Danny Casolaro

Freelance journalist investigating "The Octopus" — a network linking PROMIS software theft, CIA/DOJ corruption, BCCI, Iran-Contra, the October Surprise, and organized crime — found dead in a hotel bathtub with his wrists slashed 10-12 times. His briefcase of documents was missing. His body was embalmed before his family was notified, destroying forensic evidence.

Field	Details
Full Name	Joseph Daniel Casolaro
Born	June 16, 1947
Died	August 10, 1991
Age at Death	44
Location of Death	Sheraton Hotel, Room 517, Martinsburg, West Virginia
Cause of Death	Exsanguination (wrists slashed 10-12 times)
Official Ruling	Suicide
Alleged Intelligence Connection	CIA, DOJ, Mossad (subjects of his investigation — PROMIS software, INSLAW affair, October Surprise)
Category	Journalist / Investigator

Assessment: HIGHLY SUSPICIOUS

Danny Casolaro was found dead in a hotel bathtub with his wrists deeply slashed 10-12 times — an unusually violent method requiring extraordinary determination through excruciating pain. He had repeatedly warned friends and family that if anything happened to him, it would not be suicide. His briefcase containing key documents for his book was missing from the hotel room. His body was embalmed before his family was even notified of his death — illegal under West Virginia law — destroying potential forensic evidence. The hotel room was cleaned before investigators could process the scene. His housekeeper had fielded death threats at his home the day he left for Martinsburg, including one caller who said "I will cut his body and throw it to the sharks." Members of an FBI task force later examining his death questioned the conclusion of suicide and recommended further investigation, but the DOJ — the very agency Casolaro was investigating — dismissed those concerns. The House Judiciary Committee found the investigation inadequate and called for a special counsel, which the DOJ refused to appoint.

Circumstances of Death

On the morning of August 10, 1991, a maid at the Sheraton Hotel in Martinsburg, West Virginia, discovered Casolaro's body in the bathtub of Room 517 at approximately 12:30 p.m. He was lying in a tub of bloody water. His wrists had been slashed deeply, 10-12 times, with deep cuts that severed tendons. An Emory board with a single-edge razor blade embedded in it was found near the body.

Casolaro had checked into the hotel on August 7, telling friends he was meeting a source who would provide the final missing piece for his investigation. He had dinner at a seafood restaurant the evening of August 9 with an unidentified contact.

Key suspicious elements of the scene and investigation:

• The briefcase was missing. Casolaro had been carrying a thick, dark brown or black accordion-style briefcase containing his research files, interview notes, a draft copy of his book manuscript, and documents related to "The Octopus." His housekeeper, Olga, remembered him packing a thick sheaf of papers into the briefcase before he left. Martinsburg police did not find the briefcase or any of his research documents in the hotel room. They have never been found.
• A witness saw a man leaving the room. A Sheraton maid reported seeing a man leaving Casolaro's room the morning of August 10 — described as a male in his 30s with an excellent suntan, wearing a fashionable t-shirt, dark slacks, and deck shoes. A police sketch was made but no identification was ever established. According to CovertAction Magazine, the sketch bore resemblance to a former CIA operative.
• An anonymous caller identified the killer. The Martinsburg police file included a transcript of a phone call from an unknown female caller who advised that Casolaro was killed at the Sheraton "by his contact" — the person he had lunch with at the seafood restaurant the day before.
• The room was cleaned. The hotel room was cleaned by a professional crew the day after his death, before investigators could thoroughly process the scene. One crew member later recalled seeing two bloody towels in the bathroom, suggesting someone had attempted to clean blood off the floor before the maid discovered the body.
• The body was embalmed illegally. Despite the family's explicit wishes and before they were even notified of his death, the local undertaker embalmed the body that same night. The undertaker's stated reason: "I didn't want to come back to work on Sunday." Embalming a body without the permission of the next of kin is illegal in West Virginia. The embalming made further meaningful forensic and toxicological analysis essentially impossible — including testing for whether Casolaro had been drugged or incapacitated before the cuts were made.
• No suicide note was found. Casolaro was a prolific writer. No note was left.
• His tape recorder was missing. Along with the briefcase, Casolaro's portable tape deck — which he used to record interviews — was also missing from the room.

Background

Danny Casolaro was a freelance writer and novelist from Fairfax, Virginia. A graduate of Providence College, he had written for various publications and had published a novel, and he operated a small computer trade publication. He was known among friends as charming, sociable, and deeply curious — not the profile of a suicidal person, according to those who knew him.

