Transcribe your podcast
[00:00:00]

This episode contains depictions of death and suicide that some people may find disturbing. We advise caution for listeners under 13.

[00:00:15]

On Sunday, August 11th, 1991, a reporter named Dan Bishoff was hard at work in his office. Bishoff was the national affairs editor of The Village Voice. He and the Pulitzer Prize winning team were burning the midnight oil to get the Monday edition to print.

[00:00:34]

Then bigshots phone rang. When he answered, the anonymous caller refused to reveal his name, but said he had information related to the 1980 October surprise scandal. Allegedly, President Ronald Reagan had paid the Iranian government to prevent the release of American hostages.

[00:00:57]

The man said if the voice wanted the truth, they should look into a reporter's disappearance in West Virginia. Then the line went dead.

[00:01:07]

Bischoff was likely unfazed. He frequently received calls about impending scandals, cover ups and missing journalists. These tips often turned out to be crank calls or ramblings from paranoid conspiracy theorists. They were rarely true.

[00:01:26]

But the next day, authorities from Martinsburg, West Virginia, announced the death of an investigative reporter named Danny Kass.

[00:01:34]

Alero Bischoff was stunned to learn that Casso Lero had been working on a story about the October surprise and the shadowy cabal of intelligence officers behind it.

[00:01:48]

The Martinsburg police ruled Castle Theros death a suicide, but whoever had called Bishoff on Sunday night thought otherwise. This mysterious figure knew about Castle Theros work. In fact, he'd suggested that it got him killed.

[00:02:05]

Which begs the question, what really happened to Danny Castle Lero? Welcome to Conspiracy Theories, a Spotify original from past every Monday and Wednesday, we dig into the complicated stories behind the world's most controversial events and search for the truth.

[00:02:33]

And Carter Roy. And I'm Molly Brandenberg. And neither of us are conspiracy theorists, but we are open minded, skeptical and curious.

[00:02:43]

Don't get us wrong. Sometimes the official version is the truth, but sometimes it's not.

[00:02:51]

You can find episodes of conspiracy theories and all other Spotify originals from Parkhurst for free on Spotify or wherever you listen to podcasts.

[00:03:01]

This is our second episode on Danny Castellano and the Octopus Kessell. There was a reporter who investigated a shadowy cabal of ex CIA agents who he believed controlled the world. The octopus may have orchestrated the Bay of Pigs invasion, the 1979 Iran hostage crisis, and even President John F. Kennedy's assassination.

[00:03:26]

Last time we learned how Castle became embroiled in the octopus case, he began investigating the NSA scandal, which alleged that the Justice Department illegally stole a data management software called Promise that led him down a rabbit hole of intelligence operatives and secret missions. And in 1991, he was found dead under mysterious circumstances. Authorities ruled it a suicide.

[00:03:57]

This episode will take a deeper look at Castle. There's evidence on the octopus. We'll examine whether government agents framed his informant, Michael Roxana Shuto, in order to keep him quiet. Then we'll expand our scope to the octopus as a whole. We'll debate whether Castle Theros theory was true and if he was murdered for getting too close to exposing it to. We have all that and more coming up. Stay with us. This episode is brought to you by click up, get more done in less time by replacing all of your unorganized work apps and bringing your tasks, docs, goals, charts and more into a single shared workspace.

[00:04:40]

Click Up is here to help you crush your goals and help save you one day every week. Guaranteed Click up is free forever.

[00:04:47]

Sign up today at click up dotcom slash Spotify. This episode is brought to you by Casper, you deserve a fresh start this year, reset your rest with supremely comfortable mattresses, bedding and more from Casper. Make twenty twenty one comfortable at Casper Dotcom.

[00:05:10]

This episode is brought to you by indeed, indeed doesn't just help you find the right job with loads of job listings and search filters, they help you get it with tools that help you compare salaries, build your resume and stand out in the crowd and find the job you want and the support you need on. Indeed.

[00:05:34]

In 1990, an investigative reporter named Danny Carcillo learned about the INS law scandal, the Justice Department had licensed a powerful information management software called Promis.

[00:05:47]

Supposedly they violated their contract with a manufacturer in law and sold it to other governments around the world.

