SAN DIEGO BOOKSHELF: REPORTER REVEALS POWERFUL CONSPIRACY IN TRUE-LIFE THRILLER, THE LAST CIRCLE

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The Last Circle, By Cheri Seymour (TrineDay LLC, Walterville, Oregon, 2010, 584 pages.)

Book Review by Dennis Moore

 

October 1, 2010 (San Diego) Former investigative reporter Cheri Seymour, a San Diego County resident, has written a non-fiction thriller to end all thrillers. The Last Circle is ripped from the headlines of one of our era’s most controversial murder scandals: the killing of investigative journalist Danny Casolaro, whose discoveries about a shadowy organization that he dubbed “The Octopus” reached into the Mafia, the Cali Drug Cartel, and even the U.S. Department of Justice.

Casolaro, a Washington D.C. journalist, began his probe with an investigation into the theft of a revolutionary new software program that was actually the forerunner of artificial intelligence. It was called PROMIS, or Prosecutor’s Management Information System, and it was contracted by the U.S. Department of Justice to upgrade the DOJ’s outdated case management system.

Casolaro worked closely with Bill Hamilton, owner and developer of the PROMIS software, to locate and identify the persons responsible for illegally modifying the software, installing a backdoor or Trojan Horse in the program, and selling it worldwide to foreign countries—thus allowing the U.S. government to secretly monitor intelligence operations in those countries.

But Casolaro learned more than he bargained for. The PROMIS software investigation led him into a labyrinth comprised of international spies, drug traffickers, money launderers, and unsolved murders dating as far back as 1981. He called this the “Octopus” because its tentacles reached into every facet of criminal enterprise, including the Mafia and the Cali Drug Cartel.

In August 1991, Casolaro filled his briefcase with documents and headed out to Martinsburg, Virginia to “bring back the head of the Octopus,” according to his closest friends who said he was “ecstatic” about something he had recently uncovered. He never returned. He was found dead at a Martinsburg hotel on August 10, 1991. The coroner ruled his death a suicide, but all his documents and briefcase were missing from the hotel room and never recovered.

Three months after Casolaro’s death, Seymour jumped on the investigative trail he left behind, and 18 years later, his story and Seymour’s are revealed in this riveting book, The Last Circle.

One of the most provocative outcomes of this 18-year on-and-off investigation was the discovery that five days before his death, Casolaro had uncovered a connection between Mike Abbell, a former Director of International Affairs at the Department of Justice in Washington, D.C., and the Cali Drug Cartel in Columbia.

Seymour provided that information to a U.S. Customs Agent in 1993; he followed up on that lead, and in 1995 Mike Abbell was indicted for money laundering, drug conspiracy and racketeering for the Cali Cartel. The indictment was published on the front page of the Washington Post, but the story behind the indictment is published in The Last Circle. That is what Seymour’s book is about, the story behind the story.

Seymour recalled that on February 19th, 2000, the stalwart, soft-spoken Mountie of the RCMP, Sean McDade visited Seymour at her southern California home and explained that high-ranking Canadian officials may have unlawfully purchased the PROMIS software from officials in the Reagan-Bush administration. RCMP, the Royal Canadian Mounted Police, had reportedly traced some banking transactions that supported this claim. If his investigation was successful, he said, “it could cause the entire U.S. Republican Party to be dismantled and more than one presidential administration would be exposed for their knowledge of the [PROMIS] software transaction.”

The scope of Seymour’s book includes behind-the-scenes dynamics of a globe-trotting undercover intelligence operative named Robert Booth Nichols. Nichols’ labyrinthine career encompassed the covert operations of a maze of politicians, NSC, CIA, and DOJ officials, organized crime figures, intelligence agents, arms sales, drug-trafficking, high-tech money laundering, and the death of  Danny Casolaro.

Seymour states in her book that Nichols was aptly described in magazine articles as “Clark Gable without the ears,” tall with probing brown eyes, his demeanor simultaneously controlled and dramatic with an international flavor. He’d been the weapons technical advisor for Steven Seagal’s movie, “Under Seige,” and it became apparent why Seagal gave him a cameo appearance as a military colonel in the movie.

