Scientology’s 2024: Another year is in the books at the Underground Bunker!

By the time this story posts, it will have been 2025 for an hour already for our readers in New Zealand. And Happy New Year, Kiwis!

For most of us, however, we’re still several hours away from the party getting started, and we have a special treat for you this afternoon to help your shindig really rock.

Earlier this year, our good friend, the multitalented Geoff Levin, came to us with a fun idea. Geoff is a musician bursting with ideas, and he wanted to write a song specifically for the Underground Bunker, and perhaps to produce an ongoing series of them.

We thought it would be a great special bonus for our subscribers, and so starting in August we began posting these amazing tracks. They’re not only great music, they have lyrics that skewer Scientology, and the combination is simply amazing.

Now, for your New Year’s Eve party, we’re releasing all six of Geoff’s songs, and a bonus track, for everyone to hear. We’ll be sending them to you in another email at noon Eastern.

We hope you dig Geoff’s creative efforts, and consider signing up for our monthly $7 subscription so you get Geoff’s 2025 songs as soon as they come out, as well as our weekly special podcast, Group Therapy. (We’re also making the most recent episode of Group Therapy free for everyone to hear as well.)

It’s been another great year here in the Bunker, and once again we want to thank all the contributors and correspondents and tipsters who help us keep this thing going.

Thank you everyone for reading the Bunker, as together we see where this crazy story about this country’s most harmful, deceptive and venal “religious” organization takes us in 2025!

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Observer’s favorite shoops of 2024

Observer, who does our posters and is a great shoop (Photoshop edit) artist in her own right, chose some of the illos in our comments section that she enjoyed the most. (In no particular order.)

Phil Jones

OTVIIIisGrrr8!

Mark Parry-Maddocks

Mark Parry-Maddocks

Phil Jones

Richard

Richard

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BEST OF THE BUNKER, 2024

For the last eight years we have put together a list of our personal choices for most significant pieces we posted in the past calendar year. Some of them were scoops, others were investigative features, and some of them we just really enjoyed writing or were proud to post. (We’ll be adding this list to our favorites of all time.) So here goes.

23. Tracey McManus moseys on to greener pastures

After stellar work covering Scientology for the Tampa Bay Times, Tracey McManus let us know in September that she had accepted a new job at the Dallas Morning News. Her stunning 2019 project demonstrating that Scientology had more than doubled its stranglehold on Clearwater properties in a secret buying spree was Pulitzer-level stuff, and she paid for it by being smeared constantly by Scientology’s social media propaganda. “Tracey stepped into the giant shoes vacated by legendary Tampa Bay Times Scientology reporters Joe Childs and Tom Tobin and has done them proud,” Mike Rinder told us.

22. The grand jury indictments of L. Ron Hubbard 2.0

We like to keep one eye on what’s happening in the world of “independent Scientology,” where former church members continue to practice L. Ron Hubbard’s “technology.” And for several years now maybe the most interesting development in the indie field is the phenomenon of Justin Craig, a California ex-con who legally changed his name to Lafayette Ronald Hubbard and gathered a small following that are convinced he’s the reincarnated founder. He’s been sitting in a Tennessee jail since 2021, and finally we got our hands on his actual indictments, which were pretty serious. Will he finally go to trial in 2025?

21. The double life of Aaron Kyro

On the one hand Aaron Kyro is a 20-year staff member of Scientology’s San Francisco “Ideal Org” and a “Gold Meritorious” ($1 million) donor to the IAS. But in his other life he’s the proprietor of Braille Skateboarding, a YouTube empire with nearly 6 million subscribers known for its videos helping beginners learn their first kick-flips and ollies. For several years we wondered how Kyro has managed to keep those two very different activities going at the same time, and this year, it hit a major snag.

20. Unmasking ‘Martin Landon’

Normally we don’t pay much attention to Scientology’s bogus “grass-roots” STAND League and its website. But lately the attacks it’s been making on anyone who dares to print a critical word about Scientology have been screechy and beyond the pale, and all of it under the name of “Martin Landon.” It was pretty obvious that the name was a fake, but with the help of some readers we were stunned to figure out that this was actually Michael Lewis, a goofy, sunny, and comically earnest Scientology life coach whose son, actor Johnny Lewis, died in such a terrible tragedy. What a bizarre revelation.

