mirror of
https://github.com/nhammer514/textfiles-politics.git
synced 2024-10-01 01:15:38 -04:00
1798 lines
110 KiB
HTML
1798 lines
110 KiB
HTML
<html xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">
|
|
<head>
|
|
<title>inslaw2</title>
|
|
<link rel="stylesheet" href="../CSSstyle.css"/>
|
|
<!--Fill in your link line for CSS and JS in the XSLT here! -->
|
|
</head>
|
|
<body>
|
|
<h1 id="title-index">Politics-Conspiracies-Project</h1>
|
|
<nav id="menu">
|
|
<a href="../index.html">
|
|
<div class="button">Home</div>
|
|
</a>
|
|
<a href="../fulltext2.html">
|
|
<div class="button">Fulltext</div>
|
|
</a>
|
|
<a href="../analysis.html">
|
|
<div class="button">Analysis</div>
|
|
</a>
|
|
<a href="../gallery.html">
|
|
<div class="button">Gallery</div>
|
|
</a>
|
|
<a href="../methods.html">
|
|
<div class="button">Methods</div>
|
|
</a>
|
|
<a href="../about.html">
|
|
<div class="button">About</div>
|
|
</a>
|
|
<a href="../GitHub.html">
|
|
<div class="button">GitHub <img alt="github icon"
|
|
src="https://logos-download.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/GitHub_logo.png"
|
|
width="15"/>
|
|
</div>
|
|
</a>
|
|
</nav>
|
|
<h2>inslaw2</h2>
|
|
<p>This file is the abstracts or text of 26 articles with references to the
|
|
Justice Department's participation in the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> scandal. There are also
|
|
references to Danny Casolaro's mysterious death (spelled murder). The
|
|
articles were published in 1991 and 1992.</p>
|
|
<p>I've included some background information about <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> and its products.</p>
|
|
<p>Copyrights belong to the corresponding journals.</p>
|
|
<p> Journal: Newsbytes March 5 1992
|
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: Justice Dept. allegedly blocks <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> investigation.
|
|
Author: McCormick, John.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Investigations).
|
|
Topic: Legal Issues
|
|
Investigations
|
|
Government Agency
|
|
United States. Department of Justice
|
|
Software piracy
|
|
Copyright.</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>****Justice Dept Allegedly Blocks <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Investigation 03/05/92 WASHINGTON,
|
|
DC, U.S.A., 1992 MAR 5 (NB) -- According to a CNN Business report today, the
|
|
U.S. Justice Department is harassing individuals who talk with investigators
|
|
who are looking into the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> software case. <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>, a Washington based
|
|
software company, has charged that the Justice Department made illegal copies
|
|
of its PROMIS legal case tracking software and sold or gave it to various
|
|
countries.</p>
|
|
<p>Former Attorney General and defeated <span class="GPE">Pennsylvania</span> candidate for the U.S.
|
|
Senate, Richard Thornburgh, fought a futile battle to keep congressional
|
|
investigators from obtaining Justice Department files relating to the case,
|
|
and although a spokesperson for the Department of Justice is saying that
|
|
current head William P. Barr has ordered Department employees to provide
|
|
"full support" to the investigation, CNN reports that Judge Bua said he is
|
|
aware of the allegations that Justice is harassing people who talk to his
|
|
investigators.</p>
|
|
<p>Judge Bua was appointed by Barr in November of 1991 to investigate the
|
|
allegations against his Department but there has been some confusion over
|
|
just how much authority the retired federal judge has to force cooperation.</p>
|
|
<p>The Justice Department says that the Attorney General's office is not aware
|
|
of any allegations of harassment, but CNN today carried an interview with
|
|
former Justice Department staffer Lois Battastoni who said that she knows
|
|
about such cases and that employees are in fear of losing their jobs if they
|
|
talk to the investigators.</p>
|
|
<p>Courts have already ruled in favor of <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> on several occasions, but the $8
|
|
million award to the small ($6 million gross) company was overturned on a
|
|
technicality.</p>
|
|
<p>More recently there have been suspicions voiced that the death of James D.
|
|
"Danny" Casolaro, a freelance writer who was investigating the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> case,
|
|
was not a suicide as originally reported.</p>
|
|
<p>(John McCormick/19920305)</p>
|
|
<p> Journal: Government Computer News Feb 17 1992 v11 n4 p10(1)
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: Writing is on the wall for the move to open systems. (U.S. Justice
|
|
Department Information Resources Management Chief Roger M. Cooper)
|
|
(GCN Interview) (Interview)
|
|
Author: Quindlen, Terrey Hatcher.</p>
|
|
<p>Summary: US Justice Department Information Resources Management (IRM) Chief
|
|
Roger M. Cooper has guided the department toward embracing open
|
|
systems. Currently, the department is putting together a policy
|
|
paper that addresses multiuser systems below the level of
|
|
mainframes. Cooper would like systems to comply with Posix and to
|
|
use the Government Open Systems Interconnection Profile. The
|
|
local area network standard will be the 10M-bps twisted-pair
|
|
Ethernet servers and the word processing standard will be Word
|
|
Perfect Corp's WordPerfect 5.1 software package. Cooper and his
|
|
staff are looking for ways to procure equipment and supplies, and
|
|
he may investigate working with other agencies. He supports the
|
|
General Services Administration's policy of leaving 10 percent of
|
|
big procurement contracts for other agencies.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Topic: MIS
|
|
Standards
|
|
Open Systems
|
|
System Conversion
|
|
Interview
|
|
Office Automation
|
|
Government Contracts
|
|
Equipment Acquisition
|
|
Information resources management
|
|
Government Officials
|
|
Management of EDP
|
|
Trends.
|
|
Feature: illustration
|
|
photograph.</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>GCN: You have a reputation for supporting open systems. Have you made any
|
|
efforts at the Justice Department to move toward an open environment?</p>
|
|
<p>COOPER: We basically have done a lot of work with the IRM directors and the
|
|
components in the agencies. We are putting together a policy paper that
|
|
covers multiuser systems below the mainframe level, because we've got a lot
|
|
of IBM-compatible mainframes.</p>
|
|
<p>Systems will be Posix-complaint and use the Government Open systems
|
|
Interconnection Profile. The department's default for local area network
|
|
transmission media will be 10-megabit/sec, twisted-pair Ethernet servers.
|
|
It's a very flexible way to transmit.</p>
|
|
<p>For office automation, since everybody uses WordPerfect, we've said you've
|
|
got to use WordPerfect or at least have compatibility. We mostly use Version
|
|
5.1.</p>
|
|
<p>We're also working at bringing some version of Unix up on the IBM-compatible
|
|
mainframes.</p>
|
|
<p>Justice, like most agencies, is very paperwork-oriented. So we're trying to
|
|
come up with standards on how we image documents.</p>
|
|
<p>We've got a coordinating group for image standards that's met twice now. The
|
|
group focuses on joint procurements because that's a growth industry.</p>
|
|
<p>GCN: When you say joint procurements, do you mean with other Justice bureaus
|
|
or with other agencies?</p>
|
|
<p>COOPER: I mean mostly within Justice. But we're always looking for other
|
|
procurement vehicles. I've had lots of discussions with Thomas Buckholtz,
|
|
commissioner of the General Services Administration's IRM Service, and Frank
|
|
McDonough, the assistant commissioner, about using every vehicle. We were
|
|
the first people that called on Desktop IV, I think, to see if we could be on
|
|
it. That was before it got protested. But that's the way it goes.</p>
|
|
<p>I think GSA's proposed policy of leaving 10 percent of certain big
|
|
procurements for other agencies is a good idea. We had a very good
|
|
experience at the Farmers Home Administration. We had some AT&T 3B2
|
|
computers we got through a big office automation contract. The Air Force's
|
|
AFCAC 251 had a similar set of hardware and software. But there was a big
|
|
difference in the prices.</p>
|
|
<p>So we wanted the Agriculture contractor to change his prices. He wasn't very
|
|
responsive until we bought a hundred or so computers from the Air Force
|
|
contract. Then he got a lot more responsive.</p>
|
|
<p>Procurements are so tough that any time you can leverage back and forth, I
|
|
think it's a good idea. So I'm glad GSA's doing it.</p>
|
|
<p>The down side is if you've got a tightly integrated system and someone picks
|
|
out one part of it and says, "Gee, you can buy a PC cheaper here." Certainly
|
|
some of the criticism we've had on our Project Eagle microcomputers is not
|
|
fair. It's all bundled up with software and everything.</p>
|
|
<p>You've got to be careful that you're not cream-skimming on the whole thing.
|
|
It has to be a judgment call. When the guy priced the thing, maybe he
|
|
unloaded part of the development costs in the price of the PC.</p>
|
|
<p>GCN: When you came to Justice, the department's IRM had been under fire from
|
|
many sides, including Congress and the General Accounting Office. What goals
|
|
do you have for improving IRM?</p>
|
|
<p>COOPER: We have had criticism, but I think a lot of it has not been
|
|
justified. Certainly we've had some problems. The press Justice has had is
|
|
not commensurate with the level of sophistication of the systems or the
|
|
people. I was pleasantly surprised at the competence level at Justice.</p>
|
|
<p>One area we're going to work on, and I think we probably did need a little
|
|
more work on, is computer security. We have done a tremendous amount of
|
|
training and education, and gotten a lot tougher. It has gotten further up
|
|
on the list of things we worry about.</p>
|
|
<p>I'm proposing putting together a computer security organization reporting
|
|
directly to me. We're thinking about it, but I've got union negotiations.</p>
|
|
<p>In other areas, we've done some really neat things. On our Eagle system,
|
|
every morning when you fire up you PC, the local area network server scans
|
|
your hard disk to see if there's any viruses. It takes a little longer.
|
|
When you turn the thing on, it is not available for about 5 minutes while the
|
|
network interrogates the PC.</p>
|
|
<p>We have found some viruses here, as everybody else in town has. What's nice
|
|
is, when you find it, you know about it instantly. Somebody doesn't have to
|
|
remember to turn the virus program on; it's done automatically. If we get a
|
|
new change to the virus protection software, it goes on the system.
|
|
Eventually, 15000 PCs are going to be interrogated every morning for
|
|
viruses.</p>
|
|
<p>There's a lot of ways they could be introduced. We probably have had less
|
|
viruses than most folks, but I'd say in the nine months I've been here, we've
|
|
had at least a half-dozen to a dozen instances. A lot of them I don't even
|
|
have to worry about, because the system in many cases fixes them
|
|
automatically.</p>
|
|
<p>GCN: Last year, GAO said the U.S. attorneys' offices were not getting
|
|
enough training in security procedures. This year the House Government
|
|
Operations Subcommittee on Government Information, Justice and Agriculture
|
|
said sensitive data in the Bureau of Prisons Sentry system was not getting
|
|
adequate protection. Do you think those situations have improved?</p>
|
|
<p>COOPER: I don't necessarily agree with their assessment, but we've improved
|
|
those situations. In the U.S. attorneys' officers we've done a massive
|
|
education process. A couple of months ago, they had a big computer security
|
|
conference here in Washington. They had, I think, 200 people there. We have
|
|
had lots of training and have improved awareness in that organization by two
|
|
orders of magnitude.</p>
|
|
<p>In addition, we're going to be encrypting all the communications between the
|
|
U.S. attorneys' offices. Anytime they do communications outside the
|
|
controlled area, we're using some encryption. It's not classified data, but
|
|
it's certainly very sensitive.</p>
|
|
<p>GCN: How do you respond to the recent criticism of the Project Eagle office
|
|
automation buy from Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee?</p>
|
|
<p>COOPER: A great many reports have a particular political spin out there.
|
|
I've heard the arguments about the particular spin on the thing, but that's
|
|
not unusual. There have been some recommendations, and we will address them
|
|
back to the regular channels. We're not getting into some kind of dialogue.
