Addendum 1 to Federal Corruption
by Harry V. Martin
June 18, 1991
Copyright Napa Sentinel, 1991
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Napa Sentinel produced a lengthy series about the INSLAW case and alleged wrongdoings by the U.S. Department of Justice. This article and subsequent others will publish the details of a Congressional hearing into the matter.
The U.S. Department of Justice has refused to allow Congress access to INSLAW documents. INSLAW is a small computer software company that developed a sophisticated program to track criminals. The Justice Department was accused by a federal court judge of "deceit, trickery and theft" of the software, which has now found its way into the illegal possession of foreign governments and U.S. intelligence networks.
Congress has decided to investigate the INSLAW case and the Justice Department. The Justice Department, in turn, has arrogantly refused to supply Congress with the documents. Since this refusal, the Justice Department has agreed to allow Congressional investigators to review screened documents. The investigators are not allowed to copy the material, but to make note of them and the Congress would then have to subpoena them. At which time, the Justice Department will decide whether or not to release them to Congress. Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, who refused to budge on the issue, has now resigned. The heighth of arrogance.
A Congressional Subcommittee on Economic and Commercial Law of the Committee on the Judiciary held hearings concerning the refusal of the Justice Department to cooperate. Congressman Jack Brooks of Texas, head of the committee investigating the Justice Department, stated that the Justice Department has denied the committee access to critical documents involving the Justice Department's dispute with the INSLAW Corp. "The documents were requested as part of an ongoing investigation of allegations that high-level Department officials conspired to force INSLAW into bankruptcy and liquidate its assets. Further, it has been alleged that these officials also attempted to arrange to have the company's primary software product, called PROMIS, transferred or bought by a rival company." Brooks stated in his opening remarks, "As incredible as this sounds, Federal Bankruptcy Judge George Bason, who will be testifying later, has already found much of the first part of the allegation to be true. In his decision on the INSLAW bankruptcy, Judge Bason ruled that the Department 'took, converted and stole' INSLAW's proprietary software using 'trickery, fraud and deceit'. The judge also severely criticized the decisions by high-level Department officials to 'ignore the ethical improprieties' on the part of the Justice Department officials involved in the case."
Brooks backed up Bason's findings, in stating, "In November 1989, Senior District Court Judge William B. Bryant unequivocally supported Judge Bason's findings and criticized the Department for attempting to escape accountability by asserting, among other things, 'sovereign immunity', whatever that is. I didn't think we had kings in this country." Brooks continued, "Despite the dramatic findings by the two courts, the Department has steadfastly denied any wrongdoing by its officials, claiming that its conflict with INSLAW is nothing more than a simple contract dispute. I find this position a little hard to swallow."
Brooks, who says the major controversy involves the highest levels of the Justice Department, including at least two assistant attorneys general, a deputy attorney general, and Attorney General Meese, himself, states, "Unfortunately, the Department has thwarted attempts by Congress to learn the complete truth concerning the INSLAW case. Justice has repeatedly denied both the House and Senate investigating committees access to critical documents that may prove the Department's innocence or guilt. As a result, I am even more convinced that the allegations concerning INSLAW must be fully and independently investigated by the committee."
Former Attorney General Elliot Richardson has outlined the government's devious role, indicating that friends of Ronald Reagan and Edward Meese made every attempt possible to take over INSLAW and gain full proprietary rights to the PROMIS software. The man behind the move, according to Richardson, was Dr. Earl Brian, who also owns United Press International. Richardson was the Attorney General under Richard Nixon and refused to fire the Watergate Special Prosecutor on Nixon's orders, Richardson was also fired.
Richardson revealed that Meese's Justice Department needed to create a case management system designed along the concept of the PROMIS software. Meese's friends wanted the $200 million contract and thus the need to buy out or force INSLAW into bankruptcy. "We believe that these attempts to acquire control of PROMIS were linked by a conspiracy among friends of Attorney General Edwin Meese to take advantage of their relationship with him for the purpose of obtaining a lucrative contract for the automation of the Department's litigating division. Among the facts pointing to the existence of this conspiracy are the following:
• Between 1958 and 1966, Edwin Meese and D. Lowell Jensen (then deputy attorney general) served together in Alameda County, California, District Attorney's Office. From 1966 to 1974, Meese was a key aide to Governor Ronald Reagan. From 1970 to 1975, Dr. Earl Brian served in Governor Reagan's Cabinet. In January 1981, Meese became Counsellor to President Reagan. In 1981 to 1982, Brian served in the White House as the chairman of a task force which reported to Meese.
• When Meese joined the Reagan Administration, Brian was the controlling shareholder in Biotech Capital Corporation. Biotech controlled Hadron, Inc., a company which specialized in integrating computer-based information management systems. This was the company which tried to buy INSLAW.
• Mrs. Meese bought stock in Biotech's first public offering with money borrowed from Edwin Thomas, soon to be an aide to her husband. Brian lent Thomas $100,000 for the purchase of a house in Washington. Mrs. Meese later bought stock in American Cytogentics, another Brian company.
• In June, 1983, a DOJ "whistleblower" warned the staff of Senator Max Baucus that, as soon as Meese became Attorney General, unidentified friends of Meese would be awarded a "massive sweetheart contract" to install PROMIS in every litigation office of DOJ. According to a statement made to Judge Jane Solomon of the Civil Court of the City of New York, Stanton's attempt to force INSLAW into liquidation was part of a 'conspiracy to get the INSLAW software'. Several high-level DOJ officials spoke of DOJ's determination to "get" or "bury" INSLAW. One DOJ employee said that Jensen was behind this effort. A second attributed the award to Hadron of a $40 million computer services contract for litigation support in the Lands Division to the influence of a Deputy Assistant Attorney General with close ties to Meese. Other DOJ employees connected Meese, Brian, and Hadron with the harassment of INSLAW and the attempt to acquire PROMIS."
Richardson also testified, "In late April 1988, Richard LeGrand, chief investigator of the Senate Judiciary Committee, telephoned (William) Hamilton (owner of INSLAW). LeGrand said that he was calling at the request of an unnamed senior official in DOJ whom he had known for 15 years and regarded as completely trustworthy. According to this official, the INSLAW case was 'a lot dirtier for the Department of Justice than Watergate had been, both in its breadth and depth'. The official asked LeGrand to inform the Hamiltons that the Justice Department had been compromised on the INSLAW case at every level, and that Jensen had engineered INSLAW's problems right from the start. The official also said that senior career officials in the Criminal Division knew all about this malfeasance, but would not disclose what they knew except in response to subpoena and under oath. LeGrand has since told the Hamiltons and others that his informant would come forward only if assured of protection against reprisal."
The Justice Department, according to Richardson, refused to undertake any type of criminal investigation. Richardson told Congress, "It was foreseeable that such an investigation would not only expose widely ramified criminal conduct on the part of the Departmental employees, but also make the Department liable for punitive and consequential damages much larger than the $6.8 million already awarded."
Judge Bason told Congress, "The judicial opinions that I rendered reflected my sense of moral outrage that, as the evidence showed and as I held, the Justice Department stole INSLAW's valuable property and tried to drive INSLAW out of business." He added, "Those opinions were upheld on appeal by Senior U.S. District Judge William Bryant. Very soon after I rendered those opinions my application for reappointment as bankruptcy judge was turned down. One of the Justice Department attorneys who had argued the INSLAW case before me was appointed in my stead." Over 90 percent of all bankruptcy judges seeking reappointment are usually returned to the bench.
"And I will punish the world for their evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; and I will cause the arrogancy of the proud to cease, and will lay low the haughtiness of the terrible.", Isaiah 13:11.
The Napa Sentinel, by Harry V. Martin
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Re: The Napa Sentinel, by Harry V. Martin
by admin » Thu Apr 28, 2016 11:36 pm
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Re: The Napa Sentinel, by Harry V. Martin
by admin » Thu Apr 28, 2016 11:36 pm
Addendum 2 to Federal Corruption
by Harry V. Martin
Copyright Napa Sentinel, 1991
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Napa Sentinel produced a lengthy series about the INSLAW case and alleged wrongdoings by the U.S. Department of Justice. This article and subsequent others will publish the details of a Congressional hearing into the matter.
Federal Judge George F. Bason, Jr., ruled in favor of INSLAW against the U.S. Department of Justice. He awarded INSLAW $6.8 million and lambasted the Justice Department by stating he believed it was guilty of deceit, theft and trickery. The judge's decision was upheld in another court. Recently, a higher court has thrown the ruling out, not because it was right or wrong, but because of the technical question of jurisdiction.
After ruling against the Justice Department, Judge Bason was denied reappointment to the bench for another 14 years. "I have come to believe that my nonreappointment as bankruptcy judge was the result of improper influence from within the Justice Department which the current appointment process failed to prevent," Judge Bason stated to a Congressional hearing into the INSLAW matter. Ironically, the man who prosecuted the INSLAW case in Judge Bason's court for the Justice Department, was appointed to succeed the judge when he was not reappointed.
Judge Bason was the only bankruptcy judge for the District of Columbia from February 8, 1984 through February 7, 1988. He was the trial judge who heard the INSLAW case. "The judicial opinions that I rendered reflected my sense of moral outrage that, as the evidence showed and as I held, the Justice Department stole INSLAW's valuable property and tried to drive INSLAW out of business. Those opinions were upheld on appeal by Judge Bryant in a memorandum that noted my attention to detail and mastery of evidence," Judge Bason further told Congress. "Very soon after I rendered those opinions, my application for reappointment was turned down. One of the Justice Department attorneys who argued the INSLAW case before me was appointed in my stead. Although over 90 percent of the incumbent bankruptcy judges who sought reappointment were in fact reappointed, I was not among them."
Judge Bason told the Congressional hearing that Congress required equal consideration to that given all other candidates must be given to incumbent bankruptcy judges. "Under that mandate, my qualifications were so far superior to my successor's that, on the merits, no rational person could have chosen him over me," the judge stated. "Merit must of course be judged both from the written record, my resume and opinions, and from my reputation amongst the judges and bankruptcy practitioners who knew me. My resume speaks for itself; my opinions have been cited often and reversed seldom; my successor had scant bankruptcy experience and, of course, no opinions. Despite a regulation requiring that at least one member of the Merit Selection Panel be "an attorney with a predominantly bankruptcy practice in the District of Columbia, so far as I know, no member of the panel had ever appeared even once in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia. Hence, no member of the panel had first-hand knowledge of my capabilities as a judge."
Judge Bason added, "The panel failed to interview District Court Chief Judge Aubrey Robinson, who exercises general supervisory authority over administrative aspects of the Bankruptcy Court and whose name I specifically suggested to the panel. Every year during my tenure, Chief Judge Robinson praised my performance as a bankruptcy judge. For example, in his May 1986 annual report to the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference, he noted that despite 'increased case load...the Bankruptcy Court is basically current' because of Judge Bason's 'extraordinary efforts, perseverance and hard work'."