[00:05:56]

One of the key witnesses in the case was a man named Michael Smerconish Shuto. He told Insulin's founder that federal operatives had paid him to alter Promis before selling it to foreign entities. This information became the foundation of Casares investigation into the octopus.

[00:06:17]

The problem was soon after recons, Shuto became involved in the lawsuit. Authorities charged him with distribution of methamphetamine. This destroyed his credibility as a witness. But maybe that was the whole point. Perhaps reconstitutes real crime was telling the truth about the NSA scandal, which leads us to a conspiracy theory.

[00:06:41]

No. One, the U.S. government hired Michael Recon a shuto to alter promise.

[00:06:47]

And when he came clean, they framed him and then imprisoned him.

[00:06:53]

In the spring of 1990, inlaw law had been battling the Justice Department in court for nearly half a decade. They suspected the government had merely violated their contract until Insource founder received a call suggesting this case was just the tip of an iceberg.

[00:07:10]

A Shuto contacted the software developer to say that insulin's legal troubles were connected to a larger conspiracy theory, one where the Reagan administration paid Iran 40 million dollars to prevent them from releasing American hostages before the 1980 election.

[00:07:31]

Allegedly, he was in the room when a man named Earl Brian negotiated that deal with the Iranian government. In exchange, Reagan's administration handed Brian the promised software, allowing him to sell it all over the world, recognize Shooter's testimony, created a frenzy and captured Danny Casares attention.

[00:07:54]

The two men spent months discussing the case and recognized Judo's exploits around the world. These conversations illuminated a massive conspiracy theory.

[00:08:05]

The Octopus Rockiness. Shuto claimed that in the 1980s he worked for a private security company called Wackenhut. His office was located on the Cabazon Native American Reservation in California and supposedly Wacken. Hutz partnership with the Cabazon tribe exempted them from federal regulations, recognized Shuto, said Earle.

[00:08:30]

Brian was a frequent visitor to the Wacken, had operations at Cabazon. He would have been involved as recons. Shuto supposedly developed and sold weapons to governments all over the world, but their collaboration didn't stop there.

[00:08:48]

Reconnaissance. Udoh said that he and Brian also dealt in information, backroom deals and bribes. Their most infamous alleged mission took place in Iran, where kind of Shuto claimed to have photographs of himself and Brian in Iran. He also said his passport would confirm that he traveled there several times that year and he promised to turn over tax documents proving he and Brian worked for Wackenhut during that time.

[00:09:19]

But none of this evidence ever materialized that made sense to cast Alero.

[00:09:25]

He believed Roxana Shuto wasn't just working for the Reagan administration or Wackenhut. He was octopus puppet. The shadowy organization wanted Reagan elected and was willing to funnel millions through reconnaissance, judo and Brian to do it.

[00:09:41]

Casso Laro wasn't the only person to suspect this. Accusations flew throughout the entire trial.

[00:09:49]

Finally, the attorney general decided to get to the bottom of this fiasco. He assigned a federal judge named Nicholas Bouar to lead a special counsel investigation into the Justice Department's use of promise.

[00:10:04]

Bhullar and his team started by examining recons shooter's initial affidavit, in which he said that he worked on Promis between 1983 and 1984, but they found that on several other occasions he'd claimed to have worked on the software as early as 1981.

[00:10:24]

This discrepancy is important because INS law didn't license promise to the Justice Department until 1983. The timeline wasn't just inconsistent, it was impossible.

[00:10:38]

Still, some of her Conchita's testimony did stand up to scrutiny. The special counsel interviewed witnesses who verified that he worked at the Cabazon Native American Reservation. Many recalled that Rickon, a shuto, spent a lot of time in a mobile office behind the reservation's casino. This area was secluded, the perfect place for sensitive operations.

[00:11:02]

And during this time, the Cabazon tribe did have a business relationship with Wacken. Hart but recognize Shuto was never listed as one of their employees.

[00:11:13]

Furthermore, there was no evidence that Wacken had worked on weapons of mass destruction. Their primary focus was night vision technology and even more importantly, Wacken had only been on two U.S. contracts during their joint venture with the Cabazon. It didn't win either of them.

