Hubbard
[EIGHT years ago] Believe it or not, a second season of Reza Aslan’s ‘Believer’ is coming
[NINE years ago] As Scientology sinks, does Tom Cruise really have to go down with the ship?
[TEN years ago] Paulette Cooper has a surprise for Scientology and the residents of a certain Florida town
[ELEVEN years ago] When Scientologists sell each other Scientology: ‘I’m me for the first time in trillions of years’
[TWELVE years ago] Scientology’s Enforcer Has a New Book: Will This Be The One We’re Waiting For?
——————–
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 3,274 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,769 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,284 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,834 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,824 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,210 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,705 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,009 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,878 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,432 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,773 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,340 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,259 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,427 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,009 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,268 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,305 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,021 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,585 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,900 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,075 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,757 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,094 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,948 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,063 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,425 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,834 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,230 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,108 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,673 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,184 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,440 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,548 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on May 24, 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
Trump at his crypto dinner: ‘We have no inflation’
Some links to Q-related items today
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});5 things Trump did this week
1. Called Beyoncé and Bruce Springsteen “unpatriotic performers”
2. Shared a racist, flat Earth Facebook account with a world leader
3. Held a sketchy crypto event
4. Threatened to increase iPhone prices
5. Left work early for his golf club pic.twitter.com/RSryM5REkf
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 23, 2025
Trump at his closed door crypto event:
“The country is doing really well. We have no inflation. Costs are way down. Oil was just at $1.99, $1.98 a gallon which we haven’t seen in years.” pic.twitter.com/2bIcGaKNlq
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 23, 2025
This isn’t the first time Trump has demonstrated that he has no clue as to what he is signing until the last minute https://t.co/2SvErxmDMz
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 23, 2025
From the NYT: Dinner guests who paid up for Trump’s crypto dinner “said that they attended the event with the explicit intent of influencing Mr. Trump and U.S. financial regulations.” pic.twitter.com/O0eZ7VvfvE
— Steve Inskeep (@NPRinskeep) May 23, 2025
In a podcast appearance yesterday, Mike Smith — a QAnon supporter who created a viral Pizzagate-supporting video in 2020 alleging Hollywood supports satanism & pedophilia — said he's currently a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, which awards the Oscars. pic.twitter.com/hVnmarNiKC
— Alex Kaplan (@AlKapDC) May 23, 2025
In recent days, Oath Keepers & J6ers Stewart Rhodes & Jessica Watkins discussed being in jail with fellow J6 participants who supported QAnon & them pushing QAnon onto Rhodes & Watkins. In response, the two said they told them it was "gibberish" & "crazy crap," respectively. pic.twitter.com/w6v4rxiI0i
— Alex Kaplan (@AlKapDC) May 23, 2025
Looking for some background on the QAnon movement? We recommend Travis View’s excellent article at New York magazine as a place to start.
THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.
Posted by Tony Ortega on May 1, 2025 at 08:00
May 23, 2025
Scientology has a Spotify channel, and it’s all that we hoped
TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: No joke, Scientology actually has a channel on Spotify. What could possibly be on it? L. Ron Hubbard’s epic tunes? The Apollo All Stars? Edgar Winter classics? Chaka Khan? No such luck. But still, Geoff Levin writes, it fulfilled everything he’s seen about music and the church. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
——————–
Technology Cocktail
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});“False TA is in the physical universe. It is something that really exists. When you start checking for meter reads you are violating this law. It is in the physical universe not the pc’s think or bank. It can badly mess up a case to not find the cause of false TAs and then carry on with auditing. Understanding the meter and what the meter reads on and understanding false TA and what causes it are the basics behind finding a false TA and remedying it so that the pc can happily continue on with auditing and advance.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1977
——————–