At times reading like something out of Robert Ludlum’s The Bourne Supremacy, Seymour’s book is an investigative thriller that points fingers and name names all the way up to its conclusion with the 2009 arrest of a self-described Mafia “hit-man” contracted to kill a Cabazon tribal leader in 1981 who had opposed both development on tribal lands of the first Indian Casino in California and the terrible weapons of Wackenhut.

Though law enforcement investigators from agencies as far-ranging as the FBI, U.S. Customs, police and sheriff’s departments, and even the RCMP national security division, Seymour learned that the official head of the Octopus resided in the U.S. Department of Justice, supported by an out-of-control presidential administration. Its tentacles were comprised of a cabal of “Old Boy” cronies, true believers, who held that the end justified the means in their obsession to quell the expansion of communism in neighboring countries and throughout the world in the 1980s.

They gave corruption a new meaning as they stampeded through the Constitution and acted like cowboys toward the intelligence community, blazing new trails into drug cartels and organized crime while simultaneously growing new tentacles that reached into every facet of criminal enterprise. The theft of high-tech software (PROMIS) for use in money-laundering and espionage, illegal drug and arms trafficking in Latin America, and exploitation of sovereign Indian nations were just a few of these enterprises. Mind you, the high-tech software (PROMIS) was the linchpin to all the sordid acts and criminal behavior revealed in Seymour’s The Last Circle, including the murder of Danny Casolaro.

The Last Circle refers to Dante’s Inferno. Seymour states that there was a last circle represented in Dante’s Inferno, but in retrospect it seems fitting. In 1306 A.D., Dante poeticized nine circles, the ninth being the last level before the final descent into Hell. “The last circle housed those souls who had been traitors to their country, their friends, and their lords.”

Because Seymour had provided a group of law enforcement men and women with the very same information that Casolaro had been working on in the last five days of his life--information that resulted in the subsequent indictment of a former career DOJ official to Robert Boot Nichols and the Cali Cartel-- Seymour was provided with documents and reports of the best kept secret in Washington, D.C.

These law enforcement people had direct knowledge of FBI wiretaps of Robert Booth Nichols and his associates which had captured (on tape) members of the Gambino and Buffalino crime families, in collusion with the Department of Justice and the U.S. Attorney general, the highest law enforcement authority in the nation, arranging the shutdown and sealing of an FBI investigation of MCA Corporation in order to facilitate the largest corporate sale in U.S. history to the Japanese.

Seymour states in her book that she was told that there is no one in America who has the power to prosecute the Octopus criminals because the tentacles have become an integral, and accepted, culture within our society and indeed, within our economy.

With that in mind, it became clear to Seymour that the only avenue left to expose the history of Octopus was through publishing this book, The Last Circle, because for decades major media, government committees, U.S. Representatives and Senators had ignored the legacy of war, corruption and greed left behind by the Octopus which she says still flourishes today.

This book even includes a reference to the famous “Zapruder” video tape of the assassination of President John F. Kennedy, indicating the tentacles of the “Octopus,” and what those tentacles could have people believe. The author quotes Robert Booth Nichols in her book, stating; “Nothing is as it appears to be.”

The intrigue in this book further includes Seymour being targeted for assassination, due to her investigative reporting in affairs of Danny Casolaro and Robert Booth Nichols, among others. She was was warned: “They’re going to kill you, if you don’t RUN!”

She did take a brief hiatus in San Diego with her mother after this threat was made. Obviously, she escaped this fate, for I actually sat next to her and talked with her a few weeks ago at a meeting of the San Diego Writers/Editors Guild. She impressed me as someone who would go to great lengths to get at the truth.

This is an exciting true-life thriller from end to end, with radio interview of the author by the host of "Radio Free Kansas" that you can listen to here.

Dennis Moore is a member of the San Diego Writers/Editors Guild. He has written for LifeAfter50 Magazine in Pasadena, California, and the Baja Times Newspaper in Rosarito Beach, Mexico. Mr. Moore can be contacted at contractsagency@gmail.com or you can follow him on Twitter at: @DennisMoore8.