[00:11:34]

That is, if you believe the official story rockiness, you don't maintain that he worked for shadowy intelligence operatives. They may have covered their tracks and made it look like Wackenhut had nothing to do with weapons development. The octopus could have had the ability to fabricate this evidence.

[00:11:54]

But don't forget some of her. Conchita's claims about his work on Promis aren't even physically possible. He claimed the software could track people and predict the course of Russian submarines.

[00:12:07]

Peninsula's founder says it can only log and track data like an Excel sheet.

[00:12:14]

It takes a human being to look at that information and decide what to do with it.

[00:12:20]

Despite these limits, promise was still extremely valuable. Earl Brian could have sold it around the world for a hefty profit.

[00:12:28]

But when special counsel investigators approached Brian, he claimed he'd never even met Rickon Shuto.

[00:12:36]

He certainly hadn't paid forty million dollars to the Iranian government, and he insisted that he'd never set foot on the Cabazon Reservation, nor was he a Wackenhut employee.

[00:12:48]

However, after a bit of digging, investigators found a report titled Nicaraguans and Earl, Brian and Lake Cahuilla. It seemingly proved that both Brian Anthrocon, a shuto, had worked for Wackenhut in 1981.

[00:13:05]

The report was from September 10th, 1981, when an officer from the Indio, California, police department covertly surveilled a wagon hut arms demonstration. The company was showing their night vision technology at a shooting range.

[00:13:22]

The officer recorded the attendees names, including Michael Rickon, Shuto and Earl Brian.

[00:13:28]

And this was big. The report meant Brian was lying. And the reaction of Shuto testimony may be true after all. But like everything else, Rickon Ishido said this evidence soon fell apart. Brian was likely on the other side of the country when this demonstration took place the day before. On September 9th, Brian had flown from Washington, D.C. to New York. And receipts show that on September 10th, he booked a limousine in New York to drive him home from his office.

[00:14:02]

Further investigation showed that the officer at Lake Awiya never actually identified Earl O'Brien. An attorney created the document while working on an unrelated case and based it on Makana Shuto testimony. He didn't actually verify the details. His client told him details were kind of shuto provided to defend himself against drug charges.

[00:14:27]

Which brings us to recognize Hutto's final claim that the government framed him in retaliation for telling the truth about the Enzler case.

[00:14:38]

The federal Drug Enforcement Agency arrested him for the distribution of methamphetamines in 1991.

[00:14:45]

It was only nine days after he signed his written affidavit against the Justice Department on that. Timing is suspicious.

[00:14:54]

However, authorities had been watching him for a long time before he testified against them and the police apparently got. His name from a small time drug dealer in Tacoma, Washington, who identified Rickon as Shuto in exchange for a more lenient sentence.

[00:15:13]

Tacoma detectives staked out reconstitutes house and determined he was manufacturing massive amounts of methamphetamine. They reached out to federal authorities for assistance. That was when the DEA first became involved.

[00:15:28]

They videotape draconic shuto, personally delivering meth to buyers. When they searched his home, they found an improvised lab and enough material to produce nearly 30 pounds of the drug.

[00:15:43]

Makana Shuto defense was that the government faked the video of him and planted the physical evidence. He claimed the Justice Department had a vendetta against him for his participation in the law case.

[00:15:56]

But the jury didn't buy his story. He was found guilty of all charges.

[00:16:03]

Despite the overwhelming evidence against him reconning, Shuto never wavered from his narrative. At his sentencing, the judge declared he couldn't be sure whether recons Shuto could tell fact from fiction. If he was a con man. He was certainly one of the best in prison.

[00:16:23]

His claims grew even more fantastical. He allegedly told one reporter that he'd witnessed the autopsy of an alien body.

[00:16:32]

The interviewer didn't buy it and later said, quote, Kind of Shuto would have told anyone anything to get out of prison and quote, It's clear that recons Shuto brazenly lied about his drug business, his accusations that the government doctored a video of him distributing his product has little basis in reality.

[00:16:55]

And it's safe to say his claims about altering promise are similarly fabricated on a scale of one to 10, with 10 being the most believable, I give conspiracy theory number one eight two out of ten.

