The Octopus was the tentative title of a book about an amazing series of interlocking
conspiracies researched by the late
Danny Casolaro. Casolaro was investigating the theft of proprietary software by the
Inslaw Corporation called
PROMIS. PROMIS basically was database analyzer intended to allow Law Enforcement agencies to gather data from cross-platform or disparate databanks and output the information in a coherent form. In the mid '80s INSLAW licensed a version to the
Department of Justice for a trial run. A contract was signed giving Inslaw royalties on any use of the software. This is where the story takes a turn towards the bizarre.
It turns out that the PROMIS software was so versatile that with a little tweaking it could be modified to analyze anything from banking transactions to troop movements to security sytems. Allegedly the DoJ gave the software to a man named Michael Riconsciuto an employee of the infamous Wackenhut Corporation, based at an installation on the Cabazon Indian reservation. Riconosciuto reconfigured the software, giving it a back-door with encrypted access and enhanced tracking capabilities. The DoJ apparently took the reconfigured software and sold it to third parties such as Canada, Libya, Iraq, Sudan and Russia - giving them access to whatever data was analyzed by the software. The Inslaw Corporation only learned of the sales (for which they were never paid) after the Canadian government contacted them for technical support.
Inslaw promptly sued the DoJ for royalty infringement, and has repeatedly won in State courts. Unfortunately, every time the case reached the Federal Appelate level it would be tossed out due to National Security reasons. The ensuing legal battles forced Inslaw into bankruptcy, which precluded them from pursuing their case against the government. A regular Catch 22.
The devil of course is in the details. It turns out that the Wackenhut Corporation, incorporated in the early '50s by George Wackenhut, ex-FBI, employer of Michael Riconsciuto, not only is the second largest operator of private prisons in the country, but also has exclusive contracts with the Department of Energy to guard nuclear power plants and laboratories, and with the Department of Defense to provide security for Sandia Labs and Area 51. Riconsciuto, who is currently in prison on methamphetimine charges (he claims innocence) alleges that he was involved in weapon development on the Cabazon reservation, including genetically targeted biological weapons, EM pulse weapons that could exceed the damage caused by a nuclear blast and night-vision technology that was subsequently sold to the Contras.
It gets worse. Riconsciuto claims he was provided the PROMIS software by none other than Earl Brian, ex-owner of UPI, who has been indicted in connection with funding for the Contras, the October Suprise and the now defunct Bank of Commerce and Credit International (BCCI), which has been linked to covert CIA operations, money laundering for MAFIA heroin sales and the collapse of three banks associated with the Vatican.
Danny Casolaro was found dead in a motel bathtub August 10th, 1991. His wrist had been slashed a dozen times and a bloodstained towel was found under the sink. His body was embalmed before his relatives were notified and his death declared a "suicide". His notes were never found.