19. Trophy Life: Inside a wealthy Scientology family

In April, we got a rare look inside the family of a Scientology “whale,” a major donor named David Rolfe. His ex-wife and son decided to come forward with a description of what an obsession with donating to the church can do to a family, and in particular what it meant for someone who had left and was “recovered.” “When my dad rejoined, he became even more detached and so non-reactive he was just in denial about anything that questioned Scientology,” his son Jasen told us. “He's literally like talking to a robot now. No emotion, no reaction, and not willing to own up to any of his mistakes.”

18. The trials and tribulations of sketchy folk

Former NYPD detective and Scientology spy Yanti Michael Greene finally came to trial in a bizarre case where he was accused of video recording himself raping a woman he’d been paid to follow. We were pretty disgusted when we figured out that he was using that footage as blackmail to get himself out of worse trouble. Meanwhile, in Nevada nutty right-wing politician Michele Fiore was convicted of corruption and at her trial her connection to Scientology, something we’d long pointed out, was confirmed. And we also had a connection to the podcast that revealed fantasy author Neil Gaiman’s alleged terrible behavior that has torpedoed his career.

17. Scientology still getting away with ‘arbitration’ trolling

It was very frustrating to see another year wasted with Scientology’s “religious arbitration” nonsense sidelining two important lawsuits brought by former Sea Org victims. Valerie Haney was put through two more grueling days of abusive treatment in Los Angeles, making it seven in total, and still with no end to her arbitration in sight. And Valeska Paris and the Baxters spent the year trying to convince courts that it was a mistake to force their trafficking lawsuit into arbitration, to no avail. What a mockery of American justice this is.

16. Dynamite new narratives from key Scientology figures

What a series of pieces we had from Valerie Ross this year. Not only was it stunning to hear from someone who had literally infiltrated the FBI during the Snow White Program, but Val has quickly become a favorite at the Bunker for her vivid writing style, especially with such dark subjects as domestic abuse. Meanwhile it was also a real treat to get the mind-blowing backstory from one of Scientology criticism’s original online gangsters, when Dennis Erlich joined us for the podcast.

15. Saying goodbye to Andreas Heldal-Lund, Mark Plummer, and Joe Reaiche

Every year we seem to lose a few of our friends, but this year was especially heavy as three figures were taken from us too soon. We’ve admired the work that Andreas Heldal-Lund did building an online fortress of information, Operation Clambake, and then resisted Scientology’s attacks for decades. What a blow to lose such a kind and intelligent man who has meant so much to us. And speak about kind, we loved long conversations with Mark “Warrior” Plummer, who had built such a great library of Scientology’s secrets. And Joe Reaiche spoke out even though it had cost him his relationship with his children. All three, gone before their time.

14. Flag flap: Karen Bass and Tom Cruise in Paris

With news of Tom Cruise’s Olympics stunt leaking, it dawned on us that LA Mayor Karen Bass was going to find herself in another awkward spot helping to promote Scientology. When the time came, she found herself on the world’s biggest stage with Top Gun. One element we didn’t anticipate: Having to listen to Jimmy Fallon gush about Cruise through it. Not everyone, however, was amused.

13. Another Scientology operative comes in from the cold

Our old friend, Austrian journalist Peter Reichelt, once again had brought us something really remarkable: A 1994 print interview David Miscavige had given a Vienna newsweekly that had promptly been forgotten about. For the first time we got an English translation of it posted to the Internet, and marveled that it existed at all. Then, even better, one of the OSA operatives who had made the interview happen, Klaus Büchele, decided to come forward in a great two-part interview about his close work with David Miscavige, and the price he paid to leave Scientology.