[00:17:11]

You make some good points. On the other hand, Michael Smerconish, Shuto is exactly the type of person the octopus would hire for their shadowy operations.

[00:17:22]

He's smart but easy to discredit publicly. While much of his testimony is probably unreliable, there could be a kernel of truth in there. I give this theory a three out of 10, whether the claims were true or not.

[00:17:38]

Danny Cancellara certainly believed him, recognize shooter's testimony, helped shape his octopus investigation, an inquiry that ended with Casablanca's unexpected death. And there are still a lot of questions about the way he died.

[00:17:58]

Coming up, Danny Castellano meets an untimely end listeners, they say there's someone for everyone, a soul to share your secrets with, a companion to grow old with, a conspirator to commit crimes with starting this February on Spotify, learn about the lethal and legendary lovers who fought the law in the past. Limited series, criminal couples.

[00:18:29]

If you've ever referred to your best friend or beloved as your partner in crime. This exclusive series is for you. Beginning February 1st, discover the radical side of romance with a collection of unlawful love. Stories from shows across the Parks Network track the nefarious exploits of Bonnie and Clyde meet married mafiosos Jackie and Thelma write and uncover the secret lives of alleged spies. Julius and Ethel Rosenberg fall for the most famous and feared pears in history.

[00:19:04]

In the Spotify original from Park Past, criminal couples enjoy two part episodes every Monday, follow criminal couples free and exclusively on Spotify.

[00:19:19]

This episode is brought to you by click up, you don't need to exist on four hours of sleep to be considered productive, you can get more done in less time by using click up the all in one productivity and project management platform that simplifies your tasks. This is the future of work managed projects, people, resources, roadmaps and goals, all on one app built for teams of all sizes and industries. Click Up features over a thousand integrations and a centralized workspace to streamline processes and eliminate distractions.

[00:19:49]

It's why over one hundred thousand teams across companies like Airbnb, Google and Uber are already using click up to crush their goals. Save one day every week guaranteed click up is free forever. Sign up today at click up dotcom slash Spotify.

[00:20:07]

Now back to the story. Journalist Danny Castellano believed he'd uncovered a shadowy cabal with operatives embedded all over the world. He called it the octopus. However, Cancellara never completed his research into this mysterious organization. On August 10th, 1991, a maid discovered his body in a hotel room tub in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Authorities ruled his death a suicide. However, his friends and family claim Castellitto wasn't the type of person to take his own life, especially when he was so close to a breakthrough when the octopus case.

[00:20:51]

In fact, he may have been too close.

[00:20:55]

Which brings us to conspiracy theory number two. Danny Cancellara was murdered by the very group he was chasing. Proponents of this theory cites several irregularities in Castle Theros demise. For one, the police didn't inform his family of his death for two days. In the meantime, a funeral home embalmed Castro's body before an autopsy could be performed. When Castro's brother finally heard the news and demanded a post-mortem, the coroner reportedly found strange bruises and unexplained painkillers in his system.

[00:21:35]

Nobody could explain all these inconsistencies. For years, Casares death was shrouded in mystery and conspiracy. By 1993, it was featured on the TV show Unsolved Mysteries. Castle Laro had reached the national stage.

[00:21:54]

The more people heard about Castle Leros death, the greater the pressure became. Even the U.S. government got involved when the attorney general assigned Judge Nicholas Booya to investigate the INS law promise scandal.

[00:22:08]

He also ordered him to re-examine the reporter's alleged suicide.

[00:22:14]

Buist team began at square one. The physical evidence from Kessler's hotel room specialist reanalysed his suicide note and verified it was the reporter's handwriting. The only fingerprint on it came from Casa Leros, right thumb. In fact, Cancellara fingerprints were the only ones found anywhere in the room other than a single unidentifiable print under an ashtray.

[00:22:42]

Crime scene photos and reconstructions of the hotel rooms showed no indication of a struggle. However, it's possible that Cancellara was drugged and unable to put up a fight.

