	id AA08435; Wed, 7 Dec 94 20:39:52 CST
Subject: Conspiracy Nation -- Vol. 3 Num. 14


              Conspiracy Nation -- Vol. 3  Num. 14
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                    ("Quid coniuratio est?")
 
 
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THE OCTOPUS
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By Karen Bixman
(For The People *News Reporter*, 11/14/94)
 
 
Through the efforts of Terry Reed and John Cummings, their book 
*Compromised: Clinton, Bush and the CIA*, has given readers an 
inside view of the inner workings of the Iran-Contra affair and 
the resulting Whitewater scandal.
 
By attempting to poke a hole through the heavily cloaked veil of 
government corruption, Reed and others like him have discovered 
that a mission of truth-seeking can be inherently dangerous if 
not fatal. Unfortunately, investigative reporter Danny Casolaro 
learned that lesson too late.
 
For over a year before his death, Casolaro was running down leads 
on an operation he termed the "Octopus." In a proposal he wrote 
for his upcoming book, *Behold, A Pale Horse*, he was prepared to 
expose an international cabal made up of "thugs and thieves who 
roam the earth with their weapons and their murders, trading dope 
and dirty money for the secrets of the temple."
 
According to Danny Casolaro's brother, Dr. Anthony Casolaro, the 
Octopus was not a secret organization but a group of individuals 
that participated in clandestine operations for profit.
 
"He didn't envision them as a group like the Mafia, but more as a 
network... They would overlap when their needs coincided," said 
Dr. Casolaro. "Using the analogy, BCCI would be one arm of it. 
The 'October Surprise,' Danny said, was literally just another 
arm. Inslaw is yet another arm."
 
Iran-Contra was yet another tentacle in Casolaro's Octopus.
 
Casolaro began to develop his theory while investigating the 
Inslaw scandal. Inslaw was the name of a small computer company 
owned by William and Nancy Hamilton who, in 1982, signed a $10 
million contract with the Justice Department to install their 
PROMIS software into offices of forty-two U.S. Attorneys. 
Incurring heavy debt, Inslaw obtained a loan to complete the 
contract, but upon installation the Justice Department refused to 
pay, thus forcing them into bankruptcy.
 
At the same time, a close friend of then-Attorney General Edwin 
Meese, Earl Brian, had a controlling interest in a competing 
computer company called Hadron, Incorporated. Brian was linked to 
covert operations with the United States and Israeli intelligence 
communities and reportedly worked for the CIA.
 
Previously, Hadron's chairman had attempted to purchase the 
PROMIS software from Inslaw but they had refused to sell. After 
Inslaw sought refuge in Chapter 11, pressure from the IRS forced 
Inslaw into Chapter 7 liquidation which would open the door for 
Hadron to acquire the PROMIS software.
 
The Hamiltons and their attorney, former U.S. Attorney General 
Elliot Richardson, filed a civil suit claiming the Justice 
Department appropriated PROMIS to give the software to Earl Brian 
to raise money for covert actions and to turn it over to the 
National Security Agency for marketing to foreign intelligence 
services. The PROMIS software was designed to keep track of law 
enforcement cases, but could also be used to keep tabs on 
political dissidents.
 
U.S. Bankruptcy Judge George Bason, who ruled in favor of Inslaw 
in the civil trial, awarded the Hamiltons $6.8 million and found, 
in September 1987, that Justice Department officials "took, 
converted and stole" PROMIS through "trickery, fraud and deceit."
 
Muscle within the Justice Department was allegedly flexed again, 
however, with Judge Bason's reappointment to the bankruptcy. Two 
years later, Judge Bason's ruling was appealed to the U.S. 
District Court where Judge William Bryant upheld the decision.
 
In May 1991, the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington, D.C. 
reversed the findings, claiming that bankruptcy courts lacked 
jurisdiction over the matter.
 
Motivated by media attention, the Senate Permanent Subcommittee 
on Investigations conducted a Congressional investigation into 
the theft of the PROMIS software and into problems in Chapter 11 
courts.
 
The Senate report stated its inquiry was hampered by Justice 
Department's lack of cooperation and that it had found employees 
"who desired to speak to the subcommittee but chose not to out of 
fear for their jobs." The Senate committee was therefore forced 
to conclude that there was no basis for the charges, and no 
action was taken against any employees of the Justice Department.
 
During Casolaro's investigation into Inslaw, he met CIA operative 
Michael Riconoscuito, who claimed that he had participated in a 
joint venture in weapons manufacturing, financed by the CIA, 
between Wackenhut Corporation, a security company run by former 
intelligence and military officials, and the Cabazon Indian 
Reservation in southern California.
 
He stated that he had been given the PROMIS software for 
modification by Earl Brian, and was now being framed with 
reportedly trumped-up amphetamine charges by the federal 
government.
 
Riconosciuto also claimed that, in connection with this work on 
the Cabazon Reservation, he had been involved with the 
development of chemical and biological weapons in a project 
connected with Park-O-Meter (POM), the parking meter company 
owned by Seth Ward.
 