The panel also never notified Judge Bason of any adverse comments nor was he given any opportunity to address any adverse comments. "I have repeatedly sought and repeatedly been denied any official explanation why the decision not to reappoint me was made, " he added. "A number of the district judge members of the Judicial Council, when they received the Merit Selection Panel's report, were so dismayed at the panel's failure to recommend my reappointment that they caucused to see if there was anything they could do to reverse the process. They concluded that there was unfortunately no time left. When the chairmen of the bankruptcy committees of the two largest Bar Associations in the District of Columbia found out about the decision not to reappoint me, they too looked for ways to reverse the decision, and they too concluded there wasn't time."
In March 1987, Justice Department officials were talking with an important witness about the subject matter of his testimony. Then it developed the witness had recanted his testimony favorable to INSLAW. One of the Justice Department's lawyers apparently commented, "We've got to get rid of that judge (referring to Bason)." In May 1988, a news reporter with excellent contacts within the Justice Department states that the Justice Department could have procured Bason's removal. The reporter believes that the chairperson of the Merit Selection Panel was approached privately and informally by one of her old and trusted friends from her days in the Justice Department. The friend is believed to have told her that Bason was mentally unbalanced, as evidenced by his unusually forceful "anti-government" opinions. Her persuasive powers coupled with the fact that other members of the panel or their law firms might appear before her as litigating attorneys may have caused the vote against the judge. The reporter later stated that a high Justice Department official had boasted to him that Bason's removal was because of his INSLAW rulings.
"If Justice Department officials were willing to steal from and try to liquidate INSLAW and then to lie about it under oath, there is every reason to believe they would not hesitate to do whatever was necessary and possible to remove from office the judge who first exposed their wrongdoing. I can no longer escape the conclusion that most knowledgeable lawyers in Washington reached long ago. I would not have lost my job as bankruptcy judge but for my rulings in the INSLAW case. I have been told by legal search firms that I am now considered to be too controversial a figure to be employable by any of the large law firms. I am paying the full price for doing my duty to render equal justice without regard to rank or position. As a judge, I could not and would not do otherwise," Bason told Congress. "The independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers are among the glories of our form of government. It strikes at the heart of those principles for the Justice Department to retaliate against a judge by causing his removal. Such retaliation is the mark of a police state, not a democratic America."
by Harry V. Martin
Copyright Napa Sentinel, 1991
EDITOR'S NOTE: The Napa Sentinel produced a lengthy series about the INSLAW case and alleged wrongdoings by the U.S. Department of Justice. This article and subsequent others will publish the details of a Congressional hearing into the matter.
Federal Judge George F. Bason, Jr., ruled in favor of INSLAW against the U.S. Department of Justice. He awarded INSLAW $6.8 million and lambasted the Justice Department by stating he believed it was guilty of deceit, theft and trickery. The judge's decision was upheld in another court. Recently, a higher court has thrown the ruling out, not because it was right or wrong, but because of the technical question of jurisdiction.
After ruling against the Justice Department, Judge Bason was denied reappointment to the bench for another 14 years. "I have come to believe that my nonreappointment as bankruptcy judge was the result of improper influence from within the Justice Department which the current appointment process failed to prevent," Judge Bason stated to a Congressional hearing into the INSLAW matter. Ironically, the man who prosecuted the INSLAW case in Judge Bason's court for the Justice Department, was appointed to succeed the judge when he was not reappointed.
Judge Bason was the only bankruptcy judge for the District of Columbia from February 8, 1984 through February 7, 1988. He was the trial judge who heard the INSLAW case. "The judicial opinions that I rendered reflected my sense of moral outrage that, as the evidence showed and as I held, the Justice Department stole INSLAW's valuable property and tried to drive INSLAW out of business. Those opinions were upheld on appeal by Judge Bryant in a memorandum that noted my attention to detail and mastery of evidence," Judge Bason further told Congress. "Very soon after I rendered those opinions, my application for reappointment was turned down. One of the Justice Department attorneys who argued the INSLAW case before me was appointed in my stead. Although over 90 percent of the incumbent bankruptcy judges who sought reappointment were in fact reappointed, I was not among them."
Judge Bason told the Congressional hearing that Congress required equal consideration to that given all other candidates must be given to incumbent bankruptcy judges. "Under that mandate, my qualifications were so far superior to my successor's that, on the merits, no rational person could have chosen him over me," the judge stated. "Merit must of course be judged both from the written record, my resume and opinions, and from my reputation amongst the judges and bankruptcy practitioners who knew me. My resume speaks for itself; my opinions have been cited often and reversed seldom; my successor had scant bankruptcy experience and, of course, no opinions. Despite a regulation requiring that at least one member of the Merit Selection Panel be "an attorney with a predominantly bankruptcy practice in the District of Columbia, so far as I know, no member of the panel had ever appeared even once in the Bankruptcy Court for the District of Columbia. Hence, no member of the panel had first-hand knowledge of my capabilities as a judge."
Judge Bason added, "The panel failed to interview District Court Chief Judge Aubrey Robinson, who exercises general supervisory authority over administrative aspects of the Bankruptcy Court and whose name I specifically suggested to the panel. Every year during my tenure, Chief Judge Robinson praised my performance as a bankruptcy judge. For example, in his May 1986 annual report to the D.C. Circuit Judicial Conference, he noted that despite 'increased case load...the Bankruptcy Court is basically current' because of Judge Bason's 'extraordinary efforts, perseverance and hard work'."
The panel also never notified Judge Bason of any adverse comments nor was he given any opportunity to address any adverse comments. "I have repeatedly sought and repeatedly been denied any official explanation why the decision not to reappoint me was made, " he added. "A number of the district judge members of the Judicial Council, when they received the Merit Selection Panel's report, were so dismayed at the panel's failure to recommend my reappointment that they caucused to see if there was anything they could do to reverse the process. They concluded that there was unfortunately no time left. When the chairmen of the bankruptcy committees of the two largest Bar Associations in the District of Columbia found out about the decision not to reappoint me, they too looked for ways to reverse the decision, and they too concluded there wasn't time."
In March 1987, Justice Department officials were talking with an important witness about the subject matter of his testimony. Then it developed the witness had recanted his testimony favorable to INSLAW. One of the Justice Department's lawyers apparently commented, "We've got to get rid of that judge (referring to Bason)." In May 1988, a news reporter with excellent contacts within the Justice Department states that the Justice Department could have procured Bason's removal. The reporter believes that the chairperson of the Merit Selection Panel was approached privately and informally by one of her old and trusted friends from her days in the Justice Department. The friend is believed to have told her that Bason was mentally unbalanced, as evidenced by his unusually forceful "anti-government" opinions. Her persuasive powers coupled with the fact that other members of the panel or their law firms might appear before her as litigating attorneys may have caused the vote against the judge. The reporter later stated that a high Justice Department official had boasted to him that Bason's removal was because of his INSLAW rulings.
"If Justice Department officials were willing to steal from and try to liquidate INSLAW and then to lie about it under oath, there is every reason to believe they would not hesitate to do whatever was necessary and possible to remove from office the judge who first exposed their wrongdoing. I can no longer escape the conclusion that most knowledgeable lawyers in Washington reached long ago. I would not have lost my job as bankruptcy judge but for my rulings in the INSLAW case. I have been told by legal search firms that I am now considered to be too controversial a figure to be employable by any of the large law firms. I am paying the full price for doing my duty to render equal justice without regard to rank or position. As a judge, I could not and would not do otherwise," Bason told Congress. "The independence of the judiciary and the separation of powers are among the glories of our form of government. It strikes at the heart of those principles for the Justice Department to retaliate against a judge by causing his removal. Such retaliation is the mark of a police state, not a democratic America."
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Re: The Napa Sentinel, by Harry V. Martin
by admin » Thu Apr 28, 2016 11:37 pm
Addendum 3 to Federal Corruption
by Harry V. Martin
Copyright Napa Sentinel, 1991
EDITOR'S NOTE: On March 12 through April 23, 1991, the Napa Sentinel published 11 articles involving the INSLAW case, the theft by the federal government of a sensitive software from a small computer company in Washington, D.C. The Sentinel, which was one of three newspapers to first print material on INSLAW, has presented several updates. This is one of those updates.
Two things don't seem to equate very well in this world, investigating the infamous INSLAW case and staying alive! There has been a series of deaths with direct association to the INSLAW case, most of them have been termed "suicides", but federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are beginning to take a second look at some of these cases.
It is known that one Indian leader of the Cabazon tribe and two other men were murdered in execution style several years ago. They were protesting against the virtual "take over" of the Indian nation in Riverside County by federal agents representing the Central Intelligence Agency and the Drug Enforcement Agency. Not only was the Indian tribe manufacturing night vision goggles and biological and chemical weapons for shipment to the Contras, but they were also involved in the modification of INSLAW's PROMIS software. The Riverside County District Attorney's Office is now reexamining the case.
In this particular case, there was sufficient evidence presented as to who was responsible for the murders, but no arrests or convictions occurred despite eyewitness testimony. The key witness, Jimmy Hughes, is now hiding in Central America. The man who helped him escape was interviewed by the Sentinel several months ago. The key witness had been hiding in Sonoma County for a while. The witness states that the executions of the three men "were authorized and backed by a government covert operation".
The INSLAW case involves what a federal judge termed "theft, deception and deceit" on the part of the U.S. Justice Department, the judge was removed from the bench and blackballed in the Washington, D.C. legal society. The Justice Department had a contract with INSLAW to produce the PROMIS software, but the firm was never paid. Instead, efforts were made by friends of then Attorney General Edwin Meese to buy out INSLAW. When INSLAW refused, Peter Videnieks, who had direct links with Meese and Dr. Earl Brian, both former members of Ronald Reagan's "kitchen cabinet" in California, allegedly threatened INSLAW's owner, Bill Hamilton, that they had ways of getting the software. Why was the software so important? Meese had ordered a complete revamping of all Justice Department computers, a multi-million contract. The award was to go to Dr. Brian, but the PROMIS software was a vital link to the successful bidder. Dr. Brian is alleged to have sold the software and had it converted for foreign intelligence agencies in Canada, South Korea, Australia, Israel, Libya and Iraq. An Israeli agent, Ari Ben-Menashe, and a former CIA computer expert, Michael Riconosciuto, have both testified to Dr. Brian's role.
Why did Dr. Brian get the computer contract? Meese's wife owned substantial stock in Dr. Brian's company and it is also alleged that Dr. Brian was being paid off for setting up the original meetings between the Iranians and the Reagan-Bush campaign team which may have led to the delay in the release of 52 American hostages until after the November 1980 Presidential election. A British Air Force officer who had allegedly witnessed Dr. Brian's sale of PROMIS software to Iraqi military intelligence in Santiago, Chile, was found hanged. His death was ruled suicide.