|
|
Enough has been said about the whole issue.</p>
|
|
<p>Sometimes I think we lose sight of what we're doing here. We get hung up on
|
|
the process. The question we ultimately should ask is: Is the customer
|
|
getting what he wanted? I think with Eagle, the answer would be a resounding
|
|
yes. A lot of systems in town don't have happy customers.</p>
|
|
<p>GCN: How is Eagle giving the customers what they want?</p>
|
|
<p>COOPER: It's easy to use. It's got great connectivity. It's reasonably
|
|
inexpensive. It's modular. It's upgradeable. And it has minimized the use
|
|
of proprietary technology. It's been so successful that we've beat our best
|
|
projections for installing it. We're talking 12000 workstations installed
|
|
in less than two years. Within six months, we'll probably have them all
|
|
talking to each other.</p>
|
|
<p>GCN: You said it's inexpensive. One of the things the House report said is
|
|
that you could go out in the stores and get computers cheaper than through
|
|
Eagle.</p>
|
|
<p>COOPER: An analogy would be like saying, "A tank weighs 60 tons and it's made
|
|
mostly of steel. I could buy steel at $ 60 a ton."</p>
|
|
<p>The federal procurement system says you buy an integrated solution. It
|
|
doesn't say you can go out and price the parts individually. That would be
|
|
like taking a laptop computer and weighing all the silicon and all the
|
|
solder. If you added up a $2000 lapto with all the raw materials or
|
|
component parts, you would not get the value added in there.</p>
|
|
<p>GSA publishers a report on PC prices. The Justice Department PC prices,
|
|
which are mostly Eagle, are right in the middle of that. They're not the
|
|
lowest and they're not the highest.</p>
|
|
<p>GCN: Are you still planning an agencywide case management software buy for
|
|
the Eagle machines?</p>
|
|
<p>COOPER: Well, we didn't get any money, so we're re-evaluating that. We're
|
|
taking a look at our options, given no money.</p>
|
|
<p>GCN: That's tied in with <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc. and the company's Promis case management
|
|
software. Have you met with Judge Nicholas J. Bua, the special counsel the
|
|
attorney general appointed to investigate Inslaw's claim that Justice stole
|
|
copies of Promis and tried to drive the company into bankruptcy?</p>
|
|
<p>COOPER: I have not met him. He has not talked to me. Most of the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>
|
|
thing happened years and years ago. It has gone to numerous courts. Our
|
|
position all along has been that it's a contract dispute that's gotten out of
|
|
hand.</p>
|
|
<p>The Civil Division is handlign that. The judge will do as the attorney
|
|
general wants him to do, and that's fine. I think all of us in the
|
|
department would like to get it behind us. It's sort of an albatross.</p>
|
|
<p>GCN: What else is Justice doing in IRM?</p>
|
|
<p>COOPER: We're trying to work the open systems thing. We're not making
|
|
everybody run their PC with Unix. We're not making everybody take the
|
|
proprietary system and convert it over. What we're saying is, if you buy
|
|
something new, this is what you should do. We're trying to get a rational
|
|
move to open systems without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.</p>
|
|
<p>I've been very pleased with the response. Justice has a heavily
|
|
IBM-compatible mainframe background, yet I've found great interest in going
|
|
to open systems. I think the handwriting is on the wall.</p>
|
|
<p>Journal: Government Computer News Jan 20 1992 v11 n2 p4(1)
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> owners vow to continue software battle. (<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc.
|
|
battles U.S. Justice Department) (Brief Article)
|
|
Author: Quindlen, Terrey Hatcher.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Cases).
|
|
Topic: Legal Issues
|
|
Law Suit
|
|
Software Piracy
|
|
United States. Department of Justice
|
|
Computer software industry.</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>Even though the Supreme Court last week decided not to hear <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc.'s
|
|
complaint against the Justice Department, the company's owners said they will
|
|
not give up their fight over rights to the Promis case management software.</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> owners Nancy B. and William A. Hamilton said they plan to file a new
|
|
suit against the Justice Department, probably in the U.S. District Court for
|
|
the District of <span class="GPE">Columbia</span>. The Hamiltons have alleged that Justice officials
|
|
stole versions of the company's Promis software and tried to force <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>
|
|
into bankruptcy.</p>
|
|
<p>"If you don't punish wrongdoing, it's going to come and bite you again,"
|
|
William Hamilton said last week at a briefing sponsored by Federal Sources
|
|
Inc., a consulting firm in McLean, Va.</p>
|
|
<p>Justice spokesman Joseph Krovisky said the department had no comment on the
|
|
Supreme Court decision nor on the prospect of more litigation.</p>
|
|
<p>In November, Attorney General William P. Barr appointed Nicholas J. Bua, a
|
|
retired judge, to act as a special counsel to investigate the Hamilton's
|
|
8-year-old charges of wrongdoing by Justice officials.</p>
|
|
<p>Hamilton said Justice's primary motivation in stealing Inslaw's software was
|
|
money, but surveillance of foreign governments might have been another
|
|
motive.</p>
|
|
<p>He said he has been told that the Iraqis, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police
|
|
and British intelligence have had Promis software installed on their
|
|
computers.</p>
|
|
<p>Hamilton speculated that someone might have sold copies of Promis illegally
|
|
to foreign governments. Those copies of the software might have had a hidden
|
|
feature that could transmit information to U.S. surveillance systems, he
|
|
suggested.</p>
|
|
<p>Justice officials have denied these allegations repeatedly.</p>
|
|
<p>The Hamiltons' case has been heard in three courts. The U.S. Bankruptcy
|
|
Court in 1987 found in Inslaw's favor. The U.S. District Court for D.C.
|
|
affirmed that ruling in 1988 and awarded <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> $6 million.</p>
|
|
<p>Last year, the U.S. Appeals Court for D.C. overturned those rulings, saying
|
|
the bankruptcy court did not have the authority to rule on the matter.</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> came out of Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1988 with a loan from IBM Corp.,
|
|
Nancy Hamilton said. The company still sells Promis to state and local
|
|
governments, William Hamilton said.</p>
|
|
<p>The company also sells software for legal and insurance workload management
|
|
as well as Promis.</p>
|
|
<p>Journal: Newsbytes Jan 14 1992
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: Supreme Court denies <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> petition. (court case against US
|
|
Department of Justice)
|
|
Author: McCormick, John.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Cases).
|
|
Topic: Government Agency
|
|
Legal Issues
|
|
Software Publishers
|
|
Court Cases
|
|
Fraud
|
|
United States. Department of Justice.</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>****Supreme Court Denies <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Petition 01/14/92 WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A.,
|
|
1992 JAN 14 (NB) -- The U.S. Supreme Court has refused to reinstate the
|
|
nearly $8 million fine which <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> had won against the U.S. Justice
|
|
Department in earlier cases.</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> had charged that during the Reagan administration the Justice
|
|
Department had stolen the company's legal case-tracking software and sold it
|
|
to other agencies in the United States and abroad.</p>
|
|
<p>The Supreme Court had been petitioned to reinstate the $7.8 million fine
|
|
which had earlier be overturned because of a procedural error in which the
|
|
company had sued and won its case, but in the wrong court.</p>
|
|
<p>The ball is now back in Inslaw's court and the company has expressed
|
|
confidence that a retrial in the correct court will again result in its
|
|
winning a major award against the U.S. government. The Justice Department
|
|
would not comment on the Supreme Court's decision or Inslaw's statement that
|
|
it would continue to pursue the case.</p>
|
|
<p>(John McCormick/19920114)</p>
|
|
<p> Journal: Newsbytes Dec 6 1991
|
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: Suspect TISOFT contract given Eagle-eye. (United States'
|
|
Department of Justice contract)
|
|
Author: McCormick, John.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: TiSoft Inc. (Contracts).
|
|
Topic: Investigations
|
|
Government Contracts
|
|
Government Agency
|
|
Competitive Bidding
|
|
Computer industry
|
|
United States. Department of Justice.</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>****Suspect TISOFT Contract Given Eagle-Eye 12/06/91 WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A.,
|
|
1991 DEC 6 (NB) -- Eagle, a multi-billion dollar computer system being
|
|
installed by the U.S. Department of Justice, was apparently a gold-plated
|
|
contract, according to a Congressional investigation by Democrat Jack Brooks'
|
|
Judiciary Committee. A Virginia-based firm, TISOFT was awarded the contract
|
|
for approximately 15000 workstations despite the fact that it had submitted
|
|
not the lowest but the second highest bid.</p>
|
|
<p>Among the charges investigated by the committee were a possible relationship
|
|
between the Eagle computer system and INSLAW-like software which was
|
|
originally specified for the system. CNN reports that investigators contend
|
|
the Department of Justice gave the winning bidder, TISOFT, a $200000 payment
|
|
which was allegedly used to pay off losing bidders who would otherwise have
|
|
contested the award to TISOFT.</p>
|
|
<p>The committee is still holding hearings on the possible INSLAW connection but
|
|
it has reported that the $200000 payment did take place and that, in its
|
|
estimation, Justice paid $18 million too much for the Project Eagle system.</p>
|
|
<p>In a televised interview seen on Friday's CNN Business Morning, Texas' 9th
|
|
District Representative Jack Brooks stated, "We didn't find them stealing any
|
|
money, of course - we found ... neglect. It took the Justice Department two
|
|
and one-half years to award a contract for equipment that was available in
|
|
stores."</p>
|
|
<p>As for the special payment, Rep. Brooks said, "It doesn't sound right that
|
|
the Justice Department of the United States gave them (TISOFT) $200000 to
|
|
pay off these people."</p>
|
|
<p>As for the Justice Department, spokesmen have pointed out that they did
|
|
nothing illegal.</p>
|
|
<p>According to CNN, Patrick Gallager, president of TISOFT, says that Rep.
|
|
Brooks doesn't understand the difference between buying commodity items off
|
|
the shelf and purchasing a complete integrated system. He also reportedly
|
|
said that the payoffs were legal.</p>
|
|
<p>(John McCormick/19911206/Press Contact: Jack Brooks, 202-225-6565 or fax
|
|
202-225-1584)</p>
|
|
<p>Journal: Government Computer News Nov 25 1991 v10 n24 p60(1)
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: Special counsel appointed to review <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> claims. (Justice
|
|
Department investigation involving <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Corp.)
|
|
Author: Quindlen, Terrey Hatcher.</p>
|
|
<p>Summary: The Justice Department will investigate allegations by <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc
|
|
owners, Nancy B. Hamilton and William A. Hamilton, who say that
|
|
the Justice Department stole computer software that belongs to
|
|
them and tried to push their company into bankruptcy. William P.
|
|
Barr, the newly appointed attorney general, has appointed a
|
|
special counsel, Nicholas J. Bua, to look into the Hamiltons'
|
|
claims. The Hamiltons are skeptical, saying that an investigator
|
|
from outside the Justice Department is needed. It is not
|
|
reasonable to expect, say the Hamiltons, that the Justice
|
|
Department will do an adequate job if it is investigating itself.
|
|
Nevertheless, the Hamiltons are pleased that there is renewed
|
|
activity and interest in the matter.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Investigations).
|
|
Topic: Investigations
|
|
United States. Department of Justice.
|
|
Person: Hamilton, William A. (Cases); Hamilton, Nancy B. (Cases).</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc. owners Nancy B. and William A. Hamilton are expecting the worst,
|
|
yet hoping for the best out of anew Justice Department investigation into the
|
|
couple's allegations that Justice stole <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> software and attempted to
|
|
drive the Washington company into bankruptcy.</p>
|
|
<p>When the newly designated attorney general, William P. Barr, announced this
|
|
month that he had appointed a special counsel to check out the Hamiltons'
|
|
claims, Nancy Hamilton expressed doubts about the outcome of such an
|
|
investigation.</p>
|
|
<p>A special prosecutor appointed outside the department is sorely needed, she
|
|
said. It is unreasonable "to think that the Department of Justice could
|
|
investigate itself," she said.</p>
|
|
<p>For nearly eight years, the Hamiltons have been fighting to get compensation
|
|
from Justice for the alleged theft of enhanced versions of the company's case
|
|
management software, Promis.</p>
|
|
<p>The U.S. Bankruptcy Court in 1987 found in Inslaw's favor and said Justice
|
|
had tried to force the company into bankruptcy. The following year, the U.S.
|
|
District Court for the District of <span class="GPE">Columbia</span> affirmed the bankruptcy court
|
|
ruling and awarded <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> $6 million.</p>
|
|
<p>But in May, the U.S. Appeals Court for D.C. threw out those rulings, saying
|
|
the bankruptcy court had exceeded its authority.</p>
|
|
<p>Now Barr has asked Nicholas J. Bua, a retired federal judge for the <span class="PERSON">Northern</span>
|
|
District of Illinois, to "review all the information related to the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>
|
|
case and advise the attorney general of any further action that may be
|
|
required," Justice spokesman Joseph Krovisky said.</p>
|
|
<p>Bua, who will serve as special counsel and assistant U.S. attorney, said he
|
|
had "no idea at this time" how long his investigation might take.</p>
|
|
<p>Hamilton said she was glad for the renewed interest but questioned whether
|
|
Bua could accomplish anything. Justice employees who know of wrongdoing will
|
|
be reluctant to volunteer information because Bua will report directly to
|
|
Barr, she said.</p>
|
|
<p>"They are not going to tell someone representing the attorney general of the
|
|
criminal misconduct of their superior. It simply won't happen," Hamilton
|
|
said.</p>
|
|
<p>Barr appointed Bua "in an effort to resolve fairly and conclusively the
|
|
ongoing litigation," Krovisky said. Barr gave Bua carte blanche to gather
|
|
any information he seeks, Krovisky added.</p>
|
|
<p>"We are in the embryonic stage of the matter," Bua said, adding that it was
|
|
too early to give a reading on the situation. Bua, a partner in a Chicago
|
|
law firm, said he plans to begin looking into the charges in Washington by
|
|
early December.</p>
|
|
<p>Although the appointment is "a step in the right direction," Hamilton said,
|
|
she questioned Bua's ability to bring witnesses forward. "People in law
|
|
enforcement know that to uncover official corruption you need subpoena power
|
|
and the power of a grand jury," she said.</p>
|
|
<p>The special counsel does not have subpoena power now. But if Bua runs into
|
|
problems getting the information he needs, he can "lay out what the problem
|
|
is and then request subpoena power from the attorney general," Krovisky said.</p>
|
|
<p>Meanwhile, the Hamiltons have filed a petition asking the Supreme Court to
|
|
consider their case. "We're hoping that there will be a decision sometime
|
|
before the end of the year" on whether the Supreme Court will hear the case,
|
|
Hamilton said.</p>
|
|
<p>On the congressional front, the House Judiciary Committee still has the
|
|
record open on its <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> investigation. The committee has been seeking
|
|
several documents from the department. When Attorney General Richard L.
