Despite his misgivings, Casolaro continued to pursue Riconosciuto's theories. In mid June 1991, Casolaro met with a member of the LaRouche organization in Washington. And all of a sudden the Octopus seemed to be very much alive.
"I met Casolaro at the House Judiciary committee hearings on Inslaw last December," wrote LaRouche sidekick Jeff Steinberg, in a memo to the LaRouche network dated August 14, 1991 (two days after Danny's death became public, and the same day that the West Virginia coroner pronounced Casolaro's death to be a likely suicide). On June 24, Steinberg wrote that he "spent about four hours with Casolaro at his home...reviewing various leads on the Inslaw and related matters. We met later that same night for several more hours to exchange some specific documentation."
Casolaro's June phone records indicate several calls to LaRouche headquarters in Leesburg, Virginia, and his papers include a LaRouche "Memorandum for the Files"- documents that suggest Casolaro may have begun to see things much as they did. For one thing, Steinberg wrote that he arranged for a LaRouche source, known as CHIPS, to talk to Casolaro. Casolaro's notes identify this person as a former Customs agent now involved with the Treasury Department's enforcement work, and Steinberg speculates that CHIPS may have pointed Casolaro toward big-time drug rackets tied to the Gambino family. Steinberg's memo says that Casolaro had traced "the Inslaw and related stories back to a dirty CIA 'Old Boy' network" that had begun working together in the 1950s around the Albania covert operations. These men had gotten into the illegal gun and drug trade back then and had continued in that business ever since.
In short, Casolaro had stumbled into the vibrant mainstream of LaRouche thought. Most of this material has long been batted around on the conspiracy circuit. Casolaro's telephone records show him making repeated calls to old LaRouche favorites, including supposed drug dealers with ties to Gambino. Casolaro told friends, for example, that he had called E. Howard Hunt, who after first evidencing displeasure at getting a call on an unlisted number, became cordial, even effusive. Casolaro liked him.
(James Ridgeway and Dough Vaughan, “The Last Days of Danny Casolaro,” Village Voice, October 15, 1991.)
Thanks for this. I was unaware some of it.
Jeff is a good guy who I met once at his home.
Despite his misgivings, Casolaro continued to pursue Riconosciuto's theories. In mid June 1991, Casolaro met with a member of the LaRouche organization in Washington. And all of a sudden the Octopus seemed to be very much alive.
"I met Casolaro at the House Judiciary committee hearings on Inslaw last December," wrote LaRouche sidekick Jeff Steinberg, in a memo to the LaRouche network dated August 14, 1991 (two days after Danny's death became public, and the same day that the West Virginia coroner pronounced Casolaro's death to be a likely suicide). On June 24, Steinberg wrote that he "spent about four hours with Casolaro at his home...reviewing various leads on the Inslaw and related matters. We met later that same night for several more hours to exchange some specific documentation."
Casolaro's June phone records indicate several calls to LaRouche headquarters in Leesburg, Virginia, and his papers include a LaRouche "Memorandum for the Files"- documents that suggest Casolaro may have begun to see things much as they did. For one thing, Steinberg wrote that he arranged for a LaRouche source, known as CHIPS, to talk to Casolaro. Casolaro's notes identify this person as a former Customs agent now involved with the Treasury Department's enforcement work, and Steinberg speculates that CHIPS may have pointed Casolaro toward big-time drug rackets tied to the Gambino family. Steinberg's memo says that Casolaro had traced "the Inslaw and related stories back to a dirty CIA 'Old Boy' network" that had begun working together in the 1950s around the Albania covert operations. These men had gotten into the illegal gun and drug trade back then and had continued in that business ever since.
In short, Casolaro had stumbled into the vibrant mainstream of LaRouche thought. Most of this material has long been batted around on the conspiracy circuit. Casolaro's telephone records show him making repeated calls to old LaRouche favorites, including supposed drug dealers with ties to Gambino. Casolaro told friends, for example, that he had called E. Howard Hunt, who after first evidencing displeasure at getting a call on an unlisted number, became cordial, even effusive. Casolaro liked him.
(James Ridgeway and Dough Vaughan, “The Last Days of Danny Casolaro,” Village Voice, October 15, 1991.)