What happened to Danny Casolaro? True story behind Netflix’s American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders

Danny Casolaro, the investigative journalist whose death in 1991 was controversially ruled a suicide, is the subject of Netflix’s newest docu-series, American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders.

The four-part true crime documentary, released on 28 February, takes a look at Casolaro and his investigation into a government conspiracy that those closest to him believe led to his death.

Who was Danny Casolaro?

Born in McLean, Virginia in 1947, Casolaro was a writer and author who came to public attention after he was found dead with his wrists slashed in a hotel bathtub in 1991. He was 44.

His death was ruled a suicide, although those closest to him remain convinced he was murdered.

At the time of his death, Casolaro was more than 12 months deep into an investigation involving a government conspiracy, which he called “The Octopus”.

What is ‘The Octopus’?

While working for the now-defunct computer software trade publication Computer Age, Casolaro was alerted by one of his colleagues about a developing story that had to do with an ongoing dispute between the Department of Justice and Bill Hamilton, the founder of Washington DC-based technology information company INSLAW.

After getting in touch with Hamilton, Casolaro “starts looking into these powerful people connected to the Reagan administration and realises there’s something much bigger going on than just a contract dispute”, journalist Christian Hansen says in the documentary.

Casolaro began making some powerful discoveries that appeared to be connected somehow: money laundering, drug trafficking and the Iran hostage crisis. He dubbed these conspiratorial connections “The Octopus” and paired each “tentacle” with a former high-ranking government official who he felt was responsible for these revelations.

Who is Christian Hansen?

Hansen is the journalist who, after coming across the late Casolaro’s research, took over for him. He is also a childhood friend of the Netflix series’s director, Treitz.

His continued investigation led him to Casolaro’s key source, Michael Riconosciuto.

Who is Michael Riconosciuto?

Riconosciuto, now 75, is a computer expert who was connected to Casolaro’s INSLAW story. Months before Casolaro’s death, Riconosciuto was sent to prison on drug charges after a Department of Justice official allegedly threatened him for speaking out. He has maintained his innocence and was eventually released 26 years later, in 2017.

Shortly before his imprisonment, he had provided an affidavit in support of INSLAW’s lawsuit against the US Department of Justice. The company had sued the DOJ over the illegal use of computer software.

Riconosciuto claimed to have insider information about countless covert government operations, which he shared with Casolaro, and later with Hansen.

How did Danny Casolaro die?

Casolaro was found dead with his wrists slashed in a West Virginia hotel bathtub on 10 August 1991. He had travelled there to meet with an unknown source.

“He had been researching this thing for a long time and was very excited about the information he was finally getting,” Benjamin Mason, Casolaro’s close friend and the last person to see him alive, told The Washington Post in 1991. “He was in good spirits and very excited about the source he was going to see in West Virginia.”

When authorities discovered his body, it appeared he had died by suicide, and a coroner confirmed it as such. However, when his family was notified of his death, they didn’t believe it was a suicide. Weeks before he was to meet with his source, he had apparently informed his brother that if anything happened to him, he needed to understand that it wasn’t an accident.

American Conspiracy: The Octopus Murders is available to stream on Netflix.