The Napa Sentinel, by Harry V. Martin

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Fall 1992
by Harry V. Martin

* Certain high level U.S. Department of Justice officials and private individuals may have violated 12 different criminal laws, states a recently released report from Congress. Those crimes may include:

* Conspiracy to commit an offense.

* Officer of employee of the United States converting the property of another.

* Fraud.

* Wire fraud.

* Obstruction of proceedings before departments, agencies and committees.

* Tampering with a witness.

* Retaliation against a witness.

* Perjury.

* Interference with commerce by threats or violence.

* Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations.

* Transportation of stolen goods, securities, moneys.

* Receiving stolen goods.

These charges come from the U.S. House Committee on the Judiciary, chaired by Congressman Jack Brooks of Texas. The persons who the Committee indicates may have violated so many laws include:

* Former Attorney General Edwin Meese.

* U.S. Federal Judge Lowell Jensen (San Francisco).

* Former California Secretary of Health (in the Reagan governorship) Dr. Earl Bryan. (Bryan was also owner of United Press International.)

* Justice Department official C. Madison Brewer, project manager for software at the Justice Department.

* Justice Department Official Peter Videnieks.

The Committee report was released on September 10 involves the INSLAW case The main media has remained silent about the final report, which many consider to be bigger than Watergate. A special Grand Jury in Chicago has been impaneled to investigate the issue.

In March 1991, the Napa Sentinel was the first media on the West Coast to break the INSLAW story and conducted a thorough investigation of the case. At that time only the St. Louis Post Dispatch and the Washington Times carried articles on the case. The Congressional report parallels all the information the Sentinel published one-and-one-half years ago.

The case involves the misappropriation of sensitive computer software used to track criminal records and the witness protection program. The Justice Department was accused of "stealing" the software and selling it to various foreign countries including South Korea, Canada, Iraq, Israel and Australia.

The report documents allegations "that high level officials at the Department of Justice conspired to drive INSLAW into insolvency and steal the PROMIS software so it could be used by Dr. Earl Brian, a former associate and friend of then Attorney General Edwin Meese. Dr. Brian is a businessman and entrepreneur who owns or controls several businesses including Hadron, Inc., which has contracts with the Justice Department, CIA, and other agencies."

A Federal Judge ruled that the Department of Justice "acted willfully and fraudulently" and "took, converted and stole" INSLAW's Enhanced PROMIS by "trickery, fraud and deceit." The Judge who made that ruling was removed from the Bench under pressure from the Justice Department.

The Congressional report adds, "Suspicions of a Department of Justice conspiracy to steal INSLAW's PROMIS were fueled when Danny Casolaro, an investigative writer inquiring into those issues, was found dead in a hotel room in Martinsburg, West Virginia, where he was to meet a source that he claimed was critical to his investigation. Mr. Casolaro's body was found on August 10, 1991, with his wrists slashed numerous times. Following a brief preliminary investigation by local authorities, Mr. Casolaro's death was ruled a suicide." The Brook's Committee sought more detail on Casolaro's death from the FBI and two former Federal Organized Crime Strike Force prosecutors in Los Angeles who had information bearing on the Casolaro case.

FBI Special Agent Thomas Gates stated this year to the Committee that Casolaro claimed he had found a link between the INSLAW matter, the activities taking place at the Cabazon Indian Reservation, and a Federal investigation in which Special Agents Gates had been involved regarding organized crime influence in the entertainment industry. "Special Agent Gates stated that Mr. Casolaro had several conversations with Mr. Robert Booth Nichols in the weeks preceding his death. Mr. Nichols, according to documents submitted to a Federal court by the FBI, has ties with organized crime and the world of covert intelligence operations. When he learned of Mr. Casolaro's death, Special Agent Gates contacted the Martinsburg Police Department to inform them of the information he had concerning Mr. Nichols and Mr. Casolaro," the report states. "Based on the evidence collected by the committee, it appears that the path followed by Danny Casolaro in pursuing his investigation into the INSLAW matter brought him in contact with a number of dangerous individuals associated with organized crime and the world of covert intelligence operations. The suspicious circumstances surrounding his death had led some law enforcement professionals and others to believe that his death may not have been suicide. As long s the possibility exists that Danny Casolaro died as a result of his investigation into the INSLAW matter, it is imperative that further investigation be conducted."

The Committee admits that the Justice Department was uncooperative in the investigation, including the possible destruction of missing documents key to the investigation.

The Sentinel series of articles paralleled the investigation of Casolaro, from the Cabazon Indian reservation's manufacturing of weapons for the Contras and the conversion of the PROMIS software and the murder of an Indian leader, to the Nichols' families ties to organized crime, the Bryan connection and the cover-ups. One of the many key sources the Sentinel used was Michael Riconosciuto, the same major source used by Casolaro. When Riconosciuto volunteered to testify before the Congressional Committee he warned that the Justice Department would arrest him. One week after his affidavit to Congressman Brooks Riconosciuto was arrested and has been in jail ever since.

Riconosciuto is currently in Chicago testifying to the special Grand Jury on the INSLAW case.

The Congressional Committee states in its findings:

* The Department ignored INSLAW's data rights to its enhanced version of its PROMIS software and misused its prosecutorial and litigative resources to legitimatize and coverup its misdeeds.

* Several witnesses, including former Attorney General Elliot Richardson, have provided testimony, sworn statements or affidavits linking high level Department officials to a conspiracy to steal INSLAW'S PROMIS software and secretly transfer PROMIS to Dr. Brian.

* The reviews of the INSLAW matter by Congress were hampered by Department tactics designed to conceal many significant documents and otherwise interfere with an independent review.

* The Justice Department continues to improperly use INSLAW's proprietary software in blatant disregard of the findings of two courts and well established property law.

* Further investigation into the circumstances surrounding Daniel Casolaro's death is needed.

* Several key documents subpoenaed by the committee on July 25, 1991, were reported missing or lost by the Department. It was impossible to ascertain how many documents or files were missing because the Department did not have a complete index of the INSLAW material. The Department failed to conduct a formal investigation to determine whether the subpoenaed documents were stolen or "illegally destroyed".

The Congressional report totally supports the lengthy series the Sentinel commenced to publish in March 1991. In fact, no aspect of the Congressional report was overlooked in the Sentinel series, including suspicion about the death of Casolaro, and many areas not covered in the report were in the newspaper series.

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Federal Corruption: Inslaw
by Harry V. Martin

EDITOR'S NOTE: When discussing the widespread corruption in the federal Bankruptcy Courts, it is difficult to focus on just the Northern California jurisdiction. This new series will focus on the extent of the corruption throughout the nation and its linkage to various courts.

