Article 20651 of alt.conspiracy:
Newsgroups: alt.conspiracy,alt.activism,alt.society.civil-liberty,alt.individualism,alt.censorship,talk.politics.misc,misc.headlines,soc.culture.usa
Subject: Part 32, The Casolaro Murder --> The Feds' Theft of Inslaw Software
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Keywords: CIA = Murder Inc., CIA desecrates the People's Constitution
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The following excerpts are from an article by James Ridgeway
in the September 22, 1992 issue of
THE VILLAGE VOICE, a weekly newspaper
36 Cooper Square
New York, NY 10003
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
(continuation)
Then there was the CIA, the blackest of black holes. In response to
an initial inquiry in February 1991, the CIA reported that following
an "extensive search," no versions of PROMIS were found. Then in
November of the same year, Richard Kerr, the Deputy Director of the
CIA reaffirmed the agency's denial that it had any versions of
Inslaw's PROMIS, but did admit employing a software called PROMIS
that the CIA had obtained from the Strategic Software Planning
Corporation -- the same outfit that sold a PROMIS version to the
Canadians. Kerr then said this:
"Of course, we have no way of knowing whether any [Central
Intelligence] Agency contractors, at some point, ever acquired
PROMIS software, but none did so on behalf of the Agency.
Moreover, although we have no indication that any such
acquisition took place, we cannot rule out the possibility that
an Agency employee, acting on his own behalf and without any
official authorization of funds, acquired PROMIS for his own
personal use."
The [House Judiciary] Committee report draws no conclusions as to
Earl Brian's involvement in the Inslaw case. It did, however, remark
on the similarities between the Inslaw dispute and a computer
software controversy that arose in California two decades earlier --
one that also involved Earl Brian.
In 1974, according to the Committee, Brian was accused of using
computer software owned by the State of California for his own
personal gain. Citing the Los Angeles Times, the report says:
"During the final days of Governor Ronald Reagan's administration,
computer tapes were given to Dr. Brian under a no-cost contract
awarded by then-Chief Deputy Director of the State of California
Health Department David Winston. Mr. Winston later became an
employee of Dr. Brian's. After Governor Ronald Reagan left
office, the new Health Director, Robert Gnaidza, held a news
conference and stated that he was cancelling the contract, which
entrusted the computer tapes to Dr. Brian, because the tapes were
of incalculable value as a research tool, and that handing them
to Earl Brian was, in effect, a `gift of public property for
private purposes.' Dr. Brian apparently acknowledged having
obtained the tapes, but he denied that the tapes were a gift to
him, and declared: `The entire matter is a blatant political ploy
intended to obfuscate the abortive Gestapo raid ordered by the
[present] health director.'"
The [House Judiciary Committee] report quotes from Michael
Riconosciuto's sworn statement for the Hamiltons, which claims that
Earl Brian and [Peter Videnieks] the Justice Department contract
officer in charge of PROMIS's installation had both secretly
delivered Inslaw's PROMIS software to the Cabazon Indian reservation
in southern California -- a center for arms dealing and [Nicaraguan]
Contra resupply, according to Riconosciuto, -- for "refitting" so
that it could be used by intelligence agencies in the United States
and abroad. Earl Brian flatly denied these claims in his own sworn
statement to the House Judiciary Committee, and he said that he
never heard of nor had been involved with the so-called Wackenhut-
Cabazon joint venture. He also claimed that he had never met or
talked to the contract officer [Peter Videnieks].
....
An intriguing footnote [to the House Judiciary Committee's report]
raises questions about Earl Brian's possible role:
"According to a law enforcement police report on file with the
Committee, Dr. Brian, together with Michael Riconosciuto, among
others, attended a weapons demonstration at Lake Chauchilla gun
range in Indio, California during the evening of September 10,
1981."
The footnote cites the Riverside County District Attorney's Office
Special Operations Report, which it has on file but did not make
public. According to one Capitol Hill aide who has studied the
document, it contains a police report of the event, including
license plate numbers of cars at the meeting as well as the names
of those who were there.
The new questions about the August 1991 death of Danny Casolaro
raised by the House Judiciary Committee are also intriguing.
According to the [Committee's] report, FBI agent Gates "indicated
under oath that he had received several calls from Mr. Casolaro,
beginning approximately four weeks before his death," and he said
that he was "very suspicious" about his death for several reasons.
To begin with, Casolaro had sounded "upbeat" before his death and
not like somebody getting ready to commit suicide. Casolaro had a
phone book with Gates's number in it, which disappered after his
death and has never been found. The Martinsburg Police Department,
[quoting from the House Judiciary Committee Report]:
"told him that the wounds to Mr. Casolaro's arms were `hacking'
wounds. Special Agent Gates felt that the amount of injury to the
arms of Mr. Casolaro was not consistent with injuries inflicted
by an individual who had slit his own wrists. Special Agent Gates
said that he was told by Martinsburg police investigators that:
`he [Casolaro] hacked his wrists ... the wrists were cut, but
were cut almost in a slashing or hacking motion ...'"
Gates said that he raised these suspicions with the Martinsburg
authorities and that he
`called the local FBI office and suggested that they
investigate because it was possibly related to criminal
activity which falls within the jurisdiction of the FBI.'"
In a footnote, the House Judiciary Committee Report says:
"It should be noted that throughout his deposition, Agent Gates
repeatedly connected various strands of his conversations with
Casolaro, as well as other aspects of the Inslaw investigation,
to a single individual, Robert Booth Nichols. In making certain
statements, Gates acknowledged that Nichols had filed a lawsuit
against him because of another crime investigation in which he
participated which was centered in southern California.
Nevertheless, Gates maintained that important and highly
pertinent information regarding the past history of Nichols
existed in sealed wiretap and confidential grand jury
investigations. ..."
Nichols has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing.
This wiretap links figures in the entertainment business to
Organized Crime.
Although West Virginia officials concluded that Casolaro committed
suicide, the autopsy led the House Judiciary Committee to ask
several questions, including: Why was there a bruise on one arm?
How had he suffered a head injury?
While individual FBI agents have raised questions about the death,
and two agents interviewed Tony Casolaro about his brother's
knowledge of BCCI [the Bank of Credit and Commerce International],
the FBI has never formally indicated its involvement in the case.
(end of report -- more reports to come)
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
This is one of countless stories unveiling the subverted, corrupt
and fascistic state of our theoretically democratic Government.
This story makes it disgustingly obvious that true patriotism is not
the waving of flags, the tying of yellow ribbons and the mindless
supporting of our Government, just because it happens to be ours.
You don't support cancer just because you happen to have it.
True patriotism is telling the truth to the people of our country
in order that they may unite to conquer this anti-democratic cancer
that is gradually destroying ours and our children's freedom.
So please post the installments of this ongoing series to
computer bulletin boards, and post hardcopies in public places,
both on and off campus. That would be a truly patriotic deed.
John DiNardo
The episodes of this and other series can be retrieved
via anonymous ftp from the site:
red.css.itd.umich.edu
Log in with name "anonymous" or "ftp" and supply your e-mail address as
the password. The files are kept in the directory /poli/Essays/Conspiracy
Instructions for ftp retrieval are dependent upon what sort of system the
user is on. On a UNIX machine, at the command prompt, type the following:
ftp red.css.itd.umich.edu This may be different on IBMs and Vax systems.
Archivist: Paul Southworth,
[email protected]
