“…An Octopus’s Garden in the Shade“ song written & sung by Ringo

‘I kept saying over and over you can’t live forever.’ F Scott, The Great Gatsby

‘Boundaries that divide life from death are at best shadows.’ E A Poe

‘Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.’ Baum, Wiz of Oz

The intent—when I began again, to review and research the horrible, curious circumstances surrounding the grusome death (Saturday, August 10, 1991) of intrepid, doomed investigative reporter Danny Casolaro in his hotel room in Martinsburg, WV—was to write about the most esoteric and bizarre aspects of his still (officially) unsolved murder (labeled by local WV police as a suicide). But time slipped away, decades in fact, before I’d again crack open the books and folders of notes regarding a made to order conspiracy theory Danny wrote a book proposal for. It’s working title was: The Octopus, a cabal of powerful men operating in the shadows since the 1950s to alter world events. Tentacles from the inner group of eight ensured the death of 100s-1000s of persons in their way; they reaped significant rewards. Proving who they were and how they operated could (and did) get you killed.

When I first clipped Washington Post articles (dated 8/18/91 McGrory, 8/25/91 O’Harrow & Lee, & 8/30/91 Masters), several pieces of information caught my attention.  For a brief second, I felt a romantic envy. This attractive man, who quoted Gatsby and Poe, died doing what long ago I (age 7-11) said I would do when grown—investigate crimes and use every resource available to discover who done it. In my youthful version, a large dog, a chimpanzee, and a set of encyclopedias accompanied me to both exotic and local destinations where crime thrived. For me, it was a youthful fancy, for Danny Casolaro…?

In the 90’s, the occult/esoteric angle made sense, as Danny had tentatively linked a bunch of fringe esoteric folks like film maker/occultist Kenneth Anger, former Colonel//Temple of Set founder Michael Aquino, GRU Intel Branch of Russia, and a few Hell’s Angels to one or more criminal octopus tentacles. Ironically, my early mind mapping notes did rather resemble a ‘consortium’ of octopuses. Consortium is the proper term for a group of these eight tentacle mollusks of the order Octopoda Cephalopoda, though like me, they don’t consort much in their natural habitat. Considering the alleged crimes orchestrated by this cabal, Danny’s title should perhaps have been more Lovecraftian, something like Cthulhu’s Hideous Children.

The people and groups, the sucker circles of the octopuses’ eight arms, can be mapped in several ways. One 2011 article published in Wired magazine, named the tentacles Spy SW & Surveillance (Justice Dept, E Meese, CIA, Cabazon…); Reagan Admin (E H Hunt, R Helms, Wilson…); Nicaraguan Contras; October Surprise instigators; Contract Killers (Cuellar, Blackwater…); Mafia/CIA (Gambino’s, R B Nichols, Buffalino family…); Aliens (Aquino, military…); Satanists (Aquino, Anger, Dr Ernie Jordon,Joe Morasca/GRU & disinfo). The upcoming four part 2/28/24 Netflix special American Conspiracy: Octopus Murders flashes a word picture of an octopus’ish creature (featured above) bearing the same names and org’s and many, many more.

Satanist/Set priest Michael Aquino (part of two tentacles) was an interesting character—honor grad, PhD in Pol Sci, Army psyops officer, former member National Advisory Board of Security Council, member Academy of Magical Arts, high priest in Anton LeVay’s Church of Satan, and founder of Temple of Set. However, in the late 80s, he was linked to the Presidio daycare child abuse scandal. His home was raided. Aquino called it a witch hunt because of his Temple of Set affiliations and one or more detectives received written reprimands.(Similar accusations were levied (late 80s) at Naval and Air Force officers at Fort Dix, West Point…) Aquino was also involved in disinfo campaigns and UFO mythos. His temple had a recommended reading list that included many books in my personal library—Hollywood Babylon I & II by Kenneth Anger, The Hellfire Club, a History of Magic/Experimental Science, & numerous tomes on ancient Egypt.