When the U.S. Government sent Anthony Souza to Northern California to investigate what government officials called "the dirtiest system" in the United States, it was aware that the entire bankruptcy system is unraveling. Former LendVest Trustee Charles Duck was the main focal point of Souza's investigation-even though a local bankruptcy judge called him the most "honest man" he had ever known. Duck's ties to bankruptcy judges throughout the Bay Area is providing a picture of intense corruption going deep inside the law enforcement agencies. Even Souza admits privately that his hands are tied.

There has been one known murder in Northern California that has strong possible links to the bankruptcy system. There have been several more in Texas. This series will focus on different incidents from various parts of the country.

One of the most bizarre cases of corruption in the bankruptcy system involves a small Washington-based computer software firm called INSLAW. In 1982 the firm signed a three year contract for $10 million with the U.S. Department of Justice. The software program INSLAW developed was a case-management computer program called PROMIS. The software, which was developed by Bill Hamilton, enabled the U.S. attorneys to keep track of information on cases, witnesses and defendants, and to manage their caseloads more effectively.

Though the U.S. Attorney's Office placed the PROMIS program into operation in several of its offices, it refused to pay Hamilton. Subsequently Hamilton was forced into the bankruptcy court. Former U.S. Attorney General Elliot Richardson, representing Hamilton, advised him to sue the Justice Department for stealing his software.

Anthony Pasciuto, who was the deputy director of the Executive Office for U.S. Trustees, which oversees bankruptcy estates on behalf of the court, had stated that the Justice Department was improperly applying pressure on his office to convert INSLAW's Chapter 11 reorganization into a Chapter 7 liquidation, which would mean that all company assets, including the rights to PROMIS would be sold at auction.

U.S. Trustee Cornelius Blackshear corroborated Pasciuto's story. Two days after he was visited by Justice Department officials, Blackshear issued a sworn affidavit recanting his earlier testimony.

The Justice Department recommended that Pasciuto be fired. The memo seeking his dismissal reads "But for Mr. Pasciuto's highly irresponsible actions, the Department would be in a much better litigation posture than it presently finds itself."

Federal Bankruptcy Judge George F. Bason, Jr., ruled in 1987 that the Justice Department had acted illegally in trying to put INSLAW out of business. Bason sent Edwin Meese a letter recommending that he designate an appropriate outside official to review the dispute because of the prima facie evidence of perjury by Justice Department officials, Meese did not respond.

Later that year after nearly three weeks of trial, Bason ruled in favor of INSLAW in its suit against the Justice Department. "The department (of Justice) took, converted, stole INSLAW's software by trickery, fraud and deceit," the judge stated, adding, "the Justice Department engaged in an outrageous, deceitful, fraudulent game of cat and mouse, demonstrating contempt for both the law and any principle of fair dealing." Judge Bason ordered the Justice Department to pay INSLAW $6.8 million. Bason's verdict was upheld on appeal by U.S. District Court Judge William B. Bryant. Three months after Bason's ruling, he was denied re-appointment to the bankruptcy court.

Hamilton's trouble began when a friend of Meese attempted to buy out INSLAW, but Hamilton turned him down. In a court document, the potential buyer is quoted as saying, "We have ways of making you sell." It was after that the trouble for INSLAW began.

The Senate Permanent Subcommittee on investigations, chaired by Senator Sam Nunn, began an investigation into the INSLAW case. Once the inquiry got under way, the Senate Judiciary Committee's chief investigator, Ronald LeGrand, received a phone call from an unnamed senior officer at the Justice Department, a person LeGrand has known for years. The caller told LeGrand that the "INSLAW case was a lot dirtier for the Department of Justice than Watergate had been, both in its breadth and its depth."

The Nunn Committee completed its investigation and published its report. It recognized that INSLAW has been a victim of the system and stated that "the Justice Department had been uncooperative, refusing to allow witnesses to testify without representatives of the litigation division being present to advise them. The effect of their presence was to intimidate those who might otherwise have cooperated with the investigation." The report states, "The staff learned through various channels of a number of Department employees who desired to speak to the Subcommittee, but who chose not to out of fear for their jobs."

Congressman Jack Brooks of Texas has opened a new investigation into the INSLAW case. Brooks is investigating allegations that Justice Department officials, including Meese, conspired to force INSLAW into bankruptcy in order to deliver the firm's software to a rival company. The rival firm, according to court records and law enforcement officials, was headed by Earl W. Brian, a former Cabinet officer under then California Governor Ronald Reagan and a longtime friend of several high-ranking Republican officials. Meese had accepted a $15,000 interest-free loan from Brian. Meese's wife was an investor in the rival company. This is the same company that allegedly sought to buy INSLAW from Hamilton and made the alleged threat.

What happened to PROMIS?

* The program is in use throughout the nation and has been used also for military intelligence information. It has the ability to track troop movements.

* An official of the Israeli government claims Brian sold the PROMIS program to Iraqi military intelligence at a meeting in Santiago, Chile. The software could have been used in the recent Persian Gulf War to track U.S. and allied troop movements. Ari Ben-Menashe, a 12 year veteran of Israeli intelligence, made the statement in a sworn affidavit to the court.

* The software is now operative with the CIA, the National Security Agency, the Defense Intelligence Agency, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Only the Justice Department is authorized by the court to use the software.

* Brian now claims he acquired the property rights to the software and consummated a sale to Israel, although he had allowed its use by the Israeli intelligence forces for as many as five years before the actual sale.

In essence, a small company in Washington developed a very sensitive computer program which the Justice Department obtained. The courts ruled in favor of the developer and the judge who made the ruling was never re-appointed. The software was acquired by a friend of Meese and the Justice Department has never paid for its use and has allowed other agencies the right of its use.

The bankruptcy court was a tool, as it appears to be with other jurisdictions, to support the economic gain of a few. Charles Duck was not alone, as the record will prove.

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French Connection, The Smoking Gun
by Harry V. Martin
Sixth in a Series
Copyright, Napa Sentinel, 1991

If Bush went to Paris, the French and U.S. have documents to prove it

If there is a smoking gun in the allegations that George Bush flew to Paris in October 1980 to arrange for the delay of the release of 52 American hostages, it will be found in a file cabinet in the French SDECE office, or in secure U.S. government computers.

While Bush was allegedly in Paris, the French intelligence service (SDECE) was asked to make certain the Vice Presidential candidate was not seen. French security succeeded in that task and wrote a routine memo on the incident. A man who spent 18-years in the U.S. intelligence service has testified that he actually saw that memo in December 1980 in the files of the C.I.A. The file of the Paris meeting was given to the CIA on November 18, 1980. The agent testifies that Bush had to meet with three different factions of the Iranian revolution. The meeting took place at the Rafael Hotel. The agent not only names Bush, but also William Casey, Donald Gregg and Richard Allen as participants. Bush did not attend the first meeting, only the second.