He claimed these weapons were for the Contras, and were designed 
for the C-130 transport planes [which] were at the time carrying 
weapons and drugs in and out of Mena, Ark. He further stated that 
he had supervised high-tech equipment transfers and had developed 
computer software to help launder drug money emanating from the 
Mena operation.
 
He related that POM received the first loan granted under the 
state authority known as the Arkansas Development Finance 
Authority (ADFA) in the amount of $2.75 million. In a signed 
affidavit submitted into a federal court proceeding, Riconosciuto 
stated "that the Wackenhut-Cabazon joint venture was intended to 
support the needs of a number of foreign governments and forces, 
including forces and governments in Central America and the 
Middle East. The Contras in Nicaragua represented one of the most 
important priorities for the joint venture."
 
Riconosciuto asserted that all scandals overlap, and Casolaro, 
who gave Riconosciuto the title "Danger Man," was introduced to 
the underground world of "spooks." Amid investigating the related 
scandals, a pattern of mysterious deaths also began to emerge.
 
Alfred Alvarez and two of his friends were killed in July 1981. 
They were part of the Cabazon Indian Reservation, and opposed the 
takeover of the reservation by the Wackenhut Corporation.
 
While seeking evidence for Riconosciuto relating to the Inslaw 
case, private investigator Larry Guerrin was killed in Mason 
County, Washington, in February 1987.
 
On February 6, 1989, in the San Francisco Bay area, attorney 
David Meyer died from a gunshot wound. The next day he was to 
have appeared in District Court, defending clients who were 
reportedly tied in with CIA drug trafficking activities. An 
activist, Meyer sought to expose links between Iran-Contra, the 
Justice Department, the CIA, and others.
 
Attorney Dexter Jacobson was killed on August 14, 1990, just 
before he was to present evidence of rampant Chapter 11 judicial 
corruption to the FBI.
 
Attorney Gary Ray Pinnell was killed on February 11, 1991, just 
before he, too, was to present [evidence of] Chapter 11 
corruption to the FBI.
 
On January 31, 1991, the body of Alan D. Standorf was found in 
the back seat of a car parked at the Washington National Airport. 
Standorf was a source of information to Casolaro and had been 
introduced to him by Riconosciuto. It is believed that Standorf, 
an electronic intelligence employee for the National Security 
Agency, was a key source for some of the information linking the 
Justice Department to the various scandals.
 
Attorney Dennis Eisman was shot to death twenty-four hours before 
he was to meet with Michael Riconosciuto. Eisman was building a 
defense for Riconosciuto against the charges filed by the Justice 
Department prosecutors as they sought to silence him.
 
On June 19, 1991, Alan Michael May was found dead in his San 
Francisco home. May had reportedly been involved with Michael 
Riconosciuto and the movement of $40 million in bribe money to 
the Iranians, in the operation known as the "October Surprise."
 
Casolaro began to receive death threats, but they did not deter 
him from his investigation, as he set off for Virginia where he 
was to meet an informant. Before leaving, however, he gave his 
brother, Dr. Anthony Casolaro, important instructions. "He told 
us... if there was an accident and he died, not to believe it."
 
On the morning of August 11, 1991, Danny Casolaro was found dead 
in the bathroom of his hotel room at the Sheraton Hotel in 
Martinsburg, West Virginia. His wrists had been slashed ten 
times; his briefcase and notes were missing. The authorities 
labeled the death a suicide, and before Casolaro's family had 
been contacted, the body was embalmed.
 
Following Casolaro's death, Hamilton's attorney, Elliot 
Richardson, called for a federal investigation. "It's hard to 
come up with any reason for this death, other than he was 
deliberately murdered because he was so close to uncovering 
sinister elements in what he called 'The Octopus'."
 
A congressional subcommittee on Economic and Commercial Law, of 
the Committee on the Judiciary, held hearings on Inslaw and the 
related death of Danny Casolaro. The House Judiciary Committee 
received the same stonewall treatment from the Justice Department 
as had the earlier Senate committee. Attorney General Dick 
Thornburgh refused to appear before the committee and refused to 
let Congress review Justice Department files.
 
The final House report, released September 10, 1992, accused 
Justice Department officials of criminal misconduct and 
recommended the appointment of a special prosecutor. Attorney 
General William Barr refused to appoint a special prosecutor, but 
appointed Chicago attorneys Nicholas Bua [CN -- Our friend, Judge 
Nicholas J. "Call Me Nick" Bua; pronounced BOO-ahh], Charles 
Knight, and five Justice Department prosecutors, to investigate 
the Justice Department's misconduct.
 
He then impaneled a federal grand jury to conduct an 
investigation. After listening to a considerable amount of 
evidence, Bua dismissed the grand jury and quickly impaneled 
another one. A group named Citizens Committee to Clean Up the 
Courts charged that Bua and Knight were impeding the 
investigation and covering for the Justice Department. The group 
filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court in Chicago, naming Bua 
and Knight. While the investigation droned on, the pattern of 
mysterious deaths continued.
 