When I joined the dozens (if not 100s) of writers and curious researchers following the 2023 updated trail of soggy breadcrumbs and new docs, there were a surprising number of articles that went the typical route. “It’s nothing more than a fanciful conspiracy against the Gov’t and its agencies.” They said Danny was a troubled man and a failed writer/journalist. They wanted you to believe the Martinsburg WV police had done their diligence and quickly closed the case because it was obvious the man committed suicide. Obvious, despite the body being removed and embalmed within hours of being found by a hotel housekeeper. The room and bloody bathroom were quickly cleaned, his family wasn’t notified until two days later, on Monday. Obvious, even though deep cuts to both wrists would have been difficult for a man to make that was squeamish about blood and had told his brother if anything happened to him, don’t believe what they tell you. Obvious, despite the threatening phone calls Danny (and his housekeeper) received in the months leading up to his death, numerous serious errors and gaps in the Bua Report, the missing briefcase…     

To be clear, FOIAed files from a lengthy FBI investigation & bio (ordered during Clinton Admin) revealed Danny had, more than a decade ago, received several DUIs. An empty bottle of Vicodin, a box of Hefty trash bags, an unopened bottle of wine, 3 packs of Carlton cigarettes, a box of razor blades, and credit card receipts were found in the main room. There was also an alleged suicide note addressed ‘to my loved ones.’ The note contained a message his friends and family say was a clue he was forced to write the note.  Autopsy brain scans indicated Danny may have been in early stages of multiple sclerosis, though there’s no doctor’s confirmation. The illegal, immediate embalming of Danny’s body prevented accurate toxicological studies, nor did police keep samples of trace evidence, such the bloody bathwater or fingerprints. His family ensured an autopsy was conducted by a VA medical examiner.

Danny was described as a freelance writer/investigative reporter, the 2nd of 7 children born into a prosperous Italian Catholic family. His dad was a successful GYN. Two siblings died, one as an infant of a heart defect; and a favorite older sister died at 18, in CA, of a drug overdose. He called himself a black sheep—hadn’t followed in dad’s or brother’s medical footsteps. He took breaks from college to travel in Europe and South America, and did a bit of mountain climbing. During a summer break in DC, he met a former Miss VA beauty queen and married her in 1967. He left college to support his new wife, moved to Fort Lauderdale (to house owned by his parents) and became a father (Trey Casolaro). In 1973 he published a book of Hemingway’esque short stories. He worked as a stringer for the Miami Herald. When his parents divorced and his dad became ill, Danny moved back to VA. His mom’s house caught fire, however she, his sister, and son Trey got out unharmed. When Trey was 10 Danny’s wife left him (for another man?). They divorced in 1981; Danny obtained custody of Trey. He published another book (The Ice King). In it, the main character falls to his death in Ecuador. In the late 80s Trey dropped out of school and moved to Colorado, though father and son kept in touch. At the time of Danny’s death, Trey was 22.

Danny started dating again and socializing. He was described as funny and thoughtful by his friends. Career success eluded him, though he pursued many interests: poetry, political theory hypothesizing, raising Arabian horses… He developed an avid interest in computers and wrote successfully for Computer Age publications, and bought the publication. In 1989, he experienced financial difficulties and sold Computer Age for less than expected. His family loaned him money and he thought seriously about annexing one or more acres of his 5 acre property in Fairfax, VA to give him financial security. That same year, a friend, Terry Miller, told Danny about the Inslaw dispute with the Justice Department. Danny contacted Inslaw’s owners, Will and Nancy Hamilton. He was soon hooked on the story they told him about a plot to steal their Promis SW and sell it to foreign governments and intel agencies. The story involved the CIA, Justice Department, former President’s and related scandals, and a whole lot of intrigue, murder, and lying. The deeper he plunged, the bigger the octopus and its reach grew.