Riconosciuto provided his testimony to Congressman Jack Brooks, who was conducting a hearing into the INSLAW case. Riconosciuto warned that if he testified he would be arrested. Within eight days of his affidavit, he was arrested in Pierce County, Washington for allegedly owning a drug manufacturing plant. When Congressional investigators and the media continued to interview him he was shipped to Missouri then Oklahoma, and now is back in the State of Washington.
Dennis Eisman was an attorney from Philadelphia. He was scheduled to make a trip to the West Coast to meet with Riconosciuto and consider taking on his case. Eisman was found shot to death in his car. A single bullet wound to the chest. His death was ruled a suicide. Moments before he died, Eisman was enroute to a Philadelphia parking lot to meet with a woman who was to deliver critical evidence to substantiate Riconosciuto's claims about threats from Videniks. Investigative Journalist Danny Casolaro was in communication with Eisman before he died.
Casolaro was found dead last month in a West Virginia hotel room. His wrists had been slashed 10 times. Not only was he declared a suicide, but he was embalmed and buried quickly before his family was even notified of his death. Casolaro was writing a book about the INSLAW case. He carried many files with him, files that were seen in his possession a day or two before he died. Those files are now missing and contain critical information on the INSLAW case. Casolaro was in West Virginia for a meeting with Videnieks and Dr. Brian, whom he intended to confront directly with evidence backing up the Riconosciuto story. Casolaro had received several death threats.
Between 1986 and 1989, nearly 30 people either died or disappeared under mysterious circumstances, all of whom stood to reveal some crucial pieces of information concerning the INSLAW case and the Justice Department.
Anson Ng was found dead a month before Casolaro. He was working for the Financial Times of London and was in Guatemala. Ng had a single bullet wound in his chest, like Eisman. His death was ruled a suicide. Ng was in Central America attempting to interview Jimmy Hughes, who was the key witness to the murders associated with the Cabazon Indians and the INSLAW case. Hughes also holds documents that allege the same people involved with the Cabazon and INSLAW incidents had a hit list. The list were international names scheduled for assassination and included Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme, Schlewig-Holstein Prime Minister Uwe Barschel, Iranian arms dealer Cyrus Hashemi and Israeli counter-terrorist chief Amiran Nir. Many have died.
Allan Michael May pleaded with Riconosciuto to keep his mouth shut about his ties with the Iranian hostage deal. But Riconosciuto in an exclusive interview with the Napa Sentinel provided full details of the October Surprise and INSLAW ties and named May. Four days later May was found dead in his home. His death was listed as a heart attack, but a further autopsy revealed he had poly pharmaceuticals in his system.
Two weeks before Casolaro was found dead, John Friedrich was found dead in Sale, Australia. He was found with a single bullet wound to the head and his death was termed a suicide. Friedrich was a close ally of Colonel Oliver North and Amiram Nir. He had a lot of knowledge about the Iran-Contra and INSLAW cases. Nir died in plane crash in Mexico.
Now, Barry R. Kumnick is missing. A missing report was filed with the Los Angeles Police on Sunday. Kumnick had developed software which would give a quantum leap to the PROMIS software. PROMIS tracks criminals, military movements or any type of personnel tracing. Kumnick's development would enhance PROMIS by adding a new dimension of deductions. The new program would allow the PROMIS software to interject personality characteristics and deduce the future or potential action of the person being traced.
Kumnick wrote to his sister in Idaho that his new program would be extremely dangerous if it got into the wrong hands. He was excited that the government had offered him $25 million for the software but later, like INSLAW, reneged and forced Kumnick into bankruptcy. Kumnick has not been heard from since.
Five crates containing his personal belongs, crucial documents and even his passport, were discovered recently in a storage facility. No member of Kumnick's family has heard from him in six months. In contacting Kumnick's known business partner, the partner tells the family he never heard of Kumnick.
Two things don't seem to equate very well in this world, investigating the infamous INSLAW case and staying alive!
by Harry V. Martin
Copyright Napa Sentinel, 1991
EDITOR'S NOTE: On March 12 through April 23, 1991, the Napa Sentinel published 11 articles involving the INSLAW case, the theft by the federal government of a sensitive software from a small computer company in Washington, D.C. The Sentinel, which was one of three newspapers to first print material on INSLAW, has presented several updates. This is one of those updates.
Two things don't seem to equate very well in this world, investigating the infamous INSLAW case and staying alive! There has been a series of deaths with direct association to the INSLAW case, most of them have been termed "suicides", but federal, state and local law enforcement agencies are beginning to take a second look at some of these cases.
It is known that one Indian leader of the Cabazon tribe and two other men were murdered in execution style several years ago. They were protesting against the virtual "take over" of the Indian nation in Riverside County by federal agents representing the Central Intelligence Agency and the Drug Enforcement Agency. Not only was the Indian tribe manufacturing night vision goggles and biological and chemical weapons for shipment to the Contras, but they were also involved in the modification of INSLAW's PROMIS software. The Riverside County District Attorney's Office is now reexamining the case.
In this particular case, there was sufficient evidence presented as to who was responsible for the murders, but no arrests or convictions occurred despite eyewitness testimony. The key witness, Jimmy Hughes, is now hiding in Central America. The man who helped him escape was interviewed by the Sentinel several months ago. The key witness had been hiding in Sonoma County for a while. The witness states that the executions of the three men "were authorized and backed by a government covert operation".
The INSLAW case involves what a federal judge termed "theft, deception and deceit" on the part of the U.S. Justice Department, the judge was removed from the bench and blackballed in the Washington, D.C. legal society. The Justice Department had a contract with INSLAW to produce the PROMIS software, but the firm was never paid. Instead, efforts were made by friends of then Attorney General Edwin Meese to buy out INSLAW. When INSLAW refused, Peter Videnieks, who had direct links with Meese and Dr. Earl Brian, both former members of Ronald Reagan's "kitchen cabinet" in California, allegedly threatened INSLAW's owner, Bill Hamilton, that they had ways of getting the software. Why was the software so important? Meese had ordered a complete revamping of all Justice Department computers, a multi-million contract. The award was to go to Dr. Brian, but the PROMIS software was a vital link to the successful bidder. Dr. Brian is alleged to have sold the software and had it converted for foreign intelligence agencies in Canada, South Korea, Australia, Israel, Libya and Iraq. An Israeli agent, Ari Ben-Menashe, and a former CIA computer expert, Michael Riconosciuto, have both testified to Dr. Brian's role.
Why did Dr. Brian get the computer contract? Meese's wife owned substantial stock in Dr. Brian's company and it is also alleged that Dr. Brian was being paid off for setting up the original meetings between the Iranians and the Reagan-Bush campaign team which may have led to the delay in the release of 52 American hostages until after the November 1980 Presidential election. A British Air Force officer who had allegedly witnessed Dr. Brian's sale of PROMIS software to Iraqi military intelligence in Santiago, Chile, was found hanged. His death was ruled suicide.
Riconosciuto provided his testimony to Congressman Jack Brooks, who was conducting a hearing into the INSLAW case. Riconosciuto warned that if he testified he would be arrested. Within eight days of his affidavit, he was arrested in Pierce County, Washington for allegedly owning a drug manufacturing plant. When Congressional investigators and the media continued to interview him he was shipped to Missouri then Oklahoma, and now is back in the State of Washington.
Dennis Eisman was an attorney from Philadelphia. He was scheduled to make a trip to the West Coast to meet with Riconosciuto and consider taking on his case. Eisman was found shot to death in his car. A single bullet wound to the chest. His death was ruled a suicide. Moments before he died, Eisman was enroute to a Philadelphia parking lot to meet with a woman who was to deliver critical evidence to substantiate Riconosciuto's claims about threats from Videniks. Investigative Journalist Danny Casolaro was in communication with Eisman before he died.
Casolaro was found dead last month in a West Virginia hotel room. His wrists had been slashed 10 times. Not only was he declared a suicide, but he was embalmed and buried quickly before his family was even notified of his death. Casolaro was writing a book about the INSLAW case. He carried many files with him, files that were seen in his possession a day or two before he died. Those files are now missing and contain critical information on the INSLAW case. Casolaro was in West Virginia for a meeting with Videnieks and Dr. Brian, whom he intended to confront directly with evidence backing up the Riconosciuto story. Casolaro had received several death threats.
Between 1986 and 1989, nearly 30 people either died or disappeared under mysterious circumstances, all of whom stood to reveal some crucial pieces of information concerning the INSLAW case and the Justice Department.
Anson Ng was found dead a month before Casolaro. He was working for the Financial Times of London and was in Guatemala. Ng had a single bullet wound in his chest, like Eisman. His death was ruled a suicide. Ng was in Central America attempting to interview Jimmy Hughes, who was the key witness to the murders associated with the Cabazon Indians and the INSLAW case. Hughes also holds documents that allege the same people involved with the Cabazon and INSLAW incidents had a hit list. The list were international names scheduled for assassination and included Swedish Prime Minister Olaf Palme, Schlewig-Holstein Prime Minister Uwe Barschel, Iranian arms dealer Cyrus Hashemi and Israeli counter-terrorist chief Amiran Nir. Many have died.
Allan Michael May pleaded with Riconosciuto to keep his mouth shut about his ties with the Iranian hostage deal. But Riconosciuto in an exclusive interview with the Napa Sentinel provided full details of the October Surprise and INSLAW ties and named May. Four days later May was found dead in his home. His death was listed as a heart attack, but a further autopsy revealed he had poly pharmaceuticals in his system.
Two weeks before Casolaro was found dead, John Friedrich was found dead in Sale, Australia. He was found with a single bullet wound to the head and his death was termed a suicide. Friedrich was a close ally of Colonel Oliver North and Amiram Nir. He had a lot of knowledge about the Iran-Contra and INSLAW cases. Nir died in plane crash in Mexico.
Now, Barry R. Kumnick is missing. A missing report was filed with the Los Angeles Police on Sunday. Kumnick had developed software which would give a quantum leap to the PROMIS software. PROMIS tracks criminals, military movements or any type of personnel tracing. Kumnick's development would enhance PROMIS by adding a new dimension of deductions. The new program would allow the PROMIS software to interject personality characteristics and deduce the future or potential action of the person being traced.
Kumnick wrote to his sister in Idaho that his new program would be extremely dangerous if it got into the wrong hands. He was excited that the government had offered him $25 million for the software but later, like INSLAW, reneged and forced Kumnick into bankruptcy. Kumnick has not been heard from since.
Five crates containing his personal belongs, crucial documents and even his passport, were discovered recently in a storage facility. No member of Kumnick's family has heard from him in six months. In contacting Kumnick's known business partner, the partner tells the family he never heard of Kumnick.