In 1990, Casolaro began investigating the INSLAW affair after meeting Bill Hamilton, founder of INSLAW Inc., who gave him a 12-page memo. What began as a single story about stolen software consumed the last year of his life as Casolaro uncovered connections he believed linked the INSLAW case to virtually every major scandal of the 1980s. He called the network "The Octopus" — a cabal of roughly eight senior intelligence and government officials whose tentacles reached into every branch of covert power.

"The Octopus" — What Casolaro Was Investigating

Casolaro's investigation wove together multiple threads that he believed were connected through a single covert network:

1. The INSLAW Affair and PROMIS Software

The Prosecutor's Management Information System (PROMIS) was case-management software developed by INSLAW Inc. under a DOJ contract. INSLAW's founder, Bill Hamilton, alleged that the Department of Justice deliberately withheld contract payments to drive INSLAW into bankruptcy, then stole the software. In 1987, a federal bankruptcy judge agreed, finding the DOJ had acted through "trickery, fraud, and deceit." According to Hamilton and multiple sources Casolaro developed, PROMIS was then modified with a surveillance backdoor and sold or distributed to dozens of foreign intelligence services — including those of Israel, Jordan, Canada, and others — allowing U.S. intelligence to monitor their communications and data systems from the inside.

2. Michael Riconosciuto and the Cabazon Indian Reservation

Michael Riconosciuto, a computer consultant and self-described intelligence operative, became one of Casolaro's key sources. In a sworn affidavit filed on March 21, 1991, Riconosciuto stated that he had modified the PROMIS software at the direction of the DOJ, installing the backdoor surveillance capability. According to Riconosciuto, this work was done on the Cabazon Indian Reservation near Indio, California — sovereign territory where U.S. law enforcement jurisdiction was limited. Riconosciuto further claimed the reservation was used by the Wackenhut Corporation for covert weapons development programs. Eight days after filing his affidavit, Riconosciuto was arrested on methamphetamine distribution charges — charges he maintained were fabricated to discredit and silence him.

3. The October Surprise

Casolaro was investigating allegations that members of the 1980 Reagan-Bush campaign — including reportedly CIA Director William Casey — secretly negotiated with Iran to delay the release of the 52 American hostages held in Tehran until after the November 1980 presidential election, undermining President Carter's re-election chances. Casolaro believed the same network involved in PROMIS was connected to the October Surprise.

4. BCCI — The Bank of Credit and Commerce International

BCCI was a global bank used for money laundering, arms trafficking, intelligence operations, and financing of covert programs. It collapsed in 1991 in one of the largest banking scandals in history. Casolaro had reportedly obtained BCCI checks connecting the bank to CIA covert operations and the Iran-Contra affair. According to CovertAction Magazine, Casolaro's investigation was seen as particularly dangerous because he had obtained documentary evidence linking BCCI to intelligence operations.

5. Iran-Contra

The Iran-Contra affair involved the secret sale of arms to Iran and the diversion of proceeds to fund the Nicaraguan Contras — in violation of the Boland Amendment. Casolaro believed the same covert operatives involved in PROMIS distribution were also involved in Iran-Contra arms shipments and drug trafficking.

6. Organized Crime Connections

Casolaro was tracing links between intelligence agencies and organized crime networks, believing that the same covert infrastructure used for intelligence operations was also used for drug trafficking and money laundering. He saw organized crime as one more tentacle of the same Octopus.

Casolaro believed he was weeks away from completing his book. He told friends and associates he just needed one final piece of evidence — and that his source in Martinsburg would provide it.

His Warnings and the Threats

In the months before his death, Casolaro grew increasingly concerned about threats:

• He told his brother Tony repeatedly that if anything happened to him, it would not be suicide and it would not be an accident.
• He told friends: "If anything happens to me, don't believe it was a suicide."
• He told his housekeeper Olga that he had been receiving threatening phone calls for three months, disturbing his sleep with calls during the night.
• On the day Casolaro left for Martinsburg, Olga fielded multiple threatening calls at his home. According to her account to The Village Voice, one man called at approximately 9:00 a.m. and said: "I will cut his body and throw it to the sharks." Less than an hour later, a different man called and said: "Drop dead." Three more calls followed — silent or with only background music audible.
• Casolaro had told multiple people that he believed he was being followed.