He put everything into what would be his final effort to prove himself a worthy investigative journalist. His phone records reflect copious time spent talking with sources he cultivated. Though a fat briefcase full of pertinent notes was stolen from his hotel room, he had created and posted to a message board several draft versions of his magnum opus work in progress, which was first titled Behold a Pale Rider. By early 1991 Danny chose the title The Octopus, modeled, it’s thought, on a 1986 book by Dan E Moldea Dark Victory: Reagan, MCA, & the Mob. Moldea called this baneful trifecta the Octopus. More notes were found in his basement office. 1000s of notes refer to arms dealing, drug trafficking, money laundering, terrorism, chemical warfare, and political assassinations, and flesh out the octopuses tentacles.

Other records reveal curious meetings Danny had, including one that could have been with his killer. Their chance meeting at a popular restaurant/bar The Sign of the Whale in Arlington, VA was a bit too convenient. But on the day Danny died, this man had an alibi—he was (allegedly) outprocessing from one military unit into another. Another possible suspect was one of Danny’s source witnesses and a whistleblower. They talked several times on the phone—no proof they ever met except for his sources’ words regarding their face to face meeting in the hotel’s parking lot the afternoon before Danny died. Documents were exchanged. Five weeks after Danny’s death, his source pleaded guilty to one felony count of making a false statement to the Veterans Admin in 1988. His house was searched, but no telling documents were found.

Danny’s efforts to find a publisher and land a book deal for The Octopus weren’t successful. Perhaps this was due in part to the enormity of the conspiracy/not conspiracy tentacles that were so difficult to pin down. In a treatment to a potential publisher Danny wrote this book was about “an international cabal whose freelance services over political intrigue, espionage, sophisticated weapon tech that includes biotoxins, drug trafficking, money laundering, and murder for hire…from an isolated desert Indian Reservation north of Mexicali. He also provided a two page list of over 50 names linked to the Octopus, adding he’d purposefully left out some important names.

An agreement with a NY agent was signed in December of 1990. Danny met with a Hollywood talent agent in NY City. It didn’t go well. The agent turned him down but offered to help find another agent. Months went by. Danny revised his book proposal multiple times and continued to document his research. He also unfortunately revealed to this potential publisher he had money issues. The 2nd agent called the end of May 1991 and declined to represent Danny. He also met with an agent from Little Brown who suggested Danny work with one of their staff writers. What Danny had showed him was unpolished, didn’t reveal much, he said. Danny refused.

His friends admitted Danny was, in the last few weeks of his life, obsessed and consumed with the Octopus story. He ate and slept little. He continued to absorb and process huge amounts of info regarding all the people and groups that formed this monster octopus. He was hurt over his failure to secure a publisher (and an advance). Other friends noticed his sharpened focus as he tried to break the Lovecraftian beast into smaller, more manageable pieces. His family had money and had helped him out before. They emphatically stated they would continue to support him.

During this time, he began reporting he’d been receiving death threats over the phone. His housekeeper (and neighbor) had received several as well. He told his brother ‘if I die, don’t believe it was an accident.’ There were contradictory accounts of his saying he’d secured a book deal. A few friends noticed (after they were told Danny might have had MS) he had some motor dexterity issues with his right hand, needed to borrow another friend’s reading glasses, and asked a nurse about the effects of multiple sclerosis. That seems odd—why wouldn’t he ask his brother the doctor?

The week Danny died is detailed somewhat in a  FOIA’ed FBI report. On Monday, August 5, he saw his brother who remarked he looked tired. A friend met him at a bar later in the day and he told her he ‘just broke Inslaw story and she could have it or give it to columnist Jack Anderson.” He said he’d just returned from WV and was going back again. He spoke again with this friend on the phone on Tuesday, and with a journalist friend in Annapolis and another friend. He had dinner with a former IBM attorney.  His final call of the night was with one of the eight octopus cabal tentacles, Robert Booth Nichols. Danny told him he’d be visiting the Cabazon Indian Reservation soon to wrap up his research. On Wednesday 8/7 a good friend (and drinking buddy) visited Danny at home. He showed his friend some papers in his office. He also spoke with a cousin who was a psychologist who said he sounded upbeat. Danny and his friend went to a bar. He drove his friend home around 2am.