Two things don't seem to equate very well in this world, investigating the infamous INSLAW case and staying alive!
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Re: The Napa Sentinel, by Harry V. Martin
by admin » Thu Apr 28, 2016 11:37 pm
Addendum 4 to Federal Corruption
by Harry V. Martin
Copyright Napa Sentinel, 1991
Another individual who was investigating the INSLAW case has been murdered. Thirty-four-year-old Alan D. Standorf was found dead at Washington National Airport, he died of a blow to the head. His body was found on the back floor of his car, under a pile of luggage and personal items. Authorities believe Standorf was killed weeks earlier at another site.
Law enforcement officials are investigating the possibility that Standorf's murder might be linked with the death of investigative journalist Joseph Daniel Casolaro, who was found dead in a West Virginia hotel bathtub, his wrists had been slashed at least 10 times.
Standorf worked at a super-secret military listening post near Washington. He is suspected of being a key source of information to Casolaro. He worked at Vint Hill Farm, a military installation near Manassas, VA, that gathers electronic intelligence from spy satellites and other sources around the world.
Bill Turner, a defense industry whistleblower who met with Casolaro just before his death, says that Casolaro indicted that his "key" source had dried-up. Turner believes Standorf was that key contact. Michael Riconosciuto, who has provided testimony to Congress about the INSLAW case, insists that Standorf was Casolaro's key informant.
Casolaro had gathered information linking the INSLAW case and the fraud ridden Bank of Credit and Commerce International together, along with other conspiracies within the savings and loan industry and the Iran-Contra scandal. It has also been learned that Casolaro was investigating links between INSLAW, the Cabazon Indians, Wackenhut Corporation, and the powerful Prime Merit Bank of Nevada. Casolaro was in West Virginia for a meeting with Peter Videnieks and Dr. Earl Brian, whom he intended to confront directly with evidence backing up the Riconosciuto story that the two were instrumental in the theft of the INSLAW software. Casolaro had received several death threats.
In the meantime, the mystery of Barry R. Kumnick, a brilliant computer engineer, widens. Kumnick, who invented a new artificial intelligence software that would dramatically enhance INSLAW's PROMIS software, has been missing for six months. All his belongings, including the working papers on his new software program, called Brainstorm, were found in five crates auctioned by a storage company.
A missing report was filed with the Los Angeles Police on Sunday. Kumnick had developed software which would give a quantum leap to the PROMIS software. PROMIS tracks criminals, military movements or any type of personnel tracing. Kumnick's development would enhance PROMIS by adding a new dimension of deductions. The new program would allow the PROMIS software to interject personality characteristics and deduce the future or potential actions of the person being traced.
Kumnick wrote to his sister in Idaho that his new program would be extremely dangerous if it got into the wrong hands. He was excited that the government had offered him $25 million for the software but later, like INSLAW, reneged and forced Kumnick into bankruptcy. Kumnick has not been heard from since.
Five crates containing his personal belongings, crucial documents and even his passport, were discovered recently in a storage facility. No member of Kumnick's family has heard from him in six months. In contacting Kumnick's known business partner, the partner tells the family he never heard of Kumnick.
Kumnick was with the U.S. military maintaining the management of nuclear detonation systems. He worked with Northrop on the Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence (C3I). He also worked on the source selection for the Navstar Satellite. He had a very high security clearance.
His software would enhance any tracking program, such as INSLAW, and establish an automatic deducing system. In the case of INSLAW, it could project the thoughts and characteristics of individuals (criminal or military) and forecast behavior or movement patterns. INSLAW was originally invented to track case loads for the U.S. Department of Justice. It was converted to be used by military intelligence agencies to track military movements, conditions and inventories.
The INSLAW case is still under Congressional investigation. The Justice Department has adamantly refused to cooperate with Congressman Jack Brook's Committee. One Justice Department official has told a Senate Committee investigator, that INSLAW is dirty and far deeper than Watergate ever was.
by Harry V. Martin
Copyright Napa Sentinel, 1991
Another individual who was investigating the INSLAW case has been murdered. Thirty-four-year-old Alan D. Standorf was found dead at Washington National Airport, he died of a blow to the head. His body was found on the back floor of his car, under a pile of luggage and personal items. Authorities believe Standorf was killed weeks earlier at another site.
Law enforcement officials are investigating the possibility that Standorf's murder might be linked with the death of investigative journalist Joseph Daniel Casolaro, who was found dead in a West Virginia hotel bathtub, his wrists had been slashed at least 10 times.
Standorf worked at a super-secret military listening post near Washington. He is suspected of being a key source of information to Casolaro. He worked at Vint Hill Farm, a military installation near Manassas, VA, that gathers electronic intelligence from spy satellites and other sources around the world.
Bill Turner, a defense industry whistleblower who met with Casolaro just before his death, says that Casolaro indicted that his "key" source had dried-up. Turner believes Standorf was that key contact. Michael Riconosciuto, who has provided testimony to Congress about the INSLAW case, insists that Standorf was Casolaro's key informant.
Casolaro had gathered information linking the INSLAW case and the fraud ridden Bank of Credit and Commerce International together, along with other conspiracies within the savings and loan industry and the Iran-Contra scandal. It has also been learned that Casolaro was investigating links between INSLAW, the Cabazon Indians, Wackenhut Corporation, and the powerful Prime Merit Bank of Nevada. Casolaro was in West Virginia for a meeting with Peter Videnieks and Dr. Earl Brian, whom he intended to confront directly with evidence backing up the Riconosciuto story that the two were instrumental in the theft of the INSLAW software. Casolaro had received several death threats.
In the meantime, the mystery of Barry R. Kumnick, a brilliant computer engineer, widens. Kumnick, who invented a new artificial intelligence software that would dramatically enhance INSLAW's PROMIS software, has been missing for six months. All his belongings, including the working papers on his new software program, called Brainstorm, were found in five crates auctioned by a storage company.
A missing report was filed with the Los Angeles Police on Sunday. Kumnick had developed software which would give a quantum leap to the PROMIS software. PROMIS tracks criminals, military movements or any type of personnel tracing. Kumnick's development would enhance PROMIS by adding a new dimension of deductions. The new program would allow the PROMIS software to interject personality characteristics and deduce the future or potential actions of the person being traced.
Kumnick wrote to his sister in Idaho that his new program would be extremely dangerous if it got into the wrong hands. He was excited that the government had offered him $25 million for the software but later, like INSLAW, reneged and forced Kumnick into bankruptcy. Kumnick has not been heard from since.
Five crates containing his personal belongings, crucial documents and even his passport, were discovered recently in a storage facility. No member of Kumnick's family has heard from him in six months. In contacting Kumnick's known business partner, the partner tells the family he never heard of Kumnick.
Kumnick was with the U.S. military maintaining the management of nuclear detonation systems. He worked with Northrop on the Command, Control, Communication and Intelligence (C3I). He also worked on the source selection for the Navstar Satellite. He had a very high security clearance.
His software would enhance any tracking program, such as INSLAW, and establish an automatic deducing system. In the case of INSLAW, it could project the thoughts and characteristics of individuals (criminal or military) and forecast behavior or movement patterns. INSLAW was originally invented to track case loads for the U.S. Department of Justice. It was converted to be used by military intelligence agencies to track military movements, conditions and inventories.
The INSLAW case is still under Congressional investigation. The Justice Department has adamantly refused to cooperate with Congressman Jack Brook's Committee. One Justice Department official has told a Senate Committee investigator, that INSLAW is dirty and far deeper than Watergate ever was.
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Re: The Napa Sentinel, by Harry V. Martin
by admin » Thu Apr 28, 2016 11:38 pm
Another Leg Into the Inslaw Story
by Harry V. Martin
The man who was a key source of information for investigative journalist Danny Casalaro, has been arrested and critical documents have been seized from his home.
William Richard Turner, the last known person to see Casalaro alive, was arrested this week and charged with bank robbery. Turner is a former employee of Hughes Aircraft. He is reported to have met with Casalaro in a Sheraton Hotel parking lot and provided him with papers alleging corruption at a local defense plant, and also alleged fraud in the aerospace industry and within the ranks of the Defense Investigative Service, which oversees probes of the defense industry. The meeting took place hours before Casalaro was found dead in his hotel room, his wrists had been slashed 10 times. Turner had been fired from Hughes because of his whistleblowing.
Casalaro's body was immediately embalmed and buried before his family was notified of his death. The death was ruled to be a "suicide". Casalaro had received numerous threats on his life because of his investigations into INSLAW, the Cabazon Indian nation, mob-CIA connections, and the Bank of Commercial Credit (BCCI). Several other "suicides" have been reported associated with similar investigation efforts by other journalists and attorneys.
Turner was being followed by units of the Frederick County Sheriff's Office for his protection. He was aware of the tail. A Sheriff's unit pulled along side Turner's vehicle in a bank parking lot and informed him that someone had reported he was a suspect in the robbery of the Gore Branch of the Dominion Bank that morning.
Turner was not immediately arrested. He returned home and the Sheriff informed him he would need to speak to him on the next day. Turner voluntarily signed a waiver allowing authorities to search his home. The following day he was arrested and the FBI searched his home. They seized the copies of 40 to 50 documents which Turner had provided Casalaro. They seized notebooks with names and addresses in it, listing contacts that Casalaro had, phone message tapes, and all the files in his desk. All of Casalaro's documents, both in his hotel room and at his home, have not been found.
Law enforcement officials indicate that television cameras in the bank show a person with similar characteristics of Turner. They claim to have a witness who saw Turner running from the bank.
Turner only has one leg.
by Harry V. Martin
The man who was a key source of information for investigative journalist Danny Casalaro, has been arrested and critical documents have been seized from his home.
William Richard Turner, the last known person to see Casalaro alive, was arrested this week and charged with bank robbery. Turner is a former employee of Hughes Aircraft. He is reported to have met with Casalaro in a Sheraton Hotel parking lot and provided him with papers alleging corruption at a local defense plant, and also alleged fraud in the aerospace industry and within the ranks of the Defense Investigative Service, which oversees probes of the defense industry. The meeting took place hours before Casalaro was found dead in his hotel room, his wrists had been slashed 10 times. Turner had been fired from Hughes because of his whistleblowing.
Casalaro's body was immediately embalmed and buried before his family was notified of his death. The death was ruled to be a "suicide". Casalaro had received numerous threats on his life because of his investigations into INSLAW, the Cabazon Indian nation, mob-CIA connections, and the Bank of Commercial Credit (BCCI). Several other "suicides" have been reported associated with similar investigation efforts by other journalists and attorneys.
Turner was being followed by units of the Frederick County Sheriff's Office for his protection. He was aware of the tail. A Sheriff's unit pulled along side Turner's vehicle in a bank parking lot and informed him that someone had reported he was a suspect in the robbery of the Gore Branch of the Dominion Bank that morning.
