“…you killed my father; prepare to die.” Inigo Montoya, The Princess Bride

“Danny was a romantic ideal of what a writer or journalist is—in the Hemingway mould.” per film dir Zachary Treitz. “

“Who controls the past controls the future, who controls the present controls the past.” G Orwell, 1984

“Let justice be done, though the heavens may fall.” Cheri Seymour’s page dedication in The Last Circle, 2010

The credits rolled after a second viewing of all four episodes of Netflix’s American Conspiracy: the Octopus Murders but I found myself staring at words I’d scribbled earlier and underlined. I’d also just watched a video journey podcast (#145) featuring writer Cheri Seymour (The Last Circle), Christian Hansen & Zach Treitz (photojournalist/investigative team), and Trineday publisher R A Milegan. It was almost too much to digest, assimilate, decipher…spies, lies, murder for hire, greed & desire…

Our intelligence agencies (Nat Reconnaissance Office, Bureau of Intel & Research, Military Intel Corps…) combined mission is to collect, analyze, and deliver foreign intel info to America’s leaders. One of their stated duties is to ensure there are multiple layers of myth to protect hidden kernels of truth. It’s their job to obfuscate, create and maintain doubt, even cause paralysis, a sense of being overwhelmed…Spycraft is as old as the pyramids. Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu’s Art of War is about winning; Chapter 13 is about spies. He wrote ‘to remain ignorant of the enemies condition because one grudges an outlay of silver is inhuman, hence the use of 5 classes of spies: local, inward (enemy), converted, doomed, surviver. If a secret is divulged by a spy before the time is ripe, he must be put to death together with the person to whom the secret was told.’

Danny Casolaro lived in McLean, VA. Nearby is CIA HQ (shown above), aka spy central—as well as other intelligence agencies. This curious lad grew up to be an adventurous man, fascinated by the world of spies, secret agents, and international intrigue. At 16, he took a wild trip to South America to hunt for lost Incan treasure, returning with a business scheme to import a speckled sea trout and write amazing tales. He reported on the Watergate scandal in the 1970s and wrote about computers for an upstart IT industry newsletter. Later, he became its owner and managing editor. So when Danny was introduced to the founder of Inslaw, the tech company suing the Justice Department over alleged intellectual theft of revolutionary criminal-case tracking software called Promis, his learning curve was short. Before long he was pulling threads and stitching together a nefarious tapestry.

He wrote the cabal he called The Octopus was composed of men that were ‘no longer government officials but their tentacles can reach into any part of government in almost any country. They’re not known criminals, though they consort with them and (since the late 60s) have successfully penetrated all factions of organized crime.’ Their tentacles ensnarled Laos, Australia, Angola, the Balkins, Rhodesia, Iran, Nicaragua… Danny wasn’t sure he could trust his sources, as some were guilty of contradicting themselves and had hidden motives. “Possession of a secret is no guarantee of its truth,’ he confided to a friend. He said it was difficult to document the salient details that made this story a traditional piece of journalism. That’s why he subtitled his story a True Crime Narrative.

On FB 3/18/24, journalist/reporter Cheri Seymour posted that both the Netflix documentary and the podcast were created to ensure ‘truth, justice…’ however, like the X-files, most of the truth’s still out there…and justice hasn’t been served, though some of the villains (and too many of the vigilantes) are dead. Cheri said the best kept secret of the Octopus story will ‘soon be revealed.’ She is going to divulge what she only hinted at in her book, what others also know but haven’t stated to the public. Another intrepid investigator, Rachael Begley has also been posting on FB; she has a personal stake in bringing down Octopus tentacles. Rachael’s dad (Ralph), tribal leader Fred Alvarez, and his girlfriend Patty Castro were murdered on the Cabazon Res in 1981. Bagman/former tribal security official Jimmy Hughes was implicated and eventually arrested (2009). In a gross miscarriage of justice, charges against Hughes were dropped. Hughes hightailed it to Honduras. Details of the murder and Rachael’s hunt for her dad’s killer are detailed in a chapter in Cheri’s Last Circle book, and was discussed in the Netflix 4 part doc.