12. Calls from a Swiss jail

What a bizarre story and the kind of thing you could only find here: Scientology’s richest donor Trish Duggan had convinced Swiss authorities to jail another of Scientology’s megadonors on her own allegations that he was swindling her. The jailed man, Ivan Gaspari, called us numerous times from jail to explain that he was using Trish’s money because they both wanted to create a new company that would donate profits to the church. Despite his explanations that it was Scientology they were trying to serve, Gaspari was tried and sentenced to 5.5 years in prison.

11. David Miscavige’s Ideal Scene

After a delay caused by the pandemic, Scientology leader David Miscavige got his Ideal Org program back on track, presiding over grand opening ceremonies in Austin, Mexico City, and Chicago. Scientology also wanted people to believe that Miscavige personally spoke at the Paris Ideal Org opening in April, but with Apostate Alex’s help we showed that Dave had taped his appearance earlier. Meanwhile, we got another report on the big whales who got new trophies this year at the IAS, dug in deep to find out how much money Trish Duggan is forking over, and took a close look at three new TV ads that Dave revealed at the IAS gala. We also, finally, figured out who the narrator of those ads is, actor Shane Johnson.

10. Priscilla Presley’s shenanigans

Lisa Marie Presley had told us in 2015 that she had left Scientology for good, and had taken out her mother Priscilla and daughter Riley with her. But in more recent times we were seeing things that suggested Priscilla was back in, like hanging with Gottfried Helnwein in Austria. And we broke the news in February that Priscilla was being sued by Priscilla Inc., which was really her former good friend and business partner Brigitte Kruse. To prove that Priscilla can be sued in Florida, Brigitte revealed a bizarre bombshell, that Priscilla and Elvis Presley have a previously unidentified grandchild in Florida. Meanwhile. Lisa Marie Presley’s brief memoir was published, more than a year after her tragic death, and we went through it to see how much Scientology her daughter Riley allowed to show up in it.

9. Leah Remini’s lawsuit gets upended

We went to Los Angeles for an eventful pair of hearings in Leah Remini’s lawsuit against Scientology, and watched as the case was thrown into chaos. Neither side was happy with a ruling made by Judge Randolph Hammock, who was removed from the case anyway. So the lawsuit is on hold while that ruling is being appealed. Meanwhile, Scientology tried to use a man named Armando Garcia to smear Leah in court, but Garcia spoke to us for his first public interview, and denied what Scientology had said about him. And speaking of removing judges, before Judge Robert Broadbelt could deliver a tentative ruling in Jane Doe 1’s lawsuit declaring Scientology’s arbitration inherently unfair, David Miscavige had Broadbelt removed from the case just before a hearing was to begin. Wild stuff in Los Angeles Superior Court this year.

8. The Whitney Mills wrongful death lawsuit

It was in June that Whitney Mills’ mother Leila Mills filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Scientology for her daughter’s 2022 suicide. The lawsuit alleges that while Whitney, 40, was going through a severe mental health crisis, her fellow Scientologists convinced her to end her life rather than seek help from the hated psychiatric profession. Dr. David Minkoff, the notorious Scientologist alternative medicine figure, was added to the Whitney Mills wrongful-death lawsuit, as expected. The allegations against him seem devastating, and they’re backed up with expert reports from a physician and a psychiatrist.

7. Apostate Alex’s monster year

Former London staffer Alexander “Apostate Alex” Barnes-Ross put on another three-day protest at this year’s IAS gala, but he did so many other things this year that made him such an effective force in exposing Scientology’s controversies. Maybe his biggest successes have resulted in major stories in the UK media, which is clearly listening to him. But we have also been grateful for what a great friend he has been to the Bunker, contributing here in so many ways. As a result, for example, East Grinstead, England banned us for asking too many questions about Scientology, and we couldn’t be prouder! Leah Remini applauded Alex and his success getting a prominent UK politician to call for an investigation of Scientology in that country. And what a fun coincidence: We happened to be in Los Angeles the same time Alex was in town, and so we had a fun meeting at Griffith Park.