[00:22:55]

His autopsy did show Vicodin in his system, but police found the empty bottle of Vicodin in a suitcase. It had been prescribed in 1988 after Cancellara had oral surgery and the only fingerprints on it were his. It appears he was self medicating. That said, one odd detail is difficult to explain the presence of the two trash bags in the tub with Castro's body. Some researchers theorize that an assassin used them to asphyxiate the reporter, but that seems unlikely.

[00:23:33]

If the suicide was staged, his assailants would have taken the bags with them. And we should mention that in interviews with Kessler as friends, they recall that he often talked about the death of an author named Jerzy Kaczyński. He'd killed himself by tying a plastic bag over his head. It's possible Cancellara was emulating him.

[00:23:57]

Yes, but it's also suspicious that some of Castella's belongings vanished. The day before his death, an informant gave Cancellara sensitive information about Pentagon financials. They might have been tied to slush funds for the octopus. These files weren't there when Castro's body was found, and neither was the rest of his research. That would be odd if it really existed. But interviews with hotel staff suggests that Castle Laro didn't bring any paperwork to Martinsburg. No one was certain about seeing a briefcase or documents when he checked in.

[00:24:37]

The maid who claimed his room never saw any files in the three days he was there and nothing was missing from his office.

[00:24:45]

It also appears that Castle was meeting with this informant may have never taken place. Not only were there no witnesses to their rendezvous in the hotel parking lot, but the man's statements about the meeting were inconsistent. He told local authorities that he gave CASA a stack of documents. Eighteen inches high. But later he told special counsel investigators that he was just. Returning papers Kastle Lero had given him weeks earlier, and overall the informant wasn't a credible witness. In 1991, he pled guilty to making false statements to the federal government.

[00:25:26]

Then, a few weeks after Casares death, he claimed people were coming to kill him for cooperating with the octopus investigation. Like Michael Smerconish Shuto, he could have been using Cancellara story in an attempt to gain leniency.

[00:25:44]

But this doesn't explain why Castro's family wasn't contacted for two days after the police found his body. In that time, Cancellara was embalmed. This process could have disguised any poisons or paralytics that his possible assassins may have used. In his report, Bush admits that this error is perplexing. Castle Leros, next of kin, should have been notified immediately, but the Martinsburg police weren't to blame. Authorities did try to find Kessler's family the day his body was discovered.

[00:26:20]

Unfortunately, they lived in another state which was out of their jurisdiction. So they contacted the department in Fairfax, Virginia, about Leros death. An officer was dispatched to Casares residence, but he lived alone. So there was no one there. When no one came to the door, the officer deposited a business card and left. Shockingly, they didn't continue looking for any of his relatives.

[00:26:49]

Almost as if they didn't want anyone to know about Castle Leros death. After two days without a response, the Martinsburg police finally contacted Cassandra's brother and informed him of the reporter's death. While the delay was a serious mistake, it was made by the Fairfax Police Department, not the officers in Martinsburg. They had followed procedure to the letter. Still, it was odd that Martinsburg authorities allowed the body to be embalmed. Well, that usually requires consent from the next of kin.

[00:27:23]

That might sound unusual, but the Martinsburg funeral home often performed so-called courtesy embalming when the deceased relatives couldn't be reached.

[00:27:34]

True. And the funeral home try to find Castle. There was family in good faith. Therefore, their actions weren't illegal. Furthermore, the embalming doesn't seem to have affected the autopsy results.

[00:27:48]

Fluid and tissue samples were taken from Castle Leros heart, bladder and liver before these organs were embalmed.

[00:27:56]

There was nothing unusual in those untainted samples, but the medical examiner did discover something surprising. Castle Lerro had signs of nerve damage from a neurological condition known as multiple sclerosis.

[00:28:11]

Multiple sclerosis, or MS, occurs when the immune system attacks the central nervous system. The symptoms include fatigue, loss of vision and muscle weakness.

[00:28:24]

Some theorize that Castellitto didn't have MS, but that he suffered from a fast acting nerve agent that mimicked its symptoms. An assassin could have dosed Castellitto in Martinsburg, knowing that a medical examiner would mistake its effects for the degenerative disease.