Danny created a canonical list of villains, though it varied a bit (and expanded) in various docs. It featured sinister characters many would recognize. They are former OSS/CIA elite and operatives, and power players that did their best work in the shadows, and moved $$$s and players round the world to achieve desired goals. One thing all these men had in common was a profound selfishness, hunger for power, and indifference to the welfare of others. It’s apt Danny called this cabal of men the Octopus, a creature with ‘100s of suckers, each equipped with its own ganglion & 1000s of interconnected neurons. A severed tentacle may continue to crawl on its own…regenerate a lost limb.

In Part 1 of this article, I wrote it seemed logical most of these creepy Octopus characters would have occult ties. Isn’t it just one small step from politics to religion to the esoteric? In reality, few on Danny’s list actually did. There was H. L. Hunt and his coven novels; Reagan and his astrologer; the Skull & Bone’s & other secret societies; Freemasons; christian fascists; Helms and MKUltra…. One thing seems certain, few that dive into the ocean of treachery where Danny dared to swim remain unhaunted, unscathed. Most struggle to catch their breath, as if an invisible slimy thing was choking the…

The villains’ names were familiar to me; they held important government and corporate positions.   I also noted several of the vigilante’s thought they might need to be debriefed, deprogrammed, or stop years of earnest research. A few, like intrepid Aussie Physicist/Advisor and investigator Peter J Osborne (see website page excerpts above & below), maintain and update websites https://thesixtheye.org, and make podcasts. The reading, listening/viewing I’d done called into play the old axiom of Spy 101—that spies trade in secrets, lies, or favors—that spying is a costly method to obtain information. When someone spies on the bad guys, the result is often unfavorable. Danny persisted despite noting that Octopus tentacle prober Laurence Ng, a London Financial Times reporter was shot/murdered in a bathroom in Guatemala City 1/29/91. He’d been investigating Bank of Credit & Commerce (BCCI) link to illegal arms and Iran Contra. Jonathan Moyle a Brit aviation writer, was found hanging in a closet hotel in Satiago Chile in March, 1990. He’d been investigating Chile arms dealer Carlos Cardoen. Alan Standorf, a civilian employee at Vint Hill Farms Station (NSA/Army cryptography school, elec warfare facility) was beaten to death in the backseat of his car at National airport. He disclosed a document about Promis software…

Critics have been quick to condemn Danny’s writing style, dearth of information, and lack of solid proof, though many like myself think important, incriminating data was in his missing briefcase. Some called him a conspiracy theory nut. But Danny, over a period of several years, was building a case, connecting dots and was at times overwhelmed by the vast insidiousness of what he uncovered. As both a writer and editor, I can attest to the nearly undecipherable chicken scratch I’ve produced, as have many serious writers, in early versions of a work before ever generating a readable script. Danny was a poet, writer/novelist, prober, people person…but perhaps wasn’t a great salesman when pitching the incredible story that exposed a cabal of self-centered, greedy men. The scope of the story was and is enormous, hideously sinister, and chillingly real.

To recap, intrepid writer/poet Danny Casolaro, turned investigative journalist and spy (on the bad guys), was introduced by a friend to Bill Hamilton and his wife, owners of Inslaw & inventors of pioneering Promis software. They were suing the DoJ for, among other things, withholding a multi-million dollar payment for delivered software; failure to pay forced Hamilton to declare bankruptcy. There was no Yellow Brick Road to follow, scattered bread crumbs were toxic or hallucinogenic, and the labyrinth of lies made the head spin and stomach churn.