6. Emily Armstrong blows up

Linkin Park returned to performing after the death of Chester Bennington with Emily Armstrong, whose silence about her Scientology upbringing and deep ties to its controversies became a big story with lots of coverage internationally. Here at the Bunker, Mike Rinder told us that he was in “the Hole” with Emily’s mom, Gail. And Marc Headley uncovered some other very troubling things about Gail’s career in the Sea Org. But Emily has remained quiet about it all.

5. Isaac Hayes and South Park: At last, the smoking gun

We had a fun one at the Daily Beast: Real proof that Scientology asked Isaac Hayes to ditch South Park after it criticized the church, but after a delay to make it look like that wasn’t the case. And what great fun it was for us to also detail how Scientology had blamed everything on our old friend Mark Ebner!

4. Danny Masterson’s slimy appeal

First, the good news: Scientology celebrity and convicted serial rapist Danny Masterson spent the entirety of 2024 in state prison. Also, we got lucky and got to break a fascinating story, that Judge Charlaine Olmedo wasn’t happy about Danny Masterson’s appellate lawyers reaching out to jurors from the trial that put him in prison, and the DA wanted a hearing about it to consider sanctions. Instead, she referred the attorneys to the Bar. Meanwhile, Masterson’s appellate attorneys posted their initial appeal brief, which attacked the Jane Does all over again.

3. Scientology’s secret war on a lifesaving medical treatment

At the Daily Beast, we had a story we’d been working on for months, about how Scientology has targeted two small electronics firms with litigation in order to deprive millions of people around the world with a lifesaving medical procedure. It’s estimated that about 100,000 Americans (and many more overseas) get ECT treatments every year, which for many is a last-ditch chance to keep their depression from lethal results. But Scientology is on the brink of putting those companies out of business and making ECT unavailable around the world. It’s a story no one else is covering, and one that shows how Scientology really does affect many, many more people than just its small membership.

2. Elisabeth Moss, being groomed for bigger things?

Maybe the scoop of the year here at the Bunker: We found buried in Scientology’s own press release a photo proving that a very pregnant Elisabeth Moss was in the front row at the LRH Birthday Event in March, standing next to John Travolta and giving David Miscavige a standing ovation. Mike Rinder said it looked to him like Travolta was being asked to escort Moss as they groom her for bigger things, just like they did with Tom Cruise 20 years earlier. Looking carefully at older press releases, we found similar shots that showed celebs like Michael Peña and Erika Christensen at events we didn’t know they’d attended.

1. Mike Rinder’s journey

It’s been a tough year for Mike Rinder as he battles cancer, and a sign of that was his decision to step down from the board of the Aftermath Foundation. He then posted a series of videos to get some things off his chest. We were just grateful that we talked to him so much this year, and got his help on so many stories. Subscribers really got a bonus when Mike Rinder joined us for an episode of Group Therapy. We’re rooting for you, Mike, and hope you find remission in 2025.

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Finishing up our year in review: The stories of Nov-Dec 2024

We didn’t know about ‘the Pasta Queen,’ the social phenom who had gotten her own Prime series. But it turns out that she’s a major Scientology donor.

It’s been a tough year for Mike Rinder as he battles cancer, and a sign of that is his decision to step down from the board of the Aftermath Foundation. He then posted a series of videos to get some things off his chest.

Out of England, a strange one: How Scientology seemed to be ruining an onion empire.

David Minkoff’s reaction to the Whitney Mills wrongful-death lawsuit was to object to being criticized by legitimate physicians rather than alternative medicine quacks like himself.

Scientology posted photos from October’s IAS gala, along with three new TV ads it expects to turn things around.

Judge Charlaine Olmedo wasn’t happy about Danny Masterson’s appellate lawyers reaching out to jurors from the trial that put him in prison, and the DA wanted a hearing about it to consider sanctions. Instead, she referred the attorneys to the Bar.

A bit of a bombshell you only heard here: Priscilla Presley did not deny that she has a grandchild in Florida when she answered Brigitte Krause’s new version of her lawsuit, saying only that it would be “irrelevant.”