Turner was not immediately arrested. He returned home and the Sheriff informed him he would need to speak to him on the next day. Turner voluntarily signed a waiver allowing authorities to search his home. The following day he was arrested and the FBI searched his home. They seized the copies of 40 to 50 documents which Turner had provided Casalaro. They seized notebooks with names and addresses in it, listing contacts that Casalaro had, phone message tapes, and all the files in his desk. All of Casalaro's documents, both in his hotel room and at his home, have not been found.
Law enforcement officials indicate that television cameras in the bank show a person with similar characteristics of Turner. They claim to have a witness who saw Turner running from the bank.
Turner only has one leg.
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Re: The Napa Sentinel, by Harry V. Martin
by admin » Thu Apr 28, 2016 11:39 pm
Bankruptcy Court Examines Software Allegations Against Justice Department Pirating
by Harry V. Martin
Fourth in a NEW SERIES
Copyright Napa Sentinel
If you own a VCR or rent or buy movies, you will be familiar with the warning that appears on your screen that the film you are viewing is protected by a copyright and that the Federal Bureau of Investigations or Interpol can arrest you for copying the film. The warning is to prevent "pirating" of someone else's copyrighted material.
But what's good for the goose is not always good for the gander. The United States Justice Department stands accused of pirating copyrighted material - having supplied it to the Canadian government, the Israeli government and Iraqi governmentÉand to the FBI, itself.
That is how deep the INSLAW computer software case has become. The case started out when the Justice Department bought PROMIS, a copyrighted software program that helps to track criminal cases throughout the United States. When friends and associates of then Attorney General Edwin Meese attempted to buy the software company, INSLAW turned them down and then life was made miserable for INSLAW. Within 90 days the Justice Department reneged on their contract with INSLAW and refused to pay for the software program, even though it was using it. The Justice Department is accused by federal judges of attempting to bankrupt INSLAW and then hasten the bankruptcy court to declare them insolvent. Instead, the courts ruled that the Justice Department used "fraud, deceit and trickery" against INSLAW and awarded the small computer software company $6.8 million in damages.
The case became deeper when friends of Meese began to sell the program to foreign military establishments and the Justice Department began to provide the copyrighted material to other U.S. government agencies. A man who was once fired from INSLAW was put in charge of INSLAW's payments - which were never forthcoming. Another Justice Department official, who is now a Federal Judge in Northern California, was a direct competitor to INSLAW in California The Judge who made the $6.8 million ruling lost his job. The attorney for the Justice Department who fought against the Judge's ruling was promoted to the Judge's vacant position. There have been wholesale changes and firings at the Justice Department over the INSLAW case.
The Justice Department is now under investigation by a House subcommittee and this committee is receiving many documents to support the premise that the Justice Department has a skeleton in its closet that stinks greater than Watergate.
But new documents emerging in the case demonstrate a wider scandal. In an affidavit dated February 17, 1991, Ari Ben-Menashe describes his 12 year service for the Government of Israel in foreign intelligence and provides an eyewitness account of a presentation to an Israeli intelligence agency in 1987 in Tel Aviv, by Earl W. Brian of the United States.
Brian is a close associate of Meese from his California days. Brian and Meese were both in Ronald Reagan's California Cabinet when Reagan was governor.
According to Ben-Menashe's affidavit, Brian stated in his presence that he had acquired the property rights to the PROMIS computer software and that as of 1987 "all U.S. intelligence agencies, including the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, were using the PROMIS computer software." Ben-Menashe further states in his affidavit that Brian consummated a sale of the PROMIS computer software to the Government of Israel in 1987.
He further claimed that Brian also sold the PROMIS computer software to Iraqi Military Intelligence. According to Ben-Menashe's affidavit, the Israeli intelligence officer learned of this sale from an eyewitness who helped Brian broker the sale in his office in Santiago, Chile, Carlos Carduen of Carduen Industries. Carduen has been a major supplier to the Government of Iraq with weapons and munitions.
The Federal Government of Canada has admitted that INSLAW's PROMIS software is currently operating in at least two federal departments, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Mounties are using the program in 900 locations in Canada.
INSLAW never sold its software to Canada, Iraq, Israel, the Central Intelligence Agency or the National Security Agency. It also has not been paid by the Justice Department for its use, despite the $6.8 million ruling in INSLAW's favor.
The Justice Department insists that the FBI is not using the PROMIS program. Yet FBI Director William Sessions and Deputy Assistant Director Kier Boyd, have made it clear that the FBI now is unable or unwilling to provide assurances that pirated software is not included in the case management information system used by FBI field offices.
And in a startling development, a man named Charles Hayes has asserted that the U.S. government has pirated the PROMIS computer program. The Justice Department has sued Hayes in the U.S. District Court in Lexington, Kentucky, seeking to compel him to return copies of computer software left on equipment Hayes' salvage business purchased from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Lexington. Hayes has publicly claimed that the salvaged equipment contained pirated copies of INSLAW's PROMIS software.
One cover-up begets another cover-up? This is how Watergate spread.
Watergate, Iran, Contra, Saving & Loan Scandal, INSLAW Theft
Federal Bankruptcy Scandal, CIA Covert Operations
Did you ever wonder what the fathers of our country would think about it if they came back to visit today?
by Harry V. Martin
Fourth in a NEW SERIES
Copyright Napa Sentinel
If you own a VCR or rent or buy movies, you will be familiar with the warning that appears on your screen that the film you are viewing is protected by a copyright and that the Federal Bureau of Investigations or Interpol can arrest you for copying the film. The warning is to prevent "pirating" of someone else's copyrighted material.
But what's good for the goose is not always good for the gander. The United States Justice Department stands accused of pirating copyrighted material - having supplied it to the Canadian government, the Israeli government and Iraqi governmentÉand to the FBI, itself.
That is how deep the INSLAW computer software case has become. The case started out when the Justice Department bought PROMIS, a copyrighted software program that helps to track criminal cases throughout the United States. When friends and associates of then Attorney General Edwin Meese attempted to buy the software company, INSLAW turned them down and then life was made miserable for INSLAW. Within 90 days the Justice Department reneged on their contract with INSLAW and refused to pay for the software program, even though it was using it. The Justice Department is accused by federal judges of attempting to bankrupt INSLAW and then hasten the bankruptcy court to declare them insolvent. Instead, the courts ruled that the Justice Department used "fraud, deceit and trickery" against INSLAW and awarded the small computer software company $6.8 million in damages.
The case became deeper when friends of Meese began to sell the program to foreign military establishments and the Justice Department began to provide the copyrighted material to other U.S. government agencies. A man who was once fired from INSLAW was put in charge of INSLAW's payments - which were never forthcoming. Another Justice Department official, who is now a Federal Judge in Northern California, was a direct competitor to INSLAW in California The Judge who made the $6.8 million ruling lost his job. The attorney for the Justice Department who fought against the Judge's ruling was promoted to the Judge's vacant position. There have been wholesale changes and firings at the Justice Department over the INSLAW case.
The Justice Department is now under investigation by a House subcommittee and this committee is receiving many documents to support the premise that the Justice Department has a skeleton in its closet that stinks greater than Watergate.
But new documents emerging in the case demonstrate a wider scandal. In an affidavit dated February 17, 1991, Ari Ben-Menashe describes his 12 year service for the Government of Israel in foreign intelligence and provides an eyewitness account of a presentation to an Israeli intelligence agency in 1987 in Tel Aviv, by Earl W. Brian of the United States.
Brian is a close associate of Meese from his California days. Brian and Meese were both in Ronald Reagan's California Cabinet when Reagan was governor.
According to Ben-Menashe's affidavit, Brian stated in his presence that he had acquired the property rights to the PROMIS computer software and that as of 1987 "all U.S. intelligence agencies, including the Defense Intelligence Agency, the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Agency, were using the PROMIS computer software." Ben-Menashe further states in his affidavit that Brian consummated a sale of the PROMIS computer software to the Government of Israel in 1987.
He further claimed that Brian also sold the PROMIS computer software to Iraqi Military Intelligence. According to Ben-Menashe's affidavit, the Israeli intelligence officer learned of this sale from an eyewitness who helped Brian broker the sale in his office in Santiago, Chile, Carlos Carduen of Carduen Industries. Carduen has been a major supplier to the Government of Iraq with weapons and munitions.
The Federal Government of Canada has admitted that INSLAW's PROMIS software is currently operating in at least two federal departments, including the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. The Mounties are using the program in 900 locations in Canada.
INSLAW never sold its software to Canada, Iraq, Israel, the Central Intelligence Agency or the National Security Agency. It also has not been paid by the Justice Department for its use, despite the $6.8 million ruling in INSLAW's favor.
The Justice Department insists that the FBI is not using the PROMIS program. Yet FBI Director William Sessions and Deputy Assistant Director Kier Boyd, have made it clear that the FBI now is unable or unwilling to provide assurances that pirated software is not included in the case management information system used by FBI field offices.
And in a startling development, a man named Charles Hayes has asserted that the U.S. government has pirated the PROMIS computer program. The Justice Department has sued Hayes in the U.S. District Court in Lexington, Kentucky, seeking to compel him to return copies of computer software left on equipment Hayes' salvage business purchased from the U.S. Attorney's Office in Lexington. Hayes has publicly claimed that the salvaged equipment contained pirated copies of INSLAW's PROMIS software.
One cover-up begets another cover-up? This is how Watergate spread.
Watergate, Iran, Contra, Saving & Loan Scandal, INSLAW Theft
Federal Bankruptcy Scandal, CIA Covert Operations
Did you ever wonder what the fathers of our country would think about it if they came back to visit today?
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Re: The Napa Sentinel, by Harry V. Martin
by admin » Thu Apr 28, 2016 11:39 pm
Bankruptcy, Justice Scandal Could Equal Watergate
by Harry V. Martin
Third in a NEW SERIES
Copyright Napa Sentinel
As if things weren't getting hot enough for the federal bankruptcy court system, but now the INSLAW case is becoming another Watergate. INSLAW was a Washington, D. C., based computer firm that sold a highly technical tracking software program to the U.S. Department of Justice. Federal judges have upheld INSLAW's contention that the Justice Department, under Attorney General Edwin Meese, stole INSLAW's computer program.
A bankruptcy judge that made the ruling was not re-appointed to a 14-year term. Several Justice Department officials have since been fired or quit over the case.
Now a U.S. House Subcommittee is investigating the case and putting a lot of heat on the Justice Department. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh has been placed in an awkward position because of the case. Though he was not Attorney General at the time the INSLAW scandal broke, he was the man who investigated it and cleared the Justice Department of wrong doing.