[00:28:41]

Interviews with Cancellara friends make that seem unlikely. Weeks before his death, Cancellara approached an acquaintance who was a nurse. She says he asked her for information about multiple sclerosis and she told him there was no cure for the condition. Kessler claimed he was researching for a story, but there's nothing about the disease. In his notes, it appears that he was trying to self diagnose the symptoms he was experiencing.

[00:29:11]

Other friends mentioned that in the months leading up to his death, Cancellara was weaker, clumsy and had trouble with his vision. One woman reported having a strange conversation with Cancellara, where he said he was having problems gathering his thoughts, he announced. If I ever couldn't think, I'd kill myself.

[00:29:33]

And Castella's health wasn't the only thing that was deteriorating. A 178 790000 dollar mortgage payment was due on his home in September 1991. That's the equivalent of over three hundred and forty thousand dollars today.

[00:29:50]

Cancellara didn't have any income in the months leading up to his death and received several loans from family members.

[00:29:57]

But it wasn't enough. He was on the verge of losing everything.

[00:30:03]

Despite these looming obstacles, his family maintained that he was in high spirits. He was optimistic about his investigation into the octopus, and his brother and parents said there was absolutely no signs he was suffering from depression or suicidal ideation.

[00:30:20]

To get to the bottom of Leros emotional state, special counsel Bhullar turned to the FBI's National Center for the Analysis of Violent Crime. They asked specialists there to perform a psychological autopsy on Castle Lerro. Law enforcement often uses this procedure to reconstruct a victim's mentality leading up to their death.

[00:30:44]

Three FBI behavioral scientists reviewed all the witness statements from Castle Theros friends and family. They also went through his personal notes and research with a fine toothed comb.

[00:30:57]

They determined that while Cancellara wore the facade of the eternal optimist, he was still under extreme financial, personal and professional stress. He desperately needed to pay off the loan on his house, but no publisher would advance cash for his book. This alone would have put Castle Laro in a very vulnerable position. The diagnosis of multiple sclerosis may have pushed him over the edge.

[00:31:25]

That's all compelling, but it doesn't explain why Cancellara received anonymous threatening phone calls for weeks leading up to his death.

[00:31:34]

True, but whenever friends suggested Cancellara contact the phone company to block them, he changed the subject almost as if he didn't want the calls to stop. It's possible that they never even happened. The behavioral scientists suspected that Cancellara. Planted the seeds of conspiracy, they hypothesized he was considering taking his own life and wanted his friends and family to have doubts about his death. This uncertainty would help ease the guilt they may feel for not preventing his suicide. And yet these threatening phone calls couldn't have all been lies.

[00:32:14]

The day Castro's body was found, someone called his home and told his housekeeper, quote, I will cut his body and throw it to the sharks.

[00:32:23]

And someone called Dan Bischof at the Village Voice before authorities announced Castle Leros death, they told him to look into the disappearance of a reporter in West Virginia.

[00:32:36]

Bishoff has stated that he believes Castellitto died of suicide, but he has no explanation for the strange phone call. That's one aspect of the mystery we may never have an answer to.

[00:32:50]

It's possible that someone wanted Cancellara dead, but there isn't any evidence they acted on that desire. For that reason, I don't believe he was murdered. I give this theory a two out of 10.

[00:33:05]

I'd give it a four out of 10. I believe Castro made dangerous enemies during his investigation. People who had no qualms about eliminating reporters who ask too many questions. That said, there is some doubt about the validity of Kassala work, it's possible that the organization he was chasing didn't exist at all and Castle Laro may have been the one perpetuating a cover up.

[00:33:40]

Coming up, we explore whether Castle Leros investigation was worth dying for.

[00:33:46]

This episode is brought to you by CarMax at CarMax. The best way to buy a car is your way. Whether you're an online shopper or an in-person kind of person. CarMax has you covered choose from over fifty thousand CarMax certified vehicles at CarMax dot com. Check out 360 degree views research and compare with ratings and reviews, schedule a trade and appraisal and apply for financing all from the comfort of home. And when you found the right car for you, you can buy online or in-store with curbside pickup and home delivery in select markets.

[00:34:20]

CarMax, the way it should be, get all the details and start the search for your next car today at CarMax dot com.