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
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});
——————–
“There are lines of force in a galaxy. And these cookies had actually found how to detach matter along a line of force. And so they’d set a Magellanic Cloud loose along one of these lines of force and it would swing out of balance and move on out and engulf a system, and then swinging out further would engulf another system, and would spend an awful long time hanging around the system as it went by, you see? And frankly, these clouds would get to systems which they didn’t come near for maybe thousands and thousands of years. They didn’t direct these clouds intimately, they just set them loose and they would drift out through space. And these wise professors — I’ve never trusted a professor since — would sit around stroking their diplomas saying, ‘Well, this is the natural consequences of the disintegration of a galaxy. A certain period in the life of a galaxy, the Magellanic radioactive masses at the interior of the hub begin to disperse themselves out toward the rim. And this is known as the Keplin-Spreplin law and the Booplum-Booplin law, and the calculations are M to the gup-gup squared or the rippety-rip-bop to the tenth power.’” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 23, 1963
——————–
“Psychology and psychiatry have been traced as the direct authors of Fascism and today propound the Fascist message of violence and death across the world. This tangled web is being laid out like a carpet from documents being unearthed from the Nuremberg trials of war criminals and other sources. We always knew they were bad. We did not know Psychologists and Psychiatrists were the men behind Hitler and the gas chambers. By documents unearthed there is no difference whatever between psychiatric doctrine now being voiced in the East and West and Nazi doctrines so abhorred by all the world. ‘Racial Purity,’ ‘eradicated minorities,’ ‘genes,’ the lot. So it all begins to fit into a pattern. We had to be fought, for the appearance of real mental tech on the planet spelled the end of Fascist usage of false mental tech to politically dominate the world. Until we came along they were winning very nicely. So that’s one reason it’s so important to establish Scientology in Europe and England. And we’re making it.” — The Commodore, May 23, 1971
——————–
“There was a guy who said he was audited and found out he was Jesus Christ. I was new in Scientology and we are not supposed to evaluate or invalidate, but he was telling me that the marks of the crucifixion were on his hands. And then he flashes and says, ‘You were one of the criminals on the cross, and the other criminal was LRH and on those crosses we decided to salvage this planet.’ Well I couldn’t get that out of my head and I was afraid to report him because he was in data division and I had no idea what would happen if I did report him. So I took the chance in session to go back and and look, and I stepped in both criminals and knew I had nothing to do with them. But then I went into Christ’s body and it felt like some huge piece of concrete was slamming up against me — not me a body but me a spirit, and that is a lot different feeling. So my cognition was they were trying to stop Christ from finishing what he wanted to do, some kind of spiritual awaking or something. And this UFO was cloaked in gold and I saw they were radiating something out to the crowds, which at first made me think that Christ was sending some kind of light, spiritual awareness of some kind. But no, that UFO was implanting the area. So I yelled, it was a trick.”
——————–
1999: The Sunday News in Lancaster, Pennsylvania reported that a Scientologist has been arrested in the murder of a business partner who he had introduced to Scientology and insurance schemes. “He had parked his blue Mercedes in the driveway. The garage door stood open. If 33-year-old David R. Artz had any premonition of danger, he took no obvious precautions. The killer or killers walked into his newly purchased home in Coral Springs, Fla. They tied him to a chair. And, with a flurry of gunshots, they took the Manheim Township businessman’s life. The murder of the president and owner of Conestoga Fuels Inc. took place in February 1985, and in the ensuing years it has appeared increasingly unlikely that either of the two men charged with setting up the killing would be held accountable. One, former Lancastrian Samuel G. Lombardo, died in Florida in 1994. The other, John W. Kramer Sr., formerly of York, moved to Costa Rica. But now, 14 years after the crime, immigration agents in Atlanta, Ga., have arrested Kramer as he re-entered the country for medical care. The attorney declined to discuss any matters concerning Kramer, other than the extradition proceedings. Court documents, however, describe him as a practitioner of Scientology, known as ‘Father John,’ who converted Artz to the religion and used its doctrines to influence his business decisions. Kramer and Lombardo had run similar insurance schemes, most unsuccessful, against other business owners during the previous two decades, Florida prosecutors charged in 1990.”
——————–
“I love churches, cathedrals, mosques and I’ve visited more than few of them. I just don’t like what’s being taught in a lot of them.”
——————–
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 June 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 June 16.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud. Sentenced to 7 years in prison.
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 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] The mostly forgotten ship that started one of the biggest Scientology legal cases of all time
[TWO years ago] Straight Up and Vertical: When is this jury going to deliver a result?