Even more evidence that this will be the friendliest White House to Scientology in a long time: Trump picks Scientology’s pal Pam Bondi for AG.

After his election loss, Mark Bunker is regrouping in the most creative way! We love his use of AI for “Bunkology.”

Once again, we had for you the rundown of all the trophy winners at this year’s IAS Patrons Ball, with the minnows, the small whales, and the major leviathans.

We checked Trish Duggans’ financials and found that she gave the IAS $18 million in just a single year (2022), proving that she continues to give spectacular amounts to earn her “Patron of Legend” title.

Danny Masterson’s appellate attorneys posted their initial appeal brief, which attacked the Jane Does all over again.

And we finally figured out who is the narrator in Scientology’s “mystery sandwich” Super Bowl ads.

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2023: Apostate Alex Barnes-Ross pulled off his three-day protest while David Miscavige (with best bud Tom Cruise in tow) returned to England and gave his usual IAS speech. Judge Olmedo was unhappy about Danny Masterson’s guns. Patty Moher dropped in on the Scientology’s New Haven eyesore. We liked Mitch Brisker’s book. Leah’s legal team released crucial Australian documents showing how Scientology has been lying At the Daily Beast, we revealed that we’d been in Los Angeles interviewing Valerie Haney. We lost YouTuber Doug Kramer to heart disease at only 50. Dave’s New Year’s event speech was a gas. The whales got their trophies. Danny Masterson’s victims proposed to upgrade their civil lawsuit in a big way.

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2022: Jane Doe 2 testified in the Danny Masterson trial, followed by actress Jordan Ladd and Jane Doe 2’s mother. And a bombshell: Lisa Marie Presley had intended to take the Fifth Amendment if she was called to testify. But Judge Olmedo ruled out most of her testimony and she wasn’t called. Actress Tricia Vessey testified that she was raped twice by Masterson in 1996. Leah Remini joined us for a podcast episode about Scientology and the LAPD. And Mike Rinder joined us for a Thanksgiving day episode. During deliberations, the Great Breakfast Burrito Scandal of 2022. On November 30, the great let-down: The jury was hung on all three counts, and Judge Olmedo declared a mistrial. Scientology wasn’t happy that Valerie Haney had nominated Tom Cruise and Shelly Miscavige as arbitrators. Kirstie Alley was dead of colon cancer at only 71. Chris Shelton invited us to join him in an interview of the Danny Masterson trial’s jury foreman. Jane Kember, Scientology’s legendary spymaster during the Snow White years, died at 85. A poll revealed that Americans hated Scientology as much as they did Satanism. And a horrible tragedy: Whitney Mills, a 40-year-old real estate agent and OT 8 Scientologist, had set herself on fire and then shot herself.

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2021: We listened live to an appeals hearing in the Bixler case. The Garcia appeal was struck down by the Eleventh Circuit. Finally, a mostly full transcript of the infamous 1982 Mission Holders Meeting. L. Ron Hubbard’s last living son Arthur begins blogging. We sadly noted the passing of a gentle soul, Jim Dincalci. A document leak describes the “Chase Wave” that became an important ploy used by Scientology until about 2019. To our surprise, ex-con flim flammer LRH 2.0 showed up in a Tennessee jail. The real LRH shows up in a new WW2 private diary. We start to get reports about the state of Scientology from “The Insider.”

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2020: A military vet takes a new, and more thorough, look at L. Ron Hubbard’s “stolen valor.” Julian and Katherine Wain, part of Leah Remini’s extended family, tell their Scientology escape story. Other exes tell the stories of what they would have missed if they’d stayed in the church. The London Ideal Org’s swanky new look. Steve Cannane is victorious in his ridiculous libel trial. Danny Masterson’s sketchy friends are ripe for investigation. The California state supreme court won’t consider Valerie Haney’s petition. Tom Cruise screams at the Mission: Impossible 7 crew over Covid protocols, and Leah Remini weighs in.