|
|
Thornburgh resigned, several documents relating to <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> had not been turned
|
|
over. The committee chairman, Rep. Jack Brooks (D-Texas), has not said how
|
|
he will proceed.</p>
|
|
<p> Journal: Newsbytes Nov 15 1991
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: Special counsel appointed in <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> case. (Nicholas J. Bua)
|
|
Author: McCormick, John.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Investigations).
|
|
Topic: Investigations
|
|
Government Agency
|
|
Legal Issues
|
|
Computer industry
|
|
Fraud
|
|
United States. Department of Justice.</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>Special Counsel Appointed in <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Case 11/15/91 WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A.,
|
|
1991 NOV 15 (NB) -- Just a few days after the White House suffered a major
|
|
public defeat when its hand-picked Senate candidate for <span class="GPE">Pennsylvania</span>, former
|
|
Attorney General Richard Thornburgh, who had blocked all investigations into
|
|
the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>/Justice Department scandal, was defeated by Harris Wofford,
|
|
President Bush's Attorney General-designate, William P. Barr, has appointed a
|
|
special counsel to look into charges that the Justice Department defrauded
|
|
and attempted to bankrupt the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> company.</p>
|
|
<p>Allegations surround <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> and claims that the Justice Department and
|
|
intelligence agencies illegally copied, modified, and sold the law
|
|
enforcement-related software PROMIS, which was marketed by <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>. One
|
|
prominent claim is that the software was modified to allow U.S. intelligence
|
|
agencies to penetrate foreign law-enforcement and intelligence computers
|
|
running the software through what is called a trap-door, a secret way around
|
|
the usual password access permission systems used to prevent such access.</p>
|
|
<p>Saying during his confirmation hearing testimony before the Senate Judiciary
|
|
Committee on Wednesday, "I want to get to the bottom of this," Mr. Barr went
|
|
on to tell the Senate that he had appointed retired U.S. District judge
|
|
Nicholas J. Bua (Chicago) to investigate the situation which goes back to
|
|
1984. Judge Bua was a Democratic appointee to the bench.</p>
|
|
<p>The U.S. House of Representatives tried to investigate the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> case last
|
|
year when House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jack Brooks (D-Tex.) subpoenaed
|
|
Justice Department documents which former Attorney General Thornburgh only
|
|
grudgingly released early this year.</p>
|
|
<p>A court had earlier found the Justice Department guilty of "fraud, deceit,
|
|
and trickery" and awarded <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> $8 million in damages, but that ruling was
|
|
overturned on a minor technicality by another court and the case is now being
|
|
put before the Supreme Court.</p>
|
|
<p>(John McCormick/19911115)</p>
|
|
<p> Journal: Newsbytes Sept 24 1991
|
|
* Full Text COPYRIGHT Newsbytes Inc. 1991.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: <span class="ORG">Wackenhut</span> denies <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> connection.
|
|
Author: McMullen, Barbara E.; McMullen, John F.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: <span class="ORG">Wackenhut</span> Corp. (Investigations)
|
|
INSLAW Inc. (Products).
|
|
Topic: Investigations
|
|
Legal Issues
|
|
Software piracy
|
|
United States. Department of Justice
|
|
Government Agency
|
|
Court Cases.
|
|
Person: Riconosciuto, Michael (Investigations).</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>****<span class="ORG">WACKENHUT</span> DENIES INSLAW CONNECTION 09/24/91 CORAL GABLES, FLORIDA,
|
|
U.S.A., 1991 SEP 24 (NB) -- <span class="ORG">Wackenhut</span> Corp.'s director of publications,
|
|
Patrick Cannan, in a conversation with Newsbytes, has denied any connection
|
|
between <span class="ORG">Wackenhut</span> and the so-called "<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> case."</p>
|
|
<p>Wackenhut's name has come up consistently in relation to claims made by
|
|
Michael Riconosciuto that he, while a research director for a joint venture
|
|
between <span class="ORG">Wackenhut</span> and the Cabazon <span class="NORP">Indians</span>, modified a stolen copy of Inslaw's
|
|
Promis software for sale by Earl Brian to the Canadian government. These
|
|
claims, which surfaced most recently in a Village Voice article by James
|
|
Ridgeway ("Software To Die For", Village Voice, September 24th), also portray
|
|
the joint venture as one which manufactured weapons (including biological and
|
|
chemical) for foreign governments, including the "contras."</p>
|
|
<p>Cannan told Newsbytes: "When these claims first came up, we did an extensive
|
|
check of our records on Riconosciuto and can say, without fear of
|
|
contradiction, that he was never an employee of <span class="ORG">Wackenhut</span>. I believe that he
|
|
did make some proposals to the management of the joint venture and, if they
|
|
had been accepted, he would have played a role in the project. Things like
|
|
this are common in this type of business but his proposals were never
|
|
accepted."</p>
|
|
<p>Cannan, continued, commenting on the relationship of <span class="ORG">Wackenhut</span> and the
|
|
Cabazon <span class="NORP">Indians</span>, saying: "We were involved in a joint venture in the early
|
|
1980s. The purpose of the venture was to attempt to obtain contracts in our
|
|
base business - the security business. The <span class="NORP">Indians</span>, I guess because of their
|
|
minority status, were believed to have good opportunities of obtaining this
|
|
type of contract. It turned out that we never got any contracts and, after
|
|
two years, the venture was cancelled."</p>
|
|
<p>The <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> case involves the alleged theft of software by the Justice
|
|
Deptartment from the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Corp. and, has grown from a tile and bankruptcy
|
|
case to one that includes allegations of sales of the software to foreign
|
|
governments (such as <span class="GPE">Canada</span>, Iraq, South Korea, Libya and Israel) by such
|
|
Watergate figures as Robert McFarlane and Richard Secord.</p>
|
|
<p>The case attracted more public attention following the apparent suicide death
|
|
of journalist Joseph D. "Danny" Casolaro on mid-August in a Martinsburg motel
|
|
room. Casolaro had told friends that he had made connections between <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>,
|
|
IranContra and the so-called "October Surprise" (allegations that
|
|
representatives of the Reagan-Bush campaign team had convinced the Iranian
|
|
government to delay release of American hostages until after the 1980 U.S.
|
|
elections).</p>
|
|
<p>Casolaro also allegedly told his brother, that, if he reportedly had an
|
|
accident, it was not to be believed. Former US Attorney General Elliot
|
|
Richardson, now attorney for <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>, has demanded a federal investigation of
|
|
Casolaro's death and has been quoted that <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> "is far worse than
|
|
Watergate."</p>
|
|
<p>Cannan also responded to Newsbytes questions concerning rumors that William
|
|
Casey, ex-CIA Director often named in the "October Surprise" allegations was
|
|
legal counsel to <span class="ORG">Wackenhut</span> before joining the government and that former CIA
|
|
officials Frank Carlucci and Admiral Bobby Ray Inman were <span class="ORG">Wackenhut</span>
|
|
directors. Cannan said: "Although Casey's law firm represented <span class="ORG">Wackenhut</span>,
|
|
Casey himself never had any connection with us. Carlucci was a director of
|
|
the firm -- he is no longer -- but Inman was not. We did have another
|
|
director with a similar background to Inman, an admiral who was chief of
|
|
naval operations, and that might have lead to the incorrect rumor."</p>
|
|
<p>The <span class="ORG">Wackenhut</span> Corp. is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (ticker symbol -
|
|
WAK) and is a conglomerate with subsidiaries throughout the world, including
|
|
<span class="GPE">Canada</span>, Liberia, El Salvador, Paraguay, Costa Rica, Australia, and Central
|
|
Europe. Its enterprises include the providing of security and investigative
|
|
services to business, management of correctional facilities, nuclear material
|
|
auditing, training of security and fire and crash rescue personnel, and the
|
|
sale of electronic security systems. It also owns a casualty reinsurance
|
|
firm, a travel service and an airline services company.</p>
|
|
<p>(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19910924)</p>
|
|
<p>Journal: The New York Times Sept 3 1991 v140 pA17(N) pD12(L) 27 col in.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: As U.S. battles computer company, writer takes vision of evil to
|
|
grave. (the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> case)(Danny Casolaro)
|
|
Author: Ayres, B. Drummond, Jr.</p>
|
|
<p>Summary: The mysterious death of Danny Casolaro, a novelist and magazine
|
|
writer, generates attention to the long-running Justice Department
|
|
vs <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc court case. <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>, a small Washington DC-based
|
|
software company, has accused Justice Department officials of
|
|
fraud and theft. Officials allegedly schemed to steal Inslaw's
|
|
software that was developed for tracking the government's record
|
|
of criminal cases, and withheld payments on the pretext of
|
|
contract violations, thereby driving <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> to insolvency. The
|
|
Justice Department denies the allegations. Casolaro, who was
|
|
openly investigating the case, reportedly believed the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> case
|
|
was part of a government-wide scandal involving Reagan
|
|
administration officials. Inslaw's lawyer, Elliot L. Richardson,
|
|
has called for an investigation on Casolaro's death and the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>
|
|
case.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Cases).
|
|
Topic: Court Cases
|
|
Software Publishers
|
|
Investigations
|
|
United States. Department of Justice
|
|
Fraud.
|
|
Person: Casolaro, Joseph D. (Biography).</p>
|
|
<p>Journal: Newsbytes August 27 1991
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: Casolaro source charges gov't procurement scandal. (William
|
|
Turner; James D. Casolaro died while investigating charges of
|
|
government involvement in <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc.)
|
|
Author: McMullen, Barbara E.; McMullen, John F.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Cases).
|
|
Topic: Government Agency
|
|
Investigations
|
|
Legal Issues
|
|
Theft of Equipment
|
|
Software Publishers
|
|
United States. Department of Justice
|
|
Court Cases.
|
|
Person: Casolaro, James D. (Biography); Turner, William (Investigations).</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>****CASOLARO SOURCE CHARGES GOV'T PROCUREMENT SCANDAL 08/27/91 WASHINGTON,
|
|
D.C., U.S.A., 1991 AUG 27 (NB) -- "Bill," the mysterious Newsbytes source who
|
|
met with investigative journalist James D. "Danny" Casolaro on the night
|
|
before Casolaro's death in a Martinsburg, W. VA motel, has come forward on
|
|
the August 26th "Inside Edition" television show and discussed his meeting
|
|
with Casolaro.</p>
|
|
<p>By coming forward, "Bill" identified himself as William Turner, a former
|
|
quality assurance manager for Hughes Aircraft. In Turner's previous
|
|
interviews with Newsbytes, he had requested anonymity because of both a
|
|
commitment to Inside Edition and what he said was the advice of counsel.
|
|
Turner has alleged that Hughes Aircraft, with the assistance of U.S.
|
|
government personnel, has covered up the deliverance of systems for military
|
|
use that were below the procurement specifications.</p>
|
|
<p>While Turner's participation on the television broadcast dealt almost
|
|
exclusively with his meeting with Casolaro, he told Newsbytes that he had
|
|
over three hours of discussion with the show's interviewers on all aspects of
|
|
his charges. Casolaro has told Newsbytes that his attempts to call public
|
|
attention to what he calls a "procurement scandal" have resulted in his
|
|
harassment by the government. He claims that "all of a sudden the Veteran's
|
|
Administration found that it had been overpaying my pension. Even after I
|
|
agreed with them on a schedule for me to make installment repayment of the
|
|
overage, I was sued for the entire amount."</p>
|
|
<p>Turner also told Newsbytes that threats have been made against him
|
|
personally, resulting in his obtaining of police protection. He said that,
|
|
prior to the police protection, his house had been under obvious surveillance
|
|
from autos parked near his home. He said that his phone frequently rings
|
|
and, when he picks it up, there is an audible "hang-up" from the other end.