Afraid that Bush would be recognized by the French press, his aircraft landed at the military part of Orlee. He was whisked away in a closed car and brought directly to the Rafael Hotel. He was there for about two hours, the agent states. This agent has the highest CIA clearance and worked the entire time in the Directorate of Operations in the CIA and was with the Agency since 1965. The agent also testified that the $40 million the Iranians received as a "down payment" in the deal was actually funds left over from a $60 million illegal contribution to the Committee to Reelect the President (Richard Nixon's 1972 reelection campaign) from the Shah of Iran.

In a taped interview, to be released by the Napa Sentinel to KING Radio in Seattle, the agent states that Bush was "out of the loop" from midnight, October 18, 1980 to 5 p.m., October 19. He states that Bush was in a meeting with Hashemi Rafsanjani, representatives of the Ayatollah Behisti, and Javad Bahonar. A key figure was also there for the French SDECE, Robert Benes, the son of Czech President Edward Benes who died in 1948 when the Communists took over his country.

The agent further testifies that Maurice Stans obtained the funds from Mexico. After November 20, 1980. Col. Alexandre de Marenches, head of the SDECE met with President-elect Ronald Reagan in California and presented the Paris meeting report to him. He did not visit President Jimmy Carter. The French intelligence chief warned Reagan not to trust the CIA.

The U.S. agent said Bush and the CIA go back to 1959 and 1960. A memo from FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover was sent in 1963 to CIA agent George Bush addressing the assassination of John F. Kennedy and the possible reaction of Cubans in Miami who might have believed Fidel Castro was responsible for the plot.

But that is not the only smoking gun that could prove the Bush trip to Paris, a trip that he denies. The computers in Washington have codes buried in them, codes that would identify the Bush-Paris activity. In fact, using the right code name and code number, a complete history of the trip, the manifest of the aircraft and other details, including briefing notes, would emerge. According to three separate CIA sources, the operation was conducted in three stages and had three codes:

Part One was Magdelen.

Part Two was Maggellan.

Part Three was Michaelangelo.

Each has a separate code access. The Maggellan access code is reported to be 0221-001-666. Some of the records can be found at Quantico and others at Andrews Air Force Base. The source of this later information could not be double checked.

Navy Captain Gunther Russbacher, who has been verified by several separate agency members and intelligence sources, claims he flew Bush to Paris in a aircraft owned by the Saudi Royal Family, the aircraft was a reconfigured BAC-111, which refueled in Newfoundland. Russbacher's credibility has been a see-saw for awhile because much of his files are missing, and like many agents has a strange and sometimes silent past. Russbacher, is currently serving a short sentence in Terminal Island for allegedly impersonating a U.S. Attorney. The U.S. Defenders Office indicates that the information published about Russbacher is "on the right track". Others have confirmed the same thing.

But the Sentinel has not been totally satisfied with the complete testimony of Russbacher and has pressed other sources and Russbacher, himself, for more detail. Records will now prove that Russbacher is the cousin of Richard Brennecke, who was acquitted of perjury by a federal jury. He was charged with perjury when he testified that Bush went to Paris. Brennecke originally denied knowing Russbacher, but now admits he knows him. They virtually grew up in Nevada together after their families secretly left Austria after World War II and were recruited by U.S. intelligence. Russbacher identified Brennecke as a member of the flight crew.

One of the difficulties in tracing the steps of CIA agents is the smoke screen, disinformation and attacks on their credibility. The Sentinel has learned that Russbacher escaped from a U.S. Federal Prison in Secoville, Texas in 1975. On national radio, Russbacher openly admitted the escape and said he was placed on the escape list and spent 10 years in Europe and the United States, working with the CIA. The fact that he has been in the United States and the focus of public attention, he has never been rearrested for the escape. But sources very high up in the intelligence community verify his authenticity.

After receiving information from other sources and pressing Russbacher, he has confirmed the reports of other intelligence officials that Robert Gates was also on the aircraft that flew Bush to Paris. "Gates had a strong hand in it," Russbacher finally admitted. Russbacher, who did not originally seek publicity on this case, was very reluctant to bring in Gates' name. Gates has just been appointed by President Bush to head the CIA and is facing Senate confirmation. Intelligence sources indicate that Russbacher is a key figure in CIA financial matters.

The smoking guns are out there, it is a question of whether they will be found or destroyed. The French have a bitter hatred for the CIA and it is plausible they might use the French report to blackmail the President, especially on matters related to the new European Community and Common Market.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Because some of this information has been verbal or on tape, the Sentinel cannot attest to the complete accuracy in the spelling of some names.

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Hard Decision: Napa Judge Must Decide What to Do With Wife of a Key Federal Witness
by Harry V. Martin
Copyright, Napa Sentinel, 1992

From the Halls of Congress, to the Cabazon Indian Reservation, to a Federal Grand Jury in Chicago, many eyes are focused on what Napa Municipal Court Judge John Quigley will do.

Judge Quigley must decide whether or not Roberta Peterson Riconoscuito is extradited to the State of Washington. Riconoscuito was arrested in Napa on Thursday, November 12 near Vintage High School on an out-of-state warrant for custodial interference. It is a simple enough judicial case, if child custody were the real issue, but it isn't. The Judge reduced her bail from $50,000 to $7,500 and she was bailed out Monday from Napa County Jail. He also moved the hearing date to Monday, December 7, allowing her two weeks to gather up her paper work.

Held without bail on November 12, Riconoscuito was later allowed to have bail, $50,000 worth. The Napa County Probation Department this week has recommended bail be reduced to $7500. Riconoscuito's first arraignment on November 13 was held under unusually strict security. A rumor had been circulated that a violent attempt would be made to rescue her. Rumor was also spread throughout the jail that Riconoscuito had severely beaten her child, because of that rumor Riconoscuito was locked up in protective custody. The inmates, however, later retracted their threats of harm to Riconoscuito when they learned the rumors were totally unfounded. Three of the Riconoscuito's children are now with their father and the other is with family friends.

Strangely enough, the Napa County Probation report indicates that the Riconoscuito's children were well cared for, that the father knew at all times where Riconoscuito was located and that he is willing to return the children to her once she becomes settled. The report indicates Riconoscuito is no danger to the community.

Riconoscuito, the mother of four children, is caught in a national whirlwind that is drowning her and her children. She has been a key witness to the murder of an Indian leader of the Cabazon Tribe, and also has testified against law enforcement officials in the State of Washington. She has also cooperated with the F.B.I. on ritual child abuse issues in Washington.