[00:34:31]

This episode is brought to you by Casper Better Sleep starts with the right routine and the right equipment, and with Kaspar's amazing sleep products, it's never been easier to reset your rest because now they're Presidents Day sales here.

[00:34:44]

So you can save up to 15 percent on supremely comfortable mattresses and super soft sheets to make your year. Only Casper mattresses are made with up to eighty six supportive gel pods to align your spine and eliminate aches and pains. Plus, Kaspar's mattresses are award winning to U.S. News and World reports recently named Kaspar's Wave Hybrid, the best overall mattress and the Casper Original, the best foam mattress. And with bedroom accessories like their soft satin sheets, calming weighted blanket, even a dog bed for your best friend.

[00:35:17]

Casper has something for everyone.

[00:35:19]

Shop the President's Day sale and enjoy up to 15 percent off your bedroom. Essentials at Casper. Dotcom exclusions may apply to Casper Dotcom promo for details and end date.

[00:35:33]

Now back to the story. In 1990, an investigative reporter named Danny Castellano developed his theory of the octopus. He spent a year researching their operations and wanted to compile his findings in an exposé. This book detailed the creation of the octopus and their role in events like the Bay of Pigs invasion, the JFK assassination and Ronald Reagan's ascent to the presidency.

[00:36:05]

Carcillo told friends he'd lined up a deal with a big publisher and was writing articles for Time magazine. It seemed he was poised to reveal one of the 20th century's most closely guarded secrets.

[00:36:19]

Which brings us to conspiracy theory number three, that Danny Castellano uncovered the secrets of the octopus.

[00:36:28]

Castle spent hundreds of hours talking to key figures in the intelligence community. His contacts included Howard Hunt, a major player in the Watergate scandal, the Bay of Pigs and dozens of other infamous CIA operations.

[00:36:45]

Cancellara also worked closely with Robert Booth Nichols, an alleged associate of the Gambino crime family and a possible CIA operative. The reporters office in Virginia was filled with pages of notes, diagrams and phone numbers. The crux of his theory was that several figures kept popping up over and over again in these world events. He deduced this wasn't a coincidence. They were all octopus agents.

[00:37:16]

The only way to stop them was to publish an explosive exposé.

[00:37:21]

In his book proposal, Castle wrote, quote, a series of articles and a book, a true crime narrative that unravels a web of thugs and thieves who roam the Earth with their weapons in their murders, trading dope and dirty money for the secrets of the temple.

[00:37:40]

He never completed the manuscript, but Cancellara created a detailed treatment for his book. It was titled Behold a Pale Horse. This was a reference to the biblical passage from the Book of Revelation. Behold a Pale Horse, and its riders name was Death. And to hear Cassol Lero tell its publishers were falling over themselves to buy it.

[00:38:07]

He told friends and family that one company called Little Brown gave him a large advance. Plus, Time magazine was paying him to write an article on the octopus. They even offered to finance a trip so Cancellara could investigate various operations firsthand.

[00:38:23]

The problem was it was all a lie. Despite Casares claims no one in the literary community found his evidence very compelling, between 1990 and 1991, he met with several publishers and book agents.

[00:38:43]

None of them were interested in his proposal. They called his work amateur and unprofessional.

[00:38:50]

Some thought his project had potential, but it wasn't ready for publication. Others believe that Castella's book would never see the light of day.

[00:39:01]

Though he met with little Brown Publishing, they didn't buy his proposal. And the editor he spoke with, Roger Donald, was particularly skeptical of Casares theory. In an interview, Donald said, I could write this outline. I could say there have been the following crimes and list them. Maybe Cancellara was onto something, but he sure couldn't express it.

[00:39:27]

Time magazine's offer also wasn't real, Donald said. He told Kastle Lerro to contact Time Warner's magazine division. The publisher thought they might be interested in castle work, but warned they'd probably have him collaborate with a staff writer to develop the story. And Cancellara refused to give up that much control over his narrative.

[00:39:50]

Cancellara received criticism in the intelligence community as well. Every time he discovered new information, he brought it to a family friend, a former NSA staff officer named Arthur Whinfield. He wanted Winfield's opinion on how each piece fit into the puzzle. That was the octopus. But according to Whinfield, most of this information was garbage. It usually didn't come from a verified source and rarely seemed relevant.