|
|
He also alleges that his telephone is "tapped" and that his conversations are
|
|
often interrupted by clicks and that conversations are terminated.</p>
|
|
<p>During his conversation with Newsbytes, at a point when he was discussing the
|
|
details of the alleged procurement scandal, a click similar to that of an
|
|
extension being picked up was clearly heard and our conversation was cut off.
|
|
When Newsbytes called back, Turner said that the interruption had become an
|
|
"on-going thing" and that he was "sure that it related to his phone being
|
|
tapped."</p>
|
|
<p>Turner said that he has had contact with ex-U.S. Attorney General Elliott
|
|
Richardson's law firm, which is also representing <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc., the firm whose
|
|
charges against the Justice Dept. has been a major subject of Casolaro's
|
|
investigation. According to Turner, the law firm has advised him to refuse
|
|
to discuss the Casolaro death with the Martinsburg, W. VA police who have
|
|
been trying to contact him. Turner, who criticized the police investigation
|
|
of the death, said that he will discuss his meeting with Casolaro with the
|
|
police when his attorneys are present.</p>
|
|
<p>Turner told Newsbytes that on the day before Casolaro was found dead of an
|
|
apparent suicide, he had met with him and turned over papers documenting his
|
|
charges about the Hughes cover-up. He said that he was shown other material
|
|
that Casolaro had received -- material that Casolaro felt would substantiate
|
|
"Octopus" theory. (According to friends of Casolaro, "octopus" referred to
|
|
his belief that there was a connection between the various cases, or
|
|
"tentacles," that he was investigating: <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>, government procurement,
|
|
IranContra, "October Surprise.")</p>
|
|
<p>Reports from the Martinsburg death scene did not report the finding of papers
|
|
mentioned by Turner and their absence has led to charges that Casolaro met
|
|
with foul play. Richardson has called for a federal investigation of the
|
|
death, as has Casolaro's brother, a Virginia physician.</p>
|
|
<p>Turner also told Newsbytes that he has additional copies of the documentation
|
|
supporting his charges secure in a safe place and that the "truth will come
|
|
out even if something happens to me."</p>
|
|
<p>The so-called "<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Case" involves charges by <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>, Inc. that the Justice
|
|
Department purposely drove it into bankruptcy so that it could steal Inslaw's
|
|
Promis software. While bankruptcy counts on two decisions found the
|
|
allegations to be factual and fined the Justice Dept., saying that the
|
|
government agency had practiced "trickery, fraud and deceit," the U.S. Court
|
|
of Appeals on May 7, 1991 overturned the award, saying that the courts had
|
|
overstepped their jurisdiction. The appeals court said, at the time, that
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> CEO William Hamilton was free to pursue his claims in the proper
|
|
federal court and that the Justice Department's "conduct, if it occurred, is
|
|
inexcusable."</p>
|
|
<p>During the appeal process, <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> broadened its charges to claim that Iran
|
|
Contra figures Robert McFarlane and Richard Secord had played a role is
|
|
disseminating the software to intelligence agencies of Israel, Libya, Iraq,
|
|
South Korea, and <span class="GPE">Canada</span>. These charges, substantiated by Ari Ben-Menashe,
|
|
who claims to be a former Israeli intelligence officer, Iranian arms dealer
|
|
Richard Babayan, and Michael Riconosciuto, who said that he was hired to
|
|
modify the software for use in law enforcement and intelligence agencies
|
|
worldwide, led to a investigation of the case by the House Judiciary
|
|
Committee and a confrontation between committee chairman Jack Brooks and
|
|
Attorney General Richard Thornburgh over the release to the committee of
|
|
material relating to the case. The investigation continues at this time.</p>
|
|
<p>Turner told Newsbytes that he has confidence in Casolaro's theory of a
|
|
connection between <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> and his charges concerning Hughes.</p>
|
|
<p>(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19910827)</p>
|
|
<p>Journal: Newsbytes August 22 1991
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> "source" speaks to Newsbytes.
|
|
Author: McMullen, Barbara E.; McMullen, John F.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Cases).
|
|
Topic: Court Cases
|
|
Government
|
|
Purchases
|
|
Software packages
|
|
Investigations.
|
|
Person: Casolaro, James D. (Crimes against).</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>INSLAW "SOURCE" SPEAKS TO <span class="ORG">NEWSBYTES</span> 08/22/91 WASHINGTON, D.C., U.S.A., 1991
|
|
AUG 22 (NB) -- "Bill," the person who reportedly met with journalist James D.
|
|
"Danny" Casolaro on the night before Casolaro's death in a Martinsburg, W. VA
|
|
motel, has confirmed to Newsbytes that he provided Casolaro with evidence of
|
|
U.S. government malfeasance in the procurement of technology.</p>
|
|
<p>Bill, speaking to Newsbytes under the promise of anonymity, said that
|
|
Casolaro found this information to be related to Casolaro's year-long
|
|
investigation of accusations made by the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>, Inc. against the United
|
|
States Department of Justice. Casolaro had told friends shortly before his
|
|
death that he had taken to calling the investigation the "Octopus" because of
|
|
connections that he had allegedly found between the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> case and such
|
|
things as "IranContra," the "October Surprise," investigation and Bill's
|
|
charges.</p>
|
|
<p>Bill, who is now scheduled to "go public" with his charges in an appearance
|
|
on the television show "Inside Edition" on Monday, August 26th, told
|
|
Newsbytes that he had promised the producers of the show that he would make
|
|
no statements to the media on these matters until Tuesday, August 27th. He
|
|
additionally said that he had discussed this commitment with <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>, Inc.
|
|
attorney Elliot Richardson who also advised him to make no public statements
|
|
until that date.</p>
|
|
<p>Bill further told Newsbytes that the Martinsburg police investigators are
|
|
aware of his identity and have attempted to interrogate him concerning his
|
|
conversations with Casolaro. He, to this date, has refused to meet with them
|
|
and stated that this decision was also made in consultation with Richardson's
|
|
firm. He also told Newsbytes that he has reason to believe that he is under
|
|
surveillance, saying, "There are many more cars on my street than usual and I
|
|
am sure that my phone is tapped. I'm getting calls at all hours of the night
|
|
and, when I pick up the phone, the caller hangs up. They are not only
|
|
watching me but are trying to scare me off. They won't succeed, however; I
|
|
will get the truth out. I have copies of the documentation in a safe place
|
|
and it will come out even if something happens to me."</p>
|
|
<p>Another <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>-related allegation came to light when a Newsbytes source said
|
|
that Casolaro had told her/him that a person that was about to furnish him
|
|
with important documentation had been murdered last January 31st. According
|
|
to the source, Casolaro had identified ex-National Security Agency (NSA)
|
|
employee Alan David Standoff, found at Washington National Airport in a car,
|
|
as a contact tied to the case. According to investigators, Standoff had been
|
|
murdered by beating with a blunt instrument at some other location and then
|
|
transported to the airport. He, according to the Newsbytes source, had
|
|
resigned from the NSA on December 19th (effective 01/14/91) because of his
|
|
call-up by his National Guard unit.</p>
|
|
<p>Casolaro's death, initially ruled a suicide, has been referred to as possibly
|
|
a murder by friends and relatives as well as by Richardson who has called for
|
|
a federal inquiry. The so-called "<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Case" involves charges by <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>,
|
|
Inc., that the Justice Department purposely drove it into bankruptcy so that
|
|
it could steal Inslaw's Promis software. While bankruptcy counts on two
|
|
decisions found the allegations to be factual and fined the Justice Dept.,
|
|
saying that the government agency had practiced "trickery, fraud and deceit."
|
|
The U.S. Court of Appeals on May 7, 1991 overturned the award, saying that
|
|
the courts had overstepped their jurisdiction. The appeals court said, at
|
|
the time, that <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> CEO William Hamilton was free to pursue his claims in
|
|
the proper federal court and that the Justice Department's "conduct, if it
|
|
occurred, is inexcusable."</p>
|
|
<p>During the appeal process, <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> broadened its charges to claim that Iran
|
|
Contra figures Robert McFarlane and Richard Secord had played a role is
|
|
disseminating the software to intelligence agencies of Israel, Libya, Iraq,
|
|
South Korea, and <span class="GPE">Canada</span>. These charges, substantiated by Ari Ben-Menashe,
|
|
who claims to be a former Israeli intelligence officer, Iranian arms dealer
|
|
Richard Babayan, and Michael Riconosciuto, who said that he was hired to
|
|
modify the software for use in law enforcement and intelligence agencies
|
|
worldwide, led to a investigation of the case by the House Judiciary
|
|
Committee and a confrontation between committee chairman Jack Brooks and
|
|
Attorney General Richard Thornburgh over the release to the committee of
|
|
material relating to the case. The investigation continues at this time.</p>
|
|
<p>(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/1991082)</p>
|
|
<p> Journal: Newsbytes August 19 1991
|
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> death investigation continues. (death of reporter Joseph D.
|
|
Casolaro investigating <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc.'s suit against government)
|
|
Author: McMullen, Barbara E.; McMullen, John F.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Cases).
|
|
Product: Promis (Office automation software) (Cases).
|
|
Topic: Government Agency
|
|
Investigations
|
|
United States. Department of Justice.
|
|
Person: Casolaro, Joseph D. (Biography).</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>****INSLAW DEATH INVESTIGATION CONTINUES 08/19/91 MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA,
|
|
U.S.A., AUG 19 (NB) -- The Sheraton Inn in Martinsburg, West Virginia, the
|
|
scene of the death of Washington, D.C. journalist Joseph D. "Danny"
|
|
Casolaro, has received more press attention than ever before in its history
|
|
as reporters from <span class="ORG">ABC</span>-TV, Newsbytes News Network, and the Washington Post
|
|
roamed the halls interrogating bell-hops, waitresses, and desk clerks for
|
|
information regarding the death of Casolaro.</p>
|
|
<p>Employees, supposedly under the cloak of Sheraton-forced silence, told
|
|
Newsbytes that, while some prospective guests have specifically requested the
|
|
room in which Casolaro died, their instructions have been to leave the room
|
|
vacant for an unspecified time.</p>
|
|
<p>Casolaro, 44, had been investigating the "<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>" case, a rather tangled web
|
|
of allegations relating to the charges brought by <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc., that the
|
|
Justice Department had first stolen its software product, "Promis," and then
|
|
driven the firm into bankruptcy. Casolaro had told friends and family that
|
|
he was about to receive material that would provide him with documentation
|
|
linking <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> to other alleged incidents of Reagan-Bush administration
|
|
wrong-doing. Casolaro was said to have referred to the alleged conspiracy as
|
|
the "Octopus" and stated that there were links between the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> theft, the
|
|
"October Surprise," and Iran-Contra allegations.</p>
|
|
<p>The "October surprise" refers to allegations that representatives of the
|
|
Reagan-Bush campaign team, through meetings with Iranian representatives,
|
|
delayed the release of the hostages in Iran until after the 1980 elections.
|
|
These charges are currently being investigated by Congressional committee.</p>
|
|
<p>Casolaro was found dead, an apparent suicide, in Room 517 of the Sheraton on
|
|
Saturday, August 10th, two days after his arrival in Martinsburg. He was
|
|
found in the bathtub at approximately 1:00 pm with both wrists slashed. His
|
|
body was released within three hours to a local funeral parlor for embalming,
|
|
an action that Berkeley County Medical Examiner Sandra Brining was quoted as
|
|
saying was normal in the case of a suicide. "Everything was consistent with
|
|
a self-inflicted wound."</p>
|
|
<p>When Casolaro's family became aware of his death on Monday, August 14th, it
|
|
immediately called for an expanded investigation and his brother, Dr. Anthony
|
|
Casolaro, an Arlington, Virginia physician, was quoted as saying, "In my
|
|
heart I remember Danny telling us that in case of an accident, don't believe
|
|
it." Dr. Casolaro also discounted statements made by his brother in a letter
|
|
to a publisher in which he seemed financially strapped and despondent. Dr.
|
|
Casolaro attributed Casolaro's remarks to a desire to convince the would-be
|
|
publisher of the importance of extending a book contract to him. Casolaro
|
|
had been immersed in the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> case for over a year and had been
|
|
unsuccessful in two proposals to the publishing firm of Little, Brown & Co.</p>
|
|
<p>The clamor for a fuller investigation caused an autopsy to be subsequently
|
|
performed on Casolaro, an action that Assistant Berkeley County prosecutor
|
|
Cynthia Gaither said was not hindered by the previous embalming.</p>
|
|
<p>Casolaro was buried on Friday, October 16th after a funeral service at St.
