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10 - PEOPLE/(N-S)/Michael Riconosciuto.md

@@ -29,6 +29,10 @@ The 1993 report of Judge [[Nicholas J. Bua]] for the Department of Justice descr
 
 In March 1991, Riconosciuto provided an affidavit to [[Bill Hamilton]] and [[Nancy Hamilton]], owners of [[INSLAW]], detailing his role in modifying PROMIS and alleging that Peter Videnieks attempted to dissuade him from cooperating with a [[United States House of Representatives Committee on the Judiciary|House Judiciary Committee]] investigation into the software's theft. Eight days after signing this affidavit, Riconosciuto was arrested for allegedly operating a methamphetamine lab in Tacoma, Washington. He claimed this arrest was a deliberate attempt to discredit his testimony. The Special Counsel's investigation, however, found no connection between Riconosciuto's prosecution and his allegations in the Inslaw matter, concluding that the drug case began as a local investigation and the evidence against him was overwhelming.[^1][^7]
 
+The House Judiciary Committee report recorded that in his March 21, 1991 affidavit Riconosciuto stated that in February 1991 Peter Videnieks told him in a telephone conversation that it would be beneficial for him to refuse a committee request for an interview. On April 4, 1991 Riconosciuto gave the committee investigators a sworn statement connecting his work on PROMIS to Earl Brian and Videnieks, and said that he had two copies of the tape of the February 1991 conversation at the time of his arrest and that the tapes were in the possession of the DEA agents who arrested him.[^10] The report stated that he said that during a luncheon attended by Brian, Videnieks, James Hughes and himself, the enhanced PROMIS software was loaded into his car.[^11] The committee wrote that the timing of the March 29, 1991 arrest, coupled with Riconosciuto's allegation that tapes of a telephone conversation with Videnieks had been confiscated by DEA agents, "raises serious questions concerning whether the Department's prosecution of Mr. Riconosciuto was related to his cooperation with the committee," and that the Department refused the committee access to its investigative files on him.[^12]
+
+In his January 1992 trial testimony in Tacoma, Riconosciuto said he received a message from someone named Peter telling him to be at a restaurant wearing a yellow shirt, that a man he recognized as "Norm" and others there placed a call and handed him the phone, and that one of them said "It's no wonder, this is Videnieks." He testified that Videnieks told him he "was making some people nervous" and that there might be problems for him in connection with a savings and loan matter. Asked on direct examination how many times he had met Videnieks he answered "At least a dozen occasions," and that the first place was "In Indio, California."[^13]
+
 ### Connections and Allegations
 
 Riconosciuto's network of connections and the scope of his alleged activities are extensive. He was closely associated with [[Robert Booth Nichols]], a key figure in [[Danny Casolaro]]'s "[[The Octopus]]" investigation. They were partners in Meridian Arms, a subsidiary of Meridian International Logistics (MIL), and Riconosciuto was a technical advisor for [[First Intercontinental Development Corporation|FIDCO]], where Nichols was on the Board of Directors. Riconosciuto claimed Nichols was involved in large-scale illegal drug operations and money laundering, and that Nichols attempted to pressure him into illegal activities.[^1]
@@ -47,7 +51,7 @@ Beyond PROMIS, Riconosciuto was involved in advanced technological projects, inc
 
 ### Remarks on Clearances and the Aquino Question
 
-In an undated transcript of an interview with [[Ted Gunderson]] (the interviewer is initialed "T.G."), the speaker, initialed "M.R.," discusses members of the Church of Set and of [[Michael Aquino]]'s circle. He says that the reaction to Aquino he received from "Dr. Malkin" was "Well, his clearance isn't all that high."[^10] In the same passage the speaker says that nearly everyone in Aquino's group was psy-ops or intelligence related.[^10] The transcript's cover line begins with the name "Michael," and the first notes in the file are headed "NOTES OF PHONE CONV. 12/29/87." The initials are the only identifier in the body of the transcript. Records found do not establish whether "Dr. Malkin" is [[Myron S. Malkin]], the former NASA Space Shuttle director and former Defense Department official, whose name appears in an undated (year not printed) Cabazon Arms letter.[^11]
+In an undated transcript of an interview with [[Ted Gunderson]] (the interviewer is initialed "T.G."), the speaker, initialed "M.R.," discusses members of the Church of Set and of [[Michael Aquino]]'s circle. He says that the reaction to Aquino he received from "Dr. Malkin" was "Well, his clearance isn't all that high."[^14] In the same passage the speaker says that nearly everyone in Aquino's group was psy-ops or intelligence related.[^14] The transcript's cover line begins with the name "Michael," and the first notes in the file are headed "NOTES OF PHONE CONV. 12/29/87." The initials are the only identifier in the body of the transcript. Records found do not establish whether "Dr. Malkin" is [[Myron S. Malkin]], the former NASA Space Shuttle director and former Defense Department official, whose name appears in an undated (year not printed) Cabazon Arms letter.[^15]
 
 ### Legal Troubles and Witness Protection Attempts
 
@@ -68,5 +72,9 @@ Danny Casolaro began interviewing Riconosciuto prior to his arrest in March 1991
 [^7]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993.
 [^8]: John Connolly, "Inside the Shadow CIA," *Spy,* September 1992, pp. 46-54. The bracketed description of Ammarell is the magazine's. https://www.prop1.org/legal/prisons/92wack.htm
 [^9]: Unsigned, undated letter, Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Wackenhut-Correspondence," beginning "The cooperation I have received from the Wackenhut Corporation." The spelling "Amarell" is as printed in the letter. https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks.
-[^10]: Ted Gunderson and Michael Riconosciuto interview notes, file "Folder 7 Acc5516" (archive.org casolaro-notebooks item, file "Folder 7 Acc5516.pdf", text layer). Undated passage. https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks
-[^11]: Letter over the name of Arthur Welmas, headed "CABAZON INDIAN SECURITY /WSI JOINT VENTURE," Indio, California, dated "May 1" (year not printed), Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Wackenhut-Correspondence." https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks
+[^10]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, p. 51. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
+[^11]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, p. 52 n. 131. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
+[^12]: U.S. House of Representatives, Committee on the Judiciary. *The INSLAW Affair: Investigative Report.* H. Rept. 102-857, 102d Cong., 2d sess., September 10, 1992, pp. 100-101. https://archive.org/details/InslawAffairInvestigativeReport
+[^13]: U.S. Department of Justice. *Report of Special Counsel Nicholas J. Bua to the Attorney General of the United States Regarding the Allegations of Inslaw, Inc.* March 1993, pp. 48, 53 (summarizing the trial testimony). https://archive.org/details/doj-oip-inslaw-1993
+[^14]: Ted Gunderson and Michael Riconosciuto interview notes, file "Folder 7 Acc5516" (archive.org casolaro-notebooks item, file "Folder 7 Acc5516.pdf", text layer). Undated passage. https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks
+[^15]: Letter over the name of Arthur Welmas, headed "CABAZON INDIAN SECURITY /WSI JOINT VENTURE," Indio, California, dated "May 1" (year not printed), Danny Casolaro papers, folder "Wackenhut-Correspondence." https://archive.org/details/casolaro-notebooks