The Octopus has been swimming in local and international waters since the 1950’s. Danny speculated the figurative birth of the Octopus was in the 1950s and involved an unsuccessful coup attempt in Albania. These men weren’t strangers to attempts to muddy foreign government waters to grab power. A few were involved in Project Paperchip, aka hide the Nazi engineer/ scientist in the US. They participated in frustrating the Bay of Pigs invasion and in promoting cold war propaganda. Key in Black Sabbath’s War Pigs riff…

Tracking ring leaders and their spawn requires more than just a strong stomach. Where to begin the search, on a particular date, with a particular ‘octopi terribus’? Who ya gonna trust? If you’ve read the books cited in the mini-biblio or watched movies like JFK, Apocalypse Now, Reds, Serpico, Executive Decision, Malcolm X, The Kingdom, Parallax View, The Deer Hunter, Enemy of the People, Air America, The Good Shepherd, Vantage Point, Body of Lies…the answer’s trust NO ONE. That includes Michael Riconosciuto (MR), who told the Hamilton’s “I was serving as director of research of a weapons-design project operating out of Cabazon Indian Reservation in CA desert. Octopus Bill Casey, Reagan-campaign director, later CIA head—hired me and a Reagan confidant, Dr. Earl Brian (infamous Phoenix Program) for a secret mission with Iran (Earl would make further mods to Promis). I did the electronic funds transfer to convey a $40M+ payoff to Iran to prevent a deal with the Carter Admin to release 52 American hostages prior to the election (aka October Surprise). I modified your software, per instructions from Wackenhut.”

MR added Brian’s reward was a license to grab the Hamiltons’ software, aided by Reagan’s Justice Department minions. MR stated he ‘saw proof documents.’ The Hamilton’s gave Danny a 12-page memo by MR and down the secrets, lies, and espionage rabbit hole he went. When MR foretold he’d be arrested if he gave a deposition to Judiciary Committee staffers investigating INSLAW controversy, and weeks later was indeed arrested (on drug distribution charges), Danny knew the real story was much bigger and flew to the west coast. MR insisted his chemicals were being used in an innovative process for refining platinum ore. In Tacoma, WA, Danny spent ten days as an unofficial investigator of MR’s frame-up, writing down the incredulous tales imprisoned MR told him. These tales included the coerced manufacture of psychedelic drugs and involvement in biological warfare projects.

Danny joins the ranks of murdered sleuths & whistleblowers, like Oklahoma nuclear safety activist Karen Silkwood; Brit Dr David Kelly, who tried to tell the public there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; and most recently, Boeing whistleblower John Barnett, found dead in his car in SC March 9, 2024. Kelly also had his wrist slit and drugs (he had no prescription for) were in his system. There are a few whistleblowers who escaped assassination: Watergate Deep Throat informant Mark Felt, wikileaks Edward Snowden & Julian Assange, NY Policeman Serpico… And fewer still who began investigations, but backed off, like Senator John Kerry’s 1992 investigation of BCCI, a tentacle of the Octopus.

While we wait for secrets to be revealed, for Christian Hansen to publish his book (that he says will rewrite history) and which theoretically solves important questions posed by Danny and other intrepid reporters and folks demanding an accounting, there are things we can do. We can examine existing records and collaborate on blog sites and chat rooms. We can request release of other potentially valuable records via FOIA and keep reading and rereading texts already out there (Internet Archive). We can write articles posing hypothetical answers. And we can write, tweet, and phone local and Government authorities to demand justice, further investigations, and the release of information erroneously marked classified.

Successful espionage and keeping secrets today is more difficult since the advent of the Internet, social media, forensic advancements, facial recognition software and AI, digital surveillance, and public demand for transparency. It’s reasonable to think accountability is easier to achieve in the 2020s and nefarious deeds are easier to expose and prove. But Cheri Seymour, towards the end of The Last Circle wrote all the government officials and journalists I talked with said nothing can be done to dismantle the Octopus; there’s no office powerful enough to prosecute these criminals… She also thought the pendulum would swing back, and I’m ad libbing here to chop off all the tentacles as well as the Lovecraftian head of the beast. Peter Osborne, under Evidence on his website, posted what Gene Wheaton, Army Criminal Investigator said, that the guilty are ‘afraid of a peasant with a pitchfork.’ He suggests we ‘coordinate with independent small newspapers, radio stations & TV networks…to blast the truth to the public because the media won’t.’