|
|
Ann's Catholic Church in Arlington, Virginia attended by over 100 people.</p>
|
|
<p>At a press conference held on Thursday, August 15th, Dr. James Frost,
|
|
assistant West Virginia medical examiner, said that, while the results of the
|
|
examination bore out the preliminary findings of suicide, the investigation
|
|
would be continued. Brining and Gaither also participated in the hour-long
|
|
press conference held in the meeting room of the Martinsburg City Council.</p>
|
|
<p>Newsbytes has obtained conflicting reports on the state of Casolaro's mental
|
|
condition. A California free-lance journalist, Virginia McCullough, with
|
|
whom Casolaro had allegedly shared information, told Newsbytes, "It is
|
|
ludicrous to think that Danny took his life. He was excited about his new
|
|
contact and said that 'For the first time I really believe that the
|
|
government was involved.'" McCullough, herself, claims to be the victim of a
|
|
government action that drove her electronics firm into bankruptcy and she is
|
|
presently writing a book on her case and other similar cases, including
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>.</p>
|
|
<p>McCullough's comments on the unlikelihood of a Casolaro suicide were echoed
|
|
in quotes from Pat Clawson, president of Washington-based Metrowest
|
|
Broadcasting Co., and Richard O'Connell, editor of the Washington Crime News,
|
|
a newsletter published in Arlington, VA. Nancy Hamilton, vice president of
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>, also took issue with the suicide finding telling the Martinsburg
|
|
Morning Journal, "We don't accept that. They are saying that here is a man,
|
|
totally sober, mutilating himself."</p>
|
|
<p>Martinsburg residents interviewed by Newsbytes paint a slightly different
|
|
picture and depict Casolaro as seemingly depressed and drinking pitchers of
|
|
beer by himself in a local Pizza Hut on the Thursday evening before his death
|
|
(although a wine bottle was found in his room, there was no evidence of
|
|
alcohol found in the body by the autopsy). Additionally, a Washington Post
|
|
piece of Saturday, August 17th by Gary Lee and Robert O'Harrow, Jr., shows
|
|
Casolaro to be debt-ridden and despondent. According to the Post report,
|
|
"Casolaro had no independent means of income and had invested heavily in the
|
|
book project for at least eight months, financing several trips to the West
|
|
Coast and long-distance telephone calls."</p>
|
|
<p>The Post article also revealed that Casolaro's sister had committed suicide
|
|
in California 20 years ago. While confirming the sister's suicide and his
|
|
brother's financial difficulties, Dr. Casolaro said that these facts still
|
|
did not support a conclusion of suicide for his brother. He told the Post,
|
|
"Danny was the sort of guy who was always broke but he knew that he had a lot
|
|
of resources for money in the family if he needed it."</p>
|
|
<p>Dr. Casolaro also told the Post that he had received a call from a man who
|
|
purported to have met with Casolaro in Martinsburg on the day before the
|
|
death and turned over documents relating to computer hardware thefts. Dr.
|
|
Casolaro said that the man was willing to meet with investigators under the
|
|
cloak of anonymity. Newsbytes has confirmed, from multiple sources, the
|
|
existence of the contact, a man called "Bill," but has not yet obtained
|
|
information concerning the content or the validity of the purported
|
|
documentation.</p>
|
|
<p>The so-called "<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Case" began in 1982 when <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> signed a $10 million
|
|
contract to provide an enhanced version of its case tracking software to the
|
|
U.S. Department of Justice. According to <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>, shortly after it rebuffed
|
|
attempts by a company owned by Earl Brian, a close friend of former US.
|
|
Attorney General Edwin Meese, to buy <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>, the government stopped its
|
|
contract payments and eventually forced the firm into bankruptcy. In January
|
|
1988, a federal bankruptcy judge upheld the claims of <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> President
|
|
William Hamilton and awarded <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> damages of $6.8 million, saying that the
|
|
Justice Department has stolen the Promis software by "trickery, fraud and
|
|
deceit." A second federal judge later upheld the ruling.</p>
|
|
<p>The Justice Dept. continued to appeal the verdicts and, on May 7, 1991, was
|
|
successful when the U.S. Court of Appeals ruled that the bankruptcy court
|
|
had claimed extraordinary and improper jurisdiction in the case. The court
|
|
said that Hamilton was free to pursue his claims in the proper federal court
|
|
and that the Justice Department's "conduct, if it occurred, is inexcusable."</p>
|
|
<p>During the appeal process, <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> broadened its charges to claim that Iran
|
|
Contra figures Robert McFarlane and Richard Secord had played a role is
|
|
disseminating the software to intelligence agencies of Israel, Libya, Iraq,
|
|
South Korea, and <span class="GPE">Canada</span>. These charges were substantiated by Ari
|
|
Ben-Menashe, who claims to be a former Israeli intelligence officer, Iranian
|
|
arms dealer Richard Babayan, and Michael Riconosciuto, who said that he was
|
|
hired to modify the software for use in law enforcement and intelligence
|
|
agencies worldwide.</p>
|
|
<p>Riconosciuto, who was arrested in March of this year and is being held in the
|
|
state of Washington, also claimed to be involved in a now-defunct joint
|
|
venture between the Wachenhut Corp. of Coral Gables, FL and the Southern
|
|
California Cabazon <span class="NORP">Indian</span> tribe. According to Riconosciuto's affidavit, the
|
|
joint venture developed sophisticated weapons for the Contras. McFarlane and
|
|
Brian have denied all charges.</p>
|
|
<p>There have also been reports that the software, allegedly used by the foreign
|
|
intelligence services for maintaining dissidents, contained a "Trojan horse"
|
|
that would allow U.S. security agencies to have undetected access to the
|
|
computer system of the foreign agency. It was also revealed during this time
|
|
that <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> President Hamilton is a former employee of the National Security
|
|
Agency (NSA).</p>
|
|
<p>As the long appeal process continued, the House Judiciary Committee under
|
|
Chairman Jack Brooks (D-Tex.) began its own investigation of the case and
|
|
became embroiled in a year-long battle with then Attorney General Richard
|
|
Thornburgh who refused to turn over Justice Department documents to the
|
|
committee. Shortly before Thornburgh's departure to run for the Senate from
|
|
<span class="GPE">Pennsylvania</span>, an agreement was reached between the committee and the Justice
|
|
Department on the release of certain documents and the investigation is now
|
|
continuing. During the controversy, another former U.S. Attorney General,
|
|
Elliot Richardson, now serving as counsel for <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>, said, "Evidence of the
|
|
widespread ramifications of the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> case comes from many sources and keeps
|
|
accumulating. It remains inexplicable why the Justice Department refuses to
|
|
pursue this evidence and resists cooperation with the Judiciary Committee of
|
|
the House of Representatives."</p>
|
|
<p>On Wednesday, August 14th, Richardson called for a federal investigation of
|
|
Casolaro's death and was quoted as suspecting murder in the case.</p>
|
|
<p>In an interview with Newsbytes, an investigative reporter who has been
|
|
tracking <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> and related cases for a few years said that he had met with
|
|
Casolaro within the last six months and that Casolaro had no material at that
|
|
time that the investigative reporter deemed as new. The reporter, speaking
|
|
to Newsbytes under the promise of non-attribution, also said, "I believe that
|
|
the Justice Department stole Inslaw's software. I have not seen, however,
|
|
compelling evidence to support the charges that it was linked to the
|
|
so-called 'October Surprise.'"</p>
|
|
<p>(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19910819)</p>
|
|
<p>Journal: Computergram International August 16 1991 n1742
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: Minigrams.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>Remember the InsLaw Inc case - well it looks set to blow up into a high
|
|
profile and potentially far-reaching scandal: InsLaw is a tiny Washington DC
|
|
company that was awarded a $10m contract with the US Justice Department for
|
|
software designed to make it easier for the police and the authorities to
|
|
track cases and keep tabs on dissidents, and in 1983, it sued Justice
|
|
claiming that theer ain't no such thing and that the Department had stolen
|
|
its software; a House of Representatives judiciary subcommittee is still
|
|
investigating the case, but meantime Joseph Casolaro, an investigative
|
|
reporter of Fairfax, Virginia who had been working for a year researching a
|
|
book on the InsLaw case, was found in a hotel bathtub with both wrists
|
|
slashed; a suicide note was found nearby, but an autopsy has been ordered
|
|
after suspicions were aroused that the death was a murder disguised to look
|
|
like suicide after the family told police he had no reason to kill himself.</p>
|
|
<p>Journal: Newsbytes August 15 1991
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: "Suicide" of <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> reporter questioned. (Joseph D. 'Danny'
|
|
Casolaro may have been murdered during investigation of <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>
|
|
suit against U.S. Justice Dept.)
|
|
Author: McMullen, Barbara E.; McMullen, John F.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Cases).
|
|
Topic: Legal Issues
|
|
Law Suit
|
|
United States. Department of Justice
|
|
Investigations
|
|
Computer Crimes.
|
|
Person: Casolaro, Joseph D. (Investigations).</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>"SUICIDE" OF INSLAW REPORTER QUESTIONED 08/15/91 SUNOL, CALIFORNIA, U.S.A.,
|
|
1991 AUG 15 (NB) -- The verdict of suicide in the death of reporter Joseph D.
|
|
"Danny" Casolaro on Saturday, August 10th has been challenged by friends and
|
|
relatives.</p>
|
|
<p>Casolaro, 44, of Fairfax, Va., had been, according to reports, involved in an
|
|
investigation of the allegations surrounding government activities in the
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> software case.</p>
|
|
<p>Casolaro was, according to reports, found dead in the bathtub of his
|
|
Martinsburg, West Virginia hotel room Saturday with his wrists cut. Dr.
|
|
James Frost, an assistant state medical examiner was quoted as saying: "The
|
|
wounds are consistent with being self-inflicted, but that doesn't mean that
|
|
someone else couldn't have done this if he were not able to defend himself."</p>
|
|
<p>Virginia McCullough, a freelance journalist and friend of Casolaro, told
|
|
Newsbytes that Casolaro was working for over a year on a book concerning the
|
|
allegations by <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> president William Hamilton that the Justice Department
|
|
first broke a $10 million contract with his firm, then stole the firm's
|
|
software and subsequently sold and donated it to foreign intelligence
|
|
agencies.</p>
|
|
<p>McCullough said: "It is ludicrous to think that Danny would kill himself. He
|
|
had recently told me that he was looking forward to a trip that would give
|
|
him the documentation to prove the Justice Department's involvement. He
|
|
said: 'For the first time, I've become a real believer that the government
|
|
was involved in these things.'"</p>
|
|
<p>McCullough went on to say that Casolaro was never depressed in his
|
|
conversations with her and that they often spoke, sharing information in
|
|
relation to the case. McCullough, herself involved with a company that she
|
|
says had very similar experiences to <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>, is currently writing a book
|
|
detailing what she says have been questionable acts by government agencies in
|
|
the use of bankruptcy proceedings to stifle the development of technology.</p>
|
|
<p>Casolaro's brother, Dr. M. Anthony Casolaro, was quoted by news services as
|
|
also doubting the suicide reports. He said that police told him a
|
|
handwritten note saying: "I'm sorry, especially to my son," was found at the
|
|
scene.</p>
|
|
<p>The House Judiciary Committee is presently investigating the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> charges
|
|
and had announced in April of this year that the Justice Department, after
|
|
long delays, has agreed to turn over documentation relating to the case.</p>
|
|
<p>The case began in 1985 when <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> filed for bankruptcy claiming that the
|
|
Justice Dept. had stopped payment on a 1982 contract for the installation of
|
|
Inslaw's legal case management software, "Promis" into 97 U.S. Attorney's
|
|
offices. <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> claimed that the government contract represented 70 percent
|
|
of Inslaw's income and that the government action forced it into bankruptcy.</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> was successful and a bankruptcy judge found that the department "took,
|
|
converted and stole" the company's property "by trickery, fraud and deceit"
|
|
and further said that the government's conduct demonstrated "bad faith,
|
|
vexatiousness, wantonness and oppressiveness."</p>
|
|
<p>The Justice Department appealed the ruling and, in 1989, U.S. District Court
|
|
Judge William Bryant upheld the decision and ordered the government to pay
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> $8 million plus attorney's fees.</p>
|
|
<p>The Justice Department continued to appeal the case and, on May 7, 1991, was
|
|
successful when the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of <span class="GPE">Columbia</span>
|
|
reversed the bankruptcy rulings saying that the bankruptcy court's rulings
|
|
were too broad and inappropriate for a bankruptcy ruling.</p>
|
|
<p>The court said that, while <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> is entitled to go to another court to press
|
|
its claim,. the U.S. Bankruptcy Court lacked jurisdiction. Commenting on
|
|
Inslaw's allegations of misbehavior, the court said: "Such conduct, if it
|
|
occurred, is inexcusable."</p>
|
|
<p>During the appeals, stories of illegal sales of the allegedly stolen software
|
|
to foreign governments including Iraq, Libya, South Korea, Israel and <span class="GPE">Canada</span>,
|
|
and involvement of Reagan Washington and California appointees Earl Brian,
|
|
Robert McFarlane and Richard Secord in the transactions have caused the House
|
|
Judiciary Committee to seek involvement -- an involvement that the Justice
|
|
Department has resisted.</p>
|
|
<p>Elliot Richardson, former United States Attorney General who now represents
|
|
Hamilton, was quoted during the appeal process as saying: "Evidence of the
|
|
widespread ramifications of the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> case comes from many sources and keeps
|
|
accumulating."</p>
|
|
<p>"It remains inexplicable why the Justice Department consistently refuses to
|
|
pursue this evidence and resists co-operation with the Judiciary Committee of
|
|
the House of Representatives," he added.</p>
|
|
<p>The case took still another turn when witness Ari Ben-Menashe reportedly
|
|
testified that the owner of <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>, William Hamilton, is a former employee of
|
|
the National Security Agency (NSA) and that the software was modified into a
|
|
"Trojan Horse" in order to allow the NSA and the Mossad to listen in on the
|
|
transactions of other intelligence services.</p>
|
|
<p>The attraction of the case management software to these intelligence agencies
|
|
was, according to witnesses, that, rather than its intended use of tracking
|
|
case witnesses and legal opinions, it lent itself to the tracking of
|
|
dissidents and foreign agents.</p>
|
|
<p>(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen/19910815)</p>
|
|
<p>Journal: Government Computer News August 5 1991 v10 n16 p1(2)
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: Thornburgh bows on <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> papers. (Attorney General Richard
|
|
Thornburgh turns over to House Judiciary Committee documents on
|
|
the Justice Department's dealings with <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc.)