The Fight for Justice

Casolaro's brother, Tony Casolaro, never accepted the suicide ruling. Tony fought for years to get a proper investigation:

• Tony immediately challenged the embalming of Danny's body, noting it was done without family notification or permission — and was illegal under West Virginia law.
• Tony and the Casolaro family pressed for a congressional investigation.
• In September 1992, the House Judiciary Committee, under Chairman Jack Brooks, broadened its INSLAW inquiry to include Casolaro's death. The committee's report found the Martinsburg police investigation and autopsy inadequate and formally requested the appointment of a special counsel.
• Congressmen Jack Brooks and Charlie Rose introduced legislation to force an investigation of the Justice Department's role in both the INSLAW affair and Casolaro's death.
• The DOJ refused to appoint a special counsel. In 1994, the Justice Department issued a report reaffirming the suicide finding and declaring there was no basis for an independent counsel — effectively investigating itself and clearing itself.
• FOIA requests later revealed that members of an FBI task force examining Casolaro's death had "questioned the conclusion of suicide" and recommended further investigation. The FBI had misled Congress about the scope of its investigation.
• FBI documents also showed that some files on Casolaro were being withheld from public release, contradicted by the FBI's claim that the files were simply "missing."

Tony Casolaro continued to speak publicly about his brother's case for decades. According to The Cinemaholic, Tony has never believed Danny took his own life, though he has tried to come to terms with the loss.

The Counterargument

• The Martinsburg medical examiner ruled the death a suicide. A 1994 DOJ report reaffirmed this finding.
• Some investigators noted that Casolaro had experienced personal difficulties, including a recent divorce and financial pressures from his freelance career.
• Skeptics have argued that Casolaro's "Octopus" theory was overly broad and that he may have been taken in by unreliable sources, particularly Riconosciuto, who had a history of legal troubles.
• The depth and number of cuts, while unusual, is not unprecedented in determined suicides.
• No definitive physical evidence of a second person in the room was found by police (though the scene was compromised before thorough processing).
• Some journalists who reviewed Casolaro's work questioned whether he had assembled enough evidence to support his sprawling theory.

However, these counterarguments do not explain the missing briefcase, the illegal embalming, the death threats, the anonymous caller identifying the killer, the witness who saw a man leaving the room, the inadequate investigation, or the FBI's misleading of Congress.

Key Quotes

"If anything happens to me, don't believe it was a suicide." — Danny Casolaro, to friends and family before his death

"I will cut his body and throw it to the sharks." — Threatening call to Casolaro's home, as reported by his housekeeper Olga to The Village Voice

"Danny was on to something big. He knew it, and somebody else knew it too." — Bill Hamilton, INSLAW founder

"I didn't want to come back to work on Sunday." — The undertaker's stated reason for embalming Casolaro's body before the family was notified, as reported by multiple sources

"The Department of Justice stole PROMIS through trickery, fraud, and deceit." — Federal Bankruptcy Judge George Bason, 1987 ruling in the INSLAW case

See Also

• Gary Webb — journalist investigating CIA drug trafficking connections, ruled "suicide" with two gunshot wounds to the head, 2004
• Michael Hastings — journalist investigating CIA director, killed in suspicious car explosion, 2013
• Karen Silkwood — whistleblower killed en route to deliver documents to a reporter, 1974
• William Colby — former CIA Director who died under suspicious circumstances, 1996
• Dorothy Kilgallen — journalist investigating the JFK assassination, found dead under suspicious circumstances, 1965
• Barry Seal — CIA drug pilot turned informant, assassinated 1986
• Danny Casolaro (Epstein Kill List) — cross-reference for PROMIS/Maxwell/Epstein connections
• PROMIS / The Octopus — the intelligence network Casolaro was investigating
• CIA — intelligence service implicated in PROMIS theft and distribution

Other Shocking Stories

• Frank Olson: CIA scientist dosed with LSD, then fell from a hotel window. Exhumation revealed he was struck unconscious first.
• Karen Silkwood: Documents she was carrying to expose Kerr-McGee vanished from her car after the fatal crash. The company settled.
• Paul Klebnikov: First American journalist murdered in Russia. Founded Forbes Russia. His suspects were acquitted.
• Barry Seal: CIA drug pilot turned informant. A judge forced him into an unprotected halfway house. The cartel found him.

Sources

• Wikipedia: Danny Casolaro
• Unsolved Mysteries: Dan Casolaro
• FBI Vault: Daniel Joseph Casolaro
• Washington Post: U.S. Probe of Casolaro Death Sought (1992)
• CovertAction Magazine: Declassified Documents Call Into Question Official Narrative
• CovertAction Magazine: Witness Sketch Resembles Former CIA Agent (2024)
• Netflix: American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders (2024)
• National Archives: The Octopus
• All That's Interesting: The Mysterious Death of Danny Casolaro
• The Cinemaholic: Tony Casolaro

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