In addition to the dynamic duo Hansen and Treitz and their Netflix 4 part special, Danny’s brother and his son Trey have persisted, demanded the case be reopened and files declassified. They want answers to questions such as why were several fingernails torn, why was there a bruise on Danny’s arm and another on his head? Why were there signs that someone tried to asphyxiate him and inject a substance into his spine? Why were several bloody towels found—indicating someone (not housekeeping) had tried to mop up blood? What happened to the stack of files seen in his car the day before his death? Who killed Alan Standorf (an NSA staffer found beaten to death in the back seat of his car at National Airport January 1991)? Alan had given DC docs including computer printouts RE Promis software. Trey and the persistence of other fearless investigator’s has paid off. Many, but not all of the Martinsburg files marked classified have been released. Newly seen phone records and witness statements prove there was a massive cover up (IMO). It’s now been admitted a Sheraton hotel maid saw a man leaving Casolaro’s room the morning he was killed. They even created a sketch, which resembled favored suspect and CIA/Special Forces operative Joseph Cuellar.

At one time I too wanted to be a spy, having grown up watching Man from UNCLE, I Spy, The Avengers, & Mission Impossible. I lived within shouting distance of CIA HQ (even applied for work there), supported classified projects I can’t ever talk about, and acquired and upon occasion used a few spycraft tools. These included two way viewing shades, a pen that recorded 60 seconds worth of conversation, ear plugs that amplified sounds, cheap night vision goggles, and both a locking briefcase and diary. In hindsight, I’m glad my life went in a different direction. I chuckle at all the movies I’ve watched and still watch, which made spy life seem more glamorous than dangerous, replete with sex, international travel to exotic locales, and risks that make it seem a worthy calling. My movie library includes all the James Bond and Mission Impossible movies, as well as shows like Agent X, The Little Drummer Girl, Burn Notice, Homeland, Citadel, Lioness, Alias, Jack Ryan, Traitor, Covert Affairs, A Spy Among Friends, Deep State, Berlin Station, 24…

Study the Octopus—its ability to manipulate, adapt, create chaos, deceive, sacrifice a limb if necessary. Follow the $$$ trail: CIA, Nugan Hand Int’l, Gambino mafia, Wackenhut…Pull a thread if you dare; tug until the picture morphs and reveals the greedy, power hungry monsters behind/beneath a curtain of sea foam. Or grab an extra heavy duty life raft and watch as the men (and their minions) with a global tentacle span to exploit secret empires of espionage networks, big oil, drug trade, and organized crime sink to their deserved spot, somewhere below the Mariana Trench. I look forward to viewing a follow up to the well received Netflix documentary, to more insightful podcasts and chatroom posts, and the release of information that will expose and sever the octopuses head.  

My book in progress Coached in Death (creative fiction/mystery) captures many of the subjects mentioned by Danny in his book treatment and copious notes, which numerous bold, brave writers have documented in their ongoing work regarding the nefarious organizations affiliated with/used by these men. Key in spy music—menacing strings, a bit of staccato wind & drum instrumentation, sustained basslines in E minor, a steady, open beat…and the imagined sound a tentacled creature of both land & sea might make…James Bond chord: https://jeremyjameshongkong.files.wordpress.com/2020/05/new-recording-65-1.mp3     (@ __ @)

Partial Biblio (the best books are those that tell you what you already know, George Orwell, 1984):

The Search for the Manchurian Candidate, John Marks, 1979

The Bilderberg Group and Shadow Masters, Daniel Estulin

Dr. Mary’s Monkey, Edward T. Haslam, 2015

Fixing America, breaking the stranglehold, John Buchahan

Dark Victory: Reagan, MCA, & the Mob,Dan E Moldea

The Franklin Scandal, Nick Bryant, 2012

Politics & the Occult, the Left, Right, & Radically Unseen, Gary Lachman, 2008

The King in Orange, Michael Greer, 2016

The Family-Secret Fundamentalism/American Power, Lee Sharlet, 2009

Spooks, the Haunting of America, Jim Hougan, 1978

Politics and the Occult, Gary Lachman, 2008

Interlock, Art, Conspiracy, & the Shadow Worlds of Mark Lombardi, Patricia Goldstone, 2015