[[Paul Morasca]] was a San Francisco entrepreneur who was found murdered in January 1982. His death, along with that of [[Mary Quick]], was traced to looted [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] money from the Sydney-based [[Nugan Hand Bank]]. Morasca was suspected of being a money launderer involved in a major Northern California drug ring.[^1] [[Michael Riconosciuto]], Morasca's partner, claimed that Morasca was tortured by his murderer to obtain secret bank code cards containing account numbers where [[Central Intelligence Agency|CIA]] monies, including funds from [[Nugan Hand Bank]], had been hidden. Riconosciuto also claimed that he and Morasca had transferred millions of dollars for [[Michael Hand]] when Hand fled [[Australia]].[^1] Morasca's death occurred just six months after the execution-style triple homicide of former Cabazon Tribal Council vice-chairman [[Fred Alvarez]] and his friends, [[Ralph Boger]] and [[Patricia Castro]], in Rancho Mirage, California. Morasca had been chosen to manage the Cabazon Casino shortly before his murder, which may explain why Cabazon-related investigative reports were inserted into his homicide file in San Francisco. The San Francisco Police Department's "Paul Morasca Homicide Investigation File" (Case No. 82-1052505) was not computerized and contained a comprehensive report on [[Philip Arthur Thompson]]'s suspected connections to the murder.[^1] [[Michael Riconosciuto]] stated that the "biggest loss" he received at the time of Morasca's death was a "big bag of bearer shares of original Tyme Shares stock," and he believed this was the main reason Morasca was killed. The computer cards that Morasca and [[Mary Quick]] allegedly died for belonged to the [[Tyme Shares]] on-line financial clearing house, used worldwide by banking institutions. Riconosciuto claimed he and Morasca had accessed bank accounts using these computer cards in conjunction with passwords derived from "pets" named in [[Phyllis Riconosciuto]]'s (Michael's ex-wife's) diary.[^1] [[Michael Riconosciuto]] also submitted a statement to the San Francisco Grand Jury in February 1984 regarding Morasca's death, which cryptically tied Morasca to [[Wackenhut Corporation]]. This statement, later typed by [[Ellen Nichols]], wife of [[Robert Booth Nichols]], after Riconosciuto met with [[Peter Zokosky]] and [[Robert Booth Nichols]], related to the sale of [[George Wackenhut]]'s yacht *Top Secret* and a methamphetamine operation. [[Peter Zokosky]] later commented that Morasca was killed because of a "narcotics deal" gone awry, and that he was involved in laundering large sums of money from drug profits.[^1] Morasca was involved in a government drug-sting operation, and was close to [[Ben Kalka]] and [[Al Holbert]], a former [[Israel|Israeli]] intelligence agent. He was found murdered in San Francisco on January 14, 1982, during the time these sting operations were underway. [[Sue Todd]]'s notes indicated that the motive for Morasca's murder was that he was a trustee to several estates, including Riconosciuto's family, and had a computer disc identifying these estates and offshore banks/codes to access them. A copy of this disc was reportedly found at [[Cheri Seymour]]'s house.[^1] --- ### Footnotes [^1]: Seymour, Cheri. *The Last Circle: Danny Casolaro’s Investigation into the Octopus and the PROMIS Software Scandal*. First Edition. TrineDay, 2010.