 


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Comments

The Belarus Secret - "America's Nazi Secret"

Quote by Cheri Seymour:

"I have been in awe of John Loftus ever since I read his 1982 book, 'The Balarus Secret.' It was the highlight of my writing career when John complimented my recent book, 'The Last Circle.' John is one of the greats in America's contemporary writers; his books are classics that should be included in everyone's reading experience."

John Loftus' "America's Nazi Secret"

In another TrineDay masterpiece publication, John Loftus' "America's Nazi Secret," follows in a similar vein as Cheri Seymour's "The Last Circle," in that there is government complicity involved. I have been given the opportunity to review this intriguing book, as I had with "The Last Circle.

The Last Circle moving up at Amazon.com

Thanks to Dennis Moore's fabulous book review of The Last Circle which was picked up and propagated on Google, book sales of TLC improved considerably.
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The Last Circle was ranked #39 in the Top 100 Best Sellers at Amazon.com in the "Espionage" category --- as of 11/20/10 at 10:24 p.m. (Pacific Time).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/11316/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_1_4_la...
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The Last Circle was ranked #55 in the Top 100 Best Sellers at Amazon.com in the "Organized Crime" category --- as of 11/20/10 at 10:14 p.m. (Pacific time).

http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/books/271636011/ref=pd_zg_hrsr_b_2_...
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Thanks Dennis! You are an amazing book reviewer. Keep up the great work! Readers are enjoying it all over the Internet!

And thanks also to the Trine Day publisher's staff. They are a dynamic team of professionals who get the job done. All the best, Cheri Seymour
»

Amazon Bestseller to have book signing at Barnes & Noble

Cheri Seymour will have her book signing at the Barnes & Noble bookstore on Vista in Oceanside, from 4PM to 7PM on December 1st, for her Amazon Bestselling book, "The Last Circle." She will follow this up later in the month with a book signing at Borders in El Cajon.

"Through The Eyes Of God"

Thank you for you kind and thoughtful comments about my review of this book. That is the good thing about my writing book reviews, I get to read so many good and interesting books, such as your book; "Through The Eyes Of God." In chapter 5 of your book, under "Getting the Right Perspective," you write that "Complaing is another action that keeps us from conquering our fears." That reminds me of a passage in a pamphlet by Pastor Joel Osteen: "30 Thoughts for Victorious Living." He says "Have An Attitude Of Gratitude" and speaks of complaining, by stating: "Complaining is not based on your circumstances; it's based on the attitude of your heart. If you keep the right attitude during your time of adversity, God will honor you." I try to live my life that way, and your book reminded me of it.

Regards,

Dennis

"Through The Eyes Of God"

Thank you for you kind and thoughtful comments about my review of this book. That is the good thing about my writing book reviews, I get to read so many good and interesting books, such as your book; "Through The Eyes Of God." In chapter 5 of your book, under "Getting the Right Perspective," you write that "Complaing is another action that keeps us from conquering our fears." That reminds me of a passage in a pamphlet by Pastor Joel Osteen: "30 Thoughts for Victorious Living." He says "Have An Attitude Of Gratitude" and speaks of complaining, by stating: "Complaining is not based on your circumstances; it's based on the attitude of your heart. If you keep the right attitude during your time of adversity, God will honor you." I try to live my life that way, and your book reminded me of it.

Regards,

Dennis

Intriguing!

Dennis Moore has a way of bringing some of the most intriguing books to the public eye. Thanks to him, my TBR (to be read) Pile is growing taller and taller.

This book is definitely one I will put on my list.

Thank you, Dennis for another great review.

Joshua Graham
Http://joshua-graham.com

"Beyond Justice"

Joshua Graham's "Beyond Justice" is just as intriguing.