Riconoscuito's husband, Michael, is currently in jail in Chicago waiting to testify before a Federal Grand Jury investigating one of the biggest scandals in the U.S. Justice Department History, what some judges and congressmen refer to as "dirtier than Watergate". Michael has told the Sentinel this weekend that he will refuse to testify before the Grand Jury until his wife is safe. He does not have a problem with her being in Napa, but he fears her extradition to Washington.

There are two major facets to this very complicated case involving Riconoscuito and her husband. One is the domestic issue, itself, and the other involves government corruption at the highest levels including at least two murders.

The out-of-state warrant involves the domestic side of the issue. In 1987, Riconoscuito and her former husband Steve Peterson had a custody battle. A temporary court decree gave Peterson custody of their two children, but it was later revoked. On January 31, 1989, the Oregon State Police sided with Riconoscuito and refused to remove her children, despite Peterson's request that they be picked up. Riconoscuito has never received any court documents taking custody of her children away. Suddenly, on November 12 she is arrested on a three year old warrant. Strangely enough, that warrant was allegedly issued on January 26, 1989 and the Oregon State Police did not find it to be legitimate five days later.

But more at stake for Riconoscuito was the question of alleged spousal abuse. Psychological records indicate that Peterson apparently severely beat his wife while she was pregnant and she almost lost the child. She fled to Texas after recovering in the hospital and later had the baby, almost losing her life in child birth. The children were also allegedly abused by Peterson. Riconoscuito fled for her safety and the safety of her children.

But even more complicating is the fact that Peterson's life-long friend from boyhood is the prime suspect in the murder of three people in Southern California. Riconoscuito was called before the Riverside Grand Jury to testify in that case. F.B.I. records indicate that the murder suspect is a hired killer who has been paid to kill either Riconoscuito or her husband, an effort to prevent his critical testimony before the Grand Jury. Criminal records in the state Attorney General's Office also verify that both Riconoscuito and her husband are at risk and should be protected. But the federal government, deeply involved in the Justice Department scandal, has been able to block any Grand Jury indictments and thus Riconoscuito and her husband remain at risk without law enforcement protection.

The Napa County Human Services Department may have made a fatal error already, having released three children to Peterson. They are now in the State of Washington in his home, the children could be used as leverage to prevent Riconoscuito's husband from testifying to the Federal Grand Jury. The testimony he supplied to the U.S. House Judicial Committee has been considered valid by the Congress. Riconoscuito's husband was the computer "whiz kid" of the CIA. Though the government fears his testimony, they need to keep him alive because he maintains critical computer codes in his head that would release billions of hidden dollars in CIA accounts all over the globe.

The Sentinel has also learned that a $2900 airline ticket was purchased in the State of Washington under Riconoscuito's name. The airline ticket was for foreign travel. Based on this information, the warrant was pushed by the same federal agent that arrested her husband after her husband had testified to Congress on the INSLAW case. Riconoscuito was homeless at the time of the airline ticket purchase, she was living with friends in American Canyon and had just been released from the Martinez Hospital. She had no funds nor where-with-all to purchase $2900 worth of airline tickets. She has been living secretly in Napa for 10 months.

Despite the fact that she was in hiding, an "800" number had been supplied to her former husband so that he could keep in touch with the children. He never used the number, according to Riconoscuito.

The U.S. House Judiciary Committee is now aware of Riconoscuito's arrest. They apparently are stepping into her husband's case and he may be released from prison on trumped up drug charges by Christmas. What action the Congress will take to protect Riconoscuito is not known at this time.

Michael Riconoscuito was a computer expert for the Central Intelligence Agency, he was their Einstein. There was nothing he couldn't do with a computer, for good or for bad. But he had many secrets and he began to see the ruthlessness of his colleagues. Michael Riconoscuito decided to testify about massive corruption in the U.S. Justice Department and the intelligence agency. He agreed to provide his insider knowledge to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee investigating the INSLAW affair. He also gave his testimony to a Federal Bankruptcy Court which ruled that the Justice Department was deceitful, stole a $6 million software package. The INSLAW case was considered by members of Congress and the Federal Bankruptcy Judge to be dirtier than "Watergate". In fact, the Judge was removed from the bench after 14 years because of his ruling against the Justice Department.

Michael Riconoscuito, in providing his testimony, warned Congress and the Courts that he had been threatened should he testify he would be arrested and his wife would lose a custody battle involving her children by a former marriage. The threats were carried in the Washington Times, St. Louis Post Dispatch and the Napa Sentinel. Within a week of Riconoscuito's testimony he was arrested by Federal Agents. Even while under arrest, he was subpoenaed to testify before a U.S. Federal Grand Jury seated to hear the INSLAW case. On Thursday, November 12, Michael Riconoscuito made a declaration to the court. After the declaration was filed his wife, Bobbie, was arrested, in Napa. Bobbie was arrested on a Washington warrant, charged with custodial interference. The warrant was three years old and it actually may be invalid inasmuch as Bobbie was never subpoenaed to appear before a custody suit after a temporary order giving custody of their children to the father was overturned years ago. When Bobbie was arraigned on Friday, heavy security was on hand and everyone was subject to electronic and personal search, a very unusual step associated with such a minor charge. She was being held without bail. Bail was finally set at $50,000. Bobbie had just delivered a letter to the Sentinel addressed to Congressman Jack Brooks and then a few minutes later she was arrested. Her arrest sparked interest with several national radio talk shows and some national media.

The federal agent who arrested Michael Riconoscuito after his Congressional declaration is the same agent who called the Napa County District Attorney's Office to have Bobbie arrested. The children voluntarily left with their father yesterday, but they indicated they felt it was only temporary.

After Michael Riconoscuito's arrest, Bobbie went into hiding, she and her family had been threatened and their home broken into. Both Bobbie and Michael Riconoscuito felt that the children were as much in danger as they were. Michael Riconoscuito possessed the knowledge that could destroy powerful forces in and out of Washington. In an August 1992 report from the Brooks Committee in Congress, Michael Riconoscuito is given high credibility for his testimony. The Congress, after reviewing the entire INSLAW case for nearly two years, asked for a Special Prosecutor. The Congressional report also was critical of the Justice Department's cover-ups, missing records and total lack of cooperation with Congressional requests and subpoenas.

Judge Quigley now has momentary control over the INSLAW case, something he has no knowledge about, but his decision could shape the direction of how the key witness testifies or doesn't testify. Yet, as a matter of pure law, Judge Quigley needs only to decide whether probable cause exists to extradite Riconoscuito in a domestic case. In the mean time, Michael Riconoscuito refused any further testimony to the Federal Grand Jury and refused to produce any further documents while his wife is under threat of extradition.

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House Judiciary Investigators Seek New Declaration
by Harry V. Martin
Sixth in a New Series
Copyright Napa Sentinel, 1991

Congressional investigators have flown to Tacoma, Washington, to interview Michael Riconoscuito - a key witness in the INSLAW case. Riconoscuito provided a damaging statement against the U.S. Justice Department in the stolen software case that potentially could become another Watergate.

