Joseph Daniel Casolaro (June 16, 1947 - August 10, 1991) was an American freelance writer who came to public attention in 1991, when he was found dead in a bathtub in room 517 of the Sheraton Hotel in Martinsburg, West Virginia, his wrists slashed 10 - 12 times. A note was found, and the medical examiner ruled the death a suicide.
His death became controversial because his notes suggested he was in Martinsburg to meet a source about a story he called "the Octopus." This centered around a sprawling conspiracy theory involving an international cabal, and primarily featuring a number of stories familiar to journalists who worked in and near Washington, D.C. in the 1980's—the Inslaw case, about a software manufacturer whose owner accused the Justice Department of stealing its work product; the October Surprise theory that during the Iran hostage crisis, Iran deliberately held back American hostages to help Ronald Reagan win the 1980 presidential election; the collapse of the Bank of Credit and Commerce International; and Iran-Contra.
Abbie Hoffman (Chicago 7 - acquitted on conspiracy charges at 1968 Democratic Convention) was another victim of the Oct Surprise conspiracy. He first brought the scandal to public attention with an article he published in Playboy in 1986. Someone cut the brake lines to his car as he was delivering the article - and a short while later he was seriously injured in a serious car accident. Within a year he mysteriously committed suicide - something people close to him found highly questionable. I write about this, and my own close encounter with some nasty spooks in Seattle between 1987-2002 in my recent memoir THE MOST REVOLUTIONARY ACT: MEMOIR OF AN AMERICAN REFUGEE (www.stuartbramhall.com). I currently live in exile in New Zealand.
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