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019: David Miscavige presided over Ideal Org grand openings in Kansas City and Columbus. Guy White, L. Ron Hubbard’s former son-in-law, goes public for the first time. We said goodbye to Nan McLean and Pete Combs. Beck said he was not a Scientologist, and Leah Remini called it a “pussy move.” “Harlem Homie” is really a new status in the church. Evidence surfaced that Scientology is keeping at least one witness in the Danny Masterson case out of police reach at the Freewinds. A Scientology spy’s interrogation is leaked.

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2018: We published a 1972 account of his life by L. Ron Hubbard Jr (with Paulette Cooper) that had never before seen the light of day. Clay Irwin sold his bar and tipped us off that Scientology was secretly buying up more property in Clearwater (which Tracey McManus at the Tampa Bay Times proved in a brilliant 2019 investigation). Leah Remini focused on Jehovah’s Witnesses, and then started out her third season about Scientology with the bombshell story of Valerie Haney’s escape from Scientology’s Gold Base. Sunny Pereira revealed the moment she realized Clear doesn’t exist. We interviewed Valerie Haney about about David Miscavige’s private life. Leah exposed the Nation of Islam, and we learned then that Tiponi Grey had died. NOI’s Tony Muhammad then took a slimy jab at Leah. After 68 years, we finally found Sonya Bianchi, L. Ron Hubbard’s first “Clear.”

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2017: We learned that Aftermath had filmed an episode with Danny Masterson’s accusers that was not going to air. But the second season ended with a stunning reunion. We provided a roadmap for the new president if he was really serious about reviewing Scientology’s tax-exempt status. We wrote about the death of Brad Bufanda and said goodbye to Sinar Parman. We wondered if Bob Duggan had flown the coop, and we made public for the first time the FBI file of former Clearwater mayor Gabe Cazares. We tracked down notorious Snow White spy Michael Meisner, and finished up the year with a heartwarming story of love.

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2016: Scientologist Vivian Kubrick’s plan to raise money for Shelley Duvall falls apart. David Miscavige’s claim that L. Ron Hubbard brought surfing to California is debunked. Scientology tries to derail the premiere of Leah Remini’s new series with a scummy letter. And Leah’s first “special” episode features Paulette Cooper.

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2015: Leah Remini’s memoir, Troublemaker, hit bookstores. The Texas Third Court of Appeals handed Monique Rathbun a huge victory that seemed to pave the way for a world of hurt for Scientology. We began a day-by-day look at the final days of Lisa McPherson, 20 years after her tragic death. Tabatha Fauteux became Narconon’s newest victim. Legoland funded a Scientology front group on behalf of Jenna Elfman. And one of our biggest stories of the year, felony charges for Scientologists who had used students from primarily minority high schools in a suburb of LA to scam state insurance money.

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2014: Leaked plans show that a new $37 million Scientology facility in Australia will serve only 87 people, on average, at any one time. Some great nuggets about L. Ron Hubbard turned up in Robert Heinlein’s letters collection. We learned how Scientology strains to erase Hubbard’s second wife, Sara Northrup, from the historical record, while Hubbard’s first wife, Polly, filed an affidavit that Hubbard was a deadbeat dad. We went long with the surprising saga of Richie Acunto’s rise and fall. And Marty Rathbun gets ambushed again, this time with Louis Theroux.

A LOOK BACK AT NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2013: Mike Rinder and Mike Bennitt in a helicopter over the Super Power party, our exclusive interview with Jacqueline Olivier, the principal at Will and Jada’s Scientology school, and we marked the actual 60th anniversary of the first ‘Church of Scientology.’

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Chris Shelton is going Straight Up and Vertical

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For the full picture of what’s happening today in the world of Scientology, please join the conversation at tonyortega.org, where we’ve been reporting daily on David Miscavige’s cabal since 2012. There you’ll find additional stories, and our popular regular daily features:

Source Code: Actual things founder L. Ron Hubbard said on this date in history

Avast, Ye Mateys: Snapshots from Scientology’s years at sea

Overheard in the Freezone: Indie Hubbardism, one thought at a time

Past is Prologue: From this week in history at alt.religion.scientology

Random Howdy: Your daily dose of the Captain

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