Riconoscuito stated in his declaration that the U.S. Justice Department had threatened to have him arrested should he cooperate with the House Judiciary Committee investigation into the U.S. Justice Department's role in the INSLAW case. Two federal judges have ruled that the U.S. Justice Department stole INSLAW's PROMIS software and used "trickery and deceit" in the the case. One of those judges was not re-appointed to the bench after his ruling. The House Committee has already heard testimony that accuses the U.S. Justice Department of attempting to interfere with the courts in an effort to have INSLAW declared insolvent. Instead, the courts awarded INSLAW $6.8 million in damages.

Within eight days of Riconoscuito's declaration he was arrested and held without bail. Drug Enforcement Agency agents made the arrest. On Wednesday a Federal Grand Jury indicted Riconoscuito on one count of distribution of methanphetamines. He is still being held without bail. Whether or not the U.S. Department of Justice retaliated against Riconoscuito's willingness to testify before the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, the House investigators are questioning Riconoscuito at Kitsap County Correctional Center. One member of the investigation stated that the House Committee is deeply concerned with the timing of Riconoscuito's arrest, particularly after he signed an affidavit stating he was threatened with arrest if he did testify.

The Judiciary Committee is investigating allegations that top Justice Department officials under former Attorney General Edwin Meese engaged in a criminal conspiracy to steal software developed by INSLAW and then furnished it to other countries including, Iraq, Libya, South Korea, Israel and Canada.

Congressman Jack Brooks, chairman of the Committee, has accused the Justice Department of a cover-up by withholding more than 200 documents in the INSLAW case. A U.S. Bankruptcy judge ruled in 1987 that officials of the Justice Department stole the sensitive computer software, used to track criminals and also military movements, "through fraud, trickery and deceit". The ruling was later affirmed by another federal Judge.

Riconoscuito has a previous drug conviction for manufacturing PCP aboard a Seattle houseboat 18 years ago. Riconoscuito's declaration states that he was hired to modify INSLAW's PROMIS software so that it could be sold to Canada and other customers. During the time of modification, Riconoscuito was working on a joint venture with a private security firm and the Cabazon Indians in Indio, California. The joint venture also included military equipment and biological and chemical warfare weapons for use and/or sale in Central America and the Middle East.

One Indian and two companions who were opposed to these operations and who alleged that tribal money was being filtered into foreign banks, were found slain execution style in Ranch Mirage. No one has been arrested in the case. The sister of one of the slain men reported the Indian ties with the Iran-Contra scandal and the software modification. That report was delivered to a New York television studio seven years ago. She is now preparing all of it in declaration form and supplying it to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee investigation.

In other related matters, another affidavit was filed in the INSLAW case which reports that a man bought U.S. Justice Department computers and court computers for salvage and found the pirated PROMIS software program in the surplus computer. The General Accounting Office has expressed grave concern over the salvaged computers, noting that the U.S. Justice Department has sold surplus computers without first erasing sensitive information from the memory banks. "The error may have put some informants, witnesses and undercover agents in a 'life-and-death' situation," the GAO states. The data could include the names of government informants, federally protected witnesses and undercover agents, grand jury proceedings, sealed indictments, confidential FBI investigations and personal data about Justice Department employees. These computers were sold by the Justice Department for as little as $45. The man in Lexington, Kentucky, who found the pirated PROMIS software in the U.S. Justice Department surplus computer also found sealed grand jury indictments.

Charles Hayes was the man who bought the equipment in July 1990 for $45. He has now been sued by the U.S. Justice Department for the return of the computers, stating that the memory bank had not been erased. The U.S. Justice Department did not go after Hayes until after he signed an affidavit about the protected PROMIS software. It is not certain whether the U.S. Justice Department wants the sensitive material back or they want the computers to block them from being used as evidence against them in the INSLAW case. Hayes did return the equipment. This was not an isolated case. Another U.S. Attorney Office notified federal agents that again sensitive data that could potentially identify agents and witnesses may have been lost.

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How the Justice Department Used the Bankruptcy Court
by Harry V. Martin
Second of a New Series
Copyright Napa Sentinel, 1991

The corruption of the bankruptcy system is endemic of a political patronage system with its roots going back to former U.S. Attorney Edwin Meese, according to many former employees of the Department of Justice. The INSLAW case - reported last week in the Napa Sentinel - is a microcosm of the entire system.

As a result of the INSLAW cases, many heads in the Justice Department were lopped off. When Judge George Bason, a bankruptcy court judge, refused to liquidate INSLAW, ruling instead that the Department of Justice used deceit, trickery and fraud, he was only one of four who were not re-appointed to their jobs. A total of 132 were re-appointed.

But to show the collusion of the Justice Department, when it removed Judge Bason from the bench after his ruling against them and for INSLAW, they had S. Martin Teel appointed to the bench to replace Bason. Who was Teel? He was a Department of Justice attorney who unsuccessfully argued the INSLAW case before Judge Bason.

Tony Pasciuto admitted that he was ordered to pressure the bankruptcy judge to rule against INSLAW. After being subpoenaed by INSLAW's attorney, Pasciuto was offered a long-awaited transfer by the Justice Department from Washington, D.C. to Albany, New York. Pasciuto bought a home in Albany and then changed his testimony. After the testimony was completed, the Justice Department cancelled his transfer. Pasciuto had to commute from Albany to Washington.

Former Attorney General Elliott Richardson made a list of the baffling questions of why the Justice Department wanted INSLAW declared insolvent and why it wouldn't pay a $6.8 million settlement to the small company. INSLAW received an offer to sell their company and they refused. The buyer informed the company that he had powerful political influence and "We have ways of making you sell." Within 90 days of that threat, the Justice Department commenced its attack on INSLAW.

The company that made the attempt to buy INSLAW had financial connections to Meese and some of Meese's cronies. When the battle ended, INSLAW was broke, an attorney, a Justice Department whistle-blower and a judge were out to work, but INSLAW was saved by a corporate giant, IBM, who rescued the company virtually from the auction block.

The company that allegedly made the threat was Hadron. It has had brushes with the Security Exchange Commission, it has gone to the brink of being broke and one of its companies has been accused by the SEC of fraud and manipulation of stock prices, the company lost $4.3 million in one year. It soon sunk $12 million in the red.

But once Meese became Attorney General, Hadron suddenly received lucrative Pentagon contracts, along with the Agency for International Development. The company was also awarded a $40 million contract from the Justice Department, despite protests against the bidding process. One member of Hadron's board was Dr. Earl Brian, who was in Reagan's California cabinet along with Meese.