|
|
Author: Seaborn, Margaret M.</p>
|
|
<p>Summary: Attorney General Richard Thornburgh submitted to the House
|
|
Judiciary most of the 456 subpoenaed documents concerning the
|
|
Justice Department's dealings with <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc, a software
|
|
publisher. Thornburgh had been threatened with a
|
|
contempt-of-Congress charge if he did not turn over the documents.
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> and the Justice Department have been locked in lawsuits
|
|
over Inslaw's case management software, Promis. Justice has been
|
|
accused of stealing later versions of the software and attempting
|
|
to force the company into bankruptcy. The House committee,
|
|
chaired by Rep John Brooks, has been investigating the case for
|
|
two years but Brooks said that Thornburgh has stalled its progress
|
|
by withholding documents. Justice officials have declared 51
|
|
documents lost but have reconstructed most of them.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Cases).
|
|
Product: Promis (Office automation software) (Cases).
|
|
Topic: United States. Department of Justice
|
|
United States. Congress. House
|
|
Software Piracy
|
|
Court Cases
|
|
Investigations.
|
|
Person: Thornburgh, Richard L. (Cases).</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>Threatened with a contempt-of-Congress charge, Attorney General Richard
|
|
Thornburgh last week turned over to House investigators several hundred
|
|
subpoenaed documents concerning the Justice Department's dealings with <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>
|
|
Inc.</p>
|
|
<p>Last Tuesday night, Thornburgh handed over most but not all of the 456
|
|
documents. Rep. Jack Brooks (D-Texas), chairman of the House Judiciary
|
|
Committee, had warned that if the department failed to hand over the
|
|
documents by Wednesday, he would ask Congress to act to hold Thornburgh in
|
|
contempt.</p>
|
|
<p>After the partial delivery, Brooks said the contempt proceedings were "merely
|
|
suspended." He said he expects Thornburgh to turn over the remaining
|
|
documents by Sept. 11, when Congress reconvenes after its summer holiday.</p>
|
|
<p>The missing documents are from one file of the chief litigating attorney in
|
|
the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> case. Justice officials have been telling the committee since May
|
|
that the department had misplaced 51 of that attorney's documents.</p>
|
|
<p>Justice reconstructed most of these documents, but at least 12 still are
|
|
missing, Brooks said, adding that the committee has not been able to assess
|
|
the thoroughness of the reconstructed material. Also, Brooks said, at least
|
|
another 40 documents submitted last week are incomplete.</p>
|
|
<p>Justice said in a letter that it had searched "meticulously" for the missing
|
|
documents. Brooks said the department has been unable to explain to the
|
|
committee how the records were misplaced.</p>
|
|
<p>"By the department's own admission, these documents are highly sensitive. I
|
|
hope they are not lost somewhere," he said last week. "I remain concerned
|
|
that no action has been taken [by the department] to investigate the
|
|
possibility that this material was destroyed, stolen or shredded in order to
|
|
obstruct the committee's investigation."</p>
|
|
<p>For the past several years, Justice and <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>, a small Washington software
|
|
company, have been battling in courts over the company's case management
|
|
software, Promis. <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> first provided its software to Justice through a
|
|
1982 contract.</p>
|
|
<p>Brooks' committee has been investigating allegations that Justice stole later
|
|
versions of the software and tried to force the company into bankruptcy. But
|
|
Brooks said Thornburgh has stalled Judiciary's two-year investigation by
|
|
denying committee investigators access to documents.</p>
|
|
<p>Finally, late last month, the Judiciary Subcommittee on Economic and
|
|
Commercial Law voted 10 to 6 to subpoena the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> files from Thornburgh.</p>
|
|
<p>Although the department had promised repeatedly to supply the missing
|
|
documents, Brooks said, the subpoena was necessary because Justice had
|
|
reneged at least three times.</p>
|
|
<p>"At this rate, the investigation could drag on for another two years," Brooks
|
|
said. "I simply cannot permit legitimate oversight to be forestalled by
|
|
dilatory or evasive steps."</p>
|
|
<p>To hold Thornburgh in contempt of Congress, Brooks would have to gain the
|
|
votes of a majority of the full House. If the House were to approve such a
|
|
charge, theoretically the sergeant-at-arms would be empowered to arrest the
|
|
attorney general and hold him in a one-room cell in the Capitol.</p>
|
|
<p>Justice officials tried to avoid the subpoena by making an 11th-hour promise
|
|
last month to provide the documents. Brooks said Thornburgh had assured him
|
|
on six occasions that the department would cooperate. But Brooks said he no
|
|
longer would accept such assurances, and the subcommittee went ahead with the
|
|
subpoena.</p>
|
|
<p>The Judiciary Committee's relationship with Thornburgh has grown increasingly
|
|
testly during the past few weeks, culminating with the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> subpoena.</p>
|
|
<p>Thornburgh refused to appear at an earlier committee hearing concerning
|
|
Justice's 1992 budget request [GCN, July 22]. Brooks has said the committee
|
|
may cut finding for several Justice programs, including its massive Project
|
|
Eagle office automation initiative, if that is what is necessary to get the
|
|
department's attention.</p>
|
|
<p>Meanwhile, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of <span class="GPE">Columbia</span> has denied
|
|
Inslaw's petition for a rehearing by the 11-judge bench.</p>
|
|
<p>An appeals court panel in May ruled that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court did not
|
|
have jurisdiction in 1988 when it concluded that Justice attempted to drive
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> out of business.</p>
|
|
<p>Nancy Hamilton, <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> vice president, said the company plans to petition the
|
|
Supreme Court to hear its case.</p>
|
|
<p>Journal: Computerworld July 29 1991 v25 n30 p12(1).
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> papers subpoenaed. (Judiciary Committee of the U.S. House
|
|
of Representatives issues subpoena to access records thought to be
|
|
important in case between <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc. and the U.S. Department of
|
|
Justice)
|
|
Author: Anthes, Gary H.</p>
|
|
<p>Summary: The US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee issued a
|
|
subpoena to the US Justice Department to turn over records thought
|
|
to be relevant to the on-going dispute initiated in 1983 between
|
|
the Justice Department and <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc. The Judiciary Committee is
|
|
investigating charges that the US Justice Department stole
|
|
software and tried to force <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> out of business. The subpoena
|
|
asked Attorney General Richard Thornburgh to release 456 documents
|
|
thought to be connected to the case. Thornburgh has promised to
|
|
release the documents on several occasions, but he has not done
|
|
so. The Justice Department now claims that several of the
|
|
requested documents are missing, and no explanation has been
|
|
offered to explain their absence.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Cases).
|
|
Topic: Legal Issues
|
|
United States. Department of Justice
|
|
United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary
|
|
Law Suit
|
|
Bankruptcy
|
|
Government Agency
|
|
Investigations.</p>
|
|
<p> Journal: Government Computer News July 22 1991 v10 n15 p76(1)
|
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> asks court to reinstate $6M judgement against Justice.
|
|
(<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc., U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of <span class="GPE">Columbia</span>,
|
|
Department of Justice)
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Cases).
|
|
Topic: United States. Department of Justice
|
|
United States. Court of Appeals for the District of <span class="GPE">Columbia</span>
|
|
Circuit
|
|
Court Cases
|
|
Bankruptcy.</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc. has asked the 11-judge bench of the U.S. Court of Appeals for
|
|
the District of <span class="GPE">Columbia</span> to reinstate a lower court's decision to award
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> $6 million in damages from the Justice Department.</p>
|
|
<p>For several years, the small Washington software company has alleged that
|
|
following a dispute over a 1982 contract, Justice officials tried to force
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> into bankruptcy and to steal enhanced versions of the company's case
|
|
management software, Promis.</p>
|
|
<p>In 1987, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court substantially upheld these arguments.
|
|
The U.S. District Court in Washington then affirmed the bankruptcy court's
|
|
ruling and awarded <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> more than $6 million in damages, which Justice
|
|
never paid.</p>
|
|
<p>An appeals court panel in May said the bankruptcy court had no jurisdiction
|
|
to rule that Justice used "trickery, fraud and deceit" to drive <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> out of
|
|
business.</p>
|
|
<p>Inslaw's petition for reconsideration said the appeals court decision
|
|
"rejects the well-accepted authority of a bankruptcy court to hear actions
|
|
that directly affect the administration of a bankruptcy estate."</p>
|
|
<p>In reversing the ruling, the appeals court said it was not ruling on the
|
|
validity of Inslaw's allegations and suggested the company file its
|
|
complaints anew in a court other than bankruptcy court.</p>
|
|
<p>Journal: PC Week June 10 1991 v8 n23 p130(1)
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: The verdict on Cal? he's 'a nice fellow,' but the jury's still
|
|
out. (Rumor Central) (column)
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Text:</p>
|
|
<p>As the Furry One maneuvered his Winnebago into a rest area off I-95, Cal
|
|
pulled out a copy of In These Times, which last month told of alleged
|
|
injustices by the U.S. Justice Department. As the story goes, the Feds
|
|
asked a company called <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> to develop a case-tracking database called
|
|
Promis, which <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> then developed. The Feds rejected the package on
|
|
technical grounds --but then used it anyway, selling it to several foreign
|
|
nations without cutting the vendor in on the profits.</p>
|
|
<p>"I don't believe a word of it," Spencer harrumphed. "It's a matter of public
|
|
record. Look it up," responded Cal.</p>
|
|
<p>Journal: Government Computer News May 13 1991 v10 n10 p3(2)
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: Appeals Court tosses finding that Justice stole from <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>.
|
|
(Department of Justice)
|
|
Author: Seaborn, Margaret M.</p>
|
|
<p>Summary: A federal appeals court has dismissed the ruling of a lower court
|
|
that the Department of Justice stole case management software from
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc. The District of <span class="GPE">Columbia</span> US Court of Appeals ruled
|
|
that the federal Bankruptcy Court overstepped its jurisdiction in
|
|
1987 when it ruled that the Justice Department used fraud,
|
|
trickery and deceit to force the Washington-based software company
|
|
out of business. The US District court affirmed the bankruptcy
|
|
ruling and awarded <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> a $6 million judgement which the Justice
|
|
Department never paid. The appeals court suggested that <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>
|
|
start over in the federal court system after five years of legal
|
|
actions stemming from a contract awarded by Justice to <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> for
|
|
the development of case management software. The court's decision
|
|
said the Justice Department was brought into the Bankruptcy court
|
|
because <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> filed for bankruptcy and the company succeeded in
|
|
convincing the court to adjudicate the contract, though the court
|
|
had no jurisdiction to do so. The court did not rule on the
|
|
validity of the charges and criticized the bankruptcy court for
|
|
its ruling.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Cases).