[THREE years ago] How I know your Scientology files weren’t confidential: It was my job to dig through them
[FOUR years ago] How Scientology can make a tragedy worse, and then even worse again
[FIVE years ago] AUDIO: Scientology recruiter says wrecked families small price for salvaged planet
[SIX years ago] Scientology tries stealthy opening of new drug rehab in Canada and gets stuffed
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology asks court to freeze Laura D’s forced-abortion case for a long-shot appeal
[EIGHT years ago] When a Scientology ‘body-router’ turns out to be the father you haven’t seen in 7 years
[NINE years ago] Scientology’s newest attack on Ron Miscavige: Could his son David be any whinier?
[TEN years ago] Jon Atack: Stop making excuses for L. Ron Hubbard and the Snow White Program!
[ELEVEN years ago] Richard Teague speaks out after his horrific ordeal at a Scientology rehab center
[TWELVE years ago] A Womb With a View: More Dianetics Just-So Stories
——————–
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 3,273 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,768 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,283 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,833 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,823 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,209 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,704 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,008 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,877 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,431 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,772 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,339 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,258 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,426 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,008 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,267 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,304 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,020 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,584 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,899 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,074 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,756 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,093 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,947 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,062 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,424 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,833 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,229 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,107 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,672 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,183 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,439 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,547 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on May 23, 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
Trump is just like your QAnon-obsessed uncle spreading the dank memes
Some links to Q-related items today
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Phang: It’s time. It’s time for federal judges to acknowledge that they have lifetime appointments. They do not have to worry about their job security—and those lifetime appointments should give them the courage to continue to uphold the rule of law, but also to put some damn… pic.twitter.com/zAy0Pthq6e
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 22, 2025
Reporter: The president showed a video that he said showed more than 1,000 burial sites of white South Africans that he said were murdered. We know that was not true..
Leavitt: No, it is true that that video showed the crosses that represent —
Reporter: Burial sites is what… pic.twitter.com/8cyoOhDsS9
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 22, 2025
Details: Trump held up a racist Facebook account at the White House https://t.co/01KToPt91Whttps://t.co/01KToPt91W
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 22, 2025
Hey MAGA, why is Trump sharing a Facebook account that:
▪️ Calls Christmas Satanic
▪️ Denies Jesus
▪️ Attacks Easter
▪️ Rejects the Cross pic.twitter.com/ZxCPfxfVLR
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 23, 2025
Unsure, but JD Vance handled the Facebook post before Trump. See the video of him on the right of Trump here: https://t.co/9q7ZSFURIA pic.twitter.com/7zSfGsZy4P
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 23, 2025
Trump's reposting of QAnon conspiracy theories is now an "Ad" on X. pic.twitter.com/irn9B8rpAT
— Poker and Politics (@PokerPolitics) May 22, 2025
He flew in a chef from St. Louis to make proper Deep Dish Pizza. This has been known since the dawn of Pizzagate and it's what Fred Burton was talking about when he was whining about wasteful liberal spending. pic.twitter.com/eGofAYQx2V
— Poker and Politics (@PokerPolitics) May 22, 2025
Looking for some background on the QAnon movement? We recommend Travis View’s excellent article at New York magazine as a place to start.
THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.