Meese was chief of staff in California. The Deputy Attorney General was D. Lowell Jensen, who had competed against INSLAW years earlier. The person in charge of making Justice Department payments for INSLAW's software, and who didn't, was an employee who had been fired from INSLAW. Jensen was also in trouble when the Senate was investigating the Iran-Contra scandal. Apparently the Senate committee discovered a memo written by Jensen to the National Security Council warning that the Miami federal prosecutors where on Ollie North's trail. The memo revealed that the Justice Department, who was supposed to prosecute the Iran-Contra affair, actually was tipping off the government in advance.

One Justice Department official testified at the INSLAW hearing that INSLAW's software could be dangerous. Thomas Stanton testified 'INSLAW could besmirch the U.S. Trustee program." The program is so sophisticated that it could trace all assets, track all trustees and judges. Another Justice Department employee stated that the U.S. Trustee program was flagrantly political. "It was a way of getting cronies into office. There would be 50 or 60 positions to be filledÉ it was Meese's baby." The official also stated, "It was always puzzling to me how he got away with what he got away with. He'd do things that were blatantly wrong and no one would question himÐ it's kind of scary."

The Meese program would concentrate too much power in one government department. "It's supposed to act as a watchdog over lawyers and trustees, but the problem is it's more. It has a considerable amount of power to control the administration of cases. When a case moves from bankruptcy to liquidation, the U.S. Trustees office names the trustee, who converts the assets, oversees the auction, and retains appraisers who will put a price tag on the leavings. The U.S. Trustee's program also links Justice and the IRS. The thing that's a little frightening about it is that the U.S. Trustee department sees itself as a part of the tax-collecting function of government. The Justice Department represents the IRS, and the IRS is often the biggest creditor in liquidation." states a leading bankruptcy attorney.

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Inslaw Case Gets Deeper and Uncovers More "Bodies"
by Harry V. Martin
Ninth in a New Series
Copyright Napa Sentinel, 1991

When Michael J. Riconoscuito signed his affidavit implicating the U.S. Justice Department in the theft and pirating of INSLAW's PROMIS software, he opened a can of worms that may never go away. Riconoscuito revealed in his affidavit that the CIA, U.S. Justice Department and the FBI all had links to the Cabazon Indians and to John Phillip Nichols and that the Indian reservation in Indio, California, was linked directly to the Contras. Those links resulted in the death of many people.

Riconoscuito also warned in his affidavit that he was going to be arrested if he cooperated with a U.S. Congressional probe of the Justice Department involving the pirated software. Within eight days of signing the affidavit, like clock work, Riconoscuito was arrested and held without bail for the U.S. Marshal. But not to be thwarted, investigators from the Congressional Judiciary Committee met and interviewed Riconoscuito.

Riconoscuito's statements, however, have sparked a new inquiry into the entire Wackenhut-Cabazon Indian joint venture and additional coverups by the U.S. Government over the stolen software, money laundering, Mafia ties and illegal shipments to the Contras. It was the U.S. Justice Department that warned Riconocuito not to speak out. His statements have also launched an investigation into the pirated software by the Canadian Government, as well.

One Indian and two companions who protested against the manufacturing of military equipment, including chemical and biological warfare, the alteration of the PROMIS software, and shipments to the Contras, were murdered execution style. The man who was used to transport the blood money from CIA operatives and the killers, has fled the country, but not before providing video taped testimony on the murders.

Implicated in the entire Wackenhut-Cabazon Justice Department affair, was a man called John Phillip Nichols. Nichols took over the Bingo Hall and later the reservation. The Cabazon Indians are an independent nation.

Nichols, who has been linked to Jimmy Hoffa and assassination attempts of Fidel Castro and Salvador AllendŽ, has strong Mafia ties. He has been convicted of soliciting murder.

Linda Streeter, the sister of Alfred Alvarez, the slain Indian, has asked the California Department of Justice to assign a special prosecution unit to investigate the case. The information on the murders has been forwarded to the Congressional Judiciary Committee now probing the U.S. Justice Department.

The Riverside County Grand Jury and the Riverside County District Attorney's Office have extensive testimony on the murders.

Even 20/20 has done a segment on the Indian involvement and the murders. Nichols is the one who persuaded the U.S. Government to provide the Cabazon Indians with military and security equipment.

Nichols' ties are oulined on page 304 of Inside Job, the Looting of America's Savings and Loans by Stephen Pizzo, Mary Fricker and Paul Muolo.

"At San Marino Savings in Southern California we heard about a major borrower, G. Wayne Reeder (who also attempted a couple of failed ventures with Herman Beebee), meeting in late 1981 at an arms demonstration with Raul Arana and Eden Pastora, Contra leaders who were considering buying military equipment from Reeder's Indian bingo-parlor partner, Dr. John Nichols. Among the equipment were night-vision goggles manufactured by Litton Industries and a light machine gun. Nichols, according to former Reeder employees and published accounts, had a plan in the early 1980's to build a munitions plant on the Cabazon Indian reservation near Palm Springs in partnership with Wackenhut, a Florida security firm. The plan fell through. Nichols was a self-described CIA veteran of assassination attempts against Castro in Cuba and AllendŽ in Chile. Authorities said he was a business associate of members of the Los Angeles Mafia. He was later convicted in an abortive murder-for-hire scheme and sentenced."

The intertwining mess of the U.S. Justice Department, FBI, CIA, former Attorney General Edwin Meese, Dr. Earl Brian, a former Reagan California Cabinet member, the Federal Bankruptcy Courts demonstrates a broad stroke of corruption throughout the higher echelons of government. Today, a Congressional Committee is attempting to sort everything out, but a Senate Committee once tried the same thing and was totally thwarted when the U.S. Justice Department refused to cooperate.

We have, in the past year, examined the CIA-Contras-Nazi-Banking connections, the CIA-Justice Department-Bankruptcy Court connections, and the CIA-Mafia-Drug connections. It is a never ending story.

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Israeli Agent Names Names, Sources Reveal Bank Transactions
by Harry V. Martin
Second in an Addendum
Copyright, Napa Sentinel, 1991

Ari Ben Menashe, a 12-year agent of the Mossad, Israel's equivalent to the CIA, is doing a lot of talking these days. Menashe provided an affidavit to Congress which claims that Earl Brian, a close friend of Ronald Reagan and Edward Meese brokered the illegal sale of INSLAW's copyrighted software in the Santiago, Chile office of Carlos Carduen in which Iraq was the principle buyer.

Menashe is now claiming that George Bush did go to Paris in October 1980 to make a deal with Iranians not to release 52 American hostages until after the election. Testimony of several agents on both sides of the Alantic indicate that the Israelis were instrumental in establishing a meeting between the Reagan-Bush campaign organization and three factions of the Iran revolutionary government.

