Don Devereaux / Octopus / Casolaro connection?

[ramirez412001]

Hey guys,

Watching the end of the Money Clip murder (Charlies Morgan) clip before the separate segment on the botched hit of Doug Johnston, Devereaux was warned that the hit on Doug Johnston was meant for him by a "Journalist friend of mine from Washington D.C."

And before Casolaro was killed, Devereaux had sent information he had to Casolaro about ""The Octopus."

In the original segment, they talked about the fact that "the contract was coming around again, and that the next attempt would be made to look like an accident."

Devereaux strikes me as someone was smart enough to avoid being trapped, so is it possible they killed Casolaro because they couldn't get to Devereaux, or are those two incidents just tangentially related?

[dynoguy88]

Devereaux agreed to send Casolaro his research involving Charles Morgan's laundering and illegal gold transactions. But Casolaro was killed before Devereaux could mail the research.

I'm dense and I still don't exactly understand how Morgan's drama ties in to the 'Octopus.' But it wasn't just the journalist friend that confirmed the mistaken hit. It was also a CIA official and a member of Israeli Intelligence.

When they did a segment centering specifically on Casolaro, I remember originally expecting Devereaux to be interviewed again. But he wasn't featured or mentioned. There was also no mention of Charles Morgan or Doug Johnston. So go figure.

All three segments were memorable and interesting. But the specifics still confuse me after all these years.

[James T]

I tend to think Don is like many in the conspiracy field something of a Walter Mitty/embellisher. Morgan's death plainly wouldn't tie into the Octopus even if it existed, which nobody has ever been able to prove it does.

As for the hit-we are supposed to believe that one of Don's investigations annoyed the Mafia so much that they sent totally incompetent hitmen to murder him & they managed to whack somebody who worked near to where Don lived who looked nothing like him & was a decade or more younger. All we get to back up this theory is an unnamed CIA person & for some bizarre reason an Israeli agent-also unidentified warn him there is a hit out on him. Of course Don is such a threat that he is still alive nearly 30 years later.

[freakbook]

Originally Posted by James T

Of course Don is such a threat that he is still alive nearly 30 years later.

I always thought that if the hit was intended for him, why didn't they go back and kill him if they got the wrong guy? Yeah, he's just a naive tinfoil hatter.

[DALLASTEXAN!!]

Originally Posted by James T

I tend to think Don is like many in the conspiracy field something of a Walter Mitty/embellisher. Morgan's death plainly wouldn't tie into the Octopus even if it existed, which nobody has ever been able to prove it does.

As for the hit-we are supposed to believe that one of Don's investigations annoyed the Mafia so much that they sent totally incompetent hitmen to murder him & they managed to whack somebody who worked near to where Don lived who looked nothing like him & was a decade or more younger. All we get to back up this theory is an unnamed CIA person & for some bizarre reason an Israeli agent-also unidentified warn him there is a hit out on him. Of course Don is such a threat that he is still alive nearly 30 years later.

good post James.

UM was ahead of its time. By today's standards Don would have his own reality show thanks to those segments.

[James T]

Originally Posted by freakbook

I always thought that if the hit was intended for him, why didn't they go back and kill him if they got the wrong guy? Yeah, he's just a naive tinfoil hatter.

Seems to be a pretty good investigator, but certainly strayed into the path of nonsense for this one-whether it was for publicity, or he just bought into Casolaro etc who can say? Would have been interesting if UM had gone to the police investigating the death of this guy & seen what was in his background & what suspects they had.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Originally Posted by James T

I tend to think Don is like many in the conspiracy field something of a Walter Mitty/embellisher. Morgan's death plainly wouldn't tie into the Octopus even if it existed, which nobody has ever been able to prove it does.

My feelings on this case aside, I appreciate the solid literary reference.

[MegtheEgg86]

What dynoguy touches on is why I always thought 'the Octopus' was a load of crap. He's not dense at all: Casolaro's linkages were tenuous and the ultimate demonstration of pounding square pegs into round holes.

I totally believe Morgan was murdered as does Devereaux, and I even think Casolaro uncovered at least one story with some actual conspiracies during his coverage of Inslaw. But I do think the two of them were in positions that came with the unique occupational hazard of motivation to find shadows lurking in every corner and patterns where none may exist.

[TheCars1986]

Originally Posted by James T

I tend to think Don is like many in the conspiracy field something of a Walter Mitty/embellisher. Morgan's death plainly wouldn't tie into the Octopus even if it existed, which nobody has ever been able to prove it does.

As for the hit-we are supposed to believe that one of Don's investigations annoyed the Mafia so much that they sent totally incompetent hitmen to murder him & they managed to whack somebody who worked near to where Don lived who looked nothing like him & was a decade or more younger. All we get to back up this theory is an unnamed CIA person & for some bizarre reason an Israeli agent-also unidentified warn him there is a hit out on him. Of course Don is such a threat that he is still alive nearly 30 years later.

You hit the nail on the head with this post.

[Huskerz85]

Originally Posted by ramirez412001

Hey guys,

Watching the end of the Money Clip murder (Charlies Morgan) clip before the separate segment on the botched hit of Doug Johnston, Devereaux was warned that the hit on Doug Johnston was meant for him by a "Journalist friend of mine from Washington D.C."

And before Casolaro was killed, Devereaux had sent information he had to Casolaro about ""The Octopus."

In the original segment, they talked about the fact that "the contract was coming around again, and that the next attempt would be made to look like an accident."

Devereaux strikes me as someone was smart enough to avoid being trapped, so is it possible they killed Casolaro because they couldn't get to Devereaux, or are those two incidents just tangentially related?

This is one of my favorite segments. This particular thread really ties things up for me though