|
|
Topic: United States. Department of Justice
|
|
Legal Applications
|
|
Software Packages
|
|
Bankruptcy
|
|
Court Cases
|
|
Legal Issues
|
|
Copyright
|
|
National Government.</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>A federal appeals court last week threw out a lower court's findings that the
|
|
Justice Department had stolen case management software from <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc.</p>
|
|
<p>The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of <span class="GPE">Columbia</span> found that the U.S.
|
|
Bankruptcy Court had overstepped its jurisdiction in 1987 when it ruled
|
|
Justice used "trickery, fraud and deceit" to drive the small Washington
|
|
software company out of business.</p>
|
|
<p>A U.S. District Court later affirmed the bankruptcy ruling and awarded
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> $6 million. Justice never paid the money.</p>
|
|
<p>After five years of legal actions stemming from a contract Justice awarded to
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> in 1982 for development of case management software, the appeals court
|
|
suggested that <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> start over in the federal court system.</p>
|
|
<p>The appeals court's decision said Justice was "hauled in front of the
|
|
bankruptcy court simply because <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> filed for bankruptcy, and <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> has
|
|
succeeded in convincing the bankruptcy court to adjudicate its contract . .
|
|
. disputes although the court had no basis to do so."</p>
|
|
<p>The court did not rule on the validity of the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> charges and criticized
|
|
the bankruptcy court for its "extraordinary" ruling. "Such conduct, if it
|
|
occurred, is inexcusable," the appeals court said of Inslaw's complaints
|
|
against Justice. But, "offensive as lawless conduct by one branch of
|
|
government may be, however, it does not justify another's lawlessness."</p>
|
|
<p>The reversal also means Justice need not comply with a discovery ruling last
|
|
month in which an appeals court judge ordered Justice to turn over
|
|
information about whether the software, Promis, was being used at several
|
|
Justice bureaus.</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> vice president Nancy Hamilton said the company "will fight to the
|
|
end." She said <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> either will file a new suit or appeal the decision.
|
|
The company has gathered more evidence against Justice since it filed the
|
|
original suit, she said.</p>
|
|
<p>Stuart M. Gerson, assistant attorney general in charge of Justice's Civil
|
|
Division, said the department was "gratified" by the court's dismissal of
|
|
Inslaw's complaint.</p>
|
|
<p>Gerson said it "vindicates the position the government has taken from the
|
|
outset -- that notwithstanding the intensity of the underlying dispute
|
|
between <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> and the department, this is fundamentally a . . .
|
|
contractual disagreement."</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> president William A. Hamilton said, "The Justice Department has
|
|
consistently hidden behind technical defenses to avoid its duty to enforce
|
|
the laws in regard to the misconduct of its own officials against <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>."</p>
|
|
<p>Meanwhile, a congressional investigation of the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>-Justice dispute is
|
|
continuing. After months of stalling, Attorney General Richard Thornburgh
|
|
has agreed to make several hundred documents about the department's dealings
|
|
with <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> available to House Judiciary Committee investigators.</p>
|
|
<p>The committee was allowed access to the materials only after agreeing to
|
|
several stipulations Thornburgh laid out last month in a letter to the
|
|
committee chairman, Rep. Jack Brooks (D-Texas).</p>
|
|
<p>Judiciary investigators agreed to review the documents on Justice's premises,
|
|
formally request copies and, at least initially, withhold the documents from
|
|
the public.</p>
|
|
<p>Since last July, Brooks had been trying to obtain some 200 department
|
|
documents his committee investigators said pertained to the legal dispute.</p>
|
|
<p>It now appears the committee will examine many more than 200 documents. The
|
|
first of 15 sets of documents, which investigators began reviewing May 1,
|
|
alone contained 193 items.</p>
|
|
<p>The committee considers access to the documents a major breakthrough in its
|
|
investigation.</p>
|
|
<p>The issue of access to the documents came to a head late last year. Brooks,
|
|
frustrated by Justice's continual delays in providing the materials to his
|
|
committee, threatened to issue subpoenas and said he would use whatever means
|
|
necessary to force Justice to turn over the documents.</p>
|
|
<p>Subsequently, Thornburgh assured Brooks he would give him the documents and
|
|
the department would cooperate fully.</p>
|
|
<p>Journal: Federal Computer Week May 6 1991 v5 n12 p4(1).
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: Justice screens <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> document release. (Department of Justice
|
|
limits access to documents in conspiracy case)
|
|
Author: Sweeney, Shahida.</p>
|
|
<p>Summary: The Department of Justice limits House Judiciary Committee access
|
|
to papers relating to an investigation of government conspiracy
|
|
against software developer INSLAW. The Justice Department claims
|
|
that releasing all documents would jeopardize its appeal against
|
|
INSLAW. The House Judiciary Committee is investigating the
|
|
Justice Department's award of a $212 million office automation
|
|
contract to TiSoft Inc. House investigators are being allowed by
|
|
the Justice Department to view relating papers, but may only take
|
|
notes from them for future reference or permission to obtain
|
|
copies. INSLAW is granted permission to examine Department of
|
|
Justice tapes in order to ascertain if the agency is illegally
|
|
using copies if INSLAW's Promise office automation software.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Investigations)
|
|
TiSoft Inc. (Contracts).
|
|
Product: Promis (Office automation software) (Investigations).
|
|
Topic: Software Piracy
|
|
Investigations
|
|
Office Automation
|
|
Legal Applications
|
|
United States. Department of Justice
|
|
United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary
|
|
Court Cases.</p>
|
|
<p>Journal: Newsbytes April 29 1991
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: Washington Post calls for <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> progress. (software publisher's
|
|
case against the justice Department)
|
|
Author: McMullen, Barbara E.; McMullen, John F.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Cases).
|
|
Topic: United States. Department of Justice
|
|
Legal Issues
|
|
Court Cases
|
|
Government Agency
|
|
Software Publishers
|
|
Theft of Equipment
|
|
Government Contracts.</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>WASHINGTON POST CALLS FOR INSLAW PROGRESS 04/29/91 WASHINGTON, DC, U.S.A.,
|
|
1991 APR 29 (NB) -- The Washington Post, in an April 27th editorial, has
|
|
criticized the Justice Department for the lengthy lack of progress in
|
|
cooperation with the House Judiciary Committee's investigation of the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>
|
|
case.</p>
|
|
<p>Recalling that it had editorially praised Attorney General Dick Thornburgh a
|
|
year ago for agreeing to cooperate, the Post said, "We wrote too soon. The
|
|
department continued to resist the committee's request for some documents,
|
|
and the investigation has been hamstrung while lawyers argued over what
|
|
should be shared and what should remain secret. This week agreement was
|
|
finally achieved - or so we think - and after seven years of stonewalling the
|
|
department has pledged full cooperation."</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>, a small computer software firm signed a contract in 1982 to supply
|
|
all 94 U.S. attorney's offices with "Promis" software it had developed to
|
|
track the progress of cases and compile information about caseloads.
|
|
According to the Post story, the government contract accounted for 70% of
|
|
Inslaw's business and, when the Justice Dept. stopped payment and terminated
|
|
the contract in 1984, the firm went into bankruptcy.</p>
|
|
<p>William Hamilton, <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> owner, brought suit against the Justice Dept.,
|
|
claiming that it had stolen the firm's software and willfully driven the firm
|
|
into bankruptcy. Hamilton was successful in his suit and a judge in the
|
|
initial case found that the department "took, converted and stole" the
|
|
company's property "by trickery, fraud and deceit" and further said that the
|
|
government's conduct demonstrated "bad faith, vexatiousness, wantonness and
|
|
oppressiveness."</p>
|
|
<p>The Justice Dept. appealed the ruling and, in 1989, U.S. District Court
|
|
Judge William Bryant upheld the decision and ordered the government to pay
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> $8 million plus attorney's fees. Bryant's decision has since been
|
|
appealed.</p>
|
|
<p>During the appeals, stories of illegal sales of the allegedly stolen software
|
|
to foreign governments including Iraq, Libya, South Korea, Israel and <span class="GPE">Canada</span>,
|
|
and involvement of Reagan Washington and California appointees Earl Brian,
|
|
Robert McFarlane and Richard Secord in the transactions have caused the House
|
|
Judiciary Committee to seek involvement -- an involvement that the Justice
|
|
Dept. has resisted. Elliot Richardson, former United States Attorney
|
|
General who now represents Hamilton, was quoted recently as saying, "Evidence
|
|
of the widespread ramifications of the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> case comes from many sources
|
|
and keeps accumulating. It remains inexplicable why the Justice Department
|
|
consistently refuses to pursue this evidence and resists cooperation with the
|
|
Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives."</p>
|
|
<p>The Post editorial concludes, "The House Judiciary Committee has been more
|
|
insistent, and now Chairman Jack Brooks' (D-Tex.) persistence has paid off.
|
|
The attorney general will let committee investigators see every document,
|
|
though it is understood that some material sensitive to the litigation will
|
|
be treated in confidence. This simple arrangement should not have taken
|
|
nearly so long. The breakthrough is welcome. We hope it is for real this
|
|
time."</p>
|
|
<p>(Barbara E. McMullen & John F. McMullen//19910429)</p>
|
|
<p> Journal: Government Computer News April 15 1991 v10 n8 p6(1)
|
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: Panel questions Justice Dept. on <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>. (House Judiciary
|
|
Committee investigates <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc. accusation that Justice Dept.
|
|
illegally used and distributed Promis case management system)
|
|
Author: Seaborn, Margaret M.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Cases).
|
|
Product: Promis (Office automation software) (Usage).
|
|
Topic: Law Suit
|
|
Licensing
|
|
Copyright
|
|
Investigations
|
|
United States. Department of Justice
|
|
United States. Congress. House. Committee on the Judiciary.</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>Panel Questions Justice Dept. on <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>
|
|
</p>
|
|
<p>Despite the Justice Department's recent appointment of an IRM chief, the
|
|
House Judiciary Committee continues to question the department's ability to
|
|
keep its ADP house in order, especially where it concerns <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> and Project
|
|
Eagle.</p>
|
|
<p>Next month Judiciary Chairman Jack Brooks (D-Texas) intends to ask Justice
|
|
officials in a hearing to justify their $35.2 million fiscal 1992 request for
|
|
Eagle. The committee first raised questions about the office automation
|
|
project last year and voiced concerns about general ADP oversight.</p>
|
|
<p>Justice last month took steps to address some of these management issues when
|
|
it named longtime IRM veteran Roger M. Cooper as the first deputy assistant
|
|
attorney general for IRM. But Cooper has said he needs some time on the job
|
|
before outlining his priorities.</p>
|
|
<p>Meanwhile, committee investigators are continuing to prod Justice to provide
|
|
them with information for their continuing review of the <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> case, in
|
|
which Justice is accused of using proprietary software without a license.
|
|
Recently the department also has been accused of distributing the product to
|
|
other organizations.</p>
|
|
<p>Although Brooks has threatened to issue subpoenas, investigators might
|
|
piggyback on the subpoena power recently won by <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc. president William
|
|
A. Hamilton.</p>
|
|
<p>The committee's investigation has been hamstrung by Justice's unwillingness
|
|
to turn over some 200 documents concerning Promis, the case management system
|
|
Hamilton alleges Justice officials stole from his company. The committee
|
|
anticipates these documents will raise more questions and will point to its
|
|
next move, a congressional staff member said.</p>
|
|
<p>The committee is conducting its investigation independent of information
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> uncovers, but if the company's discovery process turns up evidence
|
|
that would be useful, "we will certainly look at it," he said.</p>
|
|
<p>Chief Judge Aubrey E. Robinson of the U.S. District Court granted <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>
|
|
limited discovery authority this month. It will allow the small Washington
|
|
software company to subpoena information from certain Justice bureaus to
|
|
determine whether the department illegally distributed Promis.</p>
|
|
<p>Robinson gave Justice 30 days to respond to the subpoenas.</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> will subpoena information from the Drug Enforcement Administration,
|
|
the U.S. Marshals Service, the FBI, the Bureau of Prisons, the Immigration
|
|
and Naturalization Service and the Justice Management Division, Hamilton
|
|
said.</p>
|
|
<p>Before granting the motion, Robinson said, "This case has had so many
|
|
skirmishes, I don't know whether you will ever get to the major battle." He
|
|
also said the court should not have to monitor Justice continuously to ensure
|
|
it obeys the law.</p>
|
|
<p>At Hamilton's request, Robinson last month agreed to take over the case from
|
|
the U.S. Bankruptcy Court. Hamilton said <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> may request more subpoenas
|
|
if the discovery process shows that Justice violated a court injunction
|
|
against distributing Promis beyond the 44 copies to which it is entitled
|
|
under a 1982 contract.</p>
|
|
<p>Justice officials continually have denied Inslaw's allegations of wrongdoing.</p>
|
|
<p>Robinson noted Justice's argument that some of Inslaw's affidavits include
|
|
"second-or third-hand hearsay."</p>
|
|
<p>But <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> attorney Charles Work said, "I've got a lot of proof that
|
|
something is going on. I don't have linkage, but if I did I wouldn't be
|
|
asking for discovery."</p>
|
|
<p>Although Brooks has not resorted to subpoenaing Justice officials, he made it
|
|
clear in December that he would force Justice to produce the documents he
|
|
seeks. Brooks has threatened Justice with subpoenas as well as ADP funding
|
|
cuts.</p>
|
|
<p>Last year, Brooks recommended that Eagle's fiscal 1991 funding be cut back to
|
|
the previous year's spending level. Instead, the House Appropriations
|
|
Committee restricted Eagle installations to management and litigating
|
|
agencies and cut funding by $6.1 million to $16.9 million.</p>
|
|
<p> Journal: Computerworld April 1 1991 v25 n13 p1(2).