Testimony has come forward that the Justice Department, under Meese, pressured the bankruptcy courts to declare INSLAW insolvent, forcing the company to release its assets, including the critical software. INSLAW was once threatened if it didn't sell its company to a close Meese associate. After the threat, INSLAW's life was made miserable by the Justice Department. When INSLAW sued the Justice Department it was awarded $6.8 million. The judge who made the award was fired and replaced with a newly appointed judge- the man who prosecuted the case for the Justice Department. A second judge upheld the first judge's ruling.
The House subcommittee is accusing Thornburgh of stonewalling the Committee's request for hundreds of documents involved in the INSLAW case. Two years ago, the same stalling tactics by the Attorney General's office played havoc with a Senate investigation of the same problem. But Texas Congressman Jack Brooks is putting the heat on the Justice Department to turn over its records on INSLAW, Brook's committee controls the purse strings of the Justice Department and has more clout than did the Senate Committee.
The protected software has been pirated to the Canadian government. Those who were found responsible for the pirating were close associates of Meese. "No sooner had the piracy been confirmed in Canada than an Israeli intelligence officer alleged that PROMIS (INSLAW's software program) was being used illegally by the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies," states James J. Kilpatrick in the March 15 edition of The Miami Herald.
After the re-appointment of the federal bankruptcy judge was halted because of his ruling on the INSLAW case, almost every bankruptcy judge that is handed the case declines to have anything to do with it. "Nobody wants to touch the case," states Chief District Judge Aubrey Robinson.
According to Brooks, the Justice Department is now ready to turn over the documents, states the Legal Times of Washington, D.C. The scandal touches many high officials in the Justice Department or formerly associated with the Department.
They include:
* Edwin Meese, former Attorney General.
* Attorney General Richard Thornburgh.
* Justice Department Watchdog Michael Sheheen, Jr.
* Gerald McDowell, chief of the Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section.
* Lawrence McWhorter, head of the Executive Office of the U.S. Attorney's Criminal Division.
* Bankruptcy Judge Cornelius Blackshear.
* North District of California Federal District Judge D. Lowell Jensen, who was a former Deputy Attorney General and once chief competitor to INSLAW in California.
The Brooks Committee has also learned that the Justice Department's computer system is "all botched up" and has also learned that there is a lot of sensitive data within the Department of Justice computer files that is not secure. The INSLAW program was to organize everything and track cases all over the country.
The Justice Department is the prime law enforcement agency in the United States. A scandal there could rock the nation in a similar fashion as Watergate did during the Nixon Administration.
The Justice Department oversees the Federal Bankruptcy Court and the Trustee system. The Justice Department is investigating the Federal Bankruptcy Court and the Trustee System. The Justice Department has been caught using the Bankruptcy System for their own interest. In other words, the Justice Department is investigating the Justice Department's Bankruptcy System for potential wrongdoings by the Justice Department.
But is there really justice in this land?
by Harry V. Martin
Third in a NEW SERIES
Copyright Napa Sentinel
As if things weren't getting hot enough for the federal bankruptcy court system, but now the INSLAW case is becoming another Watergate. INSLAW was a Washington, D. C., based computer firm that sold a highly technical tracking software program to the U.S. Department of Justice. Federal judges have upheld INSLAW's contention that the Justice Department, under Attorney General Edwin Meese, stole INSLAW's computer program.
A bankruptcy judge that made the ruling was not re-appointed to a 14-year term. Several Justice Department officials have since been fired or quit over the case.
Now a U.S. House Subcommittee is investigating the case and putting a lot of heat on the Justice Department. Attorney General Dick Thornburgh has been placed in an awkward position because of the case. Though he was not Attorney General at the time the INSLAW scandal broke, he was the man who investigated it and cleared the Justice Department of wrong doing.
Testimony has come forward that the Justice Department, under Meese, pressured the bankruptcy courts to declare INSLAW insolvent, forcing the company to release its assets, including the critical software. INSLAW was once threatened if it didn't sell its company to a close Meese associate. After the threat, INSLAW's life was made miserable by the Justice Department. When INSLAW sued the Justice Department it was awarded $6.8 million. The judge who made the award was fired and replaced with a newly appointed judge- the man who prosecuted the case for the Justice Department. A second judge upheld the first judge's ruling.
The House subcommittee is accusing Thornburgh of stonewalling the Committee's request for hundreds of documents involved in the INSLAW case. Two years ago, the same stalling tactics by the Attorney General's office played havoc with a Senate investigation of the same problem. But Texas Congressman Jack Brooks is putting the heat on the Justice Department to turn over its records on INSLAW, Brook's committee controls the purse strings of the Justice Department and has more clout than did the Senate Committee.
The protected software has been pirated to the Canadian government. Those who were found responsible for the pirating were close associates of Meese. "No sooner had the piracy been confirmed in Canada than an Israeli intelligence officer alleged that PROMIS (INSLAW's software program) was being used illegally by the CIA and other U.S. intelligence agencies," states James J. Kilpatrick in the March 15 edition of The Miami Herald.
After the re-appointment of the federal bankruptcy judge was halted because of his ruling on the INSLAW case, almost every bankruptcy judge that is handed the case declines to have anything to do with it. "Nobody wants to touch the case," states Chief District Judge Aubrey Robinson.
According to Brooks, the Justice Department is now ready to turn over the documents, states the Legal Times of Washington, D.C. The scandal touches many high officials in the Justice Department or formerly associated with the Department.
They include:
* Edwin Meese, former Attorney General.
* Attorney General Richard Thornburgh.
* Justice Department Watchdog Michael Sheheen, Jr.
* Gerald McDowell, chief of the Criminal Division's Public Integrity Section.
* Lawrence McWhorter, head of the Executive Office of the U.S. Attorney's Criminal Division.
* Bankruptcy Judge Cornelius Blackshear.
* North District of California Federal District Judge D. Lowell Jensen, who was a former Deputy Attorney General and once chief competitor to INSLAW in California.
The Brooks Committee has also learned that the Justice Department's computer system is "all botched up" and has also learned that there is a lot of sensitive data within the Department of Justice computer files that is not secure. The INSLAW program was to organize everything and track cases all over the country.
The Justice Department is the prime law enforcement agency in the United States. A scandal there could rock the nation in a similar fashion as Watergate did during the Nixon Administration.
The Justice Department oversees the Federal Bankruptcy Court and the Trustee system. The Justice Department is investigating the Federal Bankruptcy Court and the Trustee System. The Justice Department has been caught using the Bankruptcy System for their own interest. In other words, the Justice Department is investigating the Justice Department's Bankruptcy System for potential wrongdoings by the Justice Department.
But is there really justice in this land?
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Re: The Napa Sentinel, by Harry V. Martin
by admin » Thu Apr 28, 2016 11:39 pm
Bobbie, Caught in the Middle
by Harry V. Martin
It has been four months since the arrest in Napa of Roberta Riconoscuito on a three-year-old State of Washington warrant for custodial interference. Riconoscuito was arrested on the eve of her husband's testimony to a specially convened Federal Grand Jury in Chicago investigating the Inslaw case. She was originally held without bail. Three of her four children were shipped off to their father without a formal court hearing.
On nearly a weekly basis, Riconoscuito appeared in Napa courts attempting to prevent her extradition to the State of Washington. It was in Mason County, Washington, that Riconoscuito testified in a child molestation scandal that saw the arrest of a member of the Sheriff's Department, the head of the County Republicans, and members of the court system. These individuals were closely associated with her ex-husband. Riconoscuito also testified to a Riverside County (California) Grand Jury on the murder of a Cabazon Indian leader and two of his friends in execution style. The key suspect in that murder was her ex-husband's lifelong friend.
The procedures that the Napa court system had to apply to the case including a hearing identifying Riconoscuito as Roberta Peterson, her name when married in Mason County, Washington; and then a wait for the Governor of California to issue a warrant for her extradition. The long wait for the Governor's extradition order ended this week, it was issued. Under the warrant Riconoscuito should have been jailed immediately pending being transferred to the State of Washington. But Riconoscuito is still free today, and the Napa County District Attorney's Office is not very happy about it.
Riconoscuito filed a petition in the United States District Court for the Northern California District. Riconoscuito's court action was to remove her case from the local courts and transfer it to federal jurisdiction. Riconoscuito cited 28 USC ¤ 1441, which states, "Except as otherwise expressly provided by Act of Congress, any civil action brought in a State court of which the district court of the United States have original jurisdiction, may be removed by the defendant or the defendants, to the district court of the United States..." The law states that the Federal District Court "acquires jurisdiction as of the time of the filing of the petition in the federal court."
Riconoscuito states in her federal court document that her ex-husband, Steven Peterson "was involved in criminal activity, including, but not limited to, sexual abuse and the conspiracy to murder Fred Alvarez, a member of the Cabazon Indian Nation in Indio, California. That Riconoscuito was seeking to enter the California Witness Protection Program because (of) her willingness to testify about the criminal activity of Peterson." The petition also alleges that Peterson beat Riconoscuito while she was pregnant, which had nearly caused a miscarriage and her own death, supported by separate affidavits. When Riconoscuito was providing such testimony in the past, she sought to have the affidavit sealed and made her allegation in camera (closed session) out of fear for her life and that the Mason County authories placed her life in jeopardy by putting the affidavit into the public record.
The three year old warrant is based on an action taken when the courts gave custody of the children to the father without notifying Riconoscuito, she had already fled after the beating. The custody order was set aside, however. So another order was issued, this time not only providing the ex-husband with custody but also assigning real estate and insurance entitlements to her ex-husband.
Riconoscuito is claiming there is no valid warrant. On April 7, 1989, Riconoscuito's ex-husband stated he did not want custody of the children. Riconoscuito is charging that her arrest was a method to intimidate her present husband, Michael Riconoscuito. Michael Riconoscuito was scheduled to testify on November 18, 1992, before the Federal Grand Jury impaneled to investigate the Inslaw case. Roberta Riconoscuito was arrested in Napa on November 17, she had been residing here for nearly a year and her children were enrolled in local schools.
Riconoscuito is asking the Federal Court to grant a temporary restraining order against the extradition proceedings and release of her from any and all restrictions imposed on her liberty by State officials.
The Federal Grand Jury in Chicago is sitting on two sealed indictments, awaiting instructions from the newly sworn in U.S. Attorney Janet Reno. The House Judiciary Committee, headed by Congressman Jack Brooks of Texas, has issued a preliminary report on the Inslaw case, and is withholding the final report. He has sought legislation to have Congress authorize the creation of a special prosecutor in the Inslaw case, at which time he is expected to turn over evidence and the report.
Brooks would not be seeking a special prosecutor unless he felt there was sufficient evidence of criminal action on the part of the U.S. Justice Department in the Inslaw case. Michael Riconoscuito's affidavit on the Inslaw case appears in the Congressional report and he was called to testify before the Grand Jury as well, his wife's arrest in Napa caused him to refuse to testify until she was safe.