On November 1, 1992, the bodies of Gail Spiro and her three 
children were found in their Rancho Santa Fe, California, home. 
Death resulted from gunshot wounds to the head. Three days later, 
the body of Gail's husband, Ian Spiro, was found dead in the 
front seat of his Ford Explorer in the remote California desert. 
Authorities said the cause of death was cyanide poisoning, and 
then ruled Ian Spiro had murdered his wife and children and then 
taken his own life. Spiro reportedly had connections to the CIA, 
and had been involved in various operations. He was helping 
Michael Riconosciuto collect documents to present to a federal 
grand jury conducting hearings into Inslaw when he died.
 
Jose Aguilar, a tree trimmer who occasionally worked at the Spiro 
home, was found dead from a gunshot wound to the head on November 
14, 1992.
 
Peter Sandvugen, who was helping Michael Riconosciuto defend 
himself against the Justice Department, was found dead on 
December 2, 1992. Sandvugen was reportedly part of a special CIA 
team during the '80s; the circumstance of his death raised 
questions, as the gun he always carried was found without the 
ammo clip.
 
In June 1993, Nicholas Bua [CN -- Bua is reportedly now under 
investigation himself by a grand jury in California] sent the 
report of his investigation to the Justice Department, 
exonerating Justice Department officials [and] stating that there 
was no truth to any of the charges regarding the Inslaw case. The 
Bua report stated facts absolutely contrary to the findings of 
the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Judge, the U.S. District Court Judge, 
and the Congressional investigation.
 
Attorney for Inslaw, Elliot Richardson, issued a statement on 
June 18, 1993: "What I have seen of [the report] is remarkable 
both for its credulity in accepting at face value denials of 
complicity in wrongdoing against Inslaw, and for its failure to 
pursue leads making those denials implausible."
 
A month after the Bua report was released, the body of 
investigator and attorney Paul Wilcher was found under mysterious 
circumstances. Wilcher was seeking to expose Iran-Contra, the 
October Surprise, BCCI, and the Inslaw scandals. At the time of 
his death, he was investigating gun-running out of Mena, Ark. 
Shortly before his death, he wrote a 105-page letter to Attorney 
General Janet Reno describing evidence that he allegedly had 
concerning the aforementioned scandals. The first page of his 
letter stated in part: "The lives of key participants, other 
witnesses, and even myself, are now in grave danger as a result 
of my passing this information on to you. If you let this 
information fall into the hands of the wrong persons... some or 
all of those who know the truth... could well be silenced in the 
very near future."
 
Wilcher's body was found in his Washington, D.C. home on July 23, 
1993. The coroner's report, made after the autopsy, could not 
find or didn't report the cause of death.
 
In December of 1993, the FBI began again to review the 
circumstances of Danny Casolaro's death, and a review of the 
Inslaw case was then ordered by then-Associate Attorney General 
Webster Hubbell, then the third ranking official at the Justice 
Department. Press reports were silent as to why the case was 
being reopened, but Hubbell's connection to his father-in-law's 
company POM [Park-O-Meter] had already been reported in *The 
Nation*, *The Village Voice*, and to Mark Swaney, the head of a 
University of Arkansas student group responsible for a petition 
drive to investigate drug trafficking at Mena.
 
One month after reopening Inslaw, Hubbell was forced to resign 
his position at the Justice Department. POM's admitted jobs for 
the Pentagon and questionable finances at the ADFA remained 
obscure in mainstream media reports as Hubbell's representation 
of POM became the official reason for his resignation.
 
The Rose Law Firm declared that Hubbell had failed to provide 
documentation for expenses charged to the firm, and POM had lost 
$1 million in litigation fees. This was done when Hubbell pursued 
a patent infringement case which he took on a contingency basis 
for his brother-in-law, Skeeter Ward.
 
Critics have charged that then-Governor Bill Clinton passively 
resisted investigating the Mena operation and POM, but a less 
passive reason for his inaction emerged when the Octopus tentacle 
pointed toward the Inslaw affair.
 
An octopus is defined as a mollusk that has a soft body and eight 
tentacles around its mouth. These tentacles are joined by a web. 
On the underside of each tentacle lie two rows of powerful sucker 
disks. The octopus seizes and holds its prey with these disks, 
then sweeps it into the jaws of its mouth.
 
Upon examination, it seems that tentacles of Danny Casolaro's 
octopus were also joined by a web, and many unknowing victims 
have been swept into the jaws of its mouth.
 
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Aperi os tuum muto, et causis omnium filiorum qui pertranseunt.
Aperi os tuum, decerne quod justum est, et judica inopem et 
  pauperem.                    -- Liber Proverbiorum  XXXI: 8-9 

 Brian Francis Redman    bigxc@prairienet.org    "The Big C"
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    Coming to you from Illinois -- "The Land of Skolnick"        
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