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: Spies linked to software scam. (former national security adviser
|
|
Robert C. McFarlane implicated)
|
|
Author: Anthes, Gary H.</p>
|
|
<p>Summary: Small software developer <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc has been fighting since 1983
|
|
to prove that the US Department of Justice misappropriated its
|
|
product, but the case has taken a new twist with the revelation
|
|
that former national security adviser Robert C. McFarlane might be
|
|
linked to case-tracking software allegedly fraudulently obtained
|
|
from <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>. A former Israeli intelligence officer has alleged in
|
|
a sworn statement filed in the US Bankruptcy Court that McFarlane
|
|
gave the software to the Israeli government. <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> claims
|
|
officials of the Justice Department and their friends stole its
|
|
Promis law-enforcement case-tracking software for use in a complex
|
|
series of business arrangements. Federal bankruptcy judge George
|
|
Bason Jr ruled in favor of <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> in 1987, but the Justice
|
|
Department has filed a series of appeals in the intervening years.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Cases).
|
|
Topic: Software Piracy
|
|
Government Officials
|
|
United States. Department of Justice
|
|
Fraud.</p>
|
|
<p>Journal: Government Computer News April 1 1991 v10 n7 p66(2)
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Title: <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> head says software passed like a hot potato. (Department of
|
|
Justice accused of stealing software)
|
|
Author: Seaborn, Margaret M.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Descriptors..
|
|
Company: INSLAW Inc. (Cases).
|
|
Topic: Legal Issues
|
|
Court Cases
|
|
Bankruptcy
|
|
United States. Department of Justice
|
|
Government Agency
|
|
Theft of Equipment
|
|
Software Publishers.</p>
|
|
<p>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Full Text:</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Head Says Software Passed Like a Hot Potato</p>
|
|
<p>Saying four federal judges have passed its Promis software case around like a
|
|
"hot potato," <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> Inc. has persuaded the U.S. Bankruptcy Court to allow
|
|
the U.S. District Court to consider an unsettled discovery motion.</p>
|
|
<p>The small Washington company had wanted senior District Court Judge William
|
|
B. Bryant to decide a discovery motion filed last September. In 1989, Bryant
|
|
agreed with a 1987 bankruptcy court ruling that Justice Department officials
|
|
stole 44 copies of enhanced Promis from <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>.</p>
|
|
<p>In February, Judge James F. Schneider, the bankruptcy judge who had handled
|
|
the case for the past two and a half years, recused himself from the case
|
|
citing potential conflicts of interest.</p>
|
|
<p>"Now some six months after <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> initially asked for limited discovery to
|
|
determine whether the injunction had been violated... <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> still has had
|
|
no ruling on its motion, and worse still, has no judge to hear it," <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span>
|
|
said in an emergency motion filed last month.</p>
|
|
<p>If a court granted Inslaw's motion for discovery, the company could subpoena
|
|
information to determine whether Justice had violated an injunction against
|
|
distributing copies of Promis beyond what the department acquired through a
|
|
1982 contract.</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> officials said they want to withdraw the motion from the bankruptcy
|
|
court and resubmit it to the district court because the discovery request is
|
|
not a bankruptcy question.</p>
|
|
<p>
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> president William A. Hamilton said he now believes Promis has been
|
|
illegally distributed to the Central Intelligence Agency, the Defense
|
|
Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency and the FBI.</p>
|
|
<p>Meanwhile, <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> has submitted to the bankruptcy court an affidavit from
|
|
regional sales manager Patricia Hamilton that claims Canadian government
|
|
officials told her their government was using pirated copies of Promis in as
|
|
many as 905 locations. The Royal Canadian Mounted Police could be using
|
|
Promis in 900 of those locations, she said.</p>
|
|
<p>A former Israeli intelligence officer alleged in a second affidavit that Earl
|
|
W. Brian, a friend of former Attorney General Edwin Meese, told him that U.S.
|
|
and Israeli intelligence agencies were using Promis. The Israeli, Ari
|
|
Ben-Menashe, also said in the affidavit he had learned that Brian sold Promis
|
|
to Iraqi military intelligence.</p>
|
|
<p>Brian has denied these allegations.</p>
|
|
<p>Schneider is the third judge to recuse himself from the case, which has been
|
|
pending almost five years. A fourth judge and the first to hear the case,
|
|
Judge George F. Bason Jr., "has come to believe that his failure to be
|
|
reappointed to the bench was due to the opinions he rendered in this case,"
|
|
<span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> said.</p>
|
|
<p>The emergency motion said, "Judge Bryant remains the only sitting judge who
|
|
has not removed himself and has knowledge of the facts of the case."</p>
|
|
<p>Bryant awarded <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> more than $6 million in 1988. Justice is appealing the
|
|
U.S. District Court judge's 1989 affirmation of the bankruptcy court's
|
|
ruling and has not paid <span class="ORG">Inslaw</span> any of the awarded money.</p>
|
|
<p> Product: Docketrac
|
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Company: INSLAW, Inc.
|
|
Address: 1125 15th St., NW, Ste. 300
|
|
Washington, DC 20005
|
|
800-221-3187; 202-828-8600
|
|
FAX: 202-659-0755
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Category: Software, Applications
|
|
Legal Services</p>
|
|
<p>Specs: Pricing: $40000-$150000
|
|
Number sold: 18
|
|
Release date: 1983
|
|
Application: Legal Services-Docket Scheduling
|
|
Compatible with: IBM 9370, 30XX, 43XX/DOS, OS, MVS, <span class="ORG">CICS</span>; DEC
|
|
VAX/ULTRIX; Wang/VS; Unisys; AT&T 3B/UNIX System V; HP/HP-UX
|
|
Minimum RAM required: 2 MB
|
|
Source language: COBOL
|
|
Customer support: Maint. fee 12% of licensing fee per yr.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Summary: On-line docketing and calendaring. Trial court information
|
|
system. Tracks cases, litigants, case parties, causes of action
|
|
and charges from filing to disposition. Debt Collection module.</p>
|
|
<p>Descriptors: scheduling</p>
|
|
<p> Product: Jailtrac
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Company: INSLAW, Inc.
|
|
Address: 1125 15th St., NW, Ste. 300
|
|
Washington, DC 20005
|
|
800-221-3187; 202-828-8600
|
|
FAX: 202-659-0755
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Category: Software, Applications
|
|
Government/Public Administration</p>
|
|
<p>Specs: Pricing: $30000-$125000
|
|
Number sold: 14
|
|
Release date: 1982
|
|
Application: Law Enforcement/Emergency Services
|
|
Compatible with: IBM 9370, 30XX, 43XX/DOS, OS, MVS, <span class="ORG">CICS</span>; DEC
|
|
VAX/ULTRIX; Wang/VS; Unisys; AT&T 3B/UNIX System V; HP/HP-UX
|
|
Minimum RAM required: 2 MB
|
|
Source language: COBOL
|
|
Customer support: Maint. fee 12% of licensing fee per yr.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Summary: Arrest booking and jail management. Tracks arrestees, inmates and
|
|
cases. On-line data entry, updating and retrieval. Produces
|
|
user-defined forms. Includes inmate tracking, cell assignment,
|
|
property, inmate accounting, visitor control, scheduling, inmate
|
|
history, medical information and release date calculation.
|
|
Tailorable.</p>
|
|
<p>Descriptors: scheduling</p>
|
|
<p>Product: Modulaw Corporate/Lawfirm Public
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Company: INSLAW, Inc.
|
|
Address: 1125 15th St., NW, Ste. 300
|
|
Washington, DC 20005
|
|
800-221-3187; 202-828-8600
|
|
FAX: 202-659-0755
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Category: Software, Applications
|
|
Legal Services</p>
|
|
<p>Specs: Pricing: $30000-$125000
|
|
Number sold: 15
|
|
Release date: 1983
|
|
Application: Legal Services-Practice Management
|
|
Compatible with: IBM 9370, 30XX, 43XX/DOS, OS, MVS, <span class="ORG">CICS</span>; DEC
|
|
VAX/ULTRIX; Wang/VS; Unisys; AT&T 3B/UNIX System V; HP/HP-UX
|
|
Minimum RAM required: 2 MB
|
|
Source language: COBOL
|
|
Customer support: Maint. fee 12% of licensing fee per yr.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Summary: Performs claims/matter tracking, attorney timekeeping, outside
|
|
counsel tracking, work product retrieval, docket control and
|
|
calendaring, corporate secretary management, person/organization
|
|
tracking, law library management, legislation tracking, loan
|
|
recovery and records management. User designed screens, forms and
|
|
reports.</p>
|
|
<p>Descriptors: scheduling; personnel; office automation; professional time
|
|
accounting</p>
|
|
<p>Product: Modulaw Insurance
|
|
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Company: INSLAW, Inc.
|
|
Address: 1125 15th St., NW, Ste. 300
|
|
Washington, DC 20005
|
|
800-221-3187; 202-828-8600
|
|
FAX: 202-659-0755
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Category: Software, Applications
|
|
Legal Services</p>
|
|
<p>Specs: Pricing: $30000-$125000 per office
|
|
Number sold: 13
|
|
Release date: 1986
|
|
Application: Legal Services
|
|
Compatible with: IBM 9370, 30XX, 43XX/DOS, OS, MVS, <span class="ORG">CICS</span>; DEC
|
|
VAX/ULTRIX; Wang/VS; Unisys; AT&T 3B/UNIX System V; HP/HP-UX
|
|
Minimum RAM required: 2 MB
|
|
Source language: COBOL
|
|
Customer support: Maint. fee 12% of licensing fee per yr.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Summary: On-line information system. Supports claims litigation tracking,
|
|
claims evaluation, reserve tracking, party and expert witness
|
|
cross referencing, outside counsel management, docket control and
|
|
scheduling, staff workload management, staff timekeeping and
|
|
document and issue indexing.</p>
|
|
<p>Descriptors: scheduling; professional time accounting</p>
|
|
<p>Product: Promis
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Company: INSLAW, Inc.
|
|
Address: 1125 15th St., NW, Ste. 300
|
|
Washington, DC 20005
|
|
800-221-3187; 202-828-8600
|
|
FAX: 202-659-0755
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Category: Software, Applications
|
|
Government/Public Administration</p>
|
|
<p>Specs: Pricing: $30000-$125000
|
|
Number sold: 75
|
|
Release date: 1980
|
|
Application: Law Enforcement/Emergency Services
|
|
Compatible with: IBM 9370, 30XX, 43XX/DOS, OS, MVS, <span class="ORG">CICS</span>; DEC
|
|
VAX/ULTRIX; Wang/VS; Unisys; AT&T 3B/UNIX System V; HP/HP-UX
|
|
Minimum RAM required: 2 MB
|
|
Source language: COBOL
|
|
Customer support: Maint. fee 12% of licensing fee per yr.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Summary: Tracks cases, defendants and charges in public prosecutor's
|
|
office. Data entry, updating and retrieval. Produces
|
|
user-defined forms. Defines reports for ad hoc or periodic
|
|
production.
|
|
|
|
Company: INSLAW, Inc.
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Address: 1125 15th St., NW, Ste. 300
|
|
Washington, DC 20005
|
|
800-221-3187; 202-828-8600
|
|
FAX: 202-659-0755
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Summary: Gross annual sales: $6000000
|
|
No. of employees: 55
|
|
Year established: 1972
|
|
Chairman/CEO/President: William A. Hamilton
|
|
Controller: Bellie Ling
|
|
Marketing Dir.: Edward M. Durham
|
|
Personnel Dir.: Elizabeth Davis
|
|
Marketing/Comm. Mgr.: Evelyn L. Millhouse
|
|
VP Product Development: Marian Holton
|
|
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|
Category: Software, Applications
|
|
Government/Public Administration
|
|
Legal Services
|
|
</p>
|
|
</body>
|
|
</html>
|