On Thursday, August 8, Danny called his friend again and said the women he’d talked to at the bar earlier didn’t invite Danny up to her room. They laughed about the rejection. At 10am, Danny visited his insurance agent and paid his homeowner’s insurance premium. He drove to Martinsburg and checked in to Room 517. The hotel clerk noted Danny was carrying an old, beat up briefcase. Accounts of his last two days alive vary. Witnesses have changed their testimony and in several cases, told lies. Possible telling evidence has been conveniently ‘lost.’ Still, evidence and clues remain. When Brown Funeral home performed a hasty, illegal embalming, they missed Danny’s liver and bladder. Blood samples had been collected and retained.  The family requested an autopsy. The first one was performed by a doctor in Morgantown, WV. The doctor declared the death a suicide and cause of death exsanguination; a neuropathologist said his brain revealed he had early stages of MS. A second autopsy performed in VA revealed new and contradictory information…

The final book in my quintuplet of ideas, working title Coached in Death, was conjured and committed to outline a decade ago. One book is in near finished form (Interpretation of Death). I posted a draft Chapter 1 of Coached in Death on this blog over a year ago. The murder of Danny Casolaro and Inslaw’s PROMIS SW theft and related nefarious deeds was my inspiration for a story in which a foolishly brave, intrepid woman, aided by two unlikely side kicks ( members of a secret society) help her uncover the murderers of her fiancé, a SW wiz, and his father, a brilliant man with a serious CIA/Gov’t Intel past. A boat captain inspired Ringo’s song (see title of this blog). The captain told Ringo an octopus likes to collect shiny objects it uses to build an underwater sea garden paradise of sorts. Danny didn’t escape the human octopus tentacles, but perhaps left enough shiny clues to enable someone to bring all the octopus crimes to the surface and expose his killer.

Will his death—his murder ever be conclusively solved, or will he join the many other victims of unsolved crimes: The Black Dahlia, JFK, Zodiac’s and Jack the Ripper’s victims, Lindbergh baby, Frank Olson, Wall Street bombing of 1920, Jimmy Hoffa, vics of the Chicago Tylenol murders, JonBenet Ramsey…??? New evidence and the release of Gov’t FOIA’ed documents reveal a bit more of the mystery, lies told and repeated, and connections that help prove what Danny wrote about in his book proposal was not too good to be true; it was simply true. Will the new Netflix series, beginning 2/28/24 at least answer some of the many conundrums surrounding Danny’s death? For example:

Why did Martinsburg Police (and other agencies) fail to collect evidence, cover up or mislead people? (The 2nd  autopsy revealed unexplained bruises and 3 torn fingernails. Danny, a former boxer, put up a fight.

Who took Danny’s briefcase, seen by hotel desk clerk, the man staying in room next to Danny, and at least one other person?

Why did the FBI initially lie to Congress (J E Porter) that they hadn’t investigated Danny’s death, that no FBI Task Force had been formed; later why did they pressure people to say it was a suicide? Why are nearly 10% of FBI’s case files missing?

Why was a chief suspect, Mr. Joseph Cuellar, who dated a friend of Danny’s and threatened her, not thoroughly investigated, especially after his original alibi contradicted a different alibi?

Were the deaths/murders of Laurence Ng (London Financial Times); Jonathan Moyle (Brit Aviation writer), 3 dead on Cabazon Res, Gerald Bull (US ballistics engineer), and Alan Standorf all connected to the Octopus needing to bury what they knew?

I’ll write again after the 4 episode documentary has aired on Netflix, after more sources and men with dirty faces are exposed… Until then, if you’re interested, check out articles in Covert Action Magazine 9/4/2023; 20,000 docs regarding Danny’s research in Internet Archive; the site All That’s Interesting 2/1/24 article; Grunge 10/12/22; MuckRock’s 13 Reasons to Doubt the Official Narrative 3/15/18; High Times Magazine 8/2001 Cheri Seymour (who also wrote a fabulous, thorough book about the Octopus and Danny’s research called The Last Circle), and books like The Devil’s Chessboard (Talbot) and The Secret Team (Prouty)