[00:40:22]

Castle Leros theory hinged on the fact that certain individuals in the international community were secretly working together. Therefore, most of the evidence he brought Whinfield was circumstantial.

[00:40:35]

For example, he'd find travel records demonstrating that two operatives were in Paris the same week Takase Alero. This suggested a clandestine meeting to Whinfield. He was just a coincidence. In an interview with The Washington Post, Whinfield said he never seriously believe the octopus theory. He told Castle Alero he was creating a conspiracy where there was none. But the reporter didn't listen. He remained as enthusiastic and optimistic as ever.

[00:41:08]

That said, excerpts from Casares notes show that even he found gaps in his theory. In one passage from his unfinished manuscript, he wrote, Why did the octopus come off the ocean floor for the Iran hostage crisis since Reagan was not a favorite son of the octopus? Why did it work so hard to ensure his election in the 1980s?

[00:41:35]

And if an author doesn't believe his own reasoning and it's hard to convince anyone else to get on board after his death, one editor said, I'll tell you this. Anybody who killed him over that manuscript made a mistake. That was not a book that was going to be published.

[00:41:53]

CASTELLANOS Grand theory about the octopus was extraordinary and expansive. But as the astronomer Carl Sagan once said, extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence. And in my opinion, the evidence Carcillo provided doesn't meet that standard.

[00:42:15]

Cancellara may not have had enough proof to convince a publishing house to print the book, but that doesn't mean it's not true. He spent hundreds of hours interviewing people, reviewing documents and following the webs of this conspiracy.

[00:42:29]

It's hard to believe he was entirely wrong, but it's also possible he latched on to the narrative first, then cherry picked facts to support his conclusions. His friend Whinfield even mentioned that at one point, Cancellara considered fictionalizing his book, turning it into a spy thriller. That's not something you do if you're trying to expose a real life conspiracy. It seems like he cared more about the story than reality. And that's true.

[00:43:01]

But I still think the connections Castellitto made are more than coincidence.

[00:43:07]

For that reason, I give this theory a four out of 10 like Casares Publishers'. I'm not convinced. I give this theory a three out of 10. There isn't enough evidence to support the allegations, especially when they're as far reaching as the octopus, whether the conspiracy exists or not.

[00:43:29]

The investigation cost Castledare all his life, the behavioral scientists who performed his psychological autopsy proposed that it may have motivated Castle Theros suicide. Perhaps Cécile Lerro had doubts about the octopus, he feared his investigation would never be taken seriously. There wasn't enough evidence, so he decided to create some his own death.

[00:43:57]

Castle Lero may have believed that by making his suicide look mysterious, he could find the validation he sought as a journalist if the public believed he'd been killed by the octopus. And the story he'd spent so much time chasing would outlive him if he couldn't stir up intrigue and controversy in life.

[00:44:18]

And maybe he could do it in death.

[00:44:21]

And for once, Danny Castellano was right. Thanks for tuning into conspiracy theories. We'll be back next week with a new episode of the many sources we used. We found the Octopus Secret Government and Death of Danny Castellano by Ken Thomas and Jim Keith. To be the most helpful in our research, you can find all episodes of conspiracy theories and all other Spotify originals from our cast for free on Spotify.

[00:45:00]

Until then, remember, the truth isn't always the best story, and the official story isn't always the truth.

[00:45:09]

Conspiracy Theories is a Spotify original from past. It is executive produced by Max Cutler, Sound Design by Anthony Vasek with production assistance by Ron Shapiro, Carly Madden and Travis Clark. This episode of Conspiracy Theories was written by Evan McGehee with writing assistance by Angela Jorgensen and Ashley Wicker. Fact checking by Anya Barely and researched by Bradley Klein, conspiracy theorist stars Molly Brandenberg and Carter Roy.

[00:45:45]

Listeners, don't forget to check out the new Sparkasse limited series, criminal couples from apocalyptic cult leaders to bank robbing bandits. These couples give new meaning to till death do us part enjoy two part episodes every Monday starting February 1st. Follow criminal couples free and exclusively on Spotify.