Menashe says that he definitely saw Bush in Paris in October 1980. Menashe states that Earl Brian and Robert McFarlane went to Iran to set up meetings with the Iranians on the hostage issue. The Israeli intelligence officer indicates that Prime Minister Menachan Begin wrote a secret memo instructing his inner circle to work quietly with the Reagan-Bush campaign and the Iranians. Menashe says that he actually saw the memo.

According to Menashe, a series of three meetings were held in Spain between the Reagan-Bush campaign, represented by William Casey, and Iranian officials. There was a fourth meeting in Barcelona, while the first three meetings were held in Madrid.

Menashe claims that William Casey personally invited him to Paris in October. The invitation was also extended to the military intelligence of Israel and to the acting director of the Mossad. Six Israeli representatives were sent to Paris for the meetings, with explicit instructions not to participate but to just observe. Menashe indicates the meetings took place at the Ritz Hotel in Paris on one of the highest floors of the hotel. He said that he saw Bush, William Casey and key Iranian officials. Menashe states that the head of the French intelligence (SDECE), Hamid Nagashian, deputy director of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard, aides to high ranking Iranians, William Casey, George Bush, Richard Allen and Robert McFarlane were at the meeting.

The Sentinel received testimony late yesterday afternoon claiming that Bush was in Paris and presented a bank draft check for $40 million to the Iranians. The check was not left with the Iranians but was transferred to a Luxembourg bank. Here is the exact money route:

Funds came from the Committee to Reelect the President (Nixon campaign funds).

The funds, along with other CREEP money, came from Mexico.

The funds were transferred to Gibraltar Savings in the United States.

From there the funds were transferred to Atlantic Savings.

Then they were transferred to Cloten Bank.

The bank draft was sent with Bush to Paris and then placed in the Luxembourg bank.

The Atlantic account was under the name of Paul Hurt. William Jenson, who works with Bank of America, is alleged to have facilitated the transfer. Michael May of CREEP was the custodian of the funds and Roger Ailes allegedly played a key role in the transfer.

The source, already a key witness for Congress, indicates that Gunther Russbacher, the man who claims he flew Bush to and from Paris, is solidly legitimate and a key operative in the countermeasures field and ELITE, which is electronic surveillance and reconnaissance. The source also says that Richard Brenneke, another pilot who claims he flew the aircraft to Paris, is a very close associate and long time friend of Russbachers. Russbacher, according to this entrenched intelligence sourse, indicates that heis only one of six pilots authorized to fly the two-seater SR-71, the CIA's Blackbird.

The source also indicates that there are flight records at Andews Air Force Base showing that an SR-71 was flown into the base the night Russbacher claimed to have flown from Bush from Paris to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey in an SR-71. The flight log shows a SR-71 landed at Andrews from McGuire.

The source also indicates that there are three smoking guns to prove Bush went to Paris, each chiselled in marble, meaning non-destructible evidence. A special arrangement is being made to provide this information directly to Congress for a future investigation into the October Surprise.

The source also indicates that Menashe holds sufficient evidence on McFarlane to break the October Surprise case wide open.

According to Bob Woodward of the Washington Post, there was an Israeli-American agreement authorized which is still secret. It calls for counter-terrorist operations, which has been supervised by Lt. Col. Oliver North. This agreement, according to Woodword, was not known to Congress. The agreement was part of the Iran-Contra affair and has led to a series of covert actions.

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Israelis Are Blowing Whistle on Bush Administration
by Harry V. Martin
First of a Series

The thread is unwinding and the deeds and misdeeds of high U.S. Government officials are beginning to surface. But why has so much information concerning George Bush's trip to Paris, the Iran-Contra scandal, the growing INSLAW scandal all suddenly surfaced?

There have been too many double crosses involving the Central Intelligence Agency and Bush - international double crosses. At the heart of the problem are three nations, Iran, Iraq and Israel. The Bush Administration has been pushing a pro-Arab stance at the cost of Israel. In fact, according to court documents, the United States supported the manufacturing of chemical weapons by Iraq as a counterforce against Israel in the Middle East. The Bush Administration links to oil favored a more pro-Arab stand.

It began in early 1980, when pollsters for presidential candidate Ronald Reagan reported that if President Jimmy Carter was able to obtain freedom for 52 American hostages held in Iran, he would win the election. The Carter Administration was in negotiations with Iran at the time and a release looked promising. The Reagan-Bush campaign was wary of a possible "October Surprise" by the Carter Administration that would result in the early release of the American hostages. Actually, the Iranian government was tired of the hostage issue and wanted to have an early release. They were bickering over release of frozen assets or military replacement parts to support their squadrons of American fighters. At the same time, Iraq was threatening war against Iran. Carter also considered the possibility of a second rescue attempt, but American officials leaked that information to the Iranian government and they dispersed the hostages to many different locations.

Concerned with the possible election turnaround, officials of the Reagan-Bush campaign, notably John McFarland and William Casey, held meetings in Washington, D.C. at the Mayflower Hotel and in Madrid, Spain with representatives of the Iranian government. The concept of an arms-for-hostages deal was consummated. According to Israeli testimony, the Iranians were ready in September 1980 to release the hostages, but the Republican contingent did not want release until after the November 1980 elections. The meeting in Spain were sufficiently productive to warrant a final meeting in Paris between October 18 and October 22. It was at this meeting that agreement was reached on the hostage question and a payment of $40 million was made to the Iranian government through a Luxembourg bank.

Two pilots have now stated that Casey, Donald Gregg, who worked for the CIA under Bush, and Bush attended the meeting. They were flown out of Andrews Air Force Base late in the afternoon of October 19, 1980 Bush was returned, according to Navy pilot Captain Gunther Russbacher, after a few hours in Paris. Russbacher states he flew the SR71, the Blackbird, from Paris to McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey, arriving on October 20. Refueling was done 1800 to 1900 nautical miles over the Atlantic by a KC135.

Strangely enough, Bush made no public appearances during that time, three week's before the election, and has yet to prove where he was during the "missing" 21 hours. According to the pilot, Bush only stayed a few hours in Paris and was flown back to the United States. On October 21, the Iranians changed their entire negotiating position with the Carter Administration, the results of a completed deal with the Republicans.

The Israelis were the go-betweens, helping to establish the links between the Reagan-Bush people and the Iranians. The Israelis were used to ferry equipment to Iran, and in one case, an Argentine aircraft was shot down by the Soviet Union in Russian airspace. The aircraft, flown by Israelis, was carrying U.S. military equipment to Iran. Much of the equipment shipped to Iran, began weeks after Reagan took office, was stripped from NATO units in Europe and not from U.S. bases within the United States. The U.S. did not have a sufficient stockpile of arms in the country and resorted to taking weapons from the Reforger stockpile. Reforger was a massive military exercise (war game) staged in Europe with all NATO participating.