On Monday, the Napa court will decide whether or not they have lost control of the case, though under federal regulations, the local court may not have the jurisdiction to make that decision in the first place.
by Harry V. Martin
It has been four months since the arrest in Napa of Roberta Riconoscuito on a three-year-old State of Washington warrant for custodial interference. Riconoscuito was arrested on the eve of her husband's testimony to a specially convened Federal Grand Jury in Chicago investigating the Inslaw case. She was originally held without bail. Three of her four children were shipped off to their father without a formal court hearing.
On nearly a weekly basis, Riconoscuito appeared in Napa courts attempting to prevent her extradition to the State of Washington. It was in Mason County, Washington, that Riconoscuito testified in a child molestation scandal that saw the arrest of a member of the Sheriff's Department, the head of the County Republicans, and members of the court system. These individuals were closely associated with her ex-husband. Riconoscuito also testified to a Riverside County (California) Grand Jury on the murder of a Cabazon Indian leader and two of his friends in execution style. The key suspect in that murder was her ex-husband's lifelong friend.
The procedures that the Napa court system had to apply to the case including a hearing identifying Riconoscuito as Roberta Peterson, her name when married in Mason County, Washington; and then a wait for the Governor of California to issue a warrant for her extradition. The long wait for the Governor's extradition order ended this week, it was issued. Under the warrant Riconoscuito should have been jailed immediately pending being transferred to the State of Washington. But Riconoscuito is still free today, and the Napa County District Attorney's Office is not very happy about it.
Riconoscuito filed a petition in the United States District Court for the Northern California District. Riconoscuito's court action was to remove her case from the local courts and transfer it to federal jurisdiction. Riconoscuito cited 28 USC ¤ 1441, which states, "Except as otherwise expressly provided by Act of Congress, any civil action brought in a State court of which the district court of the United States have original jurisdiction, may be removed by the defendant or the defendants, to the district court of the United States..." The law states that the Federal District Court "acquires jurisdiction as of the time of the filing of the petition in the federal court."
Riconoscuito states in her federal court document that her ex-husband, Steven Peterson "was involved in criminal activity, including, but not limited to, sexual abuse and the conspiracy to murder Fred Alvarez, a member of the Cabazon Indian Nation in Indio, California. That Riconoscuito was seeking to enter the California Witness Protection Program because (of) her willingness to testify about the criminal activity of Peterson." The petition also alleges that Peterson beat Riconoscuito while she was pregnant, which had nearly caused a miscarriage and her own death, supported by separate affidavits. When Riconoscuito was providing such testimony in the past, she sought to have the affidavit sealed and made her allegation in camera (closed session) out of fear for her life and that the Mason County authories placed her life in jeopardy by putting the affidavit into the public record.
The three year old warrant is based on an action taken when the courts gave custody of the children to the father without notifying Riconoscuito, she had already fled after the beating. The custody order was set aside, however. So another order was issued, this time not only providing the ex-husband with custody but also assigning real estate and insurance entitlements to her ex-husband.
Riconoscuito is claiming there is no valid warrant. On April 7, 1989, Riconoscuito's ex-husband stated he did not want custody of the children. Riconoscuito is charging that her arrest was a method to intimidate her present husband, Michael Riconoscuito. Michael Riconoscuito was scheduled to testify on November 18, 1992, before the Federal Grand Jury impaneled to investigate the Inslaw case. Roberta Riconoscuito was arrested in Napa on November 17, she had been residing here for nearly a year and her children were enrolled in local schools.
Riconoscuito is asking the Federal Court to grant a temporary restraining order against the extradition proceedings and release of her from any and all restrictions imposed on her liberty by State officials.
The Federal Grand Jury in Chicago is sitting on two sealed indictments, awaiting instructions from the newly sworn in U.S. Attorney Janet Reno. The House Judiciary Committee, headed by Congressman Jack Brooks of Texas, has issued a preliminary report on the Inslaw case, and is withholding the final report. He has sought legislation to have Congress authorize the creation of a special prosecutor in the Inslaw case, at which time he is expected to turn over evidence and the report.
Brooks would not be seeking a special prosecutor unless he felt there was sufficient evidence of criminal action on the part of the U.S. Justice Department in the Inslaw case. Michael Riconoscuito's affidavit on the Inslaw case appears in the Congressional report and he was called to testify before the Grand Jury as well, his wife's arrest in Napa caused him to refuse to testify until she was safe.
On Monday, the Napa court will decide whether or not they have lost control of the case, though under federal regulations, the local court may not have the jurisdiction to make that decision in the first place.
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Re: The Napa Sentinel, by Harry V. Martin
by admin » Thu Apr 28, 2016 11:40 pm
Bobbie Extradition
by Harry V. Martin
The long ordeal in Napa has ended and a new one begins in Mason County, Washington for Roberta Riconoscuito. This week Riconoscuito was sent back to Napa County Jail awaiting extradition to the State of Washington. But there is still a possibility of Federal intervention.
Despite the fact that Riconoscuito had sought the protection of the Federal court system, the Napa courts ruled that despite legal rulings, it was not bound to vacate her case. Ironically, Riconoscuito was jailed one week before a Federal court was to hear her petition to take over jurisdiction of the case.
Riconoscuito is asking the Federal Court to grant a temporary restraining order against the extradition proceedings and release her from any and all restrictions imposed on her liberty by State officials. However, by mid-week a Writ of Habeas Corpus had been filed in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The Writ seeks the immediate release of Riconoscuito and a transferring of the case from State court to Federal court.
The Writ charges that the Mason County arrest warrant was in "retaliation for her willingness to testify against certain criminal activity in which State (of Washington) officials were involved.
It has been four months since the arrest in Napa of Riconoscuito on a three-year-old State of Washington warrant for custodial interference. Riconoscuito was arrested on the eve of her husband's testimony to a specially convened Federal Grand Jury in Chicago investigating the Inslaw case. She was originally held without bail. Three of her four children were shipped off to their father without a formal court hearing.
On nearly a weekly basis, Riconoscuito appeared in Napa courts attempting to prevent her extradition to the State of Washington. It was in Mason County, Washington, that Riconoscuito testified in a child molestation scandal that saw the arrest of a member of the Sheriff's Department, the head of the County Republicans, and members of the court system. These individuals were closely associated with her ex-husband. Riconoscuito also testified to a Riverside County (California) Grand Jury on the murder of a Cabazon Indian leader and two of his friends in execution style. The key suspect in that murder was her ex-husband's lifelong friend.
The procedures that the Napa court system had to apply to the case included a hearing identifying Riconoscuito as Roberta Peterson, her name when married in Mason County, Washington; and then a wait for the Governor of California to issue a warrant for her extradition. The long wait for the Governor's extradition order ended this week, it was issued. Under the warrant Riconoscuito should have been jailed immediately pending being transferred to the State of Washington. But the Napa court allowed Riconoscuito free for another week until the Napa County District Attorney's Office could prove to the court that Riconoscuito's case should remain in the jurisdiction of Napa and the State court system.
Riconoscuito filed a petition in the United States District Court for the Northern California District. Riconoscuito's court action was to remove her case from the local courts and transfer it to federal jurisdiction. Riconoscuito cited 28 USC ¤ 1441, which states, "Except as otherwise expressly provided by Act of Congress, any civil action brought in a State court of which the district court of the United States have original jurisdiction, may be removed by the defendant or the defendants, to the district court of the United States..." The law states that the Federal District Court "acquires jurisdiction as of the time of the filing of the petition in the federal court."
Riconoscuito states in her federal court document that her ex-husband, Steven Peterson "was involved in criminal activity, including, but not limited to, sexual abuse and the conspiracy to murder Fred Alvarez, a member of the Cabazon Indian Nation in Indio, California. That Riconoscuito was seeking to enter the California Witness Protection Program because (of) her willingness to testify about the criminal activity of Peterson." The petition also alleges that Peterson beat Riconoscuito while she was pregnant, which had nearly caused a miscarriage and her own death, supported by separate affidavits. When Riconoscuito was providing such testimony in the past, she sought to have the affidavit sealed and made her allegation in camera (closed session) out of fear for her life and that the Mason County authorities placed her life in jeopardy by putting the affidavit into the public record.
The three year old warrant is based on an action taken when the courts gave custody of the children to the father without notifying Riconoscuito, she had already fled after the beating. The custody order was set aside, however. So another order was issued, this time not only providing the ex-husband with custody but also assigning real estate and insurance entitlements to her ex-husband.
Riconoscuito is claiming there is no valid warrant. On April 7, 1989, Riconoscuito's ex-husband stated he did not want custody of the children. Riconoscuito is charging that her arrest was a method to intimidate her present husband, Michael Riconoscuito. Michael Riconoscuito was scheduled to testify on November 18, 1992, before the Federal Grand Jury impaneled to investigate the Inslaw case. Roberta Riconoscuito was arrested in Napa on November 17, she had been residing here for nearly a year and her children were enrolled in local schools.
by Harry V. Martin
The long ordeal in Napa has ended and a new one begins in Mason County, Washington for Roberta Riconoscuito. This week Riconoscuito was sent back to Napa County Jail awaiting extradition to the State of Washington. But there is still a possibility of Federal intervention.
Despite the fact that Riconoscuito had sought the protection of the Federal court system, the Napa courts ruled that despite legal rulings, it was not bound to vacate her case. Ironically, Riconoscuito was jailed one week before a Federal court was to hear her petition to take over jurisdiction of the case.
Riconoscuito is asking the Federal Court to grant a temporary restraining order against the extradition proceedings and release her from any and all restrictions imposed on her liberty by State officials. However, by mid-week a Writ of Habeas Corpus had been filed in the U.S. District Court in San Francisco. The Writ seeks the immediate release of Riconoscuito and a transferring of the case from State court to Federal court.
The Writ charges that the Mason County arrest warrant was in "retaliation for her willingness to testify against certain criminal activity in which State (of Washington) officials were involved.
It has been four months since the arrest in Napa of Riconoscuito on a three-year-old State of Washington warrant for custodial interference. Riconoscuito was arrested on the eve of her husband's testimony to a specially convened Federal Grand Jury in Chicago investigating the Inslaw case. She was originally held without bail. Three of her four children were shipped off to their father without a formal court hearing.
On nearly a weekly basis, Riconoscuito appeared in Napa courts attempting to prevent her extradition to the State of Washington. It was in Mason County, Washington, that Riconoscuito testified in a child molestation scandal that saw the arrest of a member of the Sheriff's Department, the head of the County Republicans, and members of the court system. These individuals were closely associated with her ex-husband. Riconoscuito also testified to a Riverside County (California) Grand Jury on the murder of a Cabazon Indian leader and two of his friends in execution style. The key suspect in that murder was her ex-husband's lifelong friend.
