The Octopus (A Transnational Tale of Espionage and the Murder of Danny Casolaro)

Assassinations. Surveillance. Software that watches back. The Octopus is real—and it never stopped growing.

The Octopus: A Transnational Tale of Espionage and the Murder of Danny Casolaro is the explosive investigation into the mysterious death of journalist Danny Casolaro, who was found in a West Virginia hotel room in 1991 with his wrists slashed and his notes missing. Casolaro had warned his family: If anything happens to me, it’s not an accident. He was chasing what he called “The Octopus”—a covert network of intelligence agents, arms dealers, financial criminals, and government operatives linked by one central thread: the stolen PROMIS software.

Originally developed by the Washington, D.C.–based company Inslaw, PROMIS (Prosecutor’s Management Information System) was a revolutionary surveillance program. But after its illicit modification—allegedly by U.S. intelligence and private contractors—it became a tool for monitoring not just criminals, but banks, journalists, dissidents, and foreign governments. With a backdoor inserted into its code, PROMIS was sold globally, giving unprecedented spying power to a hidden transnational elite.

This updated edition of The Octopus by Kenn Thomas (with original research by the late Jim Keith) includes newly uncovered links between PROMIS, NSA surveillance infrastructure, the rise of biometric databases, and post-9/11 domestic spying programs. Casolaro’s web of connections—once labeled conspiracy theory—now reads like a blueprint for the modern surveillance state. Readers will trace the tentacles from Iran-Contra, October Surprise, and CIA front companies, to 9/11, financial black ops, and the evolving architecture of predictive policing and AI-driven intelligence systems.

For fans of The Men Who Stare at Goats, Poisoner in Chief, and Permanent Record, The Octopus is not just a conspiracy book—it’s the origin story of our algorithmic dystopia.