But once the Reagan-Bush team came to power, Bush began to push a pro-Arab position within the government, or, in essence, a pro-oil position. This irritated the Israelis and they felt the United States was beginning to betray them. Israel made a deal with the Soviet Union for closer relationships and also sought more Soviet Jews for immigration, thus keeping the Lukid Party in power. Israeli agents are the ones who broke the story of the Iran-Contra scandal in a Lebanese newspaper, as a retaliation against Bush. It is also the Israelis who witnessed arms deals, including the transfer of INSLAW's PROMIS software, in a Chilian meeting. The same names, Dr. Earl Brian and Donald Greggs come up in those testimonies.

The U.S. had also selected Iraq as the stabilizing or balancing Arab force in the Middle East. Israel and Iraq had a good working relationship, as did Iran and Israel. The U.S. also assisted in building up Iraq's chemical warfare base as a counter to Israeli military might. But Saddam Hussein began to show that he was not going to "follow orders" and thus the scenario of the recent Iraqi war unwound. But the U.S. does not want Hussein out of power.

Iran, in the meantime, is anti-Arab and anti-Jew, but has made accommodations with both segments of the Middle East.

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Israelis Hold the Key to October Surprise
by Harry V. Martin
An Addendum in Two Parts
Copyright, Napa Sentinel 1991

EDITOR'S NOTE: On Friday morning, the publisher of the Napa Sentinel said on a Houston radio talk show that if anyone could break the Bush-Paris allegations, it would be the Israelis. The following article is an addendum to the eleven part series run in the Sentinel since May 3.

If there is a smoking gun in the Bush-Paris affair, it will certainly have to come from the Israelis, they are the key to the entire October Surprise package. The Israelis initiated arms shipments to Iran as a counter to Iraq. When President Jimmy Carter ordered a halt to the Israeli weapons sales the Israelis may have set up the October Paris meeting that William Casey, Donald Gregg and George Bush allegedly attended in 1980.

The known facts leading up to this scenario are as follows:

1. In March 1980, a meeting took place at the Mayflower Hotel in Washington, attended by William Casey and Cyrus and Jamshid Hashemi. The two brothers were cooperating with the Carter administration, yet Casey told them he did not want President Carter to receive a political advantage by the release of 52 American hostages. Cyrus Hashemi reported the meeting to the CIA. He died suddenly after revealing the information.

2. In July 1980, Casey, a U.S. intelligence officer and Mehdi Karrubi (now speaker of the Iranian parliament) met in Madrid. Karrubi is reported to have agreed to cooperate with the delay in the release of American hostages.

3. On October 2, 1980, a meeting took place at the L'Enfant Plaza Hotel in Washington, D.C. The participants of that meeting including Richard Allen (later named head of President Ronald Reagan's National Security Council), Marine Lt. Col. Robert McFarlane (then an aide to Texas Senator John Tower and later a national security advisor to President Reagan), Lawrence Silberman (an aide to Allen and now a Federal Court of Appeals judge in Washington, D.C.), Iranian Jewish arms dealer Hushang Lavie.

In the alleged Paris meeting, those in attendance are reported to be:

George Bush, candidate for Vice President.

William Casey, Reagan's campaign manager.

Donald Gregg, a member of the CIA.

Manucher Ghorbanifar, an Iranian born Mossad agent and arms dealer.

Mohammad Ali Rajai, the future president of Iran.

Ali Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, the speaker of the Iranian parliament.

The Israelis, because of their role of mediator between the United States and Iran and also as the deliverers of U.S. weapons to Iran after the conclusion of the meetings, are believed to have arranged the meetings in the first place.

Right after the alleged Paris meeting, the Israelis sent a shipment of spare parts to Iran for their American-built F-104 fighters, which was in contravention of U.S. regulations requiring U.S. approval of any shipments of U.S.-made arms to third parties.

Right after the alleged Paris meeting, the Iranians not only backed away from negotiations with the Carter administration for the release of hostages, but they also dispersed the hostages throughout Iran to prevent a second rescue attempt, a rescue attempt that was apparently leaked to them from the Reagan campaign headquarters and probably by Richard Allen.

After the hostages were released on January 20, 1981, Israel signed an agreement to ship arms to Iran. Former Iranian President Bani Sadr has verified the Israeli shipments to Iran. Israeli Defense Minister Ariel Sharon has consistently stated that all Israeli shipments of arms to Iran were sanctioned by the U.S. government. In 1982, Israel's ambassador to the United States is quoted in the Boston Globe as stating Israeli arms shipments to Iran were sanctioned and coordinated by the United States government "at almost the highest level".

Several Israeli Mossad agents have come forward to indicate full knowledge of the Paris meeting and subsequent shipment of arms to Iran. One of those agents is Ari Ben Menashe. (His testimony is in part two of this addendum to the October Surprise series.)

If the Paris meeting did take place, the Israeli government may have been able to blackmail the Reagan and Bush administrations. Richard Curtiss writes in the Washington Report on Middle East Affairs, "Whenever the Reagan administration and the hard-line Israeli governments of Menachem Begin and his successors went eyeball to eyeball, it was always the U.S. that blinked. The U.S. declined to press Begin on such topics as the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem, the invasion of Lebanon, the occupation of West Beirut, the Sabra-Shatila massacres, and even the Reagan Plan for Middle East peace. The Reagan administration apparently was vulnerable to highly damaging Israeli blackmail, and at least some top officials of both governments knew it." He adds, "It also explains how and why the Reagan administration so easily fell into the catastrophic series of arms-for-hostages blunders, clearly instigated as well as carried out by Israel, that became known as Irangate, or the Iran-Contra scandal. The renewed arms shipments in 1985 and 1986 were initiated by reopening exactly the same channels used in 1980 and 1981 by some of the same principals on both sides.."

Curtiss, a retired U.S. foreign service officer, feels that the Israelis hold the upper hand and can blackmail Bush or, if Bush was not involved in Paris, could create disinformation about him being in Paris, anyway. "If Israel's disinformation squad has its way, the worst is yet to come." But at the same time Israel does not wish to be painted with the same political brush and would by leery of opening up such a scandal. It has also been noted that the Israeli lobby is making moves on Capitol Hill to prevent the opening of any investigation. Also, Israel is very dependent on U.S. military and economic aid and would not wish to jeopardize its close association with the United States.

However, Bush is putting a lot of pressure on Israel for an Israeli-Palestinian settlement and the possibility of yielding Israeli-captured lands. How hard Bush pushes will determine how much the Israelis will reveal about the alleged Paris meeting and arms shipments to Iran. Israel holds the key to the October Surprise.