Posted by Tony Ortega on May 23, 2025 at 08:00
May 22, 2025
Scientology pushes back in LA with 20 of their own billboards
TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: The Aftermath Foundation stunned everyone by quietly posting 20 billboards in Los Angeles near Scientology buildings. Scientology’s response? After they failed to take down the Foundation’s signs, the church put up 20 of their own, Phil Jones reports. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
——————–
Technology Cocktail
“We had a pc who constantly had low TA F/Ns. Upon checking his grip we discovered that he held the cans so tight that it caused his hands to sweat and part of the hand was actually off the cans. Adjusting the grip handled the false TA. This pc then started to cognite that he was really a fast pc after all and there was nothing wrong with him. We had another interesting one. This particular pc crossed her legs and had cans that were too big. By having her uncross her legs and recognizing that the can size was off and needed changing to 1 3/4” diameter aluminum tubing remedied her false TA.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1977
——————–
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
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});[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
——————–
“I could read in this life when I was about three and a half years old. And then I went to school and they kept insisting that I learn how to read. And you know, I never learned how to read in school. I could read, only nobody ever heard that…You can read so then if anybody tries to teach you how to read and you won’t learn how to read and you can read, why nobody ever finds out about that. See? So you’ve had it. So, let’s say we were teaching a course on how to be a rocket jockey. How to fly a Mark 14 interplanetary scout ship. See, and we’re running a course on this. And we’ve got somebody and they had Mark 18s in their system and he knows all about flying one of these things, you know. Well, that’s fine you know. Here’s this, here’s that, and the instructor keeps saying, ‘Now just a minute. Hold it down now. Now, that is your circumlocutor.’ And the fellow says, ‘Yes, I know. And you pull it like this, and you go like this, and so forth; and it’s for vertical takeoff, see. Yeah, well now, what I do want to know is, you’ve got a couple of dials here that were taken off the later?’ And the instructor says, ‘Now just a minute, just a minute, that’s the circumlocutor.’ See. That guy has a hell of a time, see.” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 22, 1962
——————–
“Annabelle Buchanan is ordered back to the FSO Service Dept to properly turn over her desserts hat and regain the standard. This will assist already improved meals.” — The Commodore, May 22, 1971
——————–
“I was living with an OT 2 and well I don’t have the label of being an OT because they never let me attest to it. So he assumes I have no power at all. But I can make the weather go the way I want, so the weather will follow me. If more people took more responsibility for the weather and learned how to manage like the buddhas in Thailand, you would get a more balanced game to play. These people are taking alien tech and using it to hurt us and create famine. If you had the ability to control the weather they wouldn’t be able to do this. I am keeping the weather going fine over here. You have a responsibility to handle your own area just like I do. If I were able to see outside this body I could handle it all. But I don’t, so maybe some others should get in there and learn it and take some responsibility themselves.”
1998: The Boston Herald published a story on the death of Philip Gale this week. “Alone in a 15th-floor classroom, MIT sophomore Philip C. Gale drew a physics formula on a blackboard showing what happens when a body falls from a great height. Then he slammed a chair through the classroom window and jumped more than 200 feet to his death, as horrified students watched from a plaza below. As evidence emerged that Gale was suffering from depression, students and staff wondered aloud about why the high-pressure school’s psychological safety net didn’t save him. And friends raised questions about whether his upbringing in a controversial religion – the Church of Scientology – played a part in his suicide. Gale had quit the church. Even so, he chose to kill himself on March 13, the church’s most important annual holiday marking the birthday of the late Scientology founder L. Ron Hubbard. The suicide provoked intense debate on campus, and on the Internet newsgroup alt.religion.scientology, about whether it was linked to Gale’s Scientology upbringing. And Munsey soon created a Web page titled ‘Who is Philip Gale?’ raising questions about a link between Scientology and the suicide. According to Gale’s friends, depression – or what he called ‘boredom’ or a ‘void’ – had long been masked by his irreverent sense of humor. The tall, skinny overachiever with close-cropped, bright red hair began to see his computer and music classwork as ‘inane.’ He spent hours banging on a drum set and playing computer games. Gale was still coming to terms with the sudden death of his father two years ago – at age 47 – of a heart attack, said Lauren McLeod, 22, a college friend who is now a reporter for the Concord Journal. And Gale had recently paid one visit to a therapist. He rarely talked about quitting the Church of Scientology, where his mother, Marie Gale, remained a prominent church official, the friends said.”
——————–
“I was attacked by an angry goose once. I still have that engram.”
——————–
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 June 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 June 16.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud. Sentenced to 7 years in prison.
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 due June 3.
— 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 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] Riley Keough’s bizarre fight to keep Graceland from being auctioned off
[TWO years ago] Scientology salutes ‘humanitarian’ couple for donating $33.8 million to building fund
[THREE years ago] When Scientology says it will ‘Clear the Planet,’ here’s what it means
[FOUR years ago] Holy Xenu, even we didn’t expect Scientology to be this big in Danny Masterson’s hearing
[FIVE years ago] Even more filmmakers who are helping out Scientology with its TV network
[SIX years ago] Scientology loses a whale: Major donor Michael Baybak dead at 77
[SEVEN years ago] Jack Parsons is getting his star-turn next month, but we’ll have to wait for L. Ron Hubbard
[EIGHT years ago] Google helps Scientology censor two more of our stories — maybe you can help us figure out why
[NINE years ago] Scientology makes you a god who can heal this horse just with your finger
[TEN years ago] DOX: How Scientology ensnares the unsuspecting in a series of binding contracts
[ELEVEN years ago] Scientology Hip Hop: Is there anything better in the world?