The procedures that the Napa court system had to apply to the case included a hearing identifying Riconoscuito as Roberta Peterson, her name when married in Mason County, Washington; and then a wait for the Governor of California to issue a warrant for her extradition. The long wait for the Governor's extradition order ended this week, it was issued. Under the warrant Riconoscuito should have been jailed immediately pending being transferred to the State of Washington. But the Napa court allowed Riconoscuito free for another week until the Napa County District Attorney's Office could prove to the court that Riconoscuito's case should remain in the jurisdiction of Napa and the State court system.
Riconoscuito filed a petition in the United States District Court for the Northern California District. Riconoscuito's court action was to remove her case from the local courts and transfer it to federal jurisdiction. Riconoscuito cited 28 USC ¤ 1441, which states, "Except as otherwise expressly provided by Act of Congress, any civil action brought in a State court of which the district court of the United States have original jurisdiction, may be removed by the defendant or the defendants, to the district court of the United States..." The law states that the Federal District Court "acquires jurisdiction as of the time of the filing of the petition in the federal court."
Riconoscuito states in her federal court document that her ex-husband, Steven Peterson "was involved in criminal activity, including, but not limited to, sexual abuse and the conspiracy to murder Fred Alvarez, a member of the Cabazon Indian Nation in Indio, California. That Riconoscuito was seeking to enter the California Witness Protection Program because (of) her willingness to testify about the criminal activity of Peterson." The petition also alleges that Peterson beat Riconoscuito while she was pregnant, which had nearly caused a miscarriage and her own death, supported by separate affidavits. When Riconoscuito was providing such testimony in the past, she sought to have the affidavit sealed and made her allegation in camera (closed session) out of fear for her life and that the Mason County authorities placed her life in jeopardy by putting the affidavit into the public record.
The three year old warrant is based on an action taken when the courts gave custody of the children to the father without notifying Riconoscuito, she had already fled after the beating. The custody order was set aside, however. So another order was issued, this time not only providing the ex-husband with custody but also assigning real estate and insurance entitlements to her ex-husband.
Riconoscuito is claiming there is no valid warrant. On April 7, 1989, Riconoscuito's ex-husband stated he did not want custody of the children. Riconoscuito is charging that her arrest was a method to intimidate her present husband, Michael Riconoscuito. Michael Riconoscuito was scheduled to testify on November 18, 1992, before the Federal Grand Jury impaneled to investigate the Inslaw case. Roberta Riconoscuito was arrested in Napa on November 17, she had been residing here for nearly a year and her children were enrolled in local schools.
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Re: The Napa Sentinel, by Harry V. Martin
by admin » Thu Apr 28, 2016 11:40 pm
Bush Made Deal With Iranians, Pilot Says
by Harry V. Martin
Copyright FreeAmerica and Harry V. Martin, 1995
EXCLUSIVE TO THE NAPA SENTINEL
Navy flier testifies he flew Bush to Paris for deal to block release of hostages
A BAC 111 aircraft, which had been reconfigured to carry a sufficient amount of fuel to travel 3,600 miles, left Andrews Air Force Base in the late afternoon of October 19, 1980. The aircraft's destination: Paris, France. The Passengers aboard the aircraft included the command pilot U.S. Navy Captain Gunther Russbacher, Richard Brenneke and Heinrick Rupp, on the flight deck; and in the cabin was William Casey, soon to be the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; Donald Greggs, soon to be the ambassador to South Korea; and George Bush, the future Vice President and President of the United States and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency. There were also Secret Service agents aboard the aircraft.
This is the weekend - three weeks before the November 1980 Presidential Election, that Bush has claimed he spent at Andrews Air Force Base.
Testifying to this flight is Russbacher, the pilot. The Navy pilot is currently at Terminal Island, a federal prison, awaiting an appeal on a charge of misuse and misappropriation of government properties, misuse of government jets, and misuse of government purchase orders for purchase of fuel. He was also a member of the Office of Naval Intelligence and worked with the Central Intelligence Agency. Russbacher's alias is Robert A. Walker. Russbacher now becomes the second crew member of that flight to testify to this clandestine episode that may have changed the politics of this nation and which has been labeled the "October Surprise". Brenneke was upheld by a Federal jury when he testified about the flight. After his testimony he was charged by the Federal Government with perjury, but a Federal jury acquitted him upholding his testimony that the flight actually took place. The trial was held in Portland, Oregon last year.
Russbacher, in an exclusive interview, states that Bush stayed at the Hotel Crillion in Paris. Russbacher has stated that more than one flight was involved, but that this was the initial flight at which time an agreement was made between Bush and Casey and the Government of Iran to delay the release of American hostages in Iran until after the November 1980 election. Former President Jimmy Carter and several Congressmen are now asking for an investigation into the "October Surprise".
According to Russbacher statements, Bush stayed only a couple of hours. He attended a meeting at the Hotel Crillion and at the Hotel George V. Russbacher, Brenneke, and Rupp stayed at the Hotel Florida. Bush did not return on the same BAC 111 aircraft or return with some of the people he had flown with to Paris, but instead Russbacher flew him back in the SR71. The aircraft was refueled about 1800 to 1900 nautical miles into the Atlantic by a KCl35.
The returning flight with Bush landed at McGuire Air Force base at approximately 2 a.m. on October 20. Russbacher states that Bush, while in Paris, met with Hashemi Rafsanjani, the second in command to the Ayatollah and now the president of Iran, and Adnan Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian businessman who was extremely powerful. Arrangements were apparently made to pay Iran $40 million to delay the release of hostages in order to thwart President Jimmy Carter's re-election bid. The $40 million was the beginning of terms that created the Iran-Contra scandal that is now being reopened by Congress.
Russbacher is concerned for his life, but feels that the other pilots will now come forward in a new Congressional investigation. He indicates that there is a growing division within the Central Intelligence Agency. There is no one higher than the CIA, but there are groups within the company (term used by insiders for the CIA) that are very, very strong. And the group or clique that I belonged to, in my opinion, was probably the strongest but there are other factions that are at war with themselves, Russbacher states." You have these groups that are answerable to no one. Well, they are answerable to one man, on top, and he doesn't seem to care how the problems are resolved, just as long as they are taken care of." The man Russbacher is referring to is President Bush.
On the eve of an announcement of a Congressional investigation into the October Surprise, Russbacher was to have taken a helicopter trip with Navy Intelligence officers, but he did not take the trip. The helicopter carrying several Naval Intelligence officers was reported to have crashed near or on Fort Ord in California. Russbacher, who was willing to tape this interview, states that had he been on the helicopter he would be dead right now. In fact, because of that crash, Russbacher wanted this interview taped for safety reasons.
He believes that the other aircrew members are in danger, as well, but feels that they are ready to come forward and testify, as did Brenneke last year.
by Harry V. Martin
Copyright FreeAmerica and Harry V. Martin, 1995
EXCLUSIVE TO THE NAPA SENTINEL
Navy flier testifies he flew Bush to Paris for deal to block release of hostages
A BAC 111 aircraft, which had been reconfigured to carry a sufficient amount of fuel to travel 3,600 miles, left Andrews Air Force Base in the late afternoon of October 19, 1980. The aircraft's destination: Paris, France. The Passengers aboard the aircraft included the command pilot U.S. Navy Captain Gunther Russbacher, Richard Brenneke and Heinrick Rupp, on the flight deck; and in the cabin was William Casey, soon to be the Director of the Central Intelligence Agency; Donald Greggs, soon to be the ambassador to South Korea; and George Bush, the future Vice President and President of the United States and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency. There were also Secret Service agents aboard the aircraft.
This is the weekend - three weeks before the November 1980 Presidential Election, that Bush has claimed he spent at Andrews Air Force Base.
Testifying to this flight is Russbacher, the pilot. The Navy pilot is currently at Terminal Island, a federal prison, awaiting an appeal on a charge of misuse and misappropriation of government properties, misuse of government jets, and misuse of government purchase orders for purchase of fuel. He was also a member of the Office of Naval Intelligence and worked with the Central Intelligence Agency. Russbacher's alias is Robert A. Walker. Russbacher now becomes the second crew member of that flight to testify to this clandestine episode that may have changed the politics of this nation and which has been labeled the "October Surprise". Brenneke was upheld by a Federal jury when he testified about the flight. After his testimony he was charged by the Federal Government with perjury, but a Federal jury acquitted him upholding his testimony that the flight actually took place. The trial was held in Portland, Oregon last year.
Russbacher, in an exclusive interview, states that Bush stayed at the Hotel Crillion in Paris. Russbacher has stated that more than one flight was involved, but that this was the initial flight at which time an agreement was made between Bush and Casey and the Government of Iran to delay the release of American hostages in Iran until after the November 1980 election. Former President Jimmy Carter and several Congressmen are now asking for an investigation into the "October Surprise".
According to Russbacher statements, Bush stayed only a couple of hours. He attended a meeting at the Hotel Crillion and at the Hotel George V. Russbacher, Brenneke, and Rupp stayed at the Hotel Florida. Bush did not return on the same BAC 111 aircraft or return with some of the people he had flown with to Paris, but instead Russbacher flew him back in the SR71. The aircraft was refueled about 1800 to 1900 nautical miles into the Atlantic by a KCl35.
The returning flight with Bush landed at McGuire Air Force base at approximately 2 a.m. on October 20. Russbacher states that Bush, while in Paris, met with Hashemi Rafsanjani, the second in command to the Ayatollah and now the president of Iran, and Adnan Khashoggi, a Saudi Arabian businessman who was extremely powerful. Arrangements were apparently made to pay Iran $40 million to delay the release of hostages in order to thwart President Jimmy Carter's re-election bid. The $40 million was the beginning of terms that created the Iran-Contra scandal that is now being reopened by Congress.
Russbacher is concerned for his life, but feels that the other pilots will now come forward in a new Congressional investigation. He indicates that there is a growing division within the Central Intelligence Agency. There is no one higher than the CIA, but there are groups within the company (term used by insiders for the CIA) that are very, very strong. And the group or clique that I belonged to, in my opinion, was probably the strongest but there are other factions that are at war with themselves, Russbacher states." You have these groups that are answerable to no one. Well, they are answerable to one man, on top, and he doesn't seem to care how the problems are resolved, just as long as they are taken care of." The man Russbacher is referring to is President Bush.
On the eve of an announcement of a Congressional investigation into the October Surprise, Russbacher was to have taken a helicopter trip with Navy Intelligence officers, but he did not take the trip. The helicopter carrying several Naval Intelligence officers was reported to have crashed near or on Fort Ord in California. Russbacher, who was willing to tape this interview, states that had he been on the helicopter he would be dead right now. In fact, because of that crash, Russbacher wanted this interview taped for safety reasons.
He believes that the other aircrew members are in danger, as well, but feels that they are ready to come forward and testify, as did Brenneke last year.
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