Joseph Daniel Casolaro: Death by Stealth

Reporter Is Buried Amid Questions Over His Pursuit of Conspiracy Idea

By NEIL A. LEWIS,
Published: August 17, 1991

A freelance writer who was found dead with his wrists slashed in a hotel room in Martinsburg, W.Va., a week ago was buried near here today amid uncertainty about the cause of death and evidence that he was working on an article about a major Government conspiracy.
The body of Joseph Daniel Casolaro, 44 years old of Fairfax City, Va., was discovered by West Virginia authorities on Saturday in what was tentatively ruled a suicide.
Mr. Casolaro's family and friends said he had told them he was going to Martinsburg to meet a source for the story he had been working on for more than a year.
Family members and associates have said that despite the views of the local authorities and the findings of an autopsy, they strongly believed that Mr. Casolaro might have been slain because of what he had discovered. Mr. Casolaro had been investigating a case in which the owners of a computer software company, Inslaw, have accused the Justice Department of stealing programs the company had designed to track criminal cases worldwide. The department has denied the accusations and resisted all court challenges by Inslaw. 'Don't Believe It,' He Said

The case has been in the courts for nearly a decade and Mr. Casolaro's brother, Dr. Anthony Casolaro of Arlington, Va., has told reporters he believed his brother may have been close to uncovering a major conspiracy in connection with the Inslaw case. He said in an interview today that his brother had told him in the last two months that if he died in an accident, "don't believe it."
Dr. Casolaro said he was very skeptical that his brother committed suicide for several reasons, including the facts that his brother had recently received numerous death threats and that none of his notes on the case were found with his body.
Friends of the journalist said he was looking into a connection between the Inslaw matter and the Bank of Credit and Commerce International, a loosely regulated international banking concern that Federal regulators say is at the center of a worldwide banking fraud. U.S. Inquiry Is Suggested
Elliot Richardson, a former United States Attorney General who now represents Inslaw in its suit against the Justice Department, said Mr. Casolaro's death should be the subject of a Federal investigation led by someone "of unquestioned integrity and independence."
Mr. Richardson said today, "The significant thing about Danny's death is that he was just seeking confirmation of what he believed he already knew." He said that if the informers Mr. Casolaro had already talked to were to be believed, it involved a conspiracy "far worse than Watergate," one that involved B.C.C.I., drugs and the persistent but unproven allegations that in 1980 some members of Ronald Reagan's Presidential campaign team worked to delay the release of American hostages in Iran to damage President Jimmy Carter's re-election chances.
"These are not separate cases if these people are to be believed," he said. As for himself, Mr. Richardson said he did not know whether to believe Mr. Casolaro's far-reaching conspiracy theory, which the reporter dubbed "The Octopus."
Mr. Casolaro, who was not widely known in the Washington journalism community, had published a novel and some short stories and for a time owned a small group of computer industry trade publications.
Cynthia Gaither, the West Virginia prosecutor investigating the death, said the authorities still believed that Mr. Casolaro committed suicide, although an investigation was continuing because of the concern expressed by friends and family. Note Found With Body
She said Mr. Casolaro was found in the hotel room bathtub with numerous cuts on his wrists. There were no signs of forced entry to the room or any kind of a struggle. A note was found in the room that the authorities have characterized as a suicide note, but they would not reveal its exact contents. His brother said the note was an apology and a plea for understanding, addressed in part to a 22-year-old son from a failed marriage and concluded with the hope that "God will let me in."
Ms. Gaither said that the authorities had found "nothing inconsistent with the earlier finding that it was a suicide." A finding of suicide was made by Dr. James Frost, West Virginia's deputy medical examiner, but he said he could not rule out foul play.
Ms. Gaither said that investigators were continuing to interview everyone they believed Mr. Casolaro had met while in Martinsburg. She was also awaiting results of toxicological tests and the examination of other physical evidence like fingerprints.
A Congressional committee has been investigating the Inslaw matter.
Officials of the Federal Bureau of Investigation said that there was as yet no Federal aspect to the Casolaro death that would warrant its entry into the case.
Dr. Casolaro said that in a July 22 letter to his agent his brother complained of his anxiety over a mortgage payment, but also expressed exultation over his progress in the investigation.
After talking about the payments, which he subsequently made, Mr. Casolaro said in the letter, "I feel the happiness that an Eskimo must feel when he comes across fresh bear tracks before any other sled."
Photos: Pallbearers carrying the coffin containing the body of Joseph D. Casolaro during funeral services yesterday. (Reuters); Dr. James Frost, assistant state medical examiner, said it appeared that Joseph D. Casolaro committed sucide, but he could not rule out foul play. (Reuters); Joseph D. Casolaro, who was found dead in a Martinsburg, W.Va., hotel on Saturday. (Associated Press)