[TWELVE years ago] Meet Dennis Nobbe, Miami Chiropractor and Scientologist!
——————–
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 3,272 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,767 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,282 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,832 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,822 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,208 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,703 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,007 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,876 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,430 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,771 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,338 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,257 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,425 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,007 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,266 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,303 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,019 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,583 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,898 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,073 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,755 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,092 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,946 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,061 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,423 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,832 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,228 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,106 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,671 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,182 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,438 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,546 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on May 22, 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
How to troll Trump: ‘I’m sorry I don’t have a plane to give you’
Some links to Q-related items today
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});Ramaphosa: I'm sorry I don't have a plane to give you.
Trump: I wish you did. I would take it. pic.twitter.com/XgQTMr769P
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 21, 2025
Trump blows up at reporter
Reporter: The Pentagon announced that it will be accepting the Qatari jet..
Trump: You ought to get out of here… It’s NBC trying to get off the subject. You are a terrible reporter. You ought to go back to your studio. No more questions from you.… pic.twitter.com/p64ofA3e8D
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 21, 2025
MAGA Republicans are trying to pass their ugly monster bill in the middle of the night https://t.co/l7AxA4RBQk
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 22, 2025
Massie: We are not rearranging deck chairs on the titanic, we’re putting coal in the boiler and setting a course for the iceberg. If something is beautiful, you don't do it after midnight. I oppose this bill pic.twitter.com/tgZhOBziNy
— Acyn (@Acyn) May 22, 2025
Another disaster waiting to happen pic.twitter.com/asmPZZfi8V
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 22, 2025
Reading the comments on this thread and finding that not only is there no political consensus, people can’t even agree whether this is AI or not. Failing to regulate AI has in just a couple years made people incapable of critical thought and unwilling to believe what they see. https://t.co/Lfz7vX0KZA
— Alex Goldman (@AGoldmund) May 21, 2025
Anna Paulina Luna working hard to help Floridians pic.twitter.com/XaNMohEZSz
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 22, 2025
RFK Jr, who now regularly appears on Fox News, once said:
“You know in Canada, they don’t allow lying on television. It’s illegal on the television news to lie. That’s why Fox News is not in Canada.” pic.twitter.com/7QCA8HErWe
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 21, 2025
Good Tsar, bad Boyars is now the MAGA party line. pic.twitter.com/aOKcZbidr9
— Poker and Politics (@PokerPolitics) May 21, 2025
Looking for some background on the QAnon movement? We recommend Travis View’s excellent article at New York magazine as a place to start.
THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.
Posted by Tony Ortega on May 1, 2025 at 08:00
May 21, 2025
Brooks Gibbs and the grass-roots movement that made Scientology blink
TODAY AT SUBSTACK: If you’ve signed up for free emails at Substack, you will receive today’s feature story at your inbox: What a surprising few weeks it’s been in Clearwater, Florida, the town Scientology has been trying to turn into its own Vatican. And maybe the most surprising has been the sudden rise of a grass-roots campaign to oppose Scientology’s plans, led by local educator Brooks Gibbs. [What is this Substack thing, anyway?]