The Last Circle

Life is stranger than fiction; an adage proven true by "The Last Circle" by Ms. Seymour. The insidious and nefarious Octopus has gorged itself on government largess and has bloated to the point where it has become visible across the nation. Minnesota is a particularly corrupt state. In the 1920's and 30's we had the Minnesota Gag Law and the O'Connor System. The first was a law penned by our Legislators, with the help of our two largest newspapers: banning news that exposed how the underworld (organized crime) and the overworld (government) intertwined. The second was a system whereby gangsters, terrorists, and other assorted criminals could come to Minnesota and enjoy immunity from extradition, arrest, harassment....as long as they payed the right fee to the right people. These protections provide safe haven for shadow government officials and operations, and have never been disbanded despite media reports of their exposure and subsequent demise.

When I first encountered our tentacle of "The Octopus" in Minnesota and took my documentation to the FBI, Special Agent David Price informed me that the FBI could not investigate organized crime or public corruption in Rochester because we had adopted "The O'Connor Rule". According to Price, organized criminal activity was protected in Rochester "as long as they don't whack anyone within city limits". I thought he was lazy and daft but documentation and information from victims and eye witnesses began to reveal a total collapse of integrity within our system, with tentacles reaching all the way into the office of the Governor. Over time, as both a victim and a witness, I found it all: Sheriff's Department protected narcotics distribution for Cali cocaine cartel, pedophile rings and the use of pedophiles in stalking/harassment campaigns, human/sex trafficking, weapons and other "equipment" allegedly run through operations owned by ex and current law enforcement, a private security firm that holds NSA contracts, IRS, FBI, CIA, DIA, OPM, DOJ, DHS, Saudi's, harassment of citizens by law enforcement, and an absolute collapse of integrity exhibited on all levels, including by judges all the way up to Federal District Court Judge Ann Montgomery. Minnesota has never had a major corruption probe: not because we do not need it, but because such a thing is not allowed: by "Rule".

US citizens would be wise to read and believe the details and facts in Ms. Seymour's book, especially as the Shadow Government moves toward implementation of Destination 2025, an international push toward global governance under a social capitalist structure, recently unveiled and published in four parts through the office of the Director of National Intelligence.

"The Last Circle"

Obviously, there is a lot more to Cheri Seymour's "The Last Circle," than meets the eye, as indicated by a Mary Hartman. She seems to relate this book and story to "The Destination 2025 Papers."

Nicely done - Cheri will be a guest on Radio RMN

Nice write-up, Dennis, well done - thanks for writing it. :) At Rayelan's request, I've posted your review, with attribution and links to the article's home location, at Rumor Mill News:



http://www.rumormillnews.com/cgi-bin/members/forum.cgi?noframes;read=184050



Cheri will be a guest on Radio RMN, sometime soon. Your review serves well to introduce her to RMN's Readers and Listeners. :)



--hobie

RE: Dennis Moore’s review of The Last Circle

It looks like Dennis Moore has done it again! His review of The Last Circle is so engrossing that I want to re-read it myself, and I’m the one who wrote it!

Dennis’s reviewing talent shines through in ways only someone who has read the book could appreciate. He has managed to highlight the significant areas of a 599-page book that is crammed with 18 years of research, while tying it all together into a fascinating and cohesive overview. I wish I’d known Dennis when I was writing the book, his insight is unparalleled.

There is little I can add to this Review except to mention that the book also contains 132 pages of never-before-revealed documents and photographs, which writers across the nation are currently examining and using in future books and magazine articles.

I wanted everyone to have access to these research tools because The Last Circle has developed a following amongst college students who are trying to understand why and how members of the U.S. political and justice system become involved with organized criminal elements in our society. The book also provides proof that an average citizen of any gender or age can make a difference in bringing to justice high-level criminals who have heretofore been untouchable.

Many thanks to the law enforcement people, prosecutors, scientists, investigators, reporters, and intelligence operatives who contributed to this book. And special thanks to Trine Day for having the spirit and true grit to publish it.

Great job, Dennis! Thanks for the best Review an author could hope for.

Your fan,
Cheri Seymour

Cheri Seymour's "The Last Circle"

Thanks for the kind comments Cheri! It helped that you gave me such great and intriguing material to work with, developed during the course of your 18 years of research.

Regards,

Dennis