——————–
Technology Cocktail
“Doctors are too often careless and incompetent, psychiatrists are simply outright murderers. The solution is not to pick up their pieces for them but to demand medical doctors become competent and to abolish psychiatry and psychiatrists as well as psychologists and other infamous Nazi criminal outgrowths. Society and police agencies should deal with such offenses. It is not up to Scientologists to salvage the wreckage created by these professions, but to prevent it from happening in the first place by reforming a degraded society. Until such time as doctors have become fully competent and psychiatry and psychology have been recognized for what they are and abolished, Case Supervisors and auditors are actionable for surrendering their rights and handling such. It is not that they cannot. They must not.” — L. Ron Hubbard, 1976
——————–
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
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});[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
——————–
“Now you get down toward the Center of this galaxy and the possibility of finding somebody without the Helatrobus Implants, of finding any foreign implant system, will probably be totally negligible. Probably nonextant, you see? But out here you got a mixed bag and we don’t know what they did in the next galaxy. See? Now, science fiction writers following the cue of some chap, I’ve forgotten his name now, Einstein, Beinstein, something like that, who said that MC squared over C wouldn’t go, man, and that the speed of light could not be excessive. And actually I was looking up some speed tables the other day, and a trillion light years per day is not full throttle on a space wagon. So there’s traffic between galaxies and there’s traffic between islands of galaxies and other islands of galaxies. Interesting.” — L. Ron Hubbard, May 21, 1963
——————–
“The auditing was in general better today. Auditors go in fads — now it’s ‘feelings.’ Nobody has any aches, pains or misemotions. They have ‘feelings!’ What happened to good old PAIN. Some aren’t able to confront the flak we get into. It takes a bit of guts to be around Flag. And some get very nervous and want to leave. We have 3 or 4 good things I don’t quit. Thanks for holding the ship together.” — The Commodore, May 21, 1969
——————–
“Way before I ever got into Scientology I had total recall on having gone to the implant station and I was showed a film of Christ dying on the cross. I felt great sympathy for him because I was WAY down on the tone scale – I had just got done destroying an entire planet and torturing the people, and I felt so bad about it that I tried to kill myself by pushing myself spiritually down as far as I could go – but of course that only ends up in TOTAL Failure. Of course, even though I had total recall on everything that had happened on the implant station, the evil beings tricked me after putting me in a doll body that looked totally like the one I used to have and then they kicked me out of it with an extremely strong force of electrical voltage, shooting me out into outer space and I fell next to a big glowing white orb, which I thought was God. It spoke to me telepathically and told me I could go down to earth (the beautiful blue marble we were looking at) and do anything I wanted after asking what I wanted to do – Ha! What a lie that is!”
1997: Zenon Panoussis posted updates on his case against Scientology for copyright and trade secret violation. “I had a word with the public prosecutor the other day. The scienos have reported me for copyright infringement and there is an ongoing criminal investigation against me. Well, if the prosecutor prosecutes me, he will have to prove the infringement in court, and he doesn’t think that masked scriptures are sufficient proof. So he has asked the CoS to provide him with the texts in a legible form. Ever since December, when the prosecutor made this request the first time, the CoS has been stalling. They haven’t refused to provide the open texts, but they haven’t provided them either. Their problem is obvious: if they release the works to the prosecutor, he will have to release them to me. The scienos claim, with the help of our dear professor Marianne Levin, that the release of a work to someone under a non-disclosure agreement does not constitute a release in the sense of the copyright law. Now, the scienos could possibly bind the prosecutor with a non-disclosure agreement, although it would be very dubious, but they could hardly bind me. If they release the works to the prosecutor, knowing that he must and will release them to me, wouldn’t that constitute a release to ‘the public’ even according to their own standpoint?”
——————–
“The only other ‘church’ I can think of that stoops to calling people names is the Westboro Baptist Church.”
——————–
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 June 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 June 16.
— David Gentile, GPB Capital, convicted of fraud. Sentenced to 7 years in prison.
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 due June 3.
— 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 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] Another ‘Tom Cruise leaving Scientology’ squawk from the tabs, and the weakest ever
[TWO years ago] Scientology spying on Amy Scobee and Mat Pesch: Cameras pointed in their home
[THREE years ago] THE VALESKA PARIS DECLARATION: Here’s her full report to Clearwater PD on Scientology abuses
[FOUR years ago] Day four of the Danny Masterson prelim: The arguments and a ruling!
[FIVE years ago] Scientology so stoked you watched ‘Spread a Smile’ video, it’s trying to cash in tonight
[SIX years ago] A Scientologist is brutally murdered in Peoria, but you didn’t hear it from Scientology
[SEVEN years ago] Scientology’s elaborate use of child labor for pennies an hour, spelled out in black and white
[EIGHT years ago] Scientology may be crumbling, but around the world it’s still plotting a planetary takeover
[NINE years ago] Atack: Contradictions in L. Ron Hubbard’s “tech” only increase Scientology discipline
[TEN years ago] Leah Remini and Paulette Cooper? Scientology can start worrying now
[ELEVEN years ago] No, LA Weekly, Tom Cruise’s career was not ruined by a GIF
[TWELVE years ago] Disconnection: Scientology’s Most Toxic Sacrament
——————–
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 3,271 days.
Valerie Haney has not seen her mother Lynne in 3,766 days.
Katrina Reyes has not seen her mother Yelena in 4,281 days
Sylvia Wagner DeWall has not seen her brother Randy in 3,831 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his grandson Leo in 2,821 days.
Klaus Büchele has not seen his daughter Jasmin in 5,207 days.
Geoff Levin has not seen his son Collin and daughter Savannah in 2,702 days.
Christie Collbran has not seen her mother Liz King in 6,006 days.
Clarissa Adams has not seen her parents Walter and Irmin Huber in 3,875 days.
Jamie Sorrentini Lugli has not seen her father Irving in 5,429 days.
Quailynn McDaniel has not seen her brother Sean in 4,770 days.
Dylan Gill has not seen his father Russell in 13,337 days.
Melissa Paris has not seen her father Jean-Francois in 9,256 days.
Valeska Paris has not seen her brother Raphael in 5,424 days.
Mirriam Francis has not seen her brother Ben in 5,006 days.
Claudio and Renata Lugli have not seen their son Flavio in 5,265 days.
Sara Goldberg has not seen her daughter Ashley in 4,302 days.
Lori Hodgson has not seen her son Jeremy and daughter Jessica in 4,018 days.
Marie Bilheimer has not seen her mother June in 3,582 days.
Julian Wain has not seen his brother Joseph or mother Susan in 1,897 days.
Charley Updegrove has not seen his son Toby in 3,072 days.
Derek Bloch has not seen his father Darren in 4,754 days.
Cindy Plahuta has not seen her daughter Kara in 5,091 days.
Roger Weller has not seen his daughter Alyssa in 9,945 days.
Claire Headley has not seen her mother Gen in 5,060 days.
Ramana Dienes-Browning has not seen her mother Jancis in 3,422 days.
Brian Sheen has not seen his daughter Spring in 3,831 days.
Skip Young has not seen his daughters Megan and Alexis in 4,227 days.
Mary Kahn has not seen her son Sammy in 4,105 days.
Lois Reisdorf has not seen her son Craig in 3,670 days.
Phil and Willie Jones have not seen their son Mike and daughter Emily in 4,181 days.
Mary Jane Barry has not seen her daughter Samantha in 4,437 days.
Kate Bornstein has not seen her daughter Jessica in 15,545 days.
——————–
Posted by Tony Ortega on May 21, 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
Jahwol! It’s a military ‘Edelweiss’ for the Kennedy Center board
Some links to Q-related items today
Advertisement(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({});MAGA now loves 5G pic.twitter.com/iw1IcBHDWR
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 20, 2025
Speaking of children, where are the Epstein files? pic.twitter.com/oBj8hcv084
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 20, 2025
MAGA loyalist board members appointed by Trump listen to The Sound of Music song Edelweiss being performed for them at the Kennedy Center pic.twitter.com/uexGn9dlpT
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 20, 2025
Fox News highlighting Sean Duffy’s failures pic.twitter.com/MkgNZjyg7x
— PatriotTakes 🇺🇸 (@patriottakes) May 20, 2025
I spoke to Spectrum News about what it means when the president retweets insane QAnon memes about former presidents and current pop stars being put in front of "military tribunals."https://t.co/nJQSUMoIWN
— Mike Rothschild (@rothschildmd on blu sky) (@rothschildmd) May 20, 2025
Conspiracy theories are driving Trumpworld, from its appointments to the furious MAGA backlash to Dan Bongino
My latest False Flag for @BulwarkOnline members: https://t.co/vE18WbrotW
— Will Sommer (@willsommer) May 20, 2025
Looking for some background on the QAnon movement? We recommend Travis View’s excellent article at New York magazine as a place to start.
THE LOWDOWN is our blog for news, the QAnon phenomenon, and other subjects not related to our coverage of the Church of Scientology. If it’s our Scientology coverage you re looking for, please use this bookmark for our latest stories.
Posted by Tony Ortega on May 21, 2025 at 08:00
Tony Ortega's Blog
- Tony